Saturday, December 20, 2008

Fall Into Reading Wrap Up

"My guesstimate of what I will accomplish between now and Christmas - maybe the first four - and then The Pillars of the Earth will do me in and it will all come to a grinding halt.."

Those are my words from September. I did better than I thought I would! I did end up deviating from my original list and if you counted the ones I read since I completely abandoned my original list, I'd look even better! (There's a reason those books on my original list are lingering in my TBR pile - the grass is always greener.)

My favorite book from the challenge was Cage of Stars by Jacquelyn Mitchard. It was an emotional tale and just wrung me out with crying which is just a good thing every now and again. I'll remember that story while even now looking at some of the other titles, I couldn't do a plot summary without grabbing for the book to review.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first foray into a reading challenge. And this one was such a laid back "come as you are" affair that it was the perfect, no stress beginning for me. Thank you to Katrina for hosting..I'll be back!

Here's what I accomplished -

The Tent by Gary Paulsen

A kids lit book - not as good as his others.




The Gravedigger’s Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates

Didn't care for this one but plowed through.





Object Lessons by Anna Quindlen

Another dud.




Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy


Typical Maeve Binchy - gently entertaining.




Cage of Stars by Jacquelyn Mitchard


My favorite.




The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve


Ugh - not a good one for me.




Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

I did end up skipping this one - not sure why I find it so intimidating.







The Breakdown Lane by Jacquelyn Mitchard


Good but not her best - that would be Deep End of the Ocean followed closely by Cage of Stars!




Wallflower at the Orgy by Nora Ephron

Interesting collection of magazine articles from the late 60's - fun peek into the culture of the times.

15 comments:

SmilingSally said...

Congratulations on your first reading challenge. Thanks for coming by my blog.

The Dynamic Uno said...

Thanks for stopping by. I'll add Jacqueline Mitchard as a must read author. It sounds like she's really a keeper. :) I haven't read Kite Runner, but you're right--Thousand Splendid Suns is good!

Anonymous said...

Very interesting collection of books - good job on the challenge!

Tonia said...

Interesting collection of books and congrats on what you accomplished!

Beth F said...

Congratulations for finishing! And you had a terrific list of books. I loved Pillars of the Earth, and I have Cage of Stars sitting here on the TBR stack. I'll get to it soon!

Anonymous said...

It sounds like I need to add Jacquelyn Mitchard to my must read list. Good job with the challenge.

Nise' said...

Great job! I hope you give Pillars Of The Earth another try is was sooooo good! Reading World Without End now!

Erin said...

Great wrap up of your challenge.

Thanks for stopping by.

Bobbi said...

I think I'll check out the Wallflower book...the title freaked me out a bit....ahaha. I love that you were practical with your goals. I too found some duds in my choices. Great job!

Anonymous said...

Several of your books look intriguing! Thanks for sharing.

Katrina @ Callapidder Days said...

Yes, I am all about no-stress challenges! As long as you're reading, I count it a success. Sounds like you did a good job this fall... And I hear you about the grass being greener!

Jenny said...

Great job on your first challenge. See you in the spring!

Anonymous said...

You did great! It looks like you will continue to read a book that you're not really liking - I just can't do that. I have no qualms about stopping and moving on to the next book. :-) So many books, no time to waste on books I don't enjoy. :-)

Robin M said...

Great Job. Night of rain and stars just went on my wishlist. Thanks for sharing.

Robin

Mimi N said...

I liked your descriptions for each of the books you read. I'll have to steal your idea for the Spring challenge. I'm also enjoying your writing style...extremely honest, and it's refreshing.

Blessings,
Mimi B