International Reading Challenge Recap

Every time I looked at the rules for the International Reading Challenge, they seemed to change. I started with International bestsellers and ended up with books that took place in multiple countries. Because of these shifting rules, I am still two books short of the higher end of the Local level (5-10 books):

1. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
2. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
3. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
5. Instructions for a Broken Heart by Kim Culbertson
6. The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
7. The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
8. The Paradise Prophecy by Robert Browne
9.
10.

The Prince of Mist

Title: The Prince of Mist
Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 978-0-316-04480-6
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges: YA Series, Gothic, YA Historical Fiction, Horror & Urban FantasyInternational, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: This haunting tale starts as a eerie gothic, but by midway morphs into a terrifying horror. Warning: if you are scared of clowns, DO NOT READ! Zafon sure knows how to reel the reader in slowly and then sink the books teeth into them in some scenes of pure horror.
Rating: 4 stars

Pride and Prejudice

Title: Pride and Prejudice

Author: Jane Austen

Publisher: Kobo (I think)

ISBN: eBook

Why Read?: Book Club

Challenges: E-Book, Book Blogger Recommendation, Classics, International, Show Me the Free (Borders.com), 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: I had no desire to read Pride and Prejudice until I read the Marvel graphic novel version. And then I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. When my book club picked Pride and Prejudice, I was actually looking forward to now reading the real thing. I enjoyed it. Some parts - mainly the pacing - did make it seem like a classic, but it is just a great story all around.

Rating: 4 stars

Note: Cover featured is not of the free Borders edition.

The Lovely Bones

Title: The Lovely Bones

Author: Alice Sebold

Publisher: Back Bay

ISBN: 0-316-16881-5

Why Read?: Book Club

Challenges: Mystery & Suspense, Off the Shelf, International, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: I can see why so many like this book. It was very well-written and Sebold definitely has a modern classic on her hands. I, personally, was not interested in reading it until I saw the trailer for the movie. The idea of Susie trying, at first, to get others to see who her murder was intrigued me. However, some parts of the story were way too character driven for me, and while Sebold's writing is lovely, I would find myself losing interest. The story was good and I do recommend it, I just wish it read a little faster.

Rating: 4 stars

The Red Tent

Title: The Red Tent

Author: Anita Diamant

Publisher: Picador

ISBN: 0-312-19551-6

Why Read?: Book Club

Challenges: Historical Fiction, International, 100 Books in a Year, Mini-Challenge

Thoughts: I will admit that at first I was not excited to read this. It is the opposite of the type of book I normally read. But I ended up loving it. Diamant's rich prose draws you into Dinah's tale immediately and you get lost in her story. I highly recommend this, and it does make an excellent book club selection.

Rating: 5 stars

International Reading Challenge

When I saw Welcome to Larissa's Bookish Life's The International Reading Challenge 2011, I was intrigued. I am not quite sure if I will know which all books I read have been translated for other countries, but I thought I would try the Local level (5-10 books).

1. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

2. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

3. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

5. Instructions for a Broken Heart by Kim Culbertson

6. The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

7. The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

8. The Paradise Prophecy by Robert Browne

9. The Chalice of Immortality by Erica Kirov

10. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Shutter Island

Title: Shutter Island

Author: Dennis Lehane

Publisher: Harper Perennial

ISBN: 9780061807404

Why Read?: For fun

Challenges: Mystery & Suspense, TBR Pile, Borrowed Books, International, Mini-Challenge, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: A superb psychological thriller. Lehane really warps your perception of reality as the plot twists and turns. Chapter 24 ends with a great ending, but then the last chapter, Chapter 25, opens it up to so many possibilities. I have not seen the movie, but I really want to (hopefully it will make the ending clearer).

Rating: 5 stars