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