Merely Mystery Reading Challenge

Wendy at Musings of a Bookish Kitty is hosting the Merely Mystery Reading Challenge. Participants can read at one of two levels: Down on Her Luck Gumshoe (two or more books from one mystery subgenre) or Shamus Who Has Seen It All (one book from each of the 12 subgenres). I don't usually go in for reading challenges, but seeing as it's Jan. 1 and I've already completed half of the Down on Her Luck Gumshoe level (maybe it's cheating, but I finished a mystery at 12:15 this morning!), I figured I'd join up. I plan on finishing several more mysteries this year, anyway, so even if my early morning finish doesn't count, I should still easily complete the level I've chosen. Head over to Wendy's post to sign up!

Four Month Challenge Update

Well, the challenge is almost over, and how am I doing? I've read a total of, um, four books while the challenge was ongoing.

5 Point Challenges


Read a chick lit book

The Jewish Princess Cookbook - Okay, so maybe this is cheating a little, but this was the chick lit-est cookbook I've ever seen!

Read a name with a proper name in the title

Read a historical fiction book

Read a book with a one word title

Read a book made into a movie

10 Point Challenges


Read a book with a Civil War theme (any country)

Comanche Moon - This book takes place "on the cusp of the Civil War," as I said in my review, but I think it counts. It may be stretching it, but cut a girl a break, here.

Read a Biblical fiction book

Read a hardcover book

Read a book about a king or queen

Read a book set in France

15 Point Challenges

Read a book by an author you’ve never read before

Read a biography or autobiography

Basher Five-Two - This book would really fit into three categories in the 15-Point Challenges section (also an author I've never read before and a book with a number in the title), but I don't think I get to count it three times!

Read a book with a number in the title

Read any book and then post a review

I've reviewed all of the books I've read, but I don't think I can count them twice! And I reviewed The Best American Non-Required Reading but it failed to post...not my fault, blame Blogger.

Read any book but read it outside

20 Point Challenges


Read a book in a series AND the one after it

Read a book that was a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

Read a book considered Christian fiction

Read a book from The Modern Library Top 100

Read a book by an author born in July, August, September or October


So I'm up to a total of 30 points (45 if you give me credit for my review of The Best American Non-Required Reading, which I sort of posted a review for...Blogger ate it and I got mad and only posted my rating). Honestly, that's better than I thought I would do. I'm currently reading Little Women (a re-read for me, which is also, coincidentally, a banned book, although I can't find details of its banning anywhere...), which I don't think will fit into any of the categories (it takes place during the Civil War, but I've already filled that category). No, wait! It's a hardcover copy that I've had since I was a little girl! Ooh, I better hurry up and get it finished, so I can count it!

Joining My First Challenge

Well, I've decided to inch into the challenge waters and enter my very first-ever timed (i.e., non-perpetual) reading challenge! I'm a terribly slow reader (life seems to always get in the way), and I'm very anal-retentive about my reading, but I'm going to try to just fit my next few reads into some of these categories. We'll see how I do.

5 Point Challenges


Read a chick lit book

Read a name with a proper name in the title

Read a historical fiction book

Read a book with a one word title

Read a book made into a movie

10 Point Challenges


Read a book with a Civil War theme (any country)

Read a Biblical fiction book

Read a hardcover book

Read a book about a king or queen

Read a book set in France

15 Point Challenges

Read a book by an author you’ve never read before

Read a biography or autobiography

Read a book with a number in the title

Read any book and then post a review

Read any book but read it outside

20 Point Challenges


Read a book in a series AND the one after it

Read a book that was a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

Read a book considered Christian fiction

Read a book from The Modern Library Top 100

Read a book by an author born in July, August, September or October

Mini Challenge: Collections

My husband and I are terrible packrats. We collect just about EVERYTHING.

The photo above illustrates several of our collections: CD's, movies, and candles.

We also collect cats. (Emaline is running away...guess she didn't want to have her picture taken.)

Books to Movies/TV Mini-Challenge

The challenge this hour (these hours?) is to post about books which have been made into TV series or movies, books you WANT to see made into movies or TV series, and TV series and movies you would like to see in book form.

TV or Movie Adaptations I like:

Anne of Green Gables - loved the Kevin Sullivan adaptation, although I watched it BEFORE I read the book, and I remember being crushed about the parts of the mini-series that differed from the book. The second one wasn't as good, since it smushed together several of the sequels into one movie. I hear there's a third, but haven't seen it.

Harry Potter - I haven't seen all of these, but the casting is great, and I think they are as true to the books as they can be in the time allotted to movies.

Lord of the Rings - OF COURSE I love these movies. What more can I say? They were excellently done.

Pride and Prejudice - Ah, Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. Le sigh. And, speaking of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy...

Bridget Jones' Diary - although I'm not sure I'd pick Renee Zellweger to be Bridget.

Movies/TV series I wish were books:

Was Four Weddings and a Funeral based on a book? If not, I'd like to read it in novel form. LOVE that movie.

What about the new TV series Castle? Based on a thriller writer's need to create a new series, I think this would made great reading.

That's all I can think of for now. Feel free to add your faves in the comments!

Sharon's Very Mini-Library Cat Challenge

SPOILER ALERT -- Answers Below!


1) The library cat that lived closest to me was Dewey (not THAT Dewey...there seems to be a proliferation of library cats named Dewey, heh). Dewey lived at the Martin County Library in Indiantown, FL from 1997 to 2000.

2) Dewey lived in the Spencer Public Library in Spencer, Iowa until his untimely death in November, 2006.

3) Dewey was in a documentary called "Puss in Books."

4) Dewey's full name is Dewey Readmore Books.

Donate for a Good Cause

Sassymonkey has issued a challenge. She is asking everyone to donate a dollar (and what's a dollar, really?) to help fund a classroom library for a class of children who don't have satisfactory access to reading material. And if the joy of knowing you are helping a whole class of kids learn to appreciate reading is not enough, Sassymonkey will enter you into a chance to win a prize pack for donating and posting about the challenge. So run right over and drop a dollar to help these kids! Support literacy and help them learn to love books!!!

24-Hour Read-a-thon

I'm so excited!!! I just signed up for Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-thon!!! I was so jealous watching everyone participate in April, so I decided I had to get involved in the next one. I'm SO psyched to participate this time around. I'm going to try to stay up the whole time, but I am old and may have to break for sleep...I hope to get through several of the books on my list. I haven't been making much progress lately (this thing called LIFE keeps getting in the way), so this weekend event will be the perfect way for me to get caught up. Or at least try to. I will have to take a Dawgs break, if the Georgia game is on TV, but otherwise? I intend to READ, BABY, READ!

BBAW and the Pulitzer Project

Amy, at the blog My Friend Amy, is hosting Book Blogger Appreciation Week, September 15-19. I'm joining up, if for no other reason than to discover other book blogs I might like (as if I need more reading!). There are prizes and awards, as well as the creation of a Master Book Blog List! Sounds like it's going to be great! Thanks for hosting this, Amy.





Also, I'm joining the Pulitzer Project, an ongoing challenge in which the goal is to read all of the Pulitzer winners from 1918 to the present. So far, I've read three:

1940 - The Grapes of Wrath (read in high school English class, circa 1992, but which I plan to re-read soon, as I don't remember it)
1953 - The Old Man and the Sea (also read in high school, as a summer read right before my freshman year, 1991 - HATED this book, more than anything I have ever read, except possibly that other Hemingway novel, A Farewell to Arms. Actually, no, I hated Old Man and the Sea more.)
1961 - To Kill a Mockingbird (read in JUNIOR high, in Mrs. Setchell's class, circa 1990. LOVED IT then, loved it when I read it again a few years ago during law school, even love the movie...sigh...Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch.)

It's pretty pathetic that I haven't read any Pulitzer winners since the early 90's. Not even the most recent winners! I believe most, if not all, of these are on my TBR list, but so is every other book in the known world, so I don't know when I'll get to them. Thank goodness for ongoing challenges without deadlines!

You can read more about the Pulitzer Project HERE.