It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.

I can hardly believe January is over already! I should probably start thinking about Christmas presents soon... January was a great reading month. I finished 7 books, which has to be a record for me in recent years. I usually only manage 2 or 3 a month, so I'm very happy. If I can keep this up, I will soon have to revise my goal of rading 40 books this year.

READ LAST WEEK
Last week I finished The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, which was good, despite a somewhat slow first half. I also read The Greek Symbol Mystery by Carolyn Keene, a classic Nancy Drew mystery.

CURRENTLY READING
I have almost finished Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling. I had forgotten most of what happened in this book, so I'm glad I decided to re-read it. I'm having lots of fun with it.

WHAT'S NEXT
It looks like 2011 will be the year of re-reads for me. I had a sudden urge to read an old favourite again; The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. I want to read it again before I move on to the next book in the series, so if I still feel like it tonight (it's huge!) that is what I will pick up.

What are you reading this week?

Review: Burglars Can't Be Choosers

Burglars Can't Be Choosers
By Lawrence Block

First published: 1977
Series: Bernie Rhodenbarr #1

Read: 14 - 21 January 2011
Pages: 293
Challenges: 1st in a Series Challenge #2
Mystery & Suspence Reading Challenge #1

From the cover
Bernie Rhodenbarr is a personable chap, a good neightbor, a passable poker player. His chosen profession, however, might not sit well with some. Bernie is a burglar, a good one, effortlessly lifting valuables from the not-so-well-protected abodes of well-to-do New Yorkers like a modern-day Robin Hood. (The poor, as Bernie would be the first to tell you, alas, have nothing worth stealing.)

He's not perfect, however; he occasionally makes mistakes. Like accepting a paid assignment from a total stranger to retrieve a particular item from a rich man's apartment. Like still being there when the cops arrive. Like having a freshly slain corpse lying in the next room, and no proof that Bernie isn't the killer.

Now he's really got his hands full, having to locate the true perpetrator while somehow eluding the police - a dirty job indeed, but if Bernie doesn't do it, who will?

It is no secret that I love stories about con artists and gentlemen thieves, so my expectations of this book were perhaps a little high. Luckily they were mostly met.

We come into the story just as Bernie is about to go on a job. He has been hired to steal a blue leather box from an apartment, which sounds easy enough. And it is easy - until it turns out he is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Suddenly Bernie is on the run from the police, wanted for murder.

The book is not particularly fast-paced, but the plot is full of twists and turns. I did not even come close to solving the mystery myself, which made Bernie seem all the more clever. Block also has a sense of humour, and I was chuckling throught the book. Consider this little exchange:

"I'll give you the location, the aparment, everything, and for you it's like picking up candy in the street."
"I never pick up candy in the street."
"Huh?"
"Germs."

Bernie is a likeable fellow. His career choice may not be the most ethical (or legal), but he is a nice person who would never dream of hurting anyone. He is smart and quick-witted, and the ladies are drawn to him. Speaking of ladies; I did wonder about Ruth's motives for helping Bernie, but I need not have worried, because Block is a good enough writer to have asked himself the same question.

There were a couple of times when I had to remind myself that this was written 34 years ago, because it generally did not have an "old" feel to it. When Bernie and Ruth spent 10 pages (and 5 phone calls and 1 directory) trying to find the name of an actor who was in a movie on TV, I kept thinking "Just look it up on IMDB!". It made me appreciate the wonders of the Internet even more.

Best: The humour and intricate plot.
Worst: The cover. Seriously, this picture does not do it justice. My copy is bright orange; so bright that I could use it to signal with in the dark.

Rating: 4 – Good

The Bernie Rhodenbarr series

1. Burglars Can't Be Choosers
2. The Burglar in the Closet
3. The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling 
4. The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza 
5. The Burglar Who Painted like Mondrian 
6. The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams 
7. The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart 
8. The Burglar in the Library 
9. The Burglar in the Rye 
10. The Burglar Who Dropped in on Elvis 
11. The Burglar on the Prowl

Lawrence Block's website: www.lawrenceblock.com

Top Ten Tuesday - Books I Wish I'd Read as a Kid

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature / weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week we make a top ten list from a given topic.

This week's topic is

Top Ten Books I Wish I Had Read as a Kid
 
1. The Harry Potter series. I was 14 when the first book was released, and did not hear about the series for several years afterwards. I am still enjoying them as an adult, but I might have enjoyed them even more back then.

2. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. I wish I had seen the movie too.

3. The Wizard of Oz (and the rest of the series). There is a whole series? I did not even know it was a book when I was a kid.

4. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. I just know this would have been a big hit with me in my early teens.

5. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Such a good book deserves an early discovery.

6. Anything by Dr. Seuss. I did not even know about him until recently, but I think I would have loved his books as a kid.

7. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. If I had been Percy's age when I read this, I might not have found the book quite so superficial.

8. The Hardy Boys series. I loved Nancy Drew as a kid, but I never read a Hardy Boys mystery.

9. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. I actually wish someone would have read this aloud to me when I was a child.

10. The Hunger Games trilogy. I have no interest in reading these books now, but 15 years ago I would have devoured them,

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.

The days are getting longer and lighter now, and in not too many days we will see the sun again. More daylight means a happier and less sleepy Hilde, and hopefully more energy to do other things besides work (like maybe start working out again). It really is amazing what a difference waking up to daylight instead of darkness makes. Bring on the spring!

READ LAST WEEK
I started and finished Burglars Can't Be Choosers by Lawrence Block, the first book about Bernie Rhodenbarr, professional burglar. I enjoyed it, and there should be a review up here soon.

CURRENTLY READING
I'm in the middle of The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. So far it has been good, but to be frank, nothing much has happened. But I hear it picks up from the half-way point, so I'm looking forward to the second half.

WHAT'S NEXT
Something not written from the first person POV. I prefer third-person narratives, but lately I have read almost only books with a first-person narrator. I need a different point of view, as it were. ;)

What are you up to this week?

Kindle Cover

I love my Kindle, and I wanted to show you the cover I recently got for it (BTW, the poor thing still doesn't have a name - any suggestions?).

I originally wanted the leather cover in apple green, which looks like a proper book cover, but the price made me re-think that decision. I then looked at the Belkin Grip sleeve, but when I was ready to order I was told there would be a 3-month wait, and I didn't have the patience for that. I finally came across this pretty little thing:

It is a neoprene sleeve from E-volve, and I am in love with it. Aside from the cute design it does a great job of protecting my Kindle. I have a 2nd generation Kindle, and it fits perfectly inside the sleeve so I don't have to worry about it falling out. It is also completely covered on all sides, so no need to worry about scratches either. AND (I love this bit), it is reversible:

 

How cool is that? If I get tired of purple I just switch to black and I still have that pretty flowery design to look at. My only concern is whether the seams will hold, but so far so good. 

What kind of cover du you have for your e-reader?

Top Ten Tuesday - Inspirational Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature / weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week we make a top ten list from a given topic.

This week's topic is

Top Ten Most Inspirational Characters

I had such a hard time making this list. Over the years I must have read hundreds, if not thousands of books, but suddenly I was unable to remember any of them and their characters. While there are many characters I like, some I can relate to and some I have a crush on, none of that is the same as being inspirational. So this list is going to be rather short, but at least it is a list.

I expect to see a lot of Elizabeth Bennetts and Katniss Everdeens around this week. ;)

1. Samwise Gamgee (The Lord of the Rings)
Sam is the best friend anyone could ever ask for. He follows Frodo into certain death; he protects him, he fights for him, and when Frodo gives up, Sam lifts him onto his back and carries him on. Frodo would not have gotten far without Sam.

2. Neville Longbottom (Harry Potter series)
Neville may not be the hero of the story, but beneath that nervous and timid exterior he possesses a very rare courage. As Dumbledore puts it in the first book: "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."

3. Éowyn (The Lord of the Rings)
She is a woman living in a man's world, but refuses to be held back by tradition. She is determined to fight for her people and her beliefs, because she knows she can make a difference – and boy, does she make a difference.

4. Precious Ramotswe (The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency)
Unafraid, intelligent, clever, resourceful and ever the optimist, Mma Ramotswe is a true inspiration.

There must be others. I'll be back as soon as I can think of them.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.

I am writing this at 2:45 in the morning while watching  online streaming of the last match in the Continental Cup of Curling in Canada (8 hour time difference). Yes, I am a nerd.

Now that Christmas is well and truly over and I am back to working every day, I don't have as much reading time anymore. Still, I have finished 4 books already in 2011, which is 10 % of my goal of 40, so I am pretty happy with that.

READ LAST WEEK
As you may have gathered from some of my previous posts, I have yet to read book 6 anf 7 in the Harry Potter series. I decided that 2011 will be the year I finish the series, but instead of going straight for number 6, I wanted to start from the beginning and read them all this year. So last week I read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling and enjoyed it just as much the second time around (check out my review).

CURRENTLY READING
As I don't like reading series back to back, I wanted something completely different before moving on to the next HP. I picked up Burglars Can't Be Choosers by Lawrence Block, the first in the series about Bernie Rhodenbarr, ordinary guy by day, burglar by night.

WHAT'S NEXT
Probably either Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, or a another YA fantasy like The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner or Sapphique by Catherine Fisher.

What are you reading this week?

Review: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
(or The Sorcerer's Stone, if you must)
By J.K. Rowling

First published: June 1997
Series: Harry Potter #1

Read: 11 - 13 January 2011
Pages: 223
Challenges: 1st in a Series Challenge #1

I assume everyone already know what this book is about, so I will not bore you with a summary. You all know Harry Potter is a young boy who goes to wizard school and have all sorts of scary and exciting experiences, right? And if not, well, there you have it.

A Good Start to a Great Series

This was the second time I read The Philosopher's Stone, but last time was more than five years ago, so there were quite a few things I had forgotten about. I'm glad I decided to start from the beginning again before reading number 6 and 7.

To put it short, I really like it. It is not the best book I have ever read, nor do I think it is the best book in the series, but it is a good start. Rowling does a great job of establishing the setting and the characters and everything makes sense. Her imagination is definitely her biggest strength. The reader feels just as much in awe as Harry does when he walks along Diagon Alley (which is a fantastic name by the way) and tries to digest everything he sees. Things like Quidditch and the ceiling of the Great Hall really amaze me. This is a great passage that really showcases how imaginative Hogwarts is:

There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other and Harry was sure the coats of armour could walk.

Then of course there are the characters. They are all wonderful, I don't know how else to say it. Everyone from Harry to Ron and Hermione to Hagrid to Draco Malfoy to Albus Dumbledore; they all come alive on the pages. They have very distinct personalities, and none of them are two-dimentional or indeed all good or all bad. I think my favourite characters in this first book are the Weasleys (yes, all of them), and I must admit I have a bit of a soft spot for Professor McGonagall.

As this is the first book in the series (and only 223 pages long), Rowling does not go into too much detail. We see the outline of a bigger picture with You-Know-Who lurking in the shadows, but there is still so much to learn about Hogwarts and the magical world that we do not really have time to think about that until later.

My only complaint is that the ending feels a little rushed, like Rowling is taking the easiest way out. It doesn't bother me that much, but knowing what comes later in the series I know she can do better than this. But then I have to remind myself that the main characters are only eleven years old and their powers are still limited.

I wish I had read this series while I was still a teenager. I was 14 when The Philosopher's Stone was released, and I think I would have been able to identify with the characters (especially Hermione) on a much deeper level if I had been around their age. Fortunately these books can be enjoyed by everyone, young or old. I certainly enjoyed The Philosopher's Stone.

My rating: 5 out of 6

Booking Through Thursday - Firsts

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme about (mostly) books and reading.

This week's question is:

Do you remember the first book you bought for yourself? Or the first book you checked out of the library? What was it and why did you choose it?

I don't remember the first book I checked out, but I do remember my first trip to the library. I was seven and had just started school, and during lunch break a friend brought me with her to the public library, which was located at the school. I remember finding it a bit scary, because I had never been inside a place like that before and didn't really know what to do. But I did find some books that I wanted to take home, so I went up to the counter with them and the nice old lady librarian asked me if I remembered my loan number. I didn't know what she was talking about, so I just said no. She sighed and explained that I needed to bring my library card so she didn't have to look it up every time I wanted to borrow something. I had no idea what a library card was, and I was too shy to ask, but then my friend came to my rescue and told her I was not registered yet. The librarian filled out a shiny new card for me, put it in a plastic slip and all of a sudden I had access to what back then felt like a whole world of books (a few years later I had read most of the YA section and a fair amount of the adult section and was beginning to think the pickings were rather slim).

That library card changed my life. I can still remember my number: 208. Incidentally this was also the last three digits in my grandmother's phone number, which I had memorised long before. Gran was one of the people who most encouraged me to read, and she always gave me books for Christmas and birthdays (and then borrowed them afterwards).

Now both my grandmother and the old librarian are gone and I have a new brigth orange plastic library card with a bar code on the front and a new loan number. But the number 208 will always hold a very special meaning to me, and whenever the librarian asks for my number, that is what I always think of first.

Top Ten Tuesday - Bookish Resolutions

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature / weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week we make a top ten list from a given topic.

This week's topic is

Top Ten Bookish Resolutions for 2011

I want reading and blogging to be fun without too much pressure, so these are more like guidelines that resolutions. :)

1. Read 40 books
The only real resolution on my list. Since I started reading for fun again I have always tried to read more than the previous year. That is my resolution for 2011 as well, but I thought it might be good to have a specific number in mind. I read 37 books in 2010, so 40 should not be too difficult to achieve.

2. Read and release more BookCrossing books
Since joining BookCrossing in 2005, I have received lots of books from generous bookcrossers. Unfortunately a lot of these are still sitting on my shelf unread. The whole premise of BookCrossing is to keep the books moving, so I feel a little guilty keeping them for so long. I really need to read some and get them moving again.

3. Reduce my TBR
As opposed to constantly increasing it. This means that for each new book coming in, that one or another one in my possession has to be read. This excludes library books, as they are not mine.

4. Complete my challenges
So far I have only joined 3 challenges for 2011, and I have chosen fairly modest levels for them because I didn't want to make it too hard for myself. I don't like having to read off a finite list of books, as those books may not always fit my mood when it is time to read them, but challenges have helped me to read TBR books and new-to-me authors that I might not otherwise have picked up.

5. Read the books from last week's Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Resolve to Read
Some of these are rather long, so I don't know if I will be able to read all of them this year, but I will do my best to read at least some of them.

6. Make sure I use my Kindle
I have a digital camera that cost a fortune, but I hardly ever use it. I don't want that to happen to my Kindle.

7. Do more general posts
The Turn of the Page is a very small blog, and so far I have mostly posted reviews and memes. I would like to try and write posts with more content so you guys will not be bored. :)

8. Do something about the blog layout
I am not very happy with the layout at the moment, but so far I have not had the time nor the energy to do anything about it. I could try to design something myself, or I might even get a customised layout. Either way I would like to make it a little more stylish-looking.

9. General clean-up of the blog
In addition to a new layout, I need to organise the blog better as well as update the pages and sidebars.

10. Have fun
The day reading and/or blogging becomes a chore is the day I take a break and do something completely different. After all, this is a hobby. If I am not having fun with it, what is the point? 

Now tell me your bookish resolutions!

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.

READ LAST WEEK
I finally finished Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher, though I would have been very happy if this book had never ended. I love it so much I am not even going to attempt writing a regular review, because I know I cannot possibly be objective about it. This was the third time I have read it, and I can see myself reading it every other Christmas until I am old and grey and can no longer focus on the page (but that is what audio books are for, right?).

I will also finish Flaggermusmannen (The Bat Man) by Jo Nesbø in a little while; only 30 pages to go. It is the first book in the Harry Hole detective series. I was planning on writing a review of it, but then I realised that is has not been translated into English (neither has the second book), so I guess there would be no point.

CURRENTLY READING
I had such big plans to read several of the new books I bought before Christmas, but suddenly I heard someone calling my name from the top shelf. When I looked it was Harry Potter, demanding I finish the series or he would have Hermione turn me nto something mushy, so I had to listen to him. I have decided to start from the beginning again and read all the books instead of picking up where I left off two years ago (my, how time flies!), so I will start Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone tonight.

WHAT'S NEXT
I have never been able to read a series back to back, so I will have to read at least a couple of other books in between HP books. I'm thinking Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz to begin with, though knowing me that might change tomorrow.

What books are calling your name this week?

Reading Impatience

Too many books... Photo courtesy Photos8.com

I usually never read more than one book at a time. I prefer focusing all my attention on one story and one set of characters. Occasionally I pick up another book in addition to the one I am reading, but I usually end up putting one of them aside until I have finished the other. This has worked fine for many years. But lately I have found myself growing impatient with my current books. Somewhere around the middle my attention start to wander towards my bookshelf and I start thinking about all the wonderful books I am not reading at the moment.

This happens regardless of the quality of the book I am reading. I might be half-way through a fantastic book, but I still want to read something else. Right now I am reading and enjoying a mystery by Jo Nesbø, but I what I really want to read is Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz. For the most part I manage to ignore the urge to put away my current read and start something else, but I feel like once this thought has taken root I am no longer able to fully enjoy what I am reading right now. I become impatient with the poor book because I want it to end already so I can start reading that other great book. You would think this would make me hurry up and read, but it actually makes me more inclined to ignore the book for longer stretches of time while I plan what to read once I finish (which is very silly, because if I just kept reading I would finish it in no time).

Does anyone else feel this sort of impatience towards the book you are reading? Any ideas as to what could have caused this impatience (I know am getting older, but I am still in my twenties, so I do not think it is age-related...)? Do you think it will go away? I feel terrible for the books and authors I read, because I feel like I am letting them down by not concentrating 100 per cent on them. Dear book, it's not you, it's me...

Wrapping Up 2010

Goodbye 2010 – you were rather non-descript and un-exciting and I do not think I shall miss you. Hello 2011 – new and shiny, I hope you live up to the expectations.

Here is a wrap-up meme I found over at Book Memes and Quizzes on LiveJournal.

The first book you read in 2010: In its entirety: Past Secrets by Cathy Kelly

The last book you finished in 2010: Julemysteriet (The Christmas Mystery) by Jostein Gaarder

The first book you will finish (or did finish!) in 2011: Slottet i Pyreneene (The Castle in the Pyrenees) by Jostein Gaarder

Your favorite "classic" you read in 2010: Actually, I don't think I read any books that would classify as "classic" last year. Shame on me.

The book series you read the most volumes of in 2010: Nancy Drew Mysteries by Carolyn Keene (2)

The genre you read the most in 2010: Mystery/thrillers

The book that disappointed you: Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich

The book you liked better than you expected to: Ice Station by Matthew Reilly

The hardest book you read in 2010 (topic or writing style): Bad Debts by Peter Temple. Aussie slang is not always the easiest to understand.

The funniest book you read in 2010: The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz

The saddest book you read in 2010: The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle

The shortest book you read in 2010: Christmas in Harmony by Philip Gulley (84 pages)

The longest book you read in 2010: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (766 pages)

A book that you discovered in 2010 that you will definitely read again: The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore

A book that you never want to read again: The Burglar and the Blizzard by Alice Duer Miller

And finally, make a New Year's Resolution: I always make a general resolution to read more books in the new year than previous year, which means 38 or more for 2011. I will try to read 40 books this year.

Now on to the statistics (sorry, no fancy diagrams this time)!

I read a total of 37 books in 2010. I was hoping to reach 40, which would be a new record in recent years, but a busy December and a cold took care of that. Of these were 35 fiction and 2 non-fiction (I'm not sure everything in Constable Across the Moors by Nicholas Rhea is entirely true, but let us call it a semi-memoir). Yes, I read for entertainment.

I read 33 books in English (1 translated from German) and 4 in Norwegian. This explains why I did not have time to read more books, because after all I do read slower in a foreign language. The genre I read the most was mystery/thrillers with 15 books, followed by fantasy with 7 books.

For my top ten books of 2010, see my list for the Top Ten Tuesday meme.

Since the list of books read is not all that long, here it is complete with links to reviews:

1) The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
2) Past Secrets by Cathy Kelly
3) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
4) The 5 Greatest Warriors by Matthew Reilly
5) Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith
6) Heartbeat: Constable Across the Moors and Other Tales of a Yorkshire Village Bobby by Nicholas Rhea
7) Irish Girls About Town by Maeve Binchy, Marian Keyes, Cathy Kelly et al
8) The Spider Sapphire Mystery by Carolyn Keene
9) Det niende prinsipp by Gert Nygårdshaug
10) De dødes båt by Knut Nærum
11) Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler
12) Siste akt by Nils Nordberg & Klaus Hagerup
13) Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
14) Talk to the Hand by Lynne Truss
15) Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen
16) Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
17) Under Gemini by Rosamunde Pilcher
18) Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
19) Ice Station by Matthew Reilly 
20) The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
21) 16 Lighthouse Road by Debbie Macomber
22) Eleven On Top by Janet Evanovich
23) The Secret River by Kate Grenville
24) The Heretic's Treasure by Scott Mariani
25) The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle
26) The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
27) The Hot Rock by Donald E. Westlake
28) The Mystery of the 99 Steps by Carolyn Keene 
29) Bad Debts by Peter Temple
30) The Sevenfold Spell by Tia Nevitt 
31) 'Twas the Night by Sandra Hill, Kate Holmes, Trish Jensen
32) The Burglar and the Blizzard by Alice Duer Miller
33) Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
34) Christmas in Harmony by Philip Gulley
35) The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore
36) Christmas at The Mysterious Bookshop by Otto Penzled (ed.)
37) Julemysteriet (The Christmas Mystery) by Jostein Gaarder

On Writing

"Writing is no trouble: you just jot down ideas as they occur to you. The jotting is simplicity itself - it is the occurring which is difficult."
– Stephen Leacock

So true.

2010 Challenges Wrap-Up

2010 Aussie Author Challenge – FAILED

Hosted by Page Turners.
Because I joined late (May) I was trying for the Ankle Biter level of 4 books. Unfortunately I did not get into the last book, so I only read three:

1. Ice Station by Matthew Reilly (review)
2. The Secret River by Kate Grenville (review)
3. Bad Debts by Peter Temple (review)

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Spark-i-baken round 9 (BookCrossing) – COMPLETED 30/9-10

From the Scandinavian forum on BookCrossing.
The title of this challenge literally means "kick in the butt" and was created to well, give people a kick in the butt and get you reading. The rules were simple: Pick 10 books from your bookshelf and try to read them in six months. The challenge went from 1 April to 30 September 2010.

1. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris2. Under Gemini by Rosamunde Pilcher
3. Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
4. The Secret River by Kate Grenville
5. Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
6. Talk to the Hand by Lynne Truss
7. 16 Lighthouse Road by Debbie Macomber
8. Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler
9. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
10. Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen

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The Book Challenge (GoodReads) – PARTIALLY COMPLETED

This is a group on GoodReads where the members set their own reading goals for a year. My goal for 2010 was to read 35 books, 15 of which must be books I have received from BookCrossing. I read 37 books and exceeded my total goal with 2 books, but only 12 of them were BookCrossing books.

1. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
2. Past Secrets by Cathy Kelly
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
4. The 5 Greatest Warriors by Matthew Reilly
5. Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith
6. Heartbeat: Constable Across the Moors and Other Tales of a Yorkshire Village Bobby by Nicholas Rhea
7. (BC1) Irish Girls About Town by Maeve Binchy, Marian Keyes, Cathy Kelly et al
8. (BC2) The Spider Sapphire Mystery by Carolyn Keene
9. Det niende prinsipp by Gert Nygårdshaug
10. De dødes båt by Knut Nærum
11. (BC3) Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler
12. Siste akt by Nils Nordberg & Klaus Hagerup
13. (BC4) Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
14. (BC5) Talk to the Hand by Lynne Truss
15. (BC6) Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen
16. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
17. (BC7) Under Gemini by Rosamunde Pilcher
18. Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
19. Ice Station by Matthew Reilly
20. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
21. (BC8) 16 Lighthouse Road by Debbie Macomber
22. Eleven On Top by Janet Evanovich
23. (BC9) The Secret River by Kate Grenville
24. The Heretic's Treasure by Scott Mariani
25. (BC10) The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle
26. (BC11) The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
27. The Hot Rock by Donald E. Westlake
28. (BC12) The Mystery of the 99 Steps by Carolyn Keene
29. Bad Debts by Peter Temple
30. The Sevenfold Spell by Tia Nevitt
31. 'Twas the Night by Sandra Hill, Kate Holmes, Trish Jensen
32. The Burglar and the Blizzard by Alice Duer Miller
33. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
34. Christmas in Harmony by Philip Gulley
35. The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore
36. Christmas at The Mysterious Bookshop by Otto Penzled (ed.)
37. Julemysteriet (The Christmas Mystery) by Jostein Gaarder

2nds Challenge 2011

I was not planning on joining any more challenges this year, but after looking over my books, I think I can safely pull this one off.

 

The 2011 2nds Challenge is hosted by A Few More Pages, and is not just for second books in series, but also for the second time you have read a particular author.

Visit the challenge page to read the rules and sign up.

There are four levels, and I am aiming for the Just a spoonful level which is to read 3 books.

This is a tentative list of the books I would like to read:

1. Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz

2. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

3. Always and Forever by Cathy Kelly

Top Ten Tuesday - Books I Resolve To Read

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature / weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week we make a top ten list from a given topic.

This week's topic is

Top Ten Books I Resolve To Read In 2011

These are books I have been meaning to read for a long time now, but have just never found the right time. I can't promise I will get around to all of them this year, but I will do my best to read at least some of them.

1. Harry Potter 6 & 7 by J.K. Rowling. I must be the last person on earth who has not finished this series yet. Since I have only been reading about one HP book a year for the past 5-6 years I'm wondering if it would be better to start from the beginning again and read them all one after another rather than picking up number 6 and wondering what the heck happened in the first five.
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I know, I know. I have read excerpts in school, watched several movie and TV adaptions and started the book once, so I know the story well, but I have never actually read the whole thing.
3. Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch. I loved the first in the series, The Lies of Locke Lamora, and with the third book hopefully being released in 2011, I think it is about time I read this one.
4. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I started this one 4-5 years ago and read about 300 pages, but things happened and I put it away, fully intending to pick it up again at a later time. Well, I think that later time has come. Only thing is, I will probably have to start from the beginning again because I have forgotten a lot of what I read.
5. Sixty-One Nails by Mike Shevdon. I bought this on a whim when I was in Sydney a year ago, and I figure a book that has travelled with me around half the globe deserves to be read.
6. The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum. I need to read this before I forget everything that happened in The Bourne Identity.
7. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. This has been languishing on my shelf for far too long. And it has got pirates! Why haven't I read it yet??
8. The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett. I have heard a friend of mine raving about this for years, and I have it sitting on my shelf. Time to see if I agree with her.
9. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White. This is one of the books I do not want to leave on my shelf to collect dust, because I'm afraid that if I leave it too long, the urge to read it will fade, and I really do want to read it.
10. The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy by Douglas Adams. I have read the first two or three (I can't even remember that!) books in the five-book "trilogy", but I want to read them all from the beginning.

So what books do you resolve to read this year?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.

It's my first Monday post of the year and also the first in a while. December suddely got a lot busier than I had anticipated (as always) and of course I caught a nasty cold two days before Christmas and hardly had time to do the last of the cleaning, let alone read all the holiday books I had planned to. In fact, there were a lot of things I didn't get around to doing, but I will try again this year. :)

I had a good Christmas, though I spent most of it on my mother's couch coughing and eating chocolate (apparently chocolate helps ease a cough). I felt better after a couple of days, so I did get to finish three of the four books I had started in early December. This is what I have read lately:

The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore (review)
Christmas at The Mysterious Bookshop by Otto Penzler (ed.)
The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder
Slottet i Pyreneene (The Castle in the Pyrenees) by Jostein Gaarder

CURRENTLY READING
I am still reading Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher and savouring every word. I have also started Flaggermusmannen (The Bat Man) by Jo Nesbø last night. It is the first in the Harry Hole detective series, and so far it is quite good. It is set in Sydney which is great, because I have been to a lot of the places so I can easily picture everything.

WHAT'S NEXT
Heaven knows! I need to read Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir for a bookring, but my shelves are brimming with books I am dying to read: Sapphique by Catherine Fisher, Paranormalcy by Kiersten White, Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer, The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz... The list is endless!

Wishing you all a Happy New Bookish Year!