One thousand hills

This another title for my book challenge to read around the world. This book is set in Rwanda, and is the second book read. This book tells about Pascal's experiences leading up to the horrific events in Rwanda in 1994. I was shocked to hear what happened. Not much was in the media about the events detailed in the book.  A good read.

The long walk home

I have set myself a challenge to read around the world. I am hoping to have read one book from most countries before I am 50. Currently there are 195 recognised countries in the world, and I have done some research and found titles for some of them. 

The first book I have read for my challenge is set in Sudan. It starts off with Nya's story carrying water back from the well to her house twice a day. One trip takes half a day. Woven with this story is Salva's recount of events involving the war in Sudan and him becoming a refugee. 

It is a short story, and it wasn't until I finished that I realised it was based on a true story. I thoroughly enjoyed this short story.

Books I've enjoyed

Ohhh! I loved If I Stay so much I went online and bought Where she went immediately after finishing it. I waited for the mailman to deliver it everyday and life went on hold the moment it arrived. I devoured the book in an afternoon. I highly recommend this two book series.

I owned this book and the movie was coming out in January... Well I didn't read the book before it was released but thank goodness I made time for this. It was hard reading some of the scenes but I felt for the characters during the escape, and felt for Jack as comes to learn about life on the outside.

Another one due to be released as film this year... And I will have to take the tissues... I cried throughout the book. It was a truly fabulous read I'll be asking all my friends to read it, so I can discuss with them the storyline. Now should I read the next instalment part 2...

Erin's book challenge

So I haven't really tried to get this one done but I have read three of the nine books I challenged myself to read. 

Read a book at least 200 pages long... This was my book club selection in January, and I absolutely loved it. So glad I got the chance to read it... The girls loved it too. We had a great discussion about it the following month.

Amazon reads top 100 author is Stephen King, an author I have never read. This book was based on a baseball player and my son is into baseball so I thought I would give this one a go... Well, I don't know whether it's the genre or the author, but I didn't find this suspenseful just drawn out. Maybe it's not one of his better novels, but I don't want to read a Stephen King novel for quite a while.

Read a book that will make you laugh... Hmm.. Chelsea Handler is a comedian. I thought I would laugh, I actually squirmed listening to this. 

Hopefully I will continue to plod away at this list and finish before the year ends.

audible books

I have expanded my reading collection into audiobooks. I listen to them everyday in my drive to and from work. I think it's a productive use of my time and it allows me to escape from the traffic jams and thoughts of work. 

 

Having not seen the movie yet, I decided to give The Dressmaker a go, it was narrated by Rachel Griffiths. I enjoyed it thoroughly and nearly had to stop the car at one point as I was completely shocked by the turn of events. Worst.. I had no one to share it with.

This isn't my usual read... And I couldn't listen to it with anyone also in the car, as I would feel embarrassed by Chelsea Handler discussing her one night stands and sexual encounters. I enjoyed listening to comedian Miranda Hart last year, so another comedian's life story was what I was hoping to enjoy. But this just made me squirm, Chelsea Handler is not my style. 

Wow! I don't know if it was the narration but I got caught up in the suspense of this book. I read a review, if you liked Gone Girl, this is Gone Gran. Not as sinister as Gone Girl, but very suspenseful, an engaging story.

Di Morrissey... I have enjoyed many an Australian saga by this author. I was a bit taken aback by the narration of this by a male, but he had the minor characters voices played well. Just don't know if he should have also read Bella's role. This book's description took me to the Northern Queensland tropics... I want to plan a trip there ASAP.

Kate Winslet's narration made this classic come alive. I don't think I would have ever read the actual book, but with this audiobook, I actually wanted to discover all the classics I haven't read by these A list actors narrating.

Orphan train, this historical fiction was engaging. I could imagine myself watching the action unfold. I liked the two eras narration.

I wonder what I will listen to when work goes back!

Erin's reading challenge

Book Challenge by Erin 4.0

Categories·         5 points:  Read a book, any book that is at least 200 pages long.  The collected works of A.J. Fikry is waiting to be read, and it's the next book on my list.·         10 points:  Read a book that begins with the letter “D”.  (Yes, I put 25 letters in jar – I left out X – and drew randomly)Divergent  has been on my to be read list for a while. Hoping to get this one read.·         10 points:  Read a book with a four word title.  An abundance of Katherines has also been placed in my to be read pile. Hoping to get this one read.·         15 points:  Read a book with one of the following words in the title: “mother(s)”, “father(s)”, “son(s)”, “daughter(s)”, or “child(ren)”.  The memory keeper's daughter·         20 points:  Amazon ranks their “most popular authors”, and they update this list hourly.  Based on when you make your book list, look at the top 100 authors, and pick a book to read from one of those authors, but here’s the catch – it needs to be an author new to you…one of the most popular authors, yet you’ve never read them before.  http://www.amazon.com/author-rankI noticed that Stephen King is on this list, and I haven't read any of his before so I will check out what's available from this author. My son is a baseball player so I've picked The girl who loved Tom Gordon

I enjoyed Snowflower and the ?? fan by Lisa See. So I think I will read Shanghai Girls also by Lisa See. ·         25 points:  Read a book with a “Season” in the title.  (I start the challenge in Summer and end in Autumn; many of you start in Winter and end in Spring…so the title of your book should have Summer, Autumn/Fall, Winter, or Spring in the title.)Another one off my pile TBR One summer


·         30 points:  Read a book that will make you laugh from the list attached. (submitted by Bernadette) http://www.buzzfeed.com/erinchack/books-guaranteed-to-make-you-laugh-out-loudHaving having already read Catch 22 and Jonthan Tropper's book This is where I leave you, I decided to read My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler
·         30 points:  Read a book that is a friend or family member’s favorite book (or the favorite book of another participant from this challenge).  (submitted by Peggy)TBA·         35 points:  Read a book published the year you were born. (submitted by Meredith)Terms of endearmentIf you are stuck on any of these categoriesY, ask for help or recommendations!  GOOD LUCK!

It's getting close to 2016 and so another book challenge will commence. 

·         20 points:  Read a book set in any country in Asia.  (In previous challenges, we’ve been to Europes, Latin America, and a country you’ve never visited.  Stick around, we’ll tour the world!)

Another challenge

I saw on Jamie's blog another reading challenge for 2016 and thought I had one or two books on my pile to read with colours in the title but when I actually looked beside my bed and on the study bookshelf, I own 5 titles that will be suitable for this challenge.  The Color Coded Challenge seems to be as popular as ever, and you can sign up for it here..  Once again the categories will be more open--the color may either be named in the title or it may appear as the dominant color for the cover of the book. For "implies color" the image implying color should dominate the cover--for instance a large rainbow, a field of flowers, or the image of a painter.  Get ready for a rainbow of reading in 2016. 

*Read nine books in the following categories.

1. A book with "Blue" or any shade of Blue (Turquoise, Aquamarine, Navy, etc) in the title/on the cover. 

2. A book with "Red" or any shade of Red (Scarlet, Crimson, Burgandy, etc) in the title/on the cover.

3. A book with "Yellow" or any shade of Yellow (Gold, Lemon, Maize, etc.)in the title/on the cover.

4. A book with "Green" or any shade of Green (Emerald, Lime, Jade, etc) in the title/on the cover.

5. A book with "Brown" or any shade of Brown (Tan, Chocolate, Beige, etc)in the title/on the cover.

6. A book with "Black" or any shade of Black (Jet, Ebony, Charcoal, etc) in the title/on the cover.

7. A book with "White" or any shade of White (Ivory, Eggshell, Cream, etc)in the title/on the cover.

8. A book with any other color in the title/on the cover (Purple, Orange, Silver, Pink, Magneta, etc.).

9. A book with a word that implies color (Rainbow, Polka-dot, Plaid, Paisley, Stripe, etc.).

* Any book read from January 1 through December 31, 2016 will count.

*Crossovers with other challenges are fine.

So here is my starting pile for this challenge:

1. Blue- Island of the blue dolphins This Newberry medal has been waiting for 2 years for me to read.

2. Red - A Rose for the Anzac boys I got this after a visit to the War memorial on one of my trips to Canberra. Hoping to read it in 2016.

3. Yellow- Valley of Gold I bought this title last year when my class was studying Gold

4. Green - Green boy I bought this title 12 months ago thinking I might use with my class on the topic of sustainability but never got round to reading it.

5. Brown- TBA

6. Black - The witch of blackbird pond another Newberry medal winner on my TBR pile

7. White- TBA

8. Other colour TBA

9. Word that implies colour -TBA

Looking forward for 2016!