I'm also going to participate in the Ultimate Reading Challenge.  It isn't a sign up challenge, just a personal challenge to complete, but I will list out the categories and keep track of them on this post!

A book based on a fairy tale: The Wrath and the Dawn  by: Renee Ahdieh (based on A Thousand and One Nights...maybe not technically a fairy tale, but close enough)
A National Book Award winner:
A YA bestseller: Passenger  by: Alexandra Brecken
A book you haven't read since high school:
A book set in your home state:
A book translated to English:
A romance set in the future: Illuminae by: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
A book set in Europe: The Zookeeper's Wife  by: Diane Ackerman  (Poland)
A book that's under 150 pages: The Bears on Hemlock Mountain  by: Alice Dalgliesh  (64 pages)
A New York Times bestseller: The Nightingale  by: Kristen Hannah
A book that's becoming a movie this year:
A book recommended by someone you just met: Illuminae  by: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff  (does a recommendation from a new blog count?)
A self-improvement book: Women are Scary  by: Melanie Dale
A book you can finish in a day: 
A book written by a celebrity:
A political memoir:
A book at least 100 years older than you:
A book that's more than 600 pages: Dragonfly in Amber  by: Diana Gabaldon  (743 pages)
A book from Oprah's Book Club:
A science-fiction novel: Ready Player One  by: Ernest Cline
A book recommended by a family member: The Secret History  by: Donna Tartt (by my mom)
A graphic novel:
A book that is published in 2016:  Crooked Kingdom  by: Leigh Bardugo
A book with a protagonist who has your occupation:  Truly, Madly, Guilty  by: Liane Moriarty  (mom)
A book that takes place during Summer: Bone Gap  by: Laura Ruby
A book and its prequel: 
A murder mystery: Black Eyed Susans  by: Julia Heaberlin
A book written by a comedian:
A dystopian novel: The 100  by: Kass Morgan
A book with a blue cover: Gemina  by: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff












A book of poetry:
The first book you see in a bookstore:
A classic from the 20th century: The Eye of the World  by: Patrick Rothfuss
A book from the library: Boneshaker  by: Cherie Priest
An autobiography:
A book about a road trip: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry  by: Rachel Joyce
A book about a culture you're unfamiliar with: The Icarus Girl  by: Helen Oyeyemi (Nigerian)
A satirical book:
A book that takes place on an island: The Girl Who Wrote in Silk  by: Kelli Estes (Orcas Island, WA, USA)
A book that's guaranteed to bring you joy:

Full House Reading Challenge 2016

I'm going to do something a little different this year and participate in a survey by The Perpetual Page-Turner that looks like a lot of fun!  I'm not doing much blog-wise, but maybe 2016 will be different?  So the beginning of this post will be my usual end of year review questions that aren't in the survey, and then I'll include the survey answers.

Challenges in which I participated:
Full House Reading Challenge
What's in a Name? (finished 6 of 6)
R.I.P. X  (finished 4 of 4)

# of books read: 
52
(down from 58 in 2014, 60 in 2013, down from 75 in 2012, up from 39 in 2011, 30 in 2010, 28 in 2009, & up from 48 in 2008.  Down from 81 in 2007.)

Least favorite:
The Alphabet House  by: Jussi Adler-Olsen

# of non-fiction:
3

Repeated authors:
Stephen King (2)
Leigh Bardugo (4) (including The Grisha)
Sarah Addison Allen (2) (Waverly Family)

1. Best book you read in 2015:  The Martian  by: Andy Weir
Followed by:
Bird Box  by: Josh Malerman
The Shining  by: Stephen King
Six of Crows  by: Leigh Bardugo

2. Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love more but didn't: The Little Paris Bookshop  by: Nina George

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril X



It's that time of year again!  I am hardly on my blog anymore, but you can always count on me to join R.I.P. every year.  I'm participating in Peril the First - read 4 books.  I will read short stories from Shadows and Monsters by Grace A. Dow.  And maybe this will be the year I actually watch a scary movie on Halloween like I always say I will!

1. The Vanishing  by: Wendy Webb
2. The Shining  by: Stephen King
3. Rooms  by: Lauren Oliver
4. The Bad Seed  by: William March

• A word including ‘ing’ in it:  The Shining  by: Stephen King
• A colour: The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender  by: Leslye Walton
• A familial relation:  The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife, and the Missing Corpse  by: Piu Marie Eatwell
• A body of water:  The Lake House  by: Kate Morton
• A city:  The Little Paris Bookshop  by: Nina George
• An animal:  Bird Box  by: Josh Malerman

I welcome you to join us.
September 1st is right around the corner. It is time to begin.
Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.
Or anything sufficiently moody that shares a kinship with the above.
That is what embodies the stories, written and visual, that we celebrate with the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril event.
As time has wound on I’ve honed this event down to two simple rules:
1. Have fun reading (and watching).2. Share that fun with others.

I'm so excited about the R.I.P. Challenge this year!  I'm going to do Peril the First  - read 4 books. I may also watch a movie on Halloween, although I'm not usually into "scary" movies.  I will also read some short stories from the book Spooky South.

Here's my list:

1.  Nine Coaches Waiting  by: Mary Stewart
2.  The Ocean at the End of the Lane  by: Neil Gaimon
3.  The Vanishing  by: Wendy Webb
4.  'Salem's Lot  by: Stephen King

I Capture the Castle
By: Dodie Smith
Published: 1948
# of pages: 343

Official description: 

I Capture the Castle tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cassandra and her family, who live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ramshackle old English castle. Here she strives, over six turbulent months, to hone her writing skills. She fills three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries. Her journals candidly chronicle the great changes that take place within the castle's walls, and her own first descent into love. By the time she pens her final entry, she has "captured the castle"--and the heart of the reader--in one of literature's most enchanting entertainments.

My opinion:  I loved the first half of this book, but not the second half.  And I really didn't like how it ended.  Cassandra is an enchanting narrator and it is neat to watch her growing up throughout the book, which is written as her journal.  Her honest musings made me laugh at times and gave me great respect for her at other times.  However, she just isn't as fun after she grows up and I found the love story in the book to be predictable.

Why I gave this book 4/5 stars:  Great main character, halfway unique story and halfway not.  Didn't like the ending.

Other reviews:
Have you reviewed this? Let me know and I'd be happy to post yours as well.