UPDATE: Spring Reading Thing Challenge

Katrina has asked that everyone write a wrap-up post about the Spring Reading Thing. I finished this up a while ago, but she even gave some homework questions to complete! Sometimes school work can be fun however. Here's my list, including links to each review:

1. Reef by Romesh Gunesekera (completed March 24, 2007)

2. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (completed March 25, 2007)

3. A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (completed March 29,2007)

4. History of the World in 10.5 Chapters by Julian Barnes (completed April 6, 2007)

5. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides (completed April 13, 2007)

6. His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman

book 1 The Golden Compass (completed April 26, 2007)

book 2 The Subtle Knife (completed April 29, 2007)

book 3 The Amber Spyglass (completed May 22, 2007)

What was the best book you read this spring? I can't pick, because the books were so different, and each have different assets. Mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, . . .
What book could you have done without? The Virgin Suicides didn't do it for me, partly because I loved Middlesex and it wasn't nearly as captivating.
Did you try out a new author this spring? If so, which one, and will you be reading that author again? Ironically, the only author I had read before was Eugenides. I plan to read another of Gunesekara, Adams, Barnes, and Chandler. I even have the books for each of these picked out.
If there were books you didn't finish, tell us why. Did you run out of time? Realize those books weren't worth it? I debated not finishing The Amber Spyglass, but I'm so glad I did because the ending was fantastic. Also, how could I not finish the third book in a trilogy?
Did you come across a book or two on other participants' lists that you're planning to add to your own to-be-read pile? Which ones? I'm sure I did, but I can't remember where I got them or from whom. I've been making such a big list of books to read, I think I'm in denial from where they came from.
What did you learn -- about anything -- through this challenge? Maybe you learned something about yourself or your reading style, maybe you learned not to pick so many nonfiction books for a challenge, maybe you learned something from a book you read. Whatever it is, share! I learned I only like to commit to one book per month for a challenge, and I wouldn't pick a trilogy again, because what if you don't like it?
What was the best part of the Spring Reading Thing? the pretty button!!
Would you be interested in participating in another reading challenge this fall? oh probably!
Any other thoughts, impressions, or comments. Thanks a lot Katrina, you were a great hostess

UPDATE: challenges

There seems to be a big bunch of new challenges starting on June 1st, so I have been putting a burn on to finish up some old challenges. The new, shiny challenges look like more fun, so I don't want to have these hanging over my head.



Spring Reading Thing: I completed a good bunch of books I had been wanting to read.

1. Reef by Romesh Gunesekera (completed March 24, 2007)

2. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (completed March 25, 2007)

3. A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (completed March 29,2007)

4. History of the World in 10.5 Chapters by Julian Barnes (completed April 6, 2007)

5. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides (completed April 13, 2007)

6. His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
book 1 The Golden Compass (completed April 26, 2007)
book 2 The Subtle Knife (completed April 29, 2007)
book 3 The Amber Spyglass (completed May 22, 2007)

Other than The Virgin Suicides, I really liked them all. They were an assortment of genres and styles, but I like a variety of topics and styles. I did this challenge, because I really liked the button. Challenge planners: never underestimate the power of a pretty button!

Once Upon a Time Challenge :

I really wasn't sure about this one, mostly because I don't read a lot of this type of book. However, once I was committed to reading His Dark Materials, it seemed a natural to add a few more and get another button! This helped me get a few books on my list of books from 50_books at livejournal:

1. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman


2. The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman


3. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman


4. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett


5. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry


6. Coraline by Neil Gaiman

I think I picked the cream of the crop in this genre of fantasy and folklore. I read American Gods, also by Gaiman just before this challenge started. It was also excellent.

The Chunkster Challenge, along with the Winter Classics, started all this madness for me. I didn't even really blog about the Classics Challenge. The Chunkster was a real challenge for me, because I signed up before all the other fun challenges began, so this one got adapted, a bit. I read:

1. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
2. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
3. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult (will be finished in days - I can't put it down!)

I listed 4 books and hoped to finish 2 of them. Three definately got done. I have some guilt about using His Dark Materials Books for so many challenges. This is how I justify it: I had five other books listed for the Spring Reading Thing, and could have left these off and felt quite accomplished. So if I pretend I used his Dark Materials book 1 and 2 for the Once Upon a Time Challenge and then the third book, which was a Chunkster, over 500 pages, it could have been a chunkster. Then things look more balanced to me and still accomplished. I'm never too clear how 'carved in stone' some of these challenges are. I completed what I said,and also the spirit of the challenges.

Now, bring on

• Nonfiction 5 (one per month)
• Summer Reading Challenge Round 2
• Summer Mystery Reading Challenge
• Southern Reading Challenge

I'll post another update on these newer challenges later.

BOOK: The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

Finishing The Amber Spyglass completes the Spring Reading Thing 2007 Challenge for me. What was I thinking, chosing a trilogy for a challenge? This third book was hard to get through for some reason. Partly because it was over 500 pages (I think I'm counting it as a Chunkster Challenge too!) and partly because it just didn't grab me to get started, and yet I knew I really wanted to finish it. I couldn't leave a trilogy unfinished, but I was tempted at times to put it down. I was bargaining with myself - finish 150 pages, read another book - see The Little Prince, finish 150 pages, read another book. I was gritting my teeth and getting to it. And then, all of a sudden, I couldn't put the book down. I stayed up waaay too late last night to finish the book that I couldn't read two days before.

And I think that is why people rave about this series. Each of the three books have been difficult to get into, at least 150 pages before I was hooked. But the ultimate ending was worth it. It is a children's series to some degree, but with the amount of killing it seems a little intense for preteens. As a children's book, much of it was predictable and that may have led to my disinterest for a while. But the payoff was worth it in the end.

The characters of Lyra and Will were terrific and the allusions to Adam and Eve and temptation, make this book very broad. Religion and science are huge themes and as Armageddon comes, and the angels come down to fight and worlds are literally torn apart with our heroes at the center, poised to save all the worlds.

From the cover:

As war rages and Dust drains from the sky, the fate of the living and the dead - finally comes to depend on two children and the simple truth of one simple story.

There were parts of the story I enjoyed more than others - Mary Malone and the mulefa were my favorite. The mulefa were a people who evolved with a diamond skeleton instead of backbone and lived symbiotically with the pod trees. Other creatures from other worlds like the brave little spies, the Gallivespians, still the idea of daemons and souls, angels and ghosts, the imagination of Pullman and his take on the world were incredible.

So, I thought I wouldn't give this a very good rating, but the ending did it for me and I will be thinking of how he tied things up, and the consequenses and sacrifices made for a long time.

BOOK: The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

Book 2 : His Dark Materials Trilogy

Well I didn't plan to read this right away, but something made me pick it up and then I read it all day. Lyra and Will are travelling back and forth between worlds, dealing with new things, like a knife, Spectors, and mean kids. This series is fantastic, I love the physics in it, the dark matter or Dust and just confirms my view that physics and philosophy and religion are all tied up, just like this series. Great adventure, great characters and what an imaginiation to view our world like this, as part of a bigger universe. I hope to take a break before I finish this series, with The Amber Spyglass. But it may draw me to it, like the characters are drawn to their fate in these books.

BOOK: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Book 1 of His Dark Materials trilogy

Trilogies are tricky things, because there is a lot to do. The first book has to set up the plot that will last through three whole books. It can take a while to introduce all the characters and understand their motives and establish conflict. This book took a little while to get going. Also, I haven't read a lot of fantasy, and it takes a while to set up the parameters of the world the characters inhabit. I really liked the blend of our world and the slight changes that make Lyra's world different. The idea of daemons for each person, creatures that reflect their character and soul was my favorite part of this book.

Once I got to around page 100, the story picked up steam and I quite enjoyed it. I wasn't completely happy with the ending, because it didn't make me want to follow Lyra onto her next world. Again, this is a trilogy problem because this book has to feel complete, but it also has to make you want to keep going. Tying up enough loose ends, but leaving a few strings to start the next tale with. I will continue reading the series because 1) I bought them and 2) it is for the Spring Reading Thing and 3) it is recommended by the 50_books challenge readers and because 4) I am sure I will enjoy the rest of the series.

BOOK:The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

Meh, this book was OK. I read it, slowly, because I couldn't get completely into it. I have read Eugenides' Middlesex and I couldn't read it fast enough, tearing through the pages, and I think it was twice as long. So, I don't know if I'd recommend The Virgin Suicides to anyone. It was well written, with many descriptions and the details were wonderful. There just wasn't enough plot or story for me. We know from the first sentence that all the sisters will commit suicide,(I dont' think I'm giving anything away here) so there is no suspense. I was somewhat bewildered by the narrative, told from the point of view of some neighbour boys, but many years after the deaths. The narrators compile this story somewhat like a court investigation, with interviews from family and witnesses, and exhibits mentioned as they try to make sense of the suicides.

I looked up the Sparks notes on this story, but in the end, the novel didn't intrigue me enough to even read through it all. Maybe I was too tired when I read this, but I kept falling asleep. I don't blame this completely on the book, but I kept losing my spot as I was thinking what I might write about the book. I could never get immersed enough to be a part of the story. I much preferred Middlesex.

BOOK: A History of the World in 10.5 Chapters by Julian Barnes

This book was not what I thought it would be, but I still liked it. I thought it would be like the title said- a history of the world, and when the first chapter was about a stowaway on Noah's Ark it made sense. But the book then veered off and the rest of the chapters related somehow back to Noah's Ark and wormwood, the bugs. I was dazzled by Barnes ambition and ability to connect some very disparate stories, but they weren't really different in theme. Boats and religion were all there in each chapter in someway. I liked the chapters about the dream of heaven, the art criticism, the court record of sixteenth century France against wormwood. It reminded me about a Colin Firth movie I saw, set in the same time in France, where a pig was charged with murder. Several chapters were based on true accounts including one about a boat full of Jewish refugees as the second world war is getting started. And how Barnes was able to tie all the chapters together somehow was fun to watch for. I like short story collections and ones with a theme or connection are even better. I liked this book a lot.
heidijane wrote a great review of this book for the 15books/15decades challenge that sums up this book very nicely.
I'm sure I read another book like this, with one object passing through many generations or hands and told in a series of seemingly unconnected short stories, but I can't remember the name. There was a movie called The Red Violin somewhat like this as well.

BOOK: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

How have I never read this book? It was very good, very funny, a little confusing, but I just held on for the ride and enjoyed Arthur Dent and his terrible, horrible, very strange day. I am very intrigued by the Restaurant at the end of the Universe that he appears headed toward, and I don't know if I'd let Zephron and Ford lead me around space, but I imagine their adventures will be interesting.
It is so weird how you notice things once you learn about them? Deja-new. The day after I started reading this book, I heard an interview on CBC with Peter Gzowski (and how lovely his voice sounded; he is missed from the radio) and Douglas Adams from around 1986, discussing his books. Weird.
This book is from my top books to read from the 50_book challenge list.

BOOK: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

I liked this. I liked this a lot. He writes in such a style. I dreamed it. I wish I had a narrator in my head, talking like Philip Marlowe, with Raymond Chandler's words.
This book was very short, but I definately want to read more of this style of book. The Lady in the Lake. The Maltese Falcon. The thirties detective. The cliche. And things become cliche because they are good. I could hear Bogart in my head, he is so tied to this character. I have crush on Marlowe/Bogart. Hard-boiled detective stories. The Big Sleep. Awesome.

BOOK: Reef by Gumesh Gunesekera

The tumultuous history of Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, is the backdrop to the story of Triton, a young houseboy. The novel begins in the present day England, where Triton meets a new refugee from Sri Lanka, and as he tells the clerk that he has been in England for twenty years, the story shifts back to him as an eleven year old, arriving to work as a houseboy, to Mr Salgado, a privelged member of society. Salgado is a marine biologist studying the reefs off the coast, and the symbol of the reef, possibly destroyed with the slightest change in the environment, parallels the change due to unrest in the country.

The novel, short listed for the Booker, is also about cooking and food, as Triton is eventually the cook and chief bottlewasher in the household. Meals are wonderfully described, and I want a new cookbook to try some of the dishes, seafood and curries and limes. The prose is easy to read, and there is probably some wonderful imagery and mood, that I absorb but couldn't exactly put into words, I just know that I liked it. I would like to read Gunesekera's first collection of short stories about Sri Lanka, Monkfish Moon. And wasn't that the point of the Reading Across Borders Challenge? To discover new authors and perspectives.

CHALLENGE: Spring Reading Thing

There is a spring thing. A challenge. With the cutest button ever. That I really want to put on my blog here. So, I debated. Because I really can't read more books. And how much can things overlap? I mean, really. I'd feel like I was cheating if I cross referenced a book to three challenges. So I got out my list, and looked. There are a few other books I hope to read in the very near future - spring if you will. Such as:

• His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
• book 1 The Golden Compass (completed April 26, 2007)
• book 2 The Subtle Knife (completed April 29, 2007)
• book 3 The Amber Spyglass (completed May 22, 2007)


• The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides (completed April 13, 2007)


• History of the World in 10.5 Chapters by Julian Barnes (completed April 6, 2007)


• A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (completed March 29,2007)


• The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (completed March 25, 2007)
• Reef by Romesh Gunesekera (completed March 24, 2007)

That looks doable, a list of books I am pretty sure I will read in the next 3 months, between March 21st through June 21st, 2007.