Spring Reading Thing Wrap-Up

All good things must come to an end, and today is the last day of the Spring Reading Thing. This was my first blogging reading challenge, and I send a big thank you to Katrina for hosting it! I started in March with an optimistic 30 book list. I ended up reading a total of 15 books, and I have two others that I'm about half way done with. Although that's only a bit over a 50 percent completion rate, I'm still pleased. I read some great books, and I definitely read more non-mysteries during the challenge period than I probably would have otherwise. (It's good to be well-rounded!) These are the books that I read:

• Ann Brashares - The Last Summer (of You and Me) (2007)
• Chris Bohjalian - The Double Bind (2007)
• Kim Edwards - The Memory Keeper's Daughter (2005)*
• Lisa Gardner - Hide (2007)
• Ken Grimwood - Replay (1986)
• Ernest Hemingway - A Farewell to Arms (1929)
• Kermit the Frog - Before You Leap (2006)
• Sue Monk Kidd - Firstlight: Early Inspirational Writings (2006)*
• Sophie Kinsella - Shopaholic & Baby (2007)
• Betty Mahmoody - Not Without My Daughter (1987)
• Stephenie Meyer - Twilight (2005)
• Brandon Mull - Fablehaven (2006)
• Rachel Ann Nunes - Winter Fire (2005)
• Michael Palmer - The Fifth Vial (2007)
• Jodi Picoult - The Pact (1998)
• Mildred Walker - Winter Wheat (1944)
• Stephen White - Dry Ice (2007)

*I've started reading this one.

These are some questions that Katrina suggested we use in our wrap-up posts:

What was the best book you read this spring?
I think it's a tie between Twilight and Replay. (The links are to my reviews.) This was a hard decision, though, because I read several really great books!

What book could you have done without?
Winter Fire, although, since it was the pick in one of my book clubs, I'm still glad I read it since one of the best things about a book club is reading books you wouldn't choose on your own.

If there were books you didn't finish, tell us why. Did you run out of time? Realize those books weren't worth it?
I ran out of time to read all the books on my list. In several cases, a book had been chosen for one of my book clubs, and when the group meeting came and went and I hadn't read the book (or in a few cases, had read just a few chapters), I just passed it by for something else on the list. I do think that eventually I'll get to everything on the list.

Did you come across a book or two on other participants' lists that you're planning to add to your own to-be-read pile? Which ones?
I discovered several books I'd like to read, including The Birth House, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, and My Story.

What did you learn -- about anything -- through this challenge? Maybe you learned something about yourself or your reading style, maybe you learned not to pick so many nonfiction books for a challenge, maybe you learned something from a book you read. Whatever it is, share!
I definitely learned to not pick so many books for a challenge; I'll make more modest goals in the future. But, more importantly, I learned how much fun these challenges are!

What was the best part of the Spring Reading Thing?
Finding so many other book lovers!

Would you be interested in participating in another reading challenge this fall?
Absolutely!