Southern Reading Challenge Wrap-Up (and a confession)

First, my confession: I've begun reading for my September challenges two days earlier. I just couldn't help myself. However, I'm not going to talk about them or list them until tomorrow. :)

Maggie hosted the Southern Reading Challenge, where participants were expected to read 3 books set in Southern places and written by Southern authors between June 1st and August 31st. Meanwhile, Maggie provided a lot of info about Southern authors, gave away a whole bunch of pecans, and hosted a Sense of Place contest, where readers had to find a picture to match a descriptive passage in one of their Southern books. I finished all three of my choices...
Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Cane River by Lalita Tademy

The best book: Delta Wedding, but I loved them all!
What book could I have done without? None!
Any new authors? All of them. :)
Books I did not finish: None!
What did I learn from this challenge? That reading Southern lit is great, and I should do more of it. :) Also, I learned quite abit about the Creole culture, which was neat.

(Note: thanks to Nyssaneala for the idea to have questions!)

Summer Mystery Challenge Wrap-Up

For the Summer Mystery Challenge, hosted at Reviewed by Liz, participants were requred to read books by six new-to-them authors between June 1st and August 31st. I completed six selections, with one substitution (James for Pears):

Secret History by Donna Tartt
From Doon with Death by Ruth Rendell
The Door by Mary Roberts Rinehart
Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas
Death in Holy Orders by P.D. James
Death at Bishop's Keep by Robin Paige

The best book: Some Danger Involved, followed closely by Death in Holy Orders.
What book could I have done without? The Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears.
Any new authors? They're all new-that was the point!
Books I did not finish: Fingerpost.
What did I learn from this challenge? That it's ok to abandon a book if you're really, really not enjoying it. Also, I really want to read more by Thomas and James. Of course, the most important thing that I learned is that my favourite mystery writers really are better than most!

(Note: thanks to Nyssaneala for the idea to have questions!)

Poetry Challenge Wrap Up

The Poetry Challenge was organised by Ted at bookeywookey. Participants were asked to choose four poems: one from pre-1900, one 1900-2000, one post-2000, and one from any time period that gave them difficulty. Then, during the week than included the 1st of August, all of the participants posted their poems as well as commentary on them.
I posted all four poems that I chose for the poetry challenge on time...
"Daddy" by Sylvia Plath
"Reading the Entrails" by Neil Gaiman
"Tomorrow's Wind" by Yevgeny Yevtushenko
"A Cradle Song" by William Blake

The best poem: "Tomorrow's Wind" and "Daddy"
What poem could I have done without? I like them all!
Any new poets? Blake
Poems I did not finish: none!
What did I learn from this challenge? I gained more self confidence about discussing poetry, and I realised how important it is that I take the time out to read it.

(Note: thanks to Nyssaneala for the idea to have questions!)

Summer Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

For the Summer Reading Challenge, participants could choose any number of books to read between June 1st and August 1st. I decided to make it into another classics challenge and chose ten books from England and France. After a last-minute rush, I finished all but one of the ten classics I chose to read for the summer reading challenge with no substitutions...
The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope
Candide by Voltaire
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orzcy
Emma by Jane Austen
Les Liasons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
Cousin Bette by Honore de Balzac
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (I didn't get around to reviewing it, which is weird, because I loved it)
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (I didn't review it, because I didn't really enjoy it)

I started Evelina, but I really don't like epistolatory novels, so I knew I wouldn't finish it in time.

The best book: I can't choose! There're about five tied-the Bronte, Balzac, Orzcy, Austen, and Trollope.
What book could I have done without? Candide by Voltaire. Ugh.
Any new authors? Several: Anne Bronte, Balzac, Orzcy, Trollope, and de Laclos.
Books I did not finish: Evelina, because I just ran out of steam. I plan to get to it eventually.
What did I learn from this challenge? How cool Trollope was! He's like Dickens, only more my style. :)

(Note: thanks to Nyssaneala for the idea to have questions!)

Chunkster Challenge Wrap-Up

For the Chunkster Challenge, participants could choose to read any number of chunksters from any genre. A chunkster was defined as 400 pages or longer. I didn't do so well with this one. Of my original picks, I only read one:
Virginia Woolf by Hermione Lee.
I substituted two of the others out for two I did read:
Olympos by Dan Simmons
Illium by Dan Simmons
And I just ran out of steam and never got through a fourth one.

I don't feel all that bad though, because I read 30 books that were 400+ between January and June. So, somehow I think I still fulfilled the challenge!

The best book: Lee's biography of Virginia Woolf. I felt like I lived at Bloomsbury!
What book could I have done without? Illium by Dan Simmons
Any new authors? Both :)
Books I did not finish: Che Guevara, a biography of Jon Lee Anderson. I'm very interested in the subject, and in Anderson's writing style, but at that point I'd been reading so much non-fic for school I just needed a break.
What did I learn from this challenge? To put Hermione Lee on the top of my kickass biographers list! Also, that it's ok to fail. :)

(Note: thanks to Nyssaneala for the idea to have questions!)

Once Upon A Time Challenge Wrap-Up

The Once Upon a Time Challenge, developed at Stainless Steel Droppings, allowed participants to choose a combination of four books from the four different genres of fantasy. They could also choose to finish the challenge with "A Mid-Summer Night's Dream." I completed my five selections for the Once Upon a Time Challenge, with no substitutions...
Widdershins by Charles de Lint
The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clark
Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstick (didn't review, because I didn't enjoy it)
"A Mid-Summer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare (didn't review, because it's Shakespeare)

The best book: Widdershins by Charles de Lint (although I feel blasphemous not putting Gaiman here).
What book could I have done without? Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstick.
Any new authors? de Lint and Holdstick
Books I did not finish: none! I considered abandoning the Holdstick.
What did I learn from this challenge? That de Lint is a great author! Also, I realised how many other people really love fantasy, through the challenge community. It reminded me of how important the genre was to me in high school. :)

(Note: thanks to Nyssaneala for the idea to have questions!)

Reading Across Borders Challenge Wrap-Up

The Reading Across Borders Challenge was designed by Kate at Kate's Book Blog, but it was unhosted. The idea was to choose books from countries you don't usually read from, and preferably books that had been translated. I completed ten books for the challenge, but there were some substitutions:
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie(Nigeria) for No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe (same country)
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami(Japan) for Kafka on the Shore (same author)
Naomi by Junichiro Tanizaki(Japan) for Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz (library lost latter)

The others I completed as planned...
Waiting by Ha Jin(China)
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez(Colombia)
Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz(Egypt)
The Black Book by Orhan Pamuk(Turkey)
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert(France)
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro(Japan)
House of Spirits by Isabel Allende (I never reviewed it, even though I enjoyed it)

The best book: A tie between The Remains of the Day and Palace Walk. Remains was just stunning. Palace Walk really brought me in to a completely different culture and worldview, which was awesome.
What book could I have done without? Waiting by Ha Jin; you can see my review for why.
Any new authors? Tons! Ishiguro, Jin, Pamuk, Tanizaki, Adichie, and Murakami.
Books I did not finish: none, although it was a very close call with The Black Book.
What did I learn from this challenge? That I really love international literature, and that I should make more of an effort to seek it out. I learned about Nigeria's civil war, which I didn't know about at all, as well as more insight into Nasser-era Egypt.

(Note: thanks to Nyssaneala for the questions!)

Classics Challenge Wrap-Up

A Reader's Journal hosted the Classics Challenge. Participants chose five classics to read during January and February. I read all five of my original choices:

1. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
2. Middlemarch by George Eliot
3. Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
4. Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
5. Daisy Miller by Henry James

The best book: oh no, I can't really pick. All of them but Daisy Miller were stunning, in their own ways.

What book could I have done without? Daisy Miller by Henry James. I just don't think that novellas are for me!

Any new authors? Yep-Wilkie Collins, Isak Dinesen, and Mary Elizabeth Braddon.

Books I did not finish: none!

What did I learn from this challenge? That I really need to incorporate more classics into my life. More importantly, I realised that good classics have universal themes and characters that fit right into my 21st century life.

(Note: thanks to Nyssaneala for the idea to have questions!)