Spring Reading Thing 2009 Wrap Up!!


Summer is upon us which mean the end of the Spring Reading Thing 2009 hosted by the lovely and talented Katrina of Callapidder Days. My theme this year was first time author reads and I enjoyed discovering many new to me authors.

The books I read were:
  1. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
  2. 1st to Die – James Patterson
  3. 14 - J.T. Ellison
  4. A World I Never Made - James LePore
  5. Enemies and Allies - Kevin J. Anderson
  6. Eon: Dragoneye Reborn - Alison Goodman
  7. French Bred - Frederic Guarino
  8. Homicide in Hard Cover - Kate Carlisle
  9. House of Dark Shadows – Robert Liparulo
  10. Inside Out - John Ramsey Miller
  11. Living the Charmed Life - Victoria Moran
  12. Long Lost - Harlan Coben
  13. Mysterious Benedict Society – Trenton Lee Stuart (didn't finish - meh!)
  14. Re-Deal: A Time Travel Thriller - Richard Turner
  15. Safe Haven - Hannah Alexander
  16. Sarah Palin: A New Kind of Leader- Joe Hilley
  17. Stone's Fall - Iain Pears
  18. The Ghost and Mrs. McClure - Alice Kimberely
  19. The Lightning Thief - Riordan
  20. The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman
  21. The Link - B. Sandy (shelved)
  22. The Physick Book Of Deliverance Dane -Katherine Howe
  23. The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel - Michael Scott
  24. The Soul Collectors - Charles Quince
  25. The Titian Committee - Iain Pears
  26. Too Hot To Handle - Robin Kaye
  27. Virgin River - Robyn Carr
All the links for the reviews may also be here which is above in the linkbar under Book Reviews.

Did you finish reading all the books on your spring reading list? If not, why not?


No, there were two that I started and just couldn't finish: Mysterious Benedict Society and The Link. The Link was just too disjointed for me and I just couldn't get in MBS. Also on the list were Magyk which once again got dropped for lack of interest and didn't even start. I don't know why. I'm sure the book is good, but I just haven't been in the mood to try. Also Duma Key by Stephen King simply was forgotten. I just overlooked it and it is back on the TBR shelf in a prominent position and will be read sometime this summer.

Did you stick to your original goals or did you change your list as you went along?

My original goal was to read new to me author books and I stuck to that goal. I did add several books including advanced reader copy books to the list that I received and were being released during the Spring. There were a few science fiction / fantasy books that I was also reading for Once Upon a Time III that were also new to me authors, so they got added to the list as well.

What was your favorite book that you read this spring?

Believe or not, I liked the majority of the books I read. There were a few - not so much. If I had to choose, it would be a toss up between War and Peace and The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. I discovered I liked Tolstoy - who knew! The Physick Book was interesting, well done and really captured my attention.

Least favorite? Why?

I would have to say the ones I mentioned before that I couldn't finish.

Did you discover a new author or genre this spring?

Since my theme was new author reads I discovered many new authors, most I loved, some not so much. I really liked Leo Tolstoy, J.T. Ellison, Robert Liparulo, John Ramsey Miller, Harlan Coben, Alice Kimberley, Iain Pears and Robyn Carr. There were some new authors with debut books on the list such as James LePore, Kate Carlisle, and Katherine Howe and I look forward to their next offerings. I definitely will be seeking out more books written by all these authors. I also rediscovered Fantasy and Science Fiction which I loved reading back when I was a teenager.

Did you learn something new because of Spring Reading Thing 2009 — something about reading, or yourself, or a topic you read about?

I was exposed to many different writing styles and read some really engaging stories. I discovered I enjoy historical fiction, especially Tolstoy, which really surprised me. I also found that I really don't care all that much for non fiction.

What was your favorite thing about the challenge?

I liked the idea of having a theme which worked exceptionally well for expanding my horizons a bit and exploring different authors and genre's. I enjoyed reading all the other participants reviews and discovering more books to add to my ever growing wish list.


I have to say Thank you to Katrina for being the Hostest with the Mostest. She always does an excellent job. To see how other participants did with the challenge, head on over to Katrina's and check out the reading wrap round up.

5 comments:

  1. Great job on the challenge. I read way more than the 10 I originally committed to, but because I didn't even get half of the books on my original list, I'm just declaring myself a failure!

    I don't mind subbing a book here or there, or dropping a book or two out of lack of interest, but I just kind of forgot about the spring challenge.

    I'm going to mention this challenge and others in my June wrap-up post.

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  2. Wow, I'm impressed. This was a great project! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

    I started Duma Key a while back and liked it a lot but didn't finish it. I think I was buying a house at the time. I'm curious to see what you'll think of it.

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  3. I just won Deliverance Dane can't wait to get to it!! Your list is very impressive. You read some great stuff during this challenge!!

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  4. You really stepped up the challenge by grabbing Tolstoy--and you like him! Congratulations! Here's my wrap up.

    http://bookcritiques.blogspot.com/2009/06/spring-reading-thing-2009-wrap-up.html

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  5. That's quite a list! Great job with the challenge!

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