2009 Challenges

January 1 - December 31, 2009
The A to Z challenge has changed hands. Becky will now be hosting this annual challenge beginning in 2009 (Patti has started the ABC Readers Yahoo Group which is a sister site to the challenge!). The 2009 A to Z Challenge has several options for participants to choose from:
Option A: Read authors A to Z. Commit to reading 26 books theoretically speaking.
Option B: Read titles A to Z. Commit to reading 26 books theoretically speaking.
Option C: Read both authors A to Z and titles A to Z (52 books; this is the challenge Joy created)
Option D: Read internationally A to Z (books representing 26 different countries) (The books could be from international authors (writers from that country); however, it's fine if a book is only set in that country. If need be, instead of countries one could use cities, states, regions, etc. The idea is to use proper place names. If you'd like you could even use a few fictional countries.)
Option E: Read 26 Alphabet books. Embrace your inner child and go visit the children's section!To sign up for 2009, visit the sign up post on the brand new dedicated blog for this challenge! To join the Yahoo group, visit the ABC Readers at Yahoo.

I' going to do option A and B,

My Thoughts: Rabbit Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington

This book was a bookring from Bookcrossing, and this will be a very short book review as I really have very little to say about the book. This is a memoir about 3 aboriginal girls (aged 8-15). The girls are of mixed race, as a result the Austrailian Government decided that they should be taken from their homes and trained up for domestic labour. The girls soon realise what is happening and runaway, following the rabbit-proof fence hundreds of miles across Australia to get home. It should be good, right? This book is only 130 pages, it could have done with being longer so the whole thing didn't seem so rushed, just a few moments from the journey are picked out, and the author never manages to depict the girls suffering and determination.

Having said all this, I'm glad I recieved this book as the envelope came stuffed with postcards from all the different places across the world that this book had travelled in the last 4 years.

Challenges:

YA Challenge Book 13/12

Olympic Challenge: Australia

Fall into Reading 1/24

Sunday Salon

This has been another poor reading week for me, but when I turned up at school on Monday I found I had to organise English lessons for Friday based around a European theme! This was a huge shock, especially as I was behind with everything else I had to do, because I was ill in bed last Sunday. Anyway it got planned eventually - the originals of fairytales before the Brothers Grimm and Disney got their hands on them and softened them up, the kids loved all the gory bits, and I quite enjoyed reading them so that'll be a book or two added to my wish list.

For Weekly Geeks last week we was supposed to set ourselves a target of things to catch up on, I said my reading, but only managed to finish The Famished Road and start Rabbit Proof Fence so that went down the pan, I didn't even read any short stories this week. As for today, I writing this really early as I'm off to visit my mum for the day, when I get back I'm going to be good and go for a swim, to kick off my keep fit regime, I may manage to read for a little while.
Next week I have Friday off (yay!), a lot of exercise and studying to do, but I plan to read The Stolen Child and Two Caravans, and hopefully start The Hours.

How's your reading week been, has everything gone to plan?

My Thoughts: The Famished Road by Ben Okri

This book about the life a a spirit-child, he struggles and fights for his chance to live, and at many times has to fight against the spirits who want him to return to the spirit world.

The book deals with many African political and social problems, including poverty, hunger, lack of stability and the dirty tricks and means used by politicians to capture as man votes as they can. The whole community is filled with spirits and their actions can affect the life of all, yet the boy is the person most affected. He moves between normal life, the spirit world and a time and space where they both converge.

I'll be honest and say that this book was a struggle, I'm sure that their were many references to folk tales, religion and cultural beliefs that I just didn't know enough about to recognise. However, this is a book that I wish I had had the opportunity to study when I was at university, it would have been great to learn about the influences, origins and context of the novel and to attend seminars and hear other peoples views about it.

Challenges:

2008 Booker Challenge: Book 5/6

Fall into Reading: Book 1

Olympic Challenge: Nigeria

Book Awards 2: Book 1/10

Other Reviews:

Jackie's

Trevor's Review

Sunday Salon: A random variety, plus Short Story Sunday

This weeks Sunday Salon is going to include a random mixture of bits and pieces. Firstly, I have to say that reading this week has been slowly, some of that is down to the fact that I started a book I thought I would love and just didn't want to admit to myself that I couldn't be bothered by it, I wasted 3 evenings on A Carnivore's Inquiry, only reading 120 pages when I could had guessed after 30 pages that I would be giving up on this quickly. I also spent 2 evenings with that horrible foggy brain you get before a cold comes out, which has really affected my reading.

I'm now reading The Famished Road, which I'm loving, but wondering how I'm going to review. I'm quite tempted to do a WG style review, so if anyone has any questions about this book that they'd like to ask, ask away here as it will help me structure the review. I'm hoping to finish reading this by mid week.

Talking about Weekly Geeks, this week is catch-up week and while I don't have any outstanding reviews to write up or completed challenges, I have this mammoth reading list for Fall into Reading to tackle, as I really need to catch up with my reading or I won't be completing many challenges in time. So I'm going to try and finish The Famished Road this week, read Coraline and tackle at least one of my bookring reads. Outside of reading, I also need to catch up on my sign language lessons, I haven't been for 9 weeks, largely because of the school holidays (its run at school), but I haven't practised as I should so I've seemingly forgot nearly everything I spent a year learning, and I need to catch up on my A Level course this afternoon.

Less babble about me, now time for Short Story Sunday. This morning I read Keepsakes and Treasures by Neil Gaiman, from his Fragile Things collection. This story is definitely only for adults but is first rate.
This story is about a man who was born to a woman locked away for clinical nymphomania in the 50's, despite being in an asylum she still managed to fall pregnant, and his father can only be one of the men who are supposed to be protecting her. From a young age, the boy has used murder as revenge and punishment for those who harmed him and his mother. His actions are noticed by Mr Alice, one of the world's richest men, but a man who used his money to stop the public finding out who he is. The boy comes to work for Mr Alice for the rest of his life, he is the person who seeks out and fulfills Mr Alice's desires, whether they are business desires or personal ones. Mr Alice's main desire is for young men to have sexual encounters with. The main part of the story centres around Mr Alice's acquisition of the Treasure of Shahinai, a young exquisitely beautiful boy.
This is an excellent story, but avoid if you dislike sexual scenes or bad language.

I also read yesterday Gaiman's excellent story Bitter Grounds, in this story we follow a young man who is clearly bored of life and just looking for an escape. He decides to drive around America, and meets a professor on his way to a lecture. When the professor mysteriously disappears, the man steals his papers and goes to the conference himself, giving a speech about the zombie coffee girls.
These where read for Short Story September

Fall into Reading 2008

This challenge is being held over at Callapidder Days, it starts from the 22nd of September and runs through to December 20th. The idea is to motivate everyone in their reading, you set yourself a goal with a list of books you plan to read in this time frame, and then aim to meet (or beat) your target. I'm hoping this will help me focus in my reading, as I'm a bit slapdash at the moment, and it will set out all the books I need to read for the many challenges I'm falling behind on. I'm doing this a few days early as I'm stuck indoors with a fuzzy head, and a seeming inability to focus on either a film or a book.

My List:

finish The Famished Road, Okri (for 2008 Booker challenge/Unread Authors/Book Awards 2) ***

1. Two Caravans, Lewycka (2nds challenge, and bookring)****

2. The Stolen Child, Donohue (Bookring)****

3. Rabbit Proof Fence, Pilkington (Bookring, YA Challenge) **

4. East of Eden, Steinbeck (Bookcrossing Readalong, Classic Challenge)

5. Out, Kirino (RIP III & Japanese Challenge)

6. The End of Mr Y, Thomas (RIP III)

7. The Ghost Feeler, Wharton (RIP III, Short Story Challenge)

finish The Little Black Book of Stories, Byatt (RIP III, Short Stories Challenge)

8. Selected Tales, Poe (RIP III, Short Stories)

9. V for Vendetta, Moore (Graphic Novel)

10. The Complete Maus, Speigelman (Book Awards 2, The New Classics Challenge)

finish Eldest, Paolini (YA Challenge)

11. The Poisonwood Bible, Kingsolver (The New Classics Challenge, )

12. Gilead, Robinson (The New Classics Challenge, Book Awards 2)

13. Girlfriend in a Coma, Coupland (2nds Challenge, 2nd Canadian Book Challenge)

14. New Moon, Meyer (Mini Challenge, YA Challenge)

15. Sugar and Other Stories, Byatt (Short Stories Challenge)

16. The Sailor Who Fell with Grace from the Sea, Mishma (Japanese Challenge, 2nds Challenge)

17. The Gathering, Enright (2008 Booker, Book Awards 2)

18. Fugitive Pieces, Micheals (Book Awards 2, The Canadian Book Challenge)

19. Coraline, Gaiman (RIP III, YA Challenge)

20. I Sweep the Sun off Roof Tops, Al-Shaykh (Olympic Challenge)

21. The Book of Chamelons, Agualasa (Olympic Challenge)

22. Allah Is Not Obliged, Kourouma (Olympic Challenge)

23. History: A Novel, Morante (Olympic Challenge)

24. Cry, the Beloved Country, Paton (Olympic Challenge)

Hmm... if I complete this list I will be really chuffed and a little surprised, I also know I have a couple of bookrings which are likely to turn up at some point.

Challenges I'm joining for 2009

This is very early to be joining challenges for 2009, but here goes. I'm joining Becky in 3 of her mini challenges for next year.
The rules are simply to read 2 books by the chosen author within 2009. Becky has chosen 4 authors for the mini challenges and I am partcipating in 3 of these.
My Choices:
Steinbeck = The Pearl & Grapes of Wrath
Defoe = Moll Flanders and ?
Scott Westerfeld = The Uglies and The Pretties.

Looking forward to seeing what ever other challenges are announced and announcing my own!