Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

From the stacks at home, not read previously

Oh, so many to choose from here!

1. Regarding Roderer - read 8/10 - 4 stars
2. The Magic Shop - read 8/13 - 3 stars
3. Probability 1 - finished 9/6 - 2 stars
4. W3 Women in Deep Time - finished 10/2 - 3 stars
5. Introducting Fractal Geometry - finished 10/20 - 1 star

Books read: 5/5
Task completed

Borrowed or from library


1. The Nun's Tale - finished 7/15 - 3 stars
2. Skeleton Key - finished 8/3 - 3 stars
3.Tom Sawyer, in combination w/ audio Tom Sawyer - finished 8/6 - 4 stars
4. Aliens Love Underpants - read 8/10 - 3 stars
5. Two for the Dough #2 of Stephanie Plum Series - finished 8/11 - 3 stars
6. Too Many Tamales - read 9/6 - 2 stars
7. Chato's Kitchen - read 9/6 - 3 stars
8. The Old Man & His Door - read 9/6 - 4 stars
9. Muchacho - finished 9/20 - 2 stars
10. Pajaro Verde/The Green Bird - read 10/17 - 1 star
11. Murder and the First Lady - finished 11/1 - 3 stars
12. Watch out for Clever Women/¡Cuidado con las mujeres astutas! - finished 11/13 - 3 stars
13. The Cure - finished 11/27 - 4 stars
14. House on the Strand - finished 11/29 - 4 stars
15. The Road - finished 12/7 - 2 stars
16. The Shadow of the Wind - finished 12/21 - 5 stars

Books read: 16
Task completed

Recommended


1. You Don't Even Know Me - finished 8/3 - 4 stars
2. Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging - finished 8/8 - 1 star
3. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - finished 8/16 - 4 stars
4. The Angel Experiment - finished 8/21 - 2 stars
5. Still Life - finished 8/29 - 3 stars
6. Bel Canto -finished 9/25 - 4 stars
7. How Tía Lola Came to (Visit) Stay - finished 9/29 - 3 stars
8. Secrets of Eden - finished 10/8 - 3 stars
9. Bloody Jack - finished 10/11 - 3 stars
10. Life as We Knew It -finished 10/17 - 3 stars
11. Who Fears Death - finished 10/30 - 5 stars
12. Found - finished 11/9 - 3 stars
13. Graceling - finished 11/12 - 5 stars
14. I'd Tell You I Loved You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You - finished 12/10 - 4 stars

Books read: 14
Task completed

other possibilities:
Elsewhere
Leviathan

Have been putting off


1. Little Women - finished 8/9 - 3 stars
2. Dragon's Lair - finished 8/13 - 3 stars
3. Shadow of the Giant - finished 9/1 - 3 stars
4. The Kite Runner - finished 9/21 - 5 stars
5. Notes From Breakfast Creek - finished 10/20 - 3 stars
6. Here be Dragons finished 10/24 - 4 stars

Books read: 6
Task completed

other possibilities:
The Reckoning - want to read 2 prior books first

On TBR the longest

1. Bethlehem Road Murder - finished 8/1 - 3 stars
2. Evolution's Darling - finished 8/24 - 4.5 stars
3. The Risen Empire - finished 9/11 - 3 stars
4. Murder in Jerusalem - finished 9/19 - 3 stars
5. Peeps - finished 9/28 - 3 stars
6. Polymorph - finished 10/20 - 4 stars
7. Imitation in Death - finished 10/25 - 3 stars

This list overlaps a lot with both my "shortest" and "series" lists , so I had to do some picking & choosing.

Books read: 7
Task completed

other possibilities:
Fine Prey
The House of the Scorpion
The Knife of Never Letting Go

Shortest books from TBR

1. Toning the Sweep , 112 pp. - read 8/18 - 3 stars
2. The Outsiders , 180 pp. - read 8/9 - 4 stars
3. Equal Danger , 128 pp. - finished 8/17 - 2 stars
4. Boy Meets Boy, 185 pp. - finished 9/8 - 4 stars
5. Burning Onions, 149 pp. - finished 9/12 - 3 stars
6. Of Mice and Men , 105 pp. - read 9/14 - 3 stars
7. Absent City , 147 pp. - finished 9/15 - 3 stars
8. Pedro Páramo, 124 pp. - finished 9/27 - 3 stars
9. The Day it Snowed Tortillas/El Dia que Nevaron Tortillas, 160 pp. - finished 10/5 - 4 stars
10. The Museum at Purgatory, 128 pp. - finished 10/23 - 3 stars
11. The Forgetting Room, 112 pp. - finished 11/10 - 4 stars
12. Behold the Man - finished 11/25 - 2 stars

Books read: 12
Task completed

other possibilities (some added after the challenge began are shorter than some on the first list):
The Bridge of San Luis Rey, 160 pp.

Picture books or graphic novels spelling out "Grandmother"


1. G: Griffin and Sabine - finished 7/21 - 5 stars
2. R: The Rainbow Fish - read 7/29 - 3 stars
3. A: Are You My Mother - read 7/29 - 3 stars
4. N: Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed - read 7/29 - 4 stars
5. D: Dinosaurs Love Underpants - read 7/29 - 3 stars
6. M: Make Way for Ducklings - 7/29 - 4 stars
7. O: Oh the Places You'll Go - 7/29 - 2 stars
8. T: The Velveteen Rabbit - read 7/30 - 5 stars
9. H: Harold and the Purple Crayon - read 7/29 - 4 stars
10. E: Edwina The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct - read 7/29 - 4 stars
11. R: Ruby's Wish - read 7/30 - 3 stars

Books read: 11/11
Task completed

Non-fiction


1. Maus I - finished 7/12 -5 stars
2. Galileo's Daughter - finished 7/15 - 3 stars
3. Wild Swans - finished 7/28 - 4 1/2 stars
4. Maus II - finished 8/4 - 4 stars
5. What Great Teachers Do Differently - finished 8/15 - 2 stars
6. The Egyptian Jukebox - finished 10/3 - 4 stars
7. The Glass Castle - finished 10/16 - 3 stars

Books read: 7
Task completed

Series (to complete some)


1. Point Blank , #2 of 7 in the Alex Rider Series - finished 7/10 - 3 stars
2. Blood Test , #2 of 20+ in Alex Delaware Series - finished 7/21 - 3 stars
3. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest , completes Millennium series - finished 7/25 - 4 stars
4. Sabine's Notebook , # 2 of 3 in G&S trilogy - read 7/28 - 5 stars
5. The Golden Mean , completes the first Gribbin & Sabine trilogy - read 7/28 - 4 stars
6. The Gryphon , starts the second Griffin & Sabine trilogy - read 7/31 - 5 stars
7. Alexandria # 2 of 3 in 2nd G&S trilogy - read 8/3 - 4 stars
8. The Morning Star , completes the second Griffin & Sabine trilogy - read 8/14 - 3 stars
9. Mockingjay, completes the Hunger Games series - finished 9/5 - 3 stars
10. Murder & the First Lady - finished 11/1 - 3 stars
11. The Eyre Affair - finished 11/6 - 3 stars
12. Cat's Eyewitness - finished 12/5 - 3 stars
13. Bangkok Tattoo - finished 12/27 - 3 stars

Books read: 13
Task completed

Started but never finished

1. Kim *** finished 7/12 - 3 stars
2. Everyday Zen - finished 8/25 - 2 stars
3. The House on Mango Street - finished 9/6 - 3 stars
4. Labyrinths - finished 9/29 - 5 stars
5. Short Stories/Cuentos españoles - finished 10/17 - 4 stars

Books read: 5
Task finished

other possibilities:
The Vintage Book of Latin American Short Stories
Reading Lolita in Tehran

Susan, I love that you are spelling "Grandmother!" That is so sweet.

Luann wrote: "Susan, I love that you are spelling "Grandmother!" That is so sweet."

Thanks. Some of our grandkids are visiting later in the month, so I figured I should have the children's picture books on hand for then, some new and some old favorites. Two of our 4 live in London (and we in Indiana), so we don't get to see them nearly often enough.

Very fun! They are going to love that.

Decided to start off quickly by treating myself to one of the Alex Rider books today. I'd only read the first one before this. Now I'm caught up with my niece. :)

FINALLY finished Kim, after starting it many times in the past. (HOORAY for this challenge!). I posted my review in the July History discussion.

Just finished The Nun's Tale by Candace Robb. I'd forgotten about this series, but it's really delightful. Takes place in medieval England, and the protagonist is Owen Archer, a former archer for the Duke of Lacaster, now in service as a sort of spy/investigator for John Thorseby, Archbishop of York. In this book, Owen's wife Lucie, a master apothecary, has a larger role than in the first two. If you enjoy historical fiction and/or mysteries, you'll like this.

Finished:
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Books __4__/50

I read Galileo's Daughter for July, and I'm glad it can count here as well, since it was tough going for me. I think it was good (3*), but I just don't enjoy reading history. I posted my review in the July History discussion.

Finished:
Tasks __0__/10
Books __5__/50

Took a break from history to read Blood Test, supposedly #2 in Kellerman's Alex Delaware series. I've read through # 20, and don't know how I could've missed this. As all of his are, it's a quick, fun read if you enjoy mysteries.

Finished:
Tasks __0__/10
Books __6__/50

Griffin&Sabine is the only picture book on my list that isn't a kids' book. I just re-read it, and realized I'd forgotten how exquisite it is. It is totally unique. I recommend it to anyone.
Of course, now I feel compelled to reread the others that follow it as well.

Finished:
Tasks __0__/10
Books __7__/56

I liked The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest even better than the first 2 in the series. Blomkvist and Salandar continue to be fascinating, complex characters, and watching all the complex events unfold around them is spell-binding.

Finished:
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Books __8__/56

Having reread Griffin & Sabine for the picture book task, I had to re-read Sabine's Notebook and The Golden Mean, which continue the postcard/letter correspondence between the two. Quick to read, but the artwork deserves lingering over. And I just discovered Bantock has created others, including sort-of follow-up set of 3. This is why my TBR list never gets any shorter! (:>)

Tasks __1__/10
Books __10__/56

The big thing I read for History month was Wild Swans. Long and slow, but worth every minute.
For me, it rated a rare almost-5 stars. Jung Chang wrote about China by telling her own family's experience, beginning with her grandmother's parents. Her family was not typical, but she nevertheless was able to paint a broad portrait of life in China from 1909 to 1978. I gained a totally new perspective even on events that happened in my life time, things I thought I knew about. **** 1/2

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Books __11__/56

Read and/or re-read my picture books yesterday and today. My favorite new ones were
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressedand Dinosaurs Love Underpants. Apparently there's also Aliens Love Underpants! by the same author, so now I have to go hunt that up.

And I was newly impressed by one of my all-time favorites, The Velveteen Rabbit. I'd forgotten how well a strong message about what is valuable is woven under the sweet story.

Tasks __2__/10
Books __22__/56

Can't stop with the Griffin & Sabine books. I'm trying to ration myself to one every day or two. In The Gryphon, the beginning of another trilogy, Griffin & Sabine continue to play a role. Newly introduced are Matthew Sedon, an archaelogist, and Isabella de Reims, a student of archaic zoology. As in all of the first trilogy, "nothing is what it seems" (to quote Sabine). That, Matthew & Isabella's love story, and the art-work combine to make the book compelling.

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Books __23__/57

I finished Bethlehem Road Murder. I've enjoyed getting to know the protagonist Michaael Ohayon, and am sad that there's only one more left after this one. Perhaps I've been sort of hoarding them, and that's why they've stayed on my TBR list so long?

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Books __24__/57

I read Alexandria and finished Skeleton Key. A little more light, fun reading before beginning Little Women, which my faculty book club agreed to do this summer.

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I ration myself to one a day when reading short story collections, so the tiny book You Don't Even Know Me: Stories and Poems about Boys has taken me nearly 3 weeks. But it was terrific! I loved nearly every story in it. And the first poem, which gives the book its name, is something every teacher should read in the next couple weeks before we all go back to school.

Tasks __2__/10
Books __27__/57

I didn't find Maus II quite as compelling as the first Maus, but still definitely worth reading.

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Books __28__/57

See my comment in August reviews about Tom Sawyer, in combination w/ audio Tom Sawyer.

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Finished Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging. Didn't like it at all. Just not my kind of humor, I guess.

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Little Women did triple duty for me: our faculty book club summer read, Literature for August, and this challenge -- because I kept putting it off all summer, and only finally forced myself to begin it last week. So I can't really complain, even though it's not really my cup of tea.

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Books __31__/57

I want so much to finish one book from each task before school starts again on Monday. The Outsiders was from my "shortest" list, but it packs a big wallop for such a small book. If I hadn't already known, I would have never guessed it was written over 40 years ago. It really hasn't aged much. my review

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Books __32__/57

Now ... something from my "stacks at home" list. ...

Read Regarding Roderer today. (my review) This little gem has been languishing on my bookshelves since I happened upon it on a clearance table and recognized the author of The Oxford Murders. Hooray for challenges!

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Had to follow up Dinosaurs love Underpants with Aliens Love Underpants, which in fact I liked better (no battle like the one that kills off all the dinosaurs). And, while checking it out on Amazon to buy for my granddaughter, I discovered there's a new one that hasn't made it to Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ yet: Dinosaurs in Underpants Save the World. That has to be equally hilarious!

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Finished Two for the Dough. This is one series I probably won't finish before December, so I put it in the "from the library" task instead.

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Finished Dragon's Lair, Morning Star, and and The Magic Shop.

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Our new principal wanted us to read What Great Teachers do Differently before we get back together this week. At list it helped me finish my non-fiction task. :)

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Books __39__/59

Finished Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I really hated for it to end. Has anyone read others by this author to recommend?

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Read Toning the Sweep.

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For such a short book, I had a lot of trouble finishing Equal Danger, but I finally did.

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Natasha wrote: "Was it a bad book?"

I'm actually not sure. Link to my review to see my best attempt to put into words how I felt about it.

Many friends have said wonderful things about The Angel Experiment, so I was somewhat disappointed not to like it more. link to my review

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Books __43__/59

Just finished Evolution's Darling and I loved it! See my review here .
And it looks like my "on my TBR list the longest" list contains 2 more by Westerfeld, so I'm in for a real treat.

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Susan, did you see that you are September's Shelf Picker? We're all waiting to see which shelf you pick! :)

Finished Everyday Zen earlier this week. See my review here.

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It's such a joy to discover a new mystery series that's fun! I finished Still Life, and give it 3 stars--my review here.

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Shadow of the Giant would've fit in several places on my challenge. I ultimately put it in the "have been putting off" category -- I hated to be done with the last written of the 8 main books from the Ender and Shadow series. Yet I enjoyed it less than most of the others, giving it only 3 stars - my review here

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My turn for Mockingjay came up at the library. Absolutely terrific! my review here

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I don't remember why I didn't like The House on Mango Street the first time I tried to read it. Probably the style, since I found that a bit tough to get used to. But it grew on me -- or at least Esmeralda's story did. 3 stars

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Books __49__/60

Finished Probability 1, found it rather disappointing. See my review here.

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