Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Raved-About Reads Challenge

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on May 19, 2008
Posted in On-going Challenges  | 5 Comments


MizB (also known as Jenn) over at The Book Zone has created this new challenge. It starts on June 31, 2008 and will be perpetual.

This is how MizB explains the challenge:

The challenge is to create (and read) a list of books you’ve always heard people rave about and thought you should read yourself…but always put off reading “until later”.

*You can choose books that you’ve recently heard of IF a bunch of people are raving about how good they are and how everyone should read them.

* Your list has to have at least 3 books on it. Of course, you can make it much longer than just 3 books. But, you could also just read 3. That’s up to you.

* Yes, your list of books can overlap with other challenges.

* There are no limitations on genre… books can be fiction, nonfiction, religious, secular, etc.

* Audiobooks and E-books are allowed

* Your list can change at any time, but the books you add still have to be “raved about” reads

((There may, or may not, be more rules coming. Stay tuned!))

Since I have so many book loving friends, I am contantly hearing rave reviews of books and add them to my giant TBR, so this is a great challenge for me.

Here’s my started list, but I am sure I will be adding more in the future:

‘The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini
‘The Birth House’ by Ami Mckay
My Sister’s Keeper’ by Jodi Picoult
‘ Searching for the Secret River’ by Kate Grenville
‘Empress of Asia’ by Adam Lewis Schroeder
‘Bee Season’ by Myla Goldberg
‘The Horseman’s Graves’ by Jacqueline Baker
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Book Around the World Challenge

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on February 12, 2008
Posted in Book Around the WorldOn-going Challenges  | 4 Comments

Thanks to Bonnie for setting up yet another wonderful challenge!

The Challenge:

The world has many countries, some big and some small, and I want to find the best books about each country. The book should help us learn something ABOUT that country and not just be one written by somebody who lives there. Let’s “book around the world” and find at least one excellent book for each country in the world. Our challenge is to find books for as many countries as possible.

This challenge is on-going with no time limit.

The Places and the Books:

North America:
Canada: PEI – Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Quebec: Charles the Bold byYves Beauchemin
Northwest Territories: Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay
Saskatchewan: The Horseman’s Graves by Jacqueline Baker
British Columbia: Tabasco the Saucy Raccoon By Lyn Hancock
U.S.A: see – Book Around the States Challenge

Mexico: The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire by C.M. Mayo

Central America:
Dominican Republic- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot

Caribbean:


South America:

Europe:

450AD England- The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick
15th Century England –The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman
19th Century England- A Foreign Affair by Caro Peacock
19th Century England-The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue

17th Century ScotlandOutlander by Diana Gabaldon

Ireland: Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly
Early 20th Century Ireland-1916: A Novel Of The Irish Rebellion

17th Century Amsterdam- The Coffee Trader: A Novel by David Liss

Renaissance Italy – Leonardo’s Swans by Karen Essex
Signora da Vinci by Robin Maxwell
17th Century Italy- The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland, Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland

Spain: The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner

Greece: Stealing Athena by Karen Essex

20th Century Italy-The Islands of Divine Music by John Addiego
Ancient Rome: Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran






WWII Russia-
The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean

Romania- Letter Opener by Kyo Maclear

Portugal- Barnacle Love by Anthony De Sa

Africa:
Ethiopia- Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb

Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia- Don’t Let’s go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller


Middle East:
Afghanistan-The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Central Asia:

Asia:
1960’s India-The God Of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
17th Century India-Beneath A Marble Sky by John Shors
1971 Bangladesh- A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam

Southeast Asia:
Japan-Japanland: A Year In Search Of WA
19th Century Japan-Storm Rider by Akira Yoshimura, Translated by Philip Gabriel

Vietnam: Dragon House by John Shors

China: The Painter from Shanghai by Jennifer Cody Epstein
My Splendid Concubine by Lloyd Lofthouse
Sweet Mandarin by Helen Tse

Australia:
The Secret River by Kate Grenville
The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville
The Longest Journey by Diana Patterson and Rita Turner

Oceania:

Anarctica:

Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Book Around the States Challenge

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on February 10, 2008
Posted in Book Around the StatesOn-going Challenges  | 8 Comments

Thanks to Bonnie for setting this wonderful challenge up!

The challenge:
The United States is a union of 50 states. “Book around the states” and find at least one excellent book for each state of the union. Plus one for D.C. The book should help us learn something ABOUT that state and not just be one written by somebody who lives there. There is no time limit to this challenge!

Below is a list of the 50 states. I will add each book, one at a time beside the applicaple state as I read them. I will cross them out when I have finished and have written my review. Click on each book, to see my reviews.

The 50 United States of America:
AL = ALABAMA: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
AK = ALASKA:Sometimes we’re always real same-same by Mattox Roesch
AZ = ARIZONA
AR = ARKANSAS
CA = CALIFORNIA
CO = COLORADO
CT = CONNECTICUT
DE = DELAWARE
FL = FLORIDA
GA = GEORGIA: Rhett Butler’s People by Donald McCaig
HI = HAWAII : Hawaii by by James A. Michener
ID = IDAHO
IL = ILLINOIS
IN = INDIANA
IA = IOWA: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir by Bill Bryson
KS = KANSAS
KY = KENTUCKY: Oh My Stars by Lorna Landvick
LA = LOUISIANA
ME = MAINE
MD = MARYLAND: Digging To America by Anne Tyler
MA = MASSACHUSETTS: Little Children by Tom Perrotta , The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
MI = MICHIGAN: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
MN = MINNESOTA: The Brightest Moon of the Century by Christopher Meeks
MS = MISSISSIPPI: Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
MO = MISSOURI
MT = MONTANA
NE = NEBRASKA
NV = NEVADA
NH = NEW HAMPSHIRE
NJ = NEW JERSEY
NM = NEW MEXICO
NY = NEW YORK: The Crazyladies of Pearl Street by Trevanian
NC = NORTH CAROLINA
ND = NORTH DAKOTA
OH = OHIO: Sula by Toni Morrison
OK = OKLAHOMA
OR = OREGON
PA = PENNSYLVANIA: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
RI = RHODE ISLAND
SC = SOUTH CAROLINA
SD = SOUTH DAKOTA
TN = TENNESSEE: Ringside 1925: Views From the Scopes Trial by Jen Bryant
TX = TEXAS
UT = UTAH
VT = VERMONT
VA = VIRGINIA: Animal, Vegetable, and Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
WA = WASHINGTON: Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
WV = WEST VIRGINIA
WI = WISCONSIN
WY = WYOMING

DC = DISTRICT of COLUMBIA





Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.