The reading challenges are hosted by a lady named Katrina who has a cute blog called Callapidder Days. She blogs about her life, her family, her faith... and books. Twice a year she hosts a reading challenge - once in the fall and once in the spring - so you can join and make goals for the books you want to read over a three month period. It really is a pretty fun idea - you should do it too!
Traci has joined the challenge a couple times and she is the one that turned me on to it. She has always been my example when it comes to reading - she used to read to me at night when she was a teenager and I was clueless kid, and although I didn't understand half of what she was reading to me most of the time (or why on earth is she crying about this book?...), I always thought it was so cool that she read so much because I knew that smart people read a lot. She has always inspired me to love books. (And just for the record, I have since read Charlie's Monument, the book that I remember her crying in and I cry every time I read it. And I've read it quite a few times.)
Her list is always so diverse and has books from well-known and classic authors (hello... C.S. Lewis and Leo Tolstoy?), so I feel a bit silly about some of the books I read on a regular basis. I'm all cheesy love story and random and she's all classic literature and deep. It's clear that literature is her forte. However, most of the books that I have read recently are ones that she has read as well since I am reading from her library. And I feel pretty good about that. For those that I don't finish here, I will (thankfully) be able to rent from the library back in Arizona...
I'm still working on my "reading while roaming" goal - the 12 books I wanted to read while I was abroad (that I'm keeping track of on my goodreads) - but since it is only a quantity goal and not a specific book title goal, I thought I could overlap the two and just continue reading forever... I love the idea of it.
Wait, a quick preface to my list: I decided on 8 books... I will be back in the States and job searching (and hopefully working a secure 40 hours a week) before this reading challenge is over, so I'm trying to be realistic. Otherwise, I probably would have gone for ten or more... :)
1.) Austenland, Shannon Hale - I just started this one. Traci just finished it and since I am an Austen lover, I thought I'd give it a whirl.
2.) Shadow of The Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon - All murder mystery and intrigue... not my usual pick for a good read, but I'm trying to be diverse. Plus I heard it was good, so I think this will be my I-must-have -a-book-on-the-beach for Portugal.
3.) The Venetian Mask, Rosalind Laker - I liked her book To Dance With Kings so I think I will really enjoy this one. Plus it's set in Venice... need I say more?
4.) A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini - I missed the band wagon when this and The Kite Runner were being read by the masses, but I think it's high time that I read at least one of them. The Kite Runner will be on my next list... 
5.) Wicked, Gregory Maguire - I loved the Broadway (if it still counts to call it that when I actually saw it in London...) and I loved another book of his called Confessions of a Wicked Stepsister so I thought it would be fun to read it. Also, Traci really liked it - what more convincing do I need?
6.) Emma, Jane Austen - This is my favorite movie of all time (Gwyneth Paltrow is my idol), but I am embarrassed to admit that I have never read the book. Even more embarrassed since in the first book on my list I claimed to be "an Austen lover"...
7.) Persuasion, Jane Austen - Digging myself in even deeper..... I haven't read this one either. It's time.
8.) Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen - Perhaps my only redeeming quality when it comes to being such an Austen lover - I read half of this book in college. I know half doesn't really qualify me for much, but at least it's something, right?Anyway, I'm excited to have another goal to add to my list of goals... It's nice to have things to work towards!
HAPPY SPRING!! And happy reading!
Wicked is NOT a good book... just throwing that out there! It's a little dark and stuff. The play is great however. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book EVER and I loved A Thousand Splendid Sunds. Also, good is The Help... check that one out after your others!!
ReplyDeleteI would also like to say that you should read Kite Runner BEFORE you read A Thousand Splendid Suns....
ReplyDelete1. Don't go into Wicked comparing it to the musical, which is only roughly based on it. Yes, it's dark. But it's also profound in a lot of ways and it's also intriguing and it also made me really, really understand Elphaba. Plus, you have to know that Maguire doesn't write sappy, feel-good stuff ever. If you know that going in, Wicked is quite interesting.
ReplyDelete2. Jane Austen is lovely. Very few ways to spend time better than reading her stuff. I need to read Northanger Abbey...Gonna have to start another list. :)
3. I cried while reading to you? And you shared it with the internets? I'm embarrassed. But also happy that you remember...Makes me feel like a good big sister.
3.
P.S. It makes me laugh that you are sitting in my living room and I am commenting on your blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna go check your facebook status now, too.