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 Took me long enough, didn’t it?
This challenge is designed to get us all reading a little more medieval literature in 2010. The challenge will run from January 1st to December 31st, 2010, and will be hosted right here at Medieval Bookworm. Challenge genres include history, medieval literature, and historical fiction. Medieval, for simplicity of definition, will be from 500-1500, and literature from all over the world is welcome, not just western Europe. There are 3 levels:
- Peasant – Read 3 medieval books of any kind.
- Lord – Read 6 medieval books, at least one of each kind.
- King – Read 9 medieval books, at least two of each kind.
You’re not required to make a list or stick to one, but it would be fun if you did! A recommendations post will also be up today, to help you make choices.
When you finish a book, pop your link onto this page.
To sign up, just click below and add your name and sign up post to the McLinky below. Sick of writing sign up posts? Just put your blog URL, so I know who’s planning on doing the challenge. You can sign up at any time.
 I don’t really need any more challenges. I fail at completing them! I saw the post about the Women Unbound challenge at Eva’s blog yesterday, though, and on looking through her fantastic list, realized that I have a lot of the fiction books on my TBR pile, and can probably get some non-fiction from my libraries. I’ve also been feeling a bit bored and useless, having had no response to any of my job applications yet, so maybe a challenge will perk me up.
The meme:
1. What does feminism mean to you? Does it have to do with the work sphere? The social sphere? How you dress? How you act?
This is a hard question, surprisingly. I think feminism is the freedom to embrace being a woman, to be considered equal to men (but not the same) in every way, to not worry about the fact that we are women and not as strong as men. Feminism is encouraging women to become scientists, astronauts, and politicians, or equally embracing a woman’s decision to stay home with her children or pursue a lesser career. Whatever women want to do, we should be able to do.
2. Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why or why not?
I think so – I’m not really outspoken or anything, but I’m not like that in any area of life. I am interested in women’s issues and feel free to speak out when I think something is wrong, however, which I do think makes me a feminist.
3. What do you consider the biggest obstacle women face in the world today? Has that obstacle changed over time, or does it basically remain the same?
Well, I think part of the problem is that women are still marginalized. Exceptional women can go very far, but there are always far more men at the top. Worse, women are still sexualized, taught that a tiny ideal is normal and that the rest of us are ugly and unattractive. We still have to fear rape and then fear that no one will believe us if we speak up, or worse that we will be blamed, even if no one says so outright. This is wrong. I think the situation for women has gotten better, but there is still a long way to go.
On a lighter note, I took a look at Eva’s huge list of 80 books that count for the challenge, and used them to compile a lovely pool of books to choose from:
Nonfiction
- My Invented Country by Isabel Allende
- Wild Swans by Jung Chang
- Virginia Woolf by Hermione Lee
- I plan on adding or changing this list depending on what turns up at the library – I love history about women!
Fiction
- Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
- Speak by Laurie Halse Andersen
- Agnes Gray by Anne Bronte
- The Tale of Murasaki by Liza Dalby
- I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
- The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
I also plan on having a look around the library today for more non-fiction especially. Two of those books I chose are out at the moment and I really want to start early, while I’m still excited!
 The sole positive thing about not going on a honeymoon is that I still get to participate in the Read-a-thon! We have a variety of reasons for not going on one right now, but I’m very glad that the schedule coincides so we have something fun to do. We have a few errands to run on Saturday but since it all starts at 1 pm over here, I’m hopeful that we’ll be back in time for the beginning.
As expected, I have far more books in my pile than I could ever hope to read! Last time I read six. This time I have an ambitious 14 in my pile, so I have lots of choice:
 I have a variety of easy reads here. Plenty of YA, romance, and urban fantasy, my genres of choice for fast reading, with an adult fantasy and my first David Sedaris in case I need a change of pace. I meant to read more from the library, but due to a lack of time have decided to mostly stick with what I already have. I’m a bit amused that the only historical titles in the pile are the romances; clearly I require more concentration for regular historical fiction!
In general, our plan is to actually stay up for 24 hours. Since I only read for 12 hours in total last time, I’m hoping to get through more than six books. Keith will not be reading, he wants to take this opportunity to have a game-a-thon of his very own, but we’ll be mostly in it together. I’m hoping to put him in charge of food, but I suspect we will be microwaving. We have two computers, so I’ll still be updating, probably every 2 hours, and I’ll try to visit a few blogs along my way although I’m not signing up to be a cheerleader this time. Maybe next time.
I can’t wait for the fun to begin! Are you participating?
While everyone is blog hopping for BBAW, I thought I’d ask whether there would be any interest in a Medieval Challenge for 2010. I know it’s only September, but we’re potentially going to be traveling soon and I would start picking up prizes, especially in the next few days while I’m still at York.
Here’s what I’m thinking: it would be six months or a year long and the minimum would be just 3 books. I’d have 3 categories of books: history, historical fiction, and medieval literature. The two options would be either reading 3 of any of those genres or one of each. Of course, I have plenty of suggestions for all and would post those in case anyone needs ideas.
So, thoughts? Are we too challenge burdened to add another one? I found an older medieval challenge, but is someone else doing this for 2010? Let me know!
(I’d tell you what I plan to call it but I have two options right now and I’m not sure which is better!)
This is my first time joining one of Carl’s challenges at Stainless Steel Droppings and I’m very excited! I’ve seen a lot of people having a ton of fun with them and I finally decided to forget the fact that I fail at challenges and join in.
The R(eaders) I(mbibing) P(eril) challenge invites us to read scary books between September 1st and October 31st from a variety of genres. I’m planning on doing Peril the First, which challenges me to read 4 books between now and then. I suspect the next 24 hour Read-a-Thon towards the end of October will help a lot if I participate. I’d like to but it’s the weekend after our wedding, so we might be off somewhere instead!
My pool is gleaned from my TBR pile and extensive perusal of others’ lists, since I’ve never chosen books for this challenge before!
- Mistress of the Art of Death, Ariana Franklin
- The Strain, Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
- Fragile Eternity, Melissa Marr
- Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead
- The Maze Runner, James Dashner
- The Road, Cormac McCarthy
- The Angel’s Game, Carlos Ruiz Zafon
- An Instance of the Fingerpost, Iain Pears
I think that’s a good list to start! I’ve gone with only books I currently own for now. I reserve the right to switch it up with an exciting library book, but since I’m changing libraries in a couple of weeks I’m going to wait until I can browse in my new one. Anyone want to suggest which book I should start with on September 1st?
Well, it’s the end of June! Did I manage the Summer Reading Blitz hosted by Shauna and complete 30 books in 30 days?
Yes, I did! I’m not going to link any of these to my reviews because I’m exhausted and because I’m a little lazy. Most of them haven’t been posted anyway, I have 20 reviews in the queue and 8 to write. That’s what happens when you read too fast. Dates are finishing dates only, some took me longer than others and I didn’t hesitate to read shorter books while reading longer ones.
119. Songs My Mother Never Taught Me – Selcuk Altun – 1 Jun – 212 pages
120. Joker One – Donovan Campbell – 1 Jun – 307 pages
121. Her Secret Fantasy – Gaelen Foley – 2 Jun – 401 pages
122. The Last Witch of Langenburg – Thomas Robisheaux – 2 Jun – 338 pages
123. Out from Boneville – Jeff Smith – 3 Jun – 138 pages
124. Uglies – Scott Westerfeld – 4 Jun – 425 pages
125. When the Duke Returns – Eloisa James – 4 Jun – 375 pages
126. The wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and six more – Roald Dahl – 5 Jun – 239 pages
127. The Lieutenant’s Lover – Harry Bingham – 8 Jun – 442 pages
128. The Heart of the Night – Judith Lennox – 10 Jun – 500 pages
129. The Great Cow Race – Jeff Smith – 10 Jun – 132 pages
130. Married By Mistake – Abby Gaines – 12 Jun – 268 pages
131. Into the Beautiful North – Luis Alberto Urrea – 12 Jun – 334 pages
132. My Lord John – Georgette Heyer – 13 Jun – 430 pages
133. Everything and the Moon – Julia Quinn – 13 June – 372 pages
134. Shadows and Strongholds – Elizabeth Chadwick – 14 Jun – 564 pages
135. A Pearl in the Storm – Toni Murden McClure – 15 Jun – 292 pages
136. Slammerkin – Emma Donoghue – 16 Jun – 422 pages
137. The Road Home – Rose Tremain – 16 Jun – 365 pages
138. On Beauty – Zadie Smith – 18 Jun – 422 pages
139. Land of Marvels – Barry Unsworth – 22 Jun – 287 pages
140. Blood Bound – Patricia Briggs – 23 Jun – 326 pages
141. Ink Exchange – Melissa Marr – 24 Jun – 312 pages
142. Crossed – Nicole Galland – 25 Jun – 642 pages
143. Simply Magic – Mary Balogh – 26 Jun – 326 pages
144. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins – 26 Jun – 454 pages
145. The Incendiary’s Trail – James McCreet – 27 Jun – 356 pages
146. Guilty Pleasures – Laurell K. Hamilton – 28 Jun – 266 pages
147. A Little Bit Wicked – Victoria Alexander – 29 Jun – 359 pages
148. Shadows Return – Lynn Flewelling – 29 Jun – 522 pages
A couple of things please me about this list. First and foremost is that I only read 6 romance novels. That’s the most out of any month this year, but I was expecting to read a lot more because they are quick; I can read an average sized one in about 2 hours. I do have 2 graphic novels on my list as well. I did, however, manage to read 11 books with 400+ pages. I think that’s pretty impressive! I am happy to be able to do something else with my free time though, and I’m very much looking forward to the chunksters I’ve started or am about to start now.
We are also officially at the halfway point of the year. I doubt anyone remembers but I set my goal at 200 books this year. Can I imagine not hitting 200 books at this point when I’ve already read 148? Well, no. It was a challenge at the time though. I’m not sure whether to up my goal or not. Time will tell.
Finally, why am I exhausted today? I went on a field trip with other students at the Centre for Medieval Studies! It was a wonderful day but has left me worn out. Here’s a 13th century manor house, Markenfield Hall, to liven up this post:
 It even has a moat, which you can’t see well in this picture, between the fence and the bushes. I would like to live there but, well, I guess we can’t all marry earls. 
 This challenge is hosted by Beth Fish Reads! I completely fail at challenges in general, and I actually just failed one this month, but I can’t resist this one. I started reading the first book, Dead Until Dark, during the Read-a-Thon and liked it so much that I immediately started the second. I have the third at home waiting for me. That leaves me with 6 to acquire, but I really like this series and I have a whole year, so I’m very hopeful that I can read them all! Since I would ordinarily enjoy completing a series (well, as it stands), I don’t think I will get the same rebel issues that I normally have when I make arbitrary lists for challenges. We shall see!
Here are the rules:
Between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, catch up on Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire series. No matter if you’re starting with book 1 or book 8, you have a year to read all about Sookie. Read Sookie in print, listen to the audio, read an eBook — format is not an issue.
Head on over to the post to see what you have to do to sign up and join for me for a year of reading Sookie!
 I didn’t participate in this challenge, organized by Dawn at She Is Too Fond of Books, last time it ran, but I think this is the year for it! I already have five books by LT authors in my TBR pile, so it should be easy enough!
First, the rules:
- The LibraryThing Author Challenge 2009 runs from January 1 – December 31, 2009
- Join anytime now through 2009; last day to post reviews is December 31, 2009
- Make a list of 5 LT Authors and books that you’d like to read (keeping in mind that the list of possible authors is always growing, so your wish list may change)
- Crossovers with other Challenges are allowed
- Post your reviews on your blog and on LibraryThing
- Leave a comment on my LT Author Challenge 2009 Reviews post with a link to your review on your blog.
My list:
LibraryThing Author Challenge 2009
- The Master of Verona by David Blixt
- Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
- The Coffee Trader by David Liss
- Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn
- Lady Anne and the Howl in the Dark by Donna Lea Simpson
I think this is a great idea and I’m happy to have a new way to remember Dewey as I’m going about my reading. The rules:
There are two ways to join this challenge:
1. Pick one book from each of the 6 years that Dewey has archives of. You can access her archives by clicking on the archive link in the sidebar of her website. It’s a dropdown menu. For instance, you would read one book that she reviewed in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 for a total of six books.
2. The other option is to read 5 books that Dewey reviewed. These can be from any year and I’m guessing that each of us has at least 5 books on our TBR list because of Dewey!
And the rules:
1. Choose either option 1 or 2 from above.
2. Commit to read your books (either 5 or 6 depending on which option you choose) throughout 2009. The challenge will end on December 31, 2009 but we’ll go ahead and unofficially start it right away! We’ll officially start it on January 1st, 2009.
3. Check back to this page often as I’ll put up Mr. Linky’s for reviews and I’ll mention prize giveaways!
I am choosing to do option one; here’s what I’ve chosen with a link to Dewey’s review:
- 2003: The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen – Dewey’s review
- 2004: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold – Dewey’s review
- 2005: Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood – Dewey’s review
- 2006: Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon – Dewey’s review – I intend to read the 2nd in the series
- 2007: Three Junes by Julia Glass – Dewey’s review
- 2008: People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks – Dewey’s review
I’m not doing very well with challenges, but I think I will be able to do this one.
I have read 162 books this year, and my goal is 175. I’m 99% sure I’ll reach that goal. Last year, I read 139 books, so I have definitely been reading more. For 2009, I’d really like to read 200 books, and I think I can do it! You’ll find my books listed, starting in January, on a new page I’ve created on the right, “Read in 2009″. Click on the picture above to visit J. Kaye’s Book Blog, where all sorts of fun stuff beyond challenges goes on.
Thanks for hosting this challenge, J. Kaye!
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