tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29360807800924280022024-02-02T01:24:27.161-08:00Reading to Fill in the Spacesin between the lost pieces Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-54119704572679854202014-12-19T13:02:00.000-08:002015-08-29T17:51:03.736-07:00Goodwill Librarian Reading Challenge 2015My sisters, mom and a cousin decided to do a challenge from Goodwill Librarian this year. I am always up for a good challenge that will help whittle down my TBR pile. This one really hits the classics, so I am a little worried I won't finish all 52 of them, but still I will have less than I do right now. So I am going to skip the Alphabet Challenge this year and go with these books.<br />
<br />
<br />
A book with more than 500 pages - <i>North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell</i><br />
<b>A classic romance - <i>The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer</i></b><br />
A book that became a movie - <i>Unbroken</i> by Laura Hillenbrand<br />
<b>A book published this year - <i>The Angel Court Affair</i> by Anne Perry</b><br />
<b>A book with a number in the title - <i>Walk Two Moons</i> by Sharon Creech</b><br />
A book written by someone under 30 - <i>The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy </i>by Douglas Adams<br />
<i><b>A book with nonhuman characters - The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis</b></i><br />
<b>A funny book - <i>My Man Jeeves</i> by PG Wodehouse</b><br />
A book by a female author - <i>The Pieces We Keep</i> by Kristina McMorris<br />
A mystery or thriller - Blood on the Water by Anne Perry<br />
<b>A book with a one-word title - <i>Lost</i> by Jacqueline Davies</b><br />
A book of short stories - The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien<br />
<b>A book set in a different country - <i>Cry the Beloved Country</i> by Alan Paton</b><br />
<i>A nonfiction book - Stiff: The Curious Lives Human Cadavers by Mary Roach</i><br />
A popular author's first book - The Kite Runner by Khaled Hossenini<br />
<b>A book, no yet read, from an author you love - <i>The Good, the Bad, and the Emus</i> by Donna Andrews</b><br />
<b>A book a friend recommended - <i>The Invention of Wings</i> by Sue Monk Kidd</b><br />
A Pulitzer Prize winning book - <i>So Big by Edna Ferber</i><br />
A book based on a true story - The Eighty-Dollar Champion Dollar by Elizabeth Letts<br />
A book at the bottom of your to-read list - <i>Wild Swans: Three Daughter of China by Jung Chang</i><br />
A book your mom loves - Aunt Dimity and the Wishing Well by Nancy Atherton<br />
<b>A book that scares you<i> - Jesus the Christ by James E Talmage</i></b><br />
A book more than 100 years old - <i>Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggins</i><br />
<b>A book based entirely on its cover -<i> Chains</i> by Laurie Halse Anderson</b><br />
A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't - <i>Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy</i><br />
<b>A memoir - <i>The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion</i></b><br />
<b>A book you can finish in a day - <i>The Outsiders</i> by S E Hinton</b><br />
<b>A book with antonyms in the title - <i>BitterSweet</i> by Shawna Niequist</b><br />
A book set somewhere you'be always wanted to visit - My Life in France by Julia Child<br />
<b>A book that came out the year you were born - <i>Christy</i> by Catherine Marshall</b><br />
A book with bad reviews - Tiger Babies Strike Back by Kim Wong Keltner<br />
<i>A trilogy - The Night Trilogy by Elie Wiesel</i><br />
A book from your childhood - Frog and Toad Together by Andrew Lobel<br />
A book with a love triangle - Wither by<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"><span itemprop="name"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lauren DeStefano</span></span></span><br />
A book set in the future - The Time Machine HG Wells<br />
A book set in high school - Identical by Ellen Hopkins<br />
A book with a color in the title - The Blue Cat of Castle Town by Catherine Cate Coblenz<br />
A book that made you cry - <i>Where the Broken Lie</i> by Derek Rempfer<br />
<b>A book with magic - <i>Fog Magic</i> by Julia L Sauer</b><br />
<b>A graphic novel - <i>Smile</i> by Raina Telgemeier</b><br />
A book by an author you've never read before - The Girls from Atomic City by Denise Kiernan<br />
A book you own but have never read - <i>A Case of Imagination by Jane Tesh</i><br />
<b>A book that takes place in your hometown - <i>Rock Springs by Russel L Tanner</i></b><br />
<b>A book that was originally written in a different language- <i>The Little Prince</i> by Antoine de Saint Exupery</b><br />
A book set during Christmas - Searching for David's Heart by Cherie Bennett<br />
A book written by an author with your same initials - <i>Once Blind: The Life of John Newton</i> by Kay Strom<br />
A play - The Man Who Came to Dinner by Moss Hart<br />
A banned book - A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway<br />
A book based on or turned into a TV show - <i>Anne of Green Gables </i>by LM Montgomery<br />
A book you started but never finished - The Book Thief by Markus Zukas<br />
<br />
PS This is it. I have around a 100 books chosen for challenges. I currently average a 100 books a year. I am feeling a bit concerned that my eyes are bigger than my reading time will allow, but...<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-1552687508773144912014-12-12T12:05:00.001-08:002015-08-29T17:54:00.971-07:00The Eclectic Reader Challenge 2015<div style="background-color: #e1dfe4; color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; padding: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
<img alt="eclecticreader15" src="https://bookdout.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/eclecticreader15.jpg?w=642" /></div>
<div style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">In it’s fourth year, the aim of The Eclectic Reader Challenge is to push you outside your comfort zone by reading up to 12 books during the year from 12 different categories.</span></div>
<h2 style="color: #644527; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<b style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Join in:</b></h2>
<ul style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px; margin: 1em 0px 1em 24px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">The challenge will run from January 1st to December 31st 2015. Participants may join at any time up until December 1st 2015</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px; margin: 1em 0px 1em 24px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Create a blog post committing to your participation in this challenge.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">* If you don’t have a blog you are still welcome to sign up. You can create a shelf for the challenge at Goodreads or LibraryThing or a similar site Just include your name and a link to your shelf.</span></div>
<ul style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px; margin: 1em 0px 1em 24px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Post your name, blog name, and the direct link to your challenge post in the <a href="https://bookdout.wordpress.com/challenges/eclectic-reader-challenge-2015/">Linky</a> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px; margin: 1em 0px 1em 24px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Select, read and review a book from each category listed below during the year for a total of 12 books. A book may be in print, electronic or audio format.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">* You can choose your books as you go or create a list in advance. You may combine this challenge with others if you wish.</span></div>
<div style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">* Where a book is identified by more than one genre eg historical romance, it may only count for either the historical fiction or romantic fiction genres – not both.</span></div>
<div style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">* You can read your chosen titles in any order, at any pace, just complete the challenge by December 31st 2015 to be eligible for the prize drawing.</span></div>
<div style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 1.2em; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Bookmark the Eclectic Reader Challenge Page for future reference</b></div>
<h2 style="color: #644527; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 2em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Categories</b></h2>
<ol style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 24px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Retellings</b><span style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Baskerville, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.360000014305115px;"><i><span style="color: #453320;"> -<b> </b></span><b><span style="color: red;">A Curse Dark as Gold</span></b></i></span></span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px;"> </span></span><b style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">A book set in a country starting with the letter S</b><span style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Baskerville, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.360000014305115px;"><i><span style="color: #453320;"> - </span><span style="color: red;"><b>Cry the Beloved Country</b></span></i></span></span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px;"> </span></span><b style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">PI Crime</b><span style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Baskerville, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.360000014305115px;"><i><span style="color: #453320;"> - </span><b><span style="color: red;">Breakdown</span></b></i></span></span></span></li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 17.8559989929199px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #453320; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> A novel published before you were born - </b><span style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><i><span style="color: red;"><b>The African Queen</b></span></i></span></li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #453320; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Contemporary romance - </b><span style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: red;"><i><b>The Undomestic Goddess</b></i></span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Fiction for foodies</b><span style="color: #453320; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Baskerville, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.360000014305115px;"><i><span style="color: #453320;"> - </span><span style="color: red;"><b>How to Eat a Small Country</b></span></i></span></span></span></li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b style="color: #453320; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Microhistory</b><span style="color: #453320;"> </span><a href="http://librarybooklists.org/nonfiction/microhistory.htm" sl-processed="1" style="color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><i style="font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 1.2em; font-stretch: normal; letter-spacing: 0.02em; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">(</i></a><i style="font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 1.2em; font-stretch: normal; letter-spacing: 0.02em; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #453320;">Non Fiction) - </span><span style="color: red;"><b>Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice</b></span></i></span></li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #453320; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Science Fiction set in space - </b><span style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: red;"><i>The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy</i></span></span></li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b style="color: #453320; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Sports</b><span style="color: #453320;"> </span><i style="font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 1.2em; font-stretch: normal; letter-spacing: 0.02em; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #453320;">(Fiction or Non fiction) - </span><span style="color: red;">Unbroken</span></i></span></li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #453320; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Featuring diversity - </b><span style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: red;"><i><b>Rabbit Proof Fence</b></i></span></span></li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.8559989929199px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b style="color: #453320; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Epistolary Fiction</b><span style="color: #453320;"> </span><i style="font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 1.2em; font-stretch: normal; letter-spacing: 0.02em; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #453320;">- </span><b><span style="color: red;">The Screwtape Letters</span></b></i></span></li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 17.8559989929199px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #453320; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Middle Grade/YA Adventure - </b><span style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: red;"><i><b>Navigating Early</b></i></span></span></li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-26648875283884418622014-11-29T19:27:00.003-08:002015-07-09T17:20:44.784-07:002015 Newbery Reading Challenge - Completed !!! 5/17/2015<div class="paragraph" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Architects Daughter' !important; font-size: 15px !important; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px; text-align: center;">
<img alt="Picture" src="http://www.smilingshelves.com/uploads/8/3/4/5/8345014/502160_orig.png" style="background-color: transparent;" /></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Architects Daughter' !important; font-size: 15px !important; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">
<span style="color: #660000;"><a href="http://www.smilingshelves.com/home/introducing-the-newbery-reading-challenge-2015">Julie @ Smiling Shelves</a>, "I created this challenge in 2014 as an encouragement for myself to read more Newbery Award winners and Newbery Honor books. It worked! So far this year, I've read eleven Newbery books, and I'm hoping to sneak a few more in before the end of the year.<br /><br />I also discovered that there were people out there like me who wanted to read more Newbery books, so I've decided to host this challenge again in 2015. The rules are basically the same. Check it out below, and I hope you decide to join us!"</span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Architects Daughter' !important; font-size: 15px !important; line-height: 1.5;">Each book you read is worth points. You get:</span><br />
<ul style="font-family: 'Architects Daughter' !important; font-size: 15px !important; line-height: 1.5; list-style-image: initial !important; list-style-position: outside !important; margin: 5px 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.3em !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;">3 points for a Newbery Medal Winner</span></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;">2 points for a Newbery Honor Book</span></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;">1 point for a Caldecott Medal Winner (Gotta give the picture books some love, too.)</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Architects Daughter' !important; font-size: 15px !important; line-height: 1.5;"><br />In addition to that, you pick a level to aim for:</span><br />
<ul style="font-family: 'Architects Daughter' !important; font-size: 15px !important; line-height: 1.5; list-style-image: initial !important; list-style-position: outside !important; margin: 5px 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.3em !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>L'Engle</b><b>:</b> 15 - 29 points</span></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>Spinelli</b><b>:</b> 30 - 44 points</span></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>Avi</b><b>:</b> 45 - 59 points</span></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>Lowry</b><b>:</b> 60 - 74 points</span></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>Konigsburg</b><b>:</b> 75+ points</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: 'Architects Daughter' !important; font-size: 15px !important; line-height: 1.5;">
<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">I am going for the Spinelli Level --</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #7f6000;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #7f6000;"><b>More Rules are from Julie are below, but I want to put my list of read books here so I don't have to scroll down so far to list the titles.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #7f6000;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b style="color: #7f6000;">Newbery List - 3 points</b><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="color: #7f6000;"><b>Walk Two Moons - Sharon Creech</b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #7f6000;"><b>The Midwife's Apprentice - Karen Cushman </b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #7f6000;"><b>A Visit to William Blake's Inn - Nancy Willard</b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #7f6000;"><b>A Gathering of Days - Joan W. Blos</b></span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<span style="color: #7f6000;"><b>Newbery Honor List - 2 points</b></span></div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Architects Daughter;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><b>Nothing But the Truth - Avi</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Architects Daughter;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><b>Fog Magic - Julia Sauer</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Architects Daughter;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><b>The Great Fire - Jim Murphy</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Architects Daughter;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><b>Joey Pigza Loses Control - Jerry Spinelli </b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Architects Daughter;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><b>Sing Down the Moon - Scott O'Dell</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Architects Daughter;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><b>Annie and the Old One - Patricia Miles Martin</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Architects Daughter;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><b>A String in the Harp - Nancy Bond</b></span></span></li>
<li><b><span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Architects Daughter;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">The Road From Home - David Kherdian</span></span></b></li>
<li><span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Architects Daughter;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><b>The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm - Nancy Farmer</b></span></span></li>
<li><b><span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Architects Daughter;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">The Perilous Road - William O. Steele</span></span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Architects Daughter;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">The Perilous Gard - Elizabeth Marie Pope</span></span></b></li>
<li><span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Architects Daughter;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><b>The Dream Coach - Anne Parrish</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Architects Daughter;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><b>Belling the Tiger - Mary Stolz</b></span></span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<b style="color: #7f6000;">Caldecott Medal - 1 point</b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><span style="color: #7f6000;"><b>A Visit to William Blake's Inn - Nancy Willard (Honor)</b></span></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Architects Daughter' !important; font-size: 15px !important; line-height: 1.5;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: 'Architects Daughter' !important; font-size: 15px !important; line-height: 1.5;">You can get to this level with any combination of points you want. You can read all Newbery Medal winners. You can throw in a few Honor Books. If you want, you can even read 75 Caldecott Medal winners! How you get to your point level is totally up to you. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'Architects Daughter' !important; font-size: 15px !important; line-height: 1.5;">Also, anywhere is the point range for your level counts as completing that level. So for example, if you signed up for the Avi level and read 46 points' worth of books, then you have completed that level!</span></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Architects Daughter' !important; font-size: 15px !important; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">
<div class="paragraph" style="line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">
<b><span style="color: #660000;">Challenge Guidelines:</span></b><br />
<ul style="list-style-image: initial !important; list-style-position: outside !important; margin: 5px 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.3em !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;">Rereads count (because you were probably a kid when you read it last, and your perspective on the story just might have changed since then).</span></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;">Audiobooks and ebooks count.</span></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;">And paper books count, too. <b>:</b>)</span></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;">All books must be read between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2015. Books begun before January 1 don’t count.</span></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;">Books can be used for other challenges as well.</span></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;">You don’t have to have a blog to participate. You can link up reviews from Amazon, Goodreads, etc., or just hang out with us in the comments!</span></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;">Reviews are encouraged, but not necessary. There will be a headquarters page for you to link up your reviews if you want to share your thoughts.</span></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;">Choose your point level. You can always aim for a higher point level, but you can't move to a lower one.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="paragraph" style="line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">
<span style="color: #660000;"><b>To join the Newbery Reading Challenge:</b></span><br />
<ul style="list-style-image: initial !important; list-style-position: outside !important; margin: 5px 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.3em !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;">Write a post (or a comment) stating your intention to join. Choose your point level. You can find the challenge button below to use in your post.</span></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #660000;">Add your link to the Linky at the bottom of this post. Make sure you include the link to your <u>sign-up post</u>, not just your homepage.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-37212099009533575332014-11-29T18:07:00.000-08:002015-08-29T17:54:56.079-07:002015 Monthly Keyword Challenge<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="2015 Monthly Key Word Image" height="313" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7558/15854036895_c3087978fb_z.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;">Welcome to the 3rd Annual Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge! For this challenge I have chosen six key words associated with each month in 2015. Your task is to read one book each month whose title includes one or more of the key words for that month.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;">Rules:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;">* The title you choose can be a variation on one of the key words. For example- your title could include the word 'snowing' or 'snowflake' even though the key word is 'snow.'</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;">* Key words can be tweaked. For example- You could read "Cinder" or "Ashes" for the key word 'Fire' and that would be just fine. If the key word is 'family' then your title could include the word 'sister' or 'mother.'If the key word is 'food' then your title could include the word 'cake.'</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;">* Link up below to participate and add additional links any time you post about the challenge or post about a book you read for the challenge.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;" />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;">This challenge is just for fun so please don't worry if you have to skip a month or if you have to read your books out of order! Just have fun with it!</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;"> </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;" />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;">(Please read the linky instructions carefully)</b><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;" />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;">LINKY:</b><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;" />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;">* </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://bookmark2blog.blogspot.com/search?q=monthly+key+word+challenge+2015">If you plan on participating, please sign up</a> on the linky with your blog name and the words Sign Up (example: Bookmark to Blog Sign Up)</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;" />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;">* Different this Year! </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;">I'll be posting only one linky for all the reviews rather than posting a new one each month. When you post your review post the name of the book and the month.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgb(75, 104, 140); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; color: #253446; font-family: Quicksand, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 2px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0.25em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase;">
<b style="line-height: 1.428571em;">MONTHLY KEY WORDS:</b></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<b style="line-height: 1.428571em;">JAN- </b>Truth<br />
<b><i>Nothing But the Truth </i></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<b style="line-height: 1.428571em;"><br clear="none" /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<b style="line-height: 1.428571em;">FEB- </b>Once <br />
The Once and Future King<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<b style="line-height: 1.428571em;">MAR- </b> City<br />
<b><i>Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity</i></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<b style="line-height: 1.428571em;"><br clear="none" /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<b style="line-height: 1.428571em;">APR- </b>Dream<br />
<i><b>The Dream Coach</b></i><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<b style="line-height: 1.428571em;">MAY- </b>Road<br />
<i><b>The Perilous Road</b></i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<b style="line-height: 1.428571em;"><br clear="none" /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<b style="line-height: 1.428571em;">JUN- </b> Soul<br />
<i><b>Every Soul a Star</b></i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br clear="none" /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<b style="line-height: 1.428571em;">JUL- </b>Sun<br />
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br clear="none" /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<b style="line-height: 1.428571em;">AUG- </b> Lost<br />
Dog Lost</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br clear="none" /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<b style="line-height: 1.428571em;">SEP- </b>How<br />
<b><i>How to Eat a Small Country</i></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br clear="none" /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<b style="line-height: 1.428571em;">OCT- </b>Home<br />
Dracula, Go Home!</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br clear="none" /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<b style="line-height: 1.428571em;">NOV- </b>Dark<br />
<i><b>A Curse Dark as Gold</b></i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br clear="none" /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<b style="line-height: 1.428571em;">DEC- </b>Over<br />
Girl Overboard (Chen)</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-88538078405564916472014-11-29T16:43:00.003-08:002015-06-10T12:33:19.764-07:002015 What's in a Name VII<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #111111; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.3199996948242px;">This is the sign-up post for the eighth annual What’s In A Name challenge, originally started by Annie, handed to </span><a href="http://www.bethfishreads.com/" style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #111111; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; line-height: 24.3199996948242px;" target="_blank">Beth Fish Reads</a><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #111111; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.3199996948242px;">, and now continued at <a href="http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/whats-in-a-name-2015-sign-up-post/">The Worm Hole.</a></span><br />
<h6 class="blog" style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #111111; font-family: verdana; font-size: 15px; margin-left: 15.109375px;">
The basics</h6>
<div class="content" style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #111111; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.3199996948242px; margin-left: 15.109375px; margin-right: 12.09375px; padding: 0px 11px;">
The challenge runs from January to December. During this time you choose a book to read from each of the following categories (examples of books you could choose are in brackets):</div>
<ul style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #111111; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.3199996948242px;">
<li style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.1039981842041px;">A word including ‘ing’ in it (<i>The Time Of Singing, Dancing To The Flute, Lex Trent Fighting With Fire</i>) My examples are verbs but you can of course use other words.</li>
<li style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.1039981842041px;">A colour (<i>The Red Queen, White Truffles In Winter, On Gold Mountain</i>)</li>
<li style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.1039981842041px;">A familial relation (<i>Daughter Of Smoke And Bone, Dombey And Son, My Cousin Rachel</i>) By all means include in-laws, step, and halves.</li>
<li style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.1039981842041px;">A body of water (<i>The River Of No Return, Black Lake, Beside The Sea</i>)</li>
<li style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.1039981842041px;">A city (<i>Barcelona Shadows, Shanghai Girls, Under The Tripoli Sky</i>)</li>
<li style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.1039981842041px;">An animal (<i>Black Swan Rising, The Leopard Unleashed, The Horse And His Boy</i>)</li>
</ul>
<div class="content" style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #111111; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.3199996948242px; margin-left: 15.109375px; margin-right: 12.09375px; padding: 0px 11px;">
My Books:</div>
<div class="content" style="background-color: #eeeeee; margin-left: 15.109375px; margin-right: 12.09375px; padding: 0px 11px;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #111111; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.3199996948242px;"><b><i>Navigating Early</i> by Clare Vanderpool</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #111111; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.3199996948242px;"><i>Greenwitch </i>by Susan Cooper</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #111111; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.3199996948242px;"><i>Sister of My Heart </i>by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni</span></span></li>
<li><b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.3199996948242px;"><i>Journey to the River Sea</i> by Eva Ibbotson</span></span></b></li>
<li><span style="color: #111111; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.3199996948242px;"><i>Looking After Minidoka</i> by Neil Nakadate</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #111111; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.3199996948242px;"><b><i>Belling the Tiger</i> by Mary Stolz</b></span></span></li>
</ul>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-33707732469492101242014-11-29T16:19:00.003-08:002015-08-29T17:53:02.447-07:002015 Monthly Motif Challenge <div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="2015 Monthly Motif Image1" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7558/15852031811_8813f0bf11.jpg" /></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 22.8438px;">2015 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge! For this challenge, each month is assigned a certain motif or theme. Your task is to read one book per month that fits in with the motif for that particular month. If you participated in this challenge last year you'll see that some of the motifs are the same while others have been changed up or switched around. </span><br /><span style="line-height: 22.8438px;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>This challenge is just for fun so please don't worry if you have to skip a month or if you have to read your books out of order! If you don't have anywhere to link your reviews- don't worry about it. Just come back and comment telling us what you read and if you liked it! Just have fun with it!</b> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 22.8438px;"><b><i>(Please read the linky instructions carefully.)</i></b></span> <span style="line-height: 22.8438px;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>LINKY:</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>*<a href="https://www.blogger.com/Welcome%20to%20the%202015%20Monthly%20Motif%20Reading%20Challenge!%20For%20this%20challenge,%20each%20month%20is%20assigned%20a%20certain%20motif%20or%20theme.%20Your%20task%20is%20to%20read%20one%20book%20per%20month%20that%20fits%20in%20with%20the%20motif%20for%20that%20particular%20month.%20If%20you%20participated%20in%20this%20challenge%20last%20year%20you%27ll%20see%20that%20some%20of%20the%20motifs%20are%20the%20same%20while%20others%20have%20been%20changed%20up%20or%20switched%20around.%20%20%20%20%20%20This%20challenge%20is%20just%20for%20fun%20so%20please%20don%27t%20worry%20if%20you%20have%20to%20skip%20a%20month%20or%20if%20you%20have%20to%20read%20your%20books%20out%20of%20order!%20If%20you%20don%27t%20have%20anywhere%20to%20link%20your%20reviews-%20don%27t%20worry%20about%20it.%20Just%20come%20back%20and%20comment%20telling%20us%20what%20you%20read%20and%20if%20you%20liked%20it!%20Just%20have%20fun%20with%20it!%20(Please%20read%20the%20linky%20instructions%20carefully.)%20%20%20%20LINKY:%20%20*%20If%20you%20plan%20on%20participating,%20please%20sign%20up%20on%20the%20linky%20with%20your%20blog%20name%20and%20the%20words%20Sign%20Up%20(example:%20Bookmark%20to%20Blog%20Sign%20Up)%20%20*%20%20Different%20this%20Year!%20I%27ll%20be%20posting%20only%20one%20linky%20for%20all%20the%20reviews%20rather%20than%20posting%20a%20new%20one%20each%20month.%20When%20you%20post%20your%20review%20post%20the%20name%20of%20the%20book%20and%20the%20month.%20%20*%20You%27ll%20find%20the%20review%20linky%20in%20the%20sidebar%20starting%20January%202015."> </a></b><a href="https://www.blogger.com/Welcome%20to%20the%202015%20Monthly%20Motif%20Reading%20Challenge!%20For%20this%20challenge,%20each%20month%20is%20assigned%20a%20certain%20motif%20or%20theme.%20Your%20task%20is%20to%20read%20one%20book%20per%20month%20that%20fits%20in%20with%20the%20motif%20for%20that%20particular%20month.%20If%20you%20participated%20in%20this%20challenge%20last%20year%20you%27ll%20see%20that%20some%20of%20the%20motifs%20are%20the%20same%20while%20others%20have%20been%20changed%20up%20or%20switched%20around.%20%20%20%20%20%20This%20challenge%20is%20just%20for%20fun%20so%20please%20don%27t%20worry%20if%20you%20have%20to%20skip%20a%20month%20or%20if%20you%20have%20to%20read%20your%20books%20out%20of%20order!%20If%20you%20don%27t%20have%20anywhere%20to%20link%20your%20reviews-%20don%27t%20worry%20about%20it.%20Just%20come%20back%20and%20comment%20telling%20us%20what%20you%20read%20and%20if%20you%20liked%20it!%20Just%20have%20fun%20with%20it!%20(Please%20read%20the%20linky%20instructions%20carefully.)%20%20%20%20LINKY:%20%20*%20If%20you%20plan%20on%20participating,%20please%20sign%20up%20on%20the%20linky%20with%20your%20blog%20name%20and%20the%20words%20Sign%20Up%20(example:%20Bookmark%20to%20Blog%20Sign%20Up)%20%20*%20%20Different%20this%20Year!%20I%27ll%20be%20posting%20only%20one%20linky%20for%20all%20the%20reviews%20rather%20than%20posting%20a%20new%20one%20each%20month.%20When%20you%20post%20your%20review%20post%20the%20name%20of%20the%20book%20and%20the%20month.%20%20*%20You%27ll%20find%20the%20review%20linky%20in%20the%20sidebar%20starting%20January%202015.">If you plan on participating, please sign up</a> on the linky with your blog name and the words Sign Up (example: Bookmark to Blog Sign Up)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>* Different this Year! </b>I'll be posting only one linky for all the reviews rather than posting a new one each month. When you post your review post the name of the book and the month.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">* You'll find the <i>review</i> linky in the sidebar<span style="font-family: inherit;"> starting January 2015</span>.</span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="line-height: 1.42857em;"><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="line-height: 1.42857em;">JAN</b>-<span style="line-height: 1.42857em;"><i style="border: 0px none; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </i></span><i style="border: 0px none; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Book to Movie or Audio</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.42857em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Read a book that has a movie based off of it. For an extra challenge, see the movie as well.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><b><i>Life of Pi</i></b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.42857em;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="line-height: 1.42857em;">FEB</b>- <i style="border: 0px none; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Award Winner</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.42857em;">Read a book that has won recognition or a literary award. </span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<i><b><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">Joey Pigza Loses Control</span></b></i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="line-height: 1.42857em;">MAR</b>- <span style="line-height: 1.42857em;"><i style="border: 0px none; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Genre Jumble</i></span> </span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Read a book in a genre that you've never tried or that you're least familiar with. </span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">Eve and the Mortal Journey</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="line-height: 1.42857em;">APR</b>- <i>Mystery, Murder, and Mayhem</i></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em;"> </span></span><br />
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.42857em;">Read a murder/mystery book.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><b>Heirs and Graces</b></span></i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="line-height: 1.42857em;">MAY</b>- <span style="line-height: 1.42857em;"><i style="border: 0px none; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Library Love</i></span></span></span><br />
<div style="border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.42857em;">Show your library some love and visit your local branch. Choose a book to read that they have on display.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<i><b>As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust</b></i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="line-height: 1.42857em;">JUN</b>- <span style="line-height: 1.42857em;"> </span><span style="line-height: 1.42857em;"><i style="border: 0px none; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Take A Trip</i></span></span></span><br />
<div style="border: 0px none; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.42857em;">Choose a book to read that takes place in a country different than the one you live in or choose a book written by an author that is from a country different than your own.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><b><i>The African Queen</i></b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="line-height: 1.42857em;">JUL</b>- <i>Standing Up</i></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.42857em;">Read a book in which the main character stands up for themselves, stands against an enemy, or stands up for something they believe in.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><i><b>Left for Dead </b></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.42857em;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="line-height: 1.42857em;">AUG</b>- <i style="border: 0px none; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Alternate Reality</i></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.42857em;">Read a book that's set in the future, on another planet, in another dimension, or in an unknown world. A Dystopian book will count this month as well. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">Brilliant Devices</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="line-height: 1.42857em;">SEP</b>- <span style="line-height: 1.42857em;"><i>Furry Friends</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Read a book that includes an animal either as a main character or supporting character. Horses, cats, dogs, insects, bird, etc. The book doesn't have to be <i>about </i>the animal but the animal needs to play some sort of role in the story or be mentioned several times throughout the book.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">The Blue Cat of Castle Town </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="line-height: 1.42857em;">OCT</b>- <i style="border: 0px none; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Goblins, and Ghost, and Ghouls, Oh My!</i></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.42857em;">Cozy mystery ghost stories, paranormal creeptastic, funky fantasy creatures- it's up to you!</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">Aunt Dimity and the Wishing Well</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="line-height: 1.42857em;">NOV</b>- <i style="border: 0px none; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">An Oldie but a Goodie</i></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.42857em;">Pick a book published before 2000 that you've always wanted to read, but just never got to. Or pick a book set in the past (before 2000). </span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><i>The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy</i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="line-height: 1.42857em;">DEC</b>- <i style="border: 0px none; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">That's a Wrap</i></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Finish a series you've been meaning to finish or read the next book in a series you started but never finished. </span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">???</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.42857em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-60774645955613031902014-01-01T09:36:00.001-08:002014-11-29T16:27:40.927-08:002014 Vintage Mystery Bingo - BINGO!!! FINISHED!<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I pretty much failed at my list of 36 mysteries for last year's Vintage challenge, but since that left me with 27 mysteries written prior to 1960 that I'd like to read, I've chosen to attempt it again. I'm doing the GOLDEN CARD. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUC04RNNEFx9oIDTGPX5gK0PgO4Rrm9jd_PFRn3jPXP5Cf5zYSsjnUbTnpD3AdpeP40x17WyE-PpcGHW-QQP2-R1jhl-CqZ4tAyw26SHitYn8ETHsSkJ4NiYzqMdvKXKCbQPSML9FnOReB/s320/Vintage+Mystery+2014.jpg" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>From Bev - </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>This year's challenge will be run as a Bingo extravaganza. I have also added a level to the challenge this year--dividing the Vintage mysteries into Silver & Golden Ages. I, being the crazy challengaholic that I am, will be attempting both Bingo Cards. My declared challenge will be to finish two Bingos on each card (a total of 24 books). But those of you who know me well won't be surprised if I don't go for all the marbles and try to cover both cards....Why don't you come and join me? <a href="http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2013/11/vintage-mystery-bingo-2014-silver-gold.html"> Click this link to see the complete rules.</a></i></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"></span><br />
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>*One Free Space per card—you may use your Free Space to cover any spot on the board. The Free Space book must fulfill one of the categories from the card, but it may fulfill ANY space you like—even a category you have already fulfilled. For example…if you are having trouble finding a book to meet the “mode of transportation” category, but you really need that space to complete a BINGO then you may read a book that meets any other category on the board and use your Free Space to claim the “mode of transportation” space.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<i style="background-color: white;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>*No double-counting. A book may not count for both the original category (say, "Woman in the Title") and as the Free Space to replace "mode of transportation." A second "Woman in the Title" would need to be read to complete the Free Space and replace "mode of transportation."</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<i style="background-color: white;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>*BINGOS may be claimed by completing all spaces in a row--horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. You may also claim a “Four Corner” BINGO by reading a book for each of the four corners plus two more spaces—any two. A valid BINGO must have six complete spaces.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>*Any challenger who completes one BINGO will be entered in a drawing at the end of the year. Any challenger who completes two or more BINGOs (either from the same card or BINGOs from each card) will automatically be offered a prize from the prize list. Any challenger who covers a card by completing all categories will automatically be offered a prize from the prize list (as referred to in the "two or more BINGOs" section) PLUS a special surprise bonus.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEUW-ysWQ75JbCuAlW-bbUCumMlNj-nT6zTj4nRw_UnOY2qmvUEgSeYpuXQb6P6uei_uDlTPz2PN3u-KJdytimUEWnBIVcc4wJMCzJ8ZUwy7wNNlGVkGT1OeMd7GZzdK-RE8iwp8pmocHr/s1600/Vintage+Golden+Card+001.jpg" style="color: #956839; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEUW-ysWQ75JbCuAlW-bbUCumMlNj-nT6zTj4nRw_UnOY2qmvUEgSeYpuXQb6P6uei_uDlTPz2PN3u-KJdytimUEWnBIVcc4wJMCzJ8ZUwy7wNNlGVkGT1OeMd7GZzdK-RE8iwp8pmocHr/s400/Vintage+Golden+Card+001.jpg" height="277" style="border: 0px;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 10px;"><br /></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">G</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Color - Death in A White Tie</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> by Ngaio Marsh (Roderick Alleyn #7) 1938</span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">World Setting (not US or England) - </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">The Moonstone </i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">by Wilkie Collins 1868</span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crime Besides Murder - </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Locked Room - <i>The Mysterious Affair at Styles</i> by Agatha Christie 1921</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Academic -</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 20px;"><i>Gaudy Night </i>by Dorothy Sayers 1935</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Set in Entertainment World - </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Enter a Murder</i><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> </i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">by Ngaio Marsh (Roderick Alleyn #2) 1935</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">O</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Multiple titles - </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Plot It Yourself aka Murder in Style</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> by Rex Stout 1959</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Number - </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Five Red Herrings</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> by Dorothy Sayers (Lord Peter Wimsey #7) 1931</span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Food - </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Author Never Read - </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Murder Method - </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Woman in Title - </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">The Haunted Lady </i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">by Mary Roberts Rinehart 1942</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 20px;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">L</span></b></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spooky Title -</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 20px;">Made into Movie - </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Mrs. McGinty's Dead</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> By Agatha Christie 1952</span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amateur Detective - (need one for a diagonal)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Man in Title - </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 20px;">Country House - </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">The Unfinished Clue</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> by Georgette Heyer 1937</span></b></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Mode of Transportation - </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">The Rome Express</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> by Arthur Griffiths 1907</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 20px;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">D</span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Author Read - (needed for 1st row across)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Court Room - <i>Th</i></span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">e Witness for the Prosecution</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> by Agatha Christie 1948</span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Read by Fellow Challenger -</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Professional Detective - </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Tell Her It's Murder</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> by Helen Reilly 1954</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Water - </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Voyage into Violence </i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">by Frances & Richard Lockridge 1956</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Outside Comfort Zone - </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">The Beetle</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> by Richard Marsh 1897 - hypnostism</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">E</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Team - <i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">The North Meets Murder</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> by Frances & Richard Lockridge 1940</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Time of Day or Month - The Clock Strikes Twelve by Patricia Wentworth 1944</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Translated -</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Short Stories - </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">England - <i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Artists in Crime</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> by Ngaio Marsh (Roderick Alleyn #2) 1938</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Borrowed - (needed for last row across)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">N</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Animal - </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Canary Murder Case</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> by S.S. Van Dine (Philo Vance #2) 1927</span></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Place - <i>The Nursing Home Mystery</i> by Ngaio Marsh 1935</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Size - </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">The Big Four</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> by Agatha Christie 1927</span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Medical -</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pseudonym -</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Set in US - </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">The Benson Murder Case</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> by S. S. Van Dine (Philo Vance #1) 1926</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I still have my free space and I may have to use it...</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-64625790845652356682014-01-01T08:42:00.001-08:002014-12-24T11:09:14.415-08:002014 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge COMPLETED!!!<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue;">I love this challenge and I'm going to do it again, although I am running out of Q books to read.</span></strong></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="alphabet 2014 500" src="http://i2.wp.com/www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/alphabet-2014-500.jpg?resize=549%2C388" /></strong></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Details</span></strong></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">This challenge will run from January 1st, 2014 until December 31st, 2014.</span></strong></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">You can join anytime. You do not have to review the book. Books can come from any genre.</span></strong></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">You do not need to link up each spoonful</span>.</span></strong></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></strong></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Make a page or a post or a Goodreads shelf where you will keep track of your spoonfuls.</span></strong></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">After you complete the challenge just come to the 2014 Alphabet Soup Page under the Challenges tab at the top of my blog and leave a comment with your completed list.</span></em></strong></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Crossovers to other challenges are allowed and encouraged!</span></em></strong></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">It’s an alphabet challenge!!! The challenge is to read one book that has a title starting with every letter of the alphabet.</span></strong></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">You can drop the A’s and The’s from the book titles.</span></strong></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">A – How I plan to do it: Make a list on your blog from A-Z. Throughout the year, as you go along, add the books you are reading to the list. Towards the end of the year, you can check and see which letters you are missing and find books to fit.</span></strong></strong></span><br />
<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></strong></strong></span>
<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">For complete rules visit this<a href="http://www.escapewithdollycas.com/challenges-2/2014-alphabet-soup-reading-challenge/"> link.</a></span></strong></strong></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="spoon" src="http://i1.wp.com/www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/spoon.jpg?resize=328%2C114" /></strong></strong></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue;">That's how I am doing it too--- Bold Means I'm DONE</span></strong></strong></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>A - After the Rain by Norma Fox Mazer</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>B - Battle of the Ampere by Richard Paul Evans</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>C - Calico Bush - Rachel Field</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>D - Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>E - Entwined by Heather Dixon</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>F - Fyre by Angie Sage</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>G - Gifted Hands by Ben Carson</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>H - Home Before Dark by Christy Barritt</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>I - I'm With You by Taylor Dean</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>J - Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Maas</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>K - The King of Atolia by Megan Whalen</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>L - Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>M - Masquerade by Janette Rallison</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>N - The Nursing Home Murders by Ngaio Marsh</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>O - Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>P - Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Q - Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>R - Running Barefoot by Amy Harmon</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>S - She Owns the Knight by Diane Darcy</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>T - This Voice in My Heart by Gilbert Tuhabonye</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>U - The Unfinished Clue by Georgette Heyer</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>V - The View From Saturday by E. L. Konigsberg</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>W - Wonder by R. J. Palacio</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>X - The Prayer BoX by Lisa Wingate</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Y - The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes</b></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.265625px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Z - Zenith by Julie Bertagna</b></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-45561141569553059302014-01-01T08:21:00.002-08:002014-12-24T11:09:41.983-08:00What's in a Name 2014 - COMPLETED!!!<h6 class="blog" style="color: #111111; font-family: verdana; font-size: 15px; margin-left: 28.5625px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">I love this challenge. I have participated for several years now. Below are the guidelines - </span></h6>
<h6 class="blog" style="color: #111111; font-family: verdana; font-size: 15px; margin-left: 28.5625px; text-align: center;">
<img alt="Please save this image to your own webspace" src="http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/images/challenge_2014whatsinaname2.png" height="323" width="400" /></h6>
<h6 class="blog" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 15px; margin-left: 28.5625px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #783f04;">The basics</span></span></h6>
<div class="content" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 28.5625px; margin-right: 22.84375px; padding: 0px 11px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #783f04;">The challenge runs from January to December. During this time you choose a book to read from each of the following categories (examples of books you could choose are in brackets):</span></span></div>
<ul style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;">
<li style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #783f04;">A reference to time (Eleven Minutes, Before Ever After)</span></span></li>
<li style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #783f04;">A position of royalty (The People’s Queen, The Last Empress, The Curse Of The Pharaoh)</span></span></li>
<li style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #783f04;">A number written in letters (The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, A Tale Of Two Cities)</span></span></li>
<li style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #783f04;">A forename or names (Rebecca, Eleanor & Park, The Unfinished Work Of Elizabeth D.)</span></span></li>
<li style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #783f04;">A type or element of weather (Gone With The Wind, Red Earth Pouring Rain)</span></span></li>
</ul>
<h6 class="blog" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 15px; margin-left: 28.5625px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #783f04;">Extra information</span></span></h6>
<ul style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;">
<li style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #783f04;">Books can be any format (print, audio, ebook).</span></span></li>
<li style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #783f04;">It’s preferred that the books don’t overlap with other challenges, but not a requirement at all.</span></span></li>
<li style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #783f04;">Books cannot overlap categories (for instance my first example, Eleven Minutes, could be used for category 1 or 3 but not both).</span></span></li>
<li style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #783f04;">Creativity for matching the categories is not only allowed, it’s encouraged!</span></span></li>
<li style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #783f04;">You don’t have to make your list of books beforehand, you can choose them as you go.</span></span></li>
<li style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #783f04;">You don’t have to read your chosen books in any particular order.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><a href="http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/whats-in-a-name-2014-sign-up-post/">To participate visit this site.</a></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><b>My list - I will bold them when I finish each one</b></span></span></div>
<div>
<ul style="line-height: 24px;">
<li style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">A reference to time - </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #382110; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.1;"><b><i>Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore</i></b></span></li>
<li style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: white;">A position of royalty - <i><b>The King of Attolia</b></i></span></li>
<li style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: white;">A number written in letters - <b><i>The Big Four</i></b></span></li>
<li style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">A forename or names - </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.1;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Hercule Poirot's Christmas</b></i></span></span></li>
<li style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: white;">A type or element of weather - <i><b>After the Rain</b></i></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-84756174010147970082013-07-23T17:46:00.001-07:002013-07-23T17:46:52.324-07:00Mid Summer DoldrumsI sit and stare at my TBR list. Then I look in my box of books from the library and others and I find myself underwhelmed.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Nothing is especially appealing. Everything that looked interesting was read and returned days ago. I want to ignore all those boring tomes, but the part of me that revels in completing a challenge refuses to give in and give up.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So instead I clean. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And that is pitiful...I despise cleaning.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ever have a reading period like this?</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-21564284872537370022013-07-02T10:37:00.001-07:002013-07-02T10:42:24.368-07:00June Keyword Challenge - My Only Sunshine<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>For June the Keyword options were . sand, sun, beach, island, country, sea, fly, away, never, far.</strong></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">I decided on a book that looked perfect for a relaxing summer read. Funny, quirky, interesting. The book I chose was <em>My Only Sunshine</em> by Lou Dischler published in 2010.</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMVaXuCVFxGDTY-38jW9NFXRC_m5_Khv_vmV5hfsmWPP1f-LZQnT4lDYThLHDistMQirVwLmVVuWwuZz65UJ-yioce03BHVnrWe7DeDmgZmaZ19hfdlQd5Rgh6zTucfwTl3YSd1_wrmU/s400/8475598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMVaXuCVFxGDTY-38jW9NFXRC_m5_Khv_vmV5hfsmWPP1f-LZQnT4lDYThLHDistMQirVwLmVVuWwuZz65UJ-yioce03BHVnrWe7DeDmgZmaZ19hfdlQd5Rgh6zTucfwTl3YSd1_wrmU/s400/8475598.jpg" height="320" oya="true" width="231" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">
<strong>From the publisher:</strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span id="freeText5025311422116119996">"In 1962 the Cubans have their Russian missiles pointed right at the sugarcane plantations of Red Church, Louisiana, but nine-year-old Charlie Boone and his gravel-eating younger brother, Jute, are fixed on velvet ants and the declining health of a horse named Lunch Time. Their father has been sent upriver after a botched convenience store holdup and a walloping with a can of Crisco. Their mother, too, has vanished. Memaw and Pawpaw insist she disappeared in a hurricane. Buckle up for a big dose of Cajun comedy as Charlie takes charge."</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">
<strong>My thoughts:</strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">
I couldn't find a copy in the local library system, so I decided to order one. It came in the end of May and I didn't even open the package in order to prolong the anticipation. One June 5, I opened the package and began to read.</div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">
Sadly I was disappointed. While I laughed at some parts, I was greatly disappointed by this book. I don't recommend it at all. </div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">
Now I'm off to get a copy of next month's book for this challenge, <em>West With the Night</em>. I am hopeful it will not disappoint me.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-size: small;">For more June Keyword Reads visit <a href="http://bookmarktoblog.blogspot.com/p/monthly-key-word-challenge-2013.html">Book Marks to Blog</a>.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-79451046121734825132013-05-25T08:55:00.001-07:002013-06-01T19:50:16.967-07:002013 Summer Reading Challenge<div style="text-align: center;">
It is time for the second annual Shhh! Mommy is doing her Summer Reading Challenge.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisGwJYwHRFEB3EK8CXEk89h4W3qMAT8TWjsKB85hEV-M9weZPGzDRnVnYIXBWQG4mgGobW5Zg-RAigRfeG7d7HljCVrowjNCDY4QgjNPUvm5rw7OUNShd6ctpZ0c1g1mePLVZ0xCI0JeY/s1600/SummerReading.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisGwJYwHRFEB3EK8CXEk89h4W3qMAT8TWjsKB85hEV-M9weZPGzDRnVnYIXBWQG4mgGobW5Zg-RAigRfeG7d7HljCVrowjNCDY4QgjNPUvm5rw7OUNShd6ctpZ0c1g1mePLVZ0xCI0JeY/s1600/SummerReading.jpg" yya="true" /></a></div>
<div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The Challenge runs from June 1 to Sept 1.</div>
<div>
</div>
If you choose to participate come up with five categories of your own to read and then use my five or another friend's five or make up five-ten categories. I don't care. Just take a little time to sit and read, maybe in the backyard. With a chilled drink. I'm thinking limeade myself.<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Read the book you have been putting off forever </li>
<li>Read a book that was meant for children </li>
<li>Read a Genre that you don't normally read</li>
<li>Read a book with or at the same time as your child or other relative</li>
<li>Read a book from a series either a new series or one you already enjoy </li>
<li>Read a book about something associated with summer</li>
<li>Read a non-fiction book</li>
</ol>
<div>
</div>
My List<br />
1. Putting Off - Eve and the Choice Made in Eden<br />
<div>
</div>
2. Children - The One and Only Ivan<br />
<div>
</div>
3. Horror: Dracula or Frankstein which ever is shorter<br />
<div>
</div>
4.Tandem Read - with son: Julius Caesar or Beowulf: New Verse Translation<br />
<div>
</div>
5. Series - One of the Lord Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy Sayer<br />
<br />
6. Summer Sunshine - My Only Sunshine<br />
<br />
7. Non-fiction - Handcart Pioneer book<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ourbestbites.com/2013/03/cafe-rio-copycat-mint-limeade/">LIMEADE LINK</a><br />
<br />
<div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-91584794865394174502013-05-14T11:02:00.001-07:002013-05-14T11:02:28.486-07:002013 Vintage - Inspector Queen's Own Case<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextContainerreview511479810"><strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">Inspector Queen's Own Case by Ellery Queen</span></em></strong></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="readable reviewText"><span><strong>A Calendar of Crime - 2013 Vintage Mystery Challenge</strong></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span class="readable reviewText"><span>Inspector Queen has retired and is feeling at loose ends. He spends time on an East Coast island and discovers a murder mystery, maybe. Everyone except the victim's nurse believe it to be accidental death. So which is it. The inspector finds himself courting and falling in love with the only witness.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="readable reviewText"><span>Not my very favorite, but a nice story.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="readable reviewText"><span>Read January 24 & 25, 2013. 3 stars.</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-63602561108950761302013-05-14T10:50:00.004-07:002013-05-14T10:53:53.956-07:00Vintage 2013 - A Man Lay Dead<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextContainerreview559010363"><strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">A Man Lay Dead</span></em></strong></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="readable reviewText"><strong><em>Malicious Men - Vintage Mystery Challenge 2013</em></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIKi0SUUQOZhcvNCF2rb23Bivn7ftXibcUJ-krqYG3BSKpX2GzhUhjezPijTVzL5Zu0XOk8RxIN0CanAPsec56QyOoHHooYmQefQYUkYLr4yFGsn0ecH1bibDqmxnmggTHKsOhJqtBrg/s1600/280847.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIKi0SUUQOZhcvNCF2rb23Bivn7ftXibcUJ-krqYG3BSKpX2GzhUhjezPijTVzL5Zu0XOk8RxIN0CanAPsec56QyOoHHooYmQefQYUkYLr4yFGsn0ecH1bibDqmxnmggTHKsOhJqtBrg/s1600/280847.jpg" height="320" pua="true" width="210" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span class="readable reviewText">In his first appearance Inspector Roderick Alleyn sets out to solve a murder at an English country house. The death occurs during a weekend party game of Murder. <br /><br />Inspector Alleyn arrives to find the body moved and the guests in an uproar. A side plot involving Russian conspiratists, a secret society, and deadly ancient weapons adds to the intrigue.<br /><br />Marsh starts off her mystery writing career well with this 1934 novel. </span><br />
<br />
I read this novel between March 12 & 14, 2013.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-43614273676375212352013-05-14T10:43:00.000-07:002013-05-14T10:43:22.723-07:00Vintage 2013 - Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries 1-3I read several Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries by Dorothy L. Sayers and haven't linked them to the Vintage site, so I'm rectifying that over sight today. Here are my thoughts on each one from goodreads.<br />
<br />
<strong><em>Whose Body?</em></strong> (1923) 4 stars<br />
In the first Lord Peter Wimsey mystery, Sayers introduces one of my favorite dectectives. I love the name she chose as it signifies to me the way he goes about his investigations, whimsically. His first recorded case deals with a body found mysteriously in a bath tub. Whose body is this and how did he get here? <br />
<br />
<strong><em>Clouds of Witness</em></strong> (1926) 3 stars<br />
The second Lord Wimsey mystery finds two of his siblings suspected of lying, obstructing justice, or worse, murder.<br />
<br />
A goodreads reviewer mentioned that Sayers uses the writing conventions of the vintage mystery which I usually find charming, but this one was a bit slow especially at the end.<br />
<br />
<em><strong>Unnatural Death</strong></em> (1929) 3 stars<br />
Quite the vicious killer portrayed in this gold age mystery. This is the third book in the Wimsey series and while not my favorite, it kept me guessing.<br />
<br />
But the Bibliographal Notes in my copy? Those were just confusing. Why reference things that haven't occurred in the main characyer's life yet?<br />
<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-32593287624732725092013-05-14T10:22:00.001-07:002013-05-14T10:24:30.489-07:00Vintage 2013 - There Was an Old Woman<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There Was an Old Woman by Ellery Queen (1943) - Wicked Women</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4_Eb4wMEQgRh0gY-ky2nMwGBCXPRprOzvHMRkrfBsy1TKViNcBfPMaVx5l25ZagyrW_NSX9fQPj2YKF9IzDFHCXhDvrZa-JRR7Ty0hsy3kw8XEUI8ngmN3C1IanJIVj5LzIJ5CHZa4Y/s1600/909331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4_Eb4wMEQgRh0gY-ky2nMwGBCXPRprOzvHMRkrfBsy1TKViNcBfPMaVx5l25ZagyrW_NSX9fQPj2YKF9IzDFHCXhDvrZa-JRR7Ty0hsy3kw8XEUI8ngmN3C1IanJIVj5LzIJ5CHZa4Y/s1600/909331.jpg" height="320" pua="true" width="218" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em><a href="http://lostpiecesofmymind.blogspot.com/2012/11/vintage-mystery-challenge.html">Read for the Vintage Mystery Challenge 2013</a></em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I started this challenge over at my other blogsite, but book reviews will now be posted here. Click the above link to see my vintage mystery list and progress toward completion.</span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ellery finds himself embroiled in the turmoil of a crazy family with a wicked and controlling woman for a mother. The mother, Cornelia Potts, has and is sacrificing her three rational grown children’s lives and wellbeing to serve her own power plays and for the whims of her other three mentally insane children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The story begins as Cornelia urges on her crazy son, Thurlow, in a suit claiming slander against the honorable Potts name. The craziness moves quickly onto Thurlow challenging his younger half-brother to a duel and killing the competent young man at dawn despite the attempts of Ellery to avert the tragedy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Insanity continues as more family members die.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Finally Ellery begins to put together the motive and plot behind all the murders and death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I found this story difficult to get into at the beginning due to all the slang from the reporters and police officers covering the slander case. Once I got to the Palace, the house where the old woman raised her children, I was quite enjoying the twists and turns and additions from Mother Goose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And I’m glad Ellery saved the innocent family members in the end, but the last chapter, could have been left off. I know this is a vintage mystery (1943), and I suspect that there is a reason that they are getting Sheila/Nikki into Ellery’s office, but really a multimillionaire secretary? Even back in the day, why would she do that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">All in all this will be a 3 star book.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To read more reviews of vintage mysteries visit <a href="http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2012/12/vintage-scattergories-progress-wrap-up.html">My Reader's Block</a>.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-62215999360807840762013-05-14T10:06:00.002-07:002013-05-14T10:06:27.358-07:00May Keyword Challenge<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: small;">For May the Keyword options were bird, shine, laugh, clothing, name, run, shatter, lost, wings, and world. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: small;">I originally chose to read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Boy Who Drew Birds </i>for this month’s book. It is a biography about John Audabon. I did read it in about fifteen minutes; I hadn’t realized that it was a children’s biography. I felt that I should find something a little longer to fulfill the Monthly Keyword Challenge. I went to my TBR list on goodreads.com and discovered another book with birds in the title. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">So the book I ended up choosing for the challenge is </span><i><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">A Guide to the Birds of East Africa</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> by Nicholas Draysonpublished in 2008. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisk6kvo7G-yv_y1zxVoSc_Um1HbQDcZTTXDbR4Qp5mQm96vqWWtznEiUKY03MBCtBuT85DnjfJT9oAZFsk5-Uoxd6gEYyrfxuebEA504bmoL9y5AXSZmEaKdMvy4G13S_IoSe9WDqigjA/s1600/3476509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisk6kvo7G-yv_y1zxVoSc_Um1HbQDcZTTXDbR4Qp5mQm96vqWWtznEiUKY03MBCtBuT85DnjfJT9oAZFsk5-Uoxd6gEYyrfxuebEA504bmoL9y5AXSZmEaKdMvy4G13S_IoSe9WDqigjA/s1600/3476509.jpg" height="320" pua="true" width="210" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-size: small;">“For the past three years, the widower Mr. Malik has been in love with Rose Mbikwa, a woman who leads the weekly bird walks sponsored by the East African Ornithological Society. Reserved and honorable, Malik wouldn’t be noticed by a bystander in a Nairobi street – except perhaps to comment on his carefully sculpted comb-over. But beneath that unprepossessing exterior lie a warm heart and a secret passion.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-size: small;">With this description on the dust jacket, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Guide to the Birds of East Africa</i> begins. Mr. Malik is a quiet and thoughtful character who walks unnoticed through life, yet who has beliefs and passions and in his own quiet way affects lives all around him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-size: small;">He soon finds himself in a contest against his childhood nemesis, seeking the hand of Ms. Mbikwa. The contest is to spot the most birds within seven days.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-size: small;">The events are told by a narrator who brings in an interesting twist and sometimes some rather amusing side comments. Joanne Harris, the author of Chocolat, probably describes the feel of the book best when she says, “<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><em>A Guide to the Birds of East Africa is a book of immense charm; a </em></span>sort of P. G. Wodehouse meets Alexander McCall Smith.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-size: small;">I kept thinking about the story of the Hare and the Tortoise as I read. </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><em><span style="font-size: small;">A Guide </span><span style="font-size: small;"><em><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">isn't exactly the same, but you can see the Aesop theme woven in there among all the scientific bird names, which surprisingly don't take away from the readability of the book.</span></em></span></em></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-size: small;">I highlight recommend the book as a sweet and lovely story of quiet, good people.</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-size: small;">For more May Keyword Reads visit <a href="http://bookmarktoblog.blogspot.com/p/monthly-key-word-challenge-2013.html">Book Marks to Blog</a>.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-27194568899614524212013-04-29T22:40:00.001-07:002014-01-01T07:45:11.912-08:002013 Literary Exploration Reading Challenge - Close Enough<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Update 1/1/2014: I finished 26 out of the 36 I chose. Not to bad for a year full of children responsibilities and a new job.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>It’s simple; you can choose from an easy (12 books), hard (24 books) or insane (36 books) challenge. Each genre links to the Goodreads genre page if you need some suggestions on what to read. We want you to have some fun and explore; hopefully you might find a new genre that peaks your interest. To sign up either join the <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/35919" modo="false">Literary Exploration book club</a> on Goodreads and talk about your progress with others involved or for the bloggers out there, if you want to add it as part of your blogging experience simply let us know with a link (to your Literary Exploration Challenge page) in the comments below so our readers can see how you are going. Go <a href="http://literary-exploration.com/2012/12/15/introducting-the-2013-literary-exploration-reading-challenge/" target="_blank">here</a> to learn more.</b></div>
<b></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<b></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>I chose Insane because - I am.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<strong>Insane Challenge</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Bold </strong>means they are read.</div>
<br />
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/adventure" target="_blank">Adventure</a> <b><em>Graceling</em></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/autobiography" modo="false" target="_blank">Auto-Biography</a>/<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/biography" target="_blank">Biography</a> <b><em>A Heart for Freedom</em></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/chick-lit" target="_blank">Chick-Lit</a> <b><em>Remember Me?</em></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/children-s" modo="false" target="_blank">Childrens Book</a> <b><em>Get Out of Bed!</em></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/classics" modo="false" target="_blank">Classics</a> <i><b>The Prince and the Pauper</b></i></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/cyberpunk" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Cyberpun</span></a><span style="color: blue;">k </span><span style="color: black;"><i><b>1984</b></i></span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/drama" modo="false" target="_blank">Drama</a> The Importance of Being Ernest</li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/dystopia?original_shelf=dystopian" target="_blank">Dystopian</a> <b><em>Crossed</em></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/education?original_shelf=educational" modo="false" target="_blank">Educational</a> <b><em>Who Moved My Cheese?</em></b></li>
<li><strike><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/erotica" target="_blank">Erotica</a></strike> <b><span style="color: blue;">Epistolary</span><em> Up the Downstaircase</em></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/espionage" target="_blank">Espionage</a><b> <em>Code Name Verity</em></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/fantasy" target="_blank">Fantasy</a> <b><em>Howl's Moving Castle</em></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/graphic-novels" target="_blank">Graphic Novels</a> <strong><em>Calamity Jack</em></strong></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/gothic" target="_blank">Gothic</a> Jane Eyre</li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/hard-boiled" target="_blank">Hard-Boiled</a><i><b> Indemnity Only - Paretsky</b></i></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/historical-fiction" target="_blank">Historical Fiction</a> <b><em>Pope Joan</em></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/horror" target="_blank">Horror</a> Dracula or Frankestein</li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/humor-and-comedy" target="_blank">Humour</a> <b><em>Lucky Change</em></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/literary-fiction" target="_blank">Literary Fiction</a> The Dovekeepers</li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/magical-realism" target="_blank">Magical Realism</a> Life of Pi</li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/mystery" target="_blank">Mystery</a> <b><em>Whose Body?</em></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/noir" target="_blank">Noir</a> The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler</li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/non-fiction" target="_blank">Non Fiction</a> <b><em>Who Moved My Cheese?</em></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/paranormal" target="_blank">Paranormal</a> <i><b>Lancaster House</b></i></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/philosophical" target="_blank">Philosophical</a> Sophie's World</li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/poetry" target="_blank">Poetry</a> <b><em>The Surrender Tree</em></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/post-apocalyptic" target="_blank">Post-Apocalyptic</a> Legend</li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/romance" target="_blank">Romance</a> <b><em>To Whisper Her Name</em></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/science-fiction" target="_blank">Science Fiction</a><em> <b>Zoorgamazoo</b></em></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/steampunk" target="_blank">Steampunk</a> <b><em>Lady of Devices</em></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/supernatural" target="_blank">Supernatural</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/thriller" target="_blank">Thriller</a> <b><em>The Lifeboat</em></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/true-crime" target="_blank">True Crime</a> The Devil in the White City</li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/urban-fantasy" target="_blank">Urban Fantasy</a> The Secret Hour</li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/victorian" target="_blank">Victorian</a> <strong><em>The Traitor in the Tunnel</em></strong></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/genres/young-adult" target="_blank">Young Adult</a> <b><em>Wintergirls</em></b></li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-46637058781489957262013-04-29T15:14:00.001-07:002013-04-29T15:17:17.590-07:00April Keyword Challenge <div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
</div>
For April the Keyword options were secret, shadow, whisper, flower, garden, home, friend, gentle, little, light. I chose a book with garden in the title, but it was also about secrets, and flowers, friends, and home.<br />
<br />
The book is The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton published in 2008.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Forgotten Garden is a tale of mystery and intrigue. It weaves fairytales and history together into a wonderful tale of good triumphing over evil and knowledge clearing away darkness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The chapters are a jumble of stories telling the story of Nell and the Mountrachets , similarly to the way a box of family history documents tells the story of a family. Documents come out in a confused way until slowly a picture is pieced together of the lineage and histories of the people flesh out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Along with the story lines from 1907-1913, 1975, and 2005, Morton entwines fairy tales written by one character, the Authoress, Eliza Makepeace, daughter of Georgiana Mountrachet Makepeace. The tales have a deeper meaning as all fairy stories do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was fascinated by all of the stories and while I did figure out one of the mysteries, I didn’t understand the motive at all until the end. And yes I liked the fairytale ending.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><a href="http://bookmarktoblog.blogspot.com/p/monthly-key-word-challenge-2013.html">This challenge</a> is hosted by Kim at Bookmarks to Blog. Find reviews of other books there. </o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-83773360610894364812013-04-29T15:02:00.003-07:002013-10-25T21:20:30.467-07:00Monthly Keyword Challenge 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<em>This was originally posted over at my other blogspot site. </em></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<em>Since I'm now putting reviews here, I thought I'd move it over to make more sense.</em></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstup1KAGtWKkE13VzH2pnc5yklwAQOYiby0P94ymRZlRbWE5-qOlvGT6cbaU6euDFB4Mvk9lNGzXPaG-KGi3LGuHU1qjcRm5oFPF314YoFFrJC0WNRQOcIrLYHAgNepZwHQ_tqMTuC7s/s1600/monthlykeywordchallenge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstup1KAGtWKkE13VzH2pnc5yklwAQOYiby0P94ymRZlRbWE5-qOlvGT6cbaU6euDFB4Mvk9lNGzXPaG-KGi3LGuHU1qjcRm5oFPF314YoFFrJC0WNRQOcIrLYHAgNepZwHQ_tqMTuC7s/s1600/monthlykeywordchallenge.jpg" height="320" tea="true" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Kim at </span><a href="http://bookmarktoblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/monthly-key-word-reading-challenge.html"><span style="color: #473624; font-family: Arial;">Bookmark to Blog</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> has chosen ten key words associated with each month in 2013. My task is to read one book each month whose title includes one or more of the key words for that month.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><u><b>GUIDELINES</b></u></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> </b><br /><br />* The title you choose can be a variation on one of the key words. For example- your title could include the word 'snowing'</span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>or </b>'snowflake'<b> </b>even though the key word is 'snow.'<br /><br />*Key words can be tweaked. For example- You could read "Cinder" or "Ashes" for the key word 'Fire' and that would be just fine. If the key word is 'family' then your title could include the word 'sister' or 'mother.'If the key word is 'food' then your title could include the word 'cake.' </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br />* Link up at the challenge site (click above) to participate and add additional links any time you post about the challenge or post about a book you read for the challenge.</span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br /><u><b>Monthly Key Words:</b></u></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<center>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://s1116.beta.photobucket.com/user/hersunday/library/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/hersunday/January.jpg" unselectable="on" /></a><a href="http://s1116.beta.photobucket.com/user/hersunday/library/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/hersunday/february.jpg" unselectable="on" /></a><a href="http://s1116.beta.photobucket.com/user/hersunday/library/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/hersunday/march.jpg" unselectable="on" /></a><a href="http://s1116.beta.photobucket.com/user/hersunday/library/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/hersunday/april.jpg" unselectable="on" /></a><a href="http://s1116.beta.photobucket.com/user/hersunday/library/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/hersunday/may.jpg" unselectable="on" /></a><a href="http://s1116.beta.photobucket.com/user/hersunday/library/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/hersunday/JUNE.jpg" unselectable="on" /></a><a href="http://s1116.beta.photobucket.com/user/hersunday/library/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/hersunday/July.jpg" unselectable="on" /></a><a href="http://s1116.beta.photobucket.com/user/hersunday/library/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/hersunday/AUGUST.jpg" unselectable="on" /></a><a href="http://s1116.beta.photobucket.com/user/hersunday/library/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/hersunday/SEPTEMBER.jpg" unselectable="on" /></a> <a href="http://s1116.beta.photobucket.com/user/hersunday/library/"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/hersunday/october.jpg" unselectable="on" /></a><a href="http://s1116.beta.photobucket.com/user/hersunday/library/"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/hersunday/NOVEMBER.jpg" unselectable="on" /></a><a href="http://s1116.beta.photobucket.com/user/hersunday/library/"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/hersunday/DECEMBER.jpg" unselectable="on" /></a> </span></center>
<center>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </center>
<center>
</center>
<center>
</center>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong> My Plan:</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><em>J</em>anuary</span><em> - <a href="http://lostpiecesofmymind.blogspot.com/2013/01/january-key-word-challenge-wintergirls.html" target="_blank">Wintergirls</a></em></strong><a href="http://lostpiecesofmymind.blogspot.com/2013/01/january-key-word-challenge-wintergirls.html" target="_blank"> </a>- 1/5/2013<br /><span style="color: red;">February</span> - <strong><em><a href="http://lostpiecesofmymind.blogspot.com/2013/02/february-key-word-challenge-what-hearts.html" target="_blank">What Hearts</a></em></strong> - 2/2/2013 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">March</span> - <a href="http://spacesbetweenthepieces.blogspot.com/2013/03/march-key-word-challenge-best-bad-luck.html"><em><strong>The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had</strong></em></a><span style="color: #ea9999;"> </span><span style="color: black;">- 3/29/2013</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ea9999;">April</span> - <a href="http://spacesbetweenthepieces.blogspot.com/2013/04/april-keyword-challenge-forgotten-garden.html"><strong><em>The Forgotten Garden</em></strong></a> - 4/29/2013<br /><span style="color: magenta;">May</span> - <strike>The Boy Who Drew Birds</strike> <strong><em><a href="http://spacesbetweenthepieces.blogspot.com/2013/05/may-keyword-challenge.html">A Guide to the Birds of East Africa</a></em></strong> - 5/13/2013<br /><span style="color: yellow;">June</span> - <a href="http://spacesbetweenthepieces.blogspot.com/2013/07/june-keyword-challenge-you-are-my.html"><em><strong>My Only Sunshine</strong></em></a> 6/7/2013</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #e06666;">July</span> - West With the Night<br /><span style="color: orange;">August</span> - All Set Sail: A Romance of the Flying Cloud<br /><span style="color: #666666;">September</span> - These Old Shades<br />October - Tell Her It's Murder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">November </span>- Behind the Beautiful Forevers<br /><span style="color: blue;">December</span> - A Hope in the Unseen</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-62442110161498883872013-03-31T09:58:00.000-07:002013-03-31T10:03:18.191-07:00As I Lay Dying Review<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://booksandmovies.colvilleblogger.com/reading-challenges-im-hosting/2013-ive-always-meant-to-read-that-book-challenge/"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>I Always Meant to Read That Book Challenge</i></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>As I Lay Dying</i> by William Faulkner</span></div>
<br />
Summary:<br />
Addie Bundren lays dying in her bed. Outside her window, her oldest son Cash constructs her coffin. He works there so she can see the care he is putting into the project. She has three other sons-only one is still a child, a daughter, and a husband. None of her children have left home. Her husband Anse is basically incapable of doing anything in case he might sweat.<br />
<br />
Dewey Dell, the daughter, stands beside the bed fanning her mother and worrying about how to deal with a pregnancy due to an encounter with a farm worker. Knowing that their mother is near death, the two middle sons - Jewel and Darl, decide to go and work taking a load somewhere and making three dollars for doing it. Vardaman, the youngest son doesn't really understand what is going on and confuses the death of his mother with the death of a fish he caught and cleaned on the day of her death.<br />
<br />
When Addie dies and Cash finishes the coffin, the neighbor ladies dress the body and load it into the coffin with her head where her feet should go, so that her wedding dress can fan out and not be crushed. This leads to problems as Cash built the coffin to balance with her body the other direction. Then they wait for the boys to return with the wagon. Neighbors offer their wagons so the body can quickly be buried in the Mississippi heat, but Anse refuses since he promised Addie that he would bury her with her kinfolk and that her family would all be together to do it. He hasn't given her anything else, but he is dead set on fulfilling this last promise.<br />
<br />
Darl and Jewel return home. The coffin is wrestled into the family's wagon in a huge rainstorm. The rainstorm washes out the bridges that the family must cross to get to Addie's childhood home of Jefferson. At one point they meet disaster fording the river risking their lives, losing the mules, nearly losing the coffin and Cash's tools, and breaking Cash's leg (again).<br />
<br />
The family wanders around for days ineffectually trying to get to Jefferson while the body decomposes in the wet and heat and begins smelling to high heaven. Cash lays on top of the coffin, suffering with a broken leg that Anse tries to set with concrete. Finally ten days after her death, they arrive in Jefferson to realize they brought no shovel.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
My thoughts:<br />
It is a good thing this book is short, because it is confusing. I had to go and read the synopsis on wikipedia to understand most of what was going on. At first I really wasn't thrilled with the writing style. Faulkner writes each chapter from the view point and in the voice of a different character. It makes it hard to get into the flow of the novel. Plus he has a horrible tendency to use pronouns without give you much clue of who it refers to. Many of the chapters seem to be rambling stream of conscious type narratives.<br />
<br />
If it hadn't been for my macabre fascination with this bumbling family wandering the bayou with a stinking dead body, I'd probably have given up after the first few chapters. Even when I finished I wasn't sure how I felt about the book.<br />
<br />
But the more I ponder it, the more I see the brilliance of the way Faulkner wrote the novel. He shows the lack of clarity in the minds of many of the family members through their chapters. It is a relief to get to a chapter from Tull, the neighbor, or Darl, the only Bundren who seems to be capable of rational thought. Of course by the end of the book, the emotional excruciation of surviving the trip takes his sanity too, and Darl's last chapter shows it.<br />
<br />
After letting it settle for several days, I find I rather enjoyed this story of a family's implosion. It is darkly painful and hilarious at the same time.<br />
<br />
To read other reviews of this novel visit - <a href="http://booksandmovies.colvilleblogger.com/2013/03/31/ive-always-meant-to-read-that-book-challenge-as-i-lay-dying-by-william-faulkner/">Books and Movies</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936080780092428002.post-55992714645865827262013-03-29T10:21:00.002-07:002013-03-29T10:48:50.712-07:00March Key Word Challenge - The Best Bad Luck Ever<div class="post-header">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://lostpiecesofmymind.blogspot.com/2012/11/monthly-key-word-challenge-2013.html" target="_blank">Monthly Key Word Challenge 2013</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"></span>For March the Keyword options were luck, wish, gold, rainbow, green, mountain, valley, magic, farm, and treasure.<br />
<br />
I chose <i><b>The Best Bad Luck Ever</b></i> by Kristin Levine published in 2009.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Dit is a twelve year old middle child in a
family of ten children who feels like his parents don't even know who
he is. He is growing up a white child in a tiny town near Selma, Alabama
at the turn of the twentieth century. He hopes that the new post
master's son, who is also reported to be twelve, will be his summer
friend.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The new postmaster transferred from
Boston comes to town on the train with his family. Only two problems:
the family is black and the son is actually a daughter, named Emma.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Dit isn't sure about having anything to
do with this girl, but his mother, who believes in being a good neighbor
regardless of race, assigns him to show her around and pretty soon they
become uneasy companions. But Dit still isn't sure he enjoys this
brilliant, book reading, and sorta bossy female friend.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
As time passes the families grow closer
together. Emma doesn't attend the white school with Dit, but she helps
him with his homework thus learning all of his lessons and making up for
the time she is losing at her school. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Partway through the year, the teacher at
the white school decides to put on a play about the circus with her
class. Dit is assigned the largest part, the ringmaster. He tries to
learn the lines, but can't. Emma, who has been helping him, knows them
all. Dit and Emma convince the teacher to let Emma take the ringmaster part.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Not everyone in town is as accepting of
the family or of Dit's friendship with Emma. Kids at school tease him
and more worrisome, the sheriff threatens them.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The tension comes to a head when the
sheriff orders Emma out of the play. Racial problems erupt in the small
town and eventually result in one person dying and another being on
trial.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Dit and Emma struggle to find a way to resolve the problem that they feel responsible for starting.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This is a story of racial bigotry and
social injustice. It is told in a way that is palatable to children. It
is a story that says people matter and friendship can change
circumstances. While many may argue that it isn't believable, I think
that it is perfect for its intended juvenile audience.</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2