REVIEW: Scarred by Julia Hoban

I had really high hopes for Scarred by Julia Hoban (also known as Willow). I'm wondering now if these expectations spoilt the reading experience for me or if my own personal experience with self injury put me too close to the story. Either way, I didn't fully connect with Scarred as a novel.

I love the idea of it. I love that self-injury and cutting are topics that are explored because I feel like it's a subject that people need to be more aware of and there should be more understanding and compassion for people who go through it.

One night, Willow's parents drink too much wine and rely on 16 year old Willow to drive them home. She loses control and in the car accident, both of her parents die. Fast-forward seven months and she's living with her older brother, who barely speaks to her, she's left her home and school and she never returns her best friend's calls. She's living with such grief and guilt over the accident that she turns to self harm as an outlet for her pain. Until she meets Guy, a boy who learns her secret and decides to stick around and try to understand and help in whatever way he can.

I think part of the problem is that the story is told in a third person narrative and because of that, it seemed a little detached to me. And while there were a few really emotionally charged scenes, I didn't feel a big emotional impact throughout most of the book. Everything seemed a bit too logical, as Willow and Guy tried to talk through her reasons for turning to cutting to get her through this awful time. I was expecting something more raw. And that might just be me projecting my own experiences onto Willow and finding fault because she didn't go through what I went through. And that's not fair. But it's how I felt.

I did think that Willow and Guy's relationship was quite sweet. And I'm really glad that everything isn't fully resolved at the end. That the whole situation is more complicated and there can never be a happily ever after. I liked that.

I've read so many good reviews of this book, that it makes me sad that I feel this way.

On buying books

I know my post on Sunday was about all the books that have come into my house, but wait. There's more. And this time it doesn't feel so good. Not that I'm upset or that I regret having these books. It's more like a feeling of uneasiness. When does it get to be too much?

It's not that I don't have the money to buy the books (I mostly buy my books in second-hand shops as it is) and it's not that I don't have the space for the books (I won't soon, though!). I wouldn't mind so much if I was buying these books with a happy heart, without any other motive other than reading good books. But my motive doesn't seem that clear-cut.

It feels like buying books for the sake of buying books. Me buying books is like a shopaholic going on spending binges, or a comfort eater shovelling the food in (I'm guilty of that as well, it deserves its own post!). Or even... like a junkie buying drugs. But not quite. And not in that jokey 'haha, I'm addicted to buying books' sort of way. I actually do feel like I'm addicted to buying books. Like the process of acquiring these books is trying to fill a hole inside of me but instead leaves me feeling empty. But surrounded by books. Does that even make any sense?

So I feel like I need to take the power away from the books. I'm going to have a clear out of all the books that I've read and will never read again. Give it all to charity or my local library. To friends, if they're interested. I'll do the same with the books on my TBR shelves. When I posted my list of books I needed to read, I found myself telling a lot of people 'I can't remember why or when I bought that book..' so why bother? I don't need to be surrounded by books constantly. It's not doing anything for me. And it'll be good to break that cycle of placing emotional importance on the books that I've already read.

And I can't say that a complete book ban will be helpful either. But I'm going to cut down. Take things one step at a time. Really think beforehand, do I really want to read this book right away? Can I get it at the library? Does it NEED to be part of my personal library? And no more buying books on a whim either. If I see a book, instead of buying it straight away, I'll sleep on it. And once that's done, maybe I can work out the reason I need to buy all these books. And work on that.

Here are the books that came into my house this week:

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson
Silent Scream by Josh Cannon
Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg
Della Says OMG! by Keris Stainton
Paper Towns by John Green
Marked by PC and Kristin Cast
I Am A Cat by Natsume Soseki
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
American Rust by Philipp Meyer

(and not pictured) American Born Chinese by Gene Luan Yang and Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor. Is there any hope for me?

REVIEW: Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card

If you were to ask me to pick my favourite books of the year so far, I'm almost certain that I'd choose both Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card to be on that list. (but please don't ask!) I don't generally read a lot of science-fiction, but I've fallen under the spell after reading these two. There's just something about them both, I can't quite put my figure on what it is. Is it the super-intelligent children saving the world? Is it Ender and Bean's personal struggles while under pressure to save the world? Is it all the wonderful characters, plus the action? Was it the military strategies in Ender's Game? Was it the added details in Ender's Shadow? I don't know, and I guess it doesn't really matter.

So, first there's Ender's Game. And we learn that the earth has been attacked by an alien race, the Buggers, years ago and were defeated by the brilliance of a leading commander. Now the threat from the Bugger is again imminent, and in order to save the planet, the government has set up a special Battle School for super-intelligent kids.

Among them, is Ender Wiggin, the golden child, the one one whose shoulders lay the hopes of his commanders to learn what he can of military history and strategies, to train to be the next leading commander in order to save the world from the threat of this alien race. In order to do this, Ender must leave his family and beloved sister, Valentine, and sent to Battle School. There, he is isolated from his peers, struggles to belong and struggles with his own personal demons, and this pressure to succeed. Throughout Battle School, Ender is sort of fast-tracked through his military training, along the way making strong and loyal friendships, including that of little Bean.

Honestly, it's hard for me to not just interject 'god, how much did I love this book?!' into every paragraph, but I did. I loved the descriptions of the battles between the children, I loved the psychological games that Ender is put through, I loved his relationship with his sister Valentine, and the sub-plot of Valentine and Peter back on Earth, writing their newspaper columns. It was so difficult for me to put this book down and went I finally did, I dreamt about it at night. When I was finished, I kept thinking about it weeks afterwards. So, I tracked down Ender's Shadow.

I was very surprised to hear about Ender's Shadow. I was thinking a rehash of Ender's Game, really? as it covers the same timeline as Ender's Game and a lot of the same events occur. Except it's told from Bean's perspective. I wasn't sure at first, but picked it up anyway. And again, I sped through it and couldn't bear to put it down. There's enough new about it and enough different for Ender's Shadow to stand on its own feet. Card writes such wonderful characters, it's hard not to feel sympathy for them right from the start.

Bean's personal history is so different from Ender's, as we're introduced to him as a starving child on the streets of Rotterdam, manipulating the street children to organise for his own survival. He's a bit cold and emotionless when he arrives at Battle School. He's even younger and more intelligent than anyone else there, including Ender Wiggin. Once there, Bean is able to work out how things are, he understands what's going on, what's at stake. He plays a much more pivotal role in the war against the Buggers than originally given credit for in Ender's Game, and goes through a very different emotional journey.

I think what I like best about these books is the focus on the humanity of these children who are put under pressure to become soldiers and kill without thinking. The morality of war, of sending children off to do the dirty work. What it means to be a leader of an army, to gain a person's respect and loyalty, the limitless possibility of intelligence and where that can lead to. Such beautiful books, both of these. I'd imagine that everytime I read either of these books, I'll find something new that stands out, that I hadn't thought of before. But what will always remain is my absolute love of these characters.

Having said all of that, I'm not sure about the sequels. To either Ender's story or Bean's. It all seems a little more focused on more political matters or on aliens. Should I carry on? Read the rest? I'm still undecided.

Science-fiction - is it for you? Do you have anything to recommend for me now that I've devoured these two?

REVIEW: Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak

Fighting Ruben Wolfe is the first book I've read by Markus Zusak. I believe it's the first book he wrote (but I could very well be mistaken!). And honestly, I loved it to bits. Everyone will probably say 'you liked this, you should DEFINITELY read The Book Thief' - yes, I know this. I do. And after reading this, I am that little more excited to read The Book Thief, but books are all about timing, and I'm not ready yet. Enough of that, back to Fighting Ruben Wolfe!

Like I said, I loved Fighting Ruben Wolfe. The Wolfe family are kind of struggling. The dad's out of work, the mom (adorably referred to as 'Mrs. Wolfe') is tired and worn down just trying to get by. The youngest two brothers in the family of four children, Ruben and Cam pass the time by going to the dog races and playing One Punch in the back yard. Until things start to go badly, with people saying bad things about their sister, and their dad going door-to-door to find any kind of work. Which is when the boys start boxing in this sleazy boxing circuit to regain some of their pride and make a little money.

In the end, it's not really about boxing (though I was surprised at how much I enjoyed reading the boxing bits!) but about brothers and family and pride and getting back up after you get knocked down, whether it be in the ring or in life. I absolutely adored the relationship between Ruben and Cam. Where Ruben is good looking and wise cracking, Cam is sort of sensitive and cares too much. But they both have such loyalty to each other, to their family. It was sort of heart-wrenching to read. And while everything in the book is so gritty and tough with these two boys and their not-so-great living conditions and the boxing, it's filled with so much emotion and relateable characters.

I was a bit sad that I finished it so quickly, that it wasn't longer. I will be absolutely relieved when I get my hands on a copy of the sequel, Getting the Girl. And yes, other books by Markus Zusak as well.

I don't normally write down notable passages (even though I usually feel bad that I don't) but I did while reading this book. Like this on page 80:

I'm ready now. I'm ready to keep standing up, no matter what. I'm ready to believe that I welcome the pain and that I want it so much that I will look for it. I will seek it out. I'll run to it and throw myself into it. I'll stand in front of it in blind terror and let it beat me down and down till my courage hangs off me in rage. Then it will dismantle me and stand me up naked and beat me some more and my slaughter-blood will fly from my mouth and the pain will drink, feel it, steal it and conceal in it in the pockets of its gut and it will taste me. It will just keep standing me up, and I won't let it know. I won't tell it that I feel it. I won't give it the satisfaction. No, the pain will have to kill me. That's what I want right now as I stand in the ring, waiting for the doors to open again. I want the pain to kill me before I give in...

REVIEW: Ash by Malinda Lo

I admit it. I'm a shallow person. I bought Ash by Malinda Lo simply for that gorgeous cover. I sort of knew it was a retelling of Cinderella, but that's really all I knew. (that and a lot of book bloggers read it) If I'd know it was about fairies, I probably wouldn't have bothered.

I'm not big into fairy books. I hated Tithe by Holly Black, I lost interest in the Melissa Marr books after Ink Exchange. There's just something about fairies, and I don't know what it is. They annoy me. And while the fairies are the main bit in Ash that makes things different (Ash's 'fairy godmother' is actually Sidhean, a male fairy who will grant wishes but for a steep price) , I didn't mind them. Much. The other main difference in Ash is the new love interest. I really don't want to spoil it for anyone, so if you haven't read Ash and would like to, *look away now.* ...It's a woman.

Ash starts off pretty slowly. You meet Ash and her father, who are both grieving over the death of her Ash's mother. Her father remarries, her step-mother and two step-sisters aren't thrilled with Ash and eventually, Ash's father also dies. Ash acts as a servant to her step-family and reads books of fairy tales that reminds her of a happier time with her parents. Meanwhile, she begins this tenuous friendship with Sidhean, this fairy from the forest. He seems to offer her an escape from the drudgery of servitude and her step-family's obsessive wish to marry the two step-sisters off to wealthy men. And then she meets the Huntress, Kaisa.

I liked Ash, I really did. But there was still something about it that I didn't fully connect with. I think it might be Ash, herself. She seems like a character I should like - she has the strength to put up with her 'wicked' step-mother, she makes her own choices, she's not the type of girl who needs rescuing from the Prince. And yet.

I did love the inclusion of so many fairy tales. And the relationship between Ash and Kaisa. It's always nice to see such an accepted and incredibly sweet same-sex relationship in books. Gay relationships don't always need to be portrayed with such negativity and with all the pressure and weight of it being against the norm.

Ash was a quick fun read on a sunny afternoon. Up next for fairy-tale retellings is Beastly by Alex Finn, and in the near future, Zel by Donna Jo Napoli.

What do you think of fairy tale retellings? Do you have a favourite?

Sunday salon - YA overload!

Today, I'm excited. I have had so many great books come into my house this week (see photo), I have so many great books out from the library, great books are coming my way in the post very soon and great books now seem to available in the shops (Della Says OMG by Keris Stainton, Paper Towns by John Green!!) It's very exciting times. In fact, I can't help but squeal a little thinking of all these great books available to me.

It really puts a smile on my face.

As to what I've been reading... I finished Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan last night, I finished Bloom by Elizabeth Scott this morning and I'm thinking of starting An Abundance of Katherines just as soon as this has published. Expect lots of fan-girly reviews coming to a blog near you very soon!

(oh, I'm so happy) which books have been putting the smile on your face lately?

Haircuts - Before and After!

This week I finally took the boys to get haircuts. It was the first for the Littlest and Oldest was old hand at it all, and went for his third haircut (in 4 1/2 years!). Sorry, all the photos were taken with my mobile phone. And it is beyond difficult to get a decent photo of Littlest. He's always moving. Just look at that mop of hair on Oldest!

Here are the Before photos...



And the After..




There. Much better. They're just so gorgeous. The hair salon we go to are really good. They sit in the boys in front of CBeebies and it works. Both boys seemed to be mesmerised by Big Cook Little Cook. The Littlest wouldn't wear the apron though, and got hair all down himself and all down me, as he refused to sit any where but on my lap. Oh well. It was an experience.

Library Loot...

I'm still on a mission to read my own books, and I'm making good headway. So, as a reward, I took a trip to the library. There's a library in town that's connected to a local secondary school. It's the best library in my district to go to for YA books! The only thing is, they are not open to the public until nearly Wednesday. So, I went yesterday. Here's what I picked up:

Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak - I have both The Book Thief and I Am the Messenger, and still haven't read either. I'm currently trying to track down a copy of Getting The Girl by the same author. There's something about Markus Zusak that attracts me to his books, even though I haven't read any yet!

Beautiful Dead: Arizona by Eden Maguire - I finished the first in the series, Jonas, last week (my review should be up already?) and I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't intending to carry on with the series so soon, but it was there on the shelves and I thought 'why not?'

Gone by Michael Grant - I'd seen it in the shops. I was never sure of it, especially at the length that it is (over 500 pages), but again with the 'why not?' It's the first in a series. I'm a bit weary of lengthy series just now, but I kind of felt like reading something 'aimed at boys.' This bit on the back sold it for me 'WARNING! Contains scenes of cruelty and some violence' Yes, folks. That's the type of mood I'm in at the moment.

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld - I'd seen this book mentioned over at Five Minutes Peace and then saw a review over at I Can Read Good. Seemed like the book for me.

Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd - I'd seen this in the shops recently. At the library, I finally picked the book up and flicked through it. I was only going to read the first paragraph or so to see what the writing style was like, but before I knew I'd read the first page and a half. So that went in my bag as well.

And I got some Thomas the Tank Engine books for the Boy and called it a day.

What're you reading at the moment?

REVIEW: Beautiful Dead: Jonas by Eden Maguire

I have to admit that I started the Beautiful Dead series expecting to hate it. I'm not sure why, maybe the gushing reviews of fangirls put me off. But either way, I still enjoyed it. I did still have my problems with it, but I found it all to be interesting enough to carry on to the end.

Ellerton High has suffered the loss of four of it's classmates. Jonas, Arizona, Summer and Phoenix. Each died mysteriously and within a year of each other. It's especially hard for Darina, who was Phoenix's girlfriend and is finding it hard to let go. And then Darina finds out Phoenix and the other dead students are actually in a limbo state, not living, not dead. And she has to help them solve the mysteries surrounding their deaths in order to stay close to Phoenix.

I did like the whole supernatural/mystery element to it all. It felt different and a new angle to the paranormal romance genre. It seems to be a promising series and I look forward to reading the other books on the other characters. I'd especially like to know more about the whole limbo state and more of the history of it all.

What I didn't love? The romance between Darina and Phoenix. It started out promising, until the two met again and it became more 'I love you forever' which didn't seem believable without the actual background and seeing their early romantic history. I don't really like strong love within YA books that seem to have no basis in reality. Maybe it'll seem more believable in future books? I hope Darina will be able to move on from this infatuation with Phoenix though. The undying love of teenagers is not something that I feel comfortable with. Also, Darina seems to be an object of every male's lust in the book, and I just don't relate to that either (it felt more like fan-fiction!). More a personal issue rather than a criticism of the book. And that is my rant over. I still did enjoy the book and will read the others. I think the concept and these characters have the potential to get better and more enjoyable. So I'm sticking with it. For now.


Supernatural romances anyone? Love 'em? Or too many out there?

REVIEW: The Body Artist by Don DeLillo

The Body Artist by Don DeLillo is just strange. I'm not sure I entirely get it. I've never read any of DeLillo before, this was my introduction, and it was a little confusing. I've had the book for more than a year now, I picked it up because it's on the original 1001 Books to Read Before You Die and, if I'm being honest here, it's just over 100 pages. I figured it'd be an easy book to read to cross off the list to fulfill my 1% well-read challenge. But the book seemed to languish on my shelves. Something about it screamed that it wouldn't be an easy book to read.

I loved the first chapter, this breakfast scene between Lauren (the body artist of the title) and her husband Rey. They have this weird dialogue going and you view it from Lauren's perspective and see into her inner mind-workings. It's sort of amusing and a little odd. From there, it skips to an article of Rey's suicide in his first wife's house that happened immediately after this breakfast. And the rest of the novel is with Lauren and her grief and suffering. She returns to a holiday home she shared with Rey and meets a strange man.

And this strange man is really at the centre of everything that I found strange about the book. Is he just a man? Is he a ghost? Is he something out of Lauren's head? I guess it doesn't matter. It's really a little novel about loss and sorrow. At the same time as feeling completely unconnected to this novel and its characters, I always felt like the writing and the scenes sent me into a melancholy state. I don't know how or why. But there's more to this book than just the mystery of this odd ghost-man.

And it was only 100+ pages. *shrugs*

REVIEW: Men Without Women by Ernest Hemingway

There's something about Ernest Hemingway. I keep returning to his books. All the things that I don't like about his writing are all the things that I really like. Everything is so pared down, there's nothing extra. Sometimes, things are very subtle that I almost miss his point entirely. This book of short stories is very short, but I had to re-read several of them just so I understood, and there's still probably more that I missed. Men Without Women covers a lot of the same ground of his novels... there's the bull-fighting, and the boxing. There's the relationships between men and women, there's the effect of war, of being too old. I'm constantly surprised how well Hemingway pulls off heart-wrenching and emotional with so few words. I can't say that I had a favourite out of the short stories, but when I was finished, I almost felt exhausted.

I always felt like Hemingway was an author I 'should' read after reading The Old Man and the Sea and A Moveable Feast in high school, and it was many years ago now that someone gave me a collection of his works as a gift. And they sat on my shelves for years and years, untouched. Then I read A Farewell to Arms. And then Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises. And now Men Without Women. And I can't help myself, I really want to read everything else now.

Any other Hemingway fans out there? What do you suggest I read next?

1% well-read challenge

(Sorry for the boring posts. I'm still getting back into the swing of things! I am reading lots, soon I will tell you about it.)

I'm doing it again. Here are the books I'll be choosing from:

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Unless by Carol Shields
The Body Artist by Don DeLillo
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Moon Palace by Paul Auster
Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally
The Child in Time by Ian McEwan
Saturday by Ian McEwan
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell
Blindness by Jose Saramago
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

I own all of these books, so hopefully with this challenge I can clear some of my TBR shelves. That'd be nice. Here are the books I read for this challenge in previous years: here and here.

I hope everyone had fun reading from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list.

Even if you didn’t complete the challenge, if you read any books at all from the list, you are at least a little more ‘well-read’ than you were before!

There has been yet another update to the list in 2010, so this time the challenge has only one option:

Read 13 titles from the combined list (of 1294 titles) from April 1, 2010 through April 30, 2011.

Overlaps with other challenges are allowed, and you may change your list at any time.

Fellow book blogger Arukiyomi has formulated an excellent spreadsheet that contains the 2006, 2008, and 2010 versions, and I highly recommend giving a small donation for all his hard work. He has lists of what has been added and subracted for each edition as well as a master list of all books ever listed on the 1001 list. I’m using the master list the most because if you put ‘r’ for read in the column, it also automatically puts the ‘r’ in any list that the book is on. Please check it out!

Alternatively, I have also begun to update the 1001 list HERE, however, it is definitely a work in progress. Hopefully at some point I’ll have all the titles listed noting which edition(s) the books were in.

Happy reading, and may you be more ‘well-read’ this year than last!

Readathon...

I was so looking forward to participating in the Dewey's 24 hour readathon this weekend .. except the entire family got knocked out this week by a horrible stomach bug :( N and the boys suffered the worst of it, but I'm now feeling the effects as well. We're all hobbling towards health, but I think it'll be slow progress. There is no chance of taking part in the readathon, but perhaps I'll have some energy for some cheerleading later on in the day.

For now, I'm keeping my feet up and a book handy. With bookmarks in case I pass out. And I've just picked up two books from my original readathon pile, Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson and What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones. I'll be thinking of you all. Good luck!

Reading in March

Not bad for March. 15 books read, only two reviews though. It's just occurred to me that we're a quarter of the way through the year already! And as of yesterday, I'm a book short of 50 books read this year. I wonder if that will continue throughout the rest of the year. I really doubt it, but it's fun to speculate.

Lots of really good books in March though, I'd be hard pressed to pick a favourite. Also, kind of a strange mixture. Some adult books, mostly YA books and one non-fiction title there. Some favourite authors, Neil Gaiman, Meg Cabot, and Sarra Manning. But also some never-before-read authors, like Keris Stainton, Jennifer Echols, Simone Elkeles, Carrie Ryan and Joshua Ferris. This month I've read about the underground, a tuba, myths, zombies, eating disorders, lurve, and a mysterious condition that compelled one man to walk and walk and walk. I love where books take me.

1. Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
2. Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes
3. Boy by Roald Dahl
4. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
5. Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols
6. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
7. Della Says OMG by Keris Stainton
8. Ransom My Heart by Mia Thermopolis with Meg Cabot
9. Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
10. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
11. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
12. Guitar Girl by Sarra Manning
13. A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong
14. The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris
15. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

As for April, I'm not really interested in the numbers as I am in reading some of my own books. I really need to clear some space in my TBR shelves. I'm in the mood for some YA romancey books, but I don't seem to have many of those unread on my shelves. Sadface. This month, I read 7 of my own books, only two of which had been languishing on my shelves for awhile, two e-books, one book proof that had was sent on, and five library books.

What did you read in March? Did you have a favourite? Where has reading taken you lately? What's in store for April?

(Another) 1% well-read challenge - FAIL.

So, it's the end of the 1% well-read challenge, and I wasn't able to finish it successfully. I made a good effort though, with 10/13 books read. I'm pleased with that. There were others (Unless by Carol Shields to name just one) that I started and never finished though. The challenge is continuing for the third time and I'm contemplating signing up again. I do love how I write out a list of books I'd like to finish for the challenge and when it comes down to it I read almost none of them. So I guess I will be signing up again, after all there is still all those books that I'd still like to read! It's been fun reading these books though, I do love how the list widens my reading habits . My favourites from this year from the challenge? It'd be between A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, Small Island by Andrea Levy and Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by Winifred Watson.

How about you? Are you still reading books off of the 1001 Books To Read Before You Die list?


I don't do well with challenges. Last year I signed up for a few reading challenges but the only one I finished? The one challenge that I'd already taken up at a personal level. Reading books off of the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list.

According to the ever useful spreadsheet HERE I'm at 117/1001 or 11.69% of the list complete. I need to read 16 of the books a year to finish the list before I die. Here's where the 3M's 1% well-read challenge comes in...

Last year, I finished these books. Plus at least four more (15 in total). This year, I'm hoping to read at least the same amount. Even possibly reading the required 16 titles for this year? Here are some books that I'm throwing around as possibilities, mostly because I own all of these books. Obviously subject to change.

1. Saturday by Ian McEwan
2. On Beauty by Zadie Smith
3. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
4. The Colour by Rose Tremain
5. Unless by Carol Shields
6. Atonement by Ian McEwan (started for the last 1% well-read challenge)
7. The Body Artist by Don DeLillo
8. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
9. The Master of Petersburg by JM Coetzee
10. Possession by AS Byatt
11. Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
12. The Child in Time by Ian McEwan
13. A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
14. Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally
15. The Once and Future King by TH White
16. Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey

Bah. I'll have to stop there. I know I own a lot of these books, but I can't bring myself to read my own books sometimes. I will not be surprised when I finish this challenge (because I will) that my completed list looks nothing like this. Instead it will be all the books that I can find in the library. We'll see how it goes.

EDITED TO ADD: I'm updating my progress on this same page. After a lot of humming and hawing, I've decided that I will no longer deny the existence of the Updated list of 1001 Books To Read Before You Die and have now taken that list on as well. I won't give up on the original list but I am also ticking off numbers for the new list as well.

Currently, I'm at 118/1001 of the original list and 96/1001 of the updated list.

Books Read for the 1% Well-Read Challenge:

1. The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan (original list)
2. Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka (updated list)
3. Small Island by Andrea Levy (updated list)
4. Falling Man by Don DeLillo (updated list)
5. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (original list)
6. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro (original list)
7. Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson (original list)
8. A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro (original list)
9. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
10. Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by Winifred Watson

Happy Birthday, my Littlest

It's actually been awhile since my Littlest's 2nd birthday, but in some ways I still feel like the Easter weekend is his birthday as well, because he was born just before it two years ago.

It's really hard to believe that he's 2 already. He's growing up so quickly. I remember bringing him home and he was so little and helpless. And now here he is, so tall and independent. With those gorgeous curls. And I love spending my days with him. He's such a little handful, with his own little personality and quirks. He's beautiful and happy and unbelievably mischievious and I can't wait to hear what he has to say about the world. He's stubborn and knows his own mind, but it doesn't matter because everytime he says 'no' I fall in love with him all over again. So full of energy and giggles.

I love you, Littlest of my boys. Happy birthday.