Dianestm's 12 in 12 challenge

Hi everyone, new year and up for a new challenge. Look forward to seeing what others are reading and recommending.

I joined LT a few years ago and completed challenges in 09 and 10 but during 11 I sort of fell into a slump and although I continued to list the books I read I didn't post any reviews or contribute to posts. For 2012 I am determined to be a contributing member for the full year and to stop the quiet lurking on threads.

Not sure if I will manage 12 books in each of the categories as my reading has slowed significantly this year with work and family.



Categories to follow:
1. Young Adult - you are never to old to read these
2. Kiwi - I have been trying for a few years to read more from my own country
3. Waltzing Matilda - neighbours across the ditch
4. Hot off the press - new releases
5. Must reads - recommendations from others
6. Who dunnit - mystery/thrillers
7. Continuing sagas - series
8. Off the shelf - books I own but haven't opened
9. Real life - biographies/nonfiction
10. Ageless tomes - classics I haven't read
11. Girly fun - chicklit
12. Catch all - category to catch all remaining books

1. January total - 19 books read
2. February total - # books read
3. March total – # books read
4. April total - # books read
5. May total - # books read
6. June total – # books read
7. July total - # books read
8. August total - # books read
9. September total - # books read
10. October total - # books read
11. November total - # books read
12. December total - # books read

Category #1 - Young Adults

1. A Monster Calls, Patrick Ness - 5 stars
2. By the Time You Read This, I'll be Dead, Julie Anne Peters - 4 1/2 stars
3. Behind You, Jacqueline Woodson - 4 stars
4. My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece, Annabel Pitcher - 4 1/2 stars
5. Solace of the Road, Siobhan Dowd - 4 stars
6. The London Eye Mystery, Siobhan Dowd - 3 stars

Category #2 - Kiwi

Category #3 - Waltzing Matilda

Category #4 - Hot off the press

1. The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern - 4 1/2 stars

Category #5 - Must reads

1. The Dovekeepers, Alice Hoffman - 4 stars

Category #6 - Who dunnit?

Category #7 - Continuing sagas

1. Tomorrow, When the War Began, John Marsden - 4 stars
2. The Dead of the Night, John Marsden - 4 stars
3. The Third Day, the Frost, John Marsden - 4 stars
4. Bury Your Dead, Louise Penny - 4 1/2 stars
5. A Trick of the Light. Louise Penny - 4 1/2 stars
6. Darkness be my Friend, John Marsden - 4 stars
7. Burning for Revenge, John Marsden - 4 1/2 stars
8. The Night is for Hunting, John Marsden - 4 stars
9. The Other Side of Dawn, John Marsden - 4 stars

Category #8 - Off the Shelf

Category #9 - Real life

1. Arthur Allan Thomas The Inside Story, Ian Wishart - 3 1/2 stars

Category #10 - Ageless tomes

1. The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway - 4 stars

Category #11 - Girly Fun

Category #12 - Catch all

1. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer - 3 1/2 stars

Welcome to the challenge, I had a Kiwi category in 11/11 which wasn't hugely successful, only average or bad books, you may want to check out my thread to see what to avoid? Look forward to seeing what you read

Welcome! You have some categories that interest me - I am always on the hunt for more books to read, aren't we all?? - and look forward to see what you read to fill your categories.

Enjoy your challenge and happy reading!

Hi Diane, good to see you back on LT again. I have NZ and Australian categories too.

I hope you have all wonderful books to inspire you to write about them!

Hi everyone, thanks for the welcoming back words. It is good to be inspired by books again. I will definitely be checking out others categories for inspiration and ideas on next years reading lists.

Side question - does anyone here have an e-reader? What sort and how do you find it?

I've had a nook for about 8 months. I bought the first generation -- white -- one when the price dropped.

I still read more books in print than on the nook, but it is very handy to have. Light to carry versus even one book. Small enough to fit in most of my handbags.

I didn't buy a more fancy one because I knew I would be buying an iPad and iPhone this year, too, and wasn't sure I would still want the nook.

I do -- because the iPad is too heavy to hold when I'm readying in bed. I have, however, been surprised at how easily I can read on my iPhone.

Thanks CynWetzel. I am seriously looking at a Sony which I will take to work (easy to fit into the handbag) and I have promised my partner that I will be taking lunch breaks this year so I intend to get away from the desk and relax by reading.

I must admit that I love the smell and feel of reading a book and will continue to read books for as long as the eyes hold out.

After saying for months that I had no interest in one, Monsieur got me a Kindle in September. I have to admit it's growing on me. I particularly like the cover with the built in light that I can use when I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep. It also came in handy to download Don Quixote (for free) and is much lighter than the book would have been. The 3G is so dangerous, however, since I can, on such sleepless nights, browse the lists and find new titles, download them and immediately start reading them. Dangerously easy if you have wifi at home! I have so many books on hand that I have to keep myself reading them, too. Oh, and the Scrabble game (free) is excellent fun, too.

A co-worker has a Sony and isn't that thrilled with it, she bought each of her grandsons the Kindle FIre for x-mass this year. Another friend has tried every form of e-reader (thanks to a lot of techie friends) and said that the Kindle was by far the best. Of course now they all seem to be more then just e-readers. But I am thinking about getting the Kindle (the no frills cheap one), becuase you can get all those old classic tomes for peanuts and don't need to carry a huge book around.

DS
(Bruce's evil twin :-))

*grumbling* Boy! My grandmother never got me anything as cool as a Kindle. Those grandsons better give her megahugs!

Thanks for all the input. I am in the same boat as you mamzel, I wake in the middle of the night and find it really good to pick up a book and read. I can see it could be dangerous to get started on searching for and downloading books during the night.

#22 DS - I hope your co-workers grandsons enjoy their Kindle's. What a very generous grandmother.

#1 - Tomorrow, When the War Began, John Marsden

4 stars

Enjoyable young-adult adventure story set in Australia which has just been invaded; a group of young adults hides out in the bush and wages guerrilla warfare. The action is fast-paced, while also including character development and also some ethical/ philosophical exploration about war, violence, etc. There was not as much focus on day-to-day survival as in some novels of this genre.

I liked that the main character was a tough young woman who could drive trucks and blow things up, yet was able to express her emotional side as well, and seemed comfortable in both modes.

My main initial criticism of this novel was the way the enemy is never identified. The story itself is very grounded in a specific place (Australia), whose topography, flora/ fauna, and culture are described in loving and precise detail. So it seems odd that we don't get any descriptions of the invaders at all.

I am interested to see what the next book in this series holds.

Hi everyone, an update on the ereader - I went and purchased a Sony and once I figured it out I am finding it easy to use. I have loaded up some Classics that I am hoping to read this year but still have the good old books beside the bed and all over the house (if I am completely honest) that I need to get through.

I have this in my library but have never read it. It might be an interesting followup to the Hunger Games series. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

#2 - The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern

4 1/2 stars

Fantastic book!

I really struggled to put this one down and I was so engrossed in the book I didn't even hear when my partner was talking to me. A brilliant start to my years reading.

I devoured that one, too. And I'm still craving caramel popcorn and chocolate mice!

The Night Circus was good!

>29 _debbie_:, I misread: caramel popcorn and cheddar mice -- which now has me craving Garrett's caramel & cheddar popcorn mix!

#3 - A Monster Calls, Patrick Ness

5 stars

This book is so breathtakingly brilliant and I don’t have anything to say about it. I feel stunned.

If you’ve ever experienced grief or loss of any kind, then please go and get this book. It’s indescribable, beautiful, and true. The writing is just spectacular. This book will make you laugh, but mainly you will cry.

@32 Oh gosh I loved that book too, so beautifully and tragically real. Hard one to recommend to friends though.

#4 - By The Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead, Julie Anne Peters

4 1/2 stars

This is a stunning book about a young girl determined to commit suicide. As the book begins, she is attempting to become completely numb to all emotion, in an effort to block her pain and to prepare for suicide. She was persecuted and bullied because she was fat. A prior suicide attempt, where she drank a combination of caustic chemicals, failed, leaving her with a scarred throat, unable to speak. Paradoxically, she is now thin, but she still sees herself as unlovable and wary of any attempts to befriend her. She does meet a boy who persists in attempts to become her friend, and eventually she begins to thaw. Still, it takes her a long time to learn to trust her new friend, particularly when he expresses sexual desire for her.

This book is mostly dialogue, which can be tricky to maintain the readers' interest. But you are hooked by this character immediately and begin to care so much about what happens to her. In the beginning of the book, the sentences are short and terse, reflecting the main character's inner turmoil. As she begins to warm towards people, her sentences become more complex. It's this kind of complex and sophisticated writing that makes this such a great book.

#5 - Behind You, Jacqueline Woodson

4 stars

Woodson delivers an insightful, heart-wrenching, lyrical book exploring how people handle love and grief. This book takes place in the inner-city but although some of the people have far different lives than my own, I was touched by their humanity and struggle. This is a lovely but sad book.

By The Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead sounds like a fascinating and disturbing book. Not an easy topic to write about. Good review!

#6 - Arthur Allan Thomas The Inside Story, Ian Wishart

3 1/2 stars

This book brings up enough evidence to give cause for real concern and you ask the question - Is it a one of situation, or the tip of an iceburg? The problems highlighted are way bigger than just the wrong man going to jail for a crime he didn't commit. Justice was compromised and perhaps still is every day.

One of the last paragraphs in the book bring it all back to Jeannette and Harvey Crewe and the fact that someone got away with murdering them, dumping their bodies in the river and watching an innocent man be framed for it all. A very sobering read.

#7 - My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece, Annabel Pitcher

4 1/2 stars

It's the story of ten year old Jamie, whose family is fractured due to a terrible event that happened five years earlier, when his sister Rose was blown up by a bomb.

Jamie is a wonderful character. The book is written in the first person, and what Jamie tells us is unintentionally funny as he takes things quite literally. But you can also feel his bewilderment and pain at what has happened to his family. He doesn't remember Rose and he doesn't understand why she seems to be all that matters to his parents, rather than him and his other sister Jas. He's also trying to fit into a new school in the Lake District, where he meets a girl who he knows he shouldn't be friends with, and incurs the wrath of the school bully.

It's totally uncompromising, and Jamie is quite blunt about what happened to Rose, as kids often are. It kept my interest from start to finish and I loved picking it up to read it.

Wow you're off to a flying start with your reading this year Diane! Some great reviews.

#8 - The Dead of the Night, John Marsden

4 stars

Second book in the Tomorrow series. This time around they're seasoned and ready to make a difference. Things don't seem to be going their way in regards to the war and yet they're still fighting on.

I found the character's growth to be interesting. Each of their personalities is changing and growing in a way that makes me want to pull them out of the book and allow them to be normal teens again.

Looking forward to number 3 in the series.

Hi Alana, thanks for stopping by. I have been off work and with the weather being wet and yucky I have been making the most of it and spending time in books. Back to work on Monday (not looking forward to it) so the reading will definitely slow down.

#9 - The Old Man and The Sea, Ernest Hemingway

4 stars

This is a beautiful and simple story about an old man facing challenges and overcoming them. I love the easiness of the language and the flow of the story. His positive self talk is also something we can learn from. Even if you're fighting off sharks and other predators, you can still overcome in the end.

It's the only one of his books that I liked.

#41 - its the only one I have read by Hemingway. Based on this I was tempted to try something else but it won't be for a while. I have many others to get to first.

#10 - Solace of the Road, Siobhan Dowd

4 stars

Really a beautiful book. 15yo Holly leaves her foster parents and sets off on her own to get back to her mam in Ireland, putting on a blond wig and taking on the persona of 'Solace.' As she travels, she meets a number of interesting people and slowly starts to remember the events that led to her placement in foster care to begin with. Realistic and touching, a bit depressing, this one sticks with you.

#11 - The Dovekeepers, Alice Hoffman

4 stars

This book contains the personal narratives of four women, how they found themselves at Masada, and their lives while in that fortress. Hoffman exhaustively researched the time period and I very much enjoyed the evidence of that in the daily-life portrayals and in the context of the history of Judea.

Still, overall I was captivated by the overwhelming tragedy, strength, resilience, and faith of the residents and survivors, and I feel that the telling of the story enriches us all.


#12 - The Third Day, The Frost, John Marsden

4 stars

The third novel, is the most action-heavy and emotionally draining so far - ships are blown up, there's capture and interrogation, and a truly devastating death. Very well written series.
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The John Marsden series caught my attention and before I knew it I was at Book Depository pushing the buttons the purchase the first two books in the series!

#13 - Bury your Dead, Louise Penny

4 1/2 stars

I had completely forgotten about these books until the beginning of the year when I came back onto LT.

Picked up number 6 in the series and it was like coming home. The loose threads of number 5 are answered, the friends remembered and enjoyed. Roll on number 7!

#20 - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer

3 1/2 stars

I’ll start by saying that I enjoyed this book but not without some serious reservations. First and foremost the 9 year old protagonist, Oskar Schell, is the most tiring character I have ever come across. I initially stopped a reading a few pages into the book because of this and had to wonder why everyone he met in his quest around New York City didn’t feel the same way. Moreover, I thought the way the other characters treated Oskar to be a little too kindly in spite of his complete lack of social graces.

I also found that the story of Oskar’s grandparents left me feeling more confused than anything. The breakdown of nothing places was hard to follow and, to me, incomprehensible in why anyone would choose to live that way. The grandmother’s acceptance of the grandfather’s decisions was equally hard to believe.

At the bottom of all of this is a story of love and loss set not long after Sept. 11, 2001. It’s an emotional tale and one that is worth reading despite the confusion and fatigue encountered along the way.

I've been curious about this one. Thanks for the review!