2012 Challenge wrap ups.

End of the year. I guess I did pretty well on my challenges. Mount TBR was a wash. I didn't get all 50 States for Where are you reading, but I wasn't really planning ahead to get all the states (and too many duplicate states).



Mt. Vancouver - Completed:
1. The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick
2. Princes of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd
3. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
4. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
5. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
(eta)
6. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
7. Kindred by Octavia Butler
8. The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht
9. Naked Heat by Richard Castle
10. Delirium by Lauren Oliver
11.
12.
13.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
2. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
3. Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
4. Wither by Lauren DeStefano
5. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
6. Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini (in progress)
7. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
8. Legend by Marie Lu
9. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
10. The Restorer by Amanda Stevens

1. Across the Universe by Beth Revis, audiobook
2. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, audiobook
3. Tithe by Holly Black, audiobook
4. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, audiobook
5. Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor, audiobook
6. Wither by Lauren DeStefano
7. When She Woke by Hillary Jordan, audiobook
8. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
9. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly, audiobook
10. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake, audiobook
11. Lady Macbeth by Susan Fraser King, audiobook
12. The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan, audiobook
**completed**
13. Room by Emma Donoghue, audiobook
14. The Descnedants, Kaui Hart Hemmings
15. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
16. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, audiobook

See my Where are you Reading? map

Winner of the Historical Holiday Blog Hop giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway Congrats, Ileana A.! I've already emailed you, so just reply back with your choices and address.

Thanks everyone who stopped by!

2013 Challenge- BINGO!

The library challenge I did this year seems to be DOA, and this one sounds, crazy, evil, and fun. So, check it out.



Hosted by Reading in Winter and Creativity's Corner. Check out the full rules HERE.

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted this December by Suko's Notebook.

I haven't done one of these in a while. Its not that I haven't gotten anything, but got in a bit of a funk about not wanting too. Which is the story of the last month or so. I got sick the week before Thankgiving, one of those pesky lingering cold. Worst part last about a week, screws with your sleeping habits kind of cold, with a lingering cough. Sorry, TMI. But the point of the story is it also screwed with my reading habits, and having trouble starting anything new that isn't an audiobook since.

So, the book for review I wanted posted already (At Drake's Command by David Wesley Hill will be a little later, sometime this month.

From Sawcat's Book Blog

These lovelies I found at a neighbor's yard sale: Labyrinth by Kate Moss (looks unread); Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton (same publisher & era as my Great Gatsby); One for the Money by Janet Evanovich; and for my nephews, an early reader of The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto by Natalie Standiford; and Classics Illustrated (ie. Classics turned into comic books) editions of A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne and The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper. I am determined to get at least one of my nephews into reading, so I figure these comic book versions might draw them in a bit more.

So what did you get?

1st Annual Historical Holiday Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop on the First Annual Historical Holiday Blog Hop, hosted by Passages to the Past.

For my giveaway, I am using Better World Books, who helps fund literacy projects around the world, and for each book purchased, they donate a book to someone in need. Good works! And all books ship internationally for free! So that means, this is open internationally! *confetti*

The winner will get to pick 3 books from the Bargin Bin sections of Historical Fiction and/or History.

Note: BWB gets their used books from donations from individuals and libraries. Conditions vary. Hardcovers may not have their dust jacket, some may have the various treatments done to them by libraries, some have bookcrossing stickers. The best available condition will be chosen. The books I've received have been in great condition, other than what has been noted.

Browse Historical Fiction
Browse History

Some of my favorites found in the Bargin Bin


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Plus, Amy is hosting Grand Prize drawings at her blog. They include:

Historical Holiday Blog Hop Grand Prizes

- $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble Gift Card

- Prize package(s) of historical novels (titles will be added as authors sign up)

1. Oleanna by Julie Rose (pb)
2. The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn by Robin Maxwell (pb)
3. Jane: The Woman Who Loved Tarzan by Robin Maxwell (Audio Books)
4. The King's Daughter by Barbara Kyle (pb)
5. The King's Concubine by Anne O'Brien (pb)
6. Royal Romances: Titillating Tales of Passion and Power in the Palaces of Europe by Leslie Carroll (pb)
7. The Darling Strumpet by Gillian Bagwell (pb)
8. The September Queen by Gillian Bagwell (pb)
9. The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick (pb) *w/signed bookplate
10. The Forever Queen by Helen Hollick (pb) *w/signed bookplate
11. Sea Witch by Helen Hollick (pb) *w/signed bookplate
12. Claude & Camille by Stephanie Cowell (pb)
13. Marrying Mozart by Stephanie Cowell (pb)
14. The Queen's Vow by Christopher Gortner (pb, UK edition)
15. Into the Path of Gods (Book 1, Macsen's Treasure Series) by Kathleen Cunningham Guler (pb)
16. In the Shadow of Dragons (Book 2, Macsen's Treasure Series) by Kathleen Cunningham Guler (pb)
17. The Anvil Stone (Book 3, Macsen's Treasure Series) by Kathleen Cunningham Guler (hc)
18. A Land Beyond Ravens (Book 4, Macsen's Treasure Series) by Kathleen Cunningham Guler (hc)
19. Pale Rose of England by Sandra Worth (pb)
20. The Rose of York: Love & War by Sandra Worth (pb)
21. A Dance of Manners (A Regency Anthology) by Susan Flanders, Cynthia Breeding, Kristi Ahlers, Gerri Bowen and Erin Hatton (pb)
22. The Book of Lost Fragrances by MJ Rose (hc)
23. The Sumerton Women by D.L. Bogdan (pb)
24. Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland (signed pb)
25. The Master of Verona by David Blixt (hc)
26. Before Versailles by Karleen Koen (pb)
27. Four Sisters, All Queens by Sherry Jones (pb)
28. At the Mercy of the Queen by Anne Barnhill (pb)
29. What You Long For by Anne Barnhill (pb)
30. Cascade by Maryanne O'Hara (signed hc)
31. The Lady's Slipper by Deborah Swift (pb, UK edition)
32. The Plum Tree by Ellen Marie Wiseman (signed pb)
33. The Secret Keeper by Sandra Byrd (pb, with Tower of London Tea Sachets)
34. The Mischief of the Mistletoe (2 copies - 1 pb, 1 hc - both signed)
35. The Sister Queens by Sophie Perinot
36. The Secret History: A Novel of Empress Theodora by Stephanie Thornton (pb w/bookmark)
37. The King's Grace by Anne Easter Smith (pb)
38. Illuminations by Mary Sharratt (hc)
39. Selene of Alexandria by Faith L. Justice (2 copies - 1 pb, 1 eBook)
40. A Thing Done by Tinney Sue Heath (2 copies, pb)
41. Rebel Puritan by Jo Ann Butler (pb)
42. The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen (audio cd's)
43. By Fire, By Water by Mitchell James Kaplan (2 copies, pb)
44. The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan (ARC, courtesy of Penguin Publishing)
45. Above All Things by Tanis Rideout (ARC, courtesy of Penguin Publishing)
46. The Fever Tree by Jennifer McVeigh (ARC, courtesy of Penguin Publishing)
47. Movement of Stars by Amy Brill (ARC, courtesy of Penguin Publishing)
48. Teaspoon of Earth and Sea by Dina Nayeri (ARC, courtesy of Penguin Publishing)
49. The Queen's Daughter by Susan Coventry (hc)
50. The Virgin Queen's Daughter by Ella March Chase (pb)
51. Three Maids for a Crown by Ella March Chase (pb)
52. Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn (pb)
53. The Forgotten Queen by D.L. Bogdan (ARC)
54. The Sign of the Weeping Virgin by Alana White
55. A Place Beyond Courage by Elizabeth Chadwick (pb)
56. The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau (signed pb)
57. Second Lisa by Veronica Knox

Top Ten Tuesday: Under the Tree

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic: Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing Me.

1. Frozen Heat by Richard Castle - I love the tv series, and the books are just as fun as the show. I showed great restraint in only getting the Season 4 dvds this fall.
2. Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta - I loved Finnikin of the Rock when I listened to it this year. And since for some bloody reason the audiobook has not made it across the Pacific, I need this in print.
3. Reporting the Revolutionary War: Before it was History, It Was News by Todd Andrlik - I always loved the book of NY Times front pages we had as a kid, stealing dad's magnifying glass and reading as much of the articles as I could. This shouldn't be a surprise to my family.
4. The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer - I feel deficient for not having read either of these yet.
5. Nefertiti and The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran - I've loved Ancient Egypt since the fifth grade. I made elaborate tomb with a mummified Barbie for a school project. And I loved Moran's novels that I've read so far. I'd like Cleopatra's Daughter also, but I've read that and not these two, so they are more of a priority.
6. Firefly: A Celebration by Joss Whedon - Oh how I loved Firefly. I called home when in grad school to get my parents to record an episode (they were in a different time zone), because I missed it where I was (the horror!).
7. The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era - Love the series, and The World of Downton Abbey is just gorgeous.
8. The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England by Ian Mortimer - Loved the medieval one, but for some reason this has not been published this side of the pond D=
9. Queen of the Conqueror: The Life of Matilda, Wife of William I by Tracy Borman - this sound fascinating when discussed in the BBC History magazine some months ago.
10. Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman - I loved how she wrote Richard in her Henry II/Eleanor of Aquitaine series. I think I've had a long enough break from the bad experience with Devil's Brood to pick up another of her books.

Challenges for 2013

I'm going to join a few challenges in the next year. I've started a page up top that will be for tracking progress, but this will be for joining announcements.



Where are you reading is hosted by Book Journey. I did pretty well this year (for not really aiming for specific states), so am giving it another go.



Witches and Witchcraft Reading Challenge is hosted by Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf. I will be aiming for the Initiate level (1-5 books).



Audio Book Challenge is hosted by Teresa's Reading Corner. Since I've read over 40 audiobooks this year, I'll be aiming to the Married (listen to more than 25 audiobooks) level.



Mount TBR Reading Challenge is hosted by My Reader's Block. I didn't do too well on this this year, so am going to try again. I'll be aiming for Mount Blanc: Read 24 books from your TBR pile/s.



Historical Tapestry hosts the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge every year for a few years now. I'll be trying it this coming year, at the Renaissance Reader level (10 books).

That's it for right now. Will probably look out for a library challenge also.