A Confabulation on Books

The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein was one of my favorite reads of 2008.  So, I was thrilled when Sarah, from Mr. Stein’s office, contacted me to have a giveaway!  

Here’s what you can win:

* A SIGNED, hardback copy of The Art of Racing in the Rain
* A matching bookmark
* A pin that says GoEnzo.com

Here’s how you can win:

* Leave a comment on this post with the name of your favorite fictional dog.  (This counts as your official entry.)
* Leave comments on other posts for one additional entry each.

I’ll randomly select a winner on Friday, January 16, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. MST.  May the best (most randomly selected) person win!

Only two months left of Lit Flicks fun. Here’s the January Lit Flicks Challenge post:

DECEMBER WINNER

First things first. The winner of the December giveaway is . . . Rachelle @ My Book Challenges! I’ll be sending her a copy of Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens. It is on her challenge list and was written by the same guy who wrote A Christmas Carol. (See, it relates to December’s theme.) Thank you to everyone who participated! (We had a total of 85 entries.) I really enjoyed reading everyone’s reviews and memes. Keep ‘em coming.

JANUARY MEME

For January, let’s talk about book/movie resolutions. Do you set reading/watching goals for yourself? Do you have any book/movie adaptations that you are particularly excited about this year?  How did you do on last year’s goals?

JANUARY GIVEAWAY

On February 1st, I’ll hold a drawing for a yet-to-be-determined book that has been adapted into movie. As always, your activity throughout the month of January will earn you entries. You’ll earn one entry for each of the following:

- Joining the challenge (post a link on the SIGN UP Mr. Linky to your list of selections for the challenge - you only have to do this one time)
- Joining the companion challenge hosted by my brother for movie lovers (again, you only have to do this one time)
- Completing the above meme for January (add a link on the REVIEWS & POSTS Mr. Linky to your post)
- Leaving a comment on this post
- Posting a review of a book adapted into a movie or a movie adapted from a book - one entry per review (add a link on the REVIEWS & POSTS Mr. Linky)

MY THOUGHTS

Before last year, I never set any reading goals for myself. Last year, about halfway through the year, I set a goal to read 75 books in 2008. I managed to read 85. This year, I’m setting a goal to read 100 books in 2009. We’ll see how it goes.

I’ve never set movie watching goals for myself, and I don’t think I’ll start now. I am, however, going to unofficially continue on with the Lit Flicks Challenge throughout the year and watch (and read the source material) for as many movie adaptations as I can this year.

What reading/movie material do you have planned for this year?

Okay, deep breath, here we go.  In addition to the 3 challenges I have in progress and my 3 perpetual challenges, I’m joining the following 16 challenges for 2009.  Heaven help me.

Themed Reading Challenge
February 1 - July 31, 2009

Challenge: Read 4 TBR Books that Share a Theme
My Selections: Books by Ian McEwan - Saturday; Atonement; Enduring Love; First Love, Last Rites

Chunkster 09
February 1 - November 15, 2009
Challenge: Read Books Over 450 Pages Long
My Selections: Waiting on more info.

100+ Reading Challenge
January 1 - December 31, 2009

Challenge: Read 100 Books or More

2009 Mini-Challenges
January 1 - December 31, 2009

Challenge: Complete 12 Mini-Challenges

The 2009 Pub Challenge
January 1 - December 31, 2009

Challenge: Read 9 Books Published in ‘09

A to Z Challenge
January 1 - December 31, 2009

Challenge: Option B - Read Titles A to Z

ARC Reading Challenge
January 1 - December 31, 2009

Challenge: Read All My ARCs

Blog Improvement Project
January 1 - December 31, 2009

Challenge: Participate in Semimonthly Blog Improvement Projects

Casual Classics Challenge
January 1 - December 31, 2009

Challenge: Read 4 Classics

My Year of Reading Dangerously
January 1 - December 31, 2009

Challenge: Read 12 Dangerous Books
My Selections: I’m going to read 12 nonfiction books.

New Authors Challenge
January 1 - December 31, 2009

Challenge: Read Books By Authors New-To-Me
My Selections: I’m going to read 20 books by new authors.

Read Your Own Books Challenge
January 1 - December 31, 2009

Challenge: Read Books I Own
My Selections: I’m going to read 50 books I own.

Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge
January 1 - December 31, 2009

Challenge: Read 12 Library Books

TBR Lite Challenge
January 1 - December 31, 2009

Challenge: Option A - Read 6 Books from My TBR Pile
My Selections (with Alternates): The Road, Atonement, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Bonk, Life of Pi, Enna Burning, My Most Excellent Year, In Defense of Food, So Brave Young & Handsome, The Iliad, Utopia, The View from Saturday

What’s in a Name? Challenge
January 1 - December 31, 2009

Challenge: Read Six Books that Fit into Six Categories
My Selections: All chosen from Pulitzer Prize winners:
A book with a “profession” in its title: The Executioner’s Song
A book with a “time of day” in its title: House Made of Dawn
A book with a “relative” in its title: The Optimist’s Daughter
A book with a “body part” in its title: Elbow Room
A book with a “building” in its title: The Keepers of the House
A book with a “medical condition” in its title: A Death in the Family

YA Challenge
January 1 - December 31, 2009

Challenge: Read 12 YA Books

Check out my challenges page for all things challenge related.

BOOKS READ

Total Books Read = 85
Average Books Read Per Month = 7
Best Reading Month = September (14 books)
Worst Reading Month = February (1 book)

Total Pages Read = 25,382
Average Pages Per Book = 299
Average Pages Read Per Day = 69
Average Pages Read Per Month = 2,115

Total Fiction (including memoir, poetry, and drama) Books Read = 75
Total Nonfiction Books Read = 10
Total Books Reread = 7
Total Chunksters (450+ pages) Read = 10
Total Books By Women = 50
Total Books By Men = 35
Total New-to-Me Authors = 54
Repeat Authors = Neil Gaiman (3); John Green (3); Shannon Hale (2); Ian McEwan (2); Stephenie Meyer (5); L.M. Montgomery (3); Marjane Satrapi (2); Lionel Shriver (2); Trenton Lee Stewart (2)

Total Books Read that I Own = 61
Total Books Read that I Don’t Own = 24

Ratings = 18
Ratings = 34
Ratings = 23
Ratings = 8
Ratings = 2

BLOGGING

Total Posts = 245
Total Book Reviews Posted = 86
Total Movie Reviews Posted = 2

Total Books Given Away = 40
Total Blue Leafs = 7
Total Blog Tour Stops = 17
Total Author Interviews = 5
Total Guest Posts = 1
Total Booking Through Thursday Posts = 35

Total Comments Left = 1,225

CHALLENGES

Challenges Entered = 14
Challenges Completed = 6
Challenges Failed = 2
Challenges In Progress = 6

BOOK CLUB

November/December - Bleak House, by Charles Dickens
October - Bleak House, by Charles Dickens
September - Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier READ
August - Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer READ
July - Stardust, by Neil Gaiman READ
June - The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale READ
May - The Shell Seekers, by Rosamunde Pilcher READ
April - The Whaleboat House (Amagansett), by Mark Mills READ
March - Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson READ
February - The Captain of Her Heart, by Anita Stansfield
January - Austenland, by Shannon Hale READ

I hope 2009 is this productive!

Here is an abstract of my literary doings in December.

Books Read

Matrimony, by Joshua Henkin - 12/4/2008
The Mighty Queens of Freeville, by Amy Dickinson - 12/9/2008
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett - 12/13/2008
Anne of Avonlea, by L.M. Montgomery - 12/19/2008
Anne of the Island, by L.M. Montgomery - 12/19/2008
The Tales of Beedle the Bard, by J.K. Rowling - 12/21/2008
Forever . . ., by Judy Blume - 12/24/2008
Cathy’s Ring, by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman - 12/31/2008

December Total = 8
Year-to-Date Total =85

One five-star book this month, The Help, which will be released in February.  It’s definitely one of my favorites for the year.

Book Club

Bleak House, by Charles Dickens - Meeting: December 4, 2008

We actually didn’t discuss Bleak House at our meeting.  Most people didn’t end up finishing it.  Instead, we focused on picking books for the first half of 2009.  We’ve never picked our books more than a month or two in advance, but we decided to try something new.  Click here to see our selections.

Our selection for January is Master, by Toni Sorenson.

Challenges

I haven’t finalized my 2009 challenge selections yet, so my list is pretty much unchanged from last month.

Lit Flicks Challenge - 6/5 books; 2/5 movies [ends 2/28/2009]
Book Awards II Challenge - 6/10 [ends 6/1/2009]
Really Old Classics Challenge - 0/2 [ends 7/31/2009]

The Pulitzer Project - 7/91 [perpetual]
The Printz Project - 1/8 (+2 Honor books) [perpetual]
The Newberry Project - 13/87 (+7 Honor books) [perpetual]

Miscellany

• The Lit Flicks Challenge has but two months left. However, you can still sign-up and win prizes every month! So far, Natasha @ Maw Books Blog won a copy of Atonement (September), Movie Viewing Girl won a copy of Jane Eyre (October), Meryl @ My Bit of Earth won a copy of The Constant Gardener (November) and December’s winner will be announced tomorrow.
• I gave away thirty books in December!!  (Twenty-eight in my Holiday Giveaway Extravaganza and one copy each of Matrimony and The Mighty Queens of Freeville.)
• I participated in this year’s Book Bloggers Christmas Swap.  See what I got and what I gave.
• I won three books this month!  I won Anthem from Rebecca @ Rebecca Reads, Independence Day from Chartroose @ Bloody Hell, It’s a Book Barrage!, and Snow from Matt @ A Guy’s Moleskine Notebook.
• And, as always, I participated in Booking Through Thursday.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by my blog this month!

Check out my other year-end summations: 2008 Challenge Summation, 2008 Summation, 2008 Top 10 List.

MY TOP 10 PICKS OF 2008*

Books Published in 2008

The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett**
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey, by Trenton Lee Stewart
Paper Towns, by John Green

Books Published before 2008***

Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck
On Chesil Beach, by Ian McEwan
Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
The River, by Moonlight, by Camille Marchetta
We Need To Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver

* Click over to the complete list of books I read in 2008.
** The Help will be published in February 2009, but I loved it so much that I couldn’t leave it out.
*** I didn’t include books I reread in 2008 on this list.

Check out my challenges page for complete challenge information.

2008 Challenges Completed = 6

R.I.P. III
September 1, 2008 - October 31, 2008

Coraline, by Neil Gaiman - 10/29/2008
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman - 10/8/2008
Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier - 9/10/2008
The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield - 10/29/2008

___________________________________________

The Olympic Challenge
August 8-24, 2008

Creepers, by Joanne Dahme - 8/9/2008 [GOLD]
Soupy Saturdays, by Judy Blume - 8/9/2008 [SILVER]
Looking for Alaska, by John Green - 8/10/2008 [GOLD]
Asking for Murder, by Roberta Isleib - 8/12/2008 [GOLD]
84, Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff - 8/15/2008 [GOLD]
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey, by Trenton Lee Stewart - 8/21/2008 [GOLD]

___________________________________________

Stephenie Meyer Mini-Challenge
June 1, 2008 - January 30, 2009

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer - 7/30/2008
New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer - 7/31/2008
Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer - 8/2/2008
___________________________________________

The Novella Challenge
April 1, 2008 - September 1, 2008

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, by Truman Capote - 4/27/2008
Death in Venice, by Thomas Mann - 5/21/2008
On Chesil Beach, by Ian McEwan - 6/17/2008
Stardust, by Neil Gaiman - 7/20/2008
The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho - 5/6/2008
The Fires, by Alan Cheuse - 7/6/2008

___________________________________________

Celebrating 100 Years of Anne Mini-Challenge
June 7, 2008 - July 31, 2008

Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery - 6/30/2008

___________________________________________

The Graphic Novels Challenge
January 1, 2008 - December 31, 2008

(I started in June = 3 books)

Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi - 6/11/2008
Persepolis 2, by Marjane Satrapi - 6/24/2008
The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick - 6/7/2008

___________________________________________

2008 Challenges Failed = 2

The Classics Challenge
July 1 - December 31, 2008

___________________________________________

The Wind-Up Book Chronicle Challenge
May 15 - November 15, 2008

___________________________________________

2008 Perpetual Challenges Progress

The Pulitzer Project - Books Read

1961 - To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee - 9/14/2008
2008 - The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Diaz - 8/6/2008

___________________________________________

The Printz Project - Books Read

2006 - Looking for Alaska, by John Green - 8/10/2008
2007 - An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green (Honor) - 10/20/2008

___________________________________________

The Newbery Project - Books Read

2004 - The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo - 11/16/2008

I was shocked to realize that I’d missed one of Judy Blume’s novels for young adults. I was then surprised to find that my local library didn’t even own a copy. A ha. Scandal. It’s a book about sex. Originally published in 1975.

Katherine and Michael, seniors in high school, meet at a New Year’s Eve party.  They begin dating and soon encounter the issue of sex.  Katherine is a virgin; Michael isn’t.  Sex is presented as more of a emotional issue than a moral issue.  They ultimately progress through stages of physical intimacy and believe that their love will last forever.

I have a split view of Forever.

View #1 - This book has been banned from libraries, and I can see why it makes people uncomfortable.  It is a blunt look at teenage sex.  While I wouldn’t feel comfortable having my teenager read this book, I do think its frankness is refreshing and provides an interesting and oft unheard point of view.

View #2 - I thought the writing and story were overly simplistic.  Michael seemed to just want Katherine for sex; their relationship is not explored outside of the sexual context.  Each of their dates seems like an excuse for being alone and having sex.  I also felt like Michael put undue pressure on Katherine to have sex.

In sum, adults might find this an interesting perspective on teen sex.  But teenagers probably shouldn’t read this without parental or adult supervision and discussion.

Forever, by Judy Blume

Buy Forever . . . at Amazon.com.

As a Harry Potter aficionado, I had no choice but to devour The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

The five tales are newly translated from the original runes by Hermione Granger and annotated by the late Albus Dumbledore.  J.K. Rowling has added additional footnotes to ease muggles’ passage through the book.

The Wizard and the Hopping Pot - The most PC of the bunch, this story is about an old wizard who liberally uses his magic to assist muggles and his resentful descendants.

The Fountain of Fair Fortune - Perhaps the happiest of the tales, this one centers on a fountain where one person may bathe each year and have his or her problems solved.

The Warlock’s Hairy Heart - By far the most graphic, this story revolves around a warlock who decides, after viewing the idiocy of those so afflicted, to never fall in love.

Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump - Reminiscent of Ramses’s desperation in the Bible, this story involves a power-hoarding king and the clever witch who outsmarts him.

The Tale of the Three Brothers - The story actually featured in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, this story tells the tale of three brothers granted one wish each by Death.

Each of the five stories, except “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart,” is referenced in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  The tales are all very detailed and smack of fairy tales we already know without being derivative.  However, while the stories are extremely creative and well-written, the book “would be unremarkable were it not for the body of work that lies behind it.” And, there is a lot of padding and white space in the little book.  In all, it was a little weak as a book, but Harry Potter fans will enjoy this bonus peek into the forklore of that magical world.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, by J.K. Rowling

Other Reviews:
Reading is My Superpower
Kittling: Books
Rebecca Reads
The Novel World
Age 30+ . . . A Lifetime of Books
Melody’s Reading Corner
The Bluestocking Guide
Things Mean A Lot

Buy The Tales of Beedle the Bard at Amazon.com.

I got in a nostalgic mood a couple of weeks ago and raced through Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island.

Anne of the Island picks up directly where Anne of Avonlea left off. Anne has decided to go to college for her B.A.  She heads off to Redmond and has a lively first year with Priscilla, Gilbert, Charlie, and newcomer Phillippa Gordon. Anne faces some challenges - being away from Avonlea, a changing relationship with Diana, and numerous proposals - but she is up to the challenge.  Anne is older and wiser, but still delightfully naive.

I loved this installment of the Anne books.  I noticed, though, that the plot clearly follows that of Pride and Prejudice.  I can’t tell for sure if Montgomery did it intentionally or not.  I think it might be an homage to that great story.  In any case, this book is definitely Anne and Gilbert’s.  I loved it for that alone.

Anne of the Island, by L.M. Montgomery

My Other Anne Reviews: Anne of Green Gables | Anne of Avonlea

Other Reviews:
Becky’s Book Reviews
Book-a-Rama

Buy Anne of the Island at Amazon.com.