This:
It seems as if it's been a while since I've awarded blame points, but I've got a few to dole out today.
Dewey actually walks away with three this time! I ordered An Age of Extremes and War, Peace, and All That Jazz by Joy Hakim from a series she recommended for home schooling. (Thanks Dewey--they look fabulous!) And while I first added The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett to my wish list after hearing about it on NPR, it was reading Dewey's review that made me finally order it. Really putting the pressure on Nymeth now, aren't you?
Chris earns a point with his review of Dream Homes: From Cairo to Katrina, An Exile's Journey by Joyce Zonana. I never really thought much about reading memoirs before, but I've read a handful this year and found I really enjoy them. This one just arrived on my doorstop and it certainly sounds like a good one!
Finally, Carl earns a point for Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 by David Petersen. I've had this on my wish list taunting me for over a year now ever since reading Carl's review. How did I finally justify buying it? I got it for Annie for Christmas. :)
*****
That:
Just want to remind everyone that if they participated and finished Annie's What's in A Name Challenge this year, they should pop over here and leave a comment to be entered in for the Amazon gift certificate drawing. (Sorry to keep bringing it up, I just don't want anyone to miss out.)
Showing posts with label What's in a Name reading challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label What's in a Name reading challenge. Show all posts
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Saturday, November 01, 2008
over already?!!
I can't believe how fast RIP III went by. I don't think I'm ready to let go just yet. But anyway, many, many thanks to Carl, challenge host extraordinaire, for yet another wonderful experience!
Though I didn't read nearly as many books as some, I did actually manage to meet my stated goals, plus a few extras.
*The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
*We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
*Dracula by Bram Stoker
*Daphne du Maurier's Classics of the Macabre
*The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
*The Floods: Good Neighbors by Colin Thompson
*The Witches by Roald Dahl
Only one was a disappointment (The Floods)...the rest were all truly wonderful! A few are likely to make my top ten list for the year.
Oh, and as I was linking up some reviews on my challenge blog, I noticed that I actually finished Becky's Initial Challenge as well. I know I changed my status to "unofficial" for most challenges, but it still feels mighty good to have actually finished. Thanks, Becky!
And while I'm talking about reading challenges, let me mention Annie's What's In a Name 2 challenge. (And yes, I'll probably bring it up another half a dozen times before it starts.) Anyway, it's actually a pretty easy challenge to complete, so I hope you'll think about joining in!
By the way, anyone who has completed this year's What's In a Name Challenge should pop over to this post and leave a comment so you can be entered in the final contest (Annie's giving away a $20.00 Amazon gift certificate to one person who completes the challenge and answers the question on the post).
Well, it's going to be tough to get in my computer time during the coming month...Annie started NaNoWriMo this morning, so I imagine she'll be hogging the computer. But I guess I have to forgive her, as her computer usage will be far more productive than mine ever is. :)
She wasn't technically allowed to join as an adult, which means her site won't be open for outsiders to view, so I think she plans to do a post on her blog each day updating her progress. Keep your fingers crossed for her...she set her goal at 50,000 words again. And good luck to any of you other brave, ambitious souls who are participating as well!
Though I didn't read nearly as many books as some, I did actually manage to meet my stated goals, plus a few extras.
*The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
*We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
*Dracula by Bram Stoker
*Daphne du Maurier's Classics of the Macabre
*The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
*The Floods: Good Neighbors by Colin Thompson
*The Witches by Roald Dahl
Only one was a disappointment (The Floods)...the rest were all truly wonderful! A few are likely to make my top ten list for the year.
Oh, and as I was linking up some reviews on my challenge blog, I noticed that I actually finished Becky's Initial Challenge as well. I know I changed my status to "unofficial" for most challenges, but it still feels mighty good to have actually finished. Thanks, Becky!
And while I'm talking about reading challenges, let me mention Annie's What's In a Name 2 challenge. (And yes, I'll probably bring it up another half a dozen times before it starts.) Anyway, it's actually a pretty easy challenge to complete, so I hope you'll think about joining in!
By the way, anyone who has completed this year's What's In a Name Challenge should pop over to this post and leave a comment so you can be entered in the final contest (Annie's giving away a $20.00 Amazon gift certificate to one person who completes the challenge and answers the question on the post).
Well, it's going to be tough to get in my computer time during the coming month...Annie started NaNoWriMo this morning, so I imagine she'll be hogging the computer. But I guess I have to forgive her, as her computer usage will be far more productive than mine ever is. :)
She wasn't technically allowed to join as an adult, which means her site won't be open for outsiders to view, so I think she plans to do a post on her blog each day updating her progress. Keep your fingers crossed for her...she set her goal at 50,000 words again. And good luck to any of you other brave, ambitious souls who are participating as well!
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
just a quick heads up
Just thought I'd let everyone participating in Annie's challenge know that she has March's contest question posted.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
babbling, mostly about books
Just the other day, Max sat scratching his little legs and said to me, "I hate winter! It's itchy and I can't ride my bike."
While I'm right there with him on the whole issue of dry winter skin, I really couldn't disagree more about winter in general. I've always loved winter. Heck, I love each and every season. But dang, this winter has been a real let-down. We've just had so little of the beautiful white flakes this year. They're saying that the storm that's arriving now should leave us with 12-16" by tomorrow morning, but at this point I'm not holding my breath. Crossing my fingers, yes, but not holding my breath.
But snow is not supposed to be the subject of this post. Books are. Book reviews, specifically. I'd really like to get caught up. Ah, but first I must admit failure in Kailana's Four-Legged Friends Reading Challenge. But failure's relative, right? I did read two pretty darn enjoyable books because of this challenge (Charlotte's Web and The Tale of Despereaux). Oooh, if I stick in Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM (which wasn't on my list, but I did read) for Ginger Pye (which was on my list, but I didn't read), I could really count this as a "win"...but I guess that's kinda cheating at this point, huh? Anyway, thank you Kailana for a wonderful challenge!
Hmmm...what can I ramble on about now to get out of these blasted book reviews? Yes, I'm pathetic. Truly pathetic.
Oh O.K.--I Was a Rat, by Philip Pullman. Loved this book! Loved, loved, loved it! It was so utterly charming! I knew that Annie and I had to read this one for our fairy tale exploration after reading Nymeth's wonderful review. Yes, it is a fairy tale retold. But no, I won't tell you which one. You really don't want the surprise ruined, do you?
The story begins with the arrival of a little boy to the door of Bob and Joan, an older childless couple. Bob, a cobbler, and Joan, a washerwoman, had always wanted a child, but it just never happened for them. The little boy knocked on their door and announced, "I was a rat." No explanation, just "I was a rat."
Roger, as the couple starts calling him, is a sweet, lovable fellow, but one who tends to gnaw the most unusual things. And he has a knack for landing himself in trouble, though really through no fault of his own. When Roger first shows up on their doorstep, Bob and Joan try to do the right thing and find out where this little guy belongs. They try the police and the hospital, but really get nowhere with a host of very unhelpful people. The dear couple without openly discussing it, just take Roger in as their own. But then trouble strikes and Roger is lost. He encounters a host of quite unscrupulous characters, before Bob and Joan once again find him. And even then Roger isn't safe...it takes a princess to come to the rescue (this is a fairy tale, after all).
As I said, it is an utterly charming book. Perfectly delightful.
Though not my original choice, this book is filling in the animal category for Annie's What's In a Name Challenge. It also fulfills another slot in Ariel's Unread Authors Challenge...can you believe this is the first Philip Pullman book I've read (shame on me!). And last but not least, this will fill in the "I title" slot in Joy's A-Z Challenge.
Well, damn. Once again, I really wanted to get caught up on my reviews, and once again, I just can't seem to do it. Guess I'm only good for one at a time. There's always tomorrow, right?
While I'm right there with him on the whole issue of dry winter skin, I really couldn't disagree more about winter in general. I've always loved winter. Heck, I love each and every season. But dang, this winter has been a real let-down. We've just had so little of the beautiful white flakes this year. They're saying that the storm that's arriving now should leave us with 12-16" by tomorrow morning, but at this point I'm not holding my breath. Crossing my fingers, yes, but not holding my breath.
But snow is not supposed to be the subject of this post. Books are. Book reviews, specifically. I'd really like to get caught up. Ah, but first I must admit failure in Kailana's Four-Legged Friends Reading Challenge. But failure's relative, right? I did read two pretty darn enjoyable books because of this challenge (Charlotte's Web and The Tale of Despereaux). Oooh, if I stick in Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM (which wasn't on my list, but I did read) for Ginger Pye (which was on my list, but I didn't read), I could really count this as a "win"...but I guess that's kinda cheating at this point, huh? Anyway, thank you Kailana for a wonderful challenge!
Hmmm...what can I ramble on about now to get out of these blasted book reviews? Yes, I'm pathetic. Truly pathetic.
Oh O.K.--I Was a Rat, by Philip Pullman. Loved this book! Loved, loved, loved it! It was so utterly charming! I knew that Annie and I had to read this one for our fairy tale exploration after reading Nymeth's wonderful review. Yes, it is a fairy tale retold. But no, I won't tell you which one. You really don't want the surprise ruined, do you?
The story begins with the arrival of a little boy to the door of Bob and Joan, an older childless couple. Bob, a cobbler, and Joan, a washerwoman, had always wanted a child, but it just never happened for them. The little boy knocked on their door and announced, "I was a rat." No explanation, just "I was a rat."
Roger, as the couple starts calling him, is a sweet, lovable fellow, but one who tends to gnaw the most unusual things. And he has a knack for landing himself in trouble, though really through no fault of his own. When Roger first shows up on their doorstep, Bob and Joan try to do the right thing and find out where this little guy belongs. They try the police and the hospital, but really get nowhere with a host of very unhelpful people. The dear couple without openly discussing it, just take Roger in as their own. But then trouble strikes and Roger is lost. He encounters a host of quite unscrupulous characters, before Bob and Joan once again find him. And even then Roger isn't safe...it takes a princess to come to the rescue (this is a fairy tale, after all).
As I said, it is an utterly charming book. Perfectly delightful.
Though not my original choice, this book is filling in the animal category for Annie's What's In a Name Challenge. It also fulfills another slot in Ariel's Unread Authors Challenge...can you believe this is the first Philip Pullman book I've read (shame on me!). And last but not least, this will fill in the "I title" slot in Joy's A-Z Challenge.
Well, damn. Once again, I really wanted to get caught up on my reviews, and once again, I just can't seem to do it. Guess I'm only good for one at a time. There's always tomorrow, right?
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Annie's challenge
I know lots of you are participating in the What's in a Name? Challenge. For which I would like to say a huge thank you, by the way! She is so incredibly excited about all the people who have signed up, and she's particularly happy about all people she "knows" who have joined. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that she posted her first little mini-contest thingie today, so be sure to stop over.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
how could I say "no"
I'm signing up for another reading challenge. I know, you're all shocked, aren't you? Ha. But come on, no one can blame me for this one...Annie's hosting it! She's been wanting to do this for a while, so we finally decided to go ahead and give it a shot. I actually think her concept is kind of fun. The name of the challenge is "What's in a Name?"...but if you want to find out more about it, you'll have to head on over to read about it.
Now, I guess I should be off to come up with a list...
Now, I guess I should be off to come up with a list...
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