Book Review Lists

I'm signing up for the Off the Shelf Reading Challenge hosted at Bookish Ardour again this year. From Bookish Ardour: About: The Off the Shelf Reading Challenge is probably the most popular challenge there is on BA. The goal? To read books on your shelves that have gone unread for far too long. Selecting books from the year before (in this case, 2013 and before), read as many of the unread ones as you can. It’s up to you if you want to keep them or give them away afterwards, the main goal is to turn those unread books into read ones. The Main Rule: Do not include books acquired during 2014, it defeats the purpose, read those books from before 2014 started. Running dates for all 2013 challenges: 1st of January – 31st of December 2014 I'm signing up again at the "Trying" level--read 15 of my own books.  I'll track my progress here. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster The Sunday Wife by Cassandra King The Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy Cold Granite by Stuart MacBride The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt More Than You Know by Beth Gutcheon The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley The Fugitive Wife by Peter C. Brown The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde Birdman by Mo Hayder Jane by April Lindner The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant The Beastly Bride: Tales of the Animal People, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling Timeless by Gail Carriger Liar's Moon by Philip Kimball Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris Good Harbor by Anita Diamant Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees The…

Colleen at Books in the City is hosting the Immigrant Stories Challenge again and I'm signing up. I've really enjoyed the books I've read for this challenge over the years. Colleen says, "The only requirement of the challenge is that the books read for it include an immigrant story. The immigrants can be coming to or from any country - expand your horizons!" I'm signing up at the Just Off the Boat level, 1-3 books. I'll track my progress here. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, read by George Guidall The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka, read by Samantha Quan and Carrington Macduffie

Edit: Complete as of July 11, 2014. I enjoyed most of my choices! Time to sign up for the European Reading Challenge hosted by Rose City Reader yet again! I always enjoy this challenge. The idea is to read books by European authors or books set in European countries (no matter where the author comes from). The books can be anything – novels, short stories, memoirs, travel guides, cookbooks, biography, poetry, or any other genre. You can participate at different levels, but each book must be by a different author and set in a different country – it's supposed to be a tour. For levels, a list of European countries, and rules (there's a prize for the ambitious readers out there!), visit the sign up page at Rose City Reader. I'm signing up at the Honeymooner level--4 books. I'll track my progress here. Thanks to Gilion for hosting again! City of Thieves by David Benioff, read by Ron Perlman--Soviet Union Life After Life by Kate Atkinson--United Kingdom The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan, read by Cassandra Campbell, Julia Whelan, and Danny Campbell--France The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt--Italy The Postcard Killers by James Patterson and Liza Marklund, read by Katherine Kellgren, Erik Singer, and Reg Rogers--Sweden I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site. My opinions are completely my own.

Edit: Completed as of December 12, 2014! Well, I've finished reading books for all the categories anyway. I did not do well with the reviewing part. Oh, well. There's always next year! ShelleyRae at Book'd Out is hosting The Eclectic Reader Challenge again in 2014. As she says, "In it’s third year, the aim of The Eclectic Reader 2014 Challenge is to push you outside your comfort zone by reading up to 12 books during the year from 12 different categories." In the past this challenge has definitely pushed me into some new genres and it looks like this year will be no different. The challenge runs from January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014. ShelleyRae is also offering up a prize. "All participants that complete the challenge by December 31st 2014 will be eligible to win a book of their choice to the value of $15AUD from bookdepository.com or a $10US Amazon gift card or paypal funds of US$10 to be drawn via random.org Jan 2015." Head on over to Book'd Out and sign up! This year's categories: Award Winning--Fun Home by Alison Bechdel True Crime (Non Fiction)--Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer Romantic Comedy--The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion Alternate History Fiction--Life After Life by Kate Atkinson Graphic Novel--Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez Cosy Mystery Fiction--The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters, read by Susan O'Malley Gothic Fiction--The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter War/Military Fiction--City of Thieves by David Benioff, read by Ron Perlman Anthology--The Beastly Bride, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling Medical Thriller Fiction--Mutation by Robin Cook Travel (Non Fiction)--The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt Published in 2014--The Pearl That Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi I…