November in Review

I completed just five books in November (links are to my reviews):

• The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
  to finish up the R.I.P. Challenge


• Way Down Deep by Ruth White
  for the mother-daughter book club I attend with Sugar Plum


• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
  for Book Buddies


• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
  for the Yahoo Classic Lit group and the "Something About Me" Challenge


• Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult
  for the Reading the Author Challenge and the "Something About Me" Challenge

I was also working on Silvia Nasar's biography of John Nash, A Beautiful Mind, as well as reading more of Don't Know Much About the Universe. Right at month-end, I started the children's sci-fi novel The Mysterious Benedict Society.

Needless to say, this pace is too slow to reach my on-going goal to read 104 books in one year. This month's pace was even slower than my pace for the year - as these books were the 67th through 71st I've read this year. I'm still striving for 80 books this year; do you think it's possible?

The progress I made in the many and varied challenges I'm participating in:

• I completed the R.I.P. challenge just a few days late, having read four novels.


• I added two more to the seven I'd already read for the "Something About Me" challenge. My original plan was a "five-plus-five" list, but I've picked up two more along the way. By the end of challenge, on December 31, I'm planning to read at least the remaining book on my "first tier" list, Marley & Me.


• I neglected to complete the Book to Movie challenge, which ended yesterday. Three books were required, and I finished the first one back in October but my second selection, A Beautiful Mind, is going more slowly than I had hoped. (It's very interesting, but it's not a fast read.) I needed to get the first book read back in September but didn't, so I've really been behind from the start - but I think I'll persevere with the challenge and maybe I can get partial credit for turning in a late assignment. This really was a great challenge idea - there are so many books that have made their way into movie form - and you can see links to the many reviews of the participants here. (By the way, I may change my third selection to Bridge to Terabithia, which I need to read for the Newbery Challenge anyway.)

The reading I want to accomplish in December:

• Read Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf for the Yahoo Classic Lit group


• Read The Hours by Michael Cunningham for the Yahoo Book Awards group


• Read Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons for Book Buddies


• Complete the Fall Into Reading Challenge by December 21 (four of six books remaining, although I'm part way through two of them)


• Read Marley & Me for the "Something About Me" Challenge by December 31, which will count for the Book Awards Reading Challenge as well


• Complete the Newbery Challenge by December 31 (four of six books remaining), which will also result in progress on the Book Awards Reading Challenge


• Complete the Reading the Author Challenge by December 31 (one of three books remaining)


• Complete the 2nds Challenge by December 31 (three of three books remaining)


• Read Christmas Jars by Jason Wright, which was sent to me for review

I just did the math: that's seventeen books in December! I guess I'd better get reading!