The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

Lyra and Will are helped by friends old and new as they continue their perilous journey. The great armoured bear Iorek Byrnison reappears, as does Dr Mary Malone, creator of the amber spyglass. Then there are the tiny, dragonfly-riding Gallivespians, and the wheel-borne Mulefa with their ability to see the mysterious substance Dust.
As childhood slips away from them, Lyra and Will face new dangers - including the daemon-destroying Spectres and a journey into the world of the dead. The pair must play their part in the climax of a war for the future of all worlds. From Goodreads.

I have really enjoyed listening to His Dark Materials. I am still not completely taken with audio books but this series where Philip Pullman has read the books and a full cast have read the characters has just been absolutely brilliant. These books must be read in order.

This book qualifies for:
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Oktoberfest
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (L-zorilla)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9
FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014 

Romance Readers Reading Challenges: 2014 Chubby Chunkster Challenge - Finished

2014 Chubby Chunkster Challenge hosted by Romance Readers Reading Challenges on Goodreads.

I have now finished this challenge and my goal was to read: Mor-book-ly Obese - This is for the truly out of control chunkster. For this level of challenge you must commit to 8 chunksters OR 3 tomes of 800 pages or more.

I completed this goal twice. I have read 16 books for this challenge.

List of books at the bottom of this post.

Duration:January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014

They're large. They're in charge. And they're calling your name. They are the big mommas of your TBR, the mountain more than the molehill - these busty babies have been waiting for you to crack them open and take a nice, long perusal of their contents. If you've been waiting and delaying your chunkster reading, this challenge is for you!

1. Definition of a Chunkster:

- A chunkster is 450 pages or more of fiction or nonfiction. A chunkster should be a challenge.
- If you read large type books your book will need to be 525 pages or more... The average large type book is 10-15% longer or more so I think that was a fair estimate.

[NOTE: if you read e-books, check the hardcover/paperback page count here on GR, it will give you the idea if the book counts]

If the book is ebook-only with NO PRINT EQUIVALENT. then the following rules apply:

1. For the ebook-only book, please check Amazon for its estimated page count. Usually underneath the description, there is a drop-down button (online-stores) for Get a copy. Select Amazon from that and it will lead you to the version on Amazon. Check the estimated page number there.

2. If no Amazon page count exists, THEN you can use GR page count and add 50 pages due to its unreliable reputation.

3. If no Amazon page count and GR page count exists, then the book cannot be used for this challenge.

Please ask any questions if you have any doubts. You can also post the book title in this thread if you have any trouble and I'll check for you.

2. The Rules:

- Audiobooks count.
- Re-reads are fine, as long as you don't skim or skip sections.
- Short Stories and Essay collections will not be counted.
- Books may crossover with other challenges.
- You can join in anytime, but you have till the end of the year to read it all.
- You don't need to list your books ahead of time.
- Once you pick a level, that's it...you're committed to that level!
- When you post your updates, put page count by each chunkster.
- If you completed a level before the end of the year and you want to sign up again, you're more than welcome to do so.

3. You must pick a level of participation:

- The Chubby Chunkster - this option is for the reader who has a couple of large tomes on their TBR list, but really doesn't want to commit to much more than that. Three books is all you need to finish this challenge.
- Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? - This option is for the slightly heavier reader who wants to commit to 5 Chunksters over the remainder of the year.
- Mor-book-ly Obese - This is for the truly out of control chunkster. For this level of challenge you must commit to 8 chunksters OR 3 tomes of 800 pages or more. You know you want to.....go on and give in to your cravings.
- Too Big To Ignore Anymore - this option is for those chunksters on your TBR list. You may select any number of books over 450 pages but you must LIST THEM ahead of time.


List of books round 1: (finished post on Goodreads)

1. The Good, the Bad, and the Undead by Kim Harrison (453 pages)
2. Every Which Way But Dead by Kim Harrison (501 pages)
3. A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison (528 pages)
4. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (592 pages) 
5. One Sweet Moment by Maggie Craig (452 pages)
6. For a Few Demons More by Kim Harrison (512 pages)
7. The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison (528 pages)
8. Hotter Than Hell edited by Kim Harrison (491 pages)

List of books round 2: (post on Goodreads)

1. White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison (552 pages)
2. Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison (487 pages)
3. Into the Woods: Tales from the Hollows and Beyond by Kim Harrison  (513 pages)
4. Angel by L.A. Weatherly  (507 pages)
5. Dragonsblood by Todd J. McCaffrey (452 pages) 
6. The Secret History by Donna Tartt  (629 pages)
7. The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien (490 pages) 
8. The Magician by Michael Scott (496 pages)

The Magician by Michael Scott

After fleeing Ojai, Nicholas, Sophie, Josh, and Scatty emerge in Paris, the City of Lights. Home for Nicholas Flamel. Only this homecoming is anything but sweet. Perenelle is still locked up back in Alcatraz and Paris is teeming with enemies. Niccolo Machiavelli, immortal author and celebrated art collector, is working for Dee. He's after them, and time is running out for Nicholas and Perenelle. For every day spent without the Book of Abraham the Mage, they age one year-their magic becoming weaker and their bodies more frail. For Flamel, the Prophecy is becoming more and more clear.
It's time for Sophie to learn the second elemental magic: Fire Magic. And there's only one man who can teach it to her: Flamel's old student, the Comte de Saint-Germain-alchemist, magician, and rock star. Josh and Sophie Newman are the world's only hope-if they don't turn on each other. From Goodreads.




This is my kind of book, though it is more than twice as long as my last book it felt shorter. The twins Josh and Sophie together with Nicholas Flamel and others are fighting mythical creatures. We know who the bad guys are but then again it is not all black and white. Also Josh is having a hard time accepting that Sophie has been awakened and he hasn't. I am looking forward to continuing this series.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: 2014 Chubby Chunkster
Crazy Challenge Connection - Oktoberfest
Crazy Challenge Connection - Bookshelf Battle Team Challenge #4
The Challenge Factory - R4: Team Challenge SSS
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Play Jeopardy!
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Quiet storm by Romanus Gabriel

Becky Douglas and Eugene Thompson have one thing in common: they hate romance. Becky derives pleasure from hurting men. She has broken quite some hearts and will not hesitate to break more should she have the opportunity. Eugene always has one question: if he doesn’t give his heart to any woman how can his heart be broken by any woman? When these two meet, their refusal to respect each other is natural. From Goodreads.

This was a quick read but unfortunately not great. I usually don't get bothered by spelling mistakes but in this book they annoyed me. Becky and Eugene hate romance but of course end up loving each other. I am glad I did not pay for this book.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
CCC A-Z Book Titles 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Oktoberfest
The Challenge Factory - R4: Team Challenge SSS
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Play Jeopardy!
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge

True of Blood by Bonnie Lamer

"I have a television so I know what a family is supposed to look like but mine is nothing like that. To begin with, both my parents are dead. Not the kind of dead where you bury them in the ground, say some nice words, cry a lot and then never see them again. Nope, when they died they refused to ‘go into the light’ or whatever it is you’re supposed to do when you die. Instead, they came back home. As ghosts. Have you ever been sent to your room by a parent who has no corporeal form? I have and it sucks..."
Xandra Illuminata Smith has lived for the last three years with ghosts as parents but her life gets even stranger after her seventeenth birthday when she finds out that her mother is actually a Witch in hiding and her biological father, whom she knew nothing about, is a Fairy and King of the Fae realm.
Xandra is the first Witch Fairy to be born in thousands of years for very good reason. No one should be able to control that much magic and Xandra was never meant to be born at all but her mother has managed to keep her hidden away until now.
The Witches want her dead and the Fairies want her blood, for only her blood will reopen the gateway to the Fae realm and allow them back into this realm to take revenge on humans and Witches alike for having banished them hundreds of years ago.
Xandra has very little time to learn how to use her powerful Witch and Fairy magic that has been bound since her birth while running from the Fairies who managed to jump realms and want to take her blood to set the others free. She needs someone to teach her and her parents enlist the help of one powerful Fairy who claims to want to keep the realms closed to each other. He will help keep her safe and alive as she learns, at least that's what he says... From Goodreads.

This is a cute and also fun young adult book. Xandra doesn't want magic to be true and suddenly has to fight for her life while learning to use her witch / fairy powers. And, yes there is a bit of romance as well. Being a YA book, it was an easy read. I might read a few more books in this series this month.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge
2014 Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Oktoberfest
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Play Jeopardy!
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Moxyland by Lauren Beukes

You think you know what’s going on?
You think you know who’s really in power?
You have No. &*@^ing. Idea.
Moxyland is an ultra-smart thriller about technological progress, and the freedoms it removes. In the near future, four hip young things live in a world where your online identity is at least as important as your physical one. Getting disconnected is a punishment worse than imprisonment, but someone’s got to stand up to government inc., whatever the cost. From Goodreads.

I didn't like this book and it wasn't very interesting. I usually think I am pretty good at separating and remembering characters in books. In this book there were only four main characters, supposed to be from different parts of society, but honestly I couldn't tell them apart. Not a book for me.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Jumble Your Genres Reading Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Bookshelf Battle Team Challenge #4
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (T-yeti)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014 - Finished

FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014 hosted by Michelle @ The True Book Addict.

FrifhtFall Read-a-Thon has come to and end and I more than reached my goal. My goal was to finish 4 books and at least one had to be scary.
I have finished 7 books, well maybe only 5+ as I was half way through the audible of The Subtle Knife and How (not) to play with Magic is only 25 pages.
For scary books, both Dracula and The Picture of Dorian Gray are horror books.
Thank you Michelle for hosting, I will be back for this next year again.

List of books:

1. Arcane Magic by Camilla Chafer 
2. Color My Horse by Bev Pettersen 
3. The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
4. Dracula by Bram Stoker 
5. How (Not) to Play With Magic by Elizabeth A. Reeves  
6. How (Not) to Love a Hero by Elizabeth A. Reeves  
7. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 
8. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (started to listen to - not finished)

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The portrait which Basil Hallward painted of Dorian Gray revealed the face of an Adonis, and when he saw the finished picture of himself, the beautiful young aesthete exclaimed: 'Why should it keep what I must lose? Every moment that passes takes something from me, and gives something to it. Oh, if it were only the other way! If the picture could change, and I could be always what I am now!' His perverse aspiration was strangely fulfilled...
[...]
This celebrated fantasy is developed as vividly as one of Edgar Allan Poe's macabre narratives, and the climax is fulfilled in murder and suicide. But although The Picture of Dorian Gray ranks as a tense and full-blooded story, it is distinguished also by the habitual brilliance of Oscar Wilde's witty and epigrammatic style.
The cover shows an engraving by Cecil Keeling. From Goodreads.



I am not sure how much I liked this but it was very interesting. Dorian Gray starts out as an innocent young man but turns to a quite horrible person in the end. There was unfortunately a part in the middle I found boring but I guess the part was necessary to explain the many years that passed.

This book qualifies for:
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
2014 Literary Exploration Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Bookshelf Battle Team Challenge #4
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (O-muskox)
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014

How (Not) to Love a Hero by Elizabeth A. Reeves

The Final Chapter in the Cindy Eller series.
Cindy's life is split between her responsibilities in her bakery and as the Seraphine of Faerie. It's chaotic, but she's making it work a day at a time.
Then Cindy's father disappears and the last thing she ever wanted to have happen is thrust upon her-- she is going to be made Seraphim. Will Cindy lose everything she has worked so hard for?
And will Faerie survive her attempts to rule? From Goodreads.

I have enjoyed this series by Elizabeth Reeves.
Cindy Eller still loves Timothy but she doesn't trust him. This book is a good ending to the series where there is a lot of betrayal and deceit to overcome but it all end happily ever after. This is an easy fun read and I am going to miss Cindy and her family.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory - R4: Team Challenge SSS
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (R-zorilla)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014

How (Not) to Play With Magic by Elizabeth A. Reeves

A Cindy Eller Short story.
Cindy Eller is a witch and a baker. She is making a name for herself in the world of desserts with her new and unique flavor profiles.
But juggling her weird family and trying to keep her magic a secret from her roommates is a daily challenge.
And her twin sisters, Starrie and Rainey Skye won't hesitate to bring the trouble right to her door. From Goodreads.

A prequel to the Cindy Eller series. It is a cute very short read that shows how much trouble her dear twin sisters can be. Good to read before start of the series but still okay to read at any time.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Jonathon Harker travels to Transylvania in Eastern Europe to do business with a mysterious man, Count Dracula.
On his way to the count's castle he is warned by many, even provided with crucifixes, and almost attacked by wolves.
To his surprise, upon reaching the castle, Harker is confronted by a professional and gentle man - that is up until he realises he has been made the count's prisoner. While he is under serious threat in the castle, strange things happen elsewhere - a Russian ship is wrecked and a woman is found with bite-marks on her neck.
The great power and ambition of the count manifests itself in deaths and looming evils, causing a group, including the escaped Harker, to hunt Dracula down and kill him.
Dracula is an intense horror flavoured with the perils of seduction, desire and identity. From Goodreads.




I needed to read this for several challenges but I have kept putting it off as I have a problem with classics. This was better than expected and of course it helps it is in my favourite genre of paranormal.
We don't actually see much of Dracula but everything is about what he does, what he can do and how to hunt him.
Dracula is a truly evil vampire and nothing matters to him but his own survival.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Literary Exploration Reading Challenge
Eclectic Reader Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory - R4: Team Challenge SSS
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Play Jeopardy!
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9
FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014

FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014 - Update

FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014 hosted by Michelle @ The True Book Addict.

I am doing well in my reading and I am sure I will manage my goal of 4 books.

Monday 29th
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman - listened to 51 pages.
Arcane Magic by Camilla Chafer - 250 pages (Book finished)
(Monday total pages 301)

Tuesday 30th
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman - listened to 60 pages.
(Tuesday total pages 60)

Wednesday 1st
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman - listened to 40 pages. (Book finished)
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman - listened to 23 pages.
Color My Horse by Bev Pettersen - 354 pages (Book finished)
(Wednesday total pages 417)

Thursday 2nd
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman - listened to 58 pages.
Dracula by Bram Stoker - 80 pages
(Thursday total pages 138)

Friday 3rd
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman - listened to 58 pages.
Dracula by Bram Stoker - 247 pages
(Friday total pages 305)

Saturday 4thThe Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman - listened to 50 pages.
Dracula by Bram Stoker - 93 pages (Book finished)
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - 50 pages
(Saturday total pages 193)

Sunday 5th 
How (Not) to Play With Magic by Elizabeth A. Reeves - 25 pages (Book finished)
How (Not) to Love a Hero by Elizabeth A. Reeves - 150 pages (Book finished)
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - 198 pages (Book finished)
(Sunday total pages 373)

Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9 - Finished

Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9 hosted by Crazy Challenge Connection on Goodreads.


This RaT is now finished in my time zone and I have done reasonable well with 1979 pages in total. My main goal for the RaT was to catch up on my September challenges and I managed that.

My list of books:

1. Monsters by C. Gockel
2. The Marriage Bargain by Sandra Edwards
3. Magic Rising by Camilla Chafer
4. Arcane Magic by Camilla Chafer 
5. Color My Horse by Bev Pettersen
6. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (audio - not finished)
7. Dracula by Bram Stoker  (not finished)

The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

The thrilling second book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, read by the author and a full cast.
In this stunning sequel to Northern Lights, the intrepid Lyra Silvertongue and her daemon, Pantalaimon, find themselves in a shimmering, haunted other world - Cittagazze where soul-eating Spectres stalk the streets and wingbeats of distant angels sound against the sky.
Here she meets twelve-year-old Will Parry, a fugitive from a third universe. Will has found a small window between Cittagazze and Oxford that brings him into this strange new realm.
Will's father, an explorer, disappeared years ago, but recently some odd characters have started asking questions about him, and now, having accidentally killed one of them, Will is wanted by the police.
Armed with the subtle knife, a tool that cuts any material (including that which separates universes) and Lyra's alethiometer, the children set out to find John Parry, with adults of various stripes in desperate pursuit. From Goodreads.

This is really good. This was a re-read (listen) for me but it is so long ago since I read it that it seems new. I am also enjoying this special audio with all the different voices for the characters.
Lyra and Will become friends and have to survive together. Luckily they get help from Lyra's friends. 

This book qualifies for:
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Oktoberfest
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9
FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014

Color My Horse by Bev Pettersen

A disillusioned heiress swaps her credit cards for a pitchfork and shovel in a desperate attempt to escape her grandfather’s iron-fisted control. However, at the track she must earn the respect of an uncompromising horse trainer who has little tolerance for greenhorns, especially one he’s been forced to hire.
Mark Russell never expected his rookie groom to have the spunk or savvy to last at his demanding race barn. Or that his reluctant respect would turn to desire. But as the forbidden attraction between them sizzles, manipulation and murder threaten not only his horses but also their lives. And suddenly a Breeders’ Cup win is the very least of his worries. From Goodreads.

This was an okay romance but it is their relationship with the horses I like more and I am not even a horse person. Jessica is okay but she is quite manipulative at the same time as she is trying to be independent. Mark doesn't want pretty females working at his stables but is pressured by Jessica's grandfather to do so.
It is a romance so of course it has a happy ending.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Yahtzee Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection - Oktoberfest
The Challenge Factory - R4: Team Challenge SSS
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014 
Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9
FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014