Cover to Cover Challenge discussion

I can't wait to start!
I'm not sure what constitutes a childrens book though. Is that like The Cat in the Hat or Harry Potter.
I love the ticker tape idea!!!

Books Read:

January - 11
February - 26
March - 28
April - 18
May - 17
June - 12
July - 17
August - 15
September - 11
October - 15
November - 14
December - 12

I would think that it would be The Cat in the Hat because Harry Potter has long books and not just a few pages.

That's good. I have the rest of the Narnia series in my "to read" pile. I read the first 4 and never got around to the rest.

I was reading some old posts in another group and someone had the idea of reading a book starting with every letter of the alphabet that I'd like to try. I'll set up a shelf for these books so I can keep track of them and I'll list them here and update it as I think of books I'd like to read for each letter.

A- American Gods
B- Breakfast of Champions 2/11*****
C-Cat's Cradle
D- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
E-The English Patient
F-The Five People You Meet in Heaven
G-The Great Gatsby
H-Heart of Darkness
I-Interworld
J-JPod A Novel
K-Kafka on the Shore
L-Lolita
M-The Metamorphosis
N-Naked Lunch The Restored Text
O-One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
P- Perfume The Story of a Murderer 3/18*****
Q-The Quiet American
R-Revolutionary Road
S-Slaughterhouse-Five
T-The Time Traveler's Wife
U-Ulysses/Uglies?
V-The Virgin Suicides
W-Watership Down
X-The Xenophobe's Guide to the Canadians
Y-The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories
Z-Z for Zachariah

There's a Xenophobe's Guide to Canadians? I don't know if that's good or bad....

There's quite a few of them out there. Being Canadian, this one interested me the most. If I like it, I'll check out some others. I love it when people make fun of stereotypes, but it only works if you are familiar with them, so I'll have to wait and see if I'll understand any of the others. It'll take me a while to get to X though. There's some difficult reading in my choices.

Sara wrote: "I was reading some old posts in another group and someone had the idea of reading a book starting with every letter of the alphabet that I'd like to try. I'll set up a shelf for these books so I ca..."

When I was a teenager, my friend & I were complaining that we had read every book in our small town library. My mother challenged us to read the books alphabetically by author. My friend started at the end of the alphabet & I started at the beginning of the alphabet. I don't know how far we got, but I remember we found some really cool authors & books by doing that.

I like the idea of reading books alphabetically. I think I'll read Sue Grafton's Alphabet Mystery series. I love mysteries & I love series.

I like your idea also.

I have read almost all of the Sue Grafton books (still need to read "T" and "U", which just came out) and I love them! They are a great series, a lot of fun, and they read pretty quickly.

I also love Grafton, just need to read "U". I so look forward to every book. So..when she runs through the alphabet can we talk her into starting over with "A" again!

I wonder what her plans are when she runs out. I don't even like thinking about it. I'll be very sad.

I'm so behind on my reading I haven't gotten "T" read yet. I think I'll save it a few more weeks and read both "T" and "U" in January!

I've never read anything by Grafton. I'll have to check them out. I haven't read a lot of mystery lately; I read a few bad one's in a row and haven't gone back. This sounds like it could get me back into them again.

JANUARY

1-Surrender to a Wicked Spy 1/1
2-One Night with a Spy 1/1
Started the month off with a few easy reads. A most enjoyable day off! It's a good thing I only had the 2 books in the series or my poor numb legs might not have ever recovered!

2 more days to go in the book reading time hog of an english class. Then I can get down to some serious reading of some really not serious books.
The past two weeks have consisted of partial reading of:
The Essential Jung
The Collected Works of C.G. Jung
Jungian Psychology Unplugged: My Life As an Elephant
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
Four Archetypes
As well as a partial rereading of:
Bullies, Bastards And Bitches: How To Write The Bad Guys Of Fiction,
Hamlet,
andFifth Business

3-Mistress
4-Nerd in Shining Armor
I reread these while I should have been writing my essay. I needed to prevent a brain meltdown! I may have to pick some more easy reads to catch up!

5-An Assembly Such as This 1/24
Now I have to find the next two books in the trilogy :(
6-Johnny the Homicidal Maniac: Director's Cut 1/24
Wow! One of my least favourite books I've ever finished! At the same time, it was oddly compelling.

Coming up on the end of January and I'm a few shy of the 12 book/month average but I do have the weekend off...

7-Not Quite A Lady 1/25
It was good but I've heard Lord of Scoundrels is better. I can't wait!
8-Remember When 1/29
I'm going to have to read Naked in Death to fully appreciate this read.

I'm trying to finish off my Read the Month Challenge for January so I read 3 plays today for 'u', 'a' and the 'y'.

9-Uncle Vanya
At times confusing and I didn't see the point of it. Maybe it went over my head, but I just didn't get it. Could be a bad translation?
10-Arms and the Man
Not my favourite play by Shaw, but I really enjoyed it.
11-The Revenge: A Tragedy by Edward Young
Very similar to Othello.

Books read in January: 11

FEBRUARY

I was up all night reading this book! I started it at 1am and went to bed when it was done. I could not put it down (thankfully I had time for a few hours sleep before work).

12-Lord of Scoundrels 2/1

This puts me at 12 books in roughly a month and right on track for 144!

I finished the second book in the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy that began with An Assembly Such as This. It was a little too much of a sensation novel for the Pride and Prejudice storyline, so seemed really out of place to me. It kept my interest anyway, so got 3 stars.

13-Duty and Desire 2/4

Because I love challenges and plays, I'm going to attempt an A-Z challenge of plays. X and Z only contain the letter instead of starting with it.

A-Z Play Challenge

A - Arms and the Man 1/30
B - The Beggar's Opera
C - Caesar and Cleopatra 2/6
D - Disraeli: A Play in Four Acts
E - The Emperor Jones
F - Five Women Wearing the Same Dress
G - Ghosts
H - Heartbreak House
I - The Importance of Being Earnest
J - Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol
K - Kingdom of Earth.
L - Love's Labour's Lost
M - Man and Superman
N - Nobody Loves an Albatross.
O - Orpheus Descending
P - Pygmalion
Q - Quiet, Please.
R - The Rehearsal
S - The School for Scandal
T - The Theban Plays, Sophocles
U - Uncle Vanya 1/30
V - The Vagina Monologues
W - The Winter's Tale
X - Box and Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung: Two Inter-Related Plays
Y - You Never Can Tell
Z - Lazarus Laughed, Eugene O'Neill

Which brings me to my 14th read:
14-Caesar and Cleopatra 2/6

This book was recommended to me in the Pick It For Me Challenge in another group and is a collection of paranormal short stories.

15-Strange Brew 2/7

I took my sister to Cats for her birthday the other day and I was a little confused due to some lines not being very clear, so figured I should read the book. I wish I had done that first!

16-Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats 2/9 ***
It's a quick, cute read.

17-A is for Alibi 2/9 ***
I don't think I've ever seen so many similes and metaphors in my entire life combined as there was in this one small book! It was good but a little campy.

I just read my 3rd 5 star read of the year. Wow! What a fantastic novel! It was humourous, irreverent, I couldn't put it down! This book is definitely not for everyone though. It was at times incredibly offensive to the point where I was inwardly cringing, but that was part of what made it so good - it was so unexpected!

18-Breakfast of Champions 2/11*****

I finally made it through the last novel in the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman series. The book was really slow in the center, but picked up a little over halfway through.

19-These Three Remain 2/12****

I had to read a book by Jayne Ann Krentz for a challenge, so I read one in the Arcane Society series. I had read the first one by Amanda Quick, Second Sight, years ago and really liked it. This one was really good too. I'll have to check out the others in the series.

20-Sizzle and Burn 2/13****

Just finished 3 of 8 for the February read the month challenge. it was the first book of the Aisling Grey series and I will definitely come back to the series later.

21-You Slay Me 2/14****

I read another book by Amanda Quick today and it was a typical book by her, but one that I can't seem to get enough of!

22-Dangerous 2/16****

After stumbling upon the In Death series in Remember When, I had to go back to the beginning of Eve and Roarke's story to see what I missed. I'm glad I did. I will definitely continue with the series, but I imagine I will only make it through the first few before I'll need a break. Sometimes Eve gets on my nerves just a little.

23-Naked in Death 2/17****

2 dozen down, 10 dozen to go :) I just finished a cute, light mystery read that I believe was actually second in the series. Oh well. I don't think it mattered to the story.

24-Fit to Die 2/18***

I reread a Harlequin for a challenge. I needed a quick read with a "royal" title (prince, earl, lady, etc.), so this one worked.

25-The Wicked Earl 2/19***

One of my challenges this month was to read a Linda Howard book so I read Mackenzie's Mountain and it was definitely not my thing. I just didn't find a single part of it believable and the whole thing was completely predictable. Not very thrilling if you always know what's coming and Wolf is a wee bit of a douchbag.

26-Mackenzie's Mountain 2/19**

I love Amanda Quick! Whenever I need a break or something to read here and there, I pick up one of her books. I reread Mischief over the past few weeks, a couple pages at a time.

27-Mischief 2/20****

With great reluctance and a heavy heart, I finally finished the Sandman books. I didn't want them to end and tried to make it last as long as I could. I'd like to go back and start from the beginning because the final volume ties up a lot of loose ends that I barely remember, but I foolishly lent the first volume out and haven't gotten it back yet :( Soon, I hope!

28-The Absolute Sandman, Vol. 4 2/20*****

I read another book in my Build Your Own Box Set Challenge: Time to Eat. It was an entertaining story set in Ontario (no mention of London though - Chatham and Toronto were the closest). Unfortunately it was a little preachy at times, but it was a good story where global warming is bringing about the decline of civilization and a possible apocalypse.

29-Dinner at the End of the World 2/22****

I also read Just Imagine for part of a challenge.It was not something I'd usually read being set in the States after the American civil war. He's a yankee, she's a southern girl, there's a lot of anger and nastiness, but it had a good if predictable ending.

30-Just Imagine 2/24***

Gertrude and Claudius is a prequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet. Overall the book was really well done but dragged at the beginning. I'd give the first half 2* and the second half 4*. It definitely makes you look at the characters in Hamlet differently. I love it when an author gives you a fresh perspective on a well known story!

31-Gertrude and Claudius 2/25***

32-Bachelor Duke 2/26***
I've been reading this bit by bit over the last week. Just finished it.

I finished the audiobook version of The Time Machine today. I wasn't sure what to expect after watching the movie, which the book is nothing like, but it was awesomw. It made the movie look very Hollywood and cheesy. I'm glad I watched the movie first or it would have been really disappointing.

33-The Time Machine 2/26****

34-Blue Smoke 2/27****
This book was a challenge read and I had a tough time getting into it. I thought it was a romance and although there are romantic elements it is actually a scary, kick-ass thriller. Once I realized that I couldn't put it down. I'm glad I don't live alone - I might have needed to sleep with the lights on!

I needed one final read for the "Of the Royal Line Challenge" so I read Oedipus Rex. I haven't read it since high school and could only remember the basics of the story. The part where the attendant tells the chorus what happened to Jocasta and Oedipus still leaves one of the most powerful images of anything I have ever read!

35-Oedipus Rex 2/27****

I read the first book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood and, aside from some very obnoxious dialogue, it was really good! I'm glad that it is a fairly long series because I'm definitely not done reading about them! I've started the second one already and I've read that the third is the best. I can hardly wait!!!

36-Dark Lover 2/27****

I read Things Fall Apart in high school and I remembered liking it but it was even better then I remembered! I love stories of explanation and my favourite part of this book is the story about why the tortoise shell isn't smooth. That and the translator saying my buttocks when he means myself.

37-Things Fall Apart 2/28****

Read in February:

MARCH

Book 2 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood was even better then the first. As soon as I finished it I started on the 3rd. It's hard not to. Ward sucks you in by starting the next story at the end of the book. You have to keep reading. I can see why the books are described as "cracktastic" - they are completely addictive!

38-Lover Eternal 3/2****

Finished listening to All Night Long and it would have been a lot better if the female voice didn't remind me of Velma from Scooby Doo and the guys "lazy drawl" made him sound like less of a hick, but still pretty good anyway.

39-All Night Long 3/3***

Finished reading the 3rd book in the BDB and I don't really see what all the hype over Zsadist was about. Rhage is by far my favourite (so far) and I liked Wrath better as well. Zsadist annoyed me often, I don't really like pricks and he's a huge one. I still liked the story, it just wasn't the best for me.

40-Lover Awakened 3/4****

Maybe the lack of enjoyment came from Brotherhood burn-out. Time for a break!

I just finished reading Fahrenheit 451 and although it was really good, there were a few confusing parts that lost me. The overall story was good though it just seemed like parts needed more clarification. There were some aspects, since the book is set in the future, that were very unusual but not really explained fully.

41-Fahrenheit 451 3/4****

I followed this by reading the graphic novel version. I waited to read the book first and I'm glad I did. The graphic novel might have been hard to follow if I hadn't and skipped a lot of the storyline. Following the book though, it was really interesting and has fantastic graphics!

42-Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation 3/4***

I started reading Love Only Once for challenge and I realized about 2 pages in that I had read it already! It was many years ago so I read it again and I'm glad I did. It was really good and the start of a series that I would like to continue.

43-Love Only Once 3/6****

I read the first book in Jayne Castle's St Helens trilogy today. I had to stop reading with only 60 pages left to go to the movies to see Avatar and all I could think about (before and after - the movie was too fantastic to think about anything else during) was getting home to finish the book!
It was completely engrossing from the very beginning! I hope the next 2 are just as good!

44- Amaryllis 3/7****

2 books down and 1 to go in the St Helens trilogy. The second one was very similar to the first. It was like Castle just changed the locations and names, but I liked the first one so I didn't really mind. If the same thing happens in the 3rd I'm going to LMAO - but it doesn't mean I'll enjoy it less.

45-Zinnia 3/8****

The last book in the St Helen's trilogy definitely follows the exact same pattern as the first 2. Still an enjoyable story but it's a good thing it was only a trilogy. I don't think it could have stretched any further.

46-Orchid 3/10****

I read Again the Magic because it's the actual beginning to the Wallflowers series but I was not a fan. I had a hard time getting into it and was temted to abandon it several times. I don't like it when the conflict is either the hero or heroine's obstinate refusal to confide in the other causing both to be miserable for something that shouldn't be that big of a deal. And, surprise, surprise, when the "awful" truth is finally revealed, they find out that all the heartache they both caused and endured was completely unnecessary.

47-Again The Magic 3/10**

I read the first book in the Wallflowers series and it was way better then Again the Magic! I started the next book as soon as I put the first one down!

48-Secrets of a Summer Night 3/11***

I found The Winter's Tale to be a fun but ridiculous read. It is written like a fairy tale and, as such, jumps from one thing to another without really leading up to it. For example, the King goes from jealousy to rage to remorse remarkably quickly and it left me a little confused as to what just happened.

49-The Winter's Tale 3/13***

Just finished the next installation of the Wallflower's series and it was my favourite so far.

50-It Happened One Autumn 3/14****

I also finished the anthology Must Love Hellhounds and it was good. The first and last books were 3*'s, the middle 2 ranked a little higher. I will definitely look for the series that they were part of.

51-Must Love Hellhounds 3/14***

I found I was distracted a lot while reading this book and I had to refocus my attention often. I agree that it was a cute, light read, but it was too light for my liking and I couldn't really get into it. I wouldn't go out of my way to read anything else by her but I'm not opposed to it either - just indifferent.
Picturing Alex in the Daffy Duck shorts was my favourite part. :)

52-Anyone But You 3/15***