May 2013 Update

I have read 20 books again this month. This time thanks to a mini challenge from my Tower Teams Read 2013 Challenge.
All in all I have read 7334 pages.

List of books:

1. Virtual Evil by Jana Oliver
2. WLT: A Radio Romance by Garrison Keillor 
3. Queen Of Sorcery by David Eddings 
4. Magician's Gambit by David Eddings 
5. Castle of Wizardry by David Eddings 
6. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury 
7. Enchanters' End Game by David Eddings 
8. Just Doll by Janice Daugharty
9. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
10. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
11. The Last Colony by John Scalzi
12. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
13. Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong
14. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
15. Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi
16. Sharpe's Prey by Bernard Cornwell
17. Merrick by Anne Rice
18. Guards! Guards!: by Terry Pratchett
19. The Light Within Me by Carly Fall
20. All Summer Long by Susan Mallery

All posts from April are HERE

All Summer Long by Susan Mallery

Can a summer fling turn into love that lasts a lifetime? Former underwear model turned entrepreneur Clay Stryker has loved, tragically lost and vowed that he'll never risk his heart again. After making his fortune, the youngest of the rugged Stryker brothers returns to Fool's Gold, California, to put down roots on a ranch of his own. But he's frustrated to discover that even in his hometown, people see him only for his world-famous...assets.
Firefighter Chantal (Charlie) Dixon grew up an ugly duckling beside her delicately beautiful mother, a feeling reinforced long ago by a man who left soul-deep scars. Now she has good friends, a solid job and the itch to start a family-yet she can't move toward the future while she's haunted by painful memories.
Clay finds an unexpected ally, and unexpected temptation, in tomboyish Charlie, the only person who sees beyond his dazzling good looks to the real man beneath. But when Charlie comes to him with an indecent proposal, will they be able to overcome their pasts and find a love that lasts beyond one incredible summer? From Goodreads.

It was an okay romance book, a bit too explicit but it fit the story. 

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Sequel Reading Challenge

The Light Within Me by Carly Fall

When Abby and Noah meet, there is an explosive attraction between them that neither can deny...
As a shy, awkward, social misfit, Abby has gone her whole life feeling as though she's different from everyone else and she simply doesn't fit in well with society as a whole. She longs to feel a real connection with someone, and she finally does when she meets Noah.
Unbeknownst to Abby, Noah is from another world and his sole purpose is to hunt down the evil of his people that was unleashed on Earth hundreds of years ago. He's certain he isn't going to be able to return to his home, and anger and the need for revenge are his constant companions. His focus has been eradicating the evil and making them pay for taking his life on his world away from him.
Noah tries desperately to fight his attraction to Abby so he can keep his focus on his mission. But when Abby gets dragged into the evil and mayhem from Noah's world, he realizes that maybe with Abby he can find a home here on Earth...if he can save her in time. From Goodreads.


It was an okay read and an interesting concept that aliens were on earth to hunt their own escaped criminals. Also, if they give in to the ultimate pleasure, they will become human.This book was free and I will probably read more of this series if they are either free or very cheap.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (alien)
Quick fix Challenge 2013 (261 pages)
2013 Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge (free on Amazon.uk 29th of May 2013)

Guards! Guards!: by Terry Pratchett

Here there be dragons . . . and the denizens of Ankh-Morpork wish one huge firebreather would return from whence it came. Long believed extinct, a superb specimen of draco nobilis ("noble dragon" for those who don't understand italics) has appeared in Discworld's greatest city. Not only does this unwelcome visitor have a nasty habit of charbroiling everything in its path, in rather short order it is crowned King (it is a noble dragon, after all . . .).
Meanwhile, back at Unseen University, an ancient and long-forgotten volume--The Summoning of Dragons--is missing from the Library's shelves. To the rescue come Captain Vimes, Constable Carrot, and the rest of the Night Watch who, along with other brave citizens, risk everything, including a good roasting, to dethrone the flying monarch and restore order to Ankh-Morpork (before it's burned to a crisp). A rare tale, well done as only Terry Pratchett can. From Goodreads.




I have tried reading books from the Discworld series before but just thought them too weird. I was told to try this one as that would be a good place to start. I enjoyed it and might now try more.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Sequel Reading Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (dragon)

Merrick by Anne Rice

Anne Rice's richly told new novel for the first time weaves together two irresistible worlds - the witches' world and the vampires' world - in a dance of seduction, death and rebirth.
Lestat's mesmerizing friend Louis de Pointe du Lac is tortured by the memory of the child vampire Claudia, whom he loved and lost. With the help of David Talbot, vampire and ultimate fixer from the secret Talamasca organization, Louis appeals to Merrick, the beautiful, mixed-race, illegitimate daughter of the New Orleans Mayfair clan. Merrick must use her black witchcraft to call up the ghost of Claudia - however dangerous this may be - and her search takes her close to the edge, through blood and terror, voodoo and violence.
Sweeping from New Orleans to the Guatemalan jungle, this is vampire literature at its most hypnotic, exotic and splendid. From Goodreads.




This book is number 7 in the Vampire Chronicles. This is a re-read for me, I think I read it the first time 8 years ago. This book is about Merrick who is a Mayfair witch with quite some power. This book is not part of the Mayfair Witches series, they are just mentioned as another part of her family. this book is about Merrick and vampires. I enjoyed it and I read it quite quickly as I wanted to know what was going to happen, I couldn't quite remember from my last read.
I am at the moment reading a book here and there but for new readers of this series I would recommend starting at the beginning as there are a lot of things mentioned in this book that are from earlier books.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Sequel Reading Challenge
2013 Anne Rice Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (witch)
2013 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge 

Sharpe's Prey by Bernard Cornwell

It is 1807 and Lieutenant Richard Sharpe, recently returned to England, is offered a new job: go to Copenhagen, help the Honourable John Lavisser deliver a bribe, and so stop a war. It seems very easy.
But nothing is easy in a Europe stirred by French ambitions. The Danes possess a battle fleet that could replace every warship the French lost at Trafalgar and Napoleon's forces are gathering to take it. The British must stop them.
Sharpe is ordered to protect Lavisser against the French agents who infest the Danish capital. It is a shadow war of spies and brutality in which Sharpe is a sacrificial pawn. But sometimes pawns can change the game.
As the Danish army attempts to raise the British siege, it is met by Sir Arthur Wellesley with a force of redcoats and riflemen. Copenhagen is doomed, IN nights of merciless British bombardment, Sharpe must protect a woman, hunt a traitor and stay alive. From Goodreads


This book only just made it to 3 Polar Bears. I needed a book that was historical fiction and a book that was number 5 in a series and this book fit. Another reason to choose this book was that most of it takes place in Denmark and, as I am Danish, this appealed to me. After reading it, which at times was hard going, I must admit that it taking place in Denmark just wasn't enough when I am no fan of military books. I liked the main character which was part of bringing this from 2 to 3 Polar Bears.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Sequel Reading Challenge
2013 Literary Exploration Reading Challenge (historical fiction)

Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi

How do you tell your part in the biggest tale in history?
I ask because it's what I have to do. I'm Zoe Boutin Perry: A colonist stranded on a deadly pioneer world. Holy icon to a race of aliens. A player (and a pawn) in a interstellar chess match to save humanity, or to see it fall. Witness to history. Friend. Daughter. Human. Seventeen years old.
Everyone on Earth knows the tale I am part of. But you don't know my tale: How I did what I did — how I did what I had to do — not just to stay alive but to keep you alive, too. All of you. I'm going to tell it to you now, the only way I know how: not straight but true, the whole thing, to try make you feel what I felt: the joy and terror and uncertainty, panic and wonder, despair and hope. Everything that happened, bringing us to Earth, and Earth out of its captivity. All through my eyes.
It's a story you know. But you don't know it all. From Goodreads.



I was a bit wary of this book, it is the story of The Last Colony told from Zoe's point of view. It wasn't as bad as I had feared. There were some new stories in it which meant it was different enough from The Last Colony. I especially liked Zoe's relationship with the Obin, her alien protectors.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Sequel Reading Challenge
Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2013
2013 A-Z Reading Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (alien)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

It is the middle of the summer, but there is an unseasonal mist pressing against the windowpanes. Harry Potter is waiting nervously in his bedroom at the Dursleys' house in Privet Drive for a visit from Professor Dumbledore himself. One of the last times he saw the Headmaster was in a fierce one-to-one duel with Lord Voldemort, and Harry can't quite believe that Professor Dumbledore will actually appear at the Dursleys' of all places. Why is the Professor coming to visit him now? What is it that cannot wait until Harry returns to Hogwarts in a few weeks' time? Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts has already got off to an unusual start, as the worlds of Muggle and magic start to intertwine ... From Goodreads.

I am just one of many that thinks Harry Potter is a brilliant series. The tale of the wizard Harry who with the help of his friends is battling the evil Lord Voldemort. If you like books about witches and wizards and haven't read the Harry Potter series yet, hurry up and read.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Mammoth Book Challenge
2013 Sequel Reading Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (witch)
2013 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge

Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong

Being the world’s only female werewolf has its advantages, such as having her pick of the Otherworld’s most desirable males. And Elena Michaels couldn’t have picked a more dangerously sexy and undyingly loyal mate than Clayton Danvers. Now their bond will be put to the ultimate test as they follow a bloody trail of gruesome slayings deep into Alaska’s frozen wilderness.
There’s nothing the werewolf community dislikes more than calling attention to itself. So when a pair of rogue man-eaters begins hunting humans, it’s up to Elena and Clayton to track down the predators. But any illusions their task would be simple are quickly dispelled. For even in werewolf terms, there’s something very disturbing taking place in the dark Alaskan forests. A werewolf more wolf than human and more unnatural than supernatural is on the hunt—a creature whose origins seem to spring from ancient legends of the shape-shifting Wendigo.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, Clayton and Elena find themselves confronting painful ghosts from their pasts — and an issue neither of them is eager to discuss. For one of them has been chosen to become the new Pack leader, and as every wolf knows, there can be only one Alpha. They’ve always been equals in everything. Now, when their survival depends more than ever on perfect teamwork, will instinct allow one of them to lead...and the other to follow? From Goodreads.

This is the tenth book in one of my favourite paranormal series. Kelley Armstrong tells great tales about a large group of paranormal beings. I like the early witch books and the books about the werewolves best.
I highly recommend this Women of the Otherworld series but you should start with number one: Bitten.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Sequel Reading Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (werewolf)

Bout of Books 7.0 Read-a-Thon Finished

Bout of Books Read-a-Thon hosted by Bout of Books.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

My goal for the week was to read 4 books and I completed this goal as I read 5½ book. I had a very mixed week as I had three days where I read less than 100 pages but I also had a couple of good days and especially Sunday was a very good reading day. I have enjoyed this Read-a-Thon.

The books I read:

1. Just Doll by Janice Daugharty
2. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, John Rocco
3. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
4. The Last Colony by John Scalzi
5. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan 
6. Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong (finished 245 pages of 339 pages) 

My daily updates are HERE. 

I will try to take part in the next Read-a-Thon in August

The Sea of Monsters Rick Riordan

After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson is finding his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson, a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any normal friends. But things don't stay quiet for long.
Percy soon discovers there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: the magical borders that protect Half-Blood Hill have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and the only safe haven for demigods is on the verge of being overrun by mythological monsters. To save the camp, Percy needs the help of his best friend, Grover, who has been taken prisoner on an island somewhere in the Sea of Monsters, the dangerous waters Greek heroes have sailed for millennia. Only today, the Sea of Monsters goes by a new name: The Bermuda Triangle.
Together with his friends, Percy must retrieve the Golden Fleece from the Island of the Cyclopes or Camp Half-Blood will be destroyed. But first, Percy will learn a stunning new secret about his family, one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or simply a cruel joke. From Goodreads.

I will continue this series as I find the adventure mixed with the Greek Gods interesting and in this one I like Percy's new brother.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Sequel Reading Challenge
Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2013
Quick fix Challenge 2013 (279 pages)
2013 Mythology Challenge

The Last Colony John Scalzi

Retired from his fighting days, John Perry is now village ombudsman for a human colony on distant Huckleberry. With his wife, former Special Forces warrior Jane Sagan, he farms several acres, adjudicates local disputes, and enjoys watching his adopted daughter grow up.
That is, until his and Jane's past reaches out to bring them back into the game — as leaders of a new human colony, to be peopled by settlers from all the major human worlds, for a deep political purpose that will put Perry and Sagan back in the thick of interstellar politics, betrayal, and war. From Goodreads

I enjoyed this book, it wasn't as good as some of the others in the Old Man's War series but still enjoyable. There is a lot of deceit and betrayal in this story.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Sequel Reading Challenge
Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2013
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (alien)

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

Here are the confessions of a vampire. Hypnotic, shocking, and chillingly erotic, this is a novel of mesmerizing beauty and astonishing force --- a story of danger and flight, of love and loss, of suspense and resolution, and of the extraordinary power of the senses. It is a novel only Anne Rice could write. From Goodreads.

This was a re-read and I enjoyed it just as much this time around. The Vampire Chronicles are well worth reading.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Anne Rice Challenge
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (vampire)

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood. I never asked to be the son of a Greek God. I was just a normal kid, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher. That's when things started really going wrong. Now I spend my time fighting with swords, battling monsters with my friends, and generally trying to stay alive.
This is the one where Zeus, God of the Sky, thinks I've stolen his lightning bolt - and making Zeus angry is a very bad idea.
Can Percy find the lightning bolt before a fully-fledged war of the Gods erupts? From Goodreads.

A very nice quick read. It is also fun to read about the Greek Gods and their fights with each other. In this book Percy finds out he is the son of a Greek God. Percy is a likeable hero managing a lot with the help of his friends. I will definitely read more in this series.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Mythology Challenge
2013 1st In A Series Challenge

Just Doll by Janice Daugharty

“Daugharty does a fine job of demonstrating how ordinary men and women are affected, in unpredictable ways, by race, poverty and geography and by the enduring legacy of important historical moments.”~ People Magazine
She is only seventeen when she marries into a world of privilege, mystery, heartache and passion . . .Doll Baxter is barely grown when she weds wealthy older landowner Daniel Staten in order to save her family’s impoverished farm in post-Civil War Georgia. Over the decades that follow, Doll and Daniel struggle to resolve the tensions between them. Both are strong-willed; both are rooted to the fertile southern soil.
The twists and turns of their lives together influence the fates of many around them, both black and white. “It seemed that people were just passing through only long enough for you to get to loving them, then gone as if they never were, or were somebody you had dreamed up for the sole purpose of bringing suffering. Love was dangerous suddenly; a child or husband might be with you one day and gone the next and leave you gnawing on the corner of your pillow to keep from crying out questions in the middle of the night. Then morning, there was always morning.” From Goodreads.


A historical romance about the harsh life in post-civil war Georgia. Two people who marry each other not for love but for practical reasons.
An okay book as it was free, I might read more from this author if I find her books for free.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 A-Z Reading Challenge
Quick fix Challenge 2013 (234 pages)
2013 Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge (free on Amazon.uk 9th of December 2012)

Bout of Books 7.0 Read-a-Thon Update

Bout of Books Read-a-Thon hosted by Bout of Books.

My goal for this week is to read 4 books.

Monday: Didn't read as much as I hoped.
Tuesday: Read more than expected, first book finished. But didn't get the cleaning done :-)
Wednesday: My day off. Read a lot.
Thursday: Hard day at work, tired and didn't read much.
Friday: Another workday that ended with waiting in the cold for a bus that didn't turn up.
Saturday: At work but got a lot of reading done when I came home. Also watched the Eurovision Song Contest with a four hour delay. I had to as I am Danish.
Sunday: Read all day.

Monday:
# of Pages Read today:  51
# of Pages Read for week:  51
Currently Reading: Just Doll by Janice Daugharty (22%)
Books Finished Today: 0
Total # of Books Read: 0

Tuesday:
# of Pages Read today:  259
# of Pages Read for week:  310
Currently Reading: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan(20%)
Books Finished Today: 1: Just Doll by Janice Daugharty
Total # of Books Read: 1

Wednesday
# of Pages Read today:  404
# of Pages Read for week: 714
Book Reading now: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (27%)
Books Finished Today: 1: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Total # of Books Read: 2

Thursday
# of Pages Read today:  97
# of Pages Read for week:  811
Book Reading now: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (54%)
Books Finished Today: 0
Total # of Books Read: 2

Friday
# of Pages Read today: 79
# of Pages Read for week: 890
Book Reading now: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (77%)
Books Finished Today: 0
Total # of Books Read: 2

Saturday
# of Pages Read today: 183
# of Pages Read for week: 1073
Book Reading now: The Last Colony by John Scalzi (32%)
Books Finished Today: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
Total # of Books Read: 3

Sunday
# of Pages Read today:  742
# of Pages Read for week:  1815
Book Reading now: Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong
Books Finished Today: The Last Colony by John Scalzi and The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
Total # of Books Read: 5½

Bout of Books 7.0 Read-a-Thon Goals and Sign Up

Bout of Books Read-a-Thon hosted by Bout of Books.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

I read about this Read-a-Thon  on The True Book Addict's Blog and as I like week long reading challenges I decided I had better take part.

I have a busy week ahead of me so I won't set my goal too high.

My goal will be to read four books this week. As usual for this kind of challenge my list of books is more than four so I have a choice.

My List:

1. Just Doll by Janice Daugharty (234 pages)
2. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, John Rocco (384 pages)
3. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (353 pages)
4. The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice (493 pages)
5. A Rage in the Heavens by James A. Hillebrecht (287 pages)
6. The Arrival by Nicole MacDonald (353 pages)
7. The Rising by Kelley Armstrong (406 pages)
8. The Last Colony by John Scalzi (336 pages)
9. The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven (560 pages)

Quick fix Challenge 2013 Finished

Quick fix Challenge 2013 hosted by Jessie's Book Place.

Challenge Details:

• The challenge runs from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013.
• Sign ups will be open until mid December.
• You don't have to be a blogger to participate. However, leave a comment and tell me what level  you're aiming for.
• For bloggers, post up a challenge sign up post saying what level you've signed up for. Be sure to sign-up with your sign-up post in the linky.
• You don't have to review the books you read however if you do, you will be able to post your links to your reviews here. (I'll have a post up for reviews up in January.)
• Books have to have less than 300 pages to count.
• Books such as MG/YA, graphic novels/manga, audio, rereads, can count toward your goal.
• *Updated* Anthologies and short stories count as well. (I can't believe I forgot about these.)
• Feel free to crossover the books you read for this challenge with other challenges.

(If you have any questions feel free to ask, I feel like I might be missing something here, but I could be wrong.)

Now the Levels/It will hold with:
String: 5 books
Paperclips: 10 books
Duck tape: 15 books
Gorilla glue: 20+ books

My goal was Gorilla glue: 20+ books. 

I finished this challenge 5th of March, it seems I read a lot of books less than 300 pages. I will continue to list books as I am interested in seeing how many books I will end up reading in a year that are less than 300 pages. 
Update June 1st: As I am taking part in a lot of challenges I will now stop counting.

My Posts are HERE.

THIS is a list of the books for this challenge.

2013 Women Challenge Finished

 2013 Women Challenge hosted by Peek a Book.

Rules:
* anyone can join;
* you don't need a blog to partecipate: if you are a non-blogger please leave a comment with a link (if you review elsewhere) to your review or with the list of the books you read and the level you choose;
* audio, e-books, bound books and re-reads are ok;
* create a sign up post on your blog and post the link in the linky below (scroll down please, it's at the end of the italian translation);
* challenge goes from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013

Levels:
Level 1: BABY GIRL - read 1 to 5 books written by a woman author
Level 2: GIRLS POWER - read 6 to 10 books written by a woman author
Level 3: SUPER GIRL - read 11 to 15 books written by a woman author
Level 4: WONDER WOMAN - read 16+ books written by a woman author

My goal for this challenge was Level 4: WONDER WOMAN - read 16+ books written by a woman author. 

I reached the goal of 16 books already in February. It seems like more than half the books I read at the moment are written by women authors.

My posts for this challenge are HERE.

THIS is the list of books I have read for this challenge.

Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2013 Finished

Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2013 hosted by Socrates Book Reviews.

Here are the rules guidelines.
1) All books that are part of a continuing series qualify (i.e. Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove, Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, James Patterson's Alex Cross, etc. etc.)
2) It doesn't matter if you have 1 or 10 books in a series to complete it, it qualifies (i.e. if you only need to read one more Sookie Stackhouse book to complete the goal, that's fine) The goal is to complete a series from wherever you are up to until the last published book.
3) The qualification period is January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013. Books must be read during this time frame to count.
4) Take the button above and post about it. Use the Mr. Linky below to sign up and make sure you link it directly to your post about this challenge. (Note: I'm not going to be using the Finishing the Series Blog I created last year. I'm going to keep everything here.)
5) If you don't have a blog, that's fine. Just leave a comment to sign up and tell us what you are reading.
IF YOU WANT TO LINK UP YOUR REVIEWS OR, FOR THOSE WITHOUT A BLOG, LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW.
6) Any format of book counts - audio, ebook, etc.
7) You should choose the series you want to finish before the challenge begins, but it isn't necessary. It's fine to change series during the year - as long as you complete whichever series it is.
8) Choose a level....
Level 1 - Complete 1 series.
Level 2 - Complete 2 series.
Level 3 - Complete 3 or more series.

My goal this year was Level 3 - Complete 3 or more series. 

I have completed this challenge. 
WitchLight Trilogy Debora Geary finished March 18th
Study by Maria V. Snyder finished March 24th
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White finished April 28th
The Belgariad by David Eddings finished May 12th

Update October 30th: I have now also finished:
A Modern Witch by Debora Geary finished July 1st
Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan finished October 5th


My posts for this challenge are HERE

2013 Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge Cancelled

2013 Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge hosted by Reading with Tequila.

The Rules:

• Challenge will run January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013. Participants can join anytime throughout the challenge.
• Create an intro post, linking back to this post.
• Sign up with the Linky below. Please link to your challenge intro post, not your blog home page.
• Chose your own books from the LIST. You can decide to read books only on the Top 25 list or from the entire recommendation list. You do not have to make a list of books before the challenge begins.
• All forms of books acceptable (audiobooks, eBooks, etc.)
• Rereads do not count towards the completion of the challenge. The challenge is about discovering books that are new to you.
• You don't need a blog to participate.
• Reviews, while always appreciated, are not mandatory.

The Levels:
Level I - Read 5 books from the 2012 Book Blogger Recommendation List
Level II - Read 10 books
Level III - Read 15 books
Level IV - Read 20 books
Level V - Read 20+ books

My goal was Level III - Read 15 books. I wanted to choose from the entire LIST.

Unfortunately another host that has just changed all the links for the challenge and I guess it means it doesn't exist any more and I have therefore decided not to continue this challenge.

Posts for this challenge are HERE.

Let Me Count the Ways Reading Challenge 2013 Finished

Let Me Count the Ways Reading Challenge 2013 hosted by Avanti's Place. 

I know there are many of us out there with goals to read 1 million pages in our lifetime, and some people with lesser goals. I decided to create a challenge for those of us with a page count goal and for others to start one. I'm excited about this!
The challenge goes from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013
There are levels for you to choose from. You can always move up a level but you can't go down. The levels are:  

• Living with the parents: 0 - 2000 pages
• College Dorm: 2,001 - 4,000 pages
• Off Campus Apartment: 4,001 - 6,000 pages
• My First Place: 6,001 - 8,000 pages
• Condominium: 8,001 - 10,000 pages
• Mansion: 10,001 + pages

To participate all you have to do is create a post announcing your participation with a link to the challenge in and sign up with the link below. You should also specify which version you're doing on your post, you can also do both if you would like.  If you don't have a blog you can make a post on Goodreads or Shelfari. If you use audible.com or another audio book site you can track your progress on there as well so others can see it.

My goal for this challenge was the level of Mansion: to read 10,001 + pages.

I have finished this challenge the 10th of March. I have now at the end of April read 18264 pages. I will keep counting pages but I will not add any more books to this challenge.

Unfortunately the host of this challenge has deleted all the links recently.

All my Posts are HERE

January: 5254 pages
February: 3379 pages
Marts: 4302 pages
April: 5329 pages
January to April 2013: 18264 pages 
May: 7334 pages

A list of all the books I have read for this challenge is HERE

Enchanters' End Game by David Eddings

The quest was over. The Orb of Aldur was restored. And once again, with the crowning of Garion, there was a descendant of Riva Iron-grip to rule as Overlord of the West.
But the Prophecy was unfulfilled. In the east, the evil God Torak was about to awaken and seek dominion. Somehow, Garion had to face the God, to kill or be killed. On the outcome of that dread duel rested the destiny of the world. Now, accompanied by his grandfather, the ancient sorcerer Belgarath, Garion headed toward the City of Endless Night, where Torak awaited him.
To the south, his fiancée, the princess Ce'Nedra, led the armies of the West in a desperate effort to divert the forces of Torak's followers from the man she loved.
The Prophecy drove Garion on. But it gave no answer to the question that haunted him: How does a man kill an immortal God?
Here is the brilliant conclusion to the epic of The Belgariad, which began in Pawn of Prophecy--a novel of fate, strange lands, and a Prophecy that must be fulfilled--the resolution of the war of men, Kings, and Gods that had spanned seven thousand years! From Goodreads.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this Belgariad series. If you like fantasy, a few love stories and some humorous bantering among friends, this series of books has it all. Definitely worth a read. Having read this series I might check the 2 sequels about Belgarath and Polgara.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (magic)
2013 Sequel Reading Challenge
Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2013

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

Bradbury's Mars is a place of hope, dreams and metaphor - of crystal pillars and fossil seas - where a fine dust settles on the great, empty cities of a silently destroyed civilization. It is here the invaders have come to despoil and commercialize, to grow and to learn - first a trickle, then a torrent, rushing from a world with no future toward a promise of tomorrow. The Earthman conquers Mars...and then is conquered by it, lulled by dangerous lies of comfort and familiarity, and enchanted by the lingering glamour of an ancient, mysterious native race. From Goodreads

This book was okay. We meet a few Martians but mostly it is about humans and their failings. Ray Bradbury has written a lot of books, I might read some of his other works at a later date.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (alien)
Quick fix Challenge 2013 (243 pages)

Castle of Wizardry by David Eddings

It had all begun with the theft of the Orb that had so long protected the West from the evil God Torak. Before that, Garion had been a simple farm boy. Afterward, he discovered that his aunt was really the Sorceress Polgara and his grandfather was Belgarath, the Eternal Man. Then, on the long quest to recover the Orb, Garion found to his dismay that he, too, was a sorcerer.
Now, at last, the Orb was regained and the quest was nearing its end. Of course, the questors still had to escape from this crumbling enemy fortress and flee across a desert filled with Murgo soldiers searching for them, while Grolim Hierarchs strove to destroy them with dark magic. Then, somehow, they must manage to be in Riva with the Orb by Erastide. After that, however, Garion was sure that his part in these great events would be finished.
But the Prophecy still held future surprises for Garion--and for the little princess Ce'Nedra.
This continues the magnificent epic of The Belgariad,  begun in Pawn of Prophecy, Queen of Sorcery, and Magician's Gambit--a fantasy set against a background of the war of men, Kings, and Gods that had spanned seven thousand years--a novel of fate, strange lands, and a prophecy that must be fulfilled! From Goodreads.

It is getting close to the end of the quest. I like the way the kings and the group of people we follow try to wind each other up all the time. They all also spy on each other and everybody knows it.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (magic)
2013 Sequel Reading Challenge
Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2013

Magician's Gambit by David Eddings

Ce'Nedra, Imperial Princess of Tolnedra, had joined a dangerous mission to recover the stolen Orb that supposedly protected the West from the evil God Torak. And somehow, she found herself feeling quite tender for Garion, the innocent farm boy, who would be forced into the strange tower in the center of all evil to retrieve the Orb by himself. From Goodreads.

Now I have gotten back into The Belgariad series I will just continue till I have finished. This is a fantasy series but there are lots of love stories in it too.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (magic)
2013 Sequel Reading Challenge
Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2013

Queen Of Sorcery by David Eddings

The master Sorcerer Belgarath and his daughter Polgara the arch-Sorceress were on the trail of the Orb, seeking to regain its saving power before the final disaster prophesized by the legends. And with them went Garion, a simple farm boy only months before, but now the focus of the struggle. He had never believed in sorcery and wanted no part of it. Yet with every league they traveled, the power grew in him, forcing him to acts of wizardry he could not accept. From Goodreads

I read the first book of this series over a year ago and actually had difficulties remembering what is was about. This book just swept me back into it and enjoyed being back in this world.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (magic)
2013 A-Z Reading Challenge
2013 Sequel Reading Challenge
Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2013

WLT: A Radio Romance by Garrison Keillor

See what WLT was "really like" before it became the radio station featured in the Robert Altman film.
In 1926, brothers Ray and Roy Soderbjerrg plunge into radio by founding Station WLT (With Lettuce and Tomato) in order to rescue their failing restaurant and become the Sandwich Kings of South Minneapolis. For the next 25 years, the "Friendly Neighbor" station produces a dazzling-not to mention, odd-array of shows and stars.
Brilliantly weaving together the real lives and radio lives of his characters, Garrison Keillor has given us a comic, poignant, and slightly steamy novel, full of romance, intrigue, tough business, and loose living. From Goodreads.

This book was unfortunately not as humorous as I had hoped. I like stuff from Lake Wobegon and I will read some of that instead.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Literary Exploration Reading Challenge

Virtual Evil by Jana Oliver

Harter Defoe, the greatest of all Time Rovers, has gone rogue, his knowledge of the future a death sentence. It falls to Jacynda Lassiter to save him...or betray him. A sequel to the first book in the Time Rovers series, Sojourn. In Sojourn, Jacynda Lassiter, a Time Rover from 2057, must find a missing 'tourist' in 1888 Whitechapel, Jack the Ripper's hunting ground. If she fails, history will be the first victim. She will be the second. From Goodreads.

It has been over a year since I read the first book in this series. At the time I bought this book right away to continue the series but just never got round to it.
I enjoyed this book and now I need to read the last book because it kind of finished on a cliffhanger.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Women Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (timetravel)
2013 Sequel Reading Challenge
Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2013