Mirkwood Reflections

Nine December books! I was booking! (pun intended! lol) This made a 2008 total of 86 books, and that's the 3rd year in a row that I've read 86 - unintentionally! Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - 12/07/08 Excellent - Fiction The classic story of two sisters – one who feels everything deeply and the other who keeps her feelings well-hidden. I couldn't WAIT to read this, even though my book club won't be discussing it until January 31! I enjoyed it very much even though Marianne tried my patience and I think Brandon ended up with the wrong lady. Cook's Treasure by Jennifer Cooper - 12/09/08 Excellent - Romance Reagan Sinclair vacations in Florida and meets a mysterious treasure hunter. My very good friend Jennifer wrote this book! I was so excited to be invited to read it! Frontier House by Simon Shaw - 12/13/08 Good - Non-fiction A behind-the-scenes look at the television series of the same name. After re-watching this series recently, I wanted to read the ...

I enjoyed participating in the 888 Reading Challenge, so I went looking for a challenge for 2009. The 999 Library Thing Challenge is very similar - Read 9 books in each of 9 categories for 2009. Here is my list of books. You will see that some categories have more than 9 books. It's easier just to list them all than to try to pick and choose now. My final choices will depend quite a bit on what is available to me from the library. Nostalgia - Books I Read As a Child and want to Read Aloud to My Children 1.The Borrowers – Mary Norton 2.Edward, Hoppy and Joe – Robert Lawson 3.A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L'Engle 4.Five Little Peppers and How They Grew – Margaret Sidney 5.The Book of Three – Lloyd Alexander 6.Dragonsong – Anne McCaffrey 7.The Great Brain – John D. Fitzgerald 8.Soup – Robert Newton Peck 9.Encyclopedia Brown – Donald J. Sobol Kindred Spirits - Books By Favorite Authors 1.An Echo in the Bone – Diana Gabaldon 2.The bodies left behind - Jeffery Deaver 3.Plum Spooky ...

The 888 Reading Challenge was to read 8 books each in 8 different categories in 2008 . I finished today! My categories changed a good deal as did many of the titles I chose initially . That was within the rules. I didn't use any overlaps. I also read a few books that didn't fit any of my categories. Here are my 8 completed categories with the 8 books I read for each one. Following that are the additional 18 books I read. 8x8+18= 82 books so far in 2008. I still have a few days to increase that total. In both 2006 and 2007, I read 86 books. Anyone up for the 999 Reading Challenge?? Books Published in 2008 1.The Secret Between Us – Barbara Delinsky 1-24-08 2.Firefly Lane – Kristin Hannah 5-18-08 3.The Broken Window – Jeffery Deaver 7-22-08 4.Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer 8-7-08 5.Say Goodbye – Lisa Gardner 8-8-08 6.The Keepsake – Tess Gerritsen 9-20-08 7.Sweet Love – Sarah Strohmeyer 10-15-08 8.More Than It Hurts You – Darin Strauss 11-1-08 Books Recommended to me by others 1....

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - 10/13/08 Good - Fiction Francie grows up very poor in turn-of-the-century Brooklyn. My sister Janet recommended this. I surprisingly had not read it before. It was quite good, although not a light read at all. Wow, those people were POOR. Sweet Love by Sarah Strohmeyer - 10/15/08 Good - Romance Betty Mueller put her foot down when she saw her teenage daughter had a crush on an older man; twenty years later, she wishes she hadn't done it, so she hatches a plan to bring them back together. I had wanted a light read after reading Tree Grows in Brooklyn and the cupcake on the cover of this made me think it would be. It wasn't. But it was good anyway. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen - 10/22/08 Good - Classic Catherine Moreland is naïve and prone to romantic fantasy; in Bath she meets and falls in love with Henry Tilney and is invited to visit his family estate – Northanger Abbey This was for my Book Club and I really liked it! Henry Til...

I didn't read too many books in September, but I did write 13,000 words on a short story, so hopefully that counts for something! Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - 09/14/08 Excellent - Romance Fanny Price is sent to live with her aunt, uncle, and cousins at Mansfield Park, but she is never quite part of the family. Took me a long time to get through this, but not because I didn't enjoy it. I really did! I think I'm getting the hang of reading Austen, actually. The love story is not the important theme in Mansfield Park, though. The Keepsake by Tess Gerrittsen - 09/20/08 Good - Suspense A murderer preserves his victims according to a number of grotesque ancient customs. I enjoy reading Gerritsen's novels. She's a doctor turned novelist and she writes crisply morbid novels. What does that say about me? lol Seducing Mr. Darcy by Gwyn Cready - 09/23/08 Good - Romance Funny but bawdy story of Flip Allison, who travels back in time and inadvertently ruins the love story...

[edited 12-30-07 with complete list] I am participating in the Triple 8 Reading Challenge . Anyone care to join me? I only need to read 56 of these books to finish, but I'll try to read all 64 of them. Come on and READ WITH ME in 2008! Books Recommended to me by others Hide – Lisa Gardner (my mom) The Furies of Calderon – Jim Butcher (sister Christy) Vineyard series – Philip Craig (mom) Beauty - Robin McKinley (Marta) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith (sister Janet) Austenland - Shannon Hale (sister Christy) librarian series (Christy) Courting Trouble – Deeanne Gist (Mom) Young Adult Fiction Holes – Louis Sachar ttyl – lauren myracle Eclipse – Stephenie Meyer Spiderweb for Two: A Melendy Maze – Elizabeth Enright Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox - Eoin Colfer Eragon – Christopher Paolini Inkheart - Cornelia Funke Magic by the Lake – Edward Eager Non-fiction Ordering Your Private World – Gordon MacDonald Radar, Hula Hoops, and...