This is a monstrously huge post that I’m 100% positive no one will read.  It’s fun for me though.  I made some goals for myself at the beginning of the year and participated in some challenges, so it’s only fair to myself that I account for them.  Thus this post.

Personal 2008 Reading Goals

52 Books in 52 Weeks

I won’t list all the books here because you can see that in my 2008 “books I read” post.  But my goal for 2008 was to read and review 52 books in 52 weeks in the following genres:

• Fiction/non-fiction (combined): 74.  Twenty-two over the goal.  44 fiction, 30 non-fiction.
• Young adult: 44.  8 short of the goal.
• Middle readers: 60.  8 over the goal.

My thoughts: I didn’t finish the Young Adult books, but I tried.  I like the well roundedness of this challenge. I’ll do something similar for 2009.  Probably add picture books and separate out non-fiction.  Counting picture books I read and reviewed 195 books in 2008.

Participate in Book Clubs

One of my goals this last year was to participate in book clubs whether it be online or in person.   I’m  happy to report that I never missed a month in my neighborhood book club, joined a children’s literature book club and am now moderating my own tele-book club through Rich Women Sisterhood.  I was participating in the online book club at Cafe Mom but lost steam halfway through the year.

Books discussed:

1. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
2. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
3. Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
4. Austenland by Shannon Hale
5. I Am a Mother by Jane Clayson Johnson
6. Sold by Patricia McCormick
7. The Giver by Louis Lowry
8. Escape by Carolyn Jessop
9. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
10. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
11. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
12. Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City by Kristen Miller
13. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
14. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
15. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
16. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
17. The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
18. Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
19. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
20. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

My thoughts: Too much IRL book clubs to participate in virtual clubs like I wanted too.  I love my IRL book clubs.

Misc.

• Read with my kids every day: Check!
• Discover a new genre: read some fantasy this year, some science fiction, didn’t even know twisted fairy tales or paranormal romance existed.  What rock have I been living under?
• Learn more about the authors I read: I have gone to every author site after finishing a book and read about them, as well as subscribing to their blog.  But perhaps the most important thing is the many author interviews I’ve participate in.  No better way to learn about an author than actually talking to them in person or via email.  Awesome!  And let’s not forget those recipes.
• Read more historical fiction: check!
• Read more non-fiction, especially gardening and photography books: I have read more non-fiction this year than I have ever done in my entire life.  Unfortunately not a single one was a gardening or photography book.  Read lots of memoirs.
• Keep on ongoing list of books mentioned in other books and read those: I kept a list for about six months and then stopped.  It was fun to pick out book titles from other books though.
• Always improve my life, enhance my life, and make a difference in the life of my family by continually educating myself and striving to be better today than I was yesterday. I’ve learned a lot this year, but need to scale back on blogging for the sake of my family.

Perpetual Life-Long Challenges

Read all the Newbery Medal and Honor books

Newbery books I read in 2008:

1. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medievel Village by Laura Amy Schlitz
2. Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
3. The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
4. Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
5. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, illus. by Matt Phelan
6. Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm
7. Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
8. Rules by Cynthia Lord
9. Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins
10. Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
11. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
12. Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
    
13. The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering
14. A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
15. Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer
16. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
17. A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck
18. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
19. The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman
20. What Jamie Saw by Carolyn Coman
21. The Giver by Lois Lowry
22. Missing May by Cynthia Rylant
23. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
24. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
25. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
26. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
27. Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard & Florence Atwater

My thoughts: I love, love reading these books.  Too much fun.

Read all the Pulitzer Fiction Winners

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

My thoughts: Um . . .  yeah. Only one.

500 of the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

My personal goal is to read at least 500 books from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list compiled by Peter Ackroyd and Peter Boxall.  I only read two this year.  Full list here.

1. Slow Man – J.M. Coetzee
2. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon

My thoughts: Hmm . . . Slow, slow progress on this one.

Community Challenges

A-Z Challenge

Hosted by Joy at Thoughts of Joy (visit the A-Z Challenge blog for participants and book review links). The rules: read one book from each letter of the alphabet, one book for a title and another for the author.

This is my official list, although I obviously read a lot of other books with the same letter.

ALPHA BY AUTHOR

• Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
• Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
• The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo
• The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
• Libertad by Alma Fullerton
• Bee Season by Myla Goldberg
• The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
• Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza
• Escape by Carolyn Jessop
• Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata
• The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
• The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Lois Murphy
• The Leper Compound by Paula Nangle
• When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
• The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
• Blessings by Anna Quindlen
• Missing May by Cynthia Rylant
• Shattered Dreams:  My Life as a Polygamists Wife by Irene Spencer
• The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
• Journey to Topaz by Yoshiko Uchida
• ? by  Jules Vern
• Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
• Sky Burial by Xinran
• The Devils Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

ALPHA BY TITLE

• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
• The Debs by Susan McBride
• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
• The Fiction Class by Susan Breen
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
• If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson
• Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee
• Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
• Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
• My Brother’s Keeper by Patricia McCormick
• The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
• Quake by Joe Cottonwood
• Rules by Cynthia Lord
• Sold by Patricia McCormick
• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
• Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult
• What is the What: the Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng by Dave Eggers
• X in Flight by Karen Rivers
• A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
• Zel by Donna Jo Napoli

My thoughts: I LOVED this challenge.  I was five short of finishing.

I Heard It Through the Grapevine

Hosted by Lynne at Lynne’s Little Corner of the World: I Heard it Through the Grapevine Challenge. The goal of this challenge is to read 3 new-to-you books between June 1 and November 30 that have been recommended to you. Any type of book is OK. It can even be a book by an author you’ve read before. Cross-overs with other challenges are fine, and you can change books at any time. And there will be a prize at the end of the challenge.

The three books I listed for the challenge:

1. Q Road by Bonnie Jo Campbell
2. A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg
3. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

My thoughts: My library didn’t have Q Road by Bonnie Jo Campbell.  Most all of the books I’ve read this year have been recommended to me.  So these three are just the tip of the iceberg.

African Reading Challenge

African Reading Challenge Participants commit to read – in the course of 2008 – six books that either were written by African writers, take place in Africa, or deal significantly with Africans and African issues. (Read more if you like!)

You can read whatever you want, but of the six books, recommended to have a mixture of genres. For example, fiction (novels, short stories, poetry, drama), memoir / autobiography, history and current events.

1. What is the What by Dave Eggers
2. Left to Tell: Discovering God Admist the Rwandan Genocide by Immaculee Illibagiza
3. The Translator: A Tribesman’s Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari
4. Slave:  My True Story by Mende Nazer and Damien Lewis
5. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
6. Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali by Kris Holloway
7. Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond by Don Cheadle
8. The Sudan Project:  Rebuilding With the People of Darfur by Melissa Leembruggen
9. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
10. We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch
11. The Devil Came on Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur by Brian Steidle
12. Darfur Diaries: Stories of Survival by Jen Marlowe
13. The Leper Compound by Paula Nangle
14. Of Beetles and Angels: A Boy’s Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard by Mawi Asgedom
15. Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur by Halima Bashir
16. Genocide in Darfur by Janey Levey
17. The Heaven Shop by Deborah Ellis
18. Amadi’s Snowman by Katia Novet Saint-Lot

My thoughts: Love books about Africa. This wasn’t hard for me.

Jewish Literature Challenge

What: Reading at least 5 books by Jewish Authors or about Judaism
When: December 4, 2007 (Beginning of Hanukkah) to April 26, 2008 (End of Passover)
Who: Anyone who wants to participate! Bloggers or Non-Bloggers alike
Click on the button above to be taken to the official challenge blog.

1. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
2. The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
3. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
4. Bee Season by Myla Goldberg
5. Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy
6. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

The above six books were the books I read during the challenge time period.  I thought I would note others I read the remainder of the year:

1. Sirens and Spies by Janet Taylor Lisle ( indirectly)
2. The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti (indirectly)
3. The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy
4. Torn Thread by Anne Isaacs
5. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
6. I Have Lived a Thousand Years by Livia Bitton-Jackson
7. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
8. Hitler Youth Growing Up in Hitlers Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartolletti
9. Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
10. T4 by Anne Clare LeZott
11. Katarina by KathrynWinter
12. The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
13. Hana’s Suitcase by Karen Levine

My thoughts: Obviously I love books about Judaism.  Doing this one again this year.

Classics Challenge

Trish from Trish’s Reading Nook is hosting the Classics Challenge.  How can I resist a challenge from Trish??!!!  Visit the Challenge blog for rules. Basically, read five classics and one bonus “soon to be a classic” between  July 1st and December 31st, 2008.

1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
3. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
4. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
5. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriett Beacher Stowe
6. Bonus book: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

My thoughts: Hmm . . . Loved, loved the books I read.  Didn’t finish the challenge though.

Non-Fiction Five Challenge

Non-Fiction Five Challenge from Joy Read any five non-fiction books between May and September 2008. At least one book must be different from the other four.  Non-fiction books I read during this time period:

1. I Am a Mother by Jane Clayson Johnson
2. The Translator: A Tribesman’s Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari
3. Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond by Don Cheadle
4. We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families:  Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch
5. We Are On Our Own by Miriam Katin (Graphic Memoir)
6. Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti (Young Adult)
7. The Sudan Project: Rebuilding with the People of Darfur, A Young Person’s Guide by Melissa Leembrugeen  (Juvenile)
8. The Complete Maus by Art Speigelman
9. Slave: My True Story by Mende Nazer & Damiel Lewis
10. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
11. Admit One: A Journey Into Film by Emmett James
12. Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist’s Wife by Irene Spencer
13. Escape by Carolyn Jessop
14. Monique and the Mango Rains by Kris Holloway
15. Hana’s Suitcase by Karen Levine
16. The Devil Came on Horseback:  Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur by Brian Steidle
17. Darfur Diaries:  Stories of Survival by Jen Marlowe
18. Tears of the Desert, A Memoir of Survival in Darfur by Halima Bashir with Damien Lewis
19. Of Beetles and Angels, One Boy’s Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard by Mawi Asgedom (juvenile)
20. Genocide in Darfur by Janey Levy (Young Adult)

My thoughts: Anybody want to create the Non-Fiction Twenty next year?

Spring Reading Thing

Callapidder Days 2008 Spring Reading Thing hosted by Katrina. Simply read any amount of books in any genre between March 20th and June 19th.  This is the original list. As you can see I didn’t get to all of them, but I got most.

1. I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak
2. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
3. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
4. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
5. Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
6. Mud City by Deborah Ellis
7. The Translator: A Tribesman’s Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari
8. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
9. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
10. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
11. Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins

My thoughts: Too much work to post my reviews to the Mr. Linky for these seasonal challenges.  I probably won’t do one again.

Lit Flicks Challenge

The Lit Flicks Challenge is hosted by Jessica of Bluestocking Society.

RULES
1. Challenge runs from September 1, 2008 to February 28, 2009.
2. Read 5 books/pieces of literature that have been made into movies.
3. Then watch at least 2 of the movie adaptations of the works you read.
4. Your list may change at any time and may include overlaps with other challenges.

1. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
2. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith
3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
4. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Siji
5. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
6. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
7. The Witches by Roald Dahl
8. The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
9. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Books I’m still interested in:

• Atonement by Ian McEwan
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
• The Devil Wears Prada by Laura Weisberger
• Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
• Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
• Little Princess by Frances Burnett
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien
• The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner
• Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs

My thoughts: This challenge continues until February.  Yay!

1 % Well-Read Challenge

Hosted by 3 M at 1morechapter.  The goal of this challenge is to read 10 books in 10 months from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list. For you non-math people, 10 out of 1001 is approximately 1%, hence the title. The challenge will run from May 1, 2008 through February 28, 2009. You may change your list at any time and cross-posting to other challenges is permitted. The only requirement is that your ten book choices must be on the ‘1001 List‘.

1. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
2. Saturday by Ian McEwan
3. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
4. Atonement by Ian McEwan
5. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
7. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
8. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
9. If This Is a Man by Primo Levi

My thoughts: Still two months left in this challenge.  Can I do it?  I’m going to say no.

The End.

Up soon, a post about goals for next year!  Because we are all crazy like that!  Thanks for a great year!

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