Brontë & Dickens Challenge

I’ve officially entered my first challenge(s). Yay! Recently I’ve been into reading historic novels—mainly Jane Austen, but I want to expand my list of old books. So I’m joining Becky’s Brontë Sisters and Charles Dickens Mini-Challenges. The goal is to read and/or watch two books or movies by Dickens, and two by a Brontë. I plan on reading:

Jane Eyre
Villette
Bleak House

And since I’m fond of watching the movie adaptations either before or after reading the book (for comparison), I’m going to watch the 1985 miniseries of Bleak House. Of course, I might decide to read/watch MORE Dickens and Brontë, but for now I won’t bite off more than I can chew. ;-) Wish me luck!

Twisted Fairy Tale Challenge Complete

I’ve completed Enna Isilee’s Twisted Fairy Tale Challenge by reading:

Beast, by Donna Jo Napoli
A Curse Dark as Gold, by Elizabeth C. Bunce
The Swan Kingdom, by Zoë Marriott
The Swan Maiden, by Heather Tomlinson

I did read Cindy Ella, too, but couldn’t come up with enough to say about it to review it.

Thanks to Enna Isilee for hosting this challenge! I had a lot of fun with it.

Royalty Rules Wrap-Up

Today is the last day of the Royalty Rules Reading Challenge. Thanks to all who participated! It was my first challenge to host, and you all made it awesome because of your reviews.

If you want to finish up a book or review at the last minute, go ahead. I’ll leave the Mr. Linky up for a couple more days. It’s not like I even have all my reviews finished!

For this challenge I read Hush: An Irish Princess’ Tale, by Donna Jo Naploli, Guinevere’s Gift, by Nancy McKenzie, and Primavera, by Mary Jane Beaufrand.

View a list of all reviews here.

Twisted Fairy Tale Challenge

I just joined the

Hosted by Enna Isilee at Squeaky Books.

The goal is to: Read 4 books about twisted fairy tales by May 5, 2008, with the exceptions of:
You may read a book that is not directly based on a fairy tale, but has a very fairy-tale theme (i.e. Sarah Beth Durst's Into the Wild)
You may read more than 4

The books I'm so far thinking of reading are:

The Swan Maiden, by Heather Tomlinson
A Curse Dark as Gold, by Elizabeth C. Bunce
The Swan Kingdom, by Zoë Marriott
Beast, by Donna Jo Napoli
Cindy Ella, by Robin Palmer

Royalty Rules Reviews & Kickoff!

Today kicks off the Royalty Rules Reading Challenge, so start reading! This is where you may, if you would like, post reviews of the books you read for the challenge.

Thank you, and I hope you have a great time with this challenge!

–Ink Mage

1. WORD for Teens: A Countess Below Stairs, by Eva Ibbotson

2. Maelstrom Books: Nobody's Princess, by Esther Friesner

3. Squeaky Books: Nobody's Princess, by Esther Friesner

4. Squeaky Books: Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, by Jessica Day George

5. Blogging My Books: The Kitchen Boy, by Robert Alexander

6. WORD for Teens: Just Ella, by Margaret Peterson Haddix

7. Framed and Booked: The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley

8. The Magic of Ink: Hush, by Donna Jo Napoli

9. And Another Book Read: Nobody's Princess, by Esther Friesner

10. Reader Rabbit: The Princess and the Hound, by Mettie Ivie Harrison

11. Teen Book Review: Song of the Sparrow, by Lisa Ann Sandell

12. And Another Book Read: Airman, by Eoin Colfer

13. The Story Siren: Dragon's Keep, by Janet Lee Carey

14. Reader Rabbit: Ophelia, by Lisa Klein

15. Teen Book Review: Princess Mia, by Meg Cabot

16. Blogging My Books: Peter the Great, by Robert K. Massie

17. Squeaky Books: Dragon's Keep, by Janet Lee Carey

18. Reader Rabbit: Princess Academy, by Shannon Hale

19. And Another Book Read: Enna Burning, by Shannon Hale

20. The Story Siren: Ironside, by Holly Black

21. WORD for Teens: The Other Boleyn Girl, by Philippa Gregory

22. The Story Siren: A Countess Below Stairs, by Eva Ibbotson

23. Kinsmen of the Shelf: The Red Queen's Daughter, by Jacqueline Kolosov

24. Reading Mamma: The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette, by Carolly Erickson

25. Blogging My Books: The Diamond, by Julie Baumgold

26. Kinsmen of the Shelf: Far Traveler by Rebecca Tingle

27. The Story Siren: The Faerie Path by Frewin Jones

28. Reader Rabbit: Airman, by Eoin Colfer

29. Someone's Read it Already: The Queen of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner

30. Becky's Book Reviews: Sword of the Rightful King, by Jane Yolen

31. Becky's Book Reviews: Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George

32. Becky's Book Reviews: Dragon Flight, by Jessica Day George

33. Becky's Book Reviews: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis

34. Becky's Book Reviews: Prince Caspian, by C.S. Lewis

35. Becky's Book Reviews: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C.S. Lewis

36. Becky's Book Reviews: Saga, by Conor Kostick

37. Becky's Book Reviews: On the Edge of the Sea of Darkness, by Andrew Peterson

38. Becky's Book Reviews: The King's Arrow, by Micheal Cadnum

39. Becky's Book Reviews: Before Midnight, by Cameron Dokey

40. Teen Book Review: Princess Ben, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

41. The Magic of Ink: Guinevere's Gift, by Nancy McKenzie

42. Readermandy: Ombria in Shadow, by Patricia A. McKillip

43. Readermandy: Eleanor: Crown Jewl of Aquitaine, by Kristiana Gregory

44. Bold. Blue. Adventure.: The Looking Glass Wars, by Frank Beddor

45. Bold. Blue Adventure.: Seeing Redd, by Frank Beddor

46. Orchidus: The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley

47. Between the Covers: The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey

48. Between the Covers: William's Wife, by Jean Plaidy

49. Between the Covers: Antony and Cleopatra, by William Shakespeare

50. Reader Rabbit: The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale

51. The Story Siren: Princess Ben, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

52. The Story Siren: Faerie Lord, by Herbie Brennan

52. The Story Siren: Nobody's Princess, by Esther Friesner

53. The Story Siren: Ruler of the Realm, by Herbie Brennan

54. The Story Siren: The Sorcerer King, by Frewin Jones

55. The Story Siren: The Lost Queen, by Frewing Jones

56. The Story Siren: The Red Queen's Daughter, by Jacqueline Kolosov

57. The Story Siren: The Princess and the Hound, by Mettie Evie Harrison

58. The Magic of Ink: Primavera, by Mary Jane Beaufrand

Seafaring Challenge Wrap-Up

Today sees the end of the Seafaring Challenge hosted by I Heart Paperbacks. I’d like to thank Christina for coming up with such an awesome idea for a challenge. It was well-planned and I had a lot of fun! This was the first challenge I ever participated in and I can’t think of a better one to have entered.

My goal was to climb to the highest “rank” of Admiral by reading four or more books. I did so by reading the following:

Voyage of Midnight, by Michelle Torrey
Peter Simple, by Frederick Marryat
All Sail Set: A Romance of the Flying Cloud, by Armstrong Sperry
The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain’s Journey, by Linda Greenlaw

(You can read other participant’s reviews at the Seafaring Tales blog.)

Royalty Rules Reading Challenge

From February 1st – April 30th, 2008 I’ll be hosting my first reading challenge, Royalty Rules. (Yes, I know, terrible pun.)

Rules: Read two, three, or four books of whatever genre you choose (fiction or non-fiction) between the dates of February 1st and April 30th. Whether you want to read about historical kings, modern queens, or fairytale princesses, the only parameter is that the books are about a royal personage, although not necessarily as the main character. It’s perfectly all right if you want to read a book about, say, the queen’s lady-in-waiting, as long as the story incorporates the rise and/or fall of a crowned head, or a sovereign’s entire life.

Crossover with other challenges if you like.
Young adult or children’s titles are encouraged, but not required.

I went a little overboard with blog-banner making, but here they are. I hope there’s one that suits you:

(200x155)



(120x240 - For sidebars)

Participants:

1. Becky (Becky's Book Reviews)
2. Shannan
3. Lena
4. Alyssa (The Shady Glade)
5. Mandy
6. Erin
7. Enna Isilee
8. Framed
9. Bohae
10. Marcia (The Printed Page)
11. Anidori-Isilee
12. SuziQoregon
13. Kim in Ohio
14. Nicole B.
15. Orchidus
16. Tuppence
17. Jocelyn
18. Meg
19. Tasha
20. The Story Siren
21. Aella Siofra (Maelstrom Books)
22. Kim L. (Bold Blue Adventure)
23. Sara
24. Lissa
25. Harmony
26. Eunbina
27. Jenifleur
28. CoversGirl
29. Loey
30. Cassidy
31. Reader Rabbit
32. Cassie

Seafaring Challenge

I Heart Paperbacks is hosting a Seafaring Challenge, which will run from November 1st, 2007 - January 31st, 2008. The basic criteria for a challenge book is simply this: it must feature something nautical.
This is my first challenge, and I just had to participate due to my love of the sea, sailing, and tall ships. Click the link above to join in the fun. Reviews will be posted to the Seafaring Tales blog.

My goal is to reach the rank of Admiral by reading at least four nautical-themed books by the ending date. So far, the list I'll choose from is the following (all of which are new to me):

Peter Simple, by Frederick Marryat
The Sea Wolf, by Jack London
All Sail Set: A Romance of the Flying Cloud, by Armstrong Sperry
Kydd, by Julian Stockwin
Voyage of Midnight, by Michelle Torrey
The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain's Journey, by Linda Greenlaw
Into the Wind, by Jean Ferris

(I've finished the ones with strike-throughs.)
If you have suggestions for others you think I'd enjoy (especially if they are for kids or teens), please leave a comment.