National Just Read More Novels Month 2010

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NaJuReMoNoMo books

January is National Just Read More Novels Month 2010 hosted by yellojkt of Foma.

Here are the rules, taken from the NaJuRedMoNoMo post:

1. Must Be A Novel. Works of fiction only, please. Memoirs, non-fiction, how-to books, and Garfield collections don’t count.
2. Memoirs Aren’t Novels. No matter how made up the story, anything ostensibly true isn’t a novel. Also known as The James Frey Rule.
3. Start and Finish in January. I guess if you got some cool books for Christmas, Hanukkah or some other gift-giving event and jumped the gun, you can’t be blamed. But I only count books I start and finish within the 31 day window.
4. Re-reading Doesn’t Count. Try something new. Read something by your favorite author or try an entirely new author or tackle that novel you have always wanted to read.
5. Have Fun. Nobody is grading you or paying you or judging you. Read what you like and like what you read.

The Sunday Salon: 3rd January 2010

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Welcome to the first Sunday Salon of the year! I’ll be going back to work tomorrow after 11 days holiday, so I really need to put some kind of schedule together so I can keep posting regularly. Next weekend I’ll be taking part in Bloggiesta so I’m hoping that will be the motivation I need to get organized!

I’m more than halfway through The White Queen by Philippa Gregory which means I’ll soon have finished my first book of 2010 and will be able to post my first review of the year. I am keeping track of all the books I read in 2010 elsewhere on this blog. This will also be my list for the 100+ Reading Challenge. I’ll be surprised if I do actually manage to read 100 books this year because I’m not the fastest reader in the world (it doesn’t help that I work full-time and that I usually read long books) but I’m not going to worry about it if I fail the challenge. It will just be interesting to see how many books I read, because I’ve never kept count before.

Reviewed in the last week:

The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder

Added to my wishlist:

I was reading a post at Historically Obsessed about a new Susan Higginbotham book called The Stolen Crown due to be published in March. It’s about the same subject as The White Queen – The Wars of the Roses – so it’s been added to my wishlist.

It’s 2010!

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Myspace Graphics
New Year Graphics at WishAFriend.com

Well, it’s 2010! I woke up today to the heaviest snow we’ve had here for years, so I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere this morning which is fine because it gives me time to organize my 2010 challenges and to do some reading.

The first book I’m reading this year is The White Queen by Philippa Gregory which will count towards a few different challenges including both the historical fiction ones. What about you – what’s your first book of 2010?

2009 End Of Year Wrap-Up Post

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Since I only started blogging in October, this post refers to my October-December 2009 reading only. I’m looking forward to 2010 as it will be my first full year as a book blogger.

Number of books read (from 17th October – 31st December):

11

Reviews posted in 2009 (from 17th October – 31st December):

October 2009

An Echo in the Bone – Diana Gabaldon

November 2009

Les Miserables – Victor Hugo
Testament of Youth – Vera Brittain
The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
The Moonlit Cage – Linda Holeman
Molly’s Millions – Victoria Connelly

December 2009

The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
The Rendezvous and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier
A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
A Warrior’s Life: A Biography of Paulo Coelho – Fernando Morais
The Christmas Mystery – Jostein Gaarder

Challenges completed in 2009:

The Christmas Reading Challenge

Thanks to everyone who has visited my blog in 2009. It’s great to be a part of the book blogging community! Happy New Year and I hope you all enjoy your reading in 2010!

Christmas Reading Challenge: Wrap-Up Post

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The Christmas Reading Challenge was hosted by Michelle of The True Book Addict. The idea was to read at least one Christmas book between November 26 2009 and December 31 2009. I read two books: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens which I gave 4.5 stars and The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder which got 3 stars. I was unsure whether The Christmas Mystery would count, as Michelle had stated no children’s books – but although the two main characters are children, I don’t consider it to be a children’s book. Anyway, I’ve completed the challenge!

1. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
2. The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder

See my original post about the challenge.

Review: The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder

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“They were going to Bethlehem, to Bethlehem- because that’s where the Christ-child was born.”

The Christmas Mystery begins in Norway on 30th November when a boy named Joachim discovers a hand-made Advent calendar in a book shop. The next day, when Joachim opens the first door, he finds a tiny piece of paper telling the story of a little girl called Elisabet who spots a lamb in a department store. The lamb begins to run away, but Elisabet is determined to stroke it and chases after it. The lamb leads her outside and into the woods where she meets the angel Ephiriel, who explains to her that she is now part of a very special pilgrimage to Bethlehem – not only will they be travelling across land, they will also be travelling back through time to the day when Jesus was born.

As Elisabet, Ephiriel and the lamb move closer to Bethlehem and further back in time, they are joined by an assortment of other Biblical characters including shepherds and Wise Men. A little more of their story is revealed every day through the pieces of paper hidden in Joachim’s advent calendar, but as the tale of Elisabet’s journey unfolds, Joachim and his parents become involved in another mystery: the mystery of John, the mysterious flower-seller who made the magic Advent calendar and the real-life Elisabet who disappeared on Christmas Eve in 1948.

The book is divided into 24 chapters, with each chapter representing one door on the Advent calendar. If you have children, the structure of the book would make it perfect for reading aloud, one chapter per day in the weeks leading up to Christmas. This is not really a ‘children’s book’ though – it’s one of those books that can be enjoyed on different levels by people of all ages. As with all of Jostein Gaarder’s books the story introduces us to a large number of philosophical ideas. We also learn some interesting historical and geographical facts about the countries Elisabet passes through on her way to Bethlehem.
Although this is not as good as some of Gaarder’s other books such as Sophie’s World or The Solitaire Mystery, it has to be one of the most unusual and imaginative Christmas stories I’ve ever read.

Genre: General Fiction/Pages: 247/Publisher: Phoenix – Translated by Elizabeth Rokkan & Illustrated by Rosemary Wells/Year: 1996/Source: Bought new

Our Mutual Read: A Victorian Reading Challenge

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Our Mutual Read is a Victorian reading challenge hosted by Amanda. The challenge runs from January 1st 2010 – December 31st 2010.

There are 3 levels to choose from and 2 Mini-Challenges.

~ Level 1: 4 books, at least 2 written during 1837 – 1901. The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.
~ Level 2: 8 books, at least 4 written during 1837 – 1901. The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.
~ Level 3: 12 books, at least 6 written during 1837 – 1901. The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.

Period Film Mini-Challenge — watch at least 6 films that take place between 1837 – 1901 (they don’t necessarily have to be based on a book) and post a review.

Short Story Mini-Challenge — read 12 short stories written or taking place between 1837 – 1901 and post a review.

I will probably go for Level 3 since the Victorian era is one of my favourites. I haven’t made a reading list yet, but I do have lots of Victorian and Neo-Victorian books on my TBR pile.

For more details please see the challenge blog.

Books read for this challenge (Updated 8th April 2010)

1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
2. Drood by Dan Simmons (Neo-Victorian)
3. The Doctor’s Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon