Sunday, December 06, 2009

Week In Review


Random Thoughts

I am posting today after all! I was cleaning up my sidebars to get ready for next year and decided to wrap-up a couple of challenges. So, this post was born!

It snowed last night. Our first significant snowfall of the year, actually. Well, actually, it snowed in January, February, and March; but you know what I mean. I am both happy about the snow and not. At least it wasn't enough to shovel, but soon shoveling will start and I was so sick of shoveling last year! It was never-ending! I am not anymore excited about it this year. They are saying there is not going to be a lot of snow, but you really never know. I hope it doesn't snow on New Years this year. We had a snowstorm last year and I want to do something this year.

Challenge Wrap-Up

I am getting my sidebar ready for 2010, but first I wasn't sure if I have wrapped up all the challenges that end up on December 31. Many I finished a long time ago and stopped keeping track of, but I still have the 2009 Pub Challenge and Herding Cats on my sidebar. I have also finished The Arthurian Reading Challenge. I might keep it on the sidebar, though, because it doesn't wrap-up until March and I might read a few more books that count for it.

2009 Pub Challenge - The object was to read 9 books published in 2009. Young adult were not allowed because it is a Pub. My list:
1. Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong 01/27/09
2. Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs02/03/09
3. Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin 02/17/09
4. Storm Glass by Maria Snyder 05/01/09
5. The City and The City by China Mieville 5/26/09
6. I Met the Walrus by Jerry Levitan 05/04/09
7. The Blue Notebook by James A. Levine 07/07/09
8. The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman 06/02/09
9. Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear 02/17/09

I enjoyed all the books I read for this challenge. The Armstrong, Briggs, Franklin, Snyder, and Winspear were books in series that I really enjoy. The only two authors that were new to me were Jerry Levitan and James A. Levine. The rest I have read other books by. I don't know if I can pick a favourite because several of those books will probably make my best of list for the year.

Herding Cats Challenge - This challenge ran from April 1st to December 31st. The challenge asked for 5 books, but I read 9 that would count.
1. One Piece: Romance Dawn by Eiichiro Oda
2. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
3. Nation by Terry Pratchett
4. Skellig by David Almond
5. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
6. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
7. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
8. Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest
9. Marcelo In the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

Another list of books that I really enjoyed! They all had something about them that I enjoyed, so I am glad that I read them. I didn't not like any of them, which is always good. As opposed to the list above, there were more new-to-me authors than ones I had read before. The only authors I had read before were Terry Pratchett and Diana Wynne Jones.

Printz Project

The Printz Project is an on-going project. So far for it I have read 17 books. I hope to read a lot more next year. I had more out from the library, but ended up returning them unread. For those interested in what I have read so far my list is as follows:

Jellicoe Road by Melinda Marchetta - 2009 winner
Nation by Terry Pratchett - 2009 nominee
Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins - 2008 nominee
Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill - 2008 nominee
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yung - 2007 winner
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation; Volume 1: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson - 2007 nominee
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green - 2007 nominee
Looking for Alaska by John Green - 2006 winner
how i live now by Meg Rosoff - 2005 winner
The First Part Last by Angela Johnson - 2004 winner
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly - 2004 nominee
A Step From Heaven by An Na - 2002 winner
Kit's Wilderness by David Almond - 2001 winner
Monster by Walter Dean Myers - 2000 winner
Skellig by David Almond - 2000 nominee
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - 2000 nominee
Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger - 2000 nominee

Advent Calendar

Don't forget about the Virtual Advent! It started December 1st, but it is not too late to join up for days that haven't happened yet. Be sure and follow along even if you are not planning to post anything.

Weekly Reads

I missed last week. In the last two weeks I have only managed to read the following:

Obasan by Joy Kogawa - For the Japanese and Canadian Reading Challenge. It is about the Japanese treatment in Canada during World War II. I both liked it and didn't... I was interested in the subject matter, but I wasn't crazy about Kogawa's writing method.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters - Loved this book!

The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt - I am so happy that I read this book. It took me FOREVER! I just can't read chunksters from the library. It was my first Byatt and I both loved it and didn't.

Nova Scotia Book of Musts: The 101 Places Every Nova Scotian MUST See by Allan Lynch - I have been to a lot of the places mentioned, but I still have places to see! It was a very interesting book. I think I might buy my own copy.

Bone - Volume 3: Eyes of the Storm by Jeff Smith - The third book in the Bone series. I really enjoy this series! I think it is going to be next year before I read book 4. There is only one copy of that one and the list is rather long.

The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay - Okay, didn't like this book, but I have read Guy Gavriel Kay now! I discovered I was reading it but I was not retaining anything. I doubt I will read the sequels, but I do plan to try something else by him in 2010.

Truckers by Terry Pratchett - My first read for the Terry Pratchett 2010 Reading Challenge. I liked other books by him better, but I do plan to read the rest of the trilogy.

The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron - I was actually looking for a graphic novel by her, but this won the Newbery and I had been meaning to read it for a while. It was pretty good, actually!

My reading has slowed down! It's rather depressing...

Library Loot

Where I skipped a week this is a bit messed up. I will organize and post one next week, though! I think I might post a list of all the books I have out from the library.

Sunday Book Coveting

Next week I plan to start brain-storming what I am going to buy with Christmas gift cards. I get the same amount every year, so that means I can start choosing now!

10 comments:

  1. Wow, good work! I can't wait to see your review of The Children's Book after seeing what you wrote about it. And GOOD JOB on reading some GGK- I've never read his Arthurian trilogy, but I've heard a lot of people don't like him. I hope you go for Lions of Al-Rassan as I think you'd like that one. I will get Teresa Edgerton in the mail to you soon after the holiday rush of mail ends (I DO NOT want to lose those books in the mail and our mail service sucks here.) Send me your address, please! :-)

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  2. I have Byatt's Possession on my shelves and have to admit I've put it down at least twice so far. I can't seem to get into the writing. Although to be fair, I've only read 15 pages or so. Did you find the same with your Byatt read?

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  3. Ohhh - I love the icicles photo :]

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  4. Anonymous6:52 PM

    Now see, I'm one of those people who loved The Fionavar Tapestry by GGK (The Summer Tree was my favourite). I tried reading another one of his books and I just couldn't get through it, though. Was it the plotline or his writing style that threw you off?

    It snowed here too, and it was horrible driving in it to work this morning. At least it's stopped now.

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  5. I want some snow!!! So bad :( We never get snow...*pouts* You're doing awesome on the Printz challenge!! I really need to play catch up with that one!!

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  6. I'm so jealous! I want snow! We were supposed to get some this evening, but it doesn't look like that is happening. We have another chance in a couple of days. I'm crossing my fingers.

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  7. You "only" read that many books this week?! You're funny. :)

    Sounds like a great week. We don't have snow here yet, but it's very cold.

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  8. Sorry to hear Joy Kogawa's writing didn't quite work for you! I really loved Obasan when I read it a couple of years ago.

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  9. Wow great wrap up! I plan on doing this sometime this week too and then I've got a ton of challenges I want to sign up for next year... *sigh*

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  10. We've only had measurable snow once this season so far, too. They say we'll be get some tonight, but just a few inches.

    I can't believe how many of the Printz books you've read...I'm envious! But then when aren't I envious when it comes to your reading? :P

    And Kelly, can I just tell you what a huge smile it put on my face hearing that plotting and planning what to buy with your Christmas gift cards already. :D

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