Taking the challenge

Middle East Reading Challenge

2010-12-27T22:39:00.003-05:00

Photo taken by Helen on a visit to Oman

Helen of Helen's Book Blog started the Middle East Reading Challenge when I was unable to participate because I was preparing and teaching a couple of classes at Chattanooga State in the fall. The semester is over, so now I'm joining.

The countries
Helen defines the Middle East as these fifteen countries.

Bahrain
Egypt
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Palestine (Gaza Strip and West Bank)
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Yemen

She explains her reasoning:

"The Middle East is a nebulous term with each person defining it in a different way (it's also a very Euro-centric term so please forgive me for that). However I am going to use it for lack of a better way to define the area covered by this reading challenge. So, what is the Middle East? Traditionally it included only the countries in Asia plus Egypt. Some define it as countries with Arabic as the dominant language, while others say it is all Islamic countries. For the purposes of this challenge I am going to stick with the more traditional/geographic approach including the countries around the Arabian peninsula. I struggled about what to do with Turkey and have chosen to leave it out as they currently choose to be associated more with Europe. Likewise, I am not including the 'stan' countries as they are culturally, linguistically, and ethnically different (and, officially, they are in Central Asia)."

The books ~ anything to appreciate and understand the Middle East more

Author from one of the countries
Fiction ~ set in one of the countries
Nonfiction ~ leaders
Nonfiction ~ religions
Nonfiction ~ historical events
Nonfiction ~ memoirs
Young Adult

Dates of the challenge
August 1, 2010 through July 31, 2011 (it began during Ramadan).

Sign up here
Write an introductory post and sign up with Mister Linky.

Share reviews
Use this Mister Linky to report reviews. I'll come back here and add books as I read them, with links to my reviews.

Barefoot in Baghdad ~ by Manal M. Omar, 2010 (Iraq, nonfiction)
The Jerusalem Scrolls ~ by Bodie and Brock Thoene, 2001 (Israel, fiction)
I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced ~ by Nujood Ali, 2010 (Yemen, nonfiction)
Islam: A Concise Introduction ~ by Huston Smith, 2001 (religion, nonfiction)

World Religion Challenge (Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2010)

2009-12-03T20:20:00.001-05:00

Oh, my! I have gotten totally involved in the Women Unbound reading challenge, and now I've found another that grabs me. The World Religion Challenge, hosted by J. T. Oldfield (Bibliofreak), runs for the entire year 2010, from January 1st through December 31st.

1. The Bare Bones Path
Read something about what are *technically* the only world religions: Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. (These are considered, by some scholars, to be the only world religions because while Judaism and Hinduism have the numbers, they don't proselytize or really invite other people to join, making them more of an ethnicity.)
2. The Penthouse Path
Read something about the five major world religions: Hinduism, buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
3. The Universalist Path
Read something about all five of the major world religions PLUS more books about any or all of the following: Shintoism, Animism, Taoism, Confucianism, Wicca, Mythology, Atheism, Occult, Tribal Religions, Voodoo, Unitarianism, Baha'i, Cults, Scientology, Mysticism, Rastafarianism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Agnosticism, Gnosticism, Satanism, Manichaeism, Deism, comparative Religion, Religious Philosophy, Jungianism, Symbolism, Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, etc.
4. The Unshepherded Path
Read as many books as you would like about whatever religions you want.

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I'm choosing the Unshepherded Path so I can read as many books of any religions as I choose. J. T. Oldfield also calls this the "Don't Tell Me What to Do Path," which sounds totally appropriate to me. Here are some books that are on my shelves that fit the criteria for this challenge (Eva and J.T. also have great lists of books):

Judaism

The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels ~ by Thomas Cahill, 1998
The Red Tent: A Novel ~ by Anita Diamant, 1997
The Woman Who Laughed at God: The Untold History of the Jewish People ~ by Jonathan Kirsch, 2001
The Triumph of Deborah: A Novel ~ by Eva Etzioni-Halevy, 2008
The Song of Hannah: A Novel ~ by Eva Etzioni-Halevy
The Garden of Ruth: A Novel ~ by Eva Etzioni-Halevy

Christianity

The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith ~ by Marcus J. Borg, 2003
The Jefferson Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth ~ by Thomas Jefferson, 1989
The Bible: A Biography ~ by Karen Armstrong, 2007
God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now ~ by John Dominic Crossan, 2007
What Paul Really Said About Women ~ by John Temple Bristow, 1988
The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity ~ by Hyam Maccoby, 1986
The Metaphor of God Incarnate: Christology in a Pluralistic Age ~ by John Hick, 2005
The Grand Inquisitor ~ by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Constance Garnett, 1956 (or the translation by David McDuff, 1993)
The First Coming: How the Kingdom of God Became Christianity ~ by Thomas Sheehan, 1986
Is Jesus God?: Finding Our Faith ~ by Michael Morwood, 2001
The Jesus Legend ~ by G. A. Wells, 1996
A World Full of Gods: The Strange Triumph of Christianity ~ by Keith Hopkins, 1999

Gnosticism

The Gospels of Mary: The Secret Tradition of Mary Magdalene, the Companion of Jesus ~ by Marvin Meyer
The Gospel of Judas ~ edited by Rodolphe Kasser, Marvin Meyer, and Gregor Wurst, 2006
The Complete Gospels ~ edited by Robert J. Miller, 1994
The Essence of the Gnostics ~ by Bernard Simon, 2004
Gnosticism: New Light on the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing ~ by Stephan A. Hoeller, 2002

Islam

Islam: A Concise Introduction ~ by Huston Smith, 2001

Hinduism

The Namesake: A Novel ~ by Jumpa Lahiri, 2003

Tribal Religions / Animism / Shamanism

Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux ~ by Nicholas Black Elk, as told through John G. Neihardt, 1932, 2000

Atheism / Agnosticism

Humanism for Parents: Parenting without Religion ~ by Sean P. Curley, 2007
The God Delusion ~ by Richard Dawkins, 2006
The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever ~ edited by Christopher Hitchens, 2007

Comparative Religion

The Great Transformation: The Beginning of our Religious Traditions~ by Karen Armstrong, 2006
People of the Book: A Novel ~ by Geraldine Brooks, 2008
Train to Pakistan: A Novel ~ by Khushwant Singh, 1956, 2007
The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism ~ by Karen Armstrong, 2000
Agape Love: A Tradition Found in Eight World Religions ~ by John Templeton, 1999
God Against the Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism ~ by Jonathan Kirsch, 2004
Martyrs' Crossing: A Novel ~ by Amy Wilentz, 2001
The Rock: A Tale of Seventh-Century Jerusalem ~ by Kanan Makiya, 2001
We Just Want to Live Here: A Palestinian Teenager, An Israeli Teenager, An Unlikely Friendship ~ by Amal Rifa'i and Odelia Ainbinder, 2003
The Sea of Galilee Boat: A 2000 Year Old Discovery From the Sea of Legends ~ by Shelley Wachsmann, 2000

Religious Philosophy

Re-Discovering the Sacred: Spirituality in America ~ by Phyllis A. Tickle, 1995
The Twentieth Century: A Theological Overview ~ edited by Gregory Baum, 1999
Tomorrow's God: Our Greatest Spiritual Challenge ~ by Neale Donald Walsch, 2004
After Heaven: Spirituality in America Since the 1950s ~ by Robert Wuthnow, 1998
Searching for God to Love ~ by Chris Blake, 2000

Science and Religion

How We Believe: The Search for God in an Age of Science ~ by Michael Shermer, 2000
God for the 21st Century ~ edited by Russell Stannard, 2000
The Hidden Face of God: How Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth ~ by Gerald L. Schroeder, 2001
Genesis and the Big Bang: The Discovery of Harmony Between Modern Science and the Bible ~ by Gerald L. Schroeder, 1990

Jungianism

The Portable Jung ~ edited by Joseph Campbell, translated by R. F. C. Hull, 1971
There Are No Accidents: Synchronicity and the Stories of Our Lives ~ by Robert H. Hopcke, 1997

Et cetera

The Church of Facebook: How the Hyperconnected Are Redefining Community ~ by Jesse Rice, 2009

(Cross-posted on my Bonnie's Books blog.)

Women Unbound (November 2009 to November 2010)

2009-11-02T08:40:00.020-05:00

NOTE: Links to my reviews are added at the bottom.

Women Unbound is a reading challenge that runs from today through November 30, 2010. Participants are encouraged to read nonfiction and fiction books related to women's studies = "the multidisciplinary study of the social status and societal contributions of women and the relationship between power and gender."

Interested in participating? Choose one of these three levels:

* Philogynist: read at least two books,
including at least one nonfiction one.
* Bluestocking: read at least five books,
including at least two nonfiction ones.
* Suffragette: read at least eight books,
including at least three nonfiction ones.

Reading two books would make me a Philogynist:

Beachcombing for a Shipwrecked God ~ by Joe Coomer, 1995, fiction.
Nine weeks after losing her husband, Charlotte escapes to a wooden motor yacht in New Hampshire, where her shipmates are an aging blue-haired widow, an emotional seventeen-year-old, and the ugliest dog in literature. A genuine bond develops among the three women, as their distinct personalities and paths cross and converge against the backdrop of emotional secrets, abuse, and the wages of old age.
We Are Our Mother's Daughters ~ by Cokie Roberts, 1998, nonfiction.
"'A woman's place is in the house... And in the senate' the T-shirts and buttons proclaim at women's political events." This first sentence got me because I used to wear this pin and probably still have it in my desk drawer. I was active in the women's movement in the 1970s, so I guess that makes me one of the mothers, huh?

I know full well I'll read more than two books about women in a year plus a month, so here are three more that would make me a Bluestocking:

The Pull of the Moon ~ by Elizabeth Berg, 1996, fiction.
"Dear Martin, I'm sorry the note I left you was so abrupt. I just wanted you to know I was safe ... I won't be back for awhile. I'm on a trip. I needed all of a sudden to go, without saying where, because I don't know where. I know this is not like me. I know that. But please believe me, I am safe and I am not crazy, I felt as though if I didn't do this I wouldn't be safe and I would be crazy ... And can you believe this? I love you. Nan"
Mrs. Man ~ by Una Stannard, 1977, nonfiction.

This book, which I read about 1980, is about women taking their husband's names. I read it not long after getting a divorce and wondering if I should use my maiden name again. ("Maiden" name? Geesh! It was my daddy's name.) Because I had three young children, I kept Jacobs (their father's name) so we'd all have the same last name. I ordered a used copy of this book in order to re-read it. I haven't been able to get it any other way.
Prodigal Summer ~ by Barbara Kingsolver, 2000, fiction.
This novel is all about connections -- or better, interconnections -- as it weaves together the lives of three women: Deanna, a reclusive wildlife biologist watching changes in the ecosystem as coyotes are reintroduced; Lusa, a bookish city girl turned farmer's wife who is recently widowed; and Nannie, an elderly woman feuding with her neighbor about God, pesticides, and the possibilities of a future neither of them expected.

I may decide to go for eight and be a Suffragette. Here are the ones I'll read, if I get this far:

The Silent Passage: Menopause ~ by Gail Sheehy, 1992, nonfiction.
"The pregnancy club is for women a joyous one -- the menopause club is one nobody wants to admit she has joined" (from the back cover). "Menopause may be the last taboo," says Sheehy, whose goal in writing this book was to "render normalcy to a normal physical process." She takes a look at things like memory loss, "embezzles bone," hormones, night sweats, postmenopausal zest, and the risk of a heart attack.
Herland ~ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 1915, fiction.
The book describes an isolated society composed entirely of women. They reproduce by parthenogenesis (asexual reproduction) and have an ideal society free of war, conflict, and domination. The men who find this isolated culture think they've found heaven, thinking the women will treat them royally. I re-read this one about once a decade, and it's time to read it again.
Founding Mothers ~ by Cokie Roberts, 2004, nonfiction.
"George Lucas brought his English wife and daughters to South Carolina in 1734 to claim three plantations left to him by his father. Before long, however, Lucas left for Antigua to rejoin his regiment in fighting the war against Spain, leaving his sixteen-year-old daughter in charge of all the properties, plus her ailing mother and toddler sister. ... Can you imagine a sixteen-year-old girl today being handed those responsibilities? Eliza Lucas willingly took them on."

If you are interested in reading along with us, sign up at the special Women Unbound blog set up for this 13-month challenge. Click here to read some of my thoughts about feminism.
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Books I have reviewed for this challenge

The Complete Persepolis ~ by Marjane Satrapi, 2003, nonfiction
We Are Our Mothers' Daughters ~ by Cokie Roberts, 1997, nonfiction
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan ~ by Lisa See, 2005, fiction
Why Women Should Rule the World ~ by Dee Dee Myers, 2008, nonfiction
The Pull of the Moon ~ by Elizabeth Berg, 1996, fiction
Blueberry Girl ~ by Neil Gaiman, 2009, children's

Day to Read (January 8, 2009)

2008-12-09T13:27:00.007-05:00

Use all or part of your blogging time to read a book, a magazine, a newspaper, anything. Soccer Mom in Denial asks us to write about "what books, magazines, newspapers mean to you. Write a couple of posts about writings that have taken you to another place. Then Thursday, January 8, 2009 turn off your computer and read. Then on Friday, January 9th, write a bit about what you read."

Here's my report of what I read that day.

Read One Book Challenge (May 1, 2008 - December 31, 2008)

2008-09-02T01:20:00.008-04:00

Amy at My Friend Amy's blog has a challenge I discovered today. She calls is the Read One Book Challenge, which seems a bit odd for most of us bookies, but the challenge is exactly what she says it is. She reports:

"According to a survey by the National Endowment for the Arts, 53% of Americans surveyed did not read one book last year."

So that's her goal, to get us to read one book we haven't read before, which must not be a book for work-related research or a children's book we're reading to our children.

"For bonus points, spend an evening at a Barnes and Noble, Borders, or local independent bookshop browsing through books."

For some of us, it is unimaginable that anyone would pass up an opportunity to spend time in a bookstore, browsing. Given the choice of a decadent chocolate dessert or spending the same for a book, I would choose the book every time. Now I should choose the ONE book I'll read for this challenge.
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I haven't been doing challenges, so I had forgotten this was here. I read lots of books, so I'll simply add here the last book I completed: Return to Sodom and Gomorrah, by Charles R. Pellegrino. One of these days maybe I'll get around to writing a review of it.

Day to Read (January 10, 2008)

2007-12-08T15:22:00.002-05:00

Mark it on your calendar: January 10, 2008, is a day to read. This reading challenge, conceived by Soccer Mom in Denial, should be easy for anyone who is a reader. According to Diane Gioia, the Chair of the NEA,

"The poorest Americans who read did twice as much volunteering and charity work as the richest who did not read. The habit of regular reading awakens something inside a person that makes him or her take their own life more seriously and at the same time develops the sense that other people's lives are real."

What a thought! Reading makes us aware of the humanity of others. That is awesome! So let's read on January 10th and, on the following day, blog about what we read. Read anything you like -- a book, an article, the newspaper -- then tell us about it.

Here's my report of what I read, along with other posts about this challenge on Bonnie's Books.

Banned Books (indefinite)

2007-10-03T14:19:00.002-04:00

In honor of Banned Books Week (September 29 through October 6, 2007), I started a new reading project, to read and post about banned books. That's it. No time limit, no required number to complete, just reading any book that has ever been challenged or banned. These are some of the books I want to read or re-read:

1. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) ~ by Lois Lowry
2. Blubber ~ by Judy Blume
3. Bridge to Terabithia ~ by Katherine Paterson
4. Deenie ~ by Judy Blume
5. Earth's Children (Series) ~ by Jean M. Auel
6. Epaminondas and His Auntie ~ by Sara Cone Bryant (online)
7. The Giver ~ by Lois Lowry
8. The Handmaid's Tale ~ by Margaret Atwood
9. The Higher Power of Lucky ~ by Susan Patron
10. James and the Giant Peach ~ by Roald Dahl
11. Lady Chatterley's Lover ~ by D. H. Lawrence
12. A Light in the Attic ~ by Shel Silverstein
13. Little Black Sambo ~ by Helen Bannerman (online)
14. The Lorax ~ by Dr. Seuss
15. On My Honor ~ by Marion Dane Bauer
16. Pillars of the Earth ~ by Ken Follett
17. A Separate Peace ~ by John Knowles
18. Whale Talk ~ by Chris Crutcher
19. A Wrinkle in Time ~ by Madeleine L'Engle
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Click on a title to read my review of the book.

Four-Legged Friends (Sept 20, 2007 - Feb 26, 2008)

2007-09-18T22:25:00.001-04:00

The Four-Legged Friends reading challenge is in memory of Sandy, Kailana's best friend of 12 years, who recently died. That's Sandy in the photo. Kailana brought Sandy home on September 20th, so we have a short lead time, but five months to complete the challenge. Read books that have an animal as the main character or an animal who plays an important enough role that you remember it afterwards. They do not have to believable, but the animals do have to be real, as in, no dragons. Kailana counts The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks, for example, because the dog in it makes the book one of her favorites. The aim is to honor our pets (even if they don't have four legs), and length doesn't matter ... reading a picture book of Bambi to your child or grandchild counts. The most outrageously fascinating thing Kailana added to her "rules" was this:

My suggested food while you are reading? Baby carrots. I used to munch on carrots and never really think to give them to Sandy, but she loves them! So, baby carrots turned into half the bag for me and the other half for her. Actually, that's what I did with her for her last night. I ate carrots with her. She did not eat a lot, but I think baby carrots will always remind me of her.

Her last "rule" is that we tell something about our pets in our introductory post. I have had a number of pets ... turtles, puppies, fish, kitties, salamander, and a hamster named Herman, for example ... but the ones I have bonded with have mostly been cats.

When I was nine years old, a neighborhood boy and I were splashing in rainy puddles when a bedraggled kitten found us. My mother said it looked like a drowned rat (well, mouse ... the kitten was very small), and Micky's mother wouldn't let him bring it into their house. After due consideration, Mother decided to let me keep the kitten. I named her Duchess, and she slipped right into our family like she had always belonged there and grew to be very regal indeed, a beautiful soft gray cat with white paws and a white spot below her chin that moved like a dog's tag when she walked. Duchess had her first litter of kittens in my drawer on top of my socks and underwear; it must have been the softest place available to her at the time. When I was in high school, we rode the regular city buses to school and home again in the afternoon, yet Duchess was always at the bus stop to meet me. How did she know which of the buses that ran every 20-30 minutes all day would be the one I rode? I don't know, but her internal clock was set and there she was, waiting to walk home with me. One part of this challenge is dedicated to the memory of Duchess.

Hmm, I was going to tell you about Duchess, Pippa, Jack, and Kiki in this post. But I think I'll tell you about the others when I post my book reviews. Since I'm about to finish a book about a dog named Merle and one about a gentleman cat, I already have two books for my list.

1. Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog ~ by Ted Kerasote ~ dedicated the memory of Pippa
2. The Fur Person ~ by May Sarton ~ dedicated to the memory of Jack
3. Cat's Eyewitness ~ by Rita Mae Brown and her cat Sneaky Pie Brown ~ dedicated to Kiki
4. Goldie (The Puppy Place Series #1) ~ by Ellen Miles ~ dedicated to the memory of Herman
__________

Click on a title to read my review of the book.
__________

Reviews by participants of this challenge can be found HERE.
__________

This challenge has been completed.

Outmoded Authors (Sept 2007 - Feb 2008)

2007-09-17T04:14:00.000-04:00

The Outmoded Authors Challenge explores authors kicked out of the "in" crowd. There are at least four authors on the list that I'd like to read: Sarah Orne Jewett, D. H. Lawrence, Malcolm Lowry, and May Sarton.

My choices:
Sarah Orne Jewett, The Country of the Pointed Firs, 1896
D. H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, 1928
Malcolm Lowry, Under the Volcano, 1947
May Sarton, The Fur Person, 1957
__________
Click on a title to read my review of the book.
__________

My posts on the Outmoded Authors blog:
9-17-07 Bonnie's list

Newbery Project (indefinite)

2007-09-05T19:37:00.000-04:00

Remind me never to say "NO MORE CHALLENGES" again. Doing so must challenge the universe to produce reasons why I should join yet another one. This time I'm blaming Dewey because, through her, I learned that the Newbery Project is indefinite, that I've read a bunch of the books already (21, to be exact), and that I really LIKED those books. And you know what that means, don't you? It means after saying, "No more challenges! No more challenges!" that I also said, "I'm in."

Members of the Newbery Project will read and post about Newbery winners. That's it. No time period, no number agreed upon, nothing to make me back away from it. So here's a list of the Newbery Medal Winners:

2007 The Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron
2006 Criss Cross, by Lynne Rae Perkins
2005 Kira-Kira, by Cynthia Kadohata
2004 The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread, by Kate DiCamillo
2003 Crispin: The Cross of Lead, by Avi (I've met the author)
2002 A Single Shard, by Linda Sue Park
2001 A Year Down Yonder, by Richard Peck (I've met the author)
2000 Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis (I've met the author)
1999 Holes, by Louis Sachar
1998 Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse
1997 The View from Saturday, by E. L. Konigsburg (I've met the author)
1996 The Midwife’s Apprentice, by Karen Cushman
1995 Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech
1994 The Giver, by Lois Lowry
1993 Missing May, by Cynthia Rylant
1992 Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
1991 Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli
1990 Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry
1989 Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, by Paul Fleischman
1988 Lincoln: A Photobiography, by Russell Freedman
1987 The Whipping Boy, by Sid Fleischman
1986 Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan
1985 The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley
1984 Dear Mr. Henshaw, by Beverly Cleary
1983 Dicey’s Song, by Cynthia Voigt
1982 A Visit to William Blake’s Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers, by Nancy Willard
1981 Jacob Have I Loved, by Katherine Paterson
1980 A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-1832, by Joan Blos
1979 The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin
1978 Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
1977 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor
1976 The Grey King, by Susan Cooper
1975 M. C. Higgins, the Great, by Virginia Hamilton
1974 The Slave Dancer, by Paula Fox
1973 Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George
1972 Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O’Brien
1971 Summer of the Swans, by Betsy Byars
1970 Sounder, by William H. Armstrong
1969 The High King, by Lloyd Alexander
1968 From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E. L. Konigsburg (I've met the author)
1967 Up a Road Slowly, by Irene Hunt
1966 I, Juan de Pareja, by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
1965 Shadow of a Bull, by Maia Wojciechowska
1964 It’s Like This, Cat, by Emily Neville
1963 A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle (I've met the author)
1962 The Bronze Bow, by Elizabeth George Speare
1961 Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O’Dell
1960 Onion John, by Joseph Krumgold
1959 The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare
1958 Rifles for Watie, by Harold Keith
1957 Miracles on Maple Hill, by Virginia Sorenson
1956 Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham
1955 The Wheel on the School, by Meindert DeJong
1954 …And Now Miguel, by Joseph Krumgold
1953 Secret of the Andes, by Ann Nolan Clark
1952 Ginger Pye, by Eleanor Estes
1951 Amos Fortune, Free Man, by Elizabeth Yates
1950 The Door in the Wall, by Marguerite de Angeli
1949 King of the Wind, by Marguerite Henry
1948 The Twenty-One Balloons, by William Pène du Bois
1947 Miss Hickory, by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
1946 Strawberry Girl, by Lois Lenski
1945 Rabbit Hill, by Robert Lawson
1944 Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes
1943 Adam of the Road, by Elizabeth Gray Vining
1942 The Matchlock Gun, by Walter Edmonds
1941 Call It Courage, by Armstrong Sperry
1940 Daniel Boone, by James Daugherty
1939 Thimble Summer, by Elizabeth Enright
1938 The White Stag, by Kate Seredy
1937 Roller Skates, by Ruth Sawyer
1936 Caddie Woodlawn, by Carol Ryrie Brink
1935 Dobry, by Monica Shannon
1934 Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women, by Cornelia Meigs
1933 Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze, by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis
1932 Waterless Mountain, by Laura Adams Armer
1931 The Cat Who Went to Heaven, by Elizabeth Coatsworth
1930 Hitty, Her First Hundred Years, by Rachel Field
1929 The Trumpeter of Krakow, by Eric P. Kelly
1928 Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon, by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
1927 Smoky the Cowhorse, by Will James
1926 Shen of the Sea, by Arthur Bowie Chrisman
1925 Tales from Silver Lands, by Charles Finger
1924 The Dark Frigate, by Charles Hawes
1923 The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, by Hugh Lofting
1922 The Story of Mankind, by Hendrik Willem van Loon
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Click on a title to read my review of the book.

Readers Imbibing Peril, RIP-2 (Sept-Oct 2007)

2007-09-01T22:02:00.001-04:00

This is simply not my cuppa tea, but just out of curiosity, I decided to read Carl V.'s list of books in Grave Times: The R.I.P. Challenge Finale Newsletter from last year. Whoa! I've read some of these books! Moreover, I have some of these books on my TBR pile. Wait, wait, this is messing with my mind. Maybe I should investigate this challenge, after all. Here are the rules:

R.I.P. II is a September 1st through October 31st celebration of all tales gothic, eerie, creepy, and dark. Tales that one reads in the dark of night, experiencing delicious shivers of terror and suspense at each creak of the floorboards or each gust of wind. As in previous challenges the definition for what type of books fit into this category will be very broad. I would venture to say that there is something for everyone that could count as a R.I.P. book.

Okay, so I'll try Just a Bit of Peril:

Peril the Fourth (otherwise known as Just a Bit of Peril): Some of you wonderful readers, or would-be readers, may have a tendency to shy away from this genre, thinking it is just not your cup of poisoned tea. However, it wouldn’t be a challenge if I wasn’t challenging you. This peril is for those of you who want to take a chance. Simply choose one book that you feel meets the criteria for Readers Imbibing Peril II and, well, imbibe it!

One book. Okay, got it. Ummm, I'll list more than one, just in case I decide to step up to Peril the First, which says: "Read four books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose." Who knows? Maybe I'll RIP right through these books! Mwah-ha-ha-ha-hah!

My list for consideration:
1. Coraline ~ by Neil Gaiman
2. The Hot Zone ~ by Richard Preston
3. The Man in the High Castle ~ by Phillip K. Dick
4. The Martian Chronicles ~ by Ray Bradbury
5. The People's Act of Love ~ by James Meek
6. The Secret History ~ by Donna Tartt
7. The Shadow of the Wind ~ by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
8. Something Wicked This Way Comes ~ by Ray Bradbury
9. A Stir of Echoes ~ by Richard Matheson
10. Strange Happenings ~ by Avi
11. The Thirteenth Tale ~ by Diane Setterfield ~ also on my Saturday Review of Books list
12. Woman on the Edge of Time ~ by Marge Piercy
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Click on a title to read my review of the book, which will also be linked to the R.I.P.ing Yarns blog.

Just4thehelluvit (indefinite)

2007-08-27T22:50:00.000-04:00

Dana, at Think Pink, has come up with the perfect reading challenge. She said, "The just4thehelluvit challenge is for those of us who just can't seem to read something simply because we want to. Therefore, this challenge has just one rule: nothing you read for it can cross over to ANY other challenge. You are reading these books JUST4THEHELLUVIT!"

Just last week I uttered those famous last words: "No more challenges!" Therefore, just4thehelluvit, I agreed to do this. Another challenge. But of course! The list of books for this challenge comes AFTER you have read a book. That's the rule. Dana said, "Go on and read one for fun! Do it for me! Do it for the hell of it! But please, PLEASE for the love of all that is holy, do not make a list. One afternoon when a book sounds good, just tickles your fancy for no good reason, go ahead and READ IT WITHOUT GUILT! And consider yourself officially a reading rebel!"
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As I read and review books that fit into this category, I'll link them here.

Books I've read just4thehelluvit:
1. Worlds in Collision ~ by Immanuel Velikovsky, 1950
2. Genesis Revisited ~ by Zecharia Sitchin, 1990
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Click on a title to read my review of the book.

The Pulitzer Project (indefinite)

2007-08-15T14:31:00.001-04:00

I know better, really I do. Yet I am (sort of) signing up for 3M's The Pulitzer Project, for which she has made a new and separate blog. However, and this is a big HOWEVER, I am modifying it for myself. Instead of agreeing to read all 81 of the books that have won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, I will read only those that interest me. Of course, by the time I am done with this challenge, two things will probably have happened:

(1) the number of winners will have risen over the years from 81 to who knows how many; and
(2) I may have changed my mind and decided to read every one, after all.

That said, let me share 3M's official rules:

Welcome to the Pulitzer Project. The goal of the participants of this site is to read all 81 books that have won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. There is no time limit.

Notice that some years had no winners. I have underlined those I have read, though most were read so long ago that I need to re-read them so I can write book reviews. And now, here are the 81 books so far:

2007 - The Road ~ by Cormac McCarthy ~ 8/10
2006 - March (Brooks)
2005 - Gilead (Robinson)
2004 - The Known World (Jones)
2003 - Middlesex (Eugenides)
2002 - Empire Falls (Russo)
2001 - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (Chabon)
2000 - Interpreter of Maladies (Lahiri)
1999 - The Hours (Cunningham)
1998 - American Pastoral (Roth)
1997 - Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer (Millhauser)
1996 - Independence Day (Ford)
1995 - The Stone Diaries (Shields)
1994 - The Shipping News (Proulx)
1993 - A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain (Butler)
1992 - A Thousand Acres (Smiley)
1991 - Rabbit at Rest (Updike)
1990 - The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love (Hijuelos)
1989 - Breathing Lessons (Tyler)
1988 - Beloved (Morrison)
1987 - A Summons to Memphis (Taylor)
1986 - Lonesome Dove (McMurtry)
1985 - Foreign Affairs (Lurie)
1984 - Ironweed (Kennedy)
1983 - The Color Purple (Walker)
1982 - Rabbit is Rich (Updike)
1981 - A Confederacy of Dunces (Toole)
1980 - The Executioner’s Song (Mailer)
1979 - The Stories of John Cheever (Cheever)
1978 - Elbow Room (McPherson)
1977 - None
1976 - Humboldt’s Gift (Bellow)
1975 - The Killer Angels (Shaara)
1974 - None
1973 - The Optimist’s Daughter (Welty)
1972 - Angle of Repose (Stegner)
1971 - None
1970 - Collected Stories by Jean Stafford (Stafford)
1969 - House Made of Dawn (Momaday)
1968 - The Confessions of Nat Turner (Styron)
1967 - The Fixer (Malamud)
1966 - Collected Stories by Katherine Anne Porter (Porter)
1965 - The Keepers of the House (Grau)
1964 - None
1963 - The Reivers (Faulkner)
1962 - The Edge of Sadness (Edwin O’Connor)
1961 - To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee)
1960 - Advise and Consent (Drury)
1959 - The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (Taylor)
1958 - A Death in the Family (Agee)
1957 - None
1956 - Andersonville (Kantor)
1955 - A Fable (Faulkner)
1954 - None
1953 - The Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway)
1952 - The Caine Mutiny (Wouk)
1951 - The Town (Richter)
1950 - The Way West (Guthrie)
1949 - Guard of Honor (Cozzens)
1948 - Tales of the South Pacific (Michener)
1947 - All the King’s Men (Warren)
1946 - None
1945 - Bell for Adano (Hersey)
1944 - Journey in the Dark (Flavin)
1943 - Dragon’s Teeth I (Sinclair)
1942 - In This Our Life (Glasgow)
1941 - None
1940 - The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck)
1939 - The Yearling (Rawlings)
1938 - The Late George Apley (Marquand)
1937 - Gone with the Wind (Mitchell)
1936 - Honey in the Horn (Davis)
1935 - Now in November (Johnson)
1934 - Lamb in His Bosom (Miller)
1933 - The Store (Stribling)
1932 - The Good Earth (Buck)
1931 - Years of Grace (Barnes)
1930 - Laughing Boy (Lafarge)
1929 - Scarlet Sister Mary (Peterkin)
1928 - The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Wilder)
1927 - Early Autumn (Bromfield)
1926 - Arrowsmith (Lewis)
1925 - So Big (Ferber)
1924 - The Able McLauglins (Wilson)
1923 - One of Ours (Cather)
1922 - Alice Adams (Tarkington)
1921 - The Age of Innocence (Wharton)
1920 - None
1919 - The Magnificent Ambersons (Tarkington)
1918 - His Family (Poole)

My posts on the Pulitzer Project blog:
Aug. 18, 2007 ~ Bonnie's list of books already read
Aug. 18, 2007 ~ 2007 The Road - Bonnie's Review
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Click on a title to read my review of the book.

Book around the World (indefinite)

2007-08-15T13:56:00.000-04:00

July 22, 2007. The world has many countries, some big and some small, and I want to find the best books about each country. The book should help us learn something ABOUT that country and not just be one written by somebody who lives there. Let's "book around the world" and find at least one excellent book for each country in the world.

North America
Central America
Caribbean
South America
Europe
Africa
Middle East
Central Asia
Asia
Southeast Asia
Australia
Oceania
Anarctica

NOTE: This is my challenge and has its own blog, Book around the World. That's where you'll find the books and follow-up information. Our challenge is to find books for as many countries as possible. When we find them, we can challenge ourselves to read a book about each country, maybe a handful at a time. What have you read? What did you enjoy reading? Let's name some possibilities.
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As I read and review books that fit into this category, I'll link them here.

Books I want to read:
1. Adios Hemingway ~ by Leonardo Padura Fuentes ~ Cuba
2. Beneath a Marble Sky: A Novel of the Taj Mahal ~ by John Shors
3. The Blackwater Lightship ~ by Colm Tóibín ~ Ireland
4. Brazzaville Beach ~ by William Boyd ~ Republic of the Congo
5. I Am a Taxi ~ by Deborah Ellis ~ Bolivia
6. The Language of Threads ~ by Gail Tsukiyama ~ Hong Kong
7. Latitudes of Melt ~ by Joan Clark ~ Newfoundland, Canada
8. The Madonnas of Leningrad ~ by Debra Dean ~ Russia
9. Mademoiselle Victorine ~ by Debra Finerman ~ France
10. My Heart's in the Lowlands: Ten Days in Bonny Scotland ~ by Liz Curtis Higgs ~ Scotland
11. Napoleon's Pyramids ~ by William Dietrich ~ Egypt
12. Old Man and the Sea ~ by Ernest Hemingway ~ Cuba
13. Secret River ~ by Kate Grenville ~ Australia
14. Other Side of the Bridge ~ Ontario, Canada
15. Shadows on the Rock ~ by Willa Cather ~ Quebec, Canada
16. We Just Want to Live Here ~ by Amal Rifa'i and Odelia Ainbinder ~ Israel
17. With Their Backs to the World: Portraits of Serbia ~ by Asne Seierstad ~ Serbia
18. Beirut Blues ~ by Hanan al-Shaykh ~ Lebanon
19. Absent ~ by Betool Khedari ~ Iraq
20. The Yacoubian Building ~ by Alaa Al Aswany ~ Egypt
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Click on a title to read my review of the book.

Book around the States (indefinite)

2007-08-15T13:53:00.001-04:00

July 10, 2007. The United States is a union of 50 states, and I want to find the best books about each state. The book should help us learn something ABOUT that state and not just be one written by somebody who lives there. Let's "book around the states" and find at least one excellent book for each state of the union.

AL = ALABAMA
AK = ALASKA
AZ = ARIZONA
AR = ARKANSAS
CA = CALIFORNIA
CO = COLORADO
CT = CONNECTICUT
DE = DELAWARE
FL = FLORIDA
GA = GEORGIA
HI = HAWAII
ID = IDAHO
IL = ILLINOIS
IN = INDIANA
IA = IOWA
KS = KANSAS
KY = KENTUCKY
LA = LOUISIANA
ME = MAINE
MD = MARYLAND
MA = MASSACHUSETTS
MI = MICHIGAN
MN = MINNESOTA
MS = MISSISSIPPI
MO = MISSOURI
MT = MONTANA
NE = NEBRASKA
NV = NEVADA
NH = NEW HAMPSHIRE
NJ = NEW JERSEY
NM = NEW MEXICO
NY = NEW YORK
NC = NORTH CAROLINA
ND = NORTH DAKOTA
OH = OHIO
OK = OKLAHOMA
OR = OREGON
PA = PENNSYLVANIA
RI = RHODE ISLAND
SC = SOUTH CAROLINA
SD = SOUTH DAKOTA
TN = TENNESSEE
TX = TEXAS
UT = UTAH
VT = VERMONT
VA = VIRGINIA
WA = WASHINGTON
WV = WEST VIRGINIA
WI = WISCONSIN
WY = WYOMING

DC = DISTRICT of COLUMBIA

NOTE:This is my challenge and has its own blog, Book around the States. That's where you'll find the books and follow-up information. Our challenge is to find 50 books for 50 states — plus 1 for DC. When we find them, we can challenge ourselves to read a book about each state, maybe a handful at a time.
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As I read and review books that fit into this category, I'll link them here.

Books I want to read:
1. All Aunt Hagar's Children ~ by Edward P. Jones ~ DC
2. Citizen Vince ~ by Jess Walter ~ Washington
3. The Country of the Pointed Firs ~ by Sarah Orne Jewett ~ Maine
4. The Echo Maker ~ by Richard Powers ~ Nebraska
(see Verbivore's thoughts while reading this book)
(see 3M's post about this book)
5. More Than You Know ~ by Beth Gutcheon ~ Maine
6. One Thousand White Women ~ by Jim Fergus ~ Nebraska
7. Place Last Seen ~ by Charlotte McGuinn Freeman ~ California
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Click on a title to read my review of the book.

Saturday Review of Books (July - December 2007)

2007-08-15T13:50:00.000-04:00

July 7, 2007. My third challenge! Read six of the books that have been linked to reviews at the Saturday Review of Books in the past year. Read the six books by December 31, 2007, review them at your blog, and leave a link to your reviews at the Saturday Review of Books.

My choices:
1. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle ~ by Barbara Kingsolver
2. The Children's Blizzard ~ by David Laskin
3. The Memory Keeper's Daughter ~ by Kim Edwards
4. One Thousand White Women ~ by Jim Fergus
5. The Seven Daughters of Eve ~ by Bryan Sykes
6. The Thirteenth Tale ~ by Diane Setterfield
7. Dreaming in Cuban ~ by Cristina García
8. Lost Geography ~ by Charlotte Bacon
9. Secret River ~ by Kate Grenville
10. Speak ~ by Laurie Halse Anderson
11. The Time Traveler's Wife ~ by Audrey Niffenegger
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Click on a title to read my review of the book.

Armchair Traveler (July - December, 2007)

2007-08-15T13:04:00.000-04:00

June 27, 2007. I'm joining another challenge, this time one where I'll be traveling while sitting comfortably. This one runs from July 1 through December 31, six months to read six books that fall under the armchair traveling theme, fiction or nonfiction as long as the location is an actual place you could visit. Books may be cross-posted to other challenges, but you cannot count any books read prior to July 1st.
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August 13, 2007. Oops! Instead of six months, I finished this challenge in six weeks!

1. Adios Hemingway ~ by Leonardo Padura Fuentes ~ Cuba
2. Beneath a Marble Sky ~ by John Shors ~ India
3. Language of Threads ~ by Gail Tsukiyama ~ Hong Kong
4. Latitudes of Melt ~ by Joan Clark ~ Newfoundland
5. Place Last Seen ~ by Charlotte Freeman ~ Sierra Nevadas
6. Shadows on the Rocks ~ by Willa Cather ~ Quebec

And one more thing ... because our host likes to have a little wiggle room, she said we can opt to switch out books throughout the challenge. I substituted two books.

Originally my list included Her Fork in the Road: Women Celebrate Food and Travel edited by Lisa Bach and Italian Neighbors: or A Lapsed Anglo-Saxon in Verona by Tim Parks. However, I couldn't really get into either and returned them to the friend who suggested them. I replaced them with the two books about Cuba and Hong Kong.
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Click on a title to read my review of the book.

Something about Me (August - December, 2007)

2007-08-15T12:52:00.000-04:00

April 16, 2007. Well, I've done it ... joined my first challenge. Something About Me involves choosing five books that say something about me. Then during August-September-October-November, we'll read some of the books. How many is up to each person. In other words, if you read my books, you'll know me a little better. I've (tentatively) chosen five books, which should be posted on the site in a day or two. Lisa at Breaking the Fourth Wall came up with this great idea. Click HERE or on the picture to check out the challenge and consider joining us. It sounds like fun!

Here are five good books that say "something about me":

1. Evensong ~ by Gail Godwin ~ This novel's main character is the church's first woman pastor. She's Episcopalian and I'm not, but some of her experiences are like mine when I was ordained and went into a field where I was often the first woman churches had ever had in their pulpits. Rated 10/10.

2. On Tap ~ by J. Frances Alexander ~ Chattanooga, my hometown, is the setting for this novel about the vulnerability of America's supply of safe drinking water to the attack of terrorists. Can you tell I'm also interested in environmental issues? Rated 8/10.

3. Booked to Die ~ by John Dunning ~ A mystery involving bookstores that deal with rare and out-of-print books, this book was a learning experience for me when, after retirement, I worked for such a store. Later I was bookstore manager at a store in a small town south of Chattanooga, before opening my own bookstore. In none of these situations was there a bookstore murder to solve as in this book of fiction! Rated 9/10.
UPDATE: JMC at Four Weddings and a Funeral posted challenge blog and her own blog.
UPDATE: Booklogged at A Reader's Journal chose to read this one, and here's her review.

4. Go Out in Joy! ~ by Nina Hermann Donnelley ~ The author shares what it's like to work as a hospital chaplain. I first read this book while in seminary, when I too was struggling to learn how to deal with patients and their relatives, especially when parents were fearful for the health of their small children. My group of intern chaplains was assigned to a large hospital in Atlanta, and I prayed I would not get the pediatric ward. You did notice the word "children" above, right? Rated 10/10.

5. The Dance of the Dissident Daughter ~ by Sue Monk Kidd ~ This nonfiction book chronicles Kidd's religious awakening and transformation. Although we have arrived at somewhat different places, we both had to work through the patriarchy in our religious traditions. "Awakening" is a great word for what I felt when I reached a point in my life when I could articulate what I believed and why. Rated 10/10.
UPDATE: Heather at Madame Rubies wrote her review.
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June 28, 2007. My reading choices:
1. The Seven Daughters of Eve ~ by Bryan Sykes (Chris)
2. Place Last Seen ~ by Charlotte McGuinn Freeman (Wendy)
3. Einstein's Dreams ~ by Alan Lightman (Raidergirl3)
4. The Memory Keeper's Daughter ~ by Kim Edwards (3M)
5. The Tortilla Curtain ~ by T.C. Boyle (Dewey)
6. Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books ~ by Paul Collins (in memory of Nattie)
7. Luncheon of the Boating Party ~ by Susan Vreeland (3M)
8. A Thousand Splendid Suns ~ by Khaled Hosseini (Diane)
9. The Happy Room ~ by Catherine Palmer (Twiga)
10. The Time Traveler's Wife ~ by Audrey Niffenegger (Dewey)
11. The End of Faith ~ by Sam Harris (Judith)
12. Demon Haunted World ~ by Carl Sagan (Kookiejar)
13. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (Holly and HeatherBird)
14. The Echo Maker ~ by Richard Powers (3M = Michelle)
(see Verbivore's thoughts while reading this book)
(see 3M's post about this book)
(see Wendy's review of this book)

Update: This challenge has been extended by a month; it now lasts five months, August through December. Therefore, I choose to read five books (probably the top five above) ... plus a sixth book for Nattie, one she chose to tell us something about herself. Before we got underway, Nattie died, far too young and leaving behind two small children. Even though cancer took her, some of us are reading books she chose, doing it in memory of Nattie.
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Click on a title to read my review of the book.