Mission Accomplished: A to Z Reading Challenge

I remember when I posted about this challenge at the beginning of the year I wasn't sure if I could read 52 books in one year--that sounded so daunting! But now I've learned when it comes to reading challenges, I have an "If you build it, he will come" mentality--if I make a list of books, I must, MUST read them. "If I list it, I will read."
Thank you, Joy, for hosting this challenge. This was so much fun. Never before have I thought of books in terms of what letter the title or the name of the author started with. I think I will always be aware of that from now on when browsing for books!
Here's the final list:

Authors (by last name)
A - Austen, Jane: Northanger Abbey
B - Brooks, Terry: The Talismans of Shannara
C - Cannell, Dorothy: The Thin Woman
D - Dean, Debra: The Madonnas of Leningrad
E - Esquivel, Laura: Like Water for Chocolate
F - Faulkner, William: As I Lay Dying
G - Gaiman, Neil: Stardust
H - Hamilton, Masha: The Camel Bookmobile
I - Ilibagiza, Imaculee: Left to Tell
J - Japin, Arthur: In Lucia's Eyes
K - Kadohata, Cynthia: Kira-Kira
L - Lowry, Lois: Messenger
M - MacLachlan, Patricia: Sarah, Plain and Tall
N - Nemirovsky, Irene: Suite Francaise
O - O'Dell, Scott: Island of the Blue Dolphins
P - Pool, Daniel: What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew
Q - Quindlen, Anna: Blessings
R - Riordan, Rick: The Lightning Thief
S - Stoker, Bram: Dracula
T - Twain, Mark: Tom Sawyer
U - Urban, Linda: A Crooked Kind of Perfect
V - Voigt, Cynthia: Homecoming
W - Westerfeld, Scott: Pretties
X - Xinran: Sky Burial
Y - Yep, Lawrance: Dragonwings
Z - Zusak, Markus: The Book Thief

Titles
A - Austenland by Shannon Hale
B - The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
C - Castle Corona by Sharon Creech
D - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Stevenson
E - Enna Burning by Shannon Hale
F - Femme Fatal by Dorothy Cannell
G - The Good Mood Diet by Susan Kleiner
H - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
I - The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
J - Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and me, Elizabeth by E. L. Konigsburg
K - The Known World by Edward P. Jones
L - Life of Pi by Yann Martel
M - The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
N - Nefertiti by Michelle Moran
O - Organizing From the Inside-Out by Julie Morgenstern
P - Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
Q - Queen of Scots by John Guy
R - Reporting Iraq - Edited by Mike Hoyt, John Palatella
S - Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
T - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
U - Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
V - Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald
W - The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket
X - Xenocide by Orson Scott Card
Y - You: The Owners Manual
Z - Zoo Station by David Downing

I was going to list my favorites, but there are so many. If I forced myself to pick three they would be A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Handmaid's Tale, and The Book Thief.

Mission Accomplished: By the Decades Challenge

I finally finished the "By the Decades" Challenge hosted by 1 More Chapter. Here's the list of what I read with links to the reviews:

1860's - The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
1870's - Daniel Deronda by George Eliot
1880's - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Stevenson
1890's - The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
1900's - The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
1910's - Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence
1920's - Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
1930's - As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

My favorites were Daniel Deronda and The House of Mirth. I could have done without Sons and Lovers. I am tempted to participate in this challenge for 2009 and tackle some other decades!

What's In A Name Reading Challenge Completed!

I think this was the first challenge I signed up for, hosted by Annie of "Words by Annie."
The challenge was to pick a book with a title that fit each of the six themes. Here's what I have read for each theme, along with links to reviews:

Color - Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
Animal - Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Name - Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Place - Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Weather - A Wind in the Door by L'Engle
Plant - Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald

My favorites were Gathering Blue, Goose Girl and Veil of Roses.

I remember when I signed up for this challenge, I had a schedule of when I would read each one--every other month throughout the year. That was new book blogger naivete, as well as being unrealistic to think that I would stick to any sort of schedule, being a very haphazard reader by nature. I like to go wherever my mood takes me and that can be very unpredictable. Anyways, I loved this challenge and the different themes to pick books from so much that I ignored my schedule. Thanks, Annie!

My First Reading Challenge Finished!

I just realized that I have completed the "To Be Read" Challenge hosted by Mizbooks! The goal for this one was to pick 12 books that you have wanted to read for a while but haven't quite gotten to yet (which in reality is in the hundreds!). I ended up reading some from my original list of 12 and some of my alternates. Here's a rundown of what I read, listed from favorite to least favorite:

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Talismans of Shannara by Terry Brooks
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
Shake Down the Stars by Frances Donnelly
Austenland by Shannon Hale
Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
March by Geraldine Brooks
The Known World byEdward P. Jones