The Once Upon a Time II Challenge

Yay! It's that time of year again, it's the start of -The Once Upon a Time II Challenge!!! I did this Challenge last year and I found so many new authors to read, so when Carl V over at Stainless Steel Droppings made the announcement, I started compiling my list.

I'll be doing Quest the Third which is:

Fulfill the requirements for Quest the First or Quest the Second AND top it off with a June reading of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Quest the Second is: Read at least one book from each of the four categories. In this quest you will be reading 4 books total: one fantasy, one folklore, one fairy tale, and one mythology.

So my list of books (which I reserve the right to change up at any time) are:

1) Fantasy-Magic bites by Andrews, Ilona

2) Folklore- Swimming without a net by MaryJanice Davidson, a modern mermaid story.

3) Fairy Tale- Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, I've read another of her stories for the 1st challenge

4) Mythology- Legend by David Lynn Golemon, is a stretch, it's a thriller about the search for El Dorado. I may replace this if I find something not set in today's world....but I'm excited to read this one.

I'm so looking forward to everyone's review and find new great reads.

RIP review, 2 for 1

It's coming to my attention that I love to do the reading challenges. So many people putting their favorite authors out there for me to see/find. I love finding new authors to read. However, I hate writing review. I have a hard time defining why I like or dislike a book. You think with the amount of books I read, I'd be more articulate. Not so. My reviews are stilted and boring. Hopefully if I keep practicing, I'll get better. 'nuff said.

Poltergeist by Kat Richardson. I loved the story. It is a foggy, misty tale. I love the descriptions of the gray. I root for Harper and I want to learn more of what she can do.

The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel by Diane Setterfield I loved this writer. It was a warped and twisted tale that kept me reading late into the night. The writing is rich and textured, the way of Jane Austen, without the feeling of being drowned in extra words and images that I feel from the classics. It's this depth that is missing from the The Gardella Vampire Chronicles. I just loved the twists and turns of the The Thirteenth Tale.

Happy Ella picture:

R.I.P. II Autumn Reading Challenge!

Yay! Carl over at Stainless Steel Droppings has issued a new reading Challenge. In honor of the approaching Halloween season, Carl has open the flood gates to register for the R.I.P (Readers Imbibing Peril) Autumn Reading Challenge. I'm all kinds of excited, because my reading list has turned down a dark a spooking path (Mostly filled with Vampires) which is right in line with the challenge. Officially, the challenge starts September 1st and runs until October 31st. The rules of the game, per Carl: The Perils:

(Choose one, or more than one if you are feeling adventurous)

Peril the First:
Read Four books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.

Peril the Second
(Otherwise known as the Obese Book Peril):
As you may know, some books are scary not just because of their subject matter but because of their size. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna
Clarke is 737 pages of small type, for example, and Gordon Dahlquist’s Glass Books of the Dream Eaters is 637 pages long with type so minuscule it makes Strange’s look like large print!
For this peril simply read two weighty tomes during the challenge period.

Peril the Third:
If you think you have it in you, this third choice of perils is the Scary Sandwich Peril…choose two large books like those described in Peril the Second and read a
smaller qualifying tale in between.

Peril the Fourth
(Otherwise known as Just a Bit of Peril):
Some of you wonderful readers, or would-be readers, may have a tendency to shy way from this genre, thinking it is just not your cup of poisoned tea. However, it
wouldn’t be a challenge if I wasn’t challenging you. This peril is for those of you who want to take a chance. Simply choose one book that you feel meets the criteria for Readers Imbibing Peril II and, well, imbibe it!

This Challenge couldn't come at a better time for me. I had just finished ordering library books before reading Carl's post. Just about everything I ordered falls into the Gothic horror genre. So I'm going to do Peril the First x two. That gives me a little over a week per book. Easy peasy. As long as I don't scare myself too much!

My reading list, so far:

Poltergeist by Kat Richardson
Rises The Night: The Gardella Vampire Chronicles by Colleen Gleason
The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel by Diane Setterfield
Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1) by Jim Butcher (if I like this one, I'll read the whole series)
I need to add two more to my list, but I'm going to hold off until I see what the other people doing the challenge pick. I'm sure to find a new author that I've never heard of, with a book I'm dying to read.

Review of Mercedes Lackey's Fortune's Fool

So, I'm drifting a little away from my goals for the Once Upon A Time Challenge. Not so much in content as to my goal to read new authors. But what is a girl to do when her favorite authors release new books? I am not known for my patience. ;-)

Mercedes Lackey is hands down one of my favorite authors. She is someone I can't wait to introduce my (not yet in existence) kids to. Her writing always has a moral to it. It's not "shove it down your throat-holier than thou" obvious, but it is there, easy to see. Whether it is a message of saving the environment or animals or simply how to be a better person by showing the cause and effects of your actions, the message is there and given through character that are easy to relate to. Fortune's Fool is no different.

Fortune's Fool is part of Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdoms series. Pure fairy tales in the once upon a time but with more of a behind the scenes feel to it. The Characters in the series know that they are in a fairy tale world and what is expected of them, which gives them the chance to work with or against the 'tale. Fortune's Fool is an adaption of the Little Mermaid, sort of. If you can picture the Little mermaid with strong Russian fairy tale influence's. The Five Hundred Kingdoms series, Fortune's Fool included, fun fluffy romantic reads. So enjoyable to read on a lazy day.

Review for Eldest by Christopher Paolini

So I've finally finished reading Eldest by Christopher Paolini. It took me a little longer than I hoped, but my crafting/sewing life interfered with my reading time. But, Hey, that happens to all of us, right?

I was a bit leery of putting this one on my list. I really didn't enjoy Eragon. Sacrilege I know, but I felt that the storyline was weak and the characters plodded through it. Eldest, however, was much more enjoyable. The plot moved more quickly with a little more flaver and texture to the writing. I'm interested in seeing how the story progress in the next book.

One of these day's I'm going to learn how to write a proper review. Does anyone have guidelines on how/what to do?

I'm doing the Once Upon a Time Challenge.

Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings has issued a reading challenge.

The Challenge as issued by Carl:

"Once Upon a Time…all the great ones begin that way, don’t they? At least in our
recollection? Hearkening back to childhood, those four words represent the
foundation upon which story is built. In that same way, these four types of
story, Mythology, Folklore, Fairytale, and Fantasy, form the very foundation of
storytelling itself. It is from the roots of these genres that our latest
challenge grows...."

He has offered up 4 Quest of varying difficulty...I am accepting Quest 1. Which is to read at least 5 books from any for the 4 genre.

I'm an avid reader of that type of book anyway, so it shouldn't be too hard. I've been looking at the other player's choices for suggestions and books I haven't read before. I'm having a tough time choosing, so...

My book choices:

Mythology:

1. American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Folklore:

1. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Fairytale:

1. Stardust by Neil Gaiman

2. Widdershins by Charles de Lint (I love Charles de Lint, this one is already on my library request list.)

3. Tithe by Holly Black

4. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

5. Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan

Fanatsy:

1. Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip

2. Eldest by Christopher Paolini

3. Greywalker by Kat Richardson

4. Something Rotten by Jasper Fford (I've read the others and love the cheekiness of them)

I think I've chosen enough books for now. This should last me until June. If not, I'll be sure to add more!

I read, do you?

I love to read, so I thought I'd give this a go:

A fun, literary-themed meme, courtesy of Rancid Raves.

In the list of books below:
- blue the ones you’ve read
- purple the ones that are your personal favorites
- italicize the ones you want to read
- red the ones you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole (I didn't do do this - never say never, right?)
- put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf
- and asterisk (*) the ones you’ve never heard of.

If you decide to join the fun and play along, let me know in the comments!

1. +The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. +Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)--
5. +The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. +The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. +The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. +Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery)
9. +Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. +Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. +Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. +Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. *A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. +Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. +Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. *Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. +Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)
23. +Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. *The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. +Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. +The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. +The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. *Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. +Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. *The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. *I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. *The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. *The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. *The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. *The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. +Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. *Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. *She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. +Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. +The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. +Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. +The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) -
62. +The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. +Interview with the Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. +The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)-
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. +The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. *The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. *The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. *Not Wanted On the Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbecck)
83. *Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)--
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)--
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)--
87. *Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. *The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. *Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. *In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. *The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)--
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S. E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. *A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)--