2016 Reading Challenges - Final Update

Hi Everyone!
I'm pleased to announce that I have actually finished all of my reading challenges!

I told you a while ago that I had finished the Bethany House Challenge.

With the Anne of Green Gables challenge, I decided that I had already read the final book earlier in the year - Blue Castle. Plus I had actually had enough of reading her books. Not that I don't  like them (they are childhood favourites), but I was ready to move on to other things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With Christmas reading, came the end of the 2016 ABC Soup Challenge.

A - Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery
B - Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson
C - Crime Scene Jerusalem By Alton Gansky
D - The Director's Cut by Janice Thompson
E - Every Storm by Lori Wick
F - Falling Like Snowflakes by Denise Hunter
G - Greetings From the Flipside by Rene Gutteridge and Cheryl McKay
H - A House Divided by Robert Whitlow
I - In Harm's Way by Irene Hannon
J - Jennifer by Dee Henderson
K - Kilmeny of the Orchard by L. M. Montgomery
L - Lethal Beauty by Lis Wiehl
M -  A Murder Among Friends by Ramona Richards
N - Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island (Lonely Planet Guide)
O - One More Wish by Robin Jones Gunn
P - The Pounamu Prophecy by Cindy Williams
Q - The Quilt by T Davis Bunn
R - Rest Assured by Vicki Courtney
S - Seaside Blessings by Irene Hannon
T - Twice Stolen by Susanne Timpani
U - Undetected by Dee Henderson
V - A Victorian Christmas Cottage by Catherine Palmer, Debra White Smith, Jeri Odell & Peggy Stoks
W - Water's Edge by Robert Whitlow
X - XXIII Olympic Games: The Official Pictorial History, Los Angeles
Y - You Are Special by Max Lucado
Z - Zen Doodle Unleashed by Tiffany Lovering

The final book was for the letter V.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My other reading goal for the year was to read at least 120 books. I made that yesterday!
There will be a couple more finished by New Years Eve, but I'm happy to have reached that goal.

These books included both fiction and non-fiction and all of the books included in my other reading challenges.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't know if I will be doing any reading challenges next year (other than setting my self a goal of a number of books to read for the year).
I know I won't be doing another ABC Challenge, although I know that is being run again next year.

So stay tuned for news on that account.

Christmas Reading Wrap-Up

So, Christmas is over and so is my Christmas reading - the last book was finished this morning.

Following on from my last update (you can see it here):

A couple of compilations came next, the first was That Christmas Feeling by Catherine Palmer and Gail Gaymer Martin. Followed by A Victorian Christmas Tea by Catherine Palmer, Dianna Crawford, Peggy Stoks and Katherine Chute.

Then came my favourite Christmas book - I've read it every year since it came out in 2010.

Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball by Donita K Paul.

My last Christmas book for this year is not strictly a Christmas story although most of the book does take place at Christmas time. The Substitute Guest by Grace Livingston Hill.

So what books did you read over this Christmas season?

Are there any that you read every year?

Contentment Reading Challenge 2013 - Final Update

It is now time for the final post of this challenge!
The total number you've all been waiting for!

But first, these are the books I read in December.

• Christmas in the Country by Christine Lynxwiler and Jeanie Smith Cash
• On the Anvil by Max Lucado
• Marcia Schuyler by Grace Livingston Hill
• Christmas at Harrington's by Melody Carlson
• The Christmas Shoppe by Melody Carlson
• The Christmas Pony by Melody Carlson
• Patchwork Holiday by Wanda E Brunstetter, DiAnn Mills, Renee De Marco and Colleen L Reece
• A Victorian Christmas Quilt by Catherine Palmer, Peggy Stoks, Debra White Smith and Ginny Aiken
• Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball by Donita K Paul
• Moments of Peace for the Evening (Anonymous)
• Listen by Rene Gutteridge
• A Gown of Spanish Lace by Janette Oke

So that was 12 for the month!!

Which takes me to ... drum roll please ...

84 for the year!!!

Now for one last thing ...

I also did this challenge in 2011 (only 48 books that time), and I was curious to know if there were any books that I read for both challenges. In fact, there were 10!

• Marcia Schuyler by Grace Livingston Hill
• A Gown of Spanish Lace by Janette Oke
• Every Storm by Lori Wick
• Sophie's Heart by Lori Wick
• Never the Bride by Cheryl McKay and Rene Gutteridge
• Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball by Donita K Paul
• Yuletide in Ireland and Wales by Ginny Aiken and Tamela Hancock Murray
• English Carols and Scottish Bagpipes by Pamela Griffin and Jill Stengl
• True Devotion by Dee Henderson
• True Valor by Dee Henderson

While I won't be doing a challenge in 2014, there are sure to be some books that I read again - probably even from the books I've read during these challenges!

Happy reading and have a safe and Happy New Year!

Contentment Reading Challenge 2013 - November update

November has just flown by, and yes, I do have a bunch more books to add to my list!

• Australian Outback by Mary Hawkins
• Aloha by Colleen Coble, Carol Cox, Denise Hunter and Gail Sattler
• On Assignment by Marilyn Kok
• Embrace Grace by Liz Curtis Higgs
• My Life as a Doormat by Rene Gutteridge
• The Substitute Guest by Grace Livingston Hill
• The Christmas Bride by Grace Livingston Hill
• Yuletide in Ireland and Wales by Ginny Aiken and Tamela Hancock Murray
• English Carols and Scottish Bagpipes by Pamela Griffin and Jill Stengl
• That Christmas Feeling by Catherine Palmer and Gail Gaymer Martin
• Mountains, Memories and Mistletoe by Janet Lee Barton and Kathleen Y'Barbo

Well, it really is a bunch!! I hadn't actually counted them until I made this list. And most of them actually have more than one novella in them, so if you added them all up ...

Anyway, the official count for the month is 11!!

And for the year, that makes 72!!

One more post and this challenge will be over!

Contentment Reading Challenge 2013 - April update

April, so that that you are just a memory. Life is moving way to fast.
However, I did manage to add 5 more books to my total!

• Bamboo and Lace by Lori Wick
• Sophie's Heart by Lori Wick
• Finders Keepers by Catherine Palmer
• Kiss the Bride by Kristy Dykes, Aisha Ford, Vickie McDonough, and Carrie Turansky
• Hide and Seek by Catherine Palmer

So I dived right past 20 and landed on 22 for the year!

2010 Reading Challenge - the final count!

So, 2010 is almost over and it's time for the final book count for the 2010 Reading Challenge!

First things first.

This week I read 10 books!!

They were:

• A Victorian Christmas Tea by Catherine Palmer, Dianna Crawford, Peggy Stocks, and Katherine Chute
• Virtually Eliminated by Jefferson Scott
• Forever Christmas by Christine Lynxwiler
• Wrangler in Petticoats by Mary Connealy (Sophie's Daughters #2)
• For Better or Worse by Jennifer Johnson
• A Treasure Reborn by Pamela Griffin
• Aunt Crete's Emancipation by Grace Livingston Hill
• Rise and Shine by Liz Curtis Higgs
• More Precious Than Silver by Joni Eareckson Tada
• Love from Ashes by Yvonne Lehman

I didn't get Becoming a Woman of Simplicity by Cynthia Heald finished.

Now, for the grand total. For the 2010 Reading Challenge I read

182 books!

That was 22 books more than my target.

I really enjoyed this challenge and most of the books I read were really good.

2010 Reading Challenge - week 51

I read 2 books for the challenge this week. There was another book, but I'm not including is in the challenge because it's not specifically a Christian book.

They were:

• Patterns and Progress by Amber Miller Stockton
• An Old Fashioned Christmas by Sally Laity, Loree Lough, Colleen L Reece, and Tracie Peterson

I'm still reading:

• More Precious Than Silver by Joni Eareckson Tada (this will be finished on Dec 31)
• Rise and Shine by Liz Curtis Higgs (just a few more days and I'll be finished)
• Becoming a Woman of Simplicity by Cynthia Heald (I'm not sure I'll get this finished)
• A Victorian Christmas Tea by Catherine Palmer, Dianna Crawford, Peggy Stocks, and Katherine Chute (just the last of the 4 to go)

Next week I'll post my final total!

2010 Reading Challenge - week 31

6 books for me this week! Much better than the last few weeks, but then I always seem to read more when I'm sick. I tend to read in bed instead of doing other things.

More Catherine Palmer this week, plus Lori Wick, and all historical fiction.

They were:

• Wild Heather by Catherine Palmer
• English Ivy by Catherine Palmer
• Sweet Violet by Catherine Palmer
• The Courteous Cad by Catherine Palmer
• Sabrina by Lori Wick
• Jessie by Lori Wick (audio book edition)

I'm reading:

• More Precious Than Silver by Joni Eareckson Tada
• Finding God in Hidden Places by Joni Eareckson Tada
• Nine Little Goslings by Susan Coolidge (I've wanted this book for years, but it's been out of print until Dodo Press picked it up)

2010 Reading Challenge - week 30

This has been a Catherine Palmer week for me. The only books I finised were written by her.

And once again there were only two of them.

Being a chauffer may mean more time to read books in Sabrina (the movie with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond), but it doesn't for me. I did at some books to my shelf and TBR pile this week that will count for this challenge when I read them.

So the 2 books were:

• The Affectionate Adversary by Catherine Palmer (Miss Pickworth #1)
• The Bachelor's Bargain by Catherine Palmer (Miss Pickworth #2)

I will be reading the 3rd book in this series, but according to Catherine you shoule read a couple of her other regency books before you read that one because they have characters in them that pop up again the the 3rd book. I'm currently reading the first of these other books (see below), but so far I haven't come across any cross-over characters.

So I'm reading:

• Wild Heather by Catherine Palmer (English Ivy #1)
• More Precious Than Silver by Joni Eareckson Tada
• Finding God in Hidden Places by Joni Eareckson Tada

2010 Reading Challenge - week 29

Another slowish reading week for me. Acting as chauffer for my family gives me less time for reading, although I have to admit that some of my reading time has been taken up by other pursuits.

So I read 2 books this week, and they are:

• Between Sundays by Karen Kingsbury
• Cassidy by Lori Wick (Big Sky Dreams #1)

I am currently reading:

• More Precious Than Silver by Joni Eareckson Tada
• Finding God in Hidden Places by Joni Eareckson Tada
• The Affectionate Adversary by Catherine Palmer (Miss Pickworth #1)

Teaser Tuesdays - July 20

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Affectionate Adversary by Catherine Palmer

'Though he had been pulled from the sea with nothing to call his own, Charles was given a frock coat, waistcoat, trousers, shirt, and cravat from the captain's personal wardrobe. Only his boots remained from the fine set of garments with which he had departed London months before. On this day, as the Queen Elinore sailed up the Thames, Charles polished the brown leather to a high shine.

Would she have him? Dare Sarah Carlyle take the risk of being wed to a man she had known such a short time? A crippled pauper who by his own admission had nothing to offer her save a raft of promises and dreams? She must set aside all reason to take him on, Charles knew. Yet how could he make his way forward without her?'

2010 Reading Challenge - Week 1

Ok, so my first week on this reading challenge I have read 3 books and am partway through 2 others.

I read:

• Safer Than A Known Way by Mavis Areta Winder
• Island Breeze by Lynn Bulock
• Fatal Harvest by Catherine Palmer

I'm reading:

• The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper by Kathleen Y'Barbo
• More Precious Than Silver by Joni Eareckson Tada (this I will be reading all year as it is a year long devotional)

Not a great start, but I'm just warming up.

Until next week, happy reading!