Giving In...

I can't resist another challenge.  Carl hosts the best challenges, but I was reluctant to join since I wasn't able to complete the R.I.P challenge last fall (marriage got in the way.)  Now that I'm a bit more settled in Colorado, I think I can complete it.  I participated in the Once Upon a Time II challenge last year and I'm looking forward to Once Upon a Time III this year!  Plus, Carl has given us "the journey" option, which only commits us to one book to complete the challenge. By all means, I will do my best to complete more, but I can guarantee commitment to one book for sure.  So below is my list of potential reads.  I can't wait and thanks again Carl!

1.  Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

2.  The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke (I completed Jonathan Strange for last year's challenge)

3.  Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare

4.  Something by Tamora Pierce

5.  Brisingr by Christopher Paolini (I've read the first two, so I should read the third)

6.  Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

7.  The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Off to read...

Classics Challenge 2009

Well, I almost didn't see Trish's Classics Challenge 2009 post until too late.  I'm planning on reading classics all year, so I'm definitely in.  I hope to complete the "entree" section (5 classics) but will do my best to read as much as possible.  Here's the reading list in which I plan on using for the challenge.  

1.  Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (I will only use this if I don't complete the book by the end of March)

2.  Howard's End by E. M. Forster

3.  Villette by Charlotte Bronte

4.  The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

5.  Vanity Fair by William M. Thackeray

6.  Middlemarch by George Eliot

7.  A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

8.  The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence

9.  Animal Farm by George Orwell

10.  Madame Bovary by Gustav Flaubert

11.  The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

12.  Nana by Emile Zola

13.  To the North by Elizabeth Bowen

14.  Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

This list is by no means all-inclusive.  These are simply books I own and haven't gotten around to reading just yet.  I'm looking forward to the challenge and thanks for hosting this again, Trish!

A Wish

I want to take a ride on the cat bus...

Goodness

Good Reads

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban-- I'm on my quest to reread the series before HBP comes out in theaters this summer.  This is also the first time I've reread the all of the books since she completed the series.  It is just as wonderful as I remembered and I'm looking forward to one day planting my butt on the couch and having a 5 movie marathon.
• Brideshead Revisited-- I'm about halfway through this British classic and I'm in love.  Not only do I appreciate the book itself, but am intrigued by the characters and all the mention of Catholicism.  I might post a full review when I'm finished.
• Various other reads-- I'm also chugging my way through the teen Alice series, which is like crack, and I want to see how things turn out.  Also on my shelf are various nutrition books, books on fertility (long story but it has multiple purposes), books on canning and preserving, and books cake decorating.
  
• Upcoming goodness-- I think my next classic will be Forster's Howard's End.  I also need to read one of two Agatha Christie novels for the year, so I'm going to go in the order she wrote them and read The Secret Adversary.  I would also like to try the Western genre to expand my horizons and Lonesome Dove came highly recommended.  We'll see.

Good Times

• Jon turns 28 this coming Monday.  I'm looking forward to making him a Wall-E cake and just having a nice quiet, peaceful birthday celebration with family.
• My parents are going to visit the second week of April.  I'm going to work my butt off the end of this month so I don't have to take much official vacation time.  It looks like I'll have three days to (finally) explore Colorado with them.  I don't mind playing tourist in the least!  Celesti@l Se@sonings factory here we come!
• Wii Fit!  We've had it since February, but are waiting to actually open it in April.  Talk about discipline!  I love our Wii and am looking forward to exercising when I want (I have a knack for wanting to take a walk when the weather is crappy.)
• I'm enjoying a day off today.  I worked another marathon recently, and have enough hours to take today and Friday off to stay even with my hours.  I'm off to make bread.