Off the Shelf Reading Challenges

So once again I find myself having to move and my fiance and I are realizing that we have a lot of stuff. So I have once again returned all my library books and I am once again trying to read off the shelves. I did a challenge like this one last year and I was only trying to read 30 books which was 10 more then the previous year and I bombed miserably. This year things have got to go, so I went looking for a challenge and found Book Ardour's Reading Challenges where she is hosting the Off the Shelf Challenge. You don't have to do anything with the books after you read them, the point of the challenge is just to read, but since I already have too much whatever I read that I am not head over heels in love with will get donated to my local library.

Since I am really trying to only read off my shelf for at least the next month and a half I am going to go for On a Role which is 50 books. (I know this seems silly what with last years fail, but I have four book cases worth of books and my friends are going to kill me if I don't do something about my problem, most likely sometime around loading it all into the moving truck.) Of course I'm moving in the middle of February and I don't see myself reading 50 books between now and then I figure with the added boost by reading as much off the shelf as possible now I can do 50 books by then but at least this big push in the beginning will be a good start.

1. The Stolen One by Suzanne Crowley

2. Red Spikes by Margo Lanagan

3. Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

4. Dream Life by Lauren Mechling

5. Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

6. Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix

7. The Mermaid's Madness by Jim C. Hines
8. Devoured by Amanda Marrone

9. Honest Illusions by Nora Roberts

10. Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell

11. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

12. Secret Society by Tom Dolby

13. The Season by Sarah MacLean

14. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Pursuing the Lioness Challenge & Terrier by Tamora Pierce

Tempting Persephone is holding a challenge called Pursuing the Lioness. All you need to do to participate is read at least one of Tamora Pierce books between January 2010 and June 2010. As a bonus part of the Challenge you can also read something off of Tamora Pierce's Ultimate Ever Fantasy List. My original plan was to read the Song of the Lioness Quartet, but when I saw the cover of Terrier the first book in the Beka Cooper Trilogy, I just had to read it. I still plan on reading the the Song of the Lioness Quartet and something off of Tamora Pierce's Ultimate Fantasy List, but I don't know if I can get it done by June so I decided to post this for now.

Beka is a Puppy (or Dog in training) which is basically like being a police cadet. She works in the worst part of the city but since this is where her life started she is happy working here. She wants to help the community where she was raised and make it better for those that are stuck living a difficult life in a hard world. Instead of going for glory, she picks difficult cases to work because she wants to help people. The cases of the diggers and the shadow snake went ignored for a long time because they were happening to people that are often ignored by those of authority. Beka with her special connection to those living in the Lower City makes it a point to help those that would otherwise be ignored. She isn't a perfect heroine either; she suffers from crippling shyness and has special abilities to talk with the spirits of the dead. What really makes me lover her is her strong desire to help people and to hurt those that make life harder for people who's lives are already exceedingly difficult. She is not in it for the glory and in an organization where bribery is actually what makes the police system work she doesn't get greedy either.

Beka isn't the only fantastic character in this work. The two dogs she is assigned to Goodwin and Tunstall are also interesting. There personalities are opposites and allows Ms. Pierce to play them off of each other. It also showcases two different styles of working and provides us with yet anothers fabulous strong female character. Rosto the Piper and his freinds Aniki and Kora were other favorites of mine and Rosto the Piper maybe my new literary crush, so I really hope he makes an appearance in the next book in the series. They come from another country and even though they are Rats, they have a strong sense of honor. They also see the importance of helping those who are weak and can't necessarily take care of themselves. (I could go on forever about these characters and others but I assume you have other things to do with your day.)

While there is alot of world building in this book I really feel that what makes Tamora Pierce's work stand out are her fabulous characters. I always find myself loving them and they are just so easy to connect to. The more I read, the more I like her work so I think eventually I will read all of it.

Read Your Own Books Challenge

MizB's Reading Challenges is holding a Read Your Own Books Challenge. Since reading more of my own books was part of my New Years Resolutions I have decided that I need to join in. I went through my goodreads account and I read 20 of my own books last year. This year I would like to improve so I am going to try and read AT LEAST 30 of my own books. Fortunately I started off the year by reading a couple of books I got for Christmas, including a few graphic novels.

1.Nemi by Lise Myhre
2.The Middleman: The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse by Javier Grillo-Marxuach
3.Strange Brew by P.N. Elrod
4.The Diamond Secret: A Retelling of "Anastasia" by Suzanne Weyn
5. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
6. Showcase Presents:Batgirl by John Broome
7. Monster High by Lisi Harrison
8. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
9. Grimm Sisters #1 The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley
10. Stitches by David Small