Reading Challenges 2016 - Update 2

I guess you think I've forgotten about my reading challenges for this year ... but you would be wrong. I've made a little progress or a lot depending on the challenge, but haven't really had the time to blog about it. Plus I'm in the middle of changing over computers, and I have not yet been able to transfer over files.

So, here are the updates so far.

I did actually start the next 2 books in the Anne series before the end of the month, but finished them in the correct month. So I've finished:

• Anne of Green Gables
• Anne of Avonlea
• Anne of the Island

I was talking about this challenge with a new friend, and I decided to read as many books by L M Montgomery as I could this year, not just limiting myself to the Anne books and the ones I listed when I first posted about my reading, so I have also read:

• The Blue Castle

So there you have it. I'm going well, in fact, you could say that I am ahead of things, having already finished 4 books. I'm in the middle of another series at the moment, but the next book I read will be Anne of Windy Willows (or Poplars, depending on which edition you happen to have).

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I've been updating my Alphabet Soup page on my blog, so you may already know that I am already 50% through this challenge, with books for 13 letters read. The ones in bold I added since my first update.

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
P - The Pounamu Prophecy by Cindy Williams
S - Seaside Blessings by Irene Hannon
T - Twice Stolen by Susanne Timpani
U - Undetected by Dee Henderson
W - Water's Edge by Robert Whitlow

Unlike a lot of people participating in this challenge, I am not planning ahead of time what books I will read for each letter. As I read a book that fits a letter that I haven't done yet, I add it to my list. I may need to plan a little for Q, X and Z, but so far I'm not having much trouble finding books. The book I'm currently reading will add another letter.

It's pretty good to be halfway through already and only be a third of the way through the year.

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Finally, the Bethany House 2016 Reading Challenge.

This one is a little harder to find books to fit the categories, I think, than their challenge last year. However, I have got 6 of the 12 squares crossed off, so I am also up to 50% on this challenge too.

The corresponding books for this challenge are:

• You haven't read since you were a teenager - The Blue Castle by L M Montgomery
• Is set in a place you'd like to visit - Anne of Avonlea by L M Montgomery (yes, I know Avonlea is not a real place, but I would like to visit Prince Edward Island)
• Has an animal as a significant character - Winnie the Pooh by A A Milne
• Another author recommends - Against All Odds by Irene Hannon (recommended by Dee Henderson)
• Ends a series - Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes by Robin Jones Gunn

That rounds out the books to date. I have a plan for the book found at a yard sale or a thrift store - I actually have 2 to choose from. My Mum keeps suggesting books for one that is at least 100 years old, but I haven't made up my mind which of her suggestions to take up (if any).

And that is the end of my update.

Happy reading!

ACRBA Tour - The Pounamu Prophecy by Cindy Williams

7 - 11 March

Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance

is introducing

The Pounamu Prophecy

(Rhiza Press, 1 October 2015)

Cindy Williams

About the Book:

Since she watched her village burn to the ground, Mere’s life has been anything but dull. Now as an older woman she has come to stay with Helene and James to finish writing her life story – a tale of injustice, revenge and
reconciliation.

But Helene and James have their own problems. After five years together, their marriage has become dull, predictable, boring … and it starts to unravel. 

Weaving fiction with the traumatic history of the Ngati Whatua tribe of Auckland, The Pounamu Prophecy sweeps from the sultry heat of Australia to the verdant shores of New Zealand.

About the Author

Cindy Williams lives in Sydney with her husband and teenage son.

As a child growing up in a culturally rich part of New Zealand she enjoyed writing, not copious screeds, but short intense pieces that brought tears to her eyes and made people think. She marvelled at the power of words to inspire far beyond the intentions of the author.

Then she became a dietitian – all science and seriously researched facts. She completed a Master of Public Health and a Graduate Diploma in Communication and spent many years encouraging and inspiring people to live a healthy life.

She writes a nutrition blog – www.nutritionchic.com – and is working on her second novel, set in first century Israel. She teaches scripture in schools, and swim and cycles. She is also studying for a Diploma of Theology and trying to improve her abysmal French! 

My Thoughts

It is sad to think that in every culture there is some form of discrimination based on race and that every generation sees (or doesn't see because it is covered up) attempts to rid the world of a particular race or culture. This book deals with some of that as the story of the past and present are intertwined.

I wasn't sure about reading this book initially, but I have grown to appreciate many things from it - like the message of forgiveness.

Well done, Cindy, for sensitively dealing with the issues you have presented through this story.