Tuesday, March 20, 2012

2012 Challenges: Spring Reading Thing

I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE participating in the Spring Reading Thing challenge hosted by Callapidder Days. I love making a list for this one even though I know that I'm prone to changing my mind every other week. I have some general ideas on what I want to read for this challenge. (Challenge sign-up link).

V is for Victoria: Books about Queen Victoria, and Victorian England. Books written during the Victorian period. Books set in the Victorian. A blend of fiction and nonfiction.

1) Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch. Kate Williams.
2) Light Princess by George MacDonald
3) North and South. Elizabeth Gaskell. 1855/1998. 454 pages. 
4) Magnificent Obsession: Victoria, Albert, and the Death that Changed the British Monarchy. Helen Rappaport.
5)

Starting with...

We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill

Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch by Kate Williams


North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell



All About Austen: Books with an Austen Theme or Connection

1) Mr. Darcy's Diary. Amanda Grange. Sourcebooks. 2007. 320 pages.
2) Henry Tilney's Diary. Amanda Grange. 2011. [December 2011] Penguin. 288 pages.
3) Midnight in Austenland. Shannon Hale. 2012. Bloomsbury. 288 pages.
4)

Starting with...
All Roads Lead to Austen: A Year Long Journey with Jane by Amy Elizabeth Smith


Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale


Henry Tilney's Diary by Amanda Grange

I couldn't begin to narrow it down to a starting point!!!

New and Mostly New YA Releases: YA books with a focus on 2011 and 2012 publication dates. Perhaps with a slight focus on fantasy since I'll be in a fantasy challenge too. But this includes ALL genres and subgenres for me!

1) The Selection. Kiera Cass. 2012. HarperCollins. 327 pages
2) Enchanted. Alethea Kontis. 2012. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 320 pages.
3) Miracle. Elizabeth Scott. 2012. Simon & Schuster. 224 pages.
4) Looking for Me. Betsy R. Rosenthal. 2012. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 176 pages.
5) Out of Sight, Out of Time. Ally Carter. 2012. Hyperion. 304 pages.
6) Article 5. Kristen Simmons. 2012 Tor. 368 pages.
7) Partials. Dan Wells. 2012. HarperCollins. 480 pages.
8) Pandemonium. Lauren Oliver. 2012. HarperCollins. 384 pages.
9) The List. Siobhan Vivian. 2012. Scholastic. 336 pages.
10) Wonder. R. J. Palacio. 2012. Random House. 320 pages.
11) Fever. (Chemical Garden Series #2). Lauren DeStefano. 2012. Simon & Schuster. 352 pages.
12) Irises. Francisco X. Stork. 2012. Scholastic. 304 pages.
13) Unbreak My Heart. Melissa Walker. 2012. Bloomsbury. 240 pages.
14) Insurgent. Veronica Roth. 2012. HarperCollins. 525 pages.

Starting with...

Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta
Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
 Miscellaneous Musts from the Library: Books that just say read me, read me, read me!

1) Henrietta's War: News from the Home Front, 1939-1942. Joyce Dennys. 1985/2010. Bloomsbury. 176 pages.
2) Henrietta Sees It Through. Joyce Dennys. 1987/2011. Bloomsbury. 208 pages.
3) The Flight of Gemma Hardy. Margot Livesey. 2012. HarperCollins. 447 pages.
4) Mascot: Unraveling the Mystery of My Jewish Father's Nazi Boyhood. Mark Kurzem. 2007. Penguin. 432 pages.
5) Kisses From Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption. Katie Davis. 2011. October 2011. Howard Books. 288 pages.
6) The Great Influenza. The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History. John M. Barry. 2004. Penguin. 546 pages. 
7) Dreamers of the Day. Mary Doria Russell. 2008. Random House. 254 pages. 
8) Glamour in Glass. Mary Robinette Kowal. 2012. Tor. 336 pages.
9) The Lost Wife. Alyson Richman. 2011. Penguin. 352 pages.
10) The Seven Dials Mystery. Agatha Christie. 1929/2012. HarperCollins. 304 pages.


Starting with...

Shogun by James Clavell
The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesy

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

13 comments:

Vasilly said...

What a great list, Becky! Another participant is also planning on reading North and South and All Roads to Austen. Happy reading.

Debbie Rodgers said...

What an interesting approach to your reading list!

Jen E @ mommablogsalot said...

Wow, what a great list! All the Victorian era and Austen books look so appealing to me, not to mention the YA picks you've listed. Sounds like you are in for a terrific Spring! Happy reading!

jill hoke said...

Great list! I love Queen Victoria. North and South is in my TBR pile for later this year. I loved the miniseries.

Susanne said...

Love how you've got it all themed out. Happy spring reading!

Amy @ Hope Is the Word said...

Wow! Some of those look like some heavy reads! Those Austen-themed and YA titles are mostly new to me. Is that Shannon Hale as in the author of Princess Academy?

A Faithful Journey said...

I have Austenland on my shelf to be read...didn't realize it was part of a series. Now I am intrigued to read it even more! :) I have heard such great reviews about the Lauren Oliver books...have yet to read any by her and also I still need to read Divergent! GREAT list!!

Pam @iwriteinbooks said...

Ooooh these all look fabulous but when does Insurgent come out??? I can;t wait to read it!

Barbara H. said...

I didn't know about all those Austen books! I'll be interested to hear what you think of them.

North and South is on my list, too, but I'm listening to it.

Quite an interesting list!

Becky said...

Amy, yes, Shannon Hale the YA author has written a couple of adult books.

Amy, my favorite Oliver book is probably still Before I Fall. But this series is fun too! And Divergent is one of my favorite YA books from last year.

Pam, I'm not sure on the exact date, but it is in April. I'm on the waiting list at the library, and I'm hoping that I'll get a turn before the challenge ends.

Susanne said...

Oh I am tempted by your Austen picks. Enjoy your list!

Trish said...

Love the Austen picks! I just saw the Roth book on someone else's list as well, so I may have to check out the first one in the series - looks good. :)

Bluerose said...

What an awesome list! I've already been wanting to read some of these, but you've just added more to my list! ;)