R.I.P. III

August 29, 2008 at 11:13 pm · Filed under Books Etc

This is my first time participating in the R.I.P. challenge, but I enjoyed the Once Upon a Time challenge so much this spring that I’ve been looking forward to it ever since. The challenge doesn’t officially start until September 1, but I’ve already read two books that fit the bill, so I guess I’ll be doing Peril the First:

Read four books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose: mystery, suspense, thriller, dark fantasy, gothic, horror, supernatural.

Here’s my list of completed and possibly reads:

• Pride and Prescience by Carrie Bebris (Gothic mystery/Austen pastiche)
• Mind Fuck by Manna Francis (Near-future dystopia/police procedural)
• Quid Pro Quo by Manna Francis (ditto)
• Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
• Tales of H.P. Lovecraft
• The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

There is a review site for this challenge.

Tags: Book Lists, R.I.P. III

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SF Subgenre Challenge

April 25, 2008 at 4:20 pm · Filed under Books Etc

As I mentioned, I’m in need of some new challenges, so since I enjoyed my personal Sci-fi Classics Challenge so much, I decided to renew it in a slightly different format.

My goal remains the same: to enjoy some classic works of science fiction. This time, I’m going to read by subgenre, to get an idea of the range of stories that come under the heading “science fiction”!

I picked subgenres more-or-less at random from Wikipedia:

1. Hard science fiction: Red Mars » Kim Stanley Robinson
2. Social science fiction: Foundation and Empire » Isaac Asimov
3. Space opera: Hyperion » Dan Simmons
4. Military science fiction: The Forever War » Joe Haldeman
5. Planetary romance: Dune Messiah » Frank Herbert
6. Alternate history: The Man in the High Castle » Philip K. Dick
7. Post-apocalyptic: A Canticle for Leibowitz » Walter M. Miller, Jr.
8. Mundane science fiction: Air » Geoff Ryman
9. Time travel: To Say Nothing of the Dog » Connie Willis
10. Dying Earth: The City and the Stars » Arthur C. Clarke

The list is still tentative, so some of my choices may change, but I will read one book from each of ten different sci-fi subgenres during 2008.

If you have any suggestions for alternate titles, I’d love to hear them!

Tags: Book Lists, SF Subgenre Challenge

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Decades Challenge 2008

April 25, 2008 at 3:10 pm · Filed under Books Etc

I am in desperate need of more challenges, and this one sounded interesting: read a book from each of (at least) 8 consecutive decades (prior to the 21st century) by the end of 2008.

Since I only want to inspire myself without being terribly ambitious, I’m choosing to read ten 20th-century books (although I haven’t got them all picked out yet):

1. 1900s: The Man Who Was Thursday » G.K. Chesterton (1908)
2. 1910s:
3. 1920s:
4. 1930s:
5. 1940s: And Be a Villain » Rex Stout (1948)
6. 1950s: Palace of Desire » Naguib Mahfouz (1957)
7. 1960s: The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress » Robert A. Heinlein (1966)
8. 1970s: Gateway » Frank Pohl (1976)
9. 1980s: Hyperion » Dan Simmons (1989)
10. 1990s: The Beekeeper’s Apprentice » Laurie R. King (1994)

Tags: Book Lists, Decades Challenge 2008

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Cardathon Challenge Redux

April 24, 2008 at 9:44 pm · Filed under Books Etc

I loved the Cardathon Challenge, but I’ve already finished the six books I committed to, and the year isn’t even one-third over, so I’m re-committing to 12 more books: the 6 Enderverse books I have yet to read, and 6 non-Ender books, to sample some of Orson Scott Card’s other writing. Here are my lists:

Enderverse

1. Ender’s Shadow (Bean #1)
2. Shadow of the Hegemon (Bean #2)
3. Shadow Puppets (Bean #3)
4. Shadow of the Giant (Bean #4)
5. Children of the Mind (Ender #4)
6. First Meetings (Ender, short story collection)

Non-Ender

1. The Memory of Earth (Homecoming: volume 1)
2. The Call of Earth (Homecoming: volume 2)
3. The Ships of Earth (Homecoming: volume 3)
4. Seventh Son (The Tales of Alvin Maker, volume 1)
5. Red Prophet (The Tales of Alvin Maker, volume 2)
6. Lovelock (The Mayflower Trilogy #1, written with Kathryn H. Kidd)

Tags: Book Lists, Cardathon Challenge Redux

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A ~ Z Reading Challenge

April 16, 2008 at 10:38 pm · Filed under Books Etc

I’ve finished so many challenges lately that I needed to add a new one, and this one seems fairly easy, since I’m going to include a few already-read books from earlier this year.

The challenge is to read 52 books whose titles or authors correspond to a different letter of the alphabet by the end of the year. There’s a challenge site where links to reviews can be left, but I’m going to have to keep a list for myself, too. So, here it is:

Authors’ Names:

1. Asimov, Isaac (Foundation and Empire)
2. Bellairs, John (The Chessmen of Doom)
3. Churchill, Jill (Anything Goes)
4. ?
5. Evanovich, Janet (One for the Money)
6. Francis, Manna (Mind Fuck)
7. ?
8. ?
9. ?
10. ?
11. Klause, Annette Curtis (Freaks: Alive, on the Inside!)
12. ?
13. ?
14. ?
15. ?
16. Perry, Anne (Brunswick Gardens)
17. ?
18. ?
19. Stout, Rex (A Right to Die)
20. ?
21. ?
22. ?
23. Wrede, Patricia C. & Caroline Stevermer (Sorcery & Cecelia)
24. Xue, Xinran (Miss Chopsticks)
25. Yolen, Jane (Dragon’s Blood)
26. ?

Titles:

1. And Be a Villain by Rex Stout
2. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King
3. The Call of Earth by Orson Scott Card
4. Dark Assassin by Anne Perry
5. The Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer
6. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
7. Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
8. Hammered by Elizabeth Bear
9. ?
10. ?
11. ?
12. The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer
13. The Memory of Earth by Orson Scott Card
14. ?
15. The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer
16. Pride and Prescience by Carrie Bebris
17. The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
18. Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card
19. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
20. Traitor’s Gate by Anne Perry
21. ?
22. Valiant by Holly Black
23. Widdershins by Charles de Lint
24. Xenocide by Orson Scott Card
25. ?
26. ?

One book a week? Seems doable!

Tags: A ~ Z Reading Challenge, Book Lists

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Calling all Children’s Fiction Fans!

April 6, 2008 at 11:46 pm · Filed under Books Etc

I know there are lots of adults out there who love kids’ books as much as I do, or who have kids of their own (or both.)

I’m compiling a list of books to use at work, and I could use your help! Here are the requirements:

• Age-appropriate: themes and issues should be suitable for 10- to 12-year olds.
  (I know it can be hard to judge this. The rough guide I use is nothing shorter than 180 pages, preferably longer, and no sex, romance, or gratuitous swearing or violence. Also, really big type is usually a clue it’s intended for 7- to 9-year-olds rather than slightly older kids.)
• G-rated: no swearing, and especially nothing sexual.
• Easily accessible: classics or popular contemporary books that could be found in most large library systems or big-box bookstores.
• Reasonably challenging: books that won’t be too easy for an intelligent fifth grader.
• Appealing to boys, if possible: we all know girls will read about male characters but most boys aren’t very interested in female leads. It’s hard for me to know what would appeal to my male students!

I’ve listed some of the obvious ones, and as people make suggestions, I’ll add them to the list. If anyone is willing to spread the word on their own blog, I’d be very grateful. Thank you for your help!

1. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
2. Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
3. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
4. The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper
5. Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
6. The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer
7. Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris
8. Ranger’s Apprentice 1: Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan
9. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
10. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
11. The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones
12. The Twinkie Squad by Gordon Korman
13. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
16. The Wind Singer by William Nicholson
17. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
18. East by Edith Pattou
19. The Neddiad by Daniel Pinkwater
20. The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope
21. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
22. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
23. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
24. The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud
25. The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff
26. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Tags: Book Lists

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Once Upon a Time II

March 22, 2008 at 10:54 am · Filed under Books Etc

What with reading my first book for this challenge yesterday, I completely forgot to post my list of books and actually, you know, sign up for the challenge. Once Upon a Time II runs for 3 months, from March 21 through June 20 (and links to reviews can be posted at the Review Site.) During that time, I will complete Quest the First by reading 5 books that fit the challenge’s criteria: fantasy, folklore, fairy tale, or myth. Since I already read a lot of fantasy, I want to choose books that specifically have a folklore, fairy tale, or mythic feel to them.

1. Widdershins » Charles de Lint (myth)
2. The Complete Quin & Satterthwaite » Agatha Christie (folklore)
3. Beauty » Robin McKinley (fairy tale)
4. Ironside » Holly Black (fairy tale)
5. Sorcery & Cecelia » Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer (fantasy)

Tags: Book Lists, Once Upon a Time II

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888 Challenge

March 4, 2008 at 11:24 am · Filed under Books Etc

The 888 Challenge: read 8 different books in 8 different categories in 2008, with a maximum of 8 overlaps. Most of these are books I was going to read anyway, or crossovers with other challenges. Because I still retain a shred of sanity when it comes to challenges. I’m still not sure about some of the categories (namely Contemporary Fantasy; for some reason I’m just not feeling it today), but luckily I can change the list at any time.

(Overlaps: ?)

1: Juvenile and Young Adult Series

1. The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
2. The Curse of the Blue Figurine, The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt, The Spell of the Sorcerer’s Skull by John Bellairs
3. Over Sea, Under Stone, The Dark Is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King, Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper
4. The Goose Girl, Enna Burning, River Secrets by Shannon Hale
5. Tithe, Valiant, Ironside by Holly Black
6. The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn, The Dark Secret of Weatherend, The Lamp from the Warlock’s Tomb, The Mansion in the Mist by John Bellairs
7. Dragon’s Blood, Heart’s Blood, A Sending of Dragons by Jane Yolen
8. The House with a Clock in Its Walls, The Figure in the Shadows, The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring by John Bellairs

2: Direct Sequels to Books I’ve Read (6 left)
(second books only—later books in a series don’t count)

1. The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
2. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
3. Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov
4. Callander Square by Anne Perry
5. Scardown by Elizabeth Bear
6. Palace of Desire by Naguib Mahfouz
7. The Demon and the City by Liz Williams
8. Mollie Peer by Van Reid

3: Works from North Africa and the Middle East (8 left)

1. The Sand Child by Tahar ben Jelloun (Morocco)
2. In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar (Libya)
3. Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih (Sudan)
4. The Yacoubian Building by Alaa el-Aswany (Egypt)
5. Palace of Desire by Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt)
6. I Saw Ramallah by Mourid Barghouti (Palestine)
7. Look for Me by Edeet Ravel (Israel)
8. The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmeena Khadra (Afghanistan)

4: Classic Works of Science Fiction (6 left)
(x-over with Sci-Fi Classics Challenge)

1. Xenocide by Orson Scott Card
2. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
3. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller
4. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
5. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
6. Ringworld by Larry Niven
7. Gateway by Frederik Pohl
8. Hyperion by Dan Simmons

5: Books by Agatha Christie I’ve Never Read or Don’t Remember Well
(x-over with the Anything Agatha Challenge)

1. The Mystery of the Blue Train
2. Partners in Crime
3. Murder in Mesopotamia
4. Sparkling Cyanide (or Remembered Death)
5. Crooked House
6. Ordeal by Innocence
7. The Pale Horse
8. Elephants Can Remember

6: The Mary Russell Series by Laurie R. King (6 left)
(re-reads, in preparation for the release of #9, The Language of Bees, in 2009)

1. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice
2. A Monstrous Regiment of Women
3. A Letter of Mary
4. The Moor
5. O Jerusalem
6. Justice Hall
7. The Game
8. Locked Rooms

7: Contemporary Fantasy (7 left)

1. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
2. Widdershins by Charles de Lint
3. The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
4. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
5. Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton
6. Swallowing Darkness by Laurell K. Hamilton
7. Little, Big by John Crowley
8. Blood Debt by Tanya Huff

8: Classic Works of Fantasy (6 left)
(x-over with Fantasy Classics Challenge)

1. The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper
2. Sorcery & Cecelia by Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer
3. Little, Big by John Crowley
4. Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner
5. The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
6. Watership Down by Richard Adams
7. The Dunwich Horror and Others by H.P. Lovecraft
8. Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny

Tags: 888 Challenge, Book Lists

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Anything Agatha Challenge

March 3, 2008 at 11:38 pm · Filed under Books Etc

Yes, because I have a serious problem, I am committing myself to some more challenges. The Anything Agatha Challenge, hosted by Joy, runs through 2008. The idea is to read any 10 works by Agatha Christie.

Since I’m starting late, that works out to one book a month for the rest of the year; totally doable. I’m already a huge Christie fan whose read most of her books, but I checked Wikipedia and found things I hadn’t read—6 novels and 2 biographical works; I’ll fill the rest of the challenge with novels written as Mary Westmacott or re-reads.

1. The Mystery of the Blue Train (Hercule Poirot, 1928) - RE-READ
2. Partners in Crime (Tommy and Tuppence, 1929) - RE-READ
3. Parker Pyne Investigates (or Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective) (Mr. Parker Pyne, 1932) - RE-READ
4. Murder in Mesopotamia (Hercule Poirot, 1936)
5. Sparkling Cyanide (or Remembered Death) (Colonel Race, 1945)
6. Crooked House (1949)
7. Ordeal by Innocence (1958)
8. Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (Miss Marple, 1927-1961) - RE-READ
9. The Pale Horse (Ariadne Oliver, 1961)
10. Elephants Can Remember (Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver, 1972)

Bonus reads:

1. The Complete Quin & Satterthwaite: Love Detectives (Quin & Satterthwaite, 1930-1971)

Tags: Anything Agatha Challenge, Book Lists

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Cardathon Challenge

February 17, 2008 at 2:22 pm · Filed under Books Etc

Just what I needed…another challenge! But I couldn’t resist when Becky told me about it. Ender’s Game turned out to be one of the best books I’ve ever read, so I’m excited to read more of Card’s work. The Cardathon Challenge lasts all year, and I’m going to set my goal at 6 books, which must be written, edited, introduced, or reviewed by Card:

1. Ender’s Game » Orson Scott Card
2. Speaker for the Dead » Orson Scott Card
3. Xenocide » Orson Scott Card
4. Widdershins » Charles de Lint (recommended by Card)
5. The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, and The King of Attolia » Megan Whalen Turner (reviewed by Card)
6. The Princess Academy, The Goose Girl, and Enna Burning » Shannon Hale (reviewed by Card)

Tags: Book Lists, Cardathon Challenge, Orson Scott Card

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