Aussie Author Challenge 2013 Hosted by Booklover Book Reviews, I've participated in this challenge twice before and actually did really well last year, so I'm keen to have another crack. I'm aiming for "Fair Dinkum" level, which requires you to: - Read and review 12 books by Australian Authors. - Ensure at least 4 of the authors are male, at least 4 of the authors are female and at least 4 of the authors are new to you - Ensure at least 2 of the books are non-fiction and at least 4 fiction genres are represented amongst your 12 titles. Balanced and diverse reading is the objective here.
Australian Women Writers Challenge 2013 With its very own dedicated website, this is a great challenge that I completed last year and am looking forward to doing again this year. Last year I aimed for three different authors and ended up reading 14 books by eight different Australian women writers. This year I'm going to aim for the highest level - "Franklin", which is to read at least 10 books by Australian women writers and review at least six.
Embarrassment of Riches TBR Reading Challenge 2013 Hosted by Planet Pooks, the aim of this challenge is to knock some books off the TBR pile - i.e. books I already own. I'm going for Gold level - aiming to read 36 TBR books between Jan 1 and Dec 31 2013.
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge Last year I challenged myself on Goodreads to read 100 books. Unfortunately I only made it to 51. This year, after much deliberation, I've decided to aim a little lower, but still improve on last year's total - so I'm going for 75 books. Fingers crossed I can reach it!
I don't know what I was thinking last year, but clearly I signed up for waaaay too many challenges. A few went really well, but mostly I failed. I don't like failing.
2012 TV Addict Reading Challenge
Aim: Five shows and the books they were based on. Outcome: Four Verdict: Close, but no cigar.
YA Contemporary Challenge 2012 Aim: Five YA books released in 2012. Outcome: 15 Verdict: Success, three times over!
Around the Stack in How Many Ways? Aim: Read five different genres. Outcome: 13 genres counted. Verdict: Win!
Victorian Challenge Aim: Six books written in Victorian times. Outcome: Zero. Verdict: Fail. Epic fail.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Challenge Aim: Read the original books that feature the characters from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as well as the graphic novel - nine books in total. Outcome: Zero. Verdict: So much fail.
Aussie Author Challenge 2012 Aim: 12 books written by Australian authors. Outcome: 18 books. Verdict: Success!
Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge 2012 Aim: Read one book written by Haruki Murakami. Outcome: Zero. Verdict: Too embarrassing for words.
2012 Australian Women Writers Challenge Aim: Read three different Australian female writers. Outcome: 14 books by eight different authors. Verdict: A+.
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge Aim: Read 40 YA books. Outcome: 32 books. Verdict: So close, yet so far.
100+ Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012 Aim: 100 books. Outcome: 51 books. Verdict: Barely halfway. Sigh.
Reading Challenge Addict Aim: Complete 10 reading challenges. Outcome: Four challenges completed. Verdict: Clearly I signed up for too many challenges.
I've been a very Bad Blogger. I completely forgot to post the linky for May for my own challenge. Whoops! Since it's nearly the end of the month, and I'm going away, I thought I'd get ahead and post the June one... along with May. So post your 2012 TV Addict Reading Challenge links for May and June here!
I've been putting off writing this review for so long because, goddamn, I hated this book. I don't have many nice things to say about it. And you know what they say...
I was really surprised at just how intensely I disliked Pretty Little Liars. I'm completely obsessed with the TV show, and I was expecting the book to have a similar appeal: four pretty friends are tormented by the mysterious 'A', who somehow knows all their secrets and manipulates events to create juicy twists at every turn. But while the basic plot is the same, the book just fell totally flat for me.
Perhaps I would've liked it better if I hadn't seen the TV show first and had nothing to compare it to. But somehow I don't think so. There were so many problems. The pacing felt unbearably slow, and while a lot of stuff happened, it actually felt like not much did. The threats from 'A' were few and way too far between, and the four main characters barely spoke to each other for the majority of the book, creating a sense of disconnection that extended to me as a reader.
This was reinforced by the fact that the girls are all so freaking unlikable. In the show, they're nice girls who sometimes do questionable things, but you root for them because, hey, they're pretty cool. But in the book I just wanted to punch them all in the face. And I'm not generally a violent person.
The access to each of their inner selves through the third person narration does them zero favours. They all come across as superficial, selfish and downright mean. Hanna and Aria were particularly infuriating. If you played a drinking game and took a sip for every time they admired their own looks, you'd get drunk pretty damn fast. This was not only annoying, it was also extremely unrealistic - especially in Hanna's case, since she's supposedly recovering from an eating disorder.
I also didn't like any of the girls' parents. They were shallow, nasty and/or bigotted. There pretty much wasn't a likable character in the whole book. This might have been OK had the plot been more interesting. It's only a short book, but it took me forever to get through because I just wasn't interested.
I'll give the next book a go, as I've been told it gets better. And I still really, really want to know who A is. But I don't know that I can sit through 10 more books of this.
I've been wanting to try manga for awhile so it's probably appropriate that my first foray into the genre was with Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, considering that Sailor Moon was my first experience with anime. While it's probably on the younger side for me these days, it was a non-intimidating way to break into manga, and still a lot of fun to read - especially coz it got bonus points for nostalgia.
If you're not familiar with Sailor Moon (where were you in the 90s?!), it's about a young girl named Usagi (Serena in the US version of the anime) who discovers she's a guardian of the moon and the leader of a group of butt-kicking sailor scouts whose mission is to find and protect the "Legendary Silver Crystal" and the moon princess. Exactly what their background is and why this is their mission isn't explored in this volume, and the girls don't really question it themselves. But that's understandable, considering how much does happen within the pages; in quick succession, Usagi discovers Luna the talking cat and finds out she's Sailor Moon, locates Ami (Sailor Mercury), Rei (Sailor Mars) and Makato (Sailor Jupiter) and defeats a few of the nasty Kings of Heaven while she's at it. And let's not forget her many hate-fuelled encounters with Mamoru (a.k.a. Darien from the US anime) and her even more numerous love-driven interactions with his alter-ego, Tuxedo Mask.
I have to say, I was surprised at just how quickly everything happened - while the manga was initially identical to the anime, the plot developed much more rapidly on the page than in the show, which I wasn't expecting. I didn't really miss the padding, though, coz, being familiar with the story, I was kinda impatient to get to the action. There's plenty in this volume, but the main focus is on setting up the characters and introducing important plot points. I'm keen to pick up the rest of the series to see how everything pans out (although I kinda sorta already know, but hey, it's a new way of experiencing the story - plus, NOSTALGIA!).
Speaking of nostalgia - or perhaps lack thereof in this instance - I'd forgotten just how much of a whiny little so-and-so Serena Usagi is. It can get pretty annoying at times, although it does make her transformation into Sailor Moon all the more potent. My favourite character was definitely Rei; she's a straight-up biatch and it's awesome (though you'd think with all that meditating she'd be a bit calmer). I also enjoyed the fact that Tuxedo Mask is still a bit of a mystery and Usagi is unsure about whether he's a friend or foe; it kinda reminded me of the early days dynamic between Buffy and Angel (again, awesome).
Of course, one of the big drawcards with Sailor Moon is that it's oh-so-pretty (it's right there in the title!). The girls fight evil, but they do so while looking fierce in every sense of the word. Their jewellery and cute accessories all turn into weapons, which is way cooler than anything Spiderman has to offer. The illos are exactly what you expect - super cute and fun, if a little overcrowded. I did find it a tad disconcerting to read right-to-left initially, but it doesn't take long to get used to, and the translation notes at the end were really insightful. By the time I finished reading, I felt, like, so cultured and shit. Yeah, from reading Sailor Moon. That's how awesome I am.*
*May or may not be sarcasm.
Rating: 3/5
Related
I had this in my head THE WHOLE FREAKING TIME.
Fine Print Genre: Shoujo Manga Published: 2011 (this edition) by Kodansha Comics Get It:Fishpond
Yeah. I failed. But it's OK, coz 2012 is going to be epic, and I'm totally going to complete the bajillion challenges I've signed up for (I'm nothing if not optimistic).
In the meantime, here's how I did (or rather, didn't do) in the 2011 challenges I signed up for:
The bolded/linked books are the ones I actually got to, bringing me to a total of four out of 12. *hangs head*
-Aussie Author Challenge, hosted by Booklover Book Reviews. I aimed for "true blue" status, which meant 12 books from at least nine different Aussie authors. I readI Came to Say Goodbyeand Ghost Child by Caroline Overington, Cargoby Jessica Au, Not Meeting Mr Rightby Anita Heiss and The Nest by Paul Jennings, giving me a total of five books from four different authors. Despite my failure, I've signed up for the challenge once again, coz I really want to read more Aussie books.
-Classic Bribe, created by Quirky Girls Read. The aim was to read at least one classic by September, which I actually did (A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett), however I totally forgot to post about it when the challenge ended, so I kinda failed anyway. Whoops!
...OK, so I didn't do so great on the challenge front this year, but I had a lot of fun trying - and that's the important thing, right?!
Coz I'm not busy enough (*cough*), and I did SO well with the reading challenges I signed up for this year (*cough*cough*), I've decided to not only create my own reading challenge (sign up for the TV Addict challenge here!), but also join a bunch of others. In my defence, I started late with the challenges I attempted this year, so I've got more of a chance of completing them this time 'round. That's the theory, anyway. Besides, these all sound fun and, y'know, challenging (in a good way, natch), so I went a bit crazy with the sign ups.
1. YA Contemporary, hosted by Reading Angel and Katie's Book Blog: Read 5+ Contemporary YA books published in 2012 (level 1). I've been really getting into contemp lately after experiencing major paranormal-fatigue, so I'm excited about this one.
2. Around the Stack in How Many Ways?, hosted by Dog Ear Discs: Read as many different genres as possible. I'm going to aim for "backpacker" level, reading 5-10 different genres - coz I need to expand my horizons!
3. Victorian Challenge, hosted by Laura's Reviews: Read books written in or about the Victorian era. The minimum is 2-6; I'm going to aim for 6 - one book every 2 months, which I think I can realistically do. I like the sound of this challenge because I love a lot of Victorian lit and it will help shift my focus back to the classics.
4. Gossip Girl reading challenge, hosted by Reading with Tequila: Read the Gossip Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar. I was planning on doing this for the TV Addict challenge anyway, so this adds extra incentive!
5. The League of Extroadinary Gentlemen book challenge, hosted by Booking in Heels: Read the original books that the League of Extroadinary Gentlemen movie/graphic novel is based on. Another one that will help me to focus on the classics - plus I love comparing adaptations!
6. Aussie Author Challenge, hosted by Booklover Book Reviews: Read 12 books by at least six different Aussie authors ("dinky di" level). I participated in this challenge this year, and although I didn't get anywhere near my target (I only read five books from four different authors), I had a lot of fun - and besides, my failure just proves how much I still really need to step up my game when it comes to reading Aussie books!
7. Young Adult challenge, hosted by The Eclectic Bookshelf: Read 40 YA books ("jumbo" level). I read a lot of YA books, so there's no challenge there... unless I aim to read 40, that is!
8. 100+ Books In a Year, hosted by Book Chick City: Pretty self-explanatory - read over 100 books in one year! This one is definitely a challenge, but one I hope to complete.
9. Reading Challenge Addict, hosted at Reading Challenge Addict: Um, yeah, did you see that list up there?! I think I classify as a challenge addict, and I've only just begun! I'm going for "on the roof" level, which means I'll enter (and complete!) 6-10 challenges.
Edited to add: After some Twitter persuasion, I've decided to also sign up for the Haruki Murakami Challenge - I've been wanting to read some of his work anyway, and seeing as the requirement is to only read one, I think I can manage it!
To make it an even 12 for 2012 (am I nuts?!) I'm also signing up for the Australian Women Writers Challenge. I'm going for "Stella" level, aiming to read at least three books by Australian female writers.
I watch a lot of TV. The fiancé and I are big fans of box set marathons. At the moment we’re going through Dexter, and when I discovered that it’s based on a book series, it got me thinking about how a LOT of my fave TV shows are based on books. And about how I want to read them. Then, whilst browsing the available challenges on A Novel Challenge, I had a light bulb moment: Why not turn my quest to read the book versions of my fave TV shows into a challenge?
So here it is! The rules are simple (coz I’m not so good at following them myself):
-The challenge runs from January 1 2012 – December 31 2012. The idea is to read the books that TV shows are based on. Where it's a series, read the books that correspond to the TV seasons available (read the whole series if you want to, of course!). What you do from there is up to you: review the books, do book/show comparisons, review the TV shows, do recaps… whatever tickles your fancy!
-Pick the level you want to achieve in this challenge from the list below, create a post on your blog about it and pop it in the sign-up linky! Non-bloggers are welcome to participate too – do your thang in the comments.
-Each month I’ll create a post where you can come and link up your reviews or comment about the books you’ve read/shows you’ve watched as part of the challenge.
-You don’t have to plan in advance what books you’re going to read - though of course you can if you want to! Here are some ideas (let me know if I’ve missed your faves):
The Vampire Diaries by L. J. Smith. There are four books in the original series, plus The Return trilogy and one book in The Hunters trilogy (with two more to come). There’s also Stefan’s Diaries, which are four books (with more to come) based on the TV show. Just to make things easy. Ahem.
Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepherd. The series currently stands at nine books, with three more to come.
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, which Game of Thrones is based on. There are five books out now, with two more coming. There are also six novellas connected to the series.
Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, which consists of six books.
The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris, which True Blood is based on. At the moment there are 11 books out in the series, with at least two more to come.
Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar. There are 13 books in the original series, 10 books in the It Girl spin-off series and four in the follow-up series, The Carlyles.
Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell.
The Secret Circle trilogy by L. J. Smith.
Chief Inspector Barnaby series by Caroline Graham. There are seven books in series, and the first five were the basis for Midsomer Murders.
Challenge levels
Single play: Read the books that correspond to ONE TV show.
Mini-series: Read the books that correspond to TWO TV shows.
Series: Read the books that correspond to THREE TO FOUR TV shows.
Soap opera: Read the books that correspond to FIVE OR MORE TV shows.
Since this is my own challenge, I'm going to aim high and go for "soap opera" level. Remember, you don't have to read the whole series to complete the challenge, just the books that correspond to the seasons of the TV show (e.g. the first four books of the Southern Vampire Mysteries, whichformed the basis for the four seasons of True Blood that are currently available).
The 1995 version of A Little Princess was one of my favourite movies growing up, and I'm happy to say it's stood the test of time and is still lovely to watch now. I got an instant hit of nostalgia as soon as the opening chords of the theme played, and was drawn once again into Sara's story. Yep, I actually liked Sara in the movie (unlike in the book) - she's got a bit of spunk to her in this incarnation, and benefits from the removal of the endless praise she receives in the book.
One of my favourite parts of the movie is the score - I haven't heard it in so long but, as I already mentioned, it's instantly recognisable, effectively creating a magical, whimsical mood. The gorgeous cinematography is another highlight; there are some things that don't make a lot of sense in the story (like Sara happily dancing in the snow wearing nothing but a nightgown), but they sure are pretty. The acting is pretty good all round, and the script itself is remarkably faithful to the book, despite one or two rather drastic changes (spoilers ahead)...
Changes That Worked
By placing the story at the outbreak of WWI, it gives Sara's father a stronger reason for sending her to school. The separation that hurts them both so much is not by choice.
As I already said, Sara is a much more likable character. She's definitely not too perfect - she's downright "wicked" at times ("cursing" Lavinia and pranking Miss Minchin) - but these are some of her most triumphant moments, where her strong spirit shone through.
The other girls at the school were also more likable. I love the way they put themselves at risk to get Sara's locket back for her - their friendship was touching.
Sara treats Becky as an equal, they BOTH receive gifts from Ram Dass and in the end it even seems as though Sara's father adopts Becky.
Which brings me to the biggest change - and the one that made me happiest: Sara's dad lives! I love happy endings.
Changes That Didn't
I don't get why the action was moved from England to America. It's not a big deal overall, I just thought it was pointless - and it weakened the story somewhat with regards to the neighbour/benefactor. The transformation of Captain Crewe's friend into an old man who loses his son at war wouldn't bother me in itself, except that as an American, it makes no sense for the boy to have gone to war at that stage. The US didn't enter WWI until 1917.
I could have done without Miss Amelia's romance - I just thought it was a bit silly.
Miss Minchin is almost too much of a biatch to start with - she doesn't quite suck up to Sara as much as she does in the books. Plus her reasons for hating her are much less apparent, making her character more two-dimensional.
I missed the shopping scene with Captain Crewe and Sara, when they find Emily. I didn't like how it was the Captain who bought Emily himself, and named her, and even told Sara about how dolls come alive when we're not looking. In the book, she picks Emily, names her, and imagines that she's real - and it was one of the few things I liked about the little brat.
Because I totally don't have enough to do (*cough*), I've decided to take on a couple more book challenges! Since I started this blog I've only signed up for the Aussie Author Challenge, which is hosted by Booklover Book Reviews, and I've read three out of 12 Aussie books so far.
There are so many fun challenges listed over at A Novel Challenge, but I was particularly drawn to two - I think because they're both things I'd do on my own, anyway.
The first is the Books to Movie Challange, created by Two Bibliomaniacs. As you can probably tell if you've read this blog before, I'm kinda obsessed with adaptations, and pretty much always watch the movie versions of books and vice versa, so this is the perfect challenge for me. Here are the deets (BTW, I'm aiming for Oscar Buzz):
"The rules are SIMPLE. Read a book. Watch the movie. Both milestones must be completed in order to receive full marks. There are 4 levels of participation to choose from. Straight to Video – Read 2 books and view the film adaptations. Limited Release – Read 4 books and view the film adaptations. Blockbuster – Read 6 books and view the film adaptations. Oscar Buzz – Read 8 books and view the film adaptations. The challenge begins June 1st and will finish December 31st."
The other challenge I've decided to sign up for is Books I Should Have Read By Now, hosted by Gabriel Reads. Considering my TBR pile of books that I own (not including books I want to read, but don't own) was 112 at last count, and has grown considerably since then, I think I seriously need to get cracking on this challenge. Here are the deets:
"My goal is to read two classic books each month from June 1st to December 31st, 2011. That adds up to twelve classics between now and the end of the year... Now for the fun part: I'm inviting any interested book bloggers to join in on this challenge. The books you choose don't have to be classics, but they do have to be books that you own that you should have read by now. Any of those tomes that are collecting dust on your shelf are free game.There are three levels that you can take on for this challenge: Casual Reader: At least 1 book a month Avid Reader: At least 2 books a month Voracious Reader: At least 3 books a month"
I'm going to try for two books a month for this challenge, sticking to either classics or books that everyone raves about. Here's what I'm thinking:
A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford.
The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.
If I Stay by Gayle Forman.
Dracula by Bram Stoker.
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
Delirium by Lauren Oliver.
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.
Phew, I better get reading!
Updated to add: As Molly from Quirky Girls Read pointed out, quite a few of Books I Should Have Read By Now are classics that can double up towards their Classic Bribe challenge. So I'll be participating in this one, too! It involves reading at least one classic by September 5 - I think I can do that!
I can't believe we're in April already! This year is going so fast. But one good thing about it being April is that it's Aussie Author Month. Organised by Book Thingo, Fangbooks, and a Writer Goes on a Journey, it's all about supporting and promoting Aussie authors, as well as raising money for the Indigenous Literacy Project.
I've decided to take part because it sounds super-fun, and I've realised that I definitely don't read enough local authors. Unfortunately I didn't finish Stefan's Diaries in time to start with an Aussie book straight away (I've been mega-busy this week), but as soon as I'm done with that - hopefully this weekend - I'll be focusing on reading and reviewing only Aussie authors for the rest of the month. Here are the options I have lined up:
I don't know if I'll manage to squeeze them all into the month, but I'm going to give it a go. I've also decided to join the Aussie Author Challenge run by Booklover Book Reviews - the deadline for this is not until the end of the year, so whatever I don't read during the month I'll definitely get to at a later stage - and then some! I'm aiming for "True Blue" status - you have to read and review at least 12 Aussie books (from at least nine different authors) by the end of the year. I'm really excited about this - Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! (Sorry, that's the bogan in me coming out).
