Tag: Reading Challenges

November News and RIP VIII Wrap-up

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations15 Comments

Here we are at the beginning of November…with all sorts of things happening today!

It’s the third anniversary of Tales of the Marvelous.  Thank you to all of you for making blogging so much fun for the last three years!

It’s the beginning of NaNoWriMo (that’s National Novel Writing Month).  I participated for the last two years, but I’m skipping this year, so that I can concentrate on publishing (!) and because I need to work on revising existing drafts for a while, instead of starting new ones!  Huge good luck to all the intrepid writers going on the NaNo journey this year.  Sending lots of good writing vibes!

RIP8main400And it’s time to wrap-up the Readers Imbibing Peril experience!  It’s been a fun two months of shadowy reads and especially of shadowy movies.

I read most of the books I planned on, although I never got to Doyle and Christie–but I did get a couple other spooky reads off my TBR list.

The surprise of the event was movies.  I didn’t have any plans along those lines, but I watched Sunset Boulevard on a whim near the beginning of September…which put me in a Hitchcock mood (even though it isn’t Hitchcock) and then I found myself on a Hitchcock/film noir kick!

So here’s what I wound up with:

Peril on Screen:

Did you enjoy some shadowy reading or viewing this year?  I’d love to hear about it!

And meanwhile, I’ll be starting to stack up my sci fi for January’s* Science Fiction Experience… 🙂  See you there!

*Correction: change this year, December’s!

2013 Reading Challenges – Three-Quarters

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations1 Comment

The close of September snuck up on me this year!  But somehow we’re three-quarters of the way through 2013, so it’s time for an update on reading challenges…

All links go to reviews, faded text indicates it was a previous quarter (except for series–too complicated to separate) and if you’re curious about any unreviewed books, just ask! Continue reading “2013 Reading Challenges – Three-Quarters” →

Into the Dark of the Night…

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations48 Comments

RIP8main400My favorite source for reading experiences is kicking off another seasonal challenge: Stainless Steel Droppings is hosting Readers Imbibing Peril (RIP) celebrating autumn with books on the darker side.  This laid-back reading challenge focuses on mysteries, gothic and horror.  Even squeamish-me is looking forward to the fun!

I must admit, this doesn’t align with my favorite genres with quite the serendipitous perfection of the Sci Fi Experience or the Once Upon a Time Challenge, but I do like a good mystery now and then, and I have a few shadowy novels in mind. Continue reading “Into the Dark of the Night…” →

2013 Reading Challenges – Halfway Mark

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations6 Comments

The end of June marks the midpoint of the year, which of course means it’s time for an update on reading challenges…

All links go to reviews, and if you’re curious about any unreviewed books, just ask!

The Chunkster Challenge

In my efforts to overcome my fear of long books, I’m trying to read some of the intimidating ones I’ve been putting off…

1) Walden by Henry David Thoreau (audio)

2) Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (reviews Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3)

3) The House on Durrow Street by Galen Beckett

4) The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien

5) The Master of Heathcrest Hall by Galen Beckett

My goal was one chunkster a month, which went slightly awry when it turned out that The Two Towers and Return of the King are not as long as I always thought!  But since the real goal was to finally read intimidating books, I’m calling that good anyway…

FTSRC

Finishing the Series

I’ve been trying since last year to finish the many series I was midway through, and I’m making some good progress…

1) The Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig
Total books: 9 (to date)
When I began the series: February, 2011
Read prior to 2013: 7
Read in 2013: The Orchid Affair, The Garden Intrigue
Status: Up to date, until the next one comes out in August

2) Ender’s Game series by Orson Scott Card
Total books: 4
When I began the series: February, 2012
Read prior to 2013: 1
Read in 2013: Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind
Status: Complete–kind of!
So this is funny–it’s complicated counting how many books are in the Ender series, because there’s a second, connected series, and a few scattered items that fit in as well.  I’ve decided to reduce my focus (for now at least) to just the original Ender quartet.  I may eventually come back and read the other six or eight related books…

3) The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
Total books: 2 (to date)
When I began the series: June, 2012
Read prior to 2013: 1
Read in 2013: Scarlet
Status: Up to date!

4) Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier
Total books: 6
When I began the series: June, 2010
Read prior to 2013: 3
Read in 2013: Heir to Sevenwaters, Seer of Sevenwaters
Still to read: 1

5) The Mrs. Quent Trilogy by Galen Beckett
Total books: 3
When I began the series: September, 2012
Read prior to 2013: 1
Read in 2013: The House on Durrow Street, The Master of Heathcrest Hall
Status: Complete!

Books to Reread

Revisiting Old Friends

I’ve also been resolving to reread some beloved books, and since many of them are fantasy, I made good progress during Once Upon a Time.  Revisited favorites include:

1) Pat of Silver Bush and Mistress Pat by L. M. Montgomery

2) A Voice from the Border by Pamela Smith Hill

3) Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

4) Star Trek: Federation by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

5) Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

6) Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

7) Chalice by Robin McKinley

8) The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine

9) The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

10) The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

11) Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier

12) The Princess Bride by William Goldman

13) The Crystal Gryphon by Andre Norton

14) Gryphon in Glory by Andre Norton

The plan this year was to be relatively low-key with the challenges, mostly to open up some space for all those big thick intimidating books.  Which has worked, since, after all, I read Lord of the Rings!  But long books have rather thoroughly occupied my reading focus recently, so I’m planning on an increasingly low-key summer to do a little more random reading…at least in theory.  I’ll have another update at the end of September!

…and They All Lived Happily Ever After

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations7 Comments

Summer is starting, meaning all sorts of things, but also marking the end of the Once Upon a Time “challenge” for another year.  As always, I had loads of fun reading fantasy, and seeing what everyone else read.  I’m feeling particularly happy, because I managed to complete some long-standing goals…

Here’s a round-up of my reading and viewing for the season.  (R) designates a reread (not a rating!), and links go to reviews.

Total: 21 books, half reread and half new-to-me.  Since one of my goals for the year is to reread favorites, I’m calling that a win.  The big accomplishment, of course, was reading Lord of the Rings for the first time, and I’m very happy I got the extra push to finally do that!  Thank you to everyone who was so encouraging, and for all your great discussion as I read. 🙂

I had sort of hoped to make some progress on my fantasy-heavy TBR list and…well, that didn’t happen at all.  And instead I added to it, by looking at the great things other people were reading.  Ah well…what’s the summer for, after all?

Thank you everyone who came along for the quest!  And do stick around–the reading won’t be ending here!