The Classics Reading Challenge hosted by November’s Autumn is the one I’m calling “Classics with a Twist” – the twist being that on the fourth of each month, Katherine posts a prompt to act as a basis for my discussion of the classic I’m currently reading.

I’m nearing the end of Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Stowe. Stowe was born in 1811 in Connecticut USA. She lived for a time in Cincinnati Ohio where she met her husband, Calvin Ellis Stowe who was a professor at the Lane Theological Seminary there. The Stowes later moved to coastal Maine.

Both Stowes were deeply religious and fierce critics of slavery. It’s no surprise that they supported the Underground Railroad and offered their home as a stop on it.

Her writing is typical of the 19th century writers I have read: great descriptive detail and slow plot advancement. I understand that readers expected in the 1800s to be entertained at length by a single book that could be savored slowly. In my 21st century life, I often read through books just so that I can get to the next one, so I admit that I have been at times frustrated by Stowe’s writing.

I think that Stowe’s novel, published in installments in The National Era in 1851 & 1852, and in book form in March of 1852, was met with the same sort of attitudes that fomented the American Civil War: strident voices both for and against slavery. Anecdotal history says when Stowe met Abraham Lincoln in 1862, he greeted her by saying, “so you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.”

I know that by now, most of you think I’m insane because, after all, I have joined fifty-two (52!) reading challenges for next year. (Here’s the list). Maybe I am a little touched in the head, but I told you I was a challenge addict.

But I do have a plan: a master reading list for next year that right now stands at 106 books and fulfills my entire reading obligation except for the picture books. (I figure I can fit them in somewhere.) Since I read 121 books in 2011 and am aiming for 150 this year, I figure that’s doable.

My only problem will be resisting all the new goodies I see this year until I’ve completed my challenges at the end of the year.

So, how about you? Do you have a reading list for 2012 or are reading catch as catch can – which I think I’d like to try in 2013!

The Global Reading Challenge (GRC) challenges me to expand my reading boundaries, go where I haven’t been before, move a little outside my comfort zone. I may read any genre so long as the books are fiction.

I’m entering The Easy Challenge in which I must read one novel from each of these continents :

• Africa
African Love Stories, edited by Ama Ata Aidoo (various countries) Completed May 2012

• Asia
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth (India) Completed Apr 2012

• Australasia/Oceania
The Secret River by Kate Grenville (Australia) Completed Feb 2012

• Europe
Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyen Completed Mar2012

• North America (my own continent, so I’m challenged to try to find a country, state or author that is new to me):
The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield (Arkansas, USA) Completed Jan 2012)

• South America (may include Central America)
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder (Peru) Completed Sep 2012)

• The Seventh Continent (here I can choose either Antarctica or my own ´seventh´ setting, eg the sea, the space, history, the future – whatever).
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury (space) Completed Sep 2012

Although 2012 is the year I concentrate on books I already own and put a moratorium of book-buying, I know I won’t be able to resist entering contests for interesting-looking books I see on blogs. And if my record continues, sometimes, just sometimes, I’ll win them!

Teddy Rose, who blogs over at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time is hosting the perfect challenge for me to work my way through these wins. I’m entering the Books Won 2012 Reading Challenge at the Bronze level, pledging to read (and review!) four – six books I’ve won.

COMPLETED although I did receive several wins that I did not manage to get around to reading – yet. I will do my best to get to them in 2013!

Tree books:
1. Northwest Corner by John Burnham Schwarz
Won from Colloquium

2. The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield
Thanks to Kat at Reviews from the Heart

3. A Small Furry Prayer by Steven Kotler
Won through Library Thing Early Reviewer program

4. White River Junctions by Dave Norman
Won through Library Thing Early Reviewer program

5. Oxford Messed Up by Andrea Kayne Kaufman
Courtesy of the author through Shelf Awareness Author Buzz

6. African Love Stories edited by Ama Ata Aidoo
Thank you to Amy McKie of Amy Reads for this book!

7. UContent by Nicholas G. Tomaiuolo
Won through Library Thing Early Reviewer program

8. Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston
I’m so sorry that I can’t remember who was the kind donor of the Book Depository gift certificate that allowed me to buy this. If you know who it is, please let me know!

9. 419 by Will Ferguson
Courtesy of the publisher

EBooks:
10. Chickens, Mules & Two Old Fools by Victoria Twead
Won through Library Thing Early Reviewer program

11. Winnie & Gurley by Robert G. Hewitt
Won through Library Thing Early Reviewer program

12. Falling Into Green by Cher Fischer
Won through Library Thing Early Reviewer program

13. Promise Me Eternity by Ian Fox
Courtesy of the author

14. A Shortage of Bodies by Dr. Gary D. McKay
Won through Library Thing Early Reviewer program

This year Jillian at a Room of One’s Own has started reading some books that she didn’t finish because she got side-tracked. Now with 2011 coming to a close, she’s scrambling to read these half-started mighty tomes, or else feeling guilty and low because she didn’t finish what she started, by the end of the year.

But Jillian has declared that shame or guilt doesn’t belong in the world of literature!! So she’s hosting the Books I Started But Didn’t Finish Reading Challenge.

I didn’t get distracted and forget about books, but I did abandon a few. One of those, I was convinced to try again – but I haven’t yet. So I’m going to enter Jillian’s challenge and finish the The Magnificent Spinster by May Sarton.

Alas! Once again, this book goes unread. I DID NOT COMPLETE this book nor this challenge.

COMPLETED

Darlene. who blogs over at Darlene’s Book Nook, loves audio books – they’re the perfect way for her to fit reading in with her active ‘mom’ lifestyle. In 2012 she wants to listen to some longer books, but couldn’t find a “big book” challenge that allowed her audio books. So she designed The Mammoth Book 2012 Reading Challenge.

This challenge allows books of all formats, including audio books and ebooks. The regular-bound format equivalent of any title must be a minimum of 450 pages.

Since I’m participating already in the Chunkster Reading Challenge, I thought this would be a good fit for me. I’m entering at Level 2, committing to read four mammoth-sized books.

YEAR-END UPDATE

1. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth 1488 pages

2. 11/22/63 by Stephen King 849 pages

3. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins 764 pages

4. Mordecai: His Life & Times by Charles Foran 717 pages (in progress)

5. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins 626 pages

6. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams 608 pages

7. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie 552 pages

8. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe 544 pages

This seems like a fun challenge and one that is a bit different: instead of using book titles, it looks at the images on the covers of books.
To complete the Find the Cover Challenge, I must find images on my book covers starting with the letters that spell out the year: Two Thousand Twelve. No cover may be used for more than one letter.

T ***TREE on the cover of A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
W ***WASTECAN on the cover of The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard
O ***OLD WOMAN on the cover of The Market Square Dog by James Herriot

T ***TATTOOS on the cover of The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
H ***HOLLY LEAF ON HAT on the cover of I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
O ***ORNATE METAL FENCE on the cover of Postern of Fateby Agatha Christie
U ***UNIFORM on the cover of The Absolutist by John Boyce
S ***SCREEN DOOR on cover of Northwest Corner by John Burnham Schwarz
A ***ANDIRONS on the cover of The Mystery of the Cape Cod Tavern by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
N ***NOSEGAY on the cover of Memoirs by Pierre Elliott Trudeau
D ***DAISY on the cover of A Recipe for Bees by Gail Anderson-Dergatz

T ***TEETH on the cover of At Bertram’s Hotel by Agatha Christie
W ***WINDOWS on the cover of Heading Home by Lawrence Scanlan
E ***EARS on the cover of The Antagonist by Lynne Coady
L ***LABEL ON SUITCASE on the cover of Lonesome Hero by Fred Stenson
V ***VERDIGRIS FROG on the cover of The Golden Mean by Nick Bantock
E ***EVERGREEN TREE on the cover of Coyote Sings to the Moon by Thomas King

Since one of the first books I’m going to tackle in the new year is A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, it seemed foolish not to join The South Asian Reading Challenge being hosted by Swapna over at S. Krishna’s Books.

I’m to choose my own goal, and to make it a ‘challenge’ I’ll add to the one book I know I’m already reading and commit to reading two.

1. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth (set in India) 1,488 page Completed April 2012

2. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie (set in India & Pakistan) 536 pages Completed Oct 2012

The goal in the Read Your Name Challenge is to read my name or the name of my blog in book title first letters. Since I’m already in for the A- Z Reading Challenge, I’ve covered off every letter of the alphabet at least once. Using those books, and titles from my reading list for other challenges, I’ve super-sized this.

So, here’s my challenge:
D Death on the Oxford Road by E.C.R. Lorac
E Emma by Jane Austen
B Blizzard of Glass by Sally M. Walker Completed January 2012
B The Big Gold Dream by Chester Himes
I I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley Completed January 2012
E Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear

@

E The Echo Maker by Richard Maker
X The WaXworks Murders by John Dickson Carr
U Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe Completed January 2012
R The Root Cellar by Janet Lunn
B The Bridge at San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
A The Antagonist by Lynn Coady Completed January 2012
N Northwest Corner by John Burnham Schwarz Completed January 2012
I I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen Completed January 2012
S Sabine’s Notebook by Nick Bantock Completed January 2012

Okay, I’ll admit: I didn’t think I’d ever even heard of Terry Pratchett before I saw this challenge posted over at Once Upon a Time. Then I picked up my library reserves this week and, what should I find, but four Terry Pratchett books. I guess someone must have recentlyrecommended Pratchett so very highly that I was moved to zip these titles right past my wish list onto my library list (before promptly forgetting both name & titles).

Anyway, these aren’t due until the new year and by the time I get them in my reading queue, it will be January. So I thought I might as well give the Sir Terry Pratchett Reading Challenge a go. There are no set levels, so I’m committing to reading at least one Pratchett in 2012.

1. The Carpet People

CHALLENGE COMPLETED Jan 2012

COMPLETED

I love books that involve time-travel – always have, probably always will – so The Time Travel Reading Challenge appeals greatly to me. And because at least one book on my 2012 reading list “takes me back”, and I’d like to add another in this genre if I can fit it in, I’m taking it on.

Books from other challenges count as long as they are about time travel and they can be children’s, middle-grade, YA or adult fiction. If this intrigues you, there’s a list of suggested titles on the sign-up page.

I’m entering at the Surprise Trip level that requires me to read 1 – 3 time travel books. Thanks to Laura at Library of Clean Reads for hosting this.

1. 11/22/63 by Stephen King

2. A Dog’s Journey by W. Bruce Cameron

I seem to read a lot of memoirs (I think it’s the most popular form of non-fiction going right now, which is why the non-fiction, non-memoir challenge is a reach for me) so The Memorable Memoirs 2012 Reading Challenge hosted by Melissa at The Betty and Boo Chronicles seems like such a natural fit.

Melissa is defining a memoir as a record of events written by a person having intimate knowledge of them and based on personal observation. Published letters, diaries, journals, autobiographies, nonfiction books on the craft of writing memoirs … in her book, they all count as Memorable Memoirs for this challenge. And for those of you looking for challenges that permit e-books and audiobooks, this is one you might want to consider.

Since I already have at least one memoir on other challenge reading lists, I’m entering this at the Diarist level of 1 – 4 books.

1. A Prairie Boy’s Winter by William Kurelek

2. Chickens, Mules, & Two Old Fools by Victoria Twead

3. A Small Furry Prayer by Steven Kotler

4. Notes to My Mother-in-Law by Phyllida Law

5. Heading Home: On Starting a New Life in a Country Place by Lawrence Scanlan

6. Memoirs by Pierre Elliott Trudeau

COMPLETED

Collections of short stories aren’t eligible for a lot of reading challenges so even though I have a large one on my 2012 Bucket List and another in mind for a prize-winners challenge, I can’t count them for anything else. When I saw The 2012 Short Story Reading Challenge, hosted by Laura over at Library of Clean Reads, I knew I was in.

I’m entering at the Tell Me a Story level of 1 – 3 books. That will be another notch on my Challenge Addict belt.

1. My Financial Career & Other Follies by Stephen Leacock

2. The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton

3. African Love Stories edited by Ama Ata Aidoo

4. QBI: Queen’s Bureau of Investigation by Ellery Queen

5. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

6. The Museum of Dr. Moses by Joyce Carol Oates

7. The Beggar’s Garden by Michael Christie

8. Bush Studies by Barbara Baynton

COMPLETED

I’ve been anxiously waiting for The Chunkster reading Challenge to be set up for 2012. A chunkster is 450 pages or more of ADULT literature, whether non-fiction or fiction. A chunkster should be a challenge. No audio or e-books are allowed but this year for the first time, essay, poetry, and short story collections will be permitted. (Collections have to be read in their entirety to count.)

I’m going in at the Chubby Chunkster level, requiring me to read four books. I’d like to commit to more, but I have to remember about that 150 book overall goal I have!

YEAR-END UPDATE

1. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth 1488 pages

2. 11/22/63 by Stephen King 849 pages

3. Mordecai: His Life & Times by Charles Foran 717 pages (in progress)

4. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams 608 pages

5. Midnight’s Children
552 pages

Lindsey over at Babies, Books & Signs is hosting this fun challenge. The object of the A-Z Reading Challenge (that’s ‘eh’ to ‘zed’ for us Canucks!) is to read a book starting with each letter of the alphabet.

Since most letters were already covered in my existing 2012 reading list, this seemed like a good fit. I had to find books for ‘G’ (of all letters!), ‘Q’, ‘Y’, and ‘Z’. I think I’ll just update this post as I complete each book.

A Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, The by Mordecai Richler
B Beggar’s Garden, The by Michael Christie
C Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
D Divine Ryans, The by Wayne Johnston
E Elegy for Eddieby Jacqueline Winspear
F Firmin by Sam Savage
G Gillespie & I by Jane Harris
H Heading Home:On Starting a New Life in a Country Place by Lawrence Scanlan
I I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
J Jest of God, A by Margaret Laurence
K Kilmeny of the Orchard by Lucy Maud Montgomery
L Lonesome Hero by Fred Stenson
M My Financial Career & Other Follies
N Notes to my Mother-in-Law by Phyllida Law
O One Winter Night by Jennifer Lloyd & Lynn Ray
P Practical Jean by Trevor Cole
Q QBI: Queen’s Bureau of Investigation by Ellery Queen
R Recipe for Bees, A by Gail Anderson-Dergatz
S Sister Brothers, The by Patrick DeWitt
T Twenty-Six by Leo McKay Jr.
U Underpainter, The by Jane Urquhart read Dec 2012
V Virgin Cure, The by Ami McKay
W Winnie & Gurley: The Best Kept Family Secret by Robert G. Hewitt
X oXford Messed Up by Andrea Kayne Kaufman
Y Yellowthread Street by William Marshall
Z Tragedy of Z by Ellery Queen

COMPLETED

I haven’t made it a practice to read picture books since my daughter was young, over 35 years ago. But now that our three-year-old grandson and his mom are living with us, I’m back at them. (In fact, I’m determined that I will never be too busy to read a book to Steven if he asks.) Besides – I have to read 150 books in 2012 and anything with an ISBN qualifies.

So when I saw that An Abundance of Books was hosting The Illustrated Year: A Picture Book Reading Challenge, I jumped at it. And why not? Sometimes it’s the story, sometimes the illustrations, and a lot of the time it’s the fun of reading them out loud to kids that makes picture books so enjoyable. Picture books are a great way to share stories and the experience of reading with children. I’m going to include Steven’s opinion of the book along with mine.

I know that not all of my readers are looking for this genre, so I’ll keep my reviews of picture books short & sweet and, to keep them few and far-between, I’m entering only at Level 1 which requires me to read just 12 books over the course of the year. But I’ll be toting them up for this challenge!

1. Giraffe & Bird written and illustrated by Rebecca Bender
2. I Want My Hat Back written and illustrated by Jon Klassen
3. Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? written & illustrated by Susan A. Shen
4. Madeline written & illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans
5. Fuddles written & illustrated by Frans Vischer
6. A Few Blocks written & illustrated by Cybele Young
7. Horton Hears a Who written & illustrated by Theodore Seuss (aka Dr. Seuss)
8. Gimme Jimmy written & illustrated by Sherrill S. Cannon
9. Dog in Boots written by Greg Gormley; illustrated by Robert Angaramo
10. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom written by Bill Martin Jr; illustrated by John Archambault
11. Harry, the Dirty Dog written by Gene Zion; illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham
12. There Were Monkeys in My Kitchen written by Sheree Fitch; illustrated by Sydney Smith
13. The Market Square Dog written by James Herriot; illustrated by Ruth Brown
14. One Winter Night written by Jennifer Lloyd; illustrated by Lynn Ray
15. Curious George written by Margaret Ray; illustrated by H.A. Rey
16. Eloise written by Kay Thompson; illustrated by Hilary Knight
17. Coyote Sings to the Moon written by Thomas King; illustrated by Johnny Wales

And some non-children’s picture books:
18. Griffin & Sabine written and illustrated by Nick Bantock
19. Sabine’s Notebook written and illustrated by Nick Bantock
20. The Golden Mean written and illustrated by Nick Bantock

FAILED TO COMPLETE

On the heels of the Picture Book Challenge and my goal never to say “no” to the request from my three-year-old grandson for a story, comes The 3660 Minute Reading Challenge, hosted by Mommy Wants To Read.

What is this Challenge? “To spend 10 minutes every single day reading to our children. Since this year is a leap year there are 366 days hence 3660 minutes. The goal is to promote reading, increase imagination, foster a love of words, bolster comprehension skills, and spend quality time with the children in our lives.”

Sounds good to me!

YEAR-END UPDATE:
Unfortunately, Steven & his mom moved unexpectedly to Vancouver at the end of January and our reading time was curtailed. For the first couple of weeks, I tried reading to him on the phone but there were always too many distractions for him.

For the year, I recorded an abysmal 380 minutes spent reading to him.

COMPLETED

The Awards referred to are the Newbery Medal for children’s literature and the Printz Award for Young Adult lit. I don’t usually pick up YA or children’s literature on purpose but every time I’ve read an award winner on these lists, I’ve been impressed.

So I thought I’d “challenge” myself in 2012 by entering The Awards Winning Reads Challenge hosted by Ashley at Basically Amazing Books and Jacinda at The Reading Housewives. I can choose my own commitment – so I’m pledging to read 4 of these great books.

YEAR-END UPDATE:

All of these are Newbery Medal winners, and three of the four were delightful!

1. Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright 1939 (read in Dec 2012)
2. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George 1973
3. Holes by Louis Sachar 1999
4. Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpoole 2011

NOT COMPLETED

I’m trying to read more non-fiction books and have several on my 2012 reading list. The idea of seeing how these relate to novels is a fun idea, so I was intrigued by The Truth in Fiction Challenge, hosted by Amanda over at The Fig and Thistle.

The goal of the challenge is to read a specified number of book pairs that are comprised of one fiction book and one related non-fiction book. Amanda encourages us to think outside of the box; the non-fiction book could also be journals, letters, memoirs, etc…. The pairs needn’t be exact matches, although there should be an easily detectable common thread.

The catch: Instead of individual reviews, after each book pair I must write a joint review. For example, if I read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and then The Journals of Sylvia Plath then my review post will be focused on both books.

I’m unsure of exactly how many pairs I’ll be able to put together, but I’m committing to the Junior level of 3 pairs. Watch me have fun!

1. The Secret River and Searching for the Secret River, both by Kate Grenville

NOT COMPLETED

Since I’ve entered several Classics challenges for 2012, I thought it wold be fun to try the Classic Double Challenge, hosted by Melissa at One Librarian’s Book Reviews.

Essentially, the challenge will encourage me to read one older book (classic) and a newer book that relates to the older one in some way. (The newer book can be any reading level from Middle Grade to Adult.)

I’m opting in at the Medium level, which requires me to read two sets of related books.

YEAR-END UPDATE: Unless I’ve missed a connection somewhere, I managed to get in only one set of doubles:

JANE EYRE and
THE FLIGHT OF GEMMA HARDY