The Portrait

I've just read the first book for the Art History Challenge. It was The Portrait by Willem Jan Otten. It is the story of a painting, narrated by the canvas. I think it was an interesting concept, but I'm not sure I really got it. The book is translated from Dutch. 

Gilmore Girls Reading Challenge

I'm not quite sure how I came across this challenge, but I couldn't go passed it once I had. I love the show The Gilmore Girls. This challenge came about when the host of the challenge Lisa received an episode by episode list of all the books that made some kind of appearance on the show.

You can find the list on the Gilmore Girls Reading Challenge blog.
There are three levels of participation:

Emily: Read 5 books from at least two different categories.
Lorelai: Read 10 books from at least three different categories.
Rory: Read 20 books from at least four different categories.

I am aiming for Emily level but hoping to reach the Lorelai level once I work out which books can cross over.


Books chosen so far:
Classics

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte


Modern Classics
Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka


Other
House of Sand and Fog - Andre Dubus III
The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides
Everything is Illuminated - Jonathon Safron Foer
The shining - Stephen King

The Good Luck Girl - Kerry Reichs

Ok, I have to admit that what drew me to this book was the cover. It was
all pink and purple and flowery... all very girly. Kerry Reichs is the
daughter of Kathy Reichs - writer of the Temperance Brennan books. I quite
like those books and I quite enjoyed The good luck girl.
It's the story of Maeve Connolly, who after going into remission and
graduating from college decides to start over again in L.A. Only to get
there she is taking a road trip in a car named
Elsie. Her trip takes her to places with unusual names like Nothing  and other
similarly odd named towns. Elsie breaks down in Unknown, Arizona. It's
here, unbeknownst to her that her new life starts. I don't want to give too
much of the story away so I'll stop here.
It's an easy and enjoyable read. There was one thing that annoyed me during
the first half of the book and that was that she takes up photography
seriously using a film camera. The book is set in current times, I keep
thinking 2009 because that's when it was published. Most people now use
digital cameras. It's a rare place that still has film developing. I know
this invites debate over whether film or digital is better... but that's
beside the point. I am slow in taking up new technology, but even I've had
a digital camera for 5 years. I'm stepping down off my soap box now.

2010 Bibliophilic Books Challenge

How could I resist a reading challenge where you read books about books and
reading? Many of my reading choices are based on whether there's a book
related theme. Shadow of the Wind hooked me in with the idea of the
cemetery of lost books.
The rules can be found at the 2010 Bibliophilic Book Challenge blog

There are 3 levels of participation:
Bookworm: Read three books
Litlover: Read six books
Bibliomaniac: Read twelve books
I am aiming for Litlover but may move up to Bibliomaniac. I haven't been
able to work out if reviewing is compulsory, but I guess sharing is fun!!
This is my list so far:
People of the Book - Geraldine Brooks
Inkheart - Cornelia Funke
Inkspell - Cornelia Funke
The book borrower - Alice Mattison
Angel's Game - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

100+ Reading Challenge

The third and so far final reading challenge I'm joining in 2010 is the 100+ Reading Challenge .
I am yet to read a hundred books in a year, so this could get really interesting. I am part of 2 book groups so there's 20 books there and with 6 from the Art History Challenge and some from the Aussie Author Challenge, I think I'm getting a good way there. Thank goodness for crossovers between challenges!

The rules of the 100+ challenge is to read over 100 books from 1st January to 31st December 2010. They can be in any format, but individual short stories or books of the Bible don't count.

I'll list my 100 read books at Library Thing and include the list down the side of my blog.

So far my TBR list includes:
Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Spare room - Helen Garner
Brave new world - Aldus Huxley
Captain Corelli’s mandolin - Louis de Bernieres
The kite runner - Khaled Hosseini
Leopard - Guiseppe di Lampedusa
Saturday - Ian McEwan
Oscar & Lucinda - Peter Carey
Let me sing you gentle songs - Linda Olsson
Never let me go - Kazuo Ishiguro
Reluctant Fundamentalist - Moshin Hamid
The grapes of wrath - John Steinbeck
Notes on a scandal - Zoe Heller
We need to talk about Kevin - Lionel Shriver
From the land of green ghosts - Pascal Khoo Thwe
Oryx & Crake - Margaret Atwood
Snow country - Yasunari Kawabata
People of the book - Geraldine Brooks
Dracula - Bram Stoker

Aussie Author Challenge

This challenge is a bit harder because the conditions are that you have to read and review books by Australian Authors. I have no problem with the reading, it's the reviewing where things could fall down. But we'll see how it goes. I am to be Fair Dinkum about it!


Booklover Book Reviews is hosting this challenge. It runs from the 1st January  to 31st December 2010. There are 2 levels for the challenge:
TOURIST - Read and review 3 books by 3 different Australian authors
FAIR DINKUM - Read and review 8 books by Australian authors (a minimum of 5 different Australian authors)

There are at least 3 Australian authors on the lists for the book groups I'm apart of! So far my reading list is as follows:
The Magician's Apprentice - Trudi Canavan
Isabelle the Navigator - Luke Davies
The Lost Life - Steven Carroll
The Spare Room - Helen Garner
Oscar & Lucinda - Peter Carey
His Illegal Self - Peter Carey
Breath - Tim Winton
People of the Book - Geraldine Brooks

The Art History Reading Challenge 2010

I'm rather excited about taking part in the Art History Reading Challenge.
Apparently I'm fascinated as I have 5 books on my TBR pile already and I'm sure I can easily find more and might even move up a level.
To find out more about this challenge check out the Art History Reading Challenge blog. There are four levels of participation:
Curious - Read at least 3 books about art, either fiction or non-fiction.
Fascinated  - Read at least 6 books about art, either fiction or non-fiction.
Enamored- Read at least 9 books about art, either fiction or non-fiction.
Utterly enchanted - Read at least 12 books about art, either fiction or non-fiction.

The books can be non fiction or fiction, they just have to be about art.
Here is my list so far:
Swan Thieves - Elizabeth Kostova
Me & Kaminski - Daniel Kelhmann
The Painter of Battles - Arturo Perez-Reverte
Loving Frank - Nancy Horan
Jackson Pollock: an American Saga - Steven Naifeh & Gregory White Smith

2010 The year of the reading challenge

It's a new year, time for a new blog and new challenges. I've decided to make 2010 the year of the reading challenge! So far I've decided on 3 challenges, which I will post separately.
The challenges so far are:

The Art History Reading Challenge - Fascinated - 6 books
The Aussie Author Challenge - Fair Dinkum - 8 books and reviews
The 100+ Reading Challenge