A-Z Challenge Completed

I finished another challenge!  The challenge was to read 2 books for each letter – one for the title and on for the author.  So, 52 books later I can cross it off my list of challenges.

I liked the fact that I had to find books that I never would have looked at before.   I started on one shelf at the library and read the first book that had a title that started with K (Killer Mousse by Melinda Wells) and loved it.  I also used the library to find an author for X and discovered the sweet gem, Sky Burial by Xinran.  And I never would have considered The Xibalba Murders by Lyn Hamilton without the need for an X title.  If you are titling your book, consider starting it with an X!

You can find the list of books I read for this challenge here.

 This was fun and I hope to do it again next year.  Thanks for hosting it, Becky!

Challenge Completed!

I completed my second challenge with my review of The Appeal yesterday!  It was the 50th book that I read this year that was on my shelves before January 1.  This is the first challenge I signed up for this year and one that fills me with satisfaction now I’ve accomplished it.  I had so many books that had languished on my shelves or boxes for years and now I’ve made a dent. 

Here’s the  link to the books I’ve read for this challenge.  Here are a few of my favorites-

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom (powerful memoir of the Holocaust)

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (heartwarming coming-of-age story)

Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil by John Berendt (spend a little time in Savannah)

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (love me some Mr. Darcy)

The Time Machine by HG Wells (original time travel classic)

Watchers by Dean Koontz (if you love dogs, you must read this book)

MizB  hosted this challenge and will be doing it again next year.  I plan to commit to another 50!  You should think about joining us

Why I joined the 100 Mile Fitness Challenge

In May I finally decided to do something about all the weight I’d gained over the last several years (I blame it on the Cleveland winters), so signed up with Weight Watchers online.  You count points and weigh in every week in the privacy of your own home and they chart your weight loss.  Since then I’ve lost 23 pounds, which is only a pound from where I wanted to be by the end of the year (My goal was to take off the last 10 pounds next year) .  I lost the weight simply by eating less and making better food choices and I did it without exercise.  I know I should be exercising for my health and now that I’ve successfully changed my eating habits I need to do something about the exercise.  So, here I am joining the challenge.

The goal is to travel 100 miles by December 31st.  There are weekly mileage updates that will keep us honest.  Unfortunately, I  only logged 3 miles this week, but maybe I can get some walking done on the treadmill while I’m watching football this afternoon.

I’m not going to doing weekly updates here, but wanted to share my new challenge with you.  Would you like to participate?  Visit 100 Mile Fitness Challenge and sign up!

Words Behind the Pictures Challenge

I have decided to join another challenge.  Yes, I a currently in 3, but I’m confident I can finish them all!  Michael is hosting this fun challenge and I look forward to reading a medium that I’ve never tried before.  Screenplays!  I love reading and I love movies, so this sounds like a perfect challenge to me.

The first Saturday of every month, from September, 2009, through to August, 2010, an electronic copy of one screenplay will be made available through this blog.

The goal is to read the screenplay and then watch the movie before the end of that month and comment on what you’ve experienced.

The more screenplays you get through, the stronger you are as a reading challenger, but you only need to do one month to consider yourself to have completed this challenge.

Of course, the more months you complete, the more chances you’ll have for winning a collection of screenplays I’ll be awarding to one random participant in August, 2010.

So, why not join me in trying something new.  Head on over the A Few Minutes With Michael and sign up.

Southern Reading Challenge Completed

I finished my first reading challenge!  Woo hoo!  I joined the Southern Reading Challenge hosted by Maggie after I realized that I didn’t read many books set in the south.   We had three months to read 3 books and I did it in 2.  (I’m only bragging about this because I have 3 other challenges that have patiently been waiting for some attention ) 

My favorite of the 3 was the non-fiction Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil by John Berendt.  It was set in Savannah, Georgia and it was absolutely fabulous!  This went on my all-time favorite list and I envision a trip to Savannah soon!  4 1/2 stars

I also really loved When Venus Fell by Deborah Smith, a romantic family drama set in the Tennessee valley.  I loved the spunky heroine and the loving, inclusive family that was willing to take in two sisters as their own.  4 stars

I read Sights Unseen by Kaye Gibbons and thought it was good.  It takes place in North Carolina and chronicles a young girl childhood as her mother is treated for mental illness. 3 1/2 stars

I want to thank Maggie for hosting this great challenge.  I had fun and look forward to next year