2012 Challenge: Audio Book Challenge

FINISHED

Teresa at Teresa's Reading Corner is hosting the 2012 Audio Book Challenge. Click on the button or the link to go to the main challenge page for  more details. 

I signed up for the "Married" level to read (with my ears) 40 audio books.

"Married" is a pick-your-own-number level (over 25).  I listened to roughly 50 audio books in 2011, so 40 is probably a little low, but I am hoping that joining this challenge will inspire me to write more reviews of the audio book I listen to.

MY BOOKS

The Coffee Trader by David Liss

High Stakes by Dick Francis (reviewed here)

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (reviewed here)

Dracula by Bram Stoker (reviewed here)

My Grandfather's Son by Clarence Thomas

Shroud for a Nightingale by P. D. James

Blood Sport  by Dick Francis (reviewed here)

Mysteries of the Middle Ages: The Rise of Feminism, Science, and Art from the Cults of Catholic Europe by Thomas Cahill (reviewed here)

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

What's So Great About Christianity by Dinesh D'Souza

The Black Tower by P. D. James (reviewed here)

Driving Force by Dick Francis

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

Tinkers by Paul Harding (reviewed here)

Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope (reviewed here)

Dressed for Death by Donna Leon

The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson (Booker winner; reviewed here)

Comfort Me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table by Ruth Reichl (reviewed here)

Christine Falls by Benjamin Black

Other People's Children by Joanne Trollope

Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships by Daniel Goleman

Spies of the Balkans by Alan Furst

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (reviewed here)

Trespass by Rose Tremain

The Spectator Bird by Wallace Stegner (reviewed here)

Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley

The Silver Swan by Ben Black

The Edge by Dick Francis

Writing Places: The Life Journey of a Writer and Teacher by Howard Zinsser

The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly

Brother and Sister by Joanna Trollope

Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil by Tom Mueller, reviewed here;

The Man with the Golden Arm by Nelson Algren (National winner)

Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler

Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 by Simon Winchester

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak (reviewed here)

Death of an Expert Witness by P. D. James

The Honourable Schoolboy by John Le Carre

A Personal Odyssey by Thomas Sowell

The Children of Men by P. D. James

About Face by Donna Leon

NOTES

Last updated on December 26, 2012.  So far this year, I've read 42 books with my ears and am going to finish one more before the end of the year. But I haven't reviewed many, especially lately. I always have great intentions of writing reviews, but have fallen way behind.

2012 Challenge: Vintage Mystery Challenge

INCOMPLETE

Bev at My Reader's Block is hosting the Vintage Mystery Challenge again in 2012.  This was one of my favorite challenges in 2011.

The idea is to read mysteries by more than one author, all published before 1960. 

This year, Bev has several "vintage themes" to choose from or invites participants to make up their own theme.

Click the button or the link above to go to the main challenge post for more details.

I am using two of Bev's suggested themes, signing up for the Golden Age Girls  and Cherchez le Homme categories to read eight books by female authors or featuring female detectives and eight by male authors or featuring male detectives.

I have in mind reading more Agatha Christie, because I read a couple in 2011 and loved them. My plan is to start with this:



Murder on Board, an omnibus edition of three novels by AC: The Mystery on the Blue Train, Death in the Air, and What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw.

Another possibility include a couple of pre-1960 Helen McInnes books, perhaps  Assignment in Brittany (1942). Friends and Lovers (1947), Rest and be Thankful (1949), or North from Rome (1958), all on my TBR shelf now.

MY BOOKS AND REVIEWS

• Dracula by Bram Stoker (reviewed here);
• The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (reviewed here);
• Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie; 
• The Rubber Band by Rex Stout (reviewed here);
• The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie;
• Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh (reviewed here);
  
• The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers (reviewed here);
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle; 

NOTES

Last updated December 27, 2012.  I read 5 of my 8 female books, and only 3 of my 8 male books. Uh oh. Better luck in 2013!

Teaser Tuesday: Jumptown

Action central was Williams Avenue, an entertainment strip where you could find jazz twenty-four hours a day.

-- Jumptown: The Golden Years of Portland Jazz 1942-1957 by Robert Dietsche, published by the OSU Press. Great cover.  And great Portland history.


There is an interesting story about where Dietsche came up with the Jumptown title. The Portland Trailblazers adopted it, but it's not as historically authentic as it sounds.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event. 

2012 Challenge: European Reading Challenge (My Challenge List)

TAKE THE GRAND TOUR

January 1, 2012 to January 31, 2013

FINISHED

This is my sign up page for the European Reading Challenge. Please see the main challenge page for more details or to sign up.  Go to this page to post your reviews.

The gist: 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.

It's my challenge, so I am signing up at the highest level, the Five Star (Deluxe Entourage) level, to read at least five books by different European authors or books set in different European countries.

I originally thought I'd go for the Agritourisimo version for foodie readers – to read  food-related books written by European authors or about European food, cooking, restaurants, culinary traditions, farming, winemaking, etc.  This would be a good tie-in with the Foodies Read 2 Challenge.  But I didn't see enough qualifying books from different countries on my TBR shelf, and my main goal for 2012 is to climb Mt. TBR. 

BOOKS, REVIEWS, & POSSIBILITIES

So far, I have read the five books I need to complete the challenge:

• High Stakes by Dick Francis (UK; reviewed here)
• Serenissima by Erica Jong (Italy; reviewed here) 
• People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (Bosnia; reviewed here) 
• Vie De France: Sharing Food, Friendship and a Kitchen in the Loire Valley by James Haller (France; reviewed here)
  
• Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson (Norway; not reviewed)

I am not sure yet if I will read more books this year, but some possibilities for next year from my TBR shelves include:

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie (American; Russia)

The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker (Dutch; Holland)

Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz (Polish; Nobel)

Death in the Truffle Wood by Pierre Magnan (French; France)



The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass (German; Germany)

Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset (Norwegian; Norway)

How German Is It = Wie Deutsch Ist Es by Walter Abish (Germany; PEN/Faulkner)

I, the King by Frances Parkinson Keyes (American; Spain)

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak (Russian; Russia)

NOTES

Last updated on October 5, 2012.

Mailbox Christmas Monday!

 

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here).

Lady Q at Let Them Read Books is hosting in December.  Be sure and visit her terrific blog!

Santa brought me a lot of books, much to my delight. But I am too busy celebrating to post them yet.  They'll be posted in my first Mailbox Monday of the new year!