Reading Challenges Progress Report

Where has 2009 gone? We are almost halfway through, so I decided I had better look at my progress towards fulfilling my various reading challenges for 2009.

First things first--not counting the three new word guides/dictionaries that now reside very close to hand, I have read a total of 55 books so far. Some have been oriented towards paper crafts or studio design; others have been writing guides or computer software manuals. Several have been non-fiction on United States history or geography as I have continued my research for TGAN (aka The Great American Novel). A few have been on healthy eating and the dreaded four-letter word, "diet" (which should be a word more associated with healthy eating in general and less connected with weight-loss; but I digress....)

So, on to the specific challenges--here's what I have read and what is left for the second half of the year:

"On The Porch Swing" Challenge

1) A book with Married/Marriage/Marrying in the title: (this is not my normal genre, so I may have to really search the library for this one)

2) A book with Friends/Friendship in the title: (a similar situation as #1)

3) A book with Summer/Winter in the title: (well, looks as if I really need to study the card catalog LOL!)

4) A book with a Flower Name in the title: (I have some of Kate Collins' Flower Shop series of cozy mysteries in my TBR mountain and they are quite enjoyable, so this is doable soon)

"In Their Shoes" Challenge (this is any four memoirs)

1) "Harry, A History"

2) TBD

3) TBD

4) TBD

I actually have several memoirs here to choose from so this challenge will be met as long as I make the time to read...

"Mystery Reader Cafe" Challenge

1) A book with Murder in the title: "Maid for Murder"

2) A book set in my region: (I haven't quite decided how narrow my geographic area will be for this one; if I use something set in Texas, I have a couple of Susan Wittig Albert's great China Bayles series here that have not yet been read--although I was hoping to collect the whole series first. I believe there is also a debutante series set here in Dallas that while cute, don't seem to be keepers, so one of those may be my choice here)

3) A book that has been on my TBR shelf/mountain at least a year: (I have at least 100+ to choose from for this part of the challenge)

4) A book from a "new to you" author: "Wreath of Deception"


If all the links work right, my PBSwap reviews should show up for the few books that have met individual challenges. My friends tell me I work too hard and play too little, so I should read more for fun I suppose. Out of the 55 titles read so far this year, there have been "fun" titles: The Star Wars Trilogy, The Chronicles of Narnia (all seven volumes), three of the four Twilight books...and of course, before July 15, I simply must re-read Harry Potter 5 - 7 so I am ready for the new movie LOL!