2000’s Completed Reading Lists

2008 Completed Reading Challenges

  1. Snow Crash – Neal Stephenson
  2. New Moon – Stephenie Meyer
  3. Silver on the Tree – Susan Cooper
  4. The Histories – Herodotus
  5. The Grey King – Susan Cooper
  6. Greenwitch – Susan Cooper
  7. The Dark is Rising – Susan Cooper
  8. On Writing – Stephen King
  9. Abhorsen – Garth Nix
  10. Clockwork – Philip Pullman
  11. Dead Until Dark – Charlaine Harris
  12. Kushiel’s Dart – Jacqueline Carey
  13. The Fairy Godmother – Mercedes Lackey
  14. Nocturnes – John Connolly
  15. Page – Tamora Pierce
  16. Chalice – Robin McKinley
  17. Living Dead in Dallas – Charlaine Harris
  18. Lirael – Garth Nix
  19. Lord of Light – Roger Zelazny
  20. Twilight – Stephenie Meyer
  21. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories – Susanna Clarke
  22. Sabriel – Garth Nix
  23. Touchmark – Mildred Lawrence
  24. Blood and Chocolate – Annette Curtis Klause
  25. Tam Lin – Pamela Dean
  26. The Riddle – Alison Croggon
  27. Coyote Blue – Christopher Moore
  28. Austenland – Shannon Hale
  29. Moonheart – Charles de Lint
  30. First Test – Tamora Pierce
  31. Cordelia Underwood – Van Reid
  32. Terrier – Tamora Pierce
  33. The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
  34. Inkheart – Cornelia Funke
  35. American Gods – Neil Gaiman
  36. The Alton Gift – Marion Zimmer Bradley/Deborah J. Ross
  37. Odd and the Frost Giants – Neil Gaiman
  38. Idylls of the King – Alfred, Lord Tennyson
  39. The Museum of Kitschy Stitches – Stitchy McYarnpants
  40. Howl’s Moving Castle – Dianne Wynne Jones
  41. The Bestiary – Nicholas Christopher
  42. Beginnings, Middles & Ends – Nancy Kress
  43. The Sorceress and the Cygnet – Patricia A. McKillip
  44. Polgara the Sorceress – David and Leigh Eddings
  45. The Road – Cormac McCarthy
  46. Skellig – David Almond
  47. Dragonhaven – Robin McKinley
  48. North by Northanger – Carrie Bebris
  49. The Knitter’s Book of Yarn – Clara Parkes
  50. The Naming – Alison Croggon
  51. Pride and Prescience – Carrie Bebris
  52. The Line Between – Peter S. Beagle
  53. Belgarath the Sorcerer – David and Leigh Eddings
  54. Anansi Boys – Neil Gaiman
  55. The Seeress of Kell – David Eddings
  56. Beast – Donna Jo Napoli
  57. Sorceress of Darshiva – David Eddings
  58. Food 2.0 Secrets from the Chef Who Fed Google – Charlies Ayers
  59. Demon Lord of Karanda – David Eddings
  60. The Thirteenth Tale – Diane Setterfield
  61. The Goose Girl – Shannon Hale
  62. King of the Murgos – David Eddings
  63. Guardians of the West – David Eddings
  64. Enchanter’s Endgame – David Eddings
  65. Castle of Wizardry – David Eddings
  66. Magician’s Gambit – David Eddings
  67. Queen of Sorcery – David Eddings
  68. Pawn of Prophecy – David Eddings
  69. Eat Cake – Jeanne Ray
  70. The Winter Oak – James Hetley
  71. V for Vendetta – Alan Moore
  72. In the Forest of the Night – Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
  73. Sunshine – Robin McKinley
  74. The Stolen Child – Keith Donohue
  75. The World Without Us – Alan Weisman
  76. The Diamond Age – Neal Stephenson

Seventy-six is a pretty respectable number, but I still want to reach 100. I think about the only way I could do that is to reread a few more books, and not read anything that takes any amount of time and concentration, and where would the fun in that be?

I did do a little more re-reading this year than I have in recent years (21 books), but about half of those were books I hadn’t read very recently, so it was fun to revisit them. It looks like I also did 33 challenge books (that includes some overlaps). I did manage to add some non-fiction in the list, but I think that’s definitely something I need to work on reading more of for this year, which is the closest to a reading resolution I’ll come to. I’ve learned I’m much happier if I keep the door open to interesting books that come my way and don’t limit myself to what I “have” to read.

2008 Completed Reading Challenges

once upon a time ii reading challenge

Once Upon a Time Challenge II (3/21/08-6/20/08) – Finished 6/15/08

Beast – Donna Jo Napoli – finished 3/26/08
Anansi Boys – Neil Gaiman – finished 4/8/08
The Line Between – Peter Beagle – finished 4/21/08
The Naming – Alison Croggon – finished 5/2/08
The Sorceress and the Cygnet – Patricia A. McKillip – finished 5/31/08
Howl’s Moving Castle – Dianne Wynne Jones – finished 6/15/08

rip iii reading challenge

R.I.P III Reading Challenge 9/1/08 – 10/31/08 – Finished 10/26/08

Blood and Chocolate – Annette Curtis Klause – finished 9/13/08
Living Dead in Dallas – Charlaine Harris – finished 10/10/08
Nocturnes – John Connolly – finished 10/26/08
Twilight – Stephenie Meyer – finished 9/29/08
The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories – Susanna Clarke – finished 9/26/08

mythopeoic awards challenge

Mythopoeic Award Challenge 1/1/08-12/31/08 – Finished 9/9/08

The Line Between – Peter S. Beagle – finished 4/21/08
Tam Lin – Pamela Dean – finished 9/9/08
Moonheart – Charles de Lint – Finished 8/19/08
The Sorceress and the Cygnet – Patricia McKillip – finished 5/31/08
American Gods – Neil Gaiman – finished 7/9/08
Inkheart – Cornelia Funke – finished 7/20/08
The Stolen Child – Keith Donohue – finished 1/31/08

young adult reading challenge 2008

YA Challange 2008 (1/1/08-12/31/08) – Finished 12/9/08

The Dark is Rising – Susan Cooper – finished 12/9/08
Twilight – Stephenie Meyer – Finished 9/29/08
Inkheart – Cornelia Funke – finished 7/20/08
Skellig – David Almond – finished 5/14/08
The Goose Girl – Shannon Hale – finished 3/11/08
Terrier – Tamora Pierce – finished 7/29/08
First Test – Tamora Pierce – finished 8/9/08
Beast – Donna Jo Napoli – finished 3/26/08
The Naming – Alison Croggon – finished 5/2/08
Blood and Chocolate – Annette Curtis Klause – finished 9/13/08
Touchmark – Mildred Lawrence – finished 9/16/08
In the Forests of the Night – Amelia Atwater-Rhodes – finished 2/10/08

2008 TBR Reading Challenge

TBR 2008 Challenge 1/1/08-12/31/08 – Finished 12/19/08

American Gods – Neil Gaiman – finished 7/9/08
Cordelia Underwood – Van Reid – finished 8/6/08
Coyote Blue – Christopher Moore – finished 8/28/08
The Stolen Child – Keith Donohue – Finished 1/31/08
Lord of Light – Roger Zelazny – finished 10/2/08
Idylls of the King – Alfred, Lord Tennyson – finished 6/23/08
Herodotus – The Histories – finished 12/19/08

Alternates:
Tam Lin – Pamela Dean – finished 9/9/08
The Thirteenth Tale – Diane Setterfield – Finished 3/21/08
The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger – finished 7/26/08
Austenland – Shannon Hale – finished 8/21/08
On Writing – Stephen King – finished 11/29/08

I also started and abandoned the Graphic Novels Challenge and the Soup’s On Challenge. Soup’s On doesn’t actually end until next March, but I haven’t been in much of a cooking phase this year, so I’m just going to be honest with myself and give that one up now, and start 2009 with a clean slate.

One thing I did learn was to be careful with the number of 12 month/12 books challenges I did. While I won’t completely rule out 12 month challenges for next year, I’m going to try to do ones that don’t involve quite so many books, in order to preserve my sanity. I think I like the smaller theme challenges that I can do in a short burst of time better than the longer ones.

I already have a number of interesting looking 2009 challenges bookmarked for consideration, so I’m sure once I get back from the Christmas festivities, those will be showing up here in the sidebar.

2007 Books Read

  1. The Greener Shore – Morgan Llywelyn
  2. Sahara – Michael Palin
  3. Frontiers of Heaven – Stanley Stewart
  4. King Arthur – Frank Thompson
  5. The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye – A.S. Byatt
  6. Strange Candy – Laurell K. Hamilton
  7. Fluke – Christopher Moore
  8. Watership Down – Richard Adams
  9. Sorcery and the Single Girl – Mindy Klasky
  10. Titus Groan – Mervyn Peake
  11. Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen
  12. A Good Year– Peter Mayle
  13. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell – Susanna Clarke
  14. Shopgirl – Steve Martin
  15. Arthurian Romances – Chretien de Troyes
  16. A Year in Provence – Peter Mayle
  17. The Violet Keystone – Garth Nix (YA)
  18. Into Battle – Garth Nix (YA)
  19. Above the Veil – Garth Nix (YA)
  20. In a Sunburned Country – Bill Bryson
  21. A Knot in the Grain and Other Stories – Robin McKinley (YA)
  22. No god but God – Reza Aslan
  23. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J. K. Rowling (YA)
  24. Aenir – Garth Nix (YA)
  25. Castle – Garth Nix (YA)
  26. The Fall – Garth Nix (YA)
  27. The Last Green Tree – Jim Grimsley
  28. Four Queens – Nancy Goldstone
  29. Fortune’s Fool – Mercedes Lackey
  30. Beggars in Spain – Nancy Cress
  31. Yemen: The Unknown Arabia – Tim MacKintosh-Smith
  32. Along the Inca Trail – Karin Muller
  33. Sea of Faith: Islam and Christianity in the Medieval Mediterranean World – Stephen O’Shea
  34. The Summer Country – James A. Hetley
  35. Blood Trail – Tanya Huff
  36. Blood Price – Tanya Huff
  37. Ella Enchanted – Gail Carson Levine (YA)
  38. Deerskin- Robin McKinley
  39. Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Ancestors of Avalon – Diana L. Paxson
  40. The First Five Pages – Noah Lukeman
  41. Wolf Tower – Tanith Lee (YA)
  42. Dreams Underfoot – Charles De Lint
  43. Dialogue (Write Great Fiction Series) – Gloria Kempton
  44. The Outlaws of Sherwood- Robin McKinley
  45. Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England – William Cronon
  46. A Taxonomy of Barnacles – Galt Niederhoffer
  47. Snobbery – the American Version – Joseph Epstein
  48. The Frog Prince – Jane Porter
  49. You Suck: A Love Story – Christopher Moore
  50. A Dirty Job – Christopher Moore
  51. Abhorsen – Garth Nix (reread)
  52. Lireal – Garth Nix (reread)
  53. Sabriel – Garth Nix (reread)
  54. It Must’ve Been Something I Ate – Jeffrey Steingarten
  55. The Man Who Loved Jane Austen – Sally Smith O’Rourke
  56. Eleanor of Aquitaine – Alison Weir
  57. Native Tongues – Charles Berlitz
  58. Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft – Mindy Klasky
  59. The Will of the Empress – Tamora Pierce (YA)
  60. Seasons of the Witch- Gail Duff
  61. The Book of Lost Things – John Connolly
  62. The Man Who Ate Everything – Jeffrey Steingarten
  63. Rick Steve’s Europe Through the Back Door
  64. One Good Knight – Mercedes Lackey

2007 Completed Reading Challenges

Arm Chair Traveler Reading Challenge 2007

The Armchair Traveler’s Reading Challenge, July 1, 2007 – December 31, 2007

Frontiers of Heaven – Stanley Stewart – Finished 12/2/07
Along the Inca Trail – Karin Muller – Finished 7/10/07
Yemen: The Unknown Arabia – Tim MacKintosh-Smith – Finished 7/16/07
Sahara – Michael Palin – Finished 12/16/07
In a Sunburned Country – Bill Bryson – Finished 8/15/07
A Year in Provence – Peter Mayle Finished 8/26/07

books to movie challenge

The Book to Movie Challenge, September 1, 2007 – December 1, 2007

Watership Down – Richard Adams – Finished 11/10/07
Shopgirl – Steve Martin – Finished 9/8/07
A Good Year – Peter Mayle – Finished 9/22/07

rip ii reading challenge

The R.I.P. II Reading Challenge, September 1, 2007 – October 31, 2007

The Gormenghast Novels – Titus Groan – Mervyn Peake – Finished 10/20/07
Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen – Finished 9/27/07
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell – Susanna Clarke – Finished 9/19/07