Sunday, January 3, 2010

2009 Reading Challenges

Okay, I didn't succeed in blogging about all my books. I really, really tried. I really did. But I realized that I'd rather read than write about what I read.

So on with my reading challenges. I started out the year with the intention to do a 50 book challenge. A friend, a fellow booklover who did a reading challenge with me in 2008 as well, and I decided to do the ABC Author challenge and the Genre challenge - reading 2 books from 12 different genres. I decided to up the ante by only recognizing new authors (authors I have never read before) for my ABC Author challenge.

As the year started, on one of the sites I frequent, I found out about the New York Bestseller's challenge and decided to go for that as well. I aimed for a 10 book goal.

Then as the year progressed, I had difficulty sticking to my challenges. I kept reading books that grabbed my interest - read books from authors I like; therefore not new to me. I soon realized that I read enough extra books to actually create a list for an ABC Title challenge. In that manner, I ended up with maintaining 4 challenges. I almost made it. I was shy one book for my ABC Title challenge. I was reading up to the last day of the year, but I fell asleep before I could finish the book and the year! I guess that's what happens when one reads well into the night for days in order to finish up a reading challenge! I'm not as young as I used to be and cannot keep up with all these late nights!

I am proud of what I was able to achieve. The book count, I believe, is at 101 books. I am not counting my childrens' books and books on CD.

This was a great year of reading for me.
- My New Author challenge forced me to read books from authors I am not familiar with. I confess that I am guilty to sticking with particular authors. Once I like an author I have tendency to read everything I can grab from them. I have read from at least 26 new authors last year. I know that is a first for me.
- I read a few classic which is something I have been wanting to do for some time but have been hesitant to commit to.
- I have begun reading an amazing series, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.
- I have been reading from genres that are out of my comfort zone - nonfiction, memoirs, classics and comedy.
- I have been introduced to new authors that I will definitely read from again - Katherine Howe, Cassandra Clare and Michelle Moran.
- I read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series in record time.
- I am part of two in real life book clubs that I actually keep up with.

Here's to hoping 2010 is just as good!

2009 New Author Challenge - DONE!!

  • Albert, Susan Wittig - Thyme of Death
  • Baer, Judy - The Baby Chronicles
  • Clark, Mary Jane - Lights Out Tonight
  • DuMaurier, Daphne - Rebecca
  • Everson, Eva Marie & Shepherd, Linda Evans - The Secret's in the Sauce
  • Fergus, Jim - One Thousand White Women
  • Gabaldon, Diana - Dragonfly in Amber
  • Harris, Charlaine - Dead Until Dark
  • Irving, John - The World According to Garp
  • Johansen, Iris & Roy - Silent Thunder
  • Kalogridis, Jeanne - I, Mona Lisa
  • Lutz, Lisa - The Spellman Files
  • Meyer, Stephenie -Twilight
  • Neill, Fiona - Slummy Mummy
  • Osborne, Denise - Positioned To Die
  • Pelecanos, George - The Turnaround
  • Quinn, Sherrill - Seducing the Moon
  • Roughan, Howard & Patterson, James - Sail
  • Scotch, Allison Winn - Time of My Life
  • Tyler, Anne - The Accidental Tourist
  • Updike, John - The Witches of Eastwick
  • Vanderbilt, Gloria - Obsession
  • Wilshire, Taylor - The Book of Mom
  • Xu, Xiaobin - Feathered Serpent
  • Yates, Richard - Revolutionary Road
  • Zutell, Irene - Pieces of Happily Ever After

2009 50 Book Challenge - Genre DONE!

  • Biography/Memoir - STori Telling by Tori Spelling
  • Biography/Memoir - What Time Is It? You Mean Now? by Yogi Berra
  • Chick Lit - Queen of Babble Getting Hitched by Meg Cabot
  • Chick Lit - Shopaholic and a Sister by Sophie Kinsella
  • Classic - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
  • Classic - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • General Fiction - A Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg
  • General Fiction - Firestorm by Iris Johansen
  • Historical Fiction - The Nature of Monsters by Clare Clark
  • Historical Fiction - The Other Queen by Phillipa Gregory
  • Horror - Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
  • Horror - Rose Madder by Stephen King
  • Humor/Comedy - Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
  • Humor/Comedy - The Yogi Book by Yogi Berra
  • Mystery/Thriller - Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
  • Mystery/Thriller - Death Walked In by Carolyn Hart
  • Nonfiction - Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli
  • Nonfiction - Marley & Me by John Grogan
  • Romance - Foul Play by Janet Evanovich
  • Romance - The Treasure by Iris Johansen
  • Sci-Fi/Fantasy - City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
  • Sci-Fi/Fantasy - The Dastard by Piers Anthony
  • Young Adult - New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
  • Young Adult - The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

NY Bestseller's Challenge DONE!

  • 2/6 Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke
  • 2/6 The Host by Stephenie Meyer
  • 3/1 The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
  • 3/25 Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
  • 3/25 Hold Tight by Harlen Coben
  • 3/25 Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
  • 4/20 Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
  • 4/3 The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
  • 6/15 Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
  • 7/17 The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

2009 Title Challenge :(

  • Alchemist, The by Paul Coelho
  • Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
  • Catered Christmas, A by Isis Crawford
  • Catered Murder, A by Isis Crawford
  • Catered Wedding, A by Isis Crawford
  • Cell by Stephen King
  • City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
  • City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
  • Diva Runs Out of Thyme, The by Krista Davis
  • Dragonwell Dead by Laura Childs
  • Espresso Shot by Cleo Coyle
  • Everyone worth knowing by Lauren Weisberger
  • Fire Kimono, The by Laura Joh Rowland
  • French Pressed by Cleo Coyle
  • Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The by Stieg Larsson
  • Heretic Queen, The by Michelle Moran
  • Immaculate Reception by Jerrilyn Farmer
  • Jed Hunter's Reluctant Bride by Susanne James
  • Killing Me Softly by Nicci French
  • Killer Smile by Lisa Scottoline
  • Laced by Carol Higgins Clark
  • Murder with Reservations - by Elaine Viets
  • Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
  • Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
  • Perils of Paella, The by Nancy Fairbanks
  • Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
  • Queen of Babble In the Big City by Meg Cabot
  • Red Chrysanthemum by Laura Joh Rowland
  • Scandal of the Season by Sophie Gee
  • Shopaholic and a Baby by Sophie Kinsella
  • Silver Needle Murder, The by Laura Child
  • Simmer Down by Jessica Conant-Park & Susan Conant
  • Steamed by Jessica Conant-Park & Susan Conant
  • The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
  • Truffled Feathers by Nancy Fairbanks
  • Up in a Heaval by Piers Anthony
  • Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
  • Way of the Traitor, The by Laura Joh Rowland
  • Wise Woman, The by Philippa Gregory
  • X, The Dangerous Days of Daniel by James Patterson
  • You Belong to Me by Johanna Lindsey
  • Zenith by Julie Bertagna - finally finished 1/5 :(


2009 Children's Books

  • The Case of the House of Horrors by Megan Stine
  • The Mystery of Monster Mountain by Robert Arthur
  • The Mystery of the Cranky Collector by M.V. Carey
  • The Mystery of the Kidnapped Whale by Robert Arthur
  • The Mystery of the Silver Spider by Robert Arthur
  • The Mystery of the Two Toed Pigeon by Marc Arthur
  • The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure by Robert Arthur
  • The Secret of Skeleton Island by Robert Arthur

Books on CD

  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
  • The Little Giant of Aberdeen County

No comments: