Beastmomma

Lately, I have been very enthusiastic and optimistic about my reading.  One activity I have seen a lot on other blogs and twitter is read-a-longs.  Basically a book is selected and divided up into sections.  Deadlines are assigned as to when certain sections of the book must be completed, people blog, comment, and tweet about the experience.  I want to be more active in the blogging community and thought it would be fun, so I decided to join the 'Posessesion' read-a-long which I heard about from Care (Care's Online Book Club). 

The challenge is hosted by Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness) and Lu (Regular Rumination).  I met the first timeline for which I still need to post and am behind on the second; yet, I read on with optimism and determination! Reading schedule is below and I will post links to my progress as I get to it or just notes about how I am doing with the book.  If you are interested in joining the fun, you can sign up here. You can also talk about the book on any of the blogs of participants and on Twitter using the hashtag #readbyatt. 

• March 11: Chapters 1 – 6: Completed on Sunday, March 10th. Thankful story got more interesting after the first chapter.  You can see Kim and Lu's recaps here and here. 
• March 18: Chapter 7 – 13: I am just about a week behind as I finished this section on Sunday, March 24th. It is getting much saucier and more tense. You can see Kim and Lu's recaps here and here. 
• March 25: Chapter 14 – 19: I finished this section and the next one close together. Chapter 19 was a game changer. You can see Kim and Lu's recaps here and here. 
• April 1: Chapter 20 – End: I finished this section the night before the deadline. My final review is here. 

I did not complete this challenge last year, so I am determined to do it this year!  The details and my commitment level are below. 

From Swapna's site, here are some basics:

There are two ways for a book to qualify for the South Asian Challenge

(1) A book must be by a South Asian author.  For these purposes, South Asia includes the following countries: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and the Maldives. 

2) A book must be about South Asia.  In this case, it can be set in a South Asian country or be about South Asians living abroad.  It can also be a biography or memoir of a South Asian, or of a non-South Asian traveling or working in South Asia.  In this case, the authordoes not need to be South Asian, as long as the subject matter focuses on the region, peoples, or cultures in some way.

Any type book qualifies, as long as it meets one of the two guidelines above - a cookbook, short story or essay collection, travel guide - I’m not picky!

What dates does the challenge run?

January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2013

What are the levels?

I can choose how many books I want to read. I am hoping to match my number last year, so I will pick three. 

The books I read for the challenge are below: 

• The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan: The author is Indian and the book takes place in India. I finished the book on April 10, 2013. You can find my review here. 
• Oleander Girl by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni: The author is South Asian and the book takes place in India. I finished the book on April 17, 2013. You can find my review here. 
• Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda: The author is South Asian and part of the book takes place in India.  I finished the book on May 10, 2013. You can find my review here.
• Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh: The author is South Asian and most of the book takes place in India. I finished the book on August 23, 2013. My review is here. 
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling: The author is South Asian. I finished the book on September 28, 2013. You can find my review here. 
• The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri The author is South Asian and part of the book takes place in India. I finished the book on November 7, 2013. You can find my review here. 

**Wow, I finished the challenge four months late! I could not give up thought because I really go love it.  This year, I took advantage of the rule that we could read more than one author from a country as I read three books from authors who were born in England.  As I look back on the list, I realize that I really did enjoy all of the books. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be The Book Thief.  I hope that this challenge returns again next year as I really enjoyed participating. **

I really should not be signing up for another challenge.  However, the Orbis Terrarum Challenge is one of my favorites.  I really enjoyed participating for the past two years and look forward to another trip around the world through the pages of some good books.

Orbis Terrarum 2010 Challenge Rules:

*The Orbis Terrarum Challenge begins April,1st  2010(you are welcome to join later) through the month of November.
*For the challenge each reader is to choose 8 books (for the 8  months of the challenge).
*Each book must from a different country, I have decided to go by the country of origin of the author, or the country he/she lives in is fine as well-meaning NOT the country the book is set in!!
*You don’t have to have a list, that means you can change your mind at any time. As long as there are 8 books you have completed the challenge.

What is different about this year in the Orbis Terrarum Challenge?? Well, there are some differences I think you will like, the above rules stay the same, but there are some options for your reading that I would like each challenger to consider.

1.) This year I am allowing all the books to be from the same country and by the same author (although I would have you not choose your OWN country, because this challenge is meant to expose you to the world not your neighborhood!) For example, if you would like to focus on South Africa because you have an intrest in that then you can read all your books from that nation if you want.

2.) I want you to worry not about me putting up a post each month where you post your reviews, but that you’d post them in the appropriate continent location as you read along. These can be found by clicking on the images to the right. It has been a nightmare to try to organize these on my own, so I am asking (BEGGING) you to please first make sure your author’s country is listed in that particular Continent list, then include the nation of origin (or where he/she resides or resided or if you are choosing to go with where the author was born) of the author, as well as the title of the book. For example: (Absent by Khedairi- Iraq)or (Half of a Yellow Sun – Nigeria)

3.) The 2010 Orbis Terrarum Challengers Raising Funds for Clean Water Worldwide (optional!)

I am a big believer in not just reading about what is going on in the world, but about doing something about it. For this reason I am going to be reading away for Living Water International during the challenge and donating an amount per book. I also ask that you consider doing the same. If every one of us just gave $1 per book we read during the challenge, that is only 8 dollars, but if we all did it it  that would be a good amount (last year we had 74 challengers, reading 8 books= $592 !)

You can make your donations directly by going to the Orbis Terrarum Challenge Fundraiser page. (They will send you a receipt for your tax deductible donation directly) Or by clicking the widget in the upper right of this challenge’s page.

However, you don’t need to feel obligated to donate!!

My selections:

1. Chocolat by Joanne Harris. The author was born in England.  I finished the book on April 14th. My review is here.

2. Everything is Broken by Emma Larkin. The author was born in Asia, but lives in Thailand. I finished the book on May 19th. My review is here.

3. The Geometry of God by Uzsma Aslam Khan The author was born in Pakistan.  I finished the book on August 26th. My review is here.

4. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. The author lives in England. I finished the book in October. You can find my review here.

5. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. The author was born in Afghanistan. I finished the book at the end of October. You can find my review here.

6. This Child Will be Great:Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Woman President written by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The author was born in Liberia. I finished the book on December 10th. You can find my review here.

7. The Book Thief by Mark Zusak. The author was born in Australia. I finished the book on December 27th. You can find my review here.

8. Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières. The author was born in England. I finished the book in February. You can find my review here. 

*Sometimes, I am late on completing things.  I never thought that it would take me THREE years to finish What's in a Name Three.  I am glad that I perservered and *finally* finished. Here's hoping that I have better luck with What's in a Name Six*

I really loved the What's in a Name challenge in 2008 and 2009.  Even though I have yet to finish the 2009 challenge, I really love it and want to be part of it again for year three.  This year, we have a new host with some new categories.   The details are below. I will fill in the books as I read instead of making a list right now.

Between January 1 and December 31, 2010, read one book in each of the following categories:

1. A book with a food in the title: Chocolat by Joanne Harris. I finished the book on April 14th. You can find my review here.   
   
2. A book with a body of water in the title: Broken Harborby Tana French. I finished the book on January 22, 2013.  You can find my review here.  
3. A book with a title (queen, president) in the title: This Child Will be Great:Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Woman President written by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.  I finished the book in December 2010. You can find my review here.
4. A book with a plant in the title: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender Lemon is a type of tree and trees are part of the plant family. You can find my review here.
5. A book with a place name (city, country) in the title:  Shanghai Girls by Lisa See my review is here. I finished the book in March 2010.
6. A book with a music term in the title: Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières. You can find my review here. I finished the book in February 2011.
   

February 1, 2010 - January 31, 2011

I am in the mode of signing up for the challenges for 2010. 

Definition of a Chunkster:

• A chunkster is 450 pages or more of ADULT literature (fiction or nonfiction) ... A chunkster should be a challenge.
• If you read large type books your book will need to be 525 pages or more ... The average large type book is 10-15% longer or more so I think that was a fair estimate.

The Rules:

• No Audio books in the chunkster. It just doesn't seem right. Words on paper for this one folks.
• No e-Books allowed - we are reading traditional, fat books for this challenge.
• Short Stories and Essay collections will not be counted.
• Books may crossover with other challenges
• Anyone may join. If you don't have a blog, just leave me a comment on this post with your progress (and to let me know you are playing)
• You don't need to list your books ahead of time.
  
• Once you pick a level, that's it...you're committed to that level!
  

You must pick a level of participation (thanks again to Dana for the humor in these categories!):

1. The Chubby Chunkster - this option is for the reader who has a couple of large tomes on their TBR list, but really doesn't want to commit to much more than that. 3 books is all you need to finish this challenge.
2. Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? - this option is for the slightly heavier reader who wants to commit to 4 Chunksters over the next twelve months.
3. Mor-book-ly Obese - This is for the truly out of control chunkster. For this level of challenge you must commit to 6 or more chunksters OR three tomes of 750 pages or more. You know you want to.....go on and give in to your cravings.

I am signing up for level one of participation.  Hopefully, I will be able to complete three books for the challenge. Here are the books that I read for the challenge:

1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. Finished in January 2010; my review is here. Just realized that this challenge does not start until Febrauary 1st. I cannot believe I finished a book early!

2. Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (521 pages). Finished in February 2010.  My review is here.

3. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (455 pages) Finished in April 2010. My review is here.

4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (464 pages) Finished in September 2010. My review is here.

5. The Book Thief by Mark Zusak (550) Finished in December 2010. My review is here.

** I am pleasantly surprised that I exceeded my expectations for how many Chunksters I could complete.  I ended up completed four in the allocated time putting me in the middle level of Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big.  My favorite books out of all of these were Blind Assassin and The Book Thief; although, all were really engaging. I am excited for next year!**