Once Upon a Time V 3/21/11 – 6/20/11

Somehow, it’s going to be summer tomorrow. I’m not sure how this managed to happen, but it has, so that means the Once Upon a Time V challenge is over.

This year, I did Challenge the First again, which is to read at least five books in any of the challenge categories: fantasy, fairy tale, folklore, and mythology. Assisted by an airplane flight in April, I did pretty good for myself this year. I read:

• Swordspoint – Ellen Kushner – finished 5/27/11
• Elf Magic – ed. Martin Greenberg – finished 5/5/11
• Moonlight & Vines – Charles de Lint – finished 4/26/11
• Orphans of Chaos – John C. Wright – finished 4/24/11
• The Third Magic – Molly Cochran – finished 4/22/11
• Firebird – Mercedes Lackey – finished 4/17/11
• Tempest Rising – Nicole Peeler – finished 4/14/11
• The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume II – Diana Wynne Jones – finished 4/10/11
• The Bell at Sealey Head – Patricia A. McKillip – finished 4/3/11
• Soul Hunt – Margaret Ronald – finished 4/1/11
• The Tourmaline – Paul Park – finished 3/31/11

Most books were straight fantasy, but I worked in some good fairy tales (Firebird – Pure fairy tale, as well as the following, which had fairytale characters or tropes: Elf Magic, Swordspoint and The Bell at Sealey Head), folklore (The Third Magic – modern King Arthur), and even mythology (Orphans of Chaos draws its characters from Greek mythology).

All and all, it was a lovely cruise through my favorite genres, and I can’t wait to do it again next year.