Saturday, December 20, 2008

Fall Into Reading 2008 - Wrap Up

The Fall Into Reading Challenge hosted by Katrina at Callipider Days ended yesterday. There were 286 participants!

I'd decided to read 12 books for the challenge. I added additional titles as they came into my home. Here's my list. You can find my reviews by clicking on the title or the author's name, located in alphabetical order on my sidebar.

1. Altar Call by Hope Lyda (reading when the challenge began)
2. Rain Song by Alice Wisler
3. Out Of Her Hands by Megan DiMaria
4. Until We Reach Home by Lynn Austin
5. One Holy Night by J. M. Hochstetler
6. White Christmas Pie by Wanda E. Brunstetter
7. The Death and Life of Gabriel Phillips by Stephne Baldwin/Mark Tabb
8. Beloved Captive by Kathleen Y’Barbo
9. Rhapsody in Red by Donn Taylor
10. The Rook by Steven James
11. The Jewel of Gresham Green by Lawana Blackwell
12. The Outsider by Ann H. Gabhart
Added
13. A Firm Place to Stand by Marja Bergen
14. Pure by Rebecca St. James
15. The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters by Lorraine Lopez
16. by george by Wesley Stace
17. Never Surrender by LTG (Ret.) William G. Boykin
18. Move On, Move Up by Paula White
19. Arsenic Soup For Lovers: When Chicken Soup Doesn't Work by Georgia Post
20. The Good Person Guidebook by Richard Bayer, Ph.D
21. Key West: A Comprehensive Guide to Florida's Southernmost City by Sarah Goodwin-Nguyen
22. Life After Genius by M. Ann Jacoby
23. Alphine Americas Photography by Olaf Soot; Essays by Don Mellor
24. What You Should Know About Politics by Jessamyn Conrad
25. In the Beginning: Art of Genesis by Chuck Fischer
26. Queen Vernita's Visitors by Dawn Menge
27. Cole Family Christmas by Jennifer Liu Bryan
28. Crafting Jewish by Rivky Koenig
29. Thou Shalt Not Whine: What We Whine About. Why We Do It and How to Stop! by January Jones
30. Wild Goose Chase: Reclaim the Adventure of Pursuing God by Mark Batterson
31. Lady Flatterley by Linda Wagner
32. Sunset by Karen Kingsbury
33. Flirting with Forty by Jane Porter
34. For the Love of St. Nick by Garasamo Maccagnone
35. Christmas Around the World by Chuck Fischer
36. The Tutu Ballet by Sally O. Lee
37. One Perfect Day by Lauraine Snelling
38. Dark Pursuit by Brandilyn Collins
39. Flirting with Forty by Jane Porter
40. Engaging Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn
41. Frasier Island by Susan Page Davis
42. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County bt Tiffany Baker
43. Where Do I Go? (The Yada Yada House of Hope) by Neta Jackson

This was my first reading challenge, and I enjoyed the experience. The only book not read is one that a publisher's assistant failed to send. (Boo. Hiss. Bad assistant!)

I am amazed at how long my list has grown! I was afraid that I'd bitten off too many titles, but this challenge helped me to chomp through a pile of books. The hardest part of the challenge was making a list three months in advance! Of all the books, my favorites are: Until We Reach Home, Rhapsody in Red, The Rook, Dark Pursuit, and One Perfect Day. The most disappointing read is For the Love of St. Nick by Garasamo Maccagnone. I'm already planning on challenges for my future reading, and I look forward to Katrina's Spring Challenge!

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

You did great! I didn't do very well on this challenge. I've decided I'm not a challenge kind of gal.

jlshall said...

Congratulations! That's an amazing list! I'm trying not to get too involved in challenges for 2009, but some of them are hard to resist.

Carrie said...

As you know, this was my first challenge also and I loved the opportunity. It forced me through some classics I might not have gotten through without the mental motivation of knowing they were connected to a challenge.

Looks like you accomplished a lot of reading yourself. The Arsenic Soup title cracks me up!

Thanks for sharing!

Robin M said...

Great list and you managed to accomplish a lot. I didn't read Dark Pursuit for the challenge but thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially the surprise ending.

If you are up for another challenge, come join me in the Winter Reading Challenge.

Robin of My Two Blessings

Anonymous said...

Wow that is really amazing - that is closer to the number of books I've read this YEAR, which I thought was awfully impressive - haha - good job!

Brittanie said...

I liked Until We Reach Home too. I am reading One Perfect Day right now. I am hoping to have it read and reviewed by Christmas. :)

Sandra said...

Good job. The only one on your list that I've also read is Arsenic Soup-and I still owe the author a review. I do intend to read The Little Giant book but probably from the ibrary as the ARC I requested never came. I'm like you in that I read off the list a lot and then get back to it. My wrap-up for this challenge is now posted too.

Ann H Gabhart said...

So sorry the publisher's assistant didn't get you my book, The Outsider. But you did great on the challenge. Hope if you get my book down the road sometime that you might still consider reading it, whether on a challenge or not. Happy reading, everybody!

Anonymous said...

I'm honored to be #29 on lyour list. Keep up the good work and remember "Thou Shalt Not Whine in 2009!"
Happy Holiday,s
January Jones

Just Mom said...

Congratulations on what you accomplished with the challenge!

Alyce said...

Wow, you read a lot! Congratulations! I liked The Gate House, but I could see how it wouldn't be for everyone. I loved the sarcastic humor, and really the most offensive parts in the book were right in the beginning, after that it was not so bad.

Linda said...

Thank you for the kind comment on my blog. I love your list and will look at it closely to see what my library has. I will join up the Christian Readers Challenge 2009 if I can too.

Lol about the soup.

Anonymous said...

Wow, you got a lot read!! I don't think I have ever read that many books in that time period.

Anonymous said...

Oh, wow! I thought I had done well, but you read more than twice as much! I'm in awe... :)

Sherrie said...

Hi Sally,
Your list is great! Glad to see you got through them. I'll be looking for you in the spring! Have a safe and happy holiday!

Sherrie

Anonymous said...

The hardest part of the challenge was making a list three months in advance!

That was were I tripped up. I find reading lists soooo hard to stick to.

Congrats on finishing in such spectacular fashion!

Beth F said...

Congrats on finishing!!! This was my first challenge too!

I wrote my wrap-up post last month here.

Ronnica said...

Wow, good job! That's a lot of reading! I first did the Spring challenge this year, and really liked the idea of being purposeful in planning ahead what I was going to read. I don't exactly stick with it, but it makes me feel better to see the to-read pile actually getting books taken off of it (even though I probably add more than I take off)!

Katrina @ Callapidder Days said...

Great job! Wow -- you really read a lot. I'm so glad you enjoyed the challenge and that you plan to join us again!

Steve and Eden said...

WOW! You did great! I'll totally have to check out some of the books you read. Thanks for stopping by, hope you come back and visit frequently.

Holly (2 Kids and Tired) said...

Wow, you read a lot of books!

Lindsay said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog. You did a great job on your list :-)!

alisonwonderland said...

congrats! that's a lot of books! reading is fun, isn't it? :)

Jenny said...

You did an AMAZING job, Sal! 'The Rook' was among my favorites too.