Mini-Challenge

Aside from year-long challenges, I also participated in a couple of mini challenges.  One of my favorites was the  Mini-Challenge.  Why it did not have a creative name, it had a creative theme - four books, each corresponding to a line in the old wedding rhyme: "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue."  This was a very one one to complete and here is what I read:

1. Something Old - The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

2. Something New - Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff

3. Something Borrowed - Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

4. Something Blue - Maid Sama! 4 by Hiro Fujiwara

Mini-Challenge COMPLETED!

I just completed Lazy Girl Reads' Mini-Challenge today!

1. Something Old - The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

2. Something New - Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff

3. Something Borrowed - Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

4. Something Blue - Maid Sama! 4 by Hiro Fujiwara

Cleopatra (Audio Book)

Title: Cleopatra: A Life

Author: Stacy Schiff; read by Robin Miles

Publisher: Hachette Audio

ISBN: 9780307877383

Why Read?: For fun

Challenges: Audio Book, Non-Fiction, Mini-Challenge, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: This was an interesting biography. However, having read and reported on both Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and Dryden's All for Love multiple times throughout my college career, I found the second half not nearly as engaging as the first as I already knew the "story". What fascinated me the most where the parts that related more to life at the time rather than specifically Cleopatra's. I am glad I listened to this rather than read as I did so faster, but the track and disc breaks were rather odd, some almost seeming to stop mid-paragraph.

Rating: 3 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

Maid Sama! Volume 4

Title: Maid Sama! Volume 4

Author: Hiro Fujiwara

Publisher: Tokyopop

ISBN: 978-1-4278-1406-7

Why Read?: For fun

Challenges: Manga, Mini-Challenge, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: I had really enjoyed the first two volumes, but then the story seemed to halt a little, causing my interest to decline. Volume 4's chapters focus on two main storylines. The first involves a mysogenist student who tries to use his hypnotism powers to cause Misaki's downfall. After that crisis is over, the gang from Maid Latte head to the beach, where (SPOILER ALERT) Misaki and Usui's relationship starts to finally heat up. This is a fun read, but even after 4 volumes, I have trouble keeping some of the characters straight.

Rating: 3 stars

Mini-Challenge

I just discovered Lazy Girl Reads' Mini-Challenge today and jumped at the chance to join. This challenge runs January 1st-April 1st and consists of reading just 4 books, one of each of the following categories:

1. Something Old - The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

2. Something New - Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff

3. Something Borrowed - Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

4. Something Blue - Maid Sama! 4 by Hiro Fujiwara

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