Nancy Drew Challenge – 2010

4 Comments / 2010, Books in Bed, Nancy Drew Challenge /

I blame Sassymonkey. And all I can say, besides "I blame Sassymonkey" is, at least it's not the Gilmore Girls reading challenge  — because that's a killer!

I have a fondness for Nancy Drew. I still have almost all of them from my childhood and I look at them fondly every day. So this year, I'm going to read them. All of them. Every single one of them. Which is a lot but since I used to be able to read a half dozen in a day when I was a kid, surely I can  knock them out this year.

Here's the Challenge info: http://books-movies-chinesefood.blogspot.com/2009/11/nancy-drew-challenge.html
And here's the list of all of the Nancy Drew's. I'll be crossing them off as I finish.

  • 1 The Secret of the Old Clock 1930, 1959 – 1/26/10
  • 2 The Hidden Staircase 1930, 1959 – 2/15/10
  • 3 The Bungalow Mystery 1930, 1960 – 2/20/10
  • 4 The Mystery at Lilac Inn 1930, 1961 – 2/21/10
  • 5 The Secret at Shadow Ranch 1931, 1965 – 2/21/10
  • 6 The Secret of Red Gate Farm 1931, 1961 4/10/10
  • 7 The Clue in the Diary 1932, 1962 4/10/10
  • 8 Nancy's Mysterious Letter 1932, 1968 4/11/10
  • 9 The Sign of the Twisted Candles 1933, 1968
  • 10 The Password to Larkspur Lane 1933, 1966 – 4/14/10

  • 11 The Clue of the Broken Locket 1934, 1965
  • 12 The Message in the Hollow Oak 1935, 1972 – 4/15/10
  • 13 The Mystery of the Ivory Charm 1936, 1974
  • 14 The Whispering Statue 1937, 1970
  • 15 The Haunted Bridge 1937, 1972
  • 16 The Clue of the Tapping Heels 1939, 1969 – 4/20/10
  • 17 The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk 1940, 1976 – 8/18/10
  • 18 The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion 1941, 1971
  • 19 The Quest of the Missing Map 1942, 1969 – 8/18/10
  • 20 The Clue in the Jewel Box 1943, 1972 – 9/7/10

  • 21 The Secret in the Old Attic 1944, 1970 – 9/7/10
  • 22 The Clue in the Crumbling Wall 1945, 1973 – 9/13/10
  • 23 The Mystery of the Tolling Bell 1946, 1973
  • 24 The Clue in the Old Album 1947, 1977
  • 25 The Ghost of Blackwood Hall 1948, 1967
  • 26 The Clue of the Leaning Chimney 1949, 1967
  • 27 The Secret of the Wooden lady 1950, 1967
  • 28 The Clue of the Black Keys 1951, 1968
  • 29 The Mystery at the Ski Jump 1952, 1968 – 9/25/10
  • 30 The Clue of the Velvet Mask 1953, 1969 – 10/12/10

  • 31 The Ringmaster's Secret 1953, 1974 – 11/15/10
  • 32 The Scarlet Slipper Mystery 1954, 1974
  • 33 The Witch Tree Symbol 1955, 1974
  • 34 The Hidden Window Mystery 1956, 1975 – 11/16/10
  • 35 The Haunted Showboat 1957 – 1/19/11
  • 36 The Secret of the Golden Pavilion 1959 – 1/20/11
  • 37 The Clue in the Old Stagecoach 1960 – 4.9.11
  • 38 The Mystery of the Fire Dragon 1961 – 4/15/11
  • 39 The Clue of the Dancing Puppet 1962
  • 40 The Moonstone Castle Mystery 1963

  • 41 The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes 1964
  • 42 The Phantom of Pine Hill 1965 – 4.18.11
  • 43 The Mystery of the 99 Steps 1966
  • 44 The Clue in the Crossword Cipher 1967 – 4.19.11
  • 45 The Spider Sapphire Mystery 1968 – 6/18/11
  • 46 The Invisible Intruder 1969 – 6/18/11
  • 47 The Mysterious Mannequin 1970 – 6/18/11
  • 48 The Crooked Banister 1971 – 6/19/11
  • 49 The Secret of Mirror Bay 1972
  • 50 The Double Jinx Mystery 1973 – 12/31/11

  • 51 Mystery of the Glowing Eye 1974 – 12/31/11
  • 52 The Secret of the Forgotten City 1975 – 12/31/11
  • 53 The Sky Phantom 1976
  • 54 The Strange Message in the Parchment 1977
  • 55 Mystery of Crocodile Island 1978
  • 56 The Thirteenth Pearl 1979

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    2009 Reading in Review

    2009, Books in Bed /

    Before I set up my 2010 reading challenges, a look at what I read last year:

    64 Young Adult Fiction and Non-fiction
    25 Adult Non-fiction
    12 books that I really didn't like (which doesn't count the ones that I didn't finish)
    73 books added to the "favorites" category (which might be a record and is probably significantly higher this year due to the children and YA fiction that I read.)
    20 graphic novels (I thought I'd read more!)

    I finished the Cybils challenge that I created for myself – a total of 66  books.
    I finished the From the Stacks challenge (which is really From the Stacks by Color challenge) – a total of 12 books.

    163 books completed in 2009. Not bad. Not great, but not bad.

    Let's see what 2010 brings. I've gotten a slow start…

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    The Fireman’s Christmas

    1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Fiction /

    We were over on BlogHer talking about Christmas books and @firemom fessed up that she had picked up a cheesy Christmas romance – about a fireman.

    We bugged her til she told us the title – The Fireman’s Christmas – and then I promptly ran over to my library website and reserved it. (Poor Sassymonkey couldn’t do the same, her library doesn’t have it.)

    TW read it and liked it.
    RJ read it and hated it – she hates firemen. They aren’t dark and brooding enough. Too cheesy, all-American-y for her. She likes REAL bad boys – like vampires. (Whatever.)
    I read it and enjoyed it.

    Yes, it’s a Harlequin which means it fits all of the typical Harlequin stereotypes. But there’s nothing wrong with a fun Harlequin every now and then.

    Fireman.
    Independent business owning woman.
    Six kids (including a set of twins.)
    A dog. A cat.

    What’s not to enjoy?

    The Fireman’s Christmas Read More »

    Her Fearful Symmetry

    1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

    Oh look, I finished a book. I’ve hit a rough patch, have you noticed? Work related. Life related. Bad book related. Not that Her Fearful Symmetry was bad. It wasn’t bad at all, it was good. Pretty freaking freaky and creepy and really not what I expected from the author of Time Traveler’s Wife.

    Though I suppose it is a kind of travel… really good, dark, interesting reading.

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    Matchless

    2009, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction /

    When I gave up on The Lacuna, I picked up Matchless. Yay, a short book by an author I like, based on a fairy tale. I could wash away my depression around not being able to read the Kingsolver with a bit of Christmas fairy fantasy.

    Yep. That’s what happened. Sort of.

    Matchless is a nice, easy story. I read it right before I turned out the lights last night. A very nice bedtime story. I believe you can listen to Matchless on NPR – it was written specifically for NPR and meant to be listened to rather than read.

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    The Lacuna

    3 Comments / 2009, Books in Bed, Fiction /

    Sigh. I couldn’t read The Lacuna. I’m not sure I even made it through 100 pages. It’s wonderfully well written. Smart. But, it’s slow as molasses. And, I just didn’t care much for the main character. I kept hoping, as the boy grew up, it would move more quickly or that I’d get attached to him. Maybe that would have happened, had I kept going.

    But, the book was due back to the library and if I only managed to get through 1/6th of the book in a week… it just didn’t seem worth it. Which is sad. I like Kingsolver. Or maybe I just want to continue liking Kingsolver? Maybe I should stop reading her new books and just re-read Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven?

    The Lacuna Read More »

    Yes!

    2009, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction /

    I wasn’t sure I was going to read Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive. My to be read list was long and it seemed like one of those books you read bits and pieces of while reading other things – and I wasn’t in the mood to do that.

    But, TW had provided a bit of commentary about it when she read it – so a couple of days before it was due back to the library, I picked it up. I assumed I’d read a couple of sections and then just take it back. Instead, I found myself reading it all of the way through. It was interesting.

    Interesting to think about yourself, your managers, your coworkers and how they use (or don’t use) these smart methods of persuasion and management. Very interesting.

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