Global Reading Challenge 2014

Glad to see this one going again and maybe this year, I will actually complete it! I am going for the Expert level again.

Sign In and Challenge Rules

As in the past, the 2014 Global Reading Challenge (2014GRC) challenges you to expand your reading boundaries, go where you haven't been before, move a little outside your comfort zone.

You may read any genre so long as the books are fiction.

Decide which level you will attempt, although you can change that later if you wish.
Use the Mr Linky below to sign up with your name, the level you intend to attempt, and your blog URL.

Feel free to include the logo in your blog posts or on your blog (with a link to this page) 

Your reading will take place in the calendar year 2014.

You may like to consult Global Reading Challenges for 2011, 2010, 2012, and 2013 for suggestions of books.

Please advertise the  2014 Global Reading Challenge (2014GRC) on your blog and direct your readers back to this page.

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The Easy Challenge
Read one novel from each of these continents in the course of 2014:

Africa, Asia, Australasia/Oceania, Europe, North America, South America (please include Central America where it is most convenient for you)

The Seventh Continent (here you can either choose Antarctica or your own ´seventh´ setting, eg the sea, the space, a supernatural/paranormal world, history, the future – you name it). 

From your own continent: try to find a country, state or author that is new to you.

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The Medium Challenge

Read two novels from each of these continents in the course of 2014:

Africa, Asia, Australasia/Oceania, Europe, North America, South America (please include Central America where it is most convenient for you)

The Seventh Continent (here you can either choose Antarctica or your own ´seventh´ setting, eg the sea, the space, a supernatural/paranormal world, history, the future – you name it). 

From your own continent: try to find a country, state or author that is new to you.

Try to find novels from fourteen different countries or states.

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The Expert Challenge

Read three novels from each of these continents in the course of 2014:

Africa, Asia, Australasia/Oceania, Europe, North America, South America (please include Central America where it is most convenient for you)

The Seventh Continent (here you can either choose Antarctica or your own ´seventh´ setting, eg the sea, the space, a supernatural/paranormal world, history, the future – you name it). 

From your own continent: try to find a country, state or author that is new to you.

Select novels from twenty-one different countries or states if possible. (For Australasia, selecting a different state for your last book will be acceptable)

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European Reading Challenge 2013

Challenge Home Page

My Signup Page

The gist: The idea was to read books by European authors or books set in European countries (no matter where the author comes from). The books could be anything – novels, short stories, memoirs, travel guides, cookbooks, biography, poetry, or any other genre. You could participate at different levels, but each book must be by a different author and set in a different country – it's supposed to be a tour. (See note about the UK, below)

What counts as "Europe"? For this challenge, we used the list of 50 sovereign states that fall (at least partially) within the geographic territory of the continent of Europe and/or enjoy membership in international European organizations such as the Council of Europe. This list includes the obvious (the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy), the really huge Russia, the tiny Vatican City, and the mixed bag of Baltic, Balkan, and former Soviet states.

Note: Technically, the United Kingdom is one country that includes England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.  So one book from any one of these four should count as your one book for that one country. I'm not going to be a stickler about it because challenges should be about fun not about rules. However, when it comes to winning the Jet Setter prize, only one book from one of the UK countries will count.

Here is the list, in alphabetical order: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Vatican City. 

I chose the top level

Five Star (Deluxe Entourage): Read at least five books by different European authors or books set in different European countries, and managed to read twelve, so I'm pleased.

Books Read:

1. Dark Dreams by Michael Genelin (Slovakia) Finished January 5
2. City of Women by David R. Gillham (Germany) Finished January 13
3. Young Turk by Moris Farhi (Turkey) Finished January 13
4. Harvest by Jim Crace (UK) Finished February 20
5. The Smell of the Night by Andrea Camilleri (Italy) Finished March 15
6. A Mountain of Crumbs by Elena Gorokhova (Russia) Finished March 16
7. Two Pints by Roddy Doyle (Ireland) Finished May 2
8. The Ghost Riders of Ordebec by Fred Vargas (France) Finished May 11
9. Léon & Louise by Alex Capus (Switzerland) Finished June 2
10. The Lullaby of Polish Girls by Dagmara Dominczyk (Poland) Finished July 2
11. HHhH by Laurent Binet (Czech Republic) Finished July 17
12. Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller (Norway) Finished July 30

2013 Reading Summary

I took a picture of just one of my overflowing bookcases to illustrate the task ahead of me, but here is the progress I made this year. I read a total of 202 books, which was better than my aim of 200 books.

Authors
Male: 84
Female: 115
Multiple authors: 3

Sources
Library books: 76
Advance reading copies: 41
Netgalley: 14

Audience
Adult: 166
Teen: 21
Children: 15

Formats:
Audiobook: 28
ebook: 15
Graphica: 4
book: 155

Content

Translated: 12

• French: 6
• German: 2
• Italian: 2
• Japanese: 1
• Spanish: 1

Fiction: 162
I also counted those that fit into some genres, not everything did, but some fit into multiple genres

• Mystery: 49
• Romance: 21
• Historical: 34
• Fantasy: 9
• Science Fiction: 4
• Short Stories: 3

Nonfiction: 40

• Biography or memoir: 23
• Poetry: 3 (must do better)
• Essays: 1 (which is weird because I love essays)

Challenge books: For details on my challenge reading see my 2013 Challenge page
European Challenge: 12
Science Challenge: 3
Tea and Books Challenge: 1 (sadly did very badly on this one)
Colorful Challenge: 9 (squeaked in at the last minute!)
Postal Reading Challenge: 7 (didn't get to my target)
Global Reading Challenge: 16 (always seem to have issues with Africa, Australasia, and South America)
War Through the Generations Challenge: 4 (it was American Revolution, so a little harder to find stuff)
TBR Challenge (To Be Read): 3 (out of 12, so not good, especially as 2 were late December)
What's in a Name Challenge: 6 (Completed, again last minute)
Chunkster Challenge: 5 (didn't make my target)
Canadian Reading Challenge: 22 for the 6th year and 17 for the 7th (runs from July through June)

Out of Circulation

Finished December 30
Out of Circulation by Miranda James

This is part of a mystery series called "A Cat in the Stacks" featuring library board member, archivist and library volunteer Charlie Harris and his thirty-six pound Maine Coon cat Diesel.
Two local older ladies An'gel and Dickce Ducote, also on the library board are having another instance in a long-standing disagreement with another library board member, this time over where to hold this year's fundraising gala. Charlie tries to stay out of these as both he and Diesel dislike disagreements.
But it does seem like the one older woman, Vera, has no shortage of enemies. When Vera turns up dead at the gala, held at the Ducote sisters large house, the sheriff seems to suspect the only witness and Charlie is asked to help get to the bottom of things.
We are introduced to Charlie's lady friend, as well as his two children and their friends, as well as Charlie's boarder Stewart.
The deputy has a personal interest in the case since the witness is her mother, and Charlie's housekeeper. Lots of false trails and intrigue and some family skeletons that emerge.
Despite the presence of cats and libraries and a decent plot, the book didn't grab me and I won't be going out of my way for more of the series.

TBR Challenge 2014

The Goal: To finally read 12 books from my “to be read” pile (within 12 months).

Specifics:

Each of these 12 books must have been on my bookshelf or “To Be Read” list for AT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2013 or later (any book published in the year 2012 or earlier qualifies, as long as it has been on my TBR pile – the host WILL be checking publication dates). Caveat: Two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books end up in the “can’t get through” pile.

My complete and final list must be posted by January 15th, 2014.

Crossovers from other challenges are totally acceptable, as long as I have never read the book before and it was published before 2013!

I decided to look at the top shelf of my living room bookcase, which has been unchanged for more than a year (like 3 I think) and pick what I can see there. My books:
1. The Book That Changed My Life: 71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books that Matter Most to Them edited by Roxanne J Coady
2. Drowning Anna by Sue Mayfield. Finished October 31
3. Mental Traps: the Overthinker's Guide to a Happy Life by Andre Kukla
4. Bizarre Books by Russell Ash. Finished December 10
5. Dry Store Room No. 1 by Richard Fortey. Finished December 28
6. Serious Things by Gregory Norminton. Finished November 8
7. Dead Men by Stephen Leather. Finished November 18
8. Slam by Nick Hornby. Finished May 22
9. The Unfree French: Life under the Occupation by Richard Vinen.
10. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Finished October 31
11. Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay. Finished December 15
12.Stitch Me Deadly by Amanda Lee. Finished May 29

Alternates:
1. Lauchlin of the Bad Heart by D.R. MacDonald
2. Drivetime by James Meek

Hot Pink

Finished December 29
Hot Pink by Adam Levin

Have to say that this collection of short stories didn't do anything for me. They are all a bit off the wall and more violent than I normally am comfortable with. The writing was okay, but nothing special, so that didn't make up for the other issues I had with it.
The collection includes ten short stories, and everyone seems disturbed or has lots of issues. They don't seem to communicate well with the people around them, and they all seem to have some kind of issue in how they react to certain kinds of behaviours from others.
Definitely not my thing.

I Could Pee on This

Finished December 28
I Could Pee on This and Other Poems by Cats by Francesco Marciuliano

This short collection of poems is all written from a cat's point of view. It is divided into four chapters: family, work, play, and existence. and the poems are all amusing and spot on. The author really gets into a cats head for these. I could see my cat and others I know in these verses. Light-hearted and fun, a good choice for any cat lover.

A Shtinky Little Christmas

Finished December 28
A Shtinky Little Christmas by Patrick McDonnell

This short collection of cartoons is from Mutts and depicts the story of the young cat Shtinky. The cat Mooch finds Shtinky in a garbage can, lost and hungry. He and Earl discuss the situation, ask the young cat some questions, give him a name and take him home. At home, the humans note that this cat is missing and a reward is offered and call up the owner, but Shtinky feels guilty about causing his rescuers trouble and makes an escape. Earl and Mooch go after him, and get lost themselves until they find someone who helps bring them all home and all is well. A nice little collection from my favourite comic strip.

The Yellow Duster Sisters

Finished December 28
The Yellow Duster Sisters by Susan Kennaway

This memoir covers the years of World War II when Susan and her older sister Gyll were evacuated from Watford to Africa and then their return to England.
The decision is made to send the girls to Africa where their mother's sister works as a governess. They stay with the family she works for, who have a son and a daughter. The daughter, Mavis, is the same age as Susan. They hadn't previously met their aunt, and find her hard to warm up to. Their new guardian treat them as poor relations, forcing them to wear patched up clothes, adhere to strict rules, and go to bed at six. Unbeknownst to the girls, their father had sent the guardians money for their upkeep, but they were made to feel as charity cases. When the letters from home grow further and further apart and then stop coming altogether, the sister feel completely abandoned and find comfort only in each other.
In the fall of 1942, the girls are sent from their guardians in Rhodesia to a boarding school in South Africa. By the spring of 1943 ships heading to England are starting to take civilians, and with the girls desperate for their old life they manage to work with their guardians to arrange a chaperoned passage back to England.
The second part of the book covers their return to England until the end of the war.
The girls are disappointed that no one meets their ship, but manage to get to London on their own where their father meets them. Their mother is in Scarborough working with Polish servicemen and the father living alone with servants. Neither parent seems glad to see them, and their father soon packs them off to a very strict boarding school where once again only being together makes it bearable.
The unhappiness with this time in their lives comes through clearly and looking it back on it several decades later hasn't dulled the pain for Susan. This amazingly open and honest memoir brings the loneliness felt by those girls to life.

The Doctor Rocks the Boat

Finished December 27
The Doctor Rocks the Boat by Robin Hathaway

This is part of the series featuring Doctor Fenimore. Fenimore is a cardiologist in Philadelphia, and one day passing the Schuylkill River, he sees a rower out and remembers how he found rowing to be a great destressor when he was an intern. He decides to take it up again. When he goes to Windsor Club boathouse to rejoin, he finds his old classmate Charlie Ashburn there. Charlie has to quit rowing years ago because of a heart defect, but now is son is vying to compete at Henley and Charlie is his biggest supporter. Fenimore can't help but wonder if Charlie's son Chuck was checked to see if he inherited the defect or not after he sees how drained Chuck is after rowing.
Easing into his return to rowing, Fenimore finds it difficult to find the time to row during hours when he knows others will be around. Talking to others, he finds the Victorian boathouses are under threat from developers who want to build a marina in their place. The Historic Commission has a proposal in the works to register Boathouse Row as an historic landmark, but it may not get through the process before the decision to develop takes place.
Fenimore's young office assistant has taken a fall on his skateboard and broken his leg, but also seems to be hiding something. Has he started hanging out with a bad crowd again?
All these things worry Fenimore and he gets involved in both professional and personal ways.
The setting was interesting with the information provided on rowing and the lovely natural setting and historic buildings. The different storylines offered many different possible plots behind attacks on Fenimore and others, I liked the characters and found the mystery a good one.

Still Alice

Finished December 26
Still Alice by Lisa Genova

I've had this novel on my shelf for awhile, and am glad I finally got to it. The Alice of the title is Alice Howland, a full professor of psychology at Harvard University, world-renowned expert in linguistics, and mother of three children in their twenties. Her husband is also a professor at Harvard and the two have even written a book together. Alice turns 50 a couple of months into the novel.
As Alice has several issues of forgetfulness and disorientation she begins to worry, and takes herself in for a checkup. As other causes are ruled out, Alice finds she has early onset Alzheimer's, something she never dreamed of. It takes her a while to accept it, and her family also struggles with what this means, not only for her, but also for them. Early onset Alzheimer's has a strong genetic component, and there is a high possibility at least one of her children might have the gene as well.
As the disease progresses, we see how the different family members handle the changes, how it affects Alice's career, and her life. We see her struggle and her plans for the future.
This is a novel that had me silently weeping as I read it, totally involved in the lives of these characters and the reality they were now dealing with.
I know someone with a parent who had early onset Alzheimer's and can't help but wonder if she and her siblings have looked at the genetic possibilities for themselves.

The Cottage at Glass Beach

Finished December 25
The Cottage at Glass Beach by Heather Barbieri

This novel is set on an island, Burke's Island, off the coast of Maine one summer. Nora Keane was born on the island, but left when she was a young child after her mother disappeared. Now the wife of the youngest attorney general in Massachusetts history, she is back to the island for the summer with her two daughters, taking refuge from the media onslaught back home after her husband's infidelity is uncovered.
Annie is seven, full of imagination and daring. Ella is twelve, sassy and already showing signs of coming teen rebellion. Nora finds herself full of grief, for her marriage, for her renewed sense of loss of her mother, and for all the time she missed with her aunt, who wrote the letter that brought her back home.
Nora's aunt Maire is the island midwife, a family tradition, and while living alone, tied tightly into island life. This is a life with a sense of the unknown, a life where generations have been tied to the sea for their livelihood. A community where legends aren't dismissed out of hand.
So, when a quiet fisherman washes ashore in an apparent shipwreck and Nora finds him, her aunt's suggestion that he is a selkie summoned by her tears doesn't seem that farfetched a possibility. And what did really happen to Nora's mother, did she leave of her own accord, or did something happen to her. As Nora gradually begins to figure out her own future, her daughters go on a dangerous adventure that will draw Nora's courage beyond what she imagined.
The selkie legend surfaces several times in this book, but never really releases its mystery. An interesting novel, but it didn't capture me entirely.

Call Me Mrs. Miracle

Finished December 24
Call Me Mrs. Miracle by Debbie Macomber

This short novel is set in New York City near Christmas.
J.R. Finley runs a large department store and his son Jake is currently managing the toy department. Despite the advice from others, Jake has bought a large quantity of a toy that he believes will be the toy to have this Christmas. The toy is called Intellytron and is a programmable robot. J.R. is unhappy with Jake about this and makes is clear that this will be a test of Jake's skills.
The two men haven't celebrated Christmas personally in years, since the death of Jake's mother and younger sister in a car accident on Christmas Eve.
Jake finds a new seasonal salesperson in his department and isn't sure of her suitability. She is an older woman and her name tag reads Mrs. Miracle, although she says that that is a mistake and her name is really Emily Merkle. But Jake finds that she may be more helpful to sales than he expected.
Meanwhile Holly Larson is struggling as she tries to fulfill her work obligations to fashion designer Lindy Lee, and serve as temporary caregiver to her 8-year-old nephew Gabe. Gabe's mother died when he was a baby and his father Mickey is in the National Guard, called to serve in Afghanistan for the next 15 months, on leave from his normal job as a manager of a large grocery store.
Holly wants to make Gabe feel happy with her, and is determined to make this a good Christmas for him.
When Holly and Jake meet in a Starbucks line-up, a connection is made and Mrs. Miracle helps things along.
A feel good novel with real Christmas spirit.

Lona

Finished December 23
Lona: a fairy tale by Dare Wright

This book is a fairy tale told in photographs. The author is a model and photographer and she poses herself as the Princess Lona of the book's title.
In the story there are 3 kingdoms living in peace: Muirlan "of the green fields and quiet villages", Lasair "with its deep forests and clear streams", and Yarmailt "where the sun was never too hot and all the rains were gentle". On the edge of these kingdoms is a tower where the evil wizard Druth lives. Druth is always casting spells on the people of the kingdoms turning them into other creatures and such. But something happened when he was casting a spell in his youth and he cannot turn princesses into other creatures. This is something that he is enraged and obsessed about.
As the story begins, he has tried again to change two princesses and failed and irritated cast the three kingdoms under terrible spells, and taken one young princess to try on when she gets older, Lona. One young prince of the kingdoms, Rogan, has been exploring the world beyond and he tries to stop the wizard only to be changed into a creature himself. Despite this, Rogan goes to the princess and offers help, making treks to powers beyond to learn what he can about the wizard and how to defeat him.
The princess Lona is a determined young woman and puts the welfare of the kingdoms before her own life, doing whatever is necessary to achieve their release from the spells they are under.
I really enjoyed this story, and loved the photography illustrating the story.

European Reading Challenge 2014

I'm glad to see this challenge offered again, and will definitely be jumping in for 2014.

The gist: The idea is to read books by European authors or books set in European countries (no matter where the author comes from). The books can be anything – novels, short stories, memoirs, travel guides, cookbooks, biography, poetry, or any other genre. You can participate at different levels, but each book must be by a different author and set in a different country – it's supposed to be a tour. (See note about the UK, below)

What counts as "Europe"? For this challenge, we will use the list of 50 sovereign states that fall (at least partially) within the geographic territory of the continent of Europe and/or enjoy membership in international European organizations such as the Council of Europe. This list includes the obvious (the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy), the really huge Russia, the tiny Vatican City, and the mixed bag of Baltic, Balkan, and former Soviet states.

Note: Technically, the United Kingdom is one country that includes England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.  So one book from any one of these four should count as your one book for that one country. I'm not going to be a stickler about it because challenges should be about fun not about rules. However, when it comes to winning the Jet Setter prize, only one book from one of the UK countries will count.

Here is the list, in alphabetical order: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Vatican City. 

LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION

Five Star (Deluxe Entourage): Read at least five books by different European authors or books set in different European countries.

Four Star (Honeymooner): Read four qualifying books.

Three Star (Business Traveler): Read three qualifying books.

Two Star (Adventurer): Read two qualifying books.

One Star (Pensione Weekender): Read just one qualifying book.

JET SETTER PRIZE

The participant who reads and reviews the greatest number of qualifying books (more than five) will get a $25 gift card to Powell's Books (can be used in store or on line).  Participants living in Europe will get a $25-equivalent gift card to the Amazon store in your country, if possible. If you live in a country where neither Powell's nor Amazon will work, then sorry, you are out of luck.

Each book must be by a different author and set in a different country. This means that only one book from one of the four UK countries will count.  Only books reviewed count towards the prize.

OFFICIAL RULES

• Read all books between January 1, 2014 and January 31, 2015.  I like having 13 months so there is extra time to finish after the holidays.  However, if you participated in the 2013 European Reading Challenge, you can only count books read in January 2014 for one year -- either the end of the 2013 challenge or the start of the 2014 challenge -- you don't get to count one book for both challenges. 

I will be going for the Five Star level this year again, and trying to get some of those countries I haven't got before.

War Through The Generations 2014 Challenge

2014 War Challenge With a Twist

2014 is fast approaching. At War Through the Generations, they decided to mix things up a bit.

They will focus on 1 war for 2 months rather than a full or half year.

Every two months, they’ll post a new linky for a new war so everyone can share their review links.

In other words, read books from any of the listed wars during the entire year, then come back and post your reviews in the linky for the designated month.

Here’s the schedule:

• Jan./Feb.: Gulf Wars (Gulf War/Operation Desert Storm and Iraq War/Operation Iraqi Freedom)
• March/April: French and Indian War
• May/June: Korean War
• July/August: WWI (100th Anniversary)
• Sept./Oct.: WWII
• Nov./Dec.: Vietnam War

Level of Participation:

• Dip Your Toes: Read 1 book for any war
  
• Novice: Read 1 book per war throughout the year for a total of 6 books on 6 different wars
• Intermediate: Read 2+ books for 1 war, and 1 book for each of the others for a total of 7 books
• Expert: Read 2+ books for each war for a total of 12 books

I will be doing at least the Novice level for the year, but may do more for some of the wars. My plan for Jan/Feb will be for the Novice for sure as I will have to go searching for books for this group of wars. 

What's In a Name Challenge Wrap-Up Post

This one took me longer to finish that I expected. I had trouble with the "party or celebration" themed title, and nothing that fit came up in the normal course of my reading, so I finally had to go out looking for something.

What's In a Name Challenge (6th) for 2013

Challenge Home Page
My Signup Page Between January 1 and December 31, 2013, read one book in each of the following categories (The book titles are just suggestions, you can read whatever book you want to fit the category.):

1. A book with up or down (or equivalent) in the title: Deep down True, The Girl Below, The Diva Digs up the Dirt
   Book Read:  The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud
2. A book with something you'd find in your kitchen in the title: Loose Lips Sink Ships, The Knife of Never Letting Go, Breadcrumbs
   Book Read: A Mountain of Crumbs by Elena Gorokhova
3. A book with a party or celebration in the title: A Feast for Crows, A Wedding in Haiti, Cocktail Hour under the Tree of Forgetfulness
   Book Read: An Irish Country Wedding by Patrick Taylor
   
4. A book with fire (or equivalent) in the title: Burning for Revenge, Fireworks over Toccoa, Catching Fire
   Book Read: Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wien
5. A book with an emotion in the title: Baltimore Blues, Say You're Sorry, Dreams of Joy
   Book Read: Love Saves the Day by Gwen Cooper
6. A book with lost or found (or equivalent) in the title: The Book of Lost Fragrances, The World We Found, A Discovery of Witches
   Book Read: Letters from the Lost: a memoir of discovery by Helen Waldstein Wilkes

This challenge usually gets spread out over the year as I identify books that fit. Other rules they have are:

• Books may be any form (audio, print, e-book).
• Books may overlap other challenges.
• Books may not overlap categories; you need a different book for each category.
• Creativity for matching the categories is not only allowed but encouraged.
• You do not have to make a list of books before hand.
• You do not have to read through the categories in any particular order.

An Irish Country Wedding

Finished December 23
An Irish Country Wedding by Patrick Taylor

This book continues the series set around the Northern Ireland village of Ballybucklebo in County Down. As the book begins Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly is looking six weeks ahead to his wedding to Kitty O'Hallorhan. Dr. Barry Laverty gets reaquainted with a politically active schoolteacher. Their housekeeper, Kinky gets hospitalized by a sudden illness, and that makes her even more worried about her future. Young patient Colin survives broken bones and the necessary loss of a loved pet.
We get updates on several other of the village characters due to illnesses, recoveries, and other activities that the doctors get involved in for the sake of the patients they care for.
We also get to see Fingal's brother Lars and updated on his life.
And the book culminates with the wedding and a change to Barry's circumstances.
A feel-good book about village life, and the lives of the people who live there.

Longbourn

Finished December 22
Longbourn by Jo Baker

This novel retells the story of Pride and Prejudice from the servants viewpoint. In this case, the Longbourn servants include Sarah, a housemaid, who came to the family as an orphan from the poorhouse; Mr. and Mrs. Hill, the manservant and housekeeper, both of whom have been employed at the house since their youth; and Polly the younger housemaid. Polly's real name is Mary, but because one of the young Bennett daughters is Mary, she has to go by a different name, something she is much put out about. As the story begins, another man joins the household as a servant, taking on some of the more strenuous tasks from Mr. Hill who is aging. His name is James Smith, and his arrival causes Mrs. Hill some anxiety and Sarah some confused feelings. At nearly the same time, the Bingleys arrive bringing their servants, and the footman entrusted with many messages between the houses, Ptolemy, takes a shine to Sarah.
One certainly gets a different sense of the struggles in life from this viewpoint and it is interesting to see how the servants feel about the different members of the household. The Hills have been at the house since before Mr. Bennett married, and have seen the entire lives of all the Bennett daughters, with Mrs. Hill caring deeply for them. They receive handed-down clothing from the family, and are expected to work doing errands on whatever whim the family takes, despite the time of day or weather conditions.
This story also brings in the outside world more than the original novel, showing us a different take on living during the Napoleonic wars.
It was a very interesting and enjoyable read.

2014 Chunkster Challenge

Will try to do better on this one this year.

Wondering what’s a chunkster? A chunkster is an adult or YA book, non-fiction or fiction, that’s 450 pages or more. 

Rules for this challenge:

• Audio books and e-books are now allowed. You want to listen to a chunkster on audio? Be my guest. 
• Essay, short story, and poetry collections are allowed but they have to be read in their entirety to count.
• Books may crossover with other challenges.
• Anyone can join.
• You don’t have to list your book ahead of time.
• Graphic novels don’t count. Sorry guys but reading a chunkster graphic novel isn’t the same as reading a non-graphic chunkster.

There are no levels this year, but ebooks and audiobooks are allowed so I will try for 15 chunksters with at least 4 over 750 pages. 

What's in a Name Challenge 2014

Glad to see this one back again. Only 5 categories instead of six this year, so that will make it a bit easier. I'm already looking through my shelves for possibilities

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):

• A reference to time (Eleven Minutes, Before Ever After)
• A position of royalty (The People’s Queen, The Last Empress, The Curse Of The Pharaoh)
• A number written in letters (The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, A Tale Of Two Cities)
• A forename or names (Rebecca, Eleanor & Park, The Unfinished Work Of Elizabeth D.)
• A type or element of weather (Gone With The Wind, Red Earth Pouring Rain)

Remember the titles I’ve given here are only examples, you can by all means use them if you want to – some are classics after all – but it’s not necessary. There are plenty of other books that will fit the categories and you may have some in mind already or even some on your shelves you can read. I’ve been getting a lot of questions about whether there will be a sixth category – not this year. I realised too late after publishing the post that I hadn’t included a sixth, so as not to confuse everyone we’ll be sticking with five this time around.

Extra information

• Books can be any format (print, audio, ebook).
• It’s preferred that the books don’t overlap with other challenges, but not a requirement at all.
• Books cannot overlap categories (for instance my first example, Eleven Minutes, could be used for category 1 or 3 but not both).
• Creativity for matching the categories is not only allowed, it’s encouraged!
• You don’t have to make your list of books beforehand, you can choose them as you go.
• You don’t have to read your chosen books in any particular order.

A Walk Along the Wall

Finished December 20

A Walk Along the Wall: A Journey Along Hadrian's Wall by Hunter Davies

This book recounts Davies experience walking the length of Hadrian's Wall from east to west over the course of several months, and was first published in 1974. Davies talks about his own observations and experiences along his journey, but also gives us history, not only of the wall, its significance and construction, but also other history that relates to the areas he traverses. He talks to a lot of people along the way, some enthusiasts of the wall, some indifferent, and some antagonistic to its existence and popularity. 

He discusses the unknowns of its history as well, and when things aren't clear offers up the differing theories around each issue. 

I learned some things about the history of this area of Britain and the Roman occupation, about the daily life of the people during that time, and about the religious life of the soldiers, who were drawn from all over the Roman Empire. Very interesting.

2014 Postal Challenge

I as so glad to see this challenge again. Didn't make my goal last year, but got more than halfway there. I am sitting at seven right now.

What is the Challenge?

The key is to read and review books with a postal theme. These can be non-fiction on the subject of letter writing, collections of real letters, or epistolary fiction of any era. Be creative! Review each one and link back to the challenge -- there will be quarterly roundup posts for you to link reviews and posts to as you create them.

The challenge runs from January 1st, 2014 to December 31st, 2014.  You can sign up ANY TIME throughout the year.

Any books chosen can overlap with any other challenge, and rereads are allowed. Just remember to review them somewhere online in order for them to count toward the challenge. Lists don't have to be made in advance, though feel free to share your choices and inspire other readers if you wish! I always think that making lists is half the fun :)

How do I join in?
There are a few ways to participate in this challenge. 

Postcard Level:   Read and review 4 books with a postal theme.

Snail Mail Level:   Read and review 8 books with a postal theme.

Parcel Post Level: Read and review 12 books with a postal theme.

Air Mail Express Level:   Read and review 12 books with a postal theme AND commit to sending more old fashioned letters this year. At least 12 pieces of mail (or more!), and you can share numbers or even images of your mail art in the quarterly roundups.

Anyone who completes the challenge at any level will have their names thrown into a draw to win some letter-related goodies at the end of the year. In addition, if you complete the Air Mail Express Level, you'll get a chance to win a lifetime membership to (and some goodies from) the Letter Writers Alliance!

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ME

I'm going for the Air Mail Express level. I will be trying to do more letters this year, but didn't find that it worked for me in 2013 in terms of reporting on this. So, to help me do this, I bought Postcards from Penguin, a lovely boxed collection of 100 Penguin book cover as postcards. If you'd like one, let me know and I'll get your address from you. Also let me know if you have a favorite book, your interests or hobbies and I'll try to find a card that fits you. Let's see if I can get all 100 sent!