A Winter Challenge

Since I have completed a couple of challenges this month it is time to commit myself to one or two more. Booklogged has an interesting winter challenge going on. Read five classics in jan. and feb. Since I love classics and have been reading like crazy lately, I thought this one sounded right up my alley. Let me see now......which books do I want to read?

1. A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
2. Silas Marner by George Eliot
3. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
4. Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
5. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I am looking forward to this. Should I wait until jan. to start? Can I? Stay tuned.

A Challenge Met

Not only did I finish my Well Educated Mind novel list but I also completed the 50 Book Challenge. I heard about this challenge from 50 Books, the blog, and started my own running list. I've never kept track of what I read or how quickly (because I am generally very SLOW) but I thought, "Why not?" I am so pleased to see that I did in fact read 50 books in about 11 months. To see the list of the 50 books that I've read this year, scroll down and look in the sidebar on the right.

And here it is again. The ever revealing lists:

Top Ten Books

1. Heart of Darkness
2. The House of Mirth
3. Persuasion
4. A Little Princess
5. The Human Comedy
6. 1984
7. Ex Libris
8. Life Among the Savages
9. The Wind in the Willows
10. Yellow Star

The One I Hated Most

1. Running With Scissors

This is not to say that the rest of my list was a waste of time. I enjoyed Forester and Sparks and a number of other authors represented here. I can see I'm prone to read fiction with occasional books on health or parental issues as I find a need. I prefer lists and following others' suggestions. It's hard to be discerning with so many books covered in critical acclaim, undeserved half the time. But overall, I'd say I got a lot out of my reading this year. It's so nice to have the list to refer back to.

Next year I hope to have a little more diversity in my selections, like poetry and history. I plan to read from award winning selections. And I hope to have time left to keep reading the classics and kiddy lit that I value so highly. Won't you join me?

Review: Yellow Star

Review: Yellow Star
by Jennifer Roy

I picked this up from the library yesterday after reading a review for it over at Semicolon. It's the true story of a young girl who lived through the Holocaust in a Polish ghetto. It starts out from the prospective of a four year old and continues in this poetical free style throughout, with pages here and there setting historical context. It truly captures the innocence of a child thoughts and emotions. I fell in love with this girl, Syvia, and her family. I fell in love with this book!

Yellow Star has been nominated for the Cybil Award for Middle Grade Fiction. And there is good reason. It is a beautifully written tale that is appropriate reading for younger readers as well adults. The author shares how she came to writing the book and she includes a "where are they now" chapter at the end. I highly recommend Yellow Star.

BTW, while your over at Semicolon checking out this and other reviews from the Cybil Award Nominations, take a look at her list of the best book lists of 2006. There is enough reading material for two years worth of good reading.

It is Finished

For three years I have been reading from the novel list in The Well Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. This week I completed the list. I have read every word in 31 novels. Yeah! Yippy! Hurray for me!! Yes, I am pretty impressed with myself right now. But here is the part that you're really interested in:

Top 3 Favorite Books

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (of course!)
• The Return of the Native by Hardy
• The House of Mirth by Wharton

Most Hated

• Moby Dick

Authors I Plan to Read More Of

• Bunyan
• Austen (I've already read most of them)
• Bronte (and her sisters)
• Dickens
• Hardy
• Twain
• Wharton
• Orwell
• Morrison

And to think that I had only previously read one author before I started (I read 1984 a few years ago and my 7th grade teacher read Animal Farm aloud). But finishing this list is not the best part. Next I will be reading from the Poetry list. Wowzah! I can hardly wait.