Cherry Blossom Adventures

I have decided to participate in this reading challenge for next year…perhaps If I write down what I want to read then I will actually do it! The rules and more information is here but basically the rules are as follows

1. Challenge runs from January 1 through December 31, 2008.

2. Choose 8 categories of your own that you would like to read 8 books EACH in.

3. You will be allowed 8 overlaps, for a total of 56 unique book titles.

4. You may overlap these 56 titles with any other challenge.

5. You may change your list or your categories at any time.

I have used a lot of books I already own but there will be a couple I will need to borrow or buy! Some of the books haven`t come out either yet but will be coming out next year and I know that I will be wanting to read them. My categories and books are as follows, but if I find I can`t finish a book then I will substitute another one in…A couple of spaces are still open as I haven`t yet decided on everything (If you have any recommendations they are always welcome… I have also bolded the books that are overlaps the first time they appear in the list…(However there are alot of other book in the list that could have overlapped these are the ones I decided on)

Favourite authors- Chose this category for obvious reasons

1. An offer you can`t refuse- Jill Mansell
2. Change of Heart- Jodi Picoult
3. Thanksgiving- Janet Evanovich
4. Cage of Stars- Jacqelyn Mitchard*
5. Prisoner of Earth- Jeffrey Archer
6. Dear John- Nicholas Sparks*
7. Lean Mean thirteen- Janet Evanovich
8. Black Cat- V.C Andrews

In a series- Chose this category since I have started a couple of different series but need to catch up on them, plus also already had a couple of these books on my shelves

1. Broken Flower- V.C Andrews*
2. Scattered Leaves- V.C Andrews
3. Lean Mean thirteen- Janet Evanovich
4. #14 book in Stephanie Plum series- Janet Evanovich
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Harrows- J.K Rowling*
6. Morigans Cross- Nora Roberts*
7. Electric Blue- Nancy Bush

On my bookshelves for more than six months- Again obvious…I must get rid of them from my to be read list!

1. The Great Gatsby- F Scott Fitzgerald*
2. The Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseini*
3. The Mermaid Chair- Sue Monk Kidd*
4. Wuthering Heights- Emily Bronte*
5. 1984- George Orwell*
6. Diary of Anne Frank- Anne Frank*
7. Running with scissors- Augusten Burroughs*
8. Kafka on the Shore- Murakami Haruki*

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller- Chose this since mysteries etc are one of my most read style of books, this and chick-lit

1. Bell, book & scandal- Jill Churchill*
2. Chocolate chip cookie murder- Joanne Fluke*
3. Killer Blond- Laura Levine
4. Shoes to die for- Laura Levine
5. Dream man- Linda Howard*
6. Ricochet- Sandra Brown*
7. Honky Tonky Kat- Karen Kijewski*
8. Count down- Iris Johansen*

Chick-lit- What I read just as much, if not more than mysteries….

1. If I were you- Julia Llewllyn*
2. Second Wives Club- Jane Moore*
3. Baby Proof- Emily Giffin*
4. You Could Do Better- Stephanie Lehman*
5. Marshmallows for breakfast- Dorothy Koomson*
6. Friday Night Cocktails- Allison Rushby
7. Scot on the rocks- Brenda Janowitz

Young Adult/Children Fiction- Thought I should go back to some books that make me the reader I am today, and also read some other YA fiction that has had a lot of good reviews or awards!

1. Alison- Margaret Watts (One of my favourite books as a teenager- reread)*
2. Dear Venny, Dear Saffron-Libby Hathorn (same as above)*
3. The Book Theif- Marcus Zusak
4. Gossipgirl- Cecily Von Ziegesar*
5. Kira Kira- Cynthia Kadohata*
6. All American Girl- Meg Cabot*
7. Rules- Cynthia Lord

Japanese authors/books about Japan- Live in Japan so thought I should try to read some more books that have come from here…The first six on the list are already on my bookshelves!

1. Kafka on the shore- Murakami Haruki*
2. Snow Country- Yasunari kawebata*
3. Kitchen- Banana Yoshimoto*
4. South of the border, west of the sun- Murakami Haruki*
5. Yakuza moon- Shoko Tendo*
6. In Praise of shadows- Junichiro Tanizaki*

Male Authors- I am trying to broaden my reading horizons a little bit and it seems that most of the books I do read are by female authors…Hopefully this will help me get started on my quest to broaden my reading horizons.

1. When we were Orphans- Kazuo Ishiguro*
2. The Complete Polysyllabic Spree- Nick Hornby*
3. For one more day- Mitch Albom*
4. The Winner- David Baldacci*
5. East of Eden- John Steinbeck*
6. Deception Point- Dan Brown*
7. Running with scissors- Augusten Burroughs*
8. Dear John- Nicholas Sparks*

I have four overlapped books meaning the total for the challenge will be 60, once I put in the other couple of books in the Japanese category and other categories missing books. I will also have to swap books if I read any of them before 2008 starts….but I have a pile of books to read that didn`t really fit into any of these categories to be read before the end of 2007 anyway so I should be fine. I should point out that I don`t expect this list of 58 books to be all I read next year…I’m not sure exactly how many books I read a year but I think it would be closer to 150. I don`t really do book reviews either, I will however keep track of what I have read and when on this blog, as well as perhaps giving some ratings!

The books that have *Astrix` * are already on my bookshelves!

Popularity: 3% [?]