Back Online...Hopefully

Well the home computer is finally fixed. Plus I had a baby in December of 2008, and she just turned one so I am finding more time to get back to my hobbies, mainly reading. So I hope to get the blog updated over the next few weeks and get back into the swing of reading challenges and blogging. - Lena

10 out of 100 out of 1000 Books YMRBYD Challenge

Since as I stated in an earlier post reading all of the books on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list that has been created by Peter Boxall is a personal goal of mine, when I saw another challenge centered around this specific list I jumped at the chance to join. The rules were a little different from the previous challenge I've joined, but that just means if I complete both challenges I'll be able to check even more books off the 1001 list! WooHoo! Here is my list for the challenge:

1-10. The Sea by John Banville (#6)
11-20. The Lambs of London by Peter Ackroyd (#11)
21-30. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (#24)
31-40. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (#33)
41-50. Life of Pi by Yan Martel (#49)
51-60. City of God by E.L. Doctorow (#60)
61-70. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (#63)
71-80. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee (#77)
81-90. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingslover (#86)
91-100. Underworld by Don DeLillo (#96)

The Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

I'm a little late in joining this challenge (it officially began April 1) but since I love reading historical fiction when the mood strikes I figured why not...here is the list of books I'll be attempting:

1. The Spanish Bride by Laurien Gardner
2. The Queen’s Fool by Philippa Gregory
3. The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
4. The Gilded Chamber by Rebecca Kohn
5. The Constant Princess by Phillippa Gregory
6. Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors

Southern Reading Challenge

The idea of the challenge is to read books set in the south by southern authors...here is the authors/books I've chosen:

1. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

2. The Same Sweet Girls by Cassandra King

3. Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! By Fannie Flagg

Non-Fiction Five Challenge

This challenge is actually the ONLY challenge I completed in 2007(participating unofficially), so because I was oh so successful at it last year I figured why not join again this (only officially this time). The idea is to read one non-fiction book per month between May 1st and September 30th. So here is my list, I will most likely be starting by reading the Lobster Chronicles in May:

1. $40 A Day by Rachel Ray
2. Pay It Down! By Jean Chatzky
3. The Lobster Chronicles by Linda Greenlaw
4. Home Cooking by Laurie Calwin
5. The Reagan Diaries Edited by Douglas Brinkley

Medical Mystery Madness Challenge

I've never actually read much in the medical mystery sub-genre, but I have about five or six Robin Cook novels so I figured I'd try reading a few of them for this challenge. Here are the ones I chose:

1. Fatal Cure by Robin Cook
2. Acceptable Risk by Robin Cook
3. Brain by Robin Cook

Chick Lit Challenge

I absolutely LOVE Chick Lit....so when Debi, the owner of the Journey to the End of the TBR Pile blog, decided to host this challenge I was overjoyed....here is a list of the books I've decided to read for this challenge:

1. Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella

2. Goodbye, jimmy Choo by Annie Sanders

3. Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding