Reading Challenges: a help or a hurt? Do you find that the reading challenges keep you organized and goal-oriented? Or, do you find that as you near the end of a challenge that you’ve failed because you fell short of your original [...]]]> This week’s Weekly Geeks is inspired by Sheri at A Novel Menagerie:

Reading Challenges: a help or a hurt? Do you find that the reading challenges keep you organized and goal-oriented? Or, do you find that as you near the end of a challenge that you’ve failed because you fell short of your original goals? As a result of some reading challenges, I’ve picked up books that I would have otherwise never heard of or picked up; that, frankly, I have loved. Have you experienced the same with challenges? If so, which ones? Do you have favorite reading challenges?

I really liked Caribousmom‘s questions for herself in this meme so I used them as well.

Do I feel stressed if I cannot finish a challenge?

A little.  I like to complete what I start, but I’ve started to relax a bit more in this area.

Why do I like reading challenges?

I love challenges.  They push me to read books that have long been on my tbr list as well as books I may never have read on my own.

What are my favorite challenges?

My favorite challenge for 2007 was the By the Decade Challenge because I read 18 books from 18 consecutive decades. I was very pleased with that accomplishment.  I had really wanted to read some of the classics and I was definitely able to do that in 2007.

In 2008, my favorite challenge was the Canadian I Challenge hosted by John at The Book Mine Set.  With all the Atwood, Shields, and other fantastic women Canadian novelists’ books I want to read, I foresee doing this challenge every year for quite a while.

Of couse, I also enjoy the challenges I host: 1% Well Read, Countdown, Decades, Pub, and Book Awards.

Which Challenges have I completed so far this year?

• Library Reading Challenge — COMPLETE
• Audiobooks Challenge — COMPLETE
• Young Adult Challenge — COMPLETE
• Latin American Reading Challenge — COMPLETE
• Jewish Literature Challenge– COMPLETE
• Book Awards II — COMPLETE
• 1% Well-Read Challenge — COMPLETE
• Japanese Literature Challenge — COMPLETE

Which Challenges am I still working on?

Some of the links below are broken due to my blog crash.  I am working to fix them, though. Sorry!

• 100 Shots of Short 6 of 100 (until completed)
• 101 Books in 1001 Days 56/101 (ends 12/28/2010)
• 1% Well-Read Challenge – 1 of 13 (ends 3/31/10)
• Perpetual Challenge Plans for 2009 17 of 42 (ends 12/31/09)
• German Reading Challenge – 1 of 6 (ends 12/31/09)
• Orbis Terrarum Challenge – 9 of 10 (ends 12/31/09)
• Decades Challenge – 7 of 9 (ends 12/31/09)
• Pub Challenge – 5 of 9 (ends 12/31/09)
• A-Z Challenge – 34 of 52 (ends 12/31/09)
• TBR Challenge – 10 of 12 (ends 12/31/09)
• Dewey’s Books Challenge – 2 of 6 (ends 12/31/09))
• 2nds Challenge – 2 of 12 (ends 12/31/09)
• ‘What’s in a Name?’ – 5 of 6 (ends 12/31/09)
• Casual Classics Challenge – 0 of 4 (ends 12/31/09)
• Herding Cats II – 2 of 5 (ends 12/31/09)
• Book Awards III – 0 of 5 (ends 12/1/09)
• Chunkster Challenge – 0 of 3 (ends 11/15/09)
• Countdown Challenge – 41 of 45 (ends 9/9/09)
• Southern Reading Challenge – 0 of 3 (ends 8/15/09)
• Themed Reading Challenge – 2 of 4 (ends 7/31/09)
• Canadian Challenge II – 12 of 13 (ends 7/1/09)

This week’s Weekly Geeks is a fun one. We were asked to provide a books-related gift guide for the holidays, and the more obscure the titles, the better.  Although I have two movies included in my selections, both of them were based on books, and foreign ones at that. I decided to choose [...]]]>

This week’s Weekly Geeks is a fun one. We were asked to provide a books-related gift guide for the holidays, and the more obscure the titles, the better.  Although I have two movies included in my selections, both of them were based on books, and foreign ones at that. I decided to choose just four titles for my guide, not because there weren’t many more to recommend, but because these four, in my mind, are sure-fire winners for almost everyone.  You’ve probably heard of my first two titles, but the latter two are much lesser known.

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A Redbird Christmas is just wonderful, and if you haven’t read it, this Christmas is the time.  Fannie Flagg is a great writer.  If you loved Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop Cafe, you will love this one as well.

From the inside flap:

With the same incomparable style and warm, inviting voice that have made her beloved by millions of readers far and wide, New York Times bestselling author Fannie Flagg has written an enchanting Christmas story of faith and hope for all ages that is sure to become a classic.

Deep in the southernmost part of Alabama, along the banks of a lazy winding river, lies the sleepy little community known as Lost River, a place that time itself seems to have forgotten. After a startling diagnosis from his doctor, Oswald T. Campbell leaves behind the cold and damp of the oncoming Chicago winter to spend what he believes will be his last Christmas in the warm and welcoming town of Lost River. There he meets the postman who delivers mail by boat, the store owner who nurses a broken heart, the ladies of the Mystic Order of the Royal Polka Dots Secret Society, who do clandestine good works. And he meets a little redbird named Jack, who is at the center of this tale of a magical Christmas when something so amazing happened that those who witnessed it have never forgotten it. Once you experience the wonder, you too will never forget A Redbird Christmas.

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Simply put, The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a masterpiece and should be in every home.  Not just for children, this book will appeal to adults as well.  The book also gives a very unique glimpse into movie history.

From the official website:

ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF, twelve-year-old Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric girl and the owner of a small toy booth in the train station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message all come together…in The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

This 526-page book is told in both words and pictures. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is not exactly a novel, and it’s not quite a picture book, and it’s not really a graphic novel, or a flip book, or a movie, but a combination of all these things. Each picture (there are nearly three hundred pages of pictures!) takes up an entire double page spread, and the story moves forward because you turn the pages to see the next moment unfold in front of you.

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The Secret of Roan Inish is a film that I could watch every year.  It is so well-done.  You will feel as though you’ve been to Ireland.

From Amazon:

As one of the most respected American independent filmmakers, John Sayles has created a body of work as distinguished in its diversity as for its consistent quality and inspiring originality. He’s never been one to march to the commercial beat, but chooses instead to follow his creative impulse wherever it leads him.  The Secret of Roan Inish led Sayles to the beautiful and moody West Coast of Ireland; it is a tale of a girl who discovers that her family has been touched by myth and magic throughout the years. Following the death of her mother, young Fiona (Jeni Courtney) is sent to live with her grandparents on the Irish coast across from Roan Inish, the island where her family once lived. She’s told stories about the selkies–seals that can turn into humans–who have been connected with Fiona’s family over the ages. At first she’s not sure if the selkies are real or mythological, but she later realizes that they hold the key to reclaiming her family heritage.

What’s remarkable about this film (which Sayles adapted from Rosalie Fry’s novel Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry) is that it’s not told as a cute fantasy for children, but as a straightforward, unsentimental story of a young girl’s family history. That gives the film–which was beautifully photographed by master cinematographer Haskell Wexler–an understated charm that is completely absorbing in its atmosphere and subtle tone. There’s magic as well, to be sure–you could almost swear that the seals and seagulls in the film took direction from Sayles as well as any human actor.

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Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring together are my two favorite foreign films and are also on my top 25 movies of all time.  As in the previous movie, these two give a wonderful sense of place — this time in the French countryside.  The acting is superb, the scenery is superb — they are just great examples of outstanding cinema.  I waited for years for this set to be available on DVD.

Jean De Florette: Set in the beautiful French countryside, a farmland with an underground spring is inherited by a hunchback and his wife.  Two neighbors then devise various ways to take the land for themselves.

Manon Of The Spring: The second half of a two-film series that concludes the moving story begun in Jean De Florette.  You will definitely want to watch these together!

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These are [...]]]> Dewey’s Weekly Geeks #23 was to re-do a previous week. I chose to organize and update my challenge list. I’m not going to complete some challenges that I joined, but that’s okay. It’s been a great reading year so far, and challenges and fellow book bloggers really help on the journey.

These are listed in reverse order of completion and/or challenge end date, so completed challenges are at the bottom of the list.  Further updates can be found at this link.

• 101 Books in 1001 Days 32/101 (ends 12/28/2010)
• German Reading Challenge – 0 of 6 (ends 12/31/09)
• Countdown Challenge – 13 of 45 (ends 9/9/09)
• Canadian Challenge II – 6 of 13 (ends 7/1/09)
• What an Animal Challenge – 6 of 6 (ends 6/30/09)
• Book Awards II – 7 of 10 (ends 6/1/09)
• 1% Well-Read Challenge – 5 of 10 (ends 2/28/09)
• Unread Authors Challenge – 9 of 6 (ends 1/31/09)
• Japanese Literature Challenge 2 of 3 (ends 1/30/08)
• The Nobel 5 Challenge – 3 of 5 (ends 12/31/08)
• A-Z Challenge – 47 of 52 (ends 12/31/08)
• Africa Reading Challenge – 4 of 6 (ends 12/31/08)
• Short Story Challenge (ends 12/31/08)
• My Year of Reading Dangerously – 7 of 12 DNF
• Russian Reading Challenge – 1 of 4 (ends 12/31/08)
• Classics Challenge – 5 of 6 (ends 12/31/08)
• Well Rounded Challenge – 5 of 6 (ends 12/31/08)
• “What’s in a Name?” Challenge-5 of 6 (ends 12/31/08)
• Cardathon Challenge 5 of ?? (ends 12/31/08)
• TBR Challenge – 5 of 12 DNF
• Notable Books Challenge – 7 of 6 (ends 12/31/08)
• Jane Austen Mini-Challenge (ends 12/31/08)
• Inklings Mini-Challenge (ends 12/31/08)
• 2nds Challenge – 1 of 4 (ends 12/31/08)
• I Heard It through the Grapevine Challenge – 1 of 3 (ends 11/30/08)
• Book to Movie Challenge – 3 of 3 COMPLETE
• Decades ’08 – 11 of 8 COMPLETE
• 100+ Reading Challenge – 102 of 100 COMPLETE
• Graphic Novel Challenge – 10 of 6 COMPLETE
• Triple 8 Challenge – 64 of 64 COMPLETE
• The Wind-up Book Chronicle – 2 of 6 DNF
• Whitcoulls Challenge – 12 of 12 COMPLETE
• R.I.P. III Challenge 4 of 4 COMPLETE
• 10 out of 100 out of 1001 – 0 of 3 DNF
• In Their Shoes Challenge – 8 of 6 COMPLETE
• Herding Cats Challenge – 6 of 6 COMPLETE
• Non-Fiction Five Challenge – 5 of 5 COMPLETE
• ARC Reading Challenge – 5 of 5 COMPLETE
• End of the World Challenge – 3 of 3 COMPLETE
• Summer Reading Challenge – 1 of 3 DNF
• Southern Reading Challenge – 3 of 3 COMPLETE
• Orbis Terrarum Challenge – 9 of 9 COMPLETE
• Banned Book Challenge – 8 of 8 COMPLETE
• Canadian Book Challenge – 13 of 13 COMPLETE
• Man Booker Prize Challenge – 6 of 6 COMPLETE
• Chunkster Challenge – 7 of 7 COMPLETE
• Themed Reading Challenge – 6 of 6 COMPLETE
• Spring Reading Thing – 7 of 12 (DNF)
• Once Upon a Time II – 5 of 5 COMPLETE
• Here Be Dragons – 3 of 3 COMPLETE
• Young Adult Challenge – 13 of 13 COMPLETE
• The Initials Reading Challenge – 5 of 5 COMPLETE
• Series Challenge – 5 of 7 (DNF)
• Spring Reading Challenge – 2 of 4 (DNF)
• Novella Challenge – 6 of 6 COMPLETE
• Eponymous Challenge – 5 of 5 COMPLETE
• Expanding Horizons Challenge – 4 of 4 COMPLETE
• Jewish Literature Challenge – 6 of 6 COMPLETE
• The Pub ’08 – 8 of 8 COMPLETE
• Book Awards Challenge – 24 of 24 COMPLETE
• Winter Reading Challenge – 12 of 12 COMPLETE
• Sci-Fi Experience – 2 of 2 COMPLETE
• From the Stacks – 5 of 5 COMPLETE
• Japanese Literature Challenge – 3 of 3 COMPLETE

The 24 hour read-a-thon is set for October 18th. I’m so excited for [...]]]> This week’s theme for Weekly Geeks is to get caught up on something. I desperately need to get caught up on reviews! You can see my backlog here. My goal is to write at least 5 reviews this week.

The 24 hour read-a-thon is set for October 18th. I’m so excited for it as I’ve participated both times previously, and it was a blast. This time I plan on reading (at least) the second book from the Eyre Affair series and the third book from the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. I may also read some children’s/YA books. I highly recommend lighter fare for the read-a-thon. It is easy to get bogged down when reading heavier or classic material.

This coming week I plan on reading X Stands for Unknown by Isaac Asimov because I need it for the Non-Fiction Challenge as well as for an ‘X’ title.  I’ve started this book, and it really isn’t that bad so far.  Then again, I have a technical degree so I’m used to technical jargon.

I also hope to read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society soon.  Everyone is giving it rave reviews.  I have the ARC of it and can’t wait to delve into it.  When ‘X’ gets too serious, I may have to jump on over to Guernsey.

In other news, I really like the Goodwill store near me as I often find some gems for only 59 cents.   This past week I found The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder in great condition.  I’ve wanted to read this one for a long time, so although I probably won’t get to it until next year, I was excited to find it at such a cheap price.

Have a great week of reading, everyone!

I keep a detailed list of all the challenges I’m doing here. I think it’s fairly up-to-date. I have quite a few, and some won’t get finished, but it’s fun to try.

Here’s a list of the challenges I [...]]]> Dewey’s idea for the ninth Weekly Geeks segment is to get organized on our reading challenges.

I keep a detailed list of all the challenges I’m doing here. I think it’s fairly up-to-date. I have quite a few, and some won’t get finished, but it’s fun to try.

Here’s a list of the challenges I am currently participating in and have already completed this year:

101 Books in 1001 Days 15/101 (ends 12/28/2010)
Book Awards II – 0 of 10 (ends 6/1/09)
1% Well-Read Challenge – 3 of 10 (ends 2/28/09)
100+ Reading Challenge – 57 of 100 (ends 12/31/08)
Decades ’08 – 8 of 14 (ends 12/31/08)
Triple 8 Challenge – 33 of 64 (ends 12/31/08)
The Nobel 5 Challenge – 3 of 5 (ends 12/31/08)
A-Z Challenge – 31 of 52 (ends 12/31/08)
Africa Reading Challenge – 4 of 6 (ends 12/31/08)
Short Story Challenge (ends 12/31/08)
My Year of Reading Dangerously – 5 of 12 (ends 12/31/08)
Graphic Novel Challenge – 5 of 6 (ends 12/31/08)
Russian Reading Challenge-0 of 4 (ends 12/31/08)
Classics Challenge – 1 of 6 (ends 12/31/08)
Well Rounded Challenge – 0 of 6 (ends 12/31/08)
“What’s in a Name?” Challenge-5 of 6 (ends 12/31/08)
Cardathon Challenge 5 of ?? (ends 12/31/08)
TBR Challenge – 5 of 12 (ends 12/31/08)
Notable Books Challenge – 3 of 6 (ends 12/31/08)
Jane Austen Mini-Challenge (ends 12/31/08)
Inklings Mini-Challenge (ends 12/31/08)
In Their Shoes Challenge – 4 of 6 (ends 12/31/08)
Orbis Terrarum Challenge – 8 of 9 (ends 12/20/2008)
I Heard It through the Grapevine Challenge – 0 of 3 (ends 11/30/08)
Herding Cats Challenge – 4 of 5 (ends 11/30/08)
The Wind-up Book Chronicle – 2 of 6 (ends 11/15/08)
Whitcoulls Challenge – 10 of 12 (ends 11/01/08)
10 out of 100 out of 1001 – 0 of 3 (ends 10/31/08)
Non-Fiction Five Challenge – 0 of 5 (ends 9/30/08)
ARC Reading Challenge – 0 of 4 (ends 9/21/08)
End of the World Challenge – 1 of 3 (ends 9/15/08)
Summer Reading Challenge – 0 of 3 (ends 8/31/08)
Southern Reading Challenge – 0 of 3 (ends 8/15/08)
Banned Book Challenge – 6 of 8 (ends 06/30/08)
Canadian Book Challenge – 11 of 13 (ends 6/30/08)
Man Booker Prize Challenge – 6 of 6 COMPLETE
Chunkster Challenge – 7 of 7 COMPLETE
Themed Reading Challenge – 6 of 6 COMPLETE
Spring Reading Thing – 7 of 12 (DNF)
Once Upon a Time II – 5 of 5 COMPLETE
Here Be Dragons – 3 of 3 COMPLETE
Young Adult Challenge – 13 of 13 COMPLETE
The Initials Reading Challenge – 5 of 5 COMPLETE
Series Challenge – 5 of 7 (DNF)
Spring Reading Challenge – 2 of 4 (DNF)
Novella Challenge – 6 of 6 COMPLETE
Eponymous Challenge – 5 of 5 COMPLETE
Expanding Horizons Challenge – 4 of 4 COMPLETE
Jewish Literature Challenge – 6 of 6 COMPLETE
The Pub ’08 – 8 of 8 COMPLETE
Book Awards Challenge – 24 of 24 COMPLETE
Winter Reading Challenge – 12 of 12 COMPLETE
Sci-Fi Experience – 2 of 2 COMPLETE
From the Stacks – 5 of 5 COMPLETE
Japanese Literature Challenge – 3 of 3 COMPLETE

EDIT:  I decided this is [...]]]> Dewey’s idea for the second Weekly Geeks segment is to invite people to comment with their links to reviews of books they’ve read that you’ve also read. I’m not sure I’m going to make this a permanent change, but I’ll try this out for a month or so at least.

EDIT:  I decided this is a little too time-consuming on a book by book basis.  HOWEVER,  I have put Mr. Linkys into my 2008 monthly posts for people to enter their reviews if they wish.  To see my monthly reports and add your reviews, go here.

If you’ve read a book that I’ve also read and would like me to link to your review, just comment on the particular book review, and I’ll ‘make it so.’

You can find my list of ’07 books read here, and my list of ’08 books is here.

This was another great idea, Dewey!

Here’s what I found: