Virginiahomeschooler's 2013 Challenge

I've done these challenges in the past with varying degrees of success, but it's been a couple of years. I'm hoping to get back into the swing of it this year and broaden my reading horizons. Since I know I could never read enough to fill 13 categories with 13 books, I'm choosing to do a staggered approach.

If you have any recommendations for books within (or not) any of my categories, please share them.

So, here we go...(note: books that have been struck through are read, others are planned reads or currently being read)



1. Non-Fiction FINISHED CATEGORY
1. Skinny Rules - Bob Harper (finished 01/01)

2. Big Fat Book (Minimum 800 pages) FINISHED CATEGORY
1. Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett (finished 01/29) 983 pages
2. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson (finished 05/26) 813 pages

3. "1001 Books" Books FINISHED CATEGORY
1. Atonement - Ian McEwan (finished 05/06)
2. Like Water for Chocolate - Laura Esquivel (finished 06/28)
3. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (finished 10/14)

4. Wallflowers (Books which have been hanging out on my bookshelves for far too long) FINISHED CATEGORY
1. The Vampire Lestat - Anne Rice Side Note: This has been in my possession for over 2 decades...Ouch (finished 01/10)
2. Three to Get Deadly - Janet Evanovich (finished 01/16)
3. Static - Walter Sorrells (finished 09/01)
4. Lost City - Clive Cussler (finished 09/29)

5. Recommended Reads FINISHED CATEGORY
1. The False Prince - Jennifer A. Nielsen (finished 04/20) (Recommended by Brandon)
2. Eye of the World - Robert Jordan (finished 06/09) (Recommended by Stan)
3. The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan (finished 06/20) (Recommended by Stan)
4. Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson (finished 08/03) (Recommended by Dea)
5. Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein (finished 08/05) (Recommended by Mamzel)

6. Time Travel FINISHED CATEGORY
1. The Stone Rose - Jac Rayner (finished 01/11)
2. Outlander - Diana Gabaldon (finished 04/13)
3. The Price of Paradise - Colin Brake (finished 04/30)
4. A Mutiny in Time - James Dashner (finished 06/22)
5. The Reluctant Assassin - Eoin Colfer (finished 07/17)
6. Lost in a Good Book - Jasper Fforde (finished 10/04)

7. Series Reads FINISHED CATEGORY
1. The Golden Compass - Phillip Pullaman (finished 08/15) Reread
2. Private - James Patterson (finished 08/17)
3. Private #1 Suspect - James Patterson (finished 08/22)
4. 7th Heaven - James Patterson (finished 08/24)
5. To the Nines - Janet Evanovich (finished 09/19)
6. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood - Ann Brashares (finished 10/01)
7. United We Spy - Ally Carter (finished 10/01)

8. Science Fiction / Fantasy FINISHED CATEGORY
1. Living Dead in Dallas - Charlaine Harris (finished 04/06)
2. The Dragon Reborn - Robert Jordan (finished 06/28)
3. The Shadow Rising - Robert Jordan (finished 07/07)
4. The Fires of Heaven - Robert Jordan (finished 07/16)
5. Wooden Heart - Martin Day (finished 08/27)
6. Club Dead - Charlaine Harris (finished 09/13)
7. The Enemy - Charlie Higson (finished 09/15)
8. I Am a Dalek - Gareth Roberts (finished 10/12)

9. The Big Screen (Books that have been made into movies) FINISHED CATEGORY
1. The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson (finished 02/11)
2. Warm Bodies - Isaac Marion (finished 02/17)
3. Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter - Seth Graham-Smith (finished 02/28)
4. The Host - Stephanie Meyer (finished 03/28)
5. Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card (finished 05/15)
6. The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan (finished 05/16) Reread
7. Sea of Monsters - Rick Riordan (finished 05/17) Reread
8. Paranoia - Joseph Finder (finished 08/08)
9. I Am Number Four - Pitacus Lore (finished 09/26)

10. It's a Mystery FINISHED CATEGORY
1. Founding Fathers - Julie Hyzy (finished 01/07)
2. Four to Score - Janet Evanovich (finished 02/04)
3. Mr. Monk Gets Even - Lee Goldberg (finished 02/06)
4. Mr. Monk is Miserable - Lee Goldberg (finished 02/12)
5. High Five - Janet Evanovich (finished 02/20)
6. Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse - Lee Goldberg (finished 03/06)
7. Hot Six - Janet Evanovich (finished 03/19)
8. Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith (finished 07/22)
9. Seven Up - Janet Evanovich (finished 07/22)
10. Hard Eight - Janet Evanovich (finished 07/25)

11. YA and Kid Lit FINISHED CATEGORY
1. Apartment 101 - Megan Atwood (finished 01/11)
2. Graceling - Kristin Cashore (finished 01/13)
3. The Fault in Our Stars - John Green (finished 02/01)
4. Perfect Scoundrels - Ally Carter (finished 04/02)
5.Light - Michael Grant (finished 04/08)
6. Blue Bloods - Melissa de la Cruz (finished 04/27)
7. Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 - Richard Paul Evans (finished 04/29)
8. The Titan's Curse - Rick Riordan (finished 05/18) Reread
9. Battle of the Labyrinth - Rick Riordan (finished 05/31)
10. The Last Olympian - Rick Riordan (finished 06/03)
11. The Angel Experiment - James Patterson (finished 07/21) Reread

12. Spur of the Moment Picks FINISHED CATEGORY
1. Inferno - Dan Brown (finished 05/20)
2. Dance of the Gods - Nora Roberts (finished 05/21)
3. The Serpent's Shadow - Rick Riordan (finished 06/05)
4. The Heist - Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg (finished 07/09)
5. Postcard Killers - James Patterson (finished 08/16)
6. City of Ember - Jeanne Duprau (finished 09/09) Reread
7. Deep Storm - Lincoln Child (finished 08/29)
8. Transfer of Power - Vince Flynn (finished 10/13)
9. The Third Option - Vince Flynn (finished 10/23)
10. Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer - John Grishom (finished 10/13)
11. Jane Austen Ruined My Life - Beth Pattillo (finished 10/23)
12. Divergent - Veronica Roth (finished 10/27) Reread

13. New to Me Authors FINISHED CATEGORY
1. Chasing Mona Lisa - Tricia Goyer (finished 01/11)
2. Days Gone By - Robert Kirkman (finished 04/02)
3. Article 5 - Kristen Simmons (finished 04/13)
4. All the Tea in China - Jane Orcutt (finished 04/17)
5. 50 Shades of Grey - E.L. James (finished 04/19)
6. Poison Study - Maria V. Snyder (finished 05/10)
7. Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn (finished 05/12)
8. The Selection - Kiera Cass (finished 05/14)
9. And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie (finished 04/13)
10. Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater (finished 07/27)
11. Virals - Kathy Reichs (finished 08/09)
12. Grave Matters - Max Allan Collins (finished 09/02)
13. Monument 14 - Emmy Laybourne (finished 09/07)

EXTRAS
1. Insurgent - Veronica Roth (finished 11/01)

Hello :) Looks, like very interesting categories :) Curious to see what you will fill them with.

Good bunch of categories which I'm looking forward to seeing how they get filled. Good luck with your challenge.

Asking for recommendations is dangerous. I'll start with Code Name Verity for your YA category. Are you planning on reading your big Fat Book on an ereader? An idea for your armchair travel could be The Man Who Loved China. He traveled around China gathering information about early inventions and trying to understand why progress came to a screeching halt about the time Europe started. Very interesting.

Thank you all for the warm welcome.

Mamzel,
I had very nearly bought Code Name Verity just the other day. I'm not sure what made me put it down - perhaps my children who were rushing me to get out of the shop. Anyway, I've added it to my list as well as The Man Who Loved China. I adore books that allow me to catch a glimpse of places I'll likely never see, and lately I've been drooling over ones set in Asia, and this one seems right up my alley. Thank you for both recommendations. As for my Big Fat Book, yes, I do plan to read it on my nook. I've just finished A Dance with Dragons in hardback (because my husband had it and I was too cheap to pay for it again in e-format), and I hated it - not the book, just the form. For one, it was nearly impossible to read in bed, and two, it didn't fit in my purse, which made it a pain to carry around. So, yeah, I'm definitely looking for one I can e-read.

Adding my welcome to the others!! I don't know what you have planned for your uber-chunkster - Category 1 - but one I can recommend is A Suitable Boy which is a sprawling epic about an Indian family. It comes in at about 1,500 pages, but well worth the time.

Welcome and good luck on the challenge! Ooo, recommendations...for your Wanderlust category I highly recommend In a Sunburned Country, this is about Australia and I think this is Bill Bryson's best. For the big screen, Blindness. Some people in my book club found it a tad disturbing but I thought it was a really interesting story with an overall positive message. And for, YA Purple Hibiscus. I would've also recommended Cloud Atlas and Gone Girl : )

I'd second the recommendations of Blindness and Purple Hibiscus, and add The Lovely Bones as a big screen rec. I haven't watched the movie, but the book is really lovely.

>Eva, A Suitable Boy sounds lovely. I've looked it up, and it's not available at any of my local libraries, but I'm considering ordering it from Amazon. Thanks for the recommendation.

>aliciamay, I'd been thinking about In a Sunburned Country. I was able to get it in e-form tonight from my local library, and I think it may be one of my next reads.

>whitewvedarling, The Lovely Bones does look like a wonderful book. I'll add it to my list. Thanks.

Second the earlier recommendation for Code Name Verity! Another wonderful YA book is The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, which would also fit within your fantasy category. These two were my top reads of 2012 by far.

Welcome! Cloud Atlas is one of the books that is languishing on my TBR bookcase. One of these days I will get around it and I am looking forward to seeing what you think of it.

>christina, I looked at The Scorpio Races, and it sounds amazing. I'm definitely adding it to my list. Thanks so much for the suggestion.

>lkernagh, I've had Cloud Atlas on hold at my local library for what seems like forever now. I think I've made it up to 12th on the list (from something like 87th when I started). I should probably have just bought the thing, I guess. Hopefully my number will come up before the year is out. :)

Finished The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice, the first in my Wallflowers category. I'm not sure if my tastes have just changed over the years, or if this book is uncharacteristically dull, but I had a really hard time finishing it. I've started and stopped reading it about half a dozen times over the course of the past 20 or so years, so I'm thinking it's the latter.

I remember falling in love with Anne Rice when I was a teenager. I adored the Mayfair Witches series, loved The Mummy, and had read and enjoyed (though not as much) Interview with a Vampire as well. But, Lestat had me counting the pages to see when I'd finally be done. Soooooo much talking. Ack! The talking! Nothing ever happens in this book. It's all flashbacks and flash-back-even-furthers, and 'conversations' that went on and on, often leaving me wondering who was even speaking. And I swear if I had read the word 'preternatural' one more time, I'd have chucked the book at someone. My husband, who'd read it some years back, said he thought it picked up a bit around the time it got back to the present. Well, I suppose, but considering that was on page 500 of 550, the picking up ship had already sailed for me. (When I mentioned that to him, he said "hm, yeah, maybe that was the one that sucked. I think the next one is better." I'm not going to be finding out.)

So, in a word, for me this book was dreadful. Is it because I'm no longer 15 and am now a 30-something wife and mother? Perhaps, but I don't think so. I can't imagine my teen self slogging through this snoozer.

Oh dear. :) I was going to reread that series at some point in the future, but maybe I should remember it as being good. :) I do vaguely remembering that I liked it mainly for the juxtapositioning against the first one - Lestat covers many of the same events as Louis, but from a completely different angle. I'll read them in order when I reread!

>Eva, It's been so long since I read Interview, I could barely remember it. Perhaps if I'd read them back to back I'd have had a better opinion of Lestat. And I do still think she's an excellent writer. But for me, the style of this one just wasn't my taste. It did leave me wanting to go back and read The Witching Hour, though.

I finished three books today.

The first, The Stone Rose, is a Doctor Who tie-in with the 10th doctor (my favorite) and Rose (with a little Mickey and Jackie thrown in). It was a thoroughly entertaining read, and one which captures the character's voices pretty accurately. It's funny and sweet, and one I think most Whovians would enjoy. ****



I also finished The Haunting of Apartment 101 which I was reading to my ten year old daughter. She's a good reader but a bit reluctant to pick up books on her own. But she still loves having me read to her. This was a book I'd picked up in the YA section of the library, so I figured it'd be a good read-aloud since I wasn't sure of the content (aside from one reference to syphilis, it was perfectly fit for her 10 year old ears). It's the first in the Paranormalists series. It was a cute 100-page story that my daughter really enjoyed about a couple of teenage 'ghost hunters.' She's looking forward to getting more in the series. I'd pass on it if it were just me, but I'll read them for her. **1/2



Chasing Mona Lisa was an interesting tale set in German-occupied Paris. It follows two couples as they try to stop Germans from stealing the Mona Lisa. I didn't realize that it was the sequel to The Swiss Courier, and I sort of wish I'd read that first. I didn't have trouble following the story, however. The plot was adequate and fast paced, but I think what I enjoyed most was learning about the actual history surrounding the painting, like its theft in 1911 by Vincenzo Peruggia. Not great, but pretty good. ***

Ooh, I have The Stone Rose on audio but haven't read it. Thanks for the reminder :)

I recently read The Stone Rose as well and thought it was a good installment. The mystery is quite clever and the voices, as you say, are well captured.

Interesting categories - look forward to how you fill the 1001 category since I have the same category. For your YA category I would recommend The Fault in Our Stars.

>LittleTaiko,

I keep debating about the 1001 books because there are so many that I'd like to read. I think I've decided to stick with ones I actually own, though (which is quite a few of them), so that should help me narrow it down. I'd love to hear what you choose to fill that category.

I'd been thinking I'd probably read Fault in Our Stars for YA. I adore John Green, I just can't decide if I want to buy or borrow.

I finished Graceling by Kristin Cashore earlier this week. It was an exceptional first novel, in my opinion. I've only recently become a fan of this sort of fantasy novel, so I'm not sure where she stacks up among others of the genre, but I was pretty impressed. She captured the setting and characters really well. The plot was well thought and perfectly paced. I was a little surprised (and slightly disappointed) that everything was tied up so nicely at the end, given that it's a trilogy. All in all, though, I really enjoyed it. ****



After at least 5 years of sitting on my bookshelf, I finally read Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich, the third installment in the Stephanie Plum series. I'd read the first two books years ago and even started this one but never got beyond the first chapter. I remember liking but not loving them. I think my problem was that I just didn't connect with the characters. After recently watching the movie, One for the Money (which was cute but nothing fabulous), I decided to give it another shot. I have to say that this is the first time that watching a movie actually made me like the book more. Being able to put familiar faces to the characters really helped, and I really loved the book. So much so that I went out and bought the next three...I so don't need more books - I need a 12 step program. But that's another matter. The book was freaking hilarious. I can't remember ever laughing out loud so often while reading. To be honest, the plot was kind of meh for me, but the characters more than made up for it. Can't wait to start book four. ****1/2

Happy to see such a positive review of Graceling -- it's been on my shelves for years, but for some reason I haven't gotten to it yet!