YA Reading Challenge 2010

In 2010 I will also being trying the Young Adult Reading Challenge. Why don't you go one over to J. Kaye's Book Blog and sign up and try it with me? You don't need a blog or anything.

The rules:

1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.

2. There are four levels:
--The Mini YA Reading Challenge – Read 12 Young Adult novels.
--Just My Size YA Reading Challenge – Read 25 Young Adult novels.
--Stepping It Up YA Reading Challenge – Read 50 Young Adult novels.
--Super Size Me YA Reading Challenge – Read 75 Young Adult novels.

3. Audio, eBooks, re-reads all count.

4. No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.

5. Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2010.


For this one I'm going to go for the Just My Size again so that is 25 books. What's the worst that can happen? I don't make it right? You guys won't make fun of me will you? Didn't think so. So I'll give it a shot.

1. The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
2. Romeo's Ex by Lisa Fiedler
3. Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow
4. The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King
5. Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
6. Dull Boy by Sarah Cross
7. Rampant by Diana Peterfrund
8. Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

9. The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson

10. Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing With Fire by Derek Landy

11. Shylock's Daughter by Mirjam Pressler

12. Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones by Derek Landy

13. Nobody's Prize by Esther Friesner

14. The Return of Captain Conquer by Mel Gilden

15. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

16. Another Faust by Daniel And Dina Nayeri

17. The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

18. The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

19. Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

20. Poison by Chris Wooding

21. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

22. Jennifer Government by Max Barry

23. Blue Girl by Charles de Lint

24. Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer

25. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jaqueline Kelly

26. Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor by Chuck Black
...

The Tale of Despereaux Movie vs Book

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
The Tale of Despereaux with Matthew Broderick

Both the book and the movie are basically about a small mouse who does not act like a mouse and because of his uniqueness finds himself on a great adventure.

In both the movie and the book Despereaux sees the world differently than the rest of the mice. He loves music and values honor and virtue, he would rather read a book than eat it. In the movie though he is depicted as having no fear, as being this bold mouse that defies death to spring mousetraps. But in the book he is afraid; in fact he faints a lot. He doesn’t fail to scurry and cower because he is unafraid but because he forgets to because he is thinking about something else. To me that makes him a much better hero. It takes more courage to do something you are afraid of than something you are not. And it is nobler to be motivated by love like the Despereaux in the book than by a sense of adventure.

There were elements added to the movie that I didn’t understand the point of. The mysterious disappearance of the sun, the weird vegetable genie, the gladiatorial like games in the rat city, soup day. I thought they made the story less believable (yes, that’s what I said, believable, or maybe the word is credible) and sillier than the book.

In the book the narrator talks directly to you, addressing you as ‘reader’. The movie keeps the same feel as the narrator speaks to the audience, not quite as directly, but it is more conversational than just relating a story.

The themes of forgiveness and redemption that are brought up in the book are touched on in the movie but I don’t think they are as prominent.

There are other changes too. Two of the characters in the book seem to have been merged into one in the movie, some of the characters had slightly different beginnings or endings and some things had to be changed to accommodate the changes I’ve already mentioned but most of them are minor. But sometimes the characters ended up being less than they were in the book, less evil, less noble, less sympathetic, less whatever.

Although I thought the movie was fun and cute I would have to say that the book had better characters and although similar a slightly better story line.

Support Your Local Library 2010

I've decided to try the Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge again. You should J. Kaye's Book Blog and sign up too!

The Rules:
1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.

2. There are four levels:
--The Mini – Check out and read 25 library books.
--Just My Size – Check out and read 50 library books.
--Stepping It Up – Check out and read 75 library books.
--Super Size Me – Check out and read 100 library books.

(Aim high. As long as you read 25 by the end of 2010, you are a winner.)

3. Audio, Re-reads, eBooks, YA, Young Reader – any book as long as it is checked out from the library counts. Checked out like with a library card, not purchased at a library sale.

4. No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.

5. Crossovers from other reading challenges count.

6. Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2010.


I was going to be a baby and just do the 25 but I decided to shoot for 50 and if I don't make it I'll just have to deal with it. It's not like I'm signing anything in blood here. So 50 it is.

1. Company of Liars by Karen Maitland
2. Stones of Summer by Dow Mossman
3. Romeo's Ex by Lisa Fiedler
4. Unfallen Dead by Mark del Franco
5. Shambling Towards Hiroshima by James Morrow
6. Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow
7. Godmother by Carolyn Turgeon
8. The Dust of 100 Dogs by A. S. King
9. House of Wolves by Matt Bronleewe
10. Dull Boy by Sarah Cross
11. Rampant by Diana Peterfrund
12. Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
13. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari

14. Agents of Light and Darkness by Simon Green

15. The Pencil by Henry Petroski

16. Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing With Fire by Derek Landy

17. "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" by Richard P. Feynman

18. Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones by Derek Landy

19. Hold the Enlightenment by Tim Cahill

20. Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

21. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King

22. Unperfect Souls by Mark Del Franco

23. The House Without a Key by Earl Derr Biggers

24. The Man Who Ate the World by Jay Rayner

25. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

26. Gun, With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem

27. The Woman Who Wouldn't by Gene Wilder

28. Dog Days by John Levitt

29. The White Mary by Kira Salak

30. Another Faust by Daniel And Dina Nayeri

31. Skin Deep by Mark Del Franco

32. The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

33. The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

34. 99 Coffins by David Wellington

35. Walking Through Walls by Philip Smith

36. Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart

37. The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

38. Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

39. Appaloosa by Robert B. Parker

40. The Passing of the Third Floor Back by Jerome Jerome

41. Poison by Chris Wooding

42. Silver: My Own Tale As Written by Me with a Goodly Amount of Murder by Edward Chupack
43. Monster Planet by David Wellington
44. Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

45. Fragment by Warren Fahy

46. Jennifer Government by Max Barry

47. Weight by Jeanette Winterson

48. Blue Girl by Charles de Lint

49. Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer

50. Vampire Zero by David Wellington

51. Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 by David Peterson

52. 2% of 2% of All the World's Stories

53. Sky Burial by Xinran

54. Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 by David Peterson

55. Front Porch Prophet by Raymond Atkins

56, The Pets by Bragi Olafsson

57. Resolution by Robert Parker

58. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

59. The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley

60. Black and White by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittridge

61. Outlaw The Legend of Robin Hood by Tony Lee
62. Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon

63. Sons of Liberty by Alexander Lagos

64. Boots and Pieces by Emily Ecton

65. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Burning Land

The Tome Traveller is giving away 2 copies of The Burning Land by Bernard Cornwell. To enter all you have to do is leave a comment with your email address. For extra entries follow The Tome Traveller or tweet or blog about the giveaway.

Open until January 18th to the US and Canada.

The Friday 56, The Stones of Summer

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of Storytime With Tonya and Friends.
*Post a link along with your post back to Storytime With Tonya and Friends.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.


The book this week is The Stones of Summer by Dow Mossman. I'm not sure about this book. It is going very slowly and the end seems very far away. There is a lot of imagery and sort of flowery language I just don't really get. I will probably finish it eventually but when I can't say.

The sentence:

They, his hogs and then him, only stopped here because they liked the acorns growing in the groves of the Lesser Cow River so well.

Sea Serpents galore!

Bookfan is giving away a copy of Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters. To enter leave Bookfan a comment with your email.

Open to US (stateside) residents
Giveaway ends: 8pm (eastern) Dec. 28

The Friday 56, Catching Fire

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of Storytime With Tonya and Friends.
*Post a link along with your post back to Storytime With Tonya and Friends.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.


The book this week is Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. It's the second in the Hunger Games series and I'm liking it as much as the first. Once again I'm already looking forward to the next book.

The sentence:

I begin to weary of the vastness, the endlessness of this place.

Appropriately dreary for the subject matter I think.

Terminal Logic Review

Terminal Logic by Jefferson Scott


From the back of the book:

“This is your God… I have become displeased with all my worlds… Therefore I will wipe out all participants and begin again.” When this message appears on the screens of millions of GlobeNet users, most see it as the work of a prankster. But virtual reality programmer Ethan Hamilton has discovered renegade artificial intelligence “bots” in his virtual reality gameworlds, and he suspects, and confirms, a situation of nightmarish potential. Soon, Ethan is in a battle with an intelligence bent on the destruction of the human race. Even the FBI and the Dept. of Defense must stand by helplessly while the battle is waged by Ethan and a band of computer experts in the new final frontier – cyberspace.

Terminal Logic is about what happens when virtual reality steps outside its programming and starts interacting with the real world. The dangers of AI and making computers too smart is not a new concept but I think it is a fun one that always has a lot of potential. Terminal Logic is supposed to take place in the future, and did when the book was written, but since it all happens in the year 2006 it is slightly out of date. But if you can ignore the dates it doesn’t really matter. The only other thing that seems to date the book is all the references to movies and TV shows that pop up. They are mostly classics like The Jetsons or 2001: A Space Odyssey so they are recognizable but they are not exactly current. But the story itself is not dated. The dangers of smart programs and having all the computers linked together and cars and houses run by computers still all works today. This is the second in a series. I haven’t read the first and I had no trouble following the story but I do think I would understand the characters better if I had read the first one. The characters talk a lot about things that I assume took place in the first book and some of their motivations seem rooted in those events. It is Christian fiction so many decisions are based on prayer and what God would want them to do. They do talk about their beliefs and their faith and share it with their friends but it never becomes a sermon or gets in the way of the story. The story moves quickly and does grab you right away. I picked it up and was well into the book, both in reference to the number of pages and interest in the story, before very long. You can feel the sense of danger and menace build along the way as you move towards the climax. And even though we are talking about a computer program and virtual reality fighting you are never allowed to forget that there are real world consequences so the feeling of urgency and fear are never lost.

Dark Book Blowout!

Dark Faerie Tales is having a Book Blowout Giveaway. There will be four winners, Grand Prize Winner (4 Books) 1 First Place Winner ( 3 Books), 1 Second Place Winner (2 Books), 1 Third Place Winner (1 Book). The winners will get to choose the books from a big, long, impressive list. Please remember to leave your email address in your comment.

Extra entries:
+10 for promoting the giveaway on your blog, MUST be a Post.
+8 if you add Dark Faerie Tales (or have already) to your blog roll.
+6 if you are already a follower of the blog and Dark Faerie Tales on Twitter.
+4 for becoming a follower of the blog and Dark Faerie Tales on Twitter.
+2 for tweeting about this contest, linking via your sidebar etc...

The contest is open to everyone. It ends January 5th at 11:59 PM EST.

The Friday 56, Company of Liars

Rules:

* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of Storytime With Tonya and Friends.
*Post a link along with your post back to Storytime With Tonya and Friends.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.


Okay, so this week the book closest to me is the same book I used last week so I'm going to go with the book second closest to me which happen to be Company of Liars by Karen Maitland.


The sentence:


I was old and I knew it was inevitable, but I had never given it a shape before. Now, as this terrible sickness rolled inexorably towards us, I glimpsed for the first time the form death might assume and felt the panic rising in my throat.


I haven't gotten around to reading this one yet so I have no insight to give on the sentence. You will have to draw your own conclusions.

When Will There Be Good News

Hopefully your good news will come on January 3rd when Dar announces the winners to her contest. Over at Peeking Between the Pages Dar is giving away 3 copies of When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson. To enter all you have to do is leave Dar a comment with a way to get in touch with you. If you want some extra entries you can follow the blog and/or blog or twitter about the giveaway. The contest is open to the US and Canada, no PO boxes. Winner will be drawn on January 3rd 2010. (Am I the only one who is wondering how we made it to 2010 already?) Good luck!

Win Books!

Books Gardens & Dogs is giving away a box of books. But I can't tell you what they are, because I don't know. And you won't know either until they show up at your door (if you are lucky enough to win.) Apparently she has a bunch of ARCs sitting around looking for a new home, they are mostly mysteries (very apropos) and she will put in as many as will fit in the box and ship it to one lucky winner.

To enter:

+1 Leave a comment (with a way to contact you)
+3 New Follower
+2 Current Follower
+1 Stop by and say hello daily
+1 Tweet about it daily and leave the link each time
+1 Repost it on a social site or your blog and leave a link (one entry for each post)

Leave a new comment for each one.

Contest ends December 19th and is open to the US and Canada only.

Win The Maze Runner

The Book Butterfly is giving away 2 copies of The Maze Runner by James Dashner. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment. You can get a bonus entry if you post about the contest on a social network of your choosing. The contest ends December 25th and is open to the US only.

The Friday 56, The Devlin Diary

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of Storytime With Tonya and Friends.
*Post a link along with your post back to Storytime With Tonya and Friends.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

This week I'm reading The Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips. It's interesting to read about what they thought of as medicine in 1672. It sounds more like some kind of witch's brew.

The sentence:

She attempts to pull it off, but the ring won't budge. Jenny's eyes grow round as she watches the whore bend back the entire finger - it makes a sharp cracking sound, like a stout branch snapped off a tree - then cut it off with the knife, as expertly as a butcher chopping off a chicken leg.

Ewww, ick, ick, ick. I still have not found out why she would do such a thing. I'm sure she had a very good reason.

The Wrath of Alexander the Great Review

The Wrath of Alexander the Great by Terry McCarthy

From the back of the book:

“The Wrath of Alexander” introduces a bold new character into the realm of hari-raising adventure: The legendary Commander Barkane of Carthage. Combat-trained down to his fingernails, Barkane is the world’s first military commando. He and his highly-trained crew must journey to the famed fortress-city of Tyre and retrieve secrets of the state so valuable that Alexander the Great himself will turn the continent upside-down to get his hands on them. One problem: Tyre is under siege by one hundred thousand of Alexander’s men, each and every one of them hungering for Barkane’s blood. The commandos must somehow break into the city, secure the secrets, and then escape. It is impossible, of course, and Alexander knows it. But Carthage has sent Commander Barkane, and so Alexander is in for a surprise.


It is filled with action. There is fighting, chases, prison escapes, and pig stampedes. There is hardly a moment of rest which keeps the characters, plot and book moving at a great pace. But the characters and the plot are not sacrificed to the action. In Barkane you get a likeable, if smug, hero who always manages to get himself into impossible situations and then think his way out. And he has a worthy advisory who is savvy, if brutal, and gives our hero a run for his money ensuring that things never get too easy. And things are seldom easy, leading to moments when you want to read faster to find out how he will get away this time. McCarthy adds to the sense of anticipation by foreshadowing things to come by using phases like “he was about to find out that…” that make you want to know how he will find out and what he is going to do about it. There is a lot of plotting and scheming and since you get to see the story from the perspective of several characters you hear the plans of both sides and what they think the enemy’s plans are and it becomes impossible to figure out who is outsmarting who until the plans are all played out. The descriptions of the fighting and injuries are real and vivid enough that you have no trouble imagining the pain and fear that the characters must have felt. It is interesting and exciting historical fiction but it not exactly about Alexander the Great. Although Alexander is in the book and is ultimately Barkane’s nemesis to his mission most of the considerable action is focused elsewhere, Alexander takes a back seat to Barkane and his quest and all the unexpected, improbable, and death defying things that happen to him and everyone around him along the way. A very entertaining book that kept me avidly reading through all the twists and turns to a satisfying end.


I want to thank Terry McCarthy for giving me a chance to read his book by making copies available through the Librarything members giveaway program.

J. Kaye's Giveaways, December

J. Kaye has another impressive list of giveaways for this month.

For Cayman Gold by Richard Trout go here. Open to the US and Canada.

For The Blue Pen by Lisa Rusczyk go here. Open to the US only.

For the audio book I Drink For a Reason by David Cross go here. Open to the US and Canada.

For The Seduction Of Snow White by Cathy Yardley go here. Open to the US only.

For Ghost in the Machine by Patrick Carman go here. Open to the US and Canada.

For Cry for the Moon by William Angelo Woodall go here. Open internationally.

All winners will be posted on December 12th.
You must be at least 18 to enter.

For the complete list of giveaways go here.

Books I Finished in November

Another 8 book month. And some of them were kids’ books. I don’t know what I was doing in November but apparently it wasn’t reading.

Terminal Logic by Jefferson Scott
A little out of date but I could get around that and enjoy the book.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Made me want to read the next one. Read my review here.

The Wrath of Alexander the Great by Terry McCarthy
A lot of action and an interesting hero with a little betrayal and romance thrown in to keep things interesting.

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Josilyn Jackson
It was okay. The ending was a surprise but I had trouble liking most of the characters.

The Giver by Lois Lowry
It was interesting to read it again after all this time. I found it kind of creepy.

Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper
Interesting to read about how William Shakespeare came into his own as a playwright. There is political intrigue and historical facts but it is definitely a love story.

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
I thought it was a nice story but I don’t really like it when the narrator talks to you. But maybe if I was the age that this book was written for I would have looked at it differently.

Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear
I’m not a big fan of Winspear’s writing style and I had trouble connecting with the main character so I don’t think I’ll be reading any more Maisie Dobbs novels.