Sarah Dessen Mini-Challenge

The Sarah Dessen Mini-Challenge will be for 2009. It begins January 1, 2009, and goes through December 31, 2009.

The goal of this challenge is to read TWO of her books. (Audio books are welcome.)

• That Summer
• Someone Like You
• Keeping the Moon (Also released as Last Chance)
• Dreamland
• This Lullaby
• The Truth About Forever
• Just Listen
• Lock and Key
• Along for the Ride (tentatively summer of 09)

Scott Westerfeld Mini-Challenge

The Scott Westerfeld Mini-Challenge will be for 2009. January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.

The goal of this one is to read TWO of his books.

His YA books include:

So Yesterday (2004)
Midnighters: The Secret Hour (2004)
Midnighters: Touching Darkness (2005)
Midnighters: Blue Noon (2006)
Uglies (2005)
Pretties (2005)
Specials (2006)
Extras (2007)
Peeps (2005)
The Last Days (2006)

He also has a handful of adult titles. I'm not sure if he's got any 2009 releases or not.

He is one of my favorite, favorite authors, and I'd LOVE it if you took this opportunity to discover his works.


I'm planning to read Extras and probably Peeps.

Well Seasoned Reader Challenge

Here's how it works:

Rule #1: The challenge runs from January 1 to March 31. (No cheating and starting before!)

Rule #2: You must read three books. After that, it's up to you how much you want to read.

Rule #3: The books must:

have a food name in the title
OR
be about cooking/eating
OR
have a place name in the title
OR
be about one (or more) person's travel experience
OR
be about a specific culture
OR
be by an author whose ethnicity is other than your own (see, I squeezed it in!)

I'll leave it up to you to choose how the three books you read fit the criteria.

Rule #4: They must be middle-grade on up, but can be either fiction or non-fiction.

The purpose, this winter, is to take yourself someplace out of the ordinary, to go on a literary trip, whether that be challenging your expectations, discovering a new place, or enjoying the experience of reading about good food, places, and people.

My Books:
Ruby Red by Linzi Glass (specific culture)
Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You by Hanna Jansen (Specific culture and possibly travel experiences)
The Last Queen by C.w. Gortner (Specific culture)

I hope I did this right. I don't know how I'm supposed to tell if the books fit properly before I've read them! They're both about life in Africa though, as far as I can tell so I hope they're ok.

My Reviews:

Ruby Red by Linzi Glass
I really liked this book. It was really informative about the Soweto riots (which I knew nothing about) but it was a great story too. There was lots of drama and romance and the main character was really likeable. The only part I didn't like was the ending - it felt like there should be more - but otherwise great book!

Over A Thousand Hills I Walk With You by Hanna Jansen
This was such a great book! It's the true story written by the adoptive mother of a little girl from Rwanda. It was really sad but so well written and really informative.

What's in a Name 2

*Dates: January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009

*The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories.

1. A book with a "profession" in its title.
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
The Last Queen - C.W. Gortner
Wicked - The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of The West - Gregory Maguire Read

2. A book with a "time of day" in its title.
Twilight - Stephanie Meyer

3. A book with a "relative" in its title.
My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Piccult

4. A book with a "body part" in its title.
???

5. A book with a "building" in its title.
???

6. A book with a "medical condition" in its title.
???

I have to do some thinking!

This looks like such a good challenge, I can't wait to start!