The Bone People by 3M

Here are all my June reads, but the only book officially on this challenge was The Bone People. Click on the titles to see the reviews.

37. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde ****
38. A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken ****
39. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle ****
40. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry ****1/2
41. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys ****
42. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke ****1/2
43. New Testament *****
44. Coraline by Neil Gaiman ****1/2
45. The Bone People by Keri Hulme ****
46. Wild Swans by Jung Chang ****1/2

Athena's Week 3 and 4

Happy Canada Day and early 4th of July! Onto the books, I did not blog in Week 3 because all I did was rereadHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling. I was much more productive in the fourth week as I reread Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (review has spoilers), read The Road by Cormac McCarthy, finished Best American Travel Writing 2006, and started reading The Diary of Anne Frank and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I'll have more books to read this month as the Book Awards Challenge begins today. Have a good first week of July, everyone.

Week 3/4 Janiejane

I'm currently reading "Children of God" by Mary Doria Russell, but real life is really cutting into my reading time. I think I'll still manage the challenge, but we'll see!

Week 3 Lost in an illness

I'm still working on The Book Thief. Allergies turned into a cold and I've been recovering. Also, I re-read Enchantment by Orson Scott Card because I got [bought, stupid me!] the audiobook abridgement and I needed to get the bad taste out of my mouth /ears /head. I love the book, but the abridgement is an evil waste. It's not even cut well: things happen / are referred to later in the audio that were cut from earlier, and if the audio was one's only exposure to this book, it would have soured the person from ever reading the actual pages and have completely misled the reader about the quality and enjoyment of the book.

now that we're past week 3 ...

like i promised at the start, because this challenge started before the Spring Reading Thing finished, i spent the first three weeks reading some of my remaining SRT picks. the ones i read between june 1 and now were Hide by Lisa Gardner, The Last Summer (of You and Me) by Ann Brashares, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, and The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. (the links are to my reviews.)

now that we're a third of the way through, then, i'm finally ready to tackle my SRC list of Jodi Picoult novels. i started Nineteen Minutes last night, and i'm heading to bed now so i can read some more of it ...

Elia Kazan - The Improvisation of our Lives

I've finished the critical biography of Elia Kazan by Richard Schickel - well worth reading if you are a fan of films, or interested in the whole movement of theater, film, and acting that sprang from Stanislavski's teachings and the work of the Group Theater in the 1930s. Well-reasoned, fair, richly contextualized historically and artistically, and paced with a driving energy. Here's my whole review.

I've begun reading my first Saramago book All the Names more on that in two weeks, after vacation (July 9).

Into Week 3

Well, I've finished Harry Potter and the Socerer's Stone. The story was good enough, I guess I just didn't jump onto the HP bandwagon when it all began. Maybe having watched the movies spoiled it a bit for me. I can at least cross one off my SRC list.

I will now move on to read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte. Though Jane Eyre or North and South seem to be waiting in the wings (my night stand) for me.

Reconstructing The List

I don't know if this is allowed but I have found that I seriously have no desire to read:

1984 - George Orwell
Mansfield Park - Jane Austen

At least not right now. So I am going to reconstruct my list with books that I know I am interested in reading and intend to start right away.

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling (Book On Disc-Currently Listening)
Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austin (Just Started Reading - Got the Book on Disc for work)
The Harlequin - Laurell K. Hamilton (Have to Purchase)
Nightseer - Laurell K. Hamilton (Been sitting on the Shelf For Years)
The Inferno - Dante Alighieri (Always wanted to read and purchased at a Book Sale)

So hopefully now I will not continue to be a pittiful slacker.

Pheelya - Week 3

Finished Rain Villiage this morning over my latte. I really enjoyed this book. My sister gave it to me as a Christmas gift and it was signed by the author.

A great coming of age tale. Tessa Riley is a tiny 12 year who's unsure of herself due to being mocked by her family and those in her town. Because of her size her family thinks she is useless to help in any way. Her mother is also embaressed by her size and wants her to hang and stretch herself in the hopes of stretching to a normal size. Tessa feels all alone in the world. Then one day Tessa meets Mary Finn, the town librarian - sexy and alluring. Mary befriends Tessa. Mary teaches Tessa how to read, tells Tessa all about her home, Rain Villiage, and teaches her how to flying with the trapeze. Tessa soon becomes enthralled with the idea of the circus and that there could possibly something for her outside of her abusive father and bible thumping mother.

Then one day, when Tessa was 16, Mary committed suiced and Tessa felt all alone again. Till the Velasquez Circus comes around and Tessa takes off. Tessa finds acceptance, happiness and love when she joins the Velasquez Circus, but Mary's death leave a hole in her soul. Then one day a mysterious man comes to the circus looking for her and any information that she has on Mary, who turns out is the man's aunt. Tessa finds herself drawn to this man through the connection to Mary and soon they are heading to Ran Village where Tessa hopes to find answers once and for all about Mary, but ends up really finding herself.

1. The Poe Shadow - Matthew Pearl
2. Danse Macabre - Laurell K. Hamilton **up next
3. The Double Bind - Chris Bohjalian
4. Twilight - Stephanie Meyer
5. A Killer Stitch - Maggie Sefton
6. Mistreal's Kiss - Laurell K. Hamilton
7. Rain Village - Carolyon Turgeon
8. Black Moon Rising - Damien Ashton
9. The Demon Awakes - R.A. Salvatore
10. Disobedience - Naomi Alderman
11. Ophelia - Lisa Klein
12. Voodoo Season - Jewell Parker Rhodes
13. Wild Women's Weekend - Lynne Kaufman

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting - Stephanie Pearl-McPhee **newly added and almost finished!

Jill's Week Three/Week Four

Hi everyone!

I finished Wicked by Gregory Maguire for the third week of this challenge (you can read my review on my LiveJournal page if you're interested).

For week four, I have started The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (so far, an excellent read). I also hope to start Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow. If you have read any of these novels, please let me know what you think!

Have a wonderful week!
Jill =)

Week 3 - finally finished my first book!

Yesterday I finished Sorcerers of Majipoor by Robert Silverberg. It's the first book in the Lord Prestimion trilogy, or the fifth book in the Majipoor cycle - whichever way you want to count. I've not read any of the Majipoor books - usually I like to read series from the beginning - but since this trilogy is a prequel, I went ahead and read it. I liked it overall, even though it was very long!

I'm currently reading Sweet Thames by Matthew Kneale.

Week 3 Challenge Complete - Rhinoa

I finished my sixth book today and this completes my challenge woo!

I read:

1) Guilty Pleasures - Laurell K Hamilton
2) The Laughing Corpse - Laurell K Hamilton
3) Circus of the Damned - Laurell K Hamilton
4) The Lunatic Cafe - Laurell K Hamilton
5) Bloody Bones - Laurell K Hamilton
6) The Killing Dance - Laurell K Hamilton

For reviews see my blog Rhinoa's Ramblings I have had this series recommended to be by various people because I love Anne Rice. To be honest though when reading them, there wasn't too much in common besides involving vampires. I quite liked what I have read in the series, but I still much prefer Anne Rice. I will finish the series, but I need a break for a while. Having read a fair bit of urban fantasy, I can see where they got a lot of inspiration.

Week 3- Vasilly

I haven't read anything else this week for this challenge. I finished I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. I stopped reading I am no one you know by Joyce Carol Oates. I just realized it, so I'll be finishing that up this weekend. This is what I read this week, (mind you I have kids):

Beautiful Lies -Lisa Unger (mystery. good book)
Pinkalicious - Victoria & Elizabeth Kann
Toot and Puddle - Holly Hobbie
Toot & Puddle: Top of the World - Holly Hobbie
Kitten's First Moon - Kevin Henkes
The Widow's Broom - Chris Van Allsburg
Zathura - Chris Van Allsburg
Don't let the pigeon drive the bus -Mo Willems
Zen Shorts - Jon J. Muth
The Read-Aloud Handbook - Jim Trelease (reading guide on how to get your kids to love books)
Mark's Messy Room - Geraldine Elschner
Jesse Bear, what will you wear? -Nancy White Carlstrom
17 things I'm not allowed to do anymore - Jenny Offill
My Friend Rabbit-Eric Rohmann
The Very Smart Pea and the Princess-to-be by Mini Grey

Maybe next week I can get more adult reads in.

Week 3 - A new challenge for myself

As we are in week three, I trudge along, reading my HP#1 in bits and pieces of time where I can. With a project I wanted to complete needing my full attention of vision, I picked up an audio book at the library.

Now, you may be saying to yourself...what challenge would that be. It's the audio part. I am a visual person, through and through. I have tried, many times over, to get into audio books so that I can enjoy a good story while pursuing the weeds in my garden or working on a handknit project. Alas...it drives me utterly mad! I can go weeks driving to work and back, never turning the radio on. Weird, I know.

So, I have now completed A Christmas Guest by Anne Perry, my audio challenge!

Benjie -- Week 3 Update!

I must confess that I completed Confessions of a Pastor. I read this one because I'm a minister. I suggest this book for anyone who wants to live life genuinely. I've now finished two of my list and am ready to begin more (more, more, more reading for the summer). To read my review of this book click here.

More to come

Kelly - Week 3

While on vacation last weekend, I finished The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. This was a fantastic book that I whole-heartedly recommend to anyone who loves fairy tales, fantasy and a good coming-of-age story. I have posted my review here. I also recently finished The Jane Austen Book Club, but I plan on reviewing that one at the same time as Mansfield Park, once I finish it. This week, I'm reading Michael Cunningham's Specimen Days and finding that he writes quite beautifully. A review of that will come in week 4. Happy reading everyone!

Week Three

For Becky's Book Reviews, I've read and reviewed the following books:

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick

I've also read (but not yet reviewed)
Girl Overboard by Aimee Ferris
Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little by Peggy Gifford

I've also posted nine reviews of books that I had read/written up months ago. You can find them at my post on the Spring Reading Thing wrap-up.

For Becky's Christian Reviews I've read and reviewed the following books:

Taking Back the Good Book by Woodrow Kroll
In the Shade of the Jacaranda by Nikki Arana
Mozart's Sister by Nancy Moser

Benjie -- Week 3

I've finished True Grit. It was refreshing to read a book that the movie had not destroyed, especially since the movie was part of my memory long before I read the book. To see my review click here.

In other news I'm almost finished with Confessions of a Pastor and should be starting more books in the next day or two.

More to come,
Benjie

Week 3

Well, I was happily reading through my old books when it dawns on me that "Wait a minute!! I have BRAND new books I could be reading!!! Why am I re-reading books that I have read before?" So, I chucked Mitford Years out the window...no just kidding, I would never treat a good friend like that, and went to round up all the books I have on my shelves that still need to be loved...I mean read...I found 30!!! and then I went to the mall and Water for Elephants was on sale-40% off, you KNOW I had to get it! Within a day of buying it, I was half way through!!! It is a true page turner!!! I love it! So, I guess this means that my list for the summer challenge has changed yet once again...I am going for 8 of my new books to be finished. I feel like I wasted so much time reading those other books...and now I'm starting the challenge over, except for the fact that I can't rewind time and go back to week 1...so, I will just keep plodding on...what can I say? Too many books!!! How in the world did I justify re-reading old ones?! Oh well, I am on the right track now!

There is an American Culture - Elia Kazan, a biography

Richard Schickel has written a marvelous, well-contextualized, fast-paced biography of the great American film and theater director Elia Kazan. I got this book from my in-laws two Christmases ago and I'm getting around to reading it at last. I've posted my initial impressions here.