2011 Challenge #2: Wordsworth Classics Reading Challenge

My second chosen challenge for 2011!  This one's hosted by The Deranged Book Lovers and should set me on the path to reading a few more classics this year.  I only ended up reading four last year, despite having quite a few I fancied trying, so I'm hoping this challenge will spur me on a bit. 

Basically, this challenge involves reading books from the list of Wordsworth Classics - though not necessarily in the Wordsworth editions.  I'm aiming for the Bourgeois level of 5-8 books, which isn't a bad share of my total target of 75 books this year.  As I read each book I'll change the title to a review link.

Completed Classics

1. The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan

More Ideas

Journey to the Centre of the Earth - Jules Verne

Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins

Lady Chatterley's Lover - D.H. Lawrence

Villette - Charlotte Brontë

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

I might end up changing one or two for other books - like The Master and Margarita, Cranford, The Hunchback of Notre Dame...  Let's just say my classics shelf is well stocked so as long as I make my target I'll go whatever tickles my fancy at the time!


Wish me luck!

Update (December):
Well, I think we can safely say that I've failed this one.  How rubbish is THAT, one classic novella in twelve months?!  To be fair, I did also get halfway through The Professor by Charlotte Bronte, but it was so dull I might as well have been watching paint dry.  *yawn*  I had a horrible reading slump over the summer which didn't help matters.  And I ignored my Hallowe'en classics in favour of other stuff.  *hangs head in shame* 

Hopefully next year will be better on the classic front, since I'm taking part in an LXG challenge to read through all the characters in the movie, including Dracula, King Solomon's Mines and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  Here's to more classics in 2012!

2011 Challenge #1: 2011 Books To Be Read Challenge

My first commitment for 2011!  I'm having to do this quick, before the end of today, so apologies for adding yet ANOTHER post to today's tally!  This challenge is hosted over at Roof Beam Reader.

Basically, I have to pick 12 books that have been on my TBR pile for over a year, plus two alternatives for back-up.  Or were published pre-1st January 2010, for the sake of argument.  Then I have to read and review all twelve by the end of the year...  I've included the date of publication of my editions here as well, and I'll change the title to a review link when I've read each book.  Onto the selection!

My 12 Books

1. Holes - Louis Sachar (2000)

2. My Cousin Rachel - Daphne du Maurier (2003)

3. The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly - Jean-Dominique Bauby (2008) 

4. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan (2008)

5. Atonement - Ian McEwan (2001)
6. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins (2009)

7. A Fish Caught in Time - Samantha Weinberg (2000)

8. Practical Magic - Alice Hoffman (2002)
9. The Princess Bride - William Goldman (1999)

10. Garden Spells - Sarah Addison Allen (2000)

11. The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less - Barry Schwartz (2005)

12. A Moveable Feast - Ernest Hemingway (1994)

... and my alternative choices 

1. City of the Beasts - Isabel Allende (2003)

2. Diana's Story - Deric Longden (1989)

Wish me luck!

Update (June):
Well, after a kick-ass start where I managed to be ahead of myself for a good couple of months, things have definitely slackened off a bit thanks to not one, but TWO spectacular reading slumps so far in 2011.  Thankfully I've left the most recent behind me again, finishing My Cousin Rachel a week or so ago and starting The Princess Bride pretty much straight away.  So far the books have been great - Holes was an absolute pleasure, so quirky!  Garden Spells was slightly surreal and pretty yummy; The Hunger Games was mind-blowing, and My Cousin Rachel was long overdue and well worth the wait...  I'm only a few pages into The Princess Bride but so far it's made me giggle on every one, so I think I'm in for a brilliant read there!  Onwards!

Update (September):
Wow, am I behind!  I've barely read a thing these last few months, because the shop's been busy for the summer and we're working extra-hard getting our house ready to put on the market as well.  Then we finally got Freeview and the whole thing really went to pot, ha!  The good news is that I just finished The Princess Bride, which was AMAZING (of course), the cleaning and tidying is slowly getting done, and E4 might lose its novelty value at some point.  Plus there's the cold weather and long dark evenings drifting in - maybe I'll make it yet?  Wish me luck!

Update (November):
Yeah, now I'm even more behind...  But happily, since the start of October my horrendous months-long reading slump (*shudders*) has evaporated and I'm reading with a vengeance again!  I'm not sure I'll manage to catch up and finish all twelve books on my challenge list (how embarrassing) but I'm getting off to a flying second start by reading two at once.  Quiet weekdays at the bookshop are a blessing for getting some good reading done.  Hopefully I'll be able to add reviews for The Paradox of Choice and Percy Jackson very soon!

Update (December):
Aaargh!  Three weeks or so to go!  Fortunately I now only have three books left to crack, having finished the AMAZING Atonement which turned out to be one of my favourite books of the year.  How did I not read it sooner?  *sigh*  I'm going for A Fish Caught in Time next, leaving A Moveable Feast for nearer Christmas-time and The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly for whenever I feel like a short but profound read.  I think I might manage this after all!

Final update (1 January):
I think all that rushing to finish finally took its toll!  I just didn't fancy reading any of the three non-fiction books I had left during the hectic run-up to Christmas, or during the run-up to the New Year when we've had guests - plus I've had a cold which has sent me straight back to the shelves for lighter fare.  I'm a little disappointed not to have finished, especially given my last push to catch up, but at the same time several of my favourite books of the year have come from this list - and would probably have still been unloved on my shelves otherwise.  So it's really a win in that sense, and I've had a great time along the way.  Now, excuse me, it's time to get started on THIS year's attempt! 

The New Year Round-Up

WHAT DID I READ THIS YEAR?

General Fiction and Short Stories (23)

The Gift - Cecilia Ahern

Dashing Through the Snow - Mary and Carol Higgins Clark

The Devil's Larder - Jim Crace

Once in a Blue Moon - Leanna Ellis

Thunderball - Ian Fleming

Strawberry Shortcake Murder - Joanne Fluke

The Snow Goose, and The Small Miracle - Paul Gallico

Crossing the Paradise Line - Annabel Giles

The Weight of Silence - Heather Gudenkauf

Housewife Up - Alison Penton Harper

The Secret Shopper Unwrapped - Kate Harrison
Notes on a Scandal - Zoe Heller

The Island - Victoria Hislop

Crazy as Chocolate - Elizabeth Hyde

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian - Marina Lewycka

Book Lover - Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack

The Bad Mother's Handbook - Kate Long

The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick

Jaws 2 - Hank Searls

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Message in a Bottle - Nicholas Sparks

Rococo - Adriana Trigiani

Under My Spell - Deborah Wright

Classics (4)

Persuasion - Jane Austen

The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

Fantasy and Horror (8)

Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris

Living Dead in Dallas - Charlaine Harris

Club Dead - Charlaine Harris

Dead to the World - Charlaine Harris

Blood Price - Tanya Huff

Pet Sematary - Stephen King

I am Legend - Richard Matheson

Sunshine - Robin McKinley

Children's and Young Adult (18)

Teen Valour - Alaric Adair

Noah Barleywater Runs Away - John Boyne

Glass Houses - Rachel Caine

The Dead Girls' Dance - Rachel Caine

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side - Beth Fantaskey

Beastly - Alex Flinn

Green Angel - Alice Hoffman

Fallen - Lauren Kate

Torment - Lauren Kate

The Seventh Door - Norman Leach

A Winter Solstice Celebration - DiDi LeMay

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner - Stephenie Meyer

Trash - Andy Mulligan

Never Ever - Helena Pielichaty

Dreaming Anastasia - Joy Preble

The Alchemyst - Michael Scott

The Magician - Michael Scott

Forbidden - Tabitha Suzuma

Science and Natural History (3)

Practical Falconry - James McKay

Wesley: The Story of a Remarkable Owl - Stacey O'Brien

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Sex and Science - Mary Roach

Travel Writing (3)

The Snow Tourist: A Search for the World's Purest, Deepest Snowfall - Charlie English

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything - Elizabeth Gilbert

The Lion Children - Angus, Maisie and Travers McNeice

Autobiography (6)

Library Confidential: Oddballs, Geeks and Gangstas in the Public Library - Don Borchert

Eating Myself - Candida Crewe

Too Much Anger, Too Many Tears: A Personal Triumph Over Psychiatry - Janet and Paul Gotkin

84, Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street - Helene Hanff

Madness: A Bipolar Life - Marya Hornbacher

History and Social Science (2)

Bedlam: London and Its Mad - Catharine Arnold

Reclaiming the F Word: The New Feminist Movement - Catherine Redfern and Kristin Aune

Humour (4)

F in Exams: The Best Test Paper Blunders - Richard Benson

The World According to Clarkson - Jeremy Clarkson

See John Run - Kevin Joslin

Happyslapped by a Jellyfish - Karl Pilkington

Food Writing (1)

Eating for England: The Delights and Eccentricities of the British at Table - Nigel Slater

Total fiction: 53

Total non-fiction: 19

Male authors: 24

Female authors: 48 

TOTAL BOOKS READ: 72

MY FAVOURITES OF 2010

Favourite fiction: The Island - Victoria Hislop 

Favourite non-fiction: Wesley: The Story of a Remarkable Owl - Stacey O'Brien

Favourite YA book: Torment - Lauren Kate

Favourite classic: Persuasion - Jane Austen

Favourite biographical work: 84, Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff

Favourite book from a new-to-me author: Forbidden - Tabitha Suzuma

Favourite series: The Southern Vampire Mysteries - Charlaine Harris

Favourite cover: Fallen - Lauren Kate

Biggest surprise: A tie between Jaws 2 (Hank Searls) and Pet Sematary (Stephen King)

Biggest disappointment: Trash - Andy Mulligan

Least favourite book: The Devil's Larder - Jim Crace

Weepiest book: A tie between The Snow Goose (Paul Gallico) and Forbidden (Tabitha Suzuma)

Funniest book: F in Exams - Richard Benson

Most inspiring book: Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert 

Reflections on 2010: I've not read as much non-fiction as I thought I had, and I was a little disappointed at how few classics I've read after my good start early in the year.  I'm also quite surprised by the ratio of male to female authors in my list, given the prevailing theory about male-author popularity and exposure.  Still, it's been a good reading year!  I've discovered some new authors, found a couple of new favourite books, started this blog, received my first review books from Random House, had some new bookshelves built...  Not too bad for one year! 

Thoughts for 2011: I always start out a new year with such good intentions!  I'd definitely like to read more classics this year - maybe Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Villette and Northanger Abbey, amongst others.  And rather than keep buying fascinating-sounding non-fiction then reading something else, I want to actually get stuck into some of the history and science books I've amassed.  I'll try to behave a LITTLE better with my book-buying and read a few more off my nice new shiny shelves instead, and I need to keep  on top of reviewer books this year, after a couple of total reading slumps set me well and truly behind.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE - AND HAPPY READING FOR 2011!