NaNoWriMo progress report (day 4): 9,115 words to date. I’ve already had one writing session today, but I’d like to do another one, as I’d like to make it to 10,000 words by the end of today.

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Now for some wonderful news. I have completed my very first reading challenge EVER!

Yes, that’s right. I’ve completed the Harry Potter Reading Challenge!

It will actually be one of my last reading challenges completed, because I’ve sworn off signing up for more reading challenges, even very interesting ones like the Women Unbound challenge (I had to sit on my hands to avoid giving into the temptation of that one – but if you’re looking for a great reading challenge, you should definitely consider this one).

I did the entire Harry Potter challenge in audio, and even though this is a reread for me, I realized I must have read the last two books in the series in one or two gulps; listening to the last two books, I found I had forgotten (more likely, “skimmed over”) a LOT of the plot, and so it was almost like reading them for the first time.

In other words, very, very exciting. And I cried lots, too. I even get teary eyed now when I think about what Harry named his middle child (you find this out in the epilogue. I won’t mention it here, as it’s a spoiler).

And while it’s a kind of funny thing to express appreciation for, I wouldn’t have finished listening to the series in audio so soon if I hadn’t had those days in October, and most recently, the first day in November, when I wasn’t feeling well. Audiobooks are great when you’re under the weather, and these Harry Potter ones were especially enjoyable.

I’ve had Harry and his friends as my bedtime reading for the past three months now – I’m really going to miss listening to the books. I’d definitely reread them all in audio again!

There’s no graceful way to post about this, so I thought I might as well let my Inner Drama Queen take over.

(If you have any pots and pans handy, feel free to bang on them and add to the general noise and ruckus.)

Are you ready?

I’M GIVING UP!

So, what exactly am I giving up on?

My reading challenges.

I CAN’T DO THEM. I REALLY, REALLY CAN’T DO READING CHALLENGES.

So this is my official notice that I have totally failed at almost all of the reading challenges I’ve signed up for, and my declaration that I will be exercising more discipline henceforth when it comes to all the gorgeous, glorious reading challenges that I just KNOW will be coming up now that we are in the final quarter of this year and heading into the new year.

And I’m trusting all of you to hold me accountable. From now on, if I find myself accepting another reading challenge, I will include in my post all the reasons why I will be able to succeed, and if I can’t think of enough reasons, I will not accept.

See, it’s not even that I’m not reading the books that I challenged myself to read. The fact is, I don’t have a clue whether I am or not.

There’s no getting around it. I just have a tough time keeping track of the books that I’ve read. And when I write reviews, I can never seem to remember to check on my challenges and see if the book I’m reviewing fits into any of the categories.

Take J. Kaye’s 100+ books challenge as an example. I’m pretty sure I’m on track to meet my goals for this challenge, but for the life of me, there’s no way I can list the all the books that I’ve read this year – I just haven’t kept track and can’t remember them all.

So this post is my not-so-graceful way of admitting that I simply fail at reading challenges – even when I’m technically fulfilling the challenges, I’m still failing them.

Sad, but true.

From now on, I’m only going to take on challenges that I know I will be able to meet; yes, I know this rather defeats the point of challenges but so be it. I might, for example, tackle a Betsy-Tacy reading challenge if I come across one (I’m sure I will). Or an Anne of Green Gables rereading challenge. But that’s the extent of it. No thrill of discovering new-to-me authors for me, no ecstasy of reading newly published books, no triumphant reading-across-the-finish-line posts.

As for my current challenges, I am letting myself stick with the following challenges:

The Harry Potter Reading Challenge

and

The Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge

And now, as gracefully as I can after admitting to so many stupendous reading challenge failures, I will exit this post …

For the Harry Potter Reading Challenge, I decided to re-read the Harry Potter series in audiobook format.

I’d just like to pat myself on the back now, and say, “Good decision, Belle”.

I’ve always had a sort of strange envy for people who decided to start reading the Harry Potter books after book seven was published. I think to myself how delightful it would be to have that opportunity to sit down, new to Harry’s wizarding world, and polish off the entire series from beginning to end, one lovely book after another.

And now, listening to the books in audio, I feel like I’m getting the chance to experience the books that way, too. (Well, almost, anyway.) Jim Dale, the narrator of the Harry Potter audiobooks, is a superb narrator;he ably brings each story to vivid life, and I find myself caught up in the books almost as if I didn’t quite know what was about to happen.

I normally listen for an hour or so before bed, and it’s like my own personal bedtime story. Once again, I find myself drawn into Harry’s story, and there’s just such a good feeling when I come to the end of one book, and know that the next book is there for me, waiting for me to start it.

When it comes to audiobooks, I have a tendency to favor books I’ve already read before. That way, there are no surprises. I know beforehand that yes, I do like the book (and no, there aren’t any scenes that are too intense for me to handle in print, much less in audio, where you can’t flip through the next page or two, eyes closed).

So the books in the Harry Potter series are perfect for an audiobook re-read. Although they’re pricy (and I noticed that Audible isn’t currently carrying them, either), I discovered that my library has a few copies of each volume.

Audiobook bliss. That’s about all I can say.

And the Harry Potter challenge is definitely one that I will be completing (I’m afraid I’m going to have a generally woeful post coming up soon about the state of my reading challenges). So far, I’ve listened to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (that’s the UK title) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (finished that last night, smiling all the while at Dobby’s reward). I also started Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban last night.

One thing, though: I do find that the images in my mind resemble to a great degree the images I remember from the movies. If you’ve re-read the Harry Potter books, do you find this happening too?

I’ve been promising myself I wouldn’t take on another reading challenge this year. I’m behind in terms of updating all of my challenge posts, so I thought I’d be disciplined about things and not jump into any more challenges.

Hah! Me, disciplined? Not for long. I was visiting Margot over at Joyfully Retired today, and saw that she had signed up for the Words Behind the Pictures challenge being held at Michael’s A Few Minutes with Michael.

I held myself back a little by not immediately rushing over to Michael’s blog; I was good – I think it took me at least 45 seconds before I clicked over. And there I read again the description of the challenge:

The first Saturday of every month, from September, 2009, through to August, 2010, an electronic copy of one screenplay will be made available through this blog.

The goal is to read the screenplay and then watch the movie before the end of that month and comment on what you’ve experienced.

The more screenplays you get through, the stronger you are as a reading challenger, but you only need to do one month to consider yourself to have completed this challenge.

It took a few more minutes before I decided, yes, I think I might do this. And then I glanced at the sidebar where Michael has a poll, where challenge participants could vote on the first screenplay in the challenge. I saw Dead Poets’ Society and Good Will Hunting and I was hooked.

I love reading screenplays. One of my absolute favorites is Eat, Drink, Man, Woman, which was directed by Ang Lee. I read the screenplay quite a while ago, and only recently did I get my hands on the DVD. I watched the movie, captivated, and have since been looking through my book stashes to try and find my copy of the screenplay again.

Another favorite of mine is Fanny and Alexander, by Ingmar Bergman; I have read and reread this one so many times. I also have The Complete Fawlty Towers, which contains the scripts to all 12 episodes of Fawlty Towers – this book is another favorite of mine.

So that’s why I couldn’t resist this one. Anyone want to join me?

I couldn’t resist! And yes, I know I’ve been very derelict in keeping my other reading challenge posts updated. But come on! It’s a Harry Potter reading challenge!

I just couldn’t say no. So I’m signing on for this one.

I’ve read all the Harry Potter books (I can remember waiting by the mailbox, eagerly awaiting the delivery of the newest, just-released book – whichever it was depended on the year in memory – and ripping the package open, having already made the entire family promise to leave me alone for the entire day so I could read from beginning to end in absolute bliss.)

I’ve also re-read several of them once or twice now, and I’ve been wanting to sit down and do a re-read from beginning to end.

So, for this challenge, I’m thinking about listening to each of them in audio. Jim Dale, who narrates the books, is a wonderful narrator, and I think this will be a great way to complete this challenge.

The challenge in full is this: Read or listen to all seven books in the Harry Potter series, anytime beginning August 1, 2009 to July 31, 2010.

What are you waiting for? Sign up at GalleySmith’s and come join me in the fun!

Yes, it’s lunacy. I don’t have any excuse for signing up for yet another reading challenge, except that I’ve been wanting to read the Sookie Stackhouse series for a while now. So when Beth Fish Reads announced the Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge, I knew I just had to join in on the fun.

Here are the rules: Between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, catch up on Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire series. No matter if you’re starting with book 1 or book 8, you have a year to read all about Sookie. Read Sookie in print, listen to the audio, read an eBook — format is not an issue.

The books in the series are:

Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse
Dead and Gone

I was assured by a few people on Twitter last night that these books are fast, fun reads. So I’m really looking forward to this. And here’s a bonus: Melissa’s Bookshelf has a giveaway of the boxed set containing the first seven books in the series! The giveaway ends July 5, and it’s open worldwide. Very nice!

Interested in doing the challenge with me? Hop on over to the official challenge sign-up post and add your name to Mr. Linky. In July, Beth F. will put up another post where you can go to link to your reviews and keep track of your progress.

It seems that there are a lot more reading challenges that I had bookmarked to join than I remembered, and while I tried to go through the list to weed things out, the list didn’t exactly shrink much (I think it grew, actually).

And rather than write a post for each of my challenge pages, it dawned on me that I could just write a page for each challenge page, and then list them all in one post!

So here they are – the rest of my 2009 reading challenges, in no particular order. I told you there were a lot!

2009 Pub Challenge

What’s in a Name 2

Romance Reading Challenge 2009

Numbers Challenge

Suspense and Thriller Reading Challenge

Read Your Name Challenge

2nds Challenge

Chick Lit Challenge

Essay Reading Challenge

Buy One Book and Read It Challenge

2009 Mini Challenges

TBR Challenge 2009

‘09 Debut Authors Challenge

This should be fun. I think. I hope.

I signed up for the Series Challenge Season III when it was first posted but forgot to write up a post for tracking my progress – so here it is now!

The challenge starts December 1st, 2008 and goes until November 30th, 2009

The rules:

1) Pick a couple series you already started and now want to finish (meaning, you’ll be all up to date with the series when it ends).

2) Read at least 4 books, more are also okay, of course!

3) Post your review of the books on your blog or in the comment section, no matter how long. If you post the review on your blog, please post a link to the review in the comment section so that everyone else can check out your review.

4) Have fun!

Reviews posted for this challenge are listed here.

I will update this post each time I read a book that fits this challenge.

Bryant and May (Peculiar Crimes Unit) series
Full Dark House, by Christopher Fowler (My review of Full Dark House.)
White Corridor – review

I am signing up for the Young Readers Challenge 2009. The rules are: read 12 children’s books in 2009 (Children’s books’ are defined as anything written to be read (or read aloud) to children 12 and under).

I will be using this post to keep track of my progress – updates and links to reviews will be posted here.

1. Skeleton Creek, by Patrick Carman (My review of Skeleton Creek.)
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I’ve decided to sign up for the Serial Readers Challenge 2009. I rather like the open-ended nature of this challenge – I don’t have to pick the number of series and can just add to my list as I go!

I will be using this post to keep track of the books read for this challenge, and will be updating the list as I go.

Bryant and May (Peculiar Crimes Unit) series
1. Full Dark House -review
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5. White Corridor – review
6.

The Squad series – series completed
1. The Squad: Perfect Cover, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (My review of The Squad: Perfect Cover.)
2. The Squad: Killer Spirit, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (My review of The Squad: Killer Spirit.)

I came across this challenge today and simply couldn’t resist. I’ve loved Sherlock Holmes mysteries since I was little, and this is an irresistible opportunity to reread some of the novels, find ones that I haven’t read yet, and yes! read Laurie King’s latest Mary Russell novel which will be published in April (thank you for that tip, Bookish Ruth!).

I will be aiming for the Seven Percent Solution Tier, but at this point I’m not sure which books will be on my list.

1. The Language of Bees, by Laurie King
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Another reading challenge for 2009! J. Kaye’s Support Your Local Library Challenge lets you set three different goal levels: 12, 25 or 50. Since 2009 will be my first full year of participating in challenges, I’m going to go all out and aim for that 50!

I will be updating this post with titles of books read for this challenge.

1. White Corridor, by Christopher Fowler (My review of White Corridor.)
2. Full Dark House, by Christopher Fowler (My review of Full Dark House.)
3. Rough Weather, by Robert B. Parker (My review of Rough Weather.)
4. A Cure for All Diseases (The Price of Butcher’s Meat), by Reginald Hill (My review of A Cure for All Diseases (The Price of Butcher’s Meat).)

Adding to my list of reading challenges (I can’t believe there are so many!), I’ll be doing J. Kaye’s 100+ Reading Challenge in 2009, too.

I’ll be using this post to keep track of my numbers, listing books read as I read them. It seems like the most efficient way of doing things!

1. Airhead, by Meg Cabot (My review of Airhead.)
2. White Corridor, by Christopher Fowler (My review of White Corridor.)
3. The Squad: Perfect Cover, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (My review of The Squad: Perfect Cover.)
4. The Squad: Killer Spirit, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (My review of The Squad: Killer Spirit.)
5. Skeleton Creek, by Patrick Carman (My review of Skeleton Creek.)
6. Full Dark House, by Christopher Fowler (My review of Full Dark House.)
7. Rough Weather, by Robert B. Parker (My review of Rough Weather.)
8. Ten Second Staircase, by Christopher Fowler
9. Jinx, by Meg Cabot
10. Missing You (1-800-Where-R-You, Book 5), by Meg Cabot
11. Bones, by Jonathan Kellerman
12. Pictures of Perfection, by Reginald Hill
13. Ruling Passion, by Reginald Hill
14. A Pinch of Snuff, by Reginald Hill
15. The Third Degree, by Norah McClintock
16. Over the Edge, by Norah McClintock
17. Double Cross, by Norah McClintock
18. A Rule Against Murder, by Louise Penny (The Murder Stone in Canada)
19. The Victoria Vanishes, by Christopher Fowler
20. The Case of the Left-handed Lady, by Nancy Springer
21. The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets, by Nancy Springer

I’ve joined the Read Your Own Books Challenge 2009. This will be a good one for me, as I have several books that I own and haven’t gotten round to reading yet. (Several is not a good word for it. Something like “bajillions” is probably better. Think non-quantifiable and you’ve just about got it.)

The rules are pretty simple:

1. Set a goal for how many of your OWN books you’d like to read in 2009

2. Read from your own collection between January 1st and December 31st, 2009

My goal for this challenge: 50 books.

I will update this post with the books as I read each one. My intention is to review each one too, but I’m not making that part of the challenge!

Another reading challenge that’s right up my alley. With the 1st in a Series 2009 challenge, hosted by J. Kaye’s Book Blog, the challenge is to “Read 12 books that are the first in any series. You may read & list your chosen books any time during the year.” To me, finding a new series is always a wonderful thing, so I expect to really enjoy this challenge.

1. The Squad: Perfect Cover, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (My review of The Squad: Perfect Cover.)
2. Full Dark House, by Christopher Fowler (My review of Full Dark House.)
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Another fun reading challenge! I’ve joined the Young Adult Book Challenge 2009 over at J. Kaye’s Book Blog. The goal is to read 12 YA books between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009.

Below is the list of books I will be reading for the challenge. I will update with new additions as I find them, and will link to the review once I’ve read and reviewed the book. I’ve decided to list books here only after I’ve read them (and I’ll provide a link when I have reviewed the book).

1. Airhead, by Meg Cabot (My review of Airhead.)
2. The Squad: Perfect Cover, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (My review of The Squad: Perfect Cover.)
3. The Squad: Killer Spirit, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (My review of The Squad: Killer Spirit.)
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I’ve decided to join Literary Escapism’s (I love that name) New Authors Challenge for 2009. The goal is fun and simple – you pick a number of new-to-you authors that you will read in 2009.

Hmmm. Now that I’ve read what I’ve written, I’m wondering if maybe “new author” means something different. Could it mean “new authors” as in first-published authors? I’ll send an email to Literary Escapism to find out and update this post. Update: Yes, Literary Escapism tells me it’s very definitely “new to me” books. I might update my challenge goal – the idea of discovering new-to-me authors is very enticing, and if I had a higher number, I’d try a little harder!

In the meantime, whether or not it’s “new to me authors” or “newly published authors”, I have decided to set my goal at 30.

It’s time for some fun! I just discovered the From the Stacks Reading Challenge. The rules are pretty simple: pick five books from your to-be-read pile – meaning, books you already have – and read them all between November 1 and January 30.

I have a massive TBR pile, and this morning I had a ton of fun going through some of the books, seeing what called to me. So I’m officially joining the challenge with the following books, which have jumped to the top of my to-read list (yes, there is a difference between my “to-read” list and my TBR pile!). It’s an eclectic mix, with a little bit of something for (nearly) everyone:

1. The Risk of Darkness, by Susan Hill. I have been meaning to read this book for quite a while now. I like Susan Hill’s writing style very much, and plan to go through all of her Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler books. (Oddly enough, Amazon lists the hardcover version of this book as being available for pre-order, coming March 2009, while the mass market paperback version is no longer available.)
2. Princess Izzy and the E Street Shuffle, by Beverly Bartlett. I bought this one in the sale racks; just couldn’t resist the premise: “It all began the day the prince announced his engagement to free-spirited, smart-mouthed, and occasionally klutzy “Dizzy Izzy” (as the papers called her). … With The Boss’ lyrics and her heart guiding her, Izzy did what she had to do: Show the world how a woman can both rock and rule …”
3. What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship & Love, by Carole Radziwill. I haven’t read a memoir for a while, and this one sounds like it will be good: “… a vivid and haunting memoir about a girl from a working-class town who becomes an award-winning television producer and marries a prince, Anthony Radziwill.”
4. Cathy’s Book: If Found Call (650) 266-8233, by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman. This YA book looks like pure fun. The pages are filled with different fonts and illustrations, and the hardcover version comes with a bag full of interactive goodies. My copy, unfortunately, is the paperback version; the goodies are printed on the front jacket flap, which opens out, and as a series of glossy color pages tucked into the middle of the book.
5. Trollbridge, by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple. This is a modern-day retelling of the fairy tale about the Three Billy Goats Gruff who must cross the bridge manned by a mean old troll (did I get that right?). It’s an older book, and was the winner of the Locus Award for Best YA Novel. It looks very good indeed.

If you’ve got a TBR stack that you’re planning on getting through anyway, you might want to join the challenge, too.