Reading Challenges

As well as scrapbooking and card-making I love to read. Below is a list of reading challenges I found for you to check out if you are interested.

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - this is a great little challenge that only rung until March 31st. You must read 3 historical books set up to World War 2.

Books vs Movies Challenge - read 6 books and watch the movie for each book in 2009. You must write a review and post it or join Goodreads to be eligible for prizes.

The Year of Readers - this reading challenge is about donating your time and money so that you raise money for Book Charities.

Serial Readers Challenge 2009 - this reading challenge is to read as many series as you can in 2009. This one is great for those of us who have a few series sitting on our shelves to read.

2009 TBR Challenge - This one is a nice easy one. Choose 12 books that have been in your To Be Read pile for more than six months and read one a month. You are even allowed to have a back up for each month just in case they don't grab you. Sounds like a nice easy one!

In Their Shoes - this challenge is to read as many memoirs, autobiographies or biographies as you want.

The 999 Challenge - for this challenge you have to read 9 books from 9 categories of your choice and as an added challenge you have to try and have it finished by 9/9/09. This is a great challenge to help you get through your TBR pile.

Well Seasoned Reader Challenge - this one is a nice quick one, it finished on March 31st and you only have to read 3 books. The idea is to read books related to food or travel, it's more complicated than that but I love the idea. You should definitely go and check it out.

First in a Series 2009 - read 12 first in a series books by any author and any genre. There is also a second challenge to read a second book by an author you've previously read. For those of you who love series this one would be great.

2009 Suspense and Thriller Challenge - read 12 different sub-genres of thrillers in 2009.

War Through the Generations Challenge - for this challenge you have to read 5 books set in WW11, they can be either fiction or non-fiction. A good challenge to expand your horizons!

2009 Mini Challenges - if you are looking to extend yourself then this is the challenge for you. It involves more than just reading fiction. Looks like a lot of fun.

Books into Movies Challenge - this is a nice easy one, you have to read 2 books that have been made into movies and then watch the movie or books that relate to the television show Murder She Wrote.

There are hundreds of reading challenges out there so go find one and start reading in 2009. Reading challenges are a fun way to keep you motivated.

Thank God it's Friday

I can honestly say that as weeks go this one has been horrible! It seems that since Dad died I have had many weeks like this and I often wonder if things will ever get back to normal and will life ever feel like clear sailing and blue skies again.

I have spent many hours this week crying, can't necessarily explain that, I don't completely understand why myself except that there is a lot going on. At times I felt that my sanity was perilously close to the edge. But there was a light, a beacon if you will, that drew me away from all the 'stuff' and took me to another place and time. It wrapped it's delicate fingers around me and promised that if I just stayed there with it, all would be well.

Last night I went with Ian and Kenzie to futsal, Ian had to coach three games and Kenzie had to play two. I took my phone that has a great MP3 player on it, plugged in my headphones, turned up the music load enough to drown out the soccer noise and opened my book 'Son of the Shadows' by Juliet Marillier. How I managed to listen to loud music, be completely absorbed in a book and not miss one of Kenzie's goals can only be described as amazing, but I did. Well by the third game, one of the Dad's I was sitting near just had to keep commenting on the game so I had to put my book away.

But during this time I escaped all that was happening in my life and joined the Irish folktales and mythology that I was reading about. I felt the highs and lows and every emotion as if it were my own and escaped into a world of beauty, fear and devastation. I felt the emotions of the characters wrap around me like a shawl and shut out all the emotions I was feeling, last night the main one being anger. This is why I read!

Nothing can take you away from your own life like the pages of a good book. Whether you are having a difficult time, you're sick or life is just going through one of it's mundane patches. It can enhance the feelings you have towards your partner, your children, it can remind you of how lucky you are, or it can take you to destinations you will never see without the eyes of the characters. I have travelled the world extensively and seen so many beautiful places in the pages of some wonderful books. I have personally also seen some beautiful places with my own eyes and for me the memories of the places I've seen IRL (in real life) and the places I've seen in books is the same imagery. No different! Isn't that amazing? Think about it, is it different in your memory? I am a visual, so for me reading a book is no different in my memory to watching a movie or standing on the beach (I also dream in colour). I sometimes think that when I'm old and forgetful I will be sure I've travelled the world and seen all the wonders of it. I still remember vividly the settings of Matthew Reilly's novel Temple, and Katherine Kerr's Deverry Series. If I close my eyes I can imagine standing there and smelling the forest/jungle, and feel the earth on my feet.

This is why I love to read. It's also why I can't read horror books, because it takes me to places and brings back memories I don't want to see or feel. So, am I a freak, or are you like this too? Think about it, remember the places you've seen IRL and books and see if the memory seems different.

Royal Harlot

A very hot king and an amazingly beautiful woman combine to make history come alive in this fantastic novel. I think it's the raunchiest historical novel I've ever read but I learned so much about the history of this time which is what made it a great historical read. You could easily be confused and think it was a historical romance, but it's not. It's a story based on historical fact. Couldn't put it down!

This week Sheree and I are going to be busy organising our 'scrapbook camp' at her place this weekend. Neil and Ian are taking the boys camping, so the boys are excited. We are looking forward to a fun weekend, with lots of yummy food, watching 'The Tudors' while we scrapbook and no doubt plenty of laughter!

Another Confession!

This time it is a book confession! I love Elizabeth Chadwicks book covers, in fact I haven't seen one I haven't loved yet. Annie and I have purchased several of her books just because we like the covers. In fact I'm hoping that some dear daughter or bf will buy me both of these for my birthday to put on my new book case (hopefully getting for my birthday).

So what's the big confession? Well if you look at my Book Blog you'll see that I've only read one of her books and I didn't like it to much. I am however convinced that with covers such as these I will love them and I must have them. So if anyone needs birthday ideas????

Mind, Body and Soul Challenge

It's been a few months since I've read a book, but I love reading and there's nothing like a new challenge to get you reading again, we do them in scrapbooking all the time so here's a reading challenge for you. Annie who was the creator of the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge that I completed earlier this year has come up with a new challenge.

The Mind, Body & Soul Challenge is only for a month so not to big a commitment for me. So here are my selections:

Mind (Option 2): I will read 'Pride & Prejudice' by Jane Austen and the read 'The Pemberley Chronicles' by Rebecca Ann Collins.

Body (Option 1): I will listen to 'Winter Lodge' by Susan Wiggs. It goes for 12.5 hours so that means that I will have to exercise for 40 minutes a day. Not very realistic for me so I might listen to it while I'm doing housework as well (surely that counts as exercise).

Soul (Option 2): I will reread 'Mr Darcy Presents His Bride' by Helen Halstead. I only read this book this year but I loved it and would love to read it again. I would have to say that now it is my favourite love story. Helen is an Australian author and this is a very romantic version that's an easy read.

So there it is, that's my entry. There are some great prizes in this challenge and I wouldn't mind winning one or two. I just have to finish my current read by Monday.

Books, Books and More Books

I need to publicly shame myself, I have bought about 20 books in the last month and probably the same the previous month. Now when you consider that I probably read about four a month, that would mean that I have purchased almost enough to read for the entire year! Not to mention I probably already had enough books on my bookshelf to keep me going for a year. Now, really, you might find this hard to believe but it's true. I have a lot of unread books, I have even bought books for my BF to read because she liked a series and I gave her the first to read before me. So I bought the rest of the set for her to read and me to 'get to'. This happened with Dianna Gibaldon's 'Cross Stitch' series and Sara Donati's 'Into the Wilderness' series.

So I need to stop buying books and read only what's in my TBR (to be read) pile! I have already picked 5 books for this month, although I think that will be a stretch because a couple of them are quite large. I finished the new Jodi Picoult 'Change of Heart' today. You will find my book review here (no spoilers).

Now all I have to do is decide what to read next. I think maybe I will go with Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice as I have a couple of novels coming from Amazon that are sequels to it (obviously not written by Jane Austen).

Aussie Book Karma Debut

I must admit, this feels a little like Christmas morning. You work yourself into a state of exhaustion the week before, trying to make sure everything is 'just right' and then the night before, when everything is perfect and you should be sleeping, you find yourself hit with insomnia because your so excited. But then before you know it, it's CHRISTMAS!

If you're an Aussie who loves books anywhere near as much as Mum and I do then this will be a Christmas of sorts for you. But before I give you the link and let you open your pressies, I need to let you know of a couple of things.

The site is called Aussie Book Karma because we believe that when it comes to book swapping, the principles of karma are paramount. You need to give first in order to receive and if you add a book you've loved, you're more likely to find something you love to swap it with. To begin with, you'll need to have 10 books you're willing to give away.

You'll find instructions on how to swap on the homepage however for today, the rules will be a little different. There will be 20 books available to begin with and these will be allocated on a first in first served basis. If you want to claim one of these books, you'll need to be the first person to fill out the 'Redeem My Karma Credits Form' (located on the website). Each member will begin with one credit only and one credit = one book. As members register throughout the day, we'll continue to add more books and you'll be able to keep swapping. As soon as someone else requests one of your books, you earn another credit.

We'll be on hand today to answer any questions at aussiebookkarma at hotmail dot com. The site will be updated frequently today with new books and new members so make sure you check back regularly! This being said, please allow some time for us to add your details and first 10 books.

OK. Ready to open your pressies now?

HERE'S THE LINK: Aussie Book Karma

Free Books for Aussies

Kristianne and I have found ourselves increasingly jealous of the US book-swapping sites recently. We want free books without having to pay the overdue fees on our library cards! Being the proactive bibliophiles that we are we've decided to do something about it. As of Saturday, all Aussies will be able to sign up to our very own book-swapping network and we're giving away free books to celebrate.

To kick off the swapping, we're donating twelve of our all-time favourite books from each literary category. We have read and loved each of these books. In fact, we had such trouble parting with them we've bought some of them brand new for the swap just so we didn't have to part with our copies! And here's the best bit. The 38th member to sign up to the site will receive a free signed hardcover copy of Jeffery Archer's new bestseller, Prisoner of Birth. I am so excited to be giving this away!

The cyber-party and book-loving kicks off on Saturday 5th April at 10am. A link to our new website will be posted both to Reading, Writing & Ranting and Alaine's Reading Blog. There will be plenty of info up on the day and we will be available to answer questions. So please come and check us out and tell all your friends. You won't be disappointed!

100+ Reading Challenge

Well I did the unthinkable and joined the 100+ Reading Challenge. That means I have to read 100 books this year, now I have to admit I didn't really give it a lot of thought before I signed up, when I did and realised that I would have to read 2 books a week I began to seriously doubt that I would complete this challenge. However,I have already signed up so I think that I should at least give it a good go. I've already read 10 so that means only 90 to go. Well no time to blog, back to reading!

The Last Wife of Henry VIII

The Last Wife of Henry VIII by Carolly Erickson is a fast paced book of Catherine Parr's life, from her childhood to her death. She married 4 times which I'm sure was a lot for someone of those times, including of course, Henry VIII. This book gives the reader a glimpse of the final days of Henry and what can only be described as his complete madness. I would also have to say that I think she is my favourite of all Henry wives.

I would recommend this book if you are well read in the lives of the Tudors. Definitely a great little book!

Oh Henry!

I couldn't help myself, I'm back at the Tudor Court with Henry VIII, I just found someone else to take me there. Well to be precise, I am with his last wife Katherine Par, who was married at least twice that I know of and I certainly can't imagine how she ends up marrying him. This latest read is 'The Last Wife of Henry VIII' by Carolly Erickson and it is a great read. Carolly is no Philippa Gregory but this book is moving quickly along and certainly keeping my interest without any difficulty at all. In fact I will definitely be buying more of her books. I was worried about reading another Tudor novel written by someone who is not Philippa Gregory, but I guess I am so used to being in their world that I can read it without any effort and Carolly certainly allows me to do that. There are some minor differences of course, but none that have bothered me too much, well accept that she said that Mary Boleyn had a half wit son to King Henry. But that is a small thing so I forgave her for saying it.It is a small book with only 326 pages so I will probably get it finished today. Although I've promised my daughters that I will scrapbook with them today.

Last night I made Vanilla Slices and Strawberry Cheesecake which I dreamt I got up and had a piece of through the night, so I guess I will be eating some for breakfast.

If you like historical fiction then there is a challenge to read six in six months at this website so go over and join and you get to put a really hot picture of Henry VIII on your blog. It starts on April 1 and my first book will be Pride and Prejudice, I have never read any of the classics (well except maybe in High School but that doesn't count because I don't remember them) but decided since it is my favourite movie I should finally read the book. Actually I should check that it qualifies, it is not technically a history novel because it is set in the authors time period.

So, speaking of movies and books, last night I watched a movie called 'Angel Falls' a movie about a book of the same name by Nora Roberts. I was really impressed with how well the movie actually followed the book, very unusual. But, yes unfortunately there is a but, Heather Locklear played the lead role of Rhys. Now Rhys is only supposed to be around 27 if memory serves and whilst Heather Locklear with a perfectly unlined face looks young, her face also looks entirely plastic. So therefore is unconvincing in the role. I don't know who on earth decided she could play a 27 year old woman but some ridiculous man in Hollywood. Really, they should get out into the real world sometime and see what beautiful woman look like at that age, they certainly don't look plastic. I mean who are they kidding and who do they think will watch these movies and be convinced that this is a young woman. Certainly not readers of the book, I am so sick of seeing plastic woman on TV. I used to be a fan of The Bold and the Beautiful but can hardly stand to watch it anymore because Hunter Tylo who plays Taylor also looks plastic, which is such a shame because up until she did that I would have said she was the most beautiful woman on television (even though I'm a Brooke fan). Now she looks hideous!

Well I think I should stop now before you think your at the Reading, Writing and Ranting blog.PS Kristianne by the end of today I will be on 10, count them 10, so that means I am still 4 ahead of you. Love you baby!

The Boleyn Inheritance

Sadly this is the last book written so far in the Tudor series and I am devastated that I am finished. This book was probably my 3rd favourite, only just behind The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool. This book is written in 1st person, which I love, but the story is told by 3 different characters. The book is about Henry VIII 4th and 5th wives and it is truly fascinating.Who Wants to be Queen? This is an excerp from Katherine Howard, Henry 5th wife.
'Being the wife of a king is not all dancing and parties in the rose garden. I work as hard as any dairymaid, but I work at night in secret and noboby must ever know what it costs me. Nobody must ever know that I am so disgusted that I could vomit... Nobody knows how hard I earn my sables and pearls...Am I going to spend every night of my womanhood seducing a man old enough to be my father? Almost my grandfather? I am just fifteen years old; am I never going to taste a sweet kiss again from a clean mouth....Shall I spend the rest of my life jiggling up and down on something helpless and limp and then crying out with pretended delight when it slowly, flaccidly stirs beneath me?'
I think I'll stick with my 21st century husband with modern medicine and a toothbrush. All jokes aside these books that Philippa Gregory has written give a fascinating insight into the 16th century and what was going on not just in England but all over Europe. I highly recommend them!

The Wedding

I read The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks in between the Tender Rebel and The Other Boleyn Girl. Although it seems that I neglected to mention reading it and so in accordance with the 'Book Off' rules I am doing a brief entry about it.
If you were a fan of 'The Notebook' also by Nicholas Sparks than this book is a must. It is only a small book that can easily be read in a day. It gives you the story of Noah and Ally's daughter and son-in-law. It also keeps you up-to-date with Noah and what happened to him after Ally died. For those of you who didn't read the book, Noah did not die at the end of The Notebook. I really enjoyed The Wedding as it reminds you that all marriages go through their lull periods. It is recognising that you're in it and what you do about it that counts. I suspect it is also a common occurrence for couples in their 50's and 60's.

The Constant Princess

In keeping with the competition rules for the 'Great Book off' I am doing a blog entry on my latest book.
So, it is of course another Philippa Gregory novel. This one is about Queen Katherine of Aragon, Henry the VIII's first wife. The best thing about Philippa Gregory is that she takes a historical figure and turns them into a real person who has lived a real life. When I read The Other Boleyn Girl I had a great deal of sympathy for Katherine of Aragon but you get a mucher fuller understanding of her in this book. I loved the unexpected twist and turns and it was a page turner. You can expect it to take around 100 pages to get into the book and by the time you are half way through it you won't be able to put it down. So enjoy!
As for The Other Boleyn Girl movie, I have waited a few days to blog about it because I don't want to say anything bad. It was good but as with any great book it didn't translate well to the silver screen. Having said that, I will go and see it again as soon as I get a chance!
Well now, back to my next book, another Philippa Gregory novel, of course, 'The Boleyn Inheritance'.

The Great Book-Off of 08

It is my predicament that for centuries to come, descendants of the Bucknall family will forever view 2008 as the year of 'The Great Book-Off'. For you see a little war has been forged between the women of this household. And as with all battles waged by women - the stakes are high. Things are going to get nasty.

Pride and purse are on the line as Kristianne and I will compete to see who can read the most books this year. The prize - a much coveted $100 Amazon gift voucher - will be supplied by the loser, along with a video message admitting their defeat. The humiliating footage will then be displayed on the victor's blog as a trophy. A crown of sorts if you will.

As with any challenge, there are rules. So here they are:

Rule One: No buying more books until you've read the ones you've already purchased this year. Did you read this rule Kristianne?! NO MORE BUYING BOOKS TILL YOU'VE READ THE BOOKS YOU'VE ALREADY BOUGHT THIS YEAR INCLUDING BOOKS YOU TALKED ME INTO BUYING FOR YOU.

Rule Two: Books are classified as a written work between 400 and 800 pages in length. This means any novels under 400 pages count as a half and any novels over 800 pages will count as two.

Rule Three: The length of the competition will run from 1st January 08 to 31 December 08.

Rule Four: This competition will be conducted as a blog-off. Therefore, the reader MUST post a brief blog entry on the book for it to be counted in her tally. A running tally should be kept on the sidebar of the blog.

Rule Five: Any form of fiction is acceptable and non-fiction within reason (obviously cookbooks and magazines don't count.)

So that's it. There's the rules. Now some people might think it's unfair that I have already read SIX AND A HALF (three of my books are half size) books this year and Kristianne has only read two and a half. Some people might think that gives me a head start or even an unfair advantage but I have agreed that all the books that Kristianne has to read for Uni can be counted as part of her tally. Rest assured we have already argued this point contentiously (because neither of us like to lose). After much debate it was decided that the tally shall remain how it is on 6.5 and 2.5. It won't make a difference to me I'll beat by more than 4 books anyway. I suppose I could always let her count up the pages of all the books she's started and then got bored with, that would give her at least another 2 books to her tally!

It's war.

Check out Kristiann'e blog at http://thisisnotmynovel.blogspot.com/

The Virgin's Lover

I finished another Philippa Gregory novel. This one was about Queen Elizabeth's who was Anne Boleyn's daughter. It was not written in 1st person like the other two, it is in 3rd, like most novels. I did enjoy it but it really wasn't as informative historically as the other two. It also seemed to just end, it didn't draw any conclusions for the two major charachters. It was a little disappointing. Still a good book but probably only for real Philippa Gregory fans. Anyway, on to the next one, The Constant Princess, which is written in 1st person, and is about Queen Katherine, Henry the VIII's first wife. Sheree (BF) has already read it and says it was good, so I am hopeful.
Might not read this weekend, thinking about scapbooking instead. Got date night tonight with hubby, going to dinner and a movie. Then going to a scrapbook shop sale tomorrow morning with Sheree and then grocery shopping, also got son's soccer game today. Maybe not much time for scrapbooking. Hope you all have a great weekend!

The Other Boleyn Girl

It is a wonderful book, written in the first person which is quite unusual. I had no interest in the Tudors or that particular period in history, but I now want to know more, in fact I want to know everything about it, it is truly fascinating.
On a personal note, I have an appointment to see a psychologist on Monday who specialises in Sexual Abuse. Not sure if it will help, but I would like to know why this has come up again. Doctor says I have had to much emotional trauma in the last couple of months and that it has just all closed in on me. So, I will just wait and see!

Another Romance Novel

Recently I have spent alot of time thinking why I enjoy reading romance novels. I don't read them all the time, but about one third of the books I read are historical romance novels. So, why? Whilst reading my most recent, Tender Rebel by Johanna Lindsey, I had a real connection to the hero. I wondered why as I read it over a couple of days, why did I feel this understanding of this character, why were the looks that he gave the heroin so easily seen in my imagination? Why do I love these books so much, why do they make me feel good when I finish that last page?
Then my husband reminded me with a little flurry of romance, just to prove he's still got it! But it is so much more than the romance and sexual tension that after 24 years of marriage we still have with each other. Just like these 'knight's in shining armour' he has the ability to drive me crazy, make me so furious I could kill him, and then make me weak at the knees with just a few words until we get some time 'alone'. Between us we have the 'looks', good and bad, we have little things that only the two of us understand, our private jokes and ways to tease each other and we have the passion. I know without a doubt that he would lay down his life to protect me, in fact, I am confident that there is very little he would not do for me, if I asked.
In my life nobody has ever made me cry as much as he has, but no one has made me feel so loved, desired and cherished. It's the good and the bad, you get them both, I don't think you can have one without the other. In so many ways he really is my 'knight in shining armour'!
So why do I read romance novels? Because sometimes life gets so busy and I forget to look at him like he is 'my knight in shining armour', then I read a romance novel and I remember.

Reading At Last

I can't actually believe it but I have finished reading 2 novels in the past week! Considering I have not finished a book since my Dad died this feels like a major achievement. I found a new author I really like, Dorethea Benton Frank, she writes books set in South Carolina Lowcountry and the book I read was called Plantation. It was a story about a daughter's journey back to her roots. Frank has a very light-hearted comic writing style and I found myself laughing out loud.
Then on Friday I picked up a book that has been on my book shelf for a couple of years, Love Only Once by Johanna Lindsey. I was instantly reminded of why 'everybody loves a Lindsey', as I haven't read a historical romance for a couple of years and I'd forgotten how good they make you feel. So, as it was a two in one novel, I am compelled to read the next one.
It's funny how different my reading moods can be, sometimes I just don't feel like reading something I have to think about, yet it must keep me captivated or I get bored very easily. For these times, the historical romance is perfect, they are completely unrealistic so therefore I am transported to a world that is completely removed from my own. So I have a couple here that I've had for a few years, just waiting for me to be in the 'mood'.

2008 Reading List

Not being able to read these past few months has been terrible. I love reading and have always found it such a relaxing activity but since Dad died I just haven't been able to concentrate on reading. So I've decided that I will create a reading list for 2008. I will put it in the side bar and and tick it off when I've read the book.

Today a friend gave me 'My Steve' by Terri Irwin, a book that I have really been wanting to read, so I think I might start with that. Most of the other books on the list I already have so I have no excuses to get started and I can just keep adding to the list when I see something else I want to read. Although the 'Cross Stitch' series has 6 books and the 'Into the Wilderness' series has 5 books, so those alone will keep me busy.

Well there you go, that is about the only goal I think I am capable of setting for 2008. I do hope at the end of 2008 that I am able to look back on this blog and realise that I have gone on a journey and I have walked through the 'Valley of Death'.