R.I.P. VII Sign-up.

While I might not be doing the greatest with the challenges I am already signed up for, why not sign up for something else? :)

I actually signed up for this one last year, and if I do recall, I failed miserably at getting through the titles on my list.

This year, I am not going to be as hard on myself. With everything else I have going on, there is no reason to add more stress, right?

In any case, I stared at my bookshelves and my Classics Club list to come up with some titles that I can read for the challenge. I'm pretty excited about the titles I have set aside.

I am officially signing up for Peril the First, a level where I need to read four books. Here are the titles I am considering:

The Monk by Matthew Lewis
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

I think I am in for some great reading! If you are interested in joining in on the fun, make sure to visit the sign-up page!

Nightstand Pile: August 3, 2012.

It has been a little over a month since I last did a nightstand pile post. Basically, I always pull books that interest me from my shelf to put in a pile on my nightstand. When I'm looking for a new book to read, I go to my pile rather than my bookshelves (most of the time-you know how that goes).

With the Victorian event ending, school lurking in the not so distant future, and my reading challenges going relatively untouched, I put back almost all of the books I had left from the last nightstand pile and pulled new books. Some are repeats, others are new. Well, let's just see them, shall we?

From top to bottom, then left to right:

• The Hobbit by Tolkien: With the first movie coming out in December, I figured it was time for a reread. :) I love this edition of the book. I bought it when I was in 7th grade on a family vacation in Colorado (I bought The Lord of the Rings in the same editions). That was before the movies came out!
• Main Street by Sinclair Lewis: I've never read anything by Lewis, but I seem to have acquired quite a few of his novels. This one will count for my TBR Challenge...which I am DETERMINED to complete this year.
• Oedipus Rex by Sophocles: I have no idea why I haven't just finished this. I started it in May, then set it aside in favor of the Victorians. This will be an easy afternoon read (I'm halfway through it already!). This will count for my Greek Classics Challenge.
• When I Whistle by Shusaku Endo: This is the second of two books by Endo I was sent for review...back in April (oh, how time flies). Jillian said she just finished this one and really enjoyed it, so this one is near the top of the pile for more than one reason!
• Sanditon by Jane Austen: One of the two titles for Adam's Austen in August event that I am bound and determined to finish. I have never read this one, so I am looking forward to it!
• Mansfield Park by Jane Austen: The other Austen I must finish this month! I'm not as familiar with this one (it's been awhile since I've read it), but I'm really excited to read it!
• Beloved by Toni Morrison: It's been some time since I've read anything by Morrison and this one seemed the most interesting of my pile! This also counts for my "Back to the Classics" Challenge...that I am failing. whoops!
• Light in August by William Faulkner: I think I meant to read this one last August as well, but it never happened. *crosses fingers
• The Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguro: This one jumped out at me on the shelf, so I snatched it. I probably won't get to it until September, but it'll be tempting me until then.
• A Passage to India by E.M. Forster: This is one that will be going to the top of the pile, since I started it months ago and set it aside for the Victorians. I was having a hard time getting into it before, so I think I just need to restart it! This is another one for the TBR Challenge.
• American Indian Myths and Legends: This is a book I bought for my mythology class. I've already read a couple of stories and I'm getting some good ideas for the class!
• Mythology by Edith Hamilton: This is the textbook for the class I am teaching, so it is probably a good idea if I read it!
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou: This is another one that jumped at me off the shelf. Does it surprise you that I've never read it? I was also surprised to see it was an alternate for the TBR challenge, so that's good news, right?
• The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf: Yet another title I started in the Spring and never managed to finish. I'm only 30 or so pages into this one, so like the Forster title, I'm just going to restart it. I imagine I'll save this one for the fall, but I'll be eying it, I'm sure. Oh, and this is yet another title for the TBR challenge.
• Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray: I started this one LAST June. It's another challenge book (Books I Started but Never Finished), so...yeah. I actually really like this one...I just stopped reading for no reason.
• The Car Thief by Theodore Weesner: I accepted this one for review because it was set in Flint and Detroit. It sounds interesting-I just haven't made time for it! Soon, I hope??
• The Norse Myths: Another book I bought for my mythology class. The teacher who used to teach it told me that the materials she had were mostly on the Greeks, so I wanted to change it up a bit. I haven't read anything from this yet, but I did flip through and it looks awesome!
• Clarissa by Samuel Richardson: It's BAAAAACK. This has been languishing on my nightstand sit I set it there in frustration back in April. I'm not planning on reading it all this month, but I do want to get back into it. I've been craving it, believe it or not! I'd like to finish it by the end of 2012, so we'll see if that happens!

There you have it! My nightstand pile for the next couple of months. I'm sure I pulled too many books, but I think that's a good problem to have!

Let me know what your reading plans are!

Magical March Announcement Post.

I can't resist a great event, especially when it is hosted by a friend! Adam, from Roof Beam Reader, is hosting Magical March: A Magical Realism and Fantasy Event during the month of March.

It turns out that quite a few books on my project list qualify, and since I was going to read them anyway, this is the perfect excuse and opportunity.

Here are the rules, copied directly from Adam's post:

1. You must register with the Mister Linky below prior to March 5^th in order to be eligible to participate.
2. You must read only “new” books – meaning, no re-reads are allowed.  Books for other challenges can be cross-used for this one, but you must read the book and review it in the month of March (previously completed books for other challenges do not qualify).
3. You must link up each book review to a separate Mister Linky, which will be available on March 5^th (once registrations close).
4. Challengers must post on their blog an “Announcement” post, indicating they are participating in this challenge and which level they hope to attain. One completer from each “Class” will be randomly selected to win the corresponding prize for that level. 
   1. You do not need to meet your level in order to win a prize.  If you aim for “Grand Merlin Class” but only achieve “Magician’s Class,” you will still be entered into the Magician’s Prize Pool!
   2. You do not need to list your books in advance, but I plan on doing so (to keep me motivated and to help me stay organized). 
5. Any Fantasy, Science Fiction, or Magical Realism books will qualify.  This means you can read Young Adult, Dystopian, Steampunk, or Alternative Histories.

Sounds like fun, right?

There are different levels for participation, so I chose my level based on the amount of books on my project list that qualify. :)

I am aiming for the second level, Wizard's Class, which requires me to read and review 3-5 books during the month. Here are the books I am planning on reading:

• The Once and Future King by T.H. White (Fantasy)
• Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (Science-fiction)
• A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (Dystopian)
• The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (Science-fiction)
• Free choice. :) When I finish those four, I am going to read a random fantasy or science-fiction novel NOT from my list. I just don't know what yet. *EDIT* When I told my husband about this challenge, he told me what to read to fill in this last spot-the first two books in Martin's series (The Game of Thrones). He wants me to read at least the first two so I can enjoy the series with him, and since I have the books, I might as well. :)

There you have it, my reading for March planned out. :) Anyone have any suggestions for that last book?

Victorian Challenge 2012.

OKAY! One more challenge! Then I am cut off! I swear!

Actually, I have been looking for a Victorian Challenge to join for a couple of weeks, so here I am, signing up for yet another challenge. This challenge is hosted by Laura at Laura's Reviews (link will take you to sign-up post).

My 2011 Victorian Challenge was actually a huge success. I happen to be quite fond of the Victorians, and I have a lot of their work on my project list (probably more than any other era).

It should be easy to get through this by the end of the year, since I gravitate toward their work.

Here are the details:

1. The Victorian Challenge 2012 will run from January 1st to December 31st, 2012. You can post a review before this date if you wish.

2. You can read a book, watch a movie, or listen to an audiobook, anything Victorian related that you would like. Reading, watching, or listening to a favorite Victorian related item again for the second, third, or more time is also allowed. You can also share items with other challenges.

3. The goal will be to read, watch, listen, to 2 to 6 (or beyond) anything Victorian items.

4. Please sign-up by posting your blog entry on the number of items and what items you would like to do for this challenge below in Mr. Linky (Don't just post your blog's URL). Don't worry, you can do different things than you have listed. I myself am not always good at sticking to lists!


I read 10 Victorian works in 2011, so I am going to shoot for the same number in 2012. I know that some of these authors aren't necessarily true Victorians (as in, being from England and the dates of publication), but many were writing in that same time period, or were heavily influenced by those British authors. I have listed the titles I have left on my main project list, and I will choose from these to finish this challenge. Anything marked with an asterisk* is a book on another challenge list for 2012-meaning it will get read for sure (I hope).

• Tess of D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
• Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
• Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
• Middlemarch by George Eliot
• Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
• Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackerary*
• Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad*
• Kim by Rudyard Kipling*
• The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins*
• David Copperfield by Charles Dickens*
• Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens*
• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
• Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe*
• Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

I may also read the following, which are not on my project list:

• The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling
• The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell
• North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
• Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

There are 19 titles up there, and my intentions are to read 10. I think it is a good plan, especially since there is a lot of crossover to other challenges!