Reading Challenge Update: January 2014

Here is where I stand with the challenges I have joined after the month of January (only challenges that I read books for this month are featured here):

Ebook (3/25)
1. Love Me If You Must by Nicole Young
2. Perfect Nightmare by Norman Stanton
3. Along the Way Home by Christi Corbett

Audio Book (3/25)
1. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolpho Anaya
2. Once by Morris Gleitzman
3. Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Graphic Novel (4/12)
1. Borrowed Magic by Dave Roman & John Green
2. Avigon by Che Gilson & Jimmie Robinson
3. The Summer of Love by Debbie Drechsler
4. Manhattan Beach 1957 by Hermann & Yves H.

100 Books in a Year (17/100)
1. Borrowed Magic by Dave Roman & John Green
2. Love Me If You Must by Nicole Young
3. Grimm's Fairy Tales by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm
4. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
5. Avigon by Che Gilson & Jimmie Robinson
6. The Summer of Love by Debbie Drechsler
7. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolpho Anaya
8. Manhattan Beach 1957 by Hermann & Yves H.
9. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
10. Once by Morris Gleitzman
11. Perfect Nightmare by Norman Stanton
12. Along the Way Home by Christi Corbett
13. Children of the Knight by Michael J. Bowler
14. Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.
15. Lexicon by Max Barry
16. The Mage's Daughter by Lynn Kurland
17. Enders by Lissa Price

Historical Fiction (3/15)
1. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
2. Once by Morris Gleitzman
3. Along the Way Home by Christi Corbett

Aussie Author (1/1) - COMPLETED!
1. Lexicon by Max Barry

Dystopia (1/5)
1. Enders by Lissa Price

European (1/3)
1. Once by Morris Gleitzman

British Book (1/12)
1. Perfect Nightmare by Norman Stanton

Free Reads (7/30)
1. Love Me If You Must by Nicole Young
2. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
3. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolpho Anaya
4. Once by Morris Gleitzman
5. Perfect Nightmare by Norman Stanton
6. Along the Way Home by Christi Corbett
7. Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Witches & Witchcraft (1/5)
1. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolpho Anaya

Author Alphabet (9/26)
1. Love Me If You Must by Nicole Young
2. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
3. The Summer of Love by Debbie Drechsler
4. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolpha Anaya
5. Perfect Nightmare by Norman Stanton
6. Along the Way Home by Christi Corbett
7. Lexicon by Max Barry
8. The Mage's Daughter by Lynn Kurland
9. Enders by Lissa Price

YA Mythology (2/12)
1. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolpho Anaya
2. Children of the Knight by Michael J. Bowler

Elsewhere Online: January 2014

As you know from my Stacking the Shelves posts, I review for two other websites (bookloons.com and bittenbybooks.com). As I cannot post my reviews there and here, but I would still like to count the books I read for the challenges, I am going to have a post like this at the end of the every month listing the books I reviewed and what challenges the went towards.

Title: Lexicon
Author: Max Barry

Challenges: Aussie Authors, Author Alphabet, 100 Books in a Year

Title: The Mage's Daughter

Author: Lynn Kurland

Challenges: Author Alphabet, 100 Books in a Year

Title: Enders

Author: Lissa Price

Challenges: Dystopia, Author Alphabet, 100 Books in a Year

Letter from Birmingham Jail

Title: Letter from Birmingham Jail
Author: Martin Luther King, Jr.

Publisher: Mission Audio
ISBN: 9781610457491

Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges: Audio Book, Free Reads, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: So passionate and eloquent!  A great way to get a glimpse into a huge part of modern history.  Listening to it rather than reading it added immensely to the power behind Dr. King's words.

Rating: 5 stars

Children of the Knight

Children of the Knight

by Michael J. Bowler

published by Harmony Ink

June 2013

ISBN 978-1-62380-656-9

Why Read?: Review

Challenges: YA Mythology, 100 Books in a Year

In Children of the Knight, Michael J. Bowler explores what it would be like if King Arthur came back to today's Los Angeles, and who he might choose as his round table if he did.  This is a highly imaginative yet realistic novel that will appeal to teens and adults alike.

A mysterious tagger has been painting a weird symbol all over LA.  Police are baffled.  So is Lance, a homeless skater kid, when he first meets the strange man who rides and horse and lives in the sewer.  Soon, though, Lance comes to believe this man - the first to ever really care about him - is the King Arthur, returned as prophesied.  The adults are not so sure, but the downtrodden kids who look to Arthur to lead them, know it is real.  He has come to help the children reclaim their rightful place in society, but how has he returned and why now?

The publisher of this novel is Harmony Ink, and that is really what Children of the Knight is all about.  Whether Arthur really is the King Arthur of legend, he teaches the kids how to work together, no matter what their background, gender, race, or sexual orientation.  Bowler does an amazing job getting this message across with some very in-depth and complex main and supporting characters.  There are quite a few characters, though, and some of the bit players do get lost in the shuffle.  However, that is to be accept in a book where the main character is building an army. 

Children of the Knight is a wonderful contemporary read with fantastic elements thrown in.  Michael J. Bowler has a message and gets it across, while still keeping the novel an engaging read for a variety of ages.

Rating 4/5

Along the Way Home

Title: Along the Way Home
Author:Christi Corbett

Publisher: Astraea
ISBN: 978-1-62135-170-2

Why Read?: Book Club
Challenges: E-Book, Historical Fiction, Free Reads, Author Alphabet, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: This was a delightful story that will definitely appeal to those kids who grew up playing Oregon Trail.  It is a sweet romance, but Corbett does not hold back showing how difficult life on the trail really was.

Rating: 4 stars

Perfect Nightmare

Title: Perfect Nightmare
Author:Norman Stanton

Publisher: Thames River
ISBN: 978-0-85728-346-7

Why Read?: Early Review
Challenges: E-Book, British, Free Reads, Author Alphabet, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: Interesting premise about a group of unrealated people who come together to minimize the damage done by the natural disasters that they dream about.  However, each disaster was very much a standalone event, almost like each chapter was its own short story. Also, I realize this is a British book, but I had when American characters use British terms in America.

Rating: 2 stars

Stacking the Shelves: 1/19-1/25

For Review:

Chasing Prophecy by James Moser

Bought on Amazon:

Time Travel by Inaccurate Realities

Bought on Humblebundle:

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Abandon by Meg Cabot

Junky by William S. Burroughs

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony

2014 YA Mythology Challenge

Challenge:  YA Mythology Challenge
Host:  For Those About to Read...
2013 Level:  10 books - FAILED!
2014 Level:  12

1. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolpho Anaya
2. Children of the Knight by Michael J. Bowler
3. Promise Bound by Anne Greenwood Brown
4. The Crone's Jewels by E. J. Dabel
5. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
6. Running Through a Dark Place by Michael J. Bowler
7. 
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Once

Title: Once
Author:Morris Gleitzman

Publisher: Bolinda
ISBN: 9781740949026

Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges: Audio Book, Historical Fiction, European, Free Reads, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: I have read a number of YA books concerning the holocaust, but this is the first to make me laugh and cry simultaneously.  Gleitzman really captured what a 10-year-old sheltered boy must have felt when first encountering Nazis and the horrors in Poland in 1942.

Rating: 5 stars

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Title: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Author: Seth Grahame-Smith

Publisher: Grand Central
ISBN: 978-0-446-56307-9

Why Read?: Book Club
Challenges: Historical Fiction, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: The writing style - going back and forth between Lincoln's first person journal entries and the author's narration - takes a little getting used to, but once you do, this is a very entertaining read.  I especially liked the historical aspect and how it seemed to match up with what I know of Lincoln.  Also, the ending was so better than the movie.

Rating: 4 stars

Stacking the Shelves: 1/12-1/18

For possible review (here and Bookloons):

The Tyrant's Daughter by J. C. Carleson

Enders by Lissa Price

Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill

And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard

The True Adventures of Nicolo Zen by Nicholas Christopher

Promise Bound by Anne Greenwood Brown

First Reads from Goodreads:

The Grendel Affair by Lisa Shearin

LibraryThing Early Review:

Roosevelt's Beast by Louis Bayard

Requested from Paperback Swap:

A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper

Manhattan Beach 1957

Title: Manhattan Beach 1957
Author: Hermann & Yves H.

Publisher: SAF
ISBN: 1-931724-23-7

Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges: Graphic Novels, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: This story is complex and intense, made even more so by Hermann's skillful artwork.  As John Haig is a man stuck in his past, Hermann chooses to always have him in black and white - not just in the flashbacks - and this adds amazing depth.  I do think the story could have become more complex and circular, but that would have changed the ending.

Rating: 4 stars

Bless Me, Ultima

Title: Bless Me, Ultima
Author: Rudolpho Anaya

Publisher: Recorded Books
ISBN: 9781449887568

Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges: Audio Book, Free Reads, Author Alphabet, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: I had never heard of this until YASync had it featured as a free download last summer.  It is an interesting and engaging tale of a young Hispanic boy struggling with religion and superstition as death seems to surround him.  I did have trouble with the lines that were in Spanish as I was listening to it and not reading it, and there was not translation.

Rating: 3 stars

The Summer of Love

Title: The Summer of Love
Author: Debbie Drechsler

Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
ISBN: 1-896597-65-3

Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges: Graphic Novel, Author Alphabet, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: Not sure what it was like growing up in the 60s, but Drechsler's red, green, and white drawings sure capture a definitely feel for the era.  Even though it takes place in the past, this coming-of-age graphic novel will resonate with anyone who remembers their first experiences with love, no matter what the decade.

Rating: 4 stars

Eyrie

Eyrie

by Emma Michaels

published by Tribute

2013

ISBN 978-0-9857922-4-4

Why Read?: Review

Challenges: n/a

Emma Michaels continues her Society of Feathers trilogy with Eyrie.  Eyrie picks up right after Owlet with Iris finding out more about how special she is among the Aves and that she holds a rightful place within the Eyrie.  The majority of the story is about her learning about herself and the others with bird souls either through direct conversation or entering the memories of others, a power that she has as an Owlet.

This was a very passive novel with a lot more tell rather than show.  This made it very hard for me to get into it and connect with the characters.  Michaels does have a very nice twist at the end, and that definitely saved the series and confirmed that Eyrie was mainly a bridge between Owlet and the final book, Stryx.  I am very interested to find out how Emma Michaels resolves The Society of Feathers trilogy.

Rating 2/5

2014 Author Alphabet Challenge

Challenge:  Author Alphabet
Host:  Nothing But Reading Challenges
2013 Level: n/a
2014 Level: 26 books

A. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolpho Anaya
B. Lexicon by Max Barry
C. Along the Way Home by Christi Corbett
D. The Summer of Love by Debbie Drechsler
E. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by David Eggers
F. Last Train to Babylon by Charlee Fam
G. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
H. The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill
I.  
J. The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson
K. The Mage's Daughter by Lynn Kurland
L. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
M.  Spell Struck by Ariella Moon
N. The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
O. 
P.  Enders by Lissa Price
Q.
R.  The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
S.  Perfect Nightmare by Norman Stanton
T.   The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
U. Two-Room Flat by Jill Urbach
V.  The Heart Does Not Grow Back by Fred Venturini
W. Plow the Bones by Douglas F. Warwick
X.
Y. Love Me If You Must by Nicole Young
Z.  Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin

Stacking the Shelves: 1/5-1/11

Review:

Dangerous Past by A. F. Ebbers

Won:

Sisters in Love by Melissa Foster

LibraryThing Early Review:
The Mask Game by Sergey Gerasimov

Requested from Paperback Swap:

World War Z by Max Brooks

2014 Witches & Witchcraft Challenge

Challenge:  Witches and Witchcraft Challenge
Host:  Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf
2013 Level:  Maiden (10 books) - FAILED!
2014 Level: Initiate (5 books)

1. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolpho Anaya
2. Greystone Valley by Charlie Brooks
3.  Spell Struck by Ariella Moon
4. Spellbound by Samantha Combs
5. Hexed by Michelle Krys

Avigon

Title: Avigon
Author: Che Gilson & Jerome Robinson

Publisher: Image
ISBN: 1-58240-182-9

Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges: Graphic Novel, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: This is a beautifully drawn tale of trying to find your place.  It is dark and bittersweet and truly imaginative.

Rating: 5 stars

2014 Free Reads Challenge

Challenge:  Free Reads Challenge
Host:  Bookish Ardour
2013 Level: On the Cheap (15 books) - COMPLETED!

2014 Level: Bargain (30 books)

1. Love Me If You Must by Nicole Young
2. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
3. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolpho Anaya
4. Once by Morris Gleitzman
5. Perfect Nightmare by Norman Stanton
6. Along the Way Home by Christi Corbett
7. Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.
8. Greystone Valley by Charlie Brooks
9.  Spell Struck by Ariella Moon
10. Rotters by Daniel Kraus
11. Spellbound by Samantha Combs
12. The Demon's Wife by Rick Hautala
13. Conscientious Inconsistencies by Nancy Jane Moore
14. After the War by Libby Sternberg
15. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

16. Two-Room Flat by Jill Urbach

17. Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford

18. The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann

19. A Stormy Knight by Amy Mullen

20. Get Jiro! by Anthony Bourdain, Joel Rose, & Langdon Foss

21. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

22. The Dumbest Idea Ever! by Jimmy Gownley

23. Clan Lord by Joel Babbitt

24. Enduring Courage by John F. Ross

25. The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson

26. The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

27. The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

28. Death Cloud by Andrew Lane

29. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

30.The Boy Who Could See Demons by Carolyn Jess-Cooke