I’m suspending Fiction Friday today because it’s July 1st, halfway through the year, and I want to update on my reading challenges. So far, I’m having success–I’ve found some fun new series, enjoyed a variety of fairy tale retellings, and have knocked off some classics that I’ve been meaning to read for years. Things slowed down for almost every challenge this quarter, but I’m still on track for halfway through the year.
The one I’m just barely keeping up with is the library challenge. I’m still at the library weekly, but I’ve also been borrowing stacks of books from friends…which is great fun, but not helpful for the challenge!
Linked titles go to my review of the book. If you see something you’re curious about that doesn’t have a review, let me know! If I don’t feel like I have enough to say for a full post, I’ll at least let you know what I thought in a reply-comment.
Here’s what I’ve read so far (books prior to the end of March, my last update, are in a lighter shade):
Hosted by A Few More Pages. Goal: “Series Expert,” read 12 books that are first in a series.
R) Sarah’s Story by Ruth Elwin Harris
R) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
1) Foundation by Isaac Asimov
2) The Children of Green Knowe by L. M. Boston
3) The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
4) The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
5) The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
6) The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines
7) The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
8 ) Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (review coming soon!)
Hosted by Stiletto Storytime. Goal: read fifteen “classic” books (and I have it direct from the organizer that sci fi and children’s count!)
R) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
1) Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
2) Foundation by Isaac Asimov
3) Trilby by George du Maurier
4) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
5) The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
R) Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
6) The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare
7) The Call of the Wild by Jack London
8 ) Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
9) The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
Hosted by Among the Muses. Goal: Enchanted level, read 6-9 books that are inspired in some way by fairy tales.
R) Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley (Sleeping Beauty)
R) Beauty by Robin McKinley (Beauty and the Beast)
1) Ice by Sarah Beth Durst (Cupid and Psyche / East of the Sun)
2) The Rose Bride by Nancy Holder (The White Bride and the Black Bride–it’s in Grimm)
3) Castle Waiting by Linda Medley (Sleeping Beauty)
R) The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde (Rumpelstiltskin)
4) Cloaked in Red by Vivian Vande Velde (Little Red Riding Hood)
5) Straw into Gold by Gary D. Schmidt (Rumpelstiltskin)
R) Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones (Tam Lin)
6) Sleeping Helena by Erzebot Yellowboy (Sleeping Beauty)
7) The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines (mostly Cinderella, plus Snow White and Sleeping Beauty)
Hosted by Home Girl’s Book Blog. Goal: read 100 books from the library.
1) Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier
2) Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix
3) Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley
4) Looking for Marco Polo by Alan Armstrong
5) Stolen by Vivian Vande Velde
6) Enter Three Witches by Caroline B. Cooney
7) The Blue Shoe by Roderick Townley
8 ) Skating Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
9) Beauty by Robin McKinley
10) The Twisted Window by Lois Duncan
11) Ice by Sarah Beth Durst
12) Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson
13) Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
14) Golden and Grey: A Good Day for Haunting by Louise Arnold
15) The Rose Bride by Nancy Holder
16) Castle Waiting by Linda Medley
17) The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde
18) The Umbrella Man and other stories by Roald Dahl
19) Familiar and Haunting by Philippa Pearce
20) The Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig
21) The Girl with the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts
22) The Children of Green Knowe by L. M. Boston
23) The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie
24) Cloaked in Red by Vivian Vande Velde
25) Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones
26) Little Sister by Kara Dalkey
27) The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
28) Straw into Gold by Gary D. Schmidt
29) The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
30) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
31) The Heavenward Path by Kara Dalkey
32) The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
33) Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
34) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
35) Among Others by Jo Walton
36) Growing Up with the Impressionists: The Diary of Julie Manet
37) Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
38) The Seven Towers by Patricia C. Wrede
39) Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard
40) The Masque of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig
41) Sleeping Helena by Erzebet Yellowboy
42) The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines
43) The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
44) Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
45) Aesop’s Fables
46) The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender (review coming soon!)
47) The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
48) Bunnicula Strikes Again by James Howe
49) The Soul of Kindness by Elizabeth Taylor
50) The Making of a Marchioness by Frances Hodgson Burnett
51) Runaway by Meg Cabot
52) How I Stole Johnny Depp’s Alien Girlfriend by Gary Ghislain
Jeepers! That is ALOT of books! Good work!
🙂 Thanks! I read quickly…
How I Stole Johnny Depp’s Alien Girlfriend
Wha…?
Ah, I see you zeroed in on the bizarrest title… 🙂 Weirdly enough, it more or less is about what it sounds like. The narrator’s father is a child psychiatrist, and his newest patient, Zelda, is a teenage girl who’s convinced she’s an alien; she’s come to Earth looking for her Chosen One–who happens to be Johnny Depp. As it turns out, she really is an alien, and the narrator, David, gets pulled into helping her.
The concept of the alien-ness is interesting, and my being a huge Depp fan made me really enjoy that aspect of things. However. Zelda is completely horrible to David–mean, rude, total disregard for him in every way–for most of the book, but he’s desperate to stay with her and to help her. Because, by the way, she’s beautiful. He’s a fourteen year old boy so I won’t say I find it implausible exactly, but it still isn’t a fun relationship to read about. There’s also a plot twist near the end that I found totally inappropriate for a YA book, so that didn’t help.
Conclusion: it’s one of those enjoyable-in-some-ways-but-also-seriously-flawed books. Awesome title, though!
Hah, what an odd premise.
I stopped by your blog today.
Ann
Looks like you are right on track! Congrats! Just posted a half-way point challenge post too!
Courtney
Stiletto Storytime
Congrats on meeting your reading challenge so far!