2015 Challenges: Hard Core Re-reading Challenge

Host: You, Me, and a Cup of Tea
Name: Hard Core Rereading Challenge (sign up here) (share links here)
Dates: January - December 2015 (books started before January do not count)
# of Books: Level 5; 50+ Rereading Coma
Note to self: check back to see about review linkies. MUST, MUST, MUST add links to reviews to the linkies.

What I (Actually) Reread
1. And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss
2. The Girl With The White Flag. Tomiko Higa. Translated by Dorothy Britton. 1989. 130 pages. [Source: Bought]
3. The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins. 1938/1965. Random House. 56 pages. [Source: Library]
4. The Trumpeter of Krakow. Eric P. Kelly. 1928. Simon & Schuster. 208 pages. [Source: Library]
5. Millions of Cats. Wanda Gag. 1928. Penguin. 40 pages. [Source: Library]
6. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Zora Neale Hurston. 1937. Harper Perennial Modern Classics. 256 pages. [Source: Bought]
7) Horton Hatches An Egg. Dr. Seuss. 1940/1968. Random House. 64 pages. [Source: Library]
8) Trifles. A Play in One Act. Susan Glaspell. 1916. 20 pages. [Source: Read online]
9) The Worthing Saga. Orson Scott Card. 1990. Tor. 465 pages. [Source: Bought]
10)  To Dream in the City of Sorrows. (Babylon 5: Book #9). Kathryn M. Drennan. Based on the series by J. Michael Straczynski. 1997. Random House. 352 pages.  [Source: Bought]
11) On the Banks of Plum Creek. Laura Ingalls Wilder. 1937. 340 pages. [Source: Library]
12) The Warden. Anthony Trollope. 1855. Oxford World's Classics. 294 pages. [Source: Bought]
13) By the Shores of Silver Lake. Laura Ingalls Wilder. 1939. HarperCollins. 291 pages. [Source: Library]
14) The 100 Dresses. Eleanor Estes. Illustrated by Louis Slobodkin. 1944/2004. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 96 pages. [Source: Library]
15) Emil and Karl. Yankev Glatshteyn. Translated from the Yiddish by Jeffrey Shandler. 1940/2006. Roaring Book Press. 208 pages. [Source: Review copy]
16) Horton Hears A Who! Dr. Seuss. 1954. Random House. 64 pages. [Source: Library]
17) The Little Prince. Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Translated by Richard Howard. 1943/2013. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 112 pages. [Source: Review copy]
18) Enchantress from the Stars. Sylvia Louise Engdahl. 1970/2003. Penguin. 304 pages. [Source: Review copy]
19) Fox in Socks. Dr. Seuss. 1965. Random House. 72 pages. [Source: Library]
20) The Magic Pudding. Norman Lindsay. 1918. 144 pages. [Source: Bought]
21) Hop On Pop. Dr. Seuss. 1963. Random House. 64 pages. [Source: Library]
22) Princess Academy. Shannon Hale. 2005. Bloomsbury. 314 pages. [Source: Library]
23) Palace of Stone. (Princess Academy #2) Shannon Hale. 2012. Bloomsbury. 323 pages. [Source: Library]
24) Sleep Book. Dr. Seuss. 1962. Random House. 64 pages. [Source: Library]
25) Christy. Catherine Marshall. 1967. 512 pages. [Source: Bought]
26) Ten Apples Up On Top! Dr. Seuss (Theo LeSeig). Illustrated by Roy McKie. 1961. Random House. 72 pages. [Source: Library]
27) The Sneetches and Other Stories. Dr. Seuss. 1961. Random House. 65 pages. [Source: Library]
28) B is for Betsy. Carolyn Haywood. 1939. 144 pages. [Source: Library]
29) Scarlet. A.C. Gaughen. 2012. Walker. 292 pages. [Source: Library]
30) Lady Thief. A.C. Gaughen. 2014. Walker Books. 304 pages. [Source: Review copy]
31) Green Eggs and Ham. Dr. Seuss. 1960. Random House. 62 pages. [Source: Library]
32) Charlotte's Web. E.B. White. Illustrated by Garth Williams. 1952. HarperCollins. 192 pages. [Source: Review copy]
33) The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. C.S. Lewis. 1950. HarperCollins. 224 pages. [Source: Bought]
34) Prince Caspian. C.S. Lewis. 1951. HarperCollins. 240 pages. [Source: Bought]
35) One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. Dr. Seuss. 1960. Random House. 60 pages. [Source: Library]
36) YUM: Your Ultimate Manual for Good Nutrition. Daina Kalnins. 2008. Lobster Press. 192 pages. [Source: Review copy]
37) Number the Stars. Lois Lowry. 1989. (Won Newbery in 1990) 137 pages. [Source: Bought]
38)  Beezus and Ramona. Beverly Cleary. 1955. HarperCollins. 208 pages. [Source: Library]
39) Ramona the Pest. Beverly Cleary. 1968. HarperCollins. 208 pages. [Source: Library]
40) Ramona the Brave. Beverly Cleary. 1975. HarperCollins. 208 pages. [Source: Library]
41) Ramona and Her Father. Beverly Cleary. 1977. HarperCollins. 208 pages. [Source: Library]
42) Ramona and Her Mother. Beverly Cleary. 1977. HarperCollins. 224 pages. [Source: Library]
43) Ramona Quimby, Age 8. Beverly Cleary. 1981. HarperCollins. 208 pages. [Source: Library]
44) Ramona Forever. Beverly Cleary. 1984. HarperCollins. 208 pages. [Source: Library]
45) Ramona's World. Beverly Cleary. 1999. HarperCollins. 240 pages. [Source: Library]
46) Gospel: Recovering the Power That Made Christianity Revolutionary. J.D. Greear. Foreword by Timothy Keller. 2011. B&H Books. 266 pages. [Source: Bought]
47) Dragon Slippers. Jessica Day George. 2007. Bloomsbury USA. 324 pages. [Source: Library]
48) Dragon Flight. Jessica Day George. Bloomsbury USA. 272 pages. [Source: Library]
49)  Dragon Spear. Jessica Day George. 2009. Bloomsbury USA. 248 pages. [Source: Library]
50) The Cat In the Hat Comes Back. Dr. Seuss. 1958. Random House. 63 pages. [Source: Library]
51) The Giver. Lois Lowry. 1993. Houghton Mifflin. 180 pages. [Source: Library] 
52) Henry and Beezus. Beverly Cleary. 1952. HarperCollins. 224 pages. [Source: Library]
53) Little Town on the Prairie. Laura Ingalls Wilder. Illustrated by Garth Williams. 1941. 374 pages. [Source: Library]
54) These Happy Golden Years. Laura Ingalls Wilder. Illustrated by Garth Williams. 1943. HarperCollins. 289 pages. [Source: Library]
55) The Cat In the Hat. Dr. Seuss. 1957. Random House. 61 pages.  [Source: Library]
56) Ella Minnow Pea. Mark Dunn. 2001. Random House. 224 pages. [Source: Library]
57) The Long Winter. Laura Ingalls Wilder. Illustrated by Garth Williams. 1940. 335 pages. [Source: Library]
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What I Plan On Rereading: 

Georgette Heyer Novels I Want To Reread in 2015:

1. Devil's Cub
2. These Old Shades
3. Frederica
4. Venetia
5. Civil Contract
6. Sprig Muslin
7. Black Sheep
8. Masqueraders
9. Cousin Kate
10. Convenient Marriage
11. False Colors
12. Talisman Ring

Elizabeth Gaskell Novels I Want to Reread in 2015:

1. Ruth
2. Wives and Daughters
3. North and South 

Anthony Trollope Novels I Want To Reread in 2015:

1. Lady Anna
2. He Knew He Was Right
3. Belton Estate

Charles Dickens Novels I Want to Reread in 2015:

1. Our Mutual Friend
2. Bleak House
3. Oliver Twist

Wilkie Collins Novels I Want To Reread in 2015:

1. Woman in White
2. Armadale
3. Man and Wife

Mystery Novels I Want To Reread in 2015:

1. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
2. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
3. Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout
4. The Golden Spiders by Rex Stout
5. Have His Carcase by Dorothy Sayers
6. Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Sayers
7. The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers
8. Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers
9. Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers

Historical Novels I Want to Reread

1. Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman
2. London by Edward Rutherfurd
3. Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd
4. Gone with The Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Science Fiction Novels I Want To Reread in 2015

1. Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
2. Worthing Saga by Orson Scott Card
3. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
4. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
5. Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
6. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
7. Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov
8. Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov 
9. Babylon 5: To Dream in the City of Sorrow by Kathryn M. Drennan
10. Babylon 5: The Shadow Within by Jeanne Cavelos
11. Bablyon 5: In the Beginning by Peter David
12. Babylon 5: Legions of Fire: The Long Night of Centauri Prime by Peter David
13. Babylon 5: Legions of Fire: Armies of Light and Dark by Peter David
14. Babylon 5: Legions of Fire: Out of the Darkness by Peter David 
15. Wool by Hugh Howey
16. Shift by Hugh Howey

Fantasy Novels I Want to Reread in 2015

1. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
3. The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan
4. The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan
5. The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan
6. The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan
7. Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan
8. A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan
9. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Children's Novels I Want to Reread in 2015 (I'm sure I'll be adding *more* to the list.)

1. Welcome to the Grand View, Hannah by Mindy Warshaw Skolsky
2. You're the Best, Hannah by Mindy Warshaw Skolsky
3. Love From Your Friend, Hannah by Mindy Warshaw Skolsky

Dr. Seuss Books I Want to Reread in 2015

1. 1937 -- And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street
2. 1938 -- The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
3. 1939 -- The King's Stilts
4. 1940 -- Horton Hatches An Egg
5. 1947 -- McElligot's Pool
6. 1948 -- Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose
7. 1949 -- Bartholomew and the OObleck
8. 1950 -- If I Ran The Zoo
9. 1953 -- Scrambled Eggs Super
10. 1954 -- Horton Hears a Who
11. 1955 -- On Beyond a Zebra
12. 1956 -- If I Ran the Circus
13. 1957 -- How The Grinch Stole Christmas
14. 1957 -- The Cat in the Hat
15. 1958 -- The Cat In the Hat Comes Back
16. 1958 -- Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories
17. 1959 -- Happy Birthday to You
18. 1960 -- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
19. 1960 -- Green Eggs and Ham
20. 1961 -- The Sneetches and Other Stories
21. 1961 -- Ten Apples Up On Top (Theo LeSieg)
22. 1962 -- Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book
23. 1963 -- Dr. Seuss's ABC
24. 1963 -- Hop On Pop
25. 1965 -- Fox in Socks
26. 1965 -- I Wish That I Had Duck Feet (Theo LeSieg)
27. 1965 -- I Had Trouble Getting to Solla Sollew
28. 1968 -- The Foot Book
29. 1969 -- I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today and Other Stories
30. 1970  -- Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?
31. 1971 -- The Lorax
32. 1972 -- Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now
33. 1972 -- In A People House (Theo LeSieg)
34. 1973 -- Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are
35. 1974 -- There's A Wocket in My Pocket
36. 1974 -- Great Day for Up
37. 1974 -- Wacky Wednesday (Theo LeSieg)
38. 1975 -- Oh, The Thinks YOu Can Think!
39. 1975 -- Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo (Rosetta Stone)
40. 1975 -- Would You Rather Be A Bull Frog (Theo LeSieg)
41. 1976 -- Hooper Humperdink…? Not Him (Theo LeSieg)
42. 1977 -- Please Try to Remember the first of Octember (Theo LeSieg)
43. 1978 -- I Can Read With My Eyes Shut
44. 1979 -- Oh Say Can You Say
45. 1980 -- Maybe You Should Fly A Jet (Theo LeSieg)
46. 1981 -- The Tooth Book (Theo LeSieg)
47. 1982 -- Hunches in Bunches
48. 1984 -- The Butter Battle Book
49. 1986 -- You're Only Old Once
50. 1987 -- I Am Not Going To Get UP Today
51. 1990 -- Oh, The Places You'll Go
52. 1995 -- Daisy-Head Mayzie
53. 1996 -- My Many Colored Days
54. 1998 -- Hooray for Diffendoofer Day
55. 2011 -- The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories

© 2014 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

What's On Your Nightstand (November)

The folks at 5 Minutes For Books host What’s On Your Nightstand? the fourth Tuesday of each month in which we can share about the books we have been reading and/or plan to read.

Reviews Coming Soon...in December...

Brown Girl Dreaming. Jacqueline Woodson

Jane Austen's First Love by Syrie James

Princess in Black by Shannon Hale
Recently finished:

Tolkien: How An Obscure Oxford Professor Wrote the Hobbit and Became the Most Beloved Author of the Century. Devin Brown. Abingdon Press. 145 pages. [Source: Review copy]

I'll be reviewing this one at Operation Actually Read Bible this week or next. It was WONDERFUL.

Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms by Katherine Rundell. Review will be coming in January. (Yes, I'm all booked up for December already, at least at Becky's Book Reviews.)

 Operation Bunny (Wings & Co. #1) Sally Gardner. Review will be coming in January.

Sleep In Peace Tonight. James MacManus. Review will be in January.

Currently Reading:

Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens

© 2014 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Mortal Heart (2014)

Mortal Heart. Robin LaFevers. 2014. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 464 pages. [Source: Review copy]

I liked it. I did. I really did. But I'm not sure I LOVED it. I do think it met my expectations, however. I expected it to focus on Annith. I expected it to uniquely tell her story, reveal more of who she is, and what makes her strong. And readers definitely get that. How did Annith come to the convict? What was it like for her to spend her entire life at the convent, to not know what life outside was like? What was it like for her to train all those years, to see others come and go? Has she had an easier time of it than Ismae and Sybella? Why is Annith never the one chosen to go on assignment, long-term or short-term assignment? Does not being chosen mean she's too weak or not trustworthy enough in the Abbess' mind? How does she cope with waiting? These questions are all answered in the third book of the trilogy. If you've dared to find Annith boring or obedient in previous books, you'll be challenged.

I did come to like Annith, to appreciate her story. (Sybella's story, I believe, remains my favorite.) And I did like the romance. I don't think I can say one word about the romance. If you haven't read it, then that might make no sense since usually, I don't consider naming a potential love interest a spoiler. But if you have read it, you probably can guess why I'm afraid of spoiling things. I will say I thought it was well done. I wasn't disappointed by it. (I think Sybella and Beast remain my favorite couple, however.)

I also really liked that half the book brings us back into company with Ismae and Duval and Sybella and the Beast. The first half of the book covers almost the same time period as Grave Mercy and Dark Triumph. The last half is more of a sequel, the plot progresses forward. Readers spend time with Duchess Anne and those close to her. What does Brittany's future look like? Will Anne ever have enough military support to hold onto Brittany's independence? Will the French be successful? How many will lose their lives in war to fight for the country they love?

While all three books have teased readers with mythology, with world-building, this one I think does so even more. I solidly like it. I do. I would definitely recommend people finish the series if they've enjoyed the previous books.

© 2014 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

2015 Challenges: TBR Pile

Host: Roof Beam Reader
Name: 2015 TBR Pile (sign up here) Note to self: actually go and share review links each month
Dates: January - December 2015
# of books: 12 to 14

My list of twelve:

Rachel Ray by Anthony Trollope. 1863. 403 pages. [Source: Bought]

Miss Marjoribanks. Margaret Oliphant. 1865. 512 pages. [Source: Bought]

Footsteps in the Dark. Georgette Heyer. 1932. 336 pages. [Source: Bought]

Green for Danger. Christianna Brand. 1944. 256 pages. [Source: Bought]

Georgette Heyer. Jennifer Kloester. 2013. 464 pages. [Source: Bought]

Escape from Sobibor. Richard Rashke. 1982/1995. 416 pages. [Source: Bought]

The Nazi Officer's Wife. Edith Hahn Beer. 1999. 305 pages. [Source: Bought]

The New World (History of the English Speaking Peoples, Vol. 2) Winston Churchill. 1956. 400 pages. [Source: Bought]

Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze. Elizabeth Foreman Lewis. 1932. SquareFish. 306 pages. [Source: Review copy]

I, Juan de Pareja.  Elizabeth Borton de Trevino. 1965. SquareFish. 192 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Thimble Summer. Elizabeth Enright. 1938. SquareFish. 144 pages. [Source: Review copy]

 Schindler's List. Thomas Keneally. 1982. 429 pages. [Source: Bought]

My two alternates:

Ayala's Angel. Anthony Trollope. 1881. 631 pages. [Source: Bought]

The Silmarillion. J.R.R. Tolkien. 1977. 386 pages. [Source: Bought]


© 2014 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Man Who Invented Christmas (2008)

The Man Who Invented Christmas. Les Standiford. 2008. Crown. 241 pages. [Source: Library]

Different readers will have different expectations when they see the full title of this one: The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits.

The focus is not so much on Christmas, as it is on Charles Dickens: his private and public life, his writing career, his inspirations, his fears and worries, his relationship with his publishers. The focus isn't solely on A Christmas Carol. Yes, this work gets discussed in detail. But the same can be said of many of Dickens' novels. The book, despite the title, focuses on Dickens' career as a writer or novelist. This book mentions and in some cases discusses most of Dickens' published works. Not just his books published BEFORE A Christmas Carol, but his whole career.

A Christmas Carol gets special treatment in this one, perhaps, not because it has a Christmas theme, but, because it is a significant to his career. Before A Christmas Carol, he'd had a few really big bestsellers. But. He'd also experienced some failures. His last three books were disappointing to his fans. They didn't sell as well. The critics didn't like them. His publishers were discouraged and worried. Dickens needed his next book to be something wonderful, something that would sell, something that would be loved by one and all. He needed a success: a feel-good success, something to give him confidence and something to give his publishers confidence in him again, and a financial success, something to get him out of debt, something to pay his bills.

The secondary focus of this one is not Christmas. Readers might expect it to be related to Christmas, the history of Christmas, its invention, or reinvention. But. Something gets more time and attention than Christmas. And that is the writing and/or publishing industry. The book gives readers a history lesson in publishing. How books were written, illustrated, printed, published, sold. Not just what went on BEFORE it was published, but also what typically happened next. How novels were adapted to the stage by others, by many others. How little control--if any--that the publisher and author had over their books, their stories, their characters and plots. Plays could do justice, at times, to the books they were based upon. But they could also be absolutely dreadful. The lack of copyright laws or international copyright laws. How publishers in other countries could steal entire books, republish them, not paying the author anything at all. The book even has a chapter or two on fan fiction. Not that he calls it fan fiction. But he writes of how other writers could "borrow" characters and give them further adventures and publish them.

Does the book talk about Christmas at all? Yes. It does. It tells of two extremes: those in the past who celebrated Christmas too wildly, too wantonly, and those in the past who refused to celebrate it all, who would have it be illegal. Either extreme seems a bit hard to believe, perhaps, for modern readers. The book tells of traditions. Some traditions being somewhat established before A Christmas Carol, and other traditions becoming more established by being described in A Christmas Carol. What I probably found most interesting was his mention of how traditionally it was goose served for the Christmas feast UNTIL the publishing of A Christmas Carol. When Scrooge buys a turkey to give to Bob Cratchit and his family, it seems he inspired his readers to change their traditions. Turkeys becoming more and more popular.

For readers interested in the life and death of Charles Dickens, his whole career, this one has some appeal. It provides plenty of details about his books and the publishing industry, how he was received by the public.

For readers looking for a quick, feel-good holiday read, this one may prove to be a chore to get through.

I liked it well enough. I've read a good many of his novels. I have some interest in his life. It worked for me. It was packed with plenty of information.

© 2014 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews