2012 Reading Challenge Round-Up -- Completed Edition

I hear 2013 calling my name.  I think it's time to call 2012 quits and start my end of the year posts.  In total I entered 27 reading challenges this year.  Let's see how I did...  Completed challenges edition.

I went for the highest goal on this one, 16 books, 16 categories.  It really wasn't a hugely difficult challenge as I read nonfiction all the time.  But it did encourage me to pick up different types of books.  My favorite book from this challenge was the Science Fiction and Fantasy pick of The Magicians by Lev Grossman.

• Classics – Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (11/8/12)
• Biography – Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun by Gita May (9/21/12)
• Cookery, Food, and Wine – Chocolate by Shara Aaron and Monica Bearden (12/4/12)
• History – The Lost Millennium by Florin Diacu (9/12/12)
• Modern Fiction – Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin (5/22/12)
• Graphic Novel and Manga – Bad Doings and Big Ideas by Bill Willingham (4/23/12)
• Crime and Mystery – Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (5/17/12)
• Horror – The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan (3/1/12)
• Romance – An Offer You Can’t Refuse by Jill Mansell (11/14/12)
• Science Fiction and Fantasy – The Magicians by Lev Grossman (1/21/12)
• Travel – Paris in Love by Eloisa James (5/16/12)
• Poetry – Poems of Emily Dickinson (11/23/12)
• Journalism and Humor – The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs (2/26/12)
• Science and Natural History – The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson (4/18/12)
• Children’s and Young Adult – The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (6/27/12)
• Social Sciences and Philosophy – This Book is Overdue by Marilyn Johnson (9/1/12)

 I had been meaning to read more classics.  After reading only classics back in high school, I haven't really gotten around to any for a few years.  This was my chance.  My favorite read from this challenge was The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (a once very few years reread for me, but still awesome).  I'm joining this one again next year.

• 19th Century – The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (8/6/12)
• 20th Century – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1/26/12)
• Reread Classic – Persuasion by Jane Austen (10/3/12)
• Classic Play – The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (8/29/12)
• Classic Mystery/Horror/Crime – The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (4/26/12)
• Classic Romance – Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (8/23/12)
• Translated Classic – Arthurian Romances by Chretien de Troyes (12/3/12)
• Classic Award Winner – A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (11/21/12)
• International Classic – Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson (11/16/12)

An odd challenge for me.  I struggled to find books that I was already going to read to fit the topics.  Once I did I really loved my choices.  My favorite read was The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman, part of His Dark Materials trilogy.

• Topographical Feature –  The Bridge of Scarlet Leaves by Kristin McMorris (12/2/12)
• Something in the Sky – Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (1/13/12)
• Creepy Crawly –  You are So Undead to Me by Stacey Jay (2/27/12)
• Type of House – Palace Circle by Rebecca Dean (3/8/12)
• Something from Your Pocket – The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman (8/16/12)
• Something on a Calendar – The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O’Connor McNees (12/1/12)

I always love reading books and then see the movie.  It's even better when I have read the book before seeing the movie, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way.  My favorite combo was Do Androids... and Blade Runner.  While the movie doesn't exactly follow the books it does have the same feel.  Loved them!

• Something Borrowed (Emily Giffin) (5/22/12)
• Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep — Philip K. Dick) (11/27/12)
• The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) (1/11/12)
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare) (1/27/12)
• Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare) (8/28/12)
• The Dark Compass (Philip Pullman) (8/12/12)
• Richard III (Shakespeare) (8/28/12)
• Persuasion (Jane Austen) (10/3/12)
• Dorian Gray (The Picture of Dorian Gray — Oscar Wilde) (4/26/12)
• Beastly (Alex Flinn) (4/15/12)
• Kick-Ass (Mark Millar and John Romita Jr) (5/23/12)
• Starship Troopers (Robert Heinlein) (6/1/12)
• Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter (Seth Grahame-Smith) (5/25/12)
• The Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum) (8/6/12)
• Tin Man (The Wizard of Oz – L. Frank Baum) (8/6/12)
• Northanger Abbey (Jane Austen) (8/23/12)
• The Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar Wilde) (8/29/12)
• Twelfth Night (Shakespeare) (9/1/12)
• Ran (King Lear – Shakespeare) (9/4/12)
• Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) (11/8/12)

J has been trying to get me to read more science fiction for years now.  And I finally warming up to the genre, although I tend to go for softer scifi.  My favorite read was Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein.

• The Martian Chronicles — Ray Bradbury (11/23/12)
• Snow Crash — Neal Stephenson (10/30/12)
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K. Dick (11/27/12)
• Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert Heinlein (1/8/12)
• Starship Troopers — Robert Heinlein (6/1/12)

I super hard challenge to finish.  I think I just picked a ton of mediocre books and it made it really difficult to finish.  As it stands, I want to try to again next year, but with only 5 reads and hopefully better books.  From this year, my favorite read was The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale.

• The Goose Girl — Shannon Hale (11/7/12)
• Mythology — Edith Hamilton (11/27/12)
• Beauty — Robin McKinley (6/5/12)
• Beastly — Alex Flinn (4/15/12)
• The Frog Prince — Stephen Mitchell (5/14/12)
• Sirena — Donna Jo Napoli (6/1/12)
• Adrianna’s Fairy Tales by Adrianna White (7/5/12)
• The Princess and the Hound — Mette Ivie Harrison (10/22/12)
• The Princess and the Bear — Mette Ivie Harrison (10/24/12)
• Flower Fables — Louisa May Alcott (11/16/12)

This was quite an interesting challenge.  Out of the 12 we read, I had already read only four.  So I got a ton more Shakespeare.  My favorite is still A Midsummer Night's Dream, followed closely by Much Ado About Nothing.

• January – A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1/27/12)
• February – Macbeth (2/22/12)
• March – Henry V (3/25/12)
• April – Much Ado About Nothing (8/28/12)
• May – Antony and Cleopatra (8/30/12)
• June – Richard III (8/28/12)
• July – As You Like It (11/18/12)
• August – King Lear (9/4/12)
• September – Cymbeline (11/19/12)
• October – Twelfth Night (9/1/12)
• November – Othello (11/19/12)
• December – Pericles (11/19/12)

I adore zombies!  Reading 24 zombie books was not difficult, but picking my favorite definitely is.  I think I will have to choose the Newsflesh trilogy (Feed, Deadline, and Blackout), but only if you make me choose.

• You are So Undead to Me — Stacey Jay (2/27/12)
• Undead Much — Stacey Jay (2/29/12)
• Allison Hewitt is Trapped — Madeleine Roux (4/26/12)
• Night of the Necromancer — Kyle West (2/3/12)
• Feed — Mira Grant (10/8/12)
• Deadline — Mira Grant (10/14/12)
• Blackout — Mira Grant (10/17/12)
• Zombie Blondes — Brian James (2/4/12)
• Sadie Walker is Stranded — Madeleine Roux (10/2/12)
• The Dark and Hollow Places — Carrie Ryan (1/8/12)
• The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks — Max Brooks (1/7/12)
• Brains: A Zombie Memoir – Robin Becker (1/9/12)
• Autumn: Purification – David Moody (1/24/12)
• Autumn: Disintegration – David Moody (1/27/12)
• The Stupidest Angel – Christopher Moore (2/11/12)
• Rise Again — Ben Tripp (3/15/12)
• The First Days — Rhiannon Frater (10/4/12)
• As the World Dies — Rhiannon Frater (10/5/12)
• Siege — Rhiannon Frater (10/6/12)
• Eat, Slay, Love — Jesse Petersen (3/16/12)
• Aftertime — Sophie Littlefield (4/5/12)
• Hater — David Moody (7/19/12)
• Dog Blood — David Moody (7/25/12)
• Them or Us — David Moody (7/28/12)

This was a great chance to reread all seven HP books and rewatch the movies.  I haven't read these in a few years, so lots of great fun.

1. HP and the Sorcerer’s Stone (1/7/12)
2. HP and the Chamber of Secrets (2/22/12)
3. HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban (3/29/12)
4. HP and the Goblet of Fire (5/13/12)
5. HP and the Order of the Phoenix (5/29/12)
6. HP and the Half-Blood Prince (6/22/12)
7. HP and the Deathly Hallows (9/28/12)

This was one of the easier challenges to complete.  I turn to romance novels when I need a break from the heavy.  I love predictable romances.  My favorites were the 2nd and 3rd books of the Tudor Rose trilogy (The Maiden's Hand and At the Queen's Summons).

• At the Queen’s Summons — Susan Wiggs (9/11/12)
• Regency Romance (3/23/12)
• A Lady Never Tells — Candace Camp (1/23/12)
• A Gentleman Always Remembers – Candace Camp (2/7/12)
• An Affair Without End – Candace Camp (2/10/11)
• Definitely Not Mr. Darcy — Karen Doornebos (4/12/12)
• Intentions of the Earl — Rose Gordon (6/29/12)
• Twelfth Night (anthology) (7/11/12)
• Carole’s Christmas by Anne Glynn (7/11/12)
• The Maiden’s Hand by Susan Wiggs (9/8/12)

This was my own challenge.  I started reading the Fables series in 2011 and fell completely in love with it.  My goal this year was to finish the back catalog.  Next year I'm definitely going to finish catching up with the published titles.  My favorite was definitely Vol. 14 Wtiches.  Amazing read!

• Vol. 14 Witches (1/6/12)
• Vol. 15 Rose Red (1/10/12)
• Vol. 16 Super Group (2/2/12)
• JF: Vol. 9 The End (1/6/12)
• Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love (9/2/12)

Another easy challenge for me.  My favorite was The Hunger Games trilogy, but I also really loved Anna Dressed in Blood.

• The Hunger Games — Suzanne Collins(1/11/12)
• Catching Fire — Suzanne Collins (1/12/12)
• Mockingjay — Suzanne Collins (1/13/12)
• A Great and Terrible Beauty — Libba Bray (5/15/12)
• Rebel Angels — Libba Bray (7/6/12)
• The Sweet Far Thing — Libba Bray (7/12/12)
• The Golden Compass — Philip Pullman (8/12/12)
• The View from Saturday — E.L. Konigsburg (4/20/12)
• Anna Dressed in Blood –Kendare Blake (6/5/12)
• Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher — Bruce Coville (7/7/12)
• Ashfall — Mike Mullin (7/30/12)
• Ashen Winter — Mike Mullin (8/2/12)

I also do love vampires.  This challenge was dominated by my reading of the Vampire Academy series, but it was a good one.  For my favorite, it was easily Sunshine by Robin McKinley.  That one is going into my reread pile.

• American Vampire — Jennifer Armintrout (2/2/12)
• The Radleys — Matt Haig (4/27/12)
• Sunshine — Robin McKinley (2/17/12)
• Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter — Seth Grahame-Smith (5/25/12)
• Vampire Academy — Richelle Mead (6/11/12)
• Frostbite — Richelle Mead (6/22/12)
• Shadow Kiss — Richelle Mead (6/27/12)
• Blood Promise — Richelle Mead (7/14/12)
• Spirit Bound — Richelle Mead (7/15/12)
• Last Sacrifice — Richelle Mead (7/19/12)

With J's influence, I really got into some comics this year.  While I stay away from the big Marvel vs. DC debate, I found some great titles out there.  My favorite was the first five volumes of The Sandman series.  I will be finishing that series next year with my Neil Gaiman RC.

• Hatter M Vol. 1 (1/15/12)
• Hatter M Vol. 2 (1/17/12
• Hatter M Vol. 3 (1/18/12)
• The Boys: The Big Ride (1/8/12)
• The Walking Dead Book 4 (4/22/12)
• Manga Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1/27/12)
• Doctor Who: Through Time and Space (2/22/12)
• The Boys Vol. 10: Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker (6/7/12)
• Doctor Who: The Forgotten (3/26/12)
• Wonderland by Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew (5/23/12)
• Kick-Ass by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. (5/23/12)
• League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 1910 (5/30/12)
• The Sandman: Volume 1 Preludes and Nocturnes (6/4/12)
• The Sandman: Volume 2 The Doll’s House (6/6/12)
• The Boys Vol. 11: Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men (6/12/12)
• The Sandman: Volume 3 Dream Country (6/30/12)
• Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (7/2/12)
• The Sandman: Volume 4 Season of Mists (7/2/12)
• Persepolis: The Story of a Return (7/4/12)
• The Sandman: Volume 5 A Game of You (7/5/12)

Easy peasy.  Although next year, I am putting myself on a library ban for at least the first four months (except for my book club selections).

1. Jack of Fables: The End(1/6/12)
2. Fables: Witches (1/6/12)
3. The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan (1/8/12)
4. The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks by Max Brooks (1/7/12)
5. Brains: A Zombie Memoir by Robin Becker (1/9/12)
6. Fables: Rose Red (1/10/12)
7. Autumn: Purification by David Moody (1/24/12)
8. Autumn: Disintegration by David Moody (1/27/12)
9. Undead Much by Stacey Jay (2/29/12)
10. The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore (2/11/12)
11. Rise Again by Ben Tripp (3/15/12)
12. You are So Undead to Me by Stacey Jay (2/27/12)
13. Manga Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1/27/12)
14. Fables: Supre Group (2/2/12)
15. Doctor Who: Through Time and Space (2/22/12)
16. Macbeth by Shakespeare (2/22/12)
17. Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield (4/5/12)
18. Eat, Slay, Love by Jesse Petersen (3/16/12)
19. Doctor Who: The Forgotten (3/26/12)
20. Everneath by Brodie Ashton (4/1/12)
21. Definitely Not Mr. Darcy by Karen Doornebos (4/12/12)
22. The Walking Dead: Book Four (4/22/12)
23. Bad Doings and Big Ideas by Bill Willingham (4/23/12)
24. The Frog Prince by Stephen Mitchell (5/14/12)
25. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (5/17/12)
26. Wonderland by Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew (5/23/12)
27. Kick-Ass by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. (5/23/12)
28. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 1910 (5/30/12)
29. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (6/11/12)
30. Sirena by Donna Jo Napoli (6/1/12)
31. Beauty by Robin McKinley (6/5/12)
32. The Sandman Volume 1 Preludes and Nocturnes (6/4/12)
33. The Sandman Volume 2 The Doll’s House (6/6/12)
34. Frostbite by Richelle Mead (6/22/12)
35. Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead (6/27/12)
36. The Sandman Volume 3 Dream Country (6/30/12)
37. The Sandman Volume Season of Mists (7/2/12)

Another fairly easy challenge.  Although those Es gave me some difficulty.

• T – Rise Again by Ben Tripp (3/15/12)
• O – The Boys Vol. 11: Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men (6/12/12)
• B – The Zombie Surivival Guide: Recorded Attacks by Max Brooks (1/7/12)
• E – Jack of Fables: The End (1/6/12)
• F – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1/26/12)
• R – HP and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (1/7/12)
• A – Autumn: Purification by David Moody (1/24/12)
• N – Night of the Necromancer by Kyle West (2/3/12)
• C – The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (1/11/12)
• E – Evermore by Alyson Noel (3/2/12)
• S – Harry Potter Film Wizardry by Brian Sibley (1/29/12)
• B – The Boys: The Big Ride (1/8/12)
• U – Undead Much by Stacey Jay (2/29/12)
• F – Doctor Who: The Forgotten (2/26/12)
• F – Beastly by Alex Flinn (4/15/12)
• E – Eat, Slay, Love by Jesse Petersen (3/16/12)
• N – Blue Moon by Alyson Noel (3/4/12)
• B – Brains: A Zombie Memoir by Robin Becker (1/9/12)
• A – Autumn: Disintegration by David Moody (1/27/12)
• R – The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan (1/8/12)
• G – The Magicians by Lev Grossman (1/21/12)
• E – Everneath by Brodie Ashton (4/1/12)
• R – Fables: Rose Red (1/10/12)

Flower Fables by Louisa May Alcott

Title: Flower Fables

Author: Louisa May Alcott

Genre: Classic fairy tales

Pages: 140

Rating:    2 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Telling Tales; Mount TBR; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: I own it!

Flower Fables is a treasury of six different stories penned by Louisa May Alcott. These old-fashioned fairy tales have been compiled and edited by Daniel Shealy, who has done editing on several Alcott books. The text is very readable, and has magic flavor added via the font's joining together of several letters. Today's children, like many children of the past, will enjoy meeting Alcott's fairies, sentient flowers, and other real and imagined characters. Illustrator Leah Palmer Preiss has filled the book with delightful and interesting fairies and other creatures. The illustrations are bright and full. Readers may want to watch for the bonuses of quotations and tiny portraits of those who influenced Louisa May Alcott. This book would make a good bedtime storybook, and like many tales of old, has good morals that children could take away with them perhaps without even realizing there was a lesson involved. The afterword is also interesting as it shares interesting details about Miss Alcott. For example, she wrote these tales when she was 16. Another bonus at the end of the book is the biographies that go along with the quotations and miniature portraits. -- FromIndependent Publisher --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Bored.  That's my initial thought after reading this volume.  I'm bored.  These tales just aren't interesting or exciting to me.  I don't want to read anymore.  And I love old fairy tale stories.  These just lacked any oomph.  That's all.  Boring.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Title: The Goose Girl  (The Books of Bayern #1)

Author: Shannon Hale

Publisher: Bloomsbury 2005

Genre: Fairy tales

Pages: 400

Rating:  5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Telling tales; Mount TBR; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: I own it!

She can whisper to horses and communicate with birds, but the crown princess Ani has a difficult time finding her place in the royal family and measuring up to her imperial mother. When she is shipped off to a neighboring kingdom as a bride, her scheming entourage mounts a bloody mutiny to replace her with a jealous lady-in-waiting, Selia, and to allow an inner circle of guards more power in the new land. Barely escaping with her life, Ani disguises herself as a goose girl and wanders on the royal estate. Does she have the pluck to reclaim her rightful place? Get ready for a fine adventure tale full of danger, suspense, surprising twists, and a satisfying conclusion. The engaging plot can certainly carry the tale, but Hale's likable, introspective heroine makes this also a book about courage and justice in the face of overwhelming odds. The richly rendered, medieval folkloric setting adds to the charm. Anne O'Malley

I was wary at the beginning of this book.  I haven't had much luck with retellings of fairy tales.  They've been way too shallow with uninteresting characters and predictable storylines.  I just wasn't loving them at all.  And then Shannon Hale comes along and renews my faith in fairy tales.  She crafts a beautiful growing up story of a shelter princess betrayed and left to fight on her own.  I loved Ani (or Isi) and her fight to survive.  I grew to love the other workers.  I especially loved Finn and Enna.  Great characters!  Even though I figured I knew the ending, the story still kept me on my toes until the very end.  I'll be sure to grab the other books in the series for next year's reading.

Books of Bayern

• #1 The Goose Girl
• #2 Enna Burning
• #3 River Secrets
• #4 Forest Born

The Princess and the Bear by Mette Ivie Harrison

Title: The Princess and the Bear (Princess #2)

Author: Mette Ivie Harrison

Publisher: HarperTeen 2009

Genre: Fairy Tales

Pages: 327

Rating:   3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Telling Tales; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: Library Loan

He was once a king, turned into a bear as punishment for his cruel and selfish deeds.

She was a once a princess, now living in the form of a hound.

Wary companions, they are sent—in human form—back to a time when magic went terribly astray. Together they must right the wrongs caused by this devastating power—if only they can find a way to trust each other.

But even as each becomes aware of an ever-growing attraction, the stakes are rising and they must find a way to eliminate this evil force—or risk losing each other forever.

Meh...  It wasn't great, it wasn't bad.  It was just meh.  I think I might have liked this book more if I read it back in middle school.  I wasn't a big fan of either main character.  I didn't necessarily like the back-and-forth points of view.  I wasn't that emotionally invested with anyone.  I just didn't love the book.  I think I will be stopping with the series now.  On to better reads...

Princess

• #1 The Princess and the Hound
• #2 The Princess and the Bear
• #3 The Princess and the Snowbird
• #4 The Princess and the Horse
• #5 The Princess and the Wolf

The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison

Title: The Princess and the Hound (Princess #1)

Author: Mette Ivie Harrison

Publisher: HarperTeen 2007

Genre: Fairy Tales

Pages: 410

Rating:  4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Telling Tales; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: Library Loan

He is a prince and heir to a kingdom threatened on all sides, possessor of the forbidden animal magic.

She is a princess from a rival kingdom, the daughter her father never wanted, isolated from all except her hound.

In this lush and beautifully written fairy-tale romance, a prince, a princess, and two kingdoms are joined in the aftermath of a war. Proud, stubborn, and bound to marry for duty, George and Beatrice will steal your heart—but will they fall in love?

I actually grabbed the second book in this series, but stopped before reading it.  I went back to the library to grab the first one in the series.  A retelling of Beauty and the Beast.  I wasn't expecting that, but was pleasantly surprised.  The book is told mostly from the side of George.  it took me many pages before I figured out that this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling.  I was thrown by the concept of animal magic and the gender role switch.  After settling into the idea, I started to really like the story.  I loved George's struggle between who he is and who he thinks he should be.  It was a nice internal struggle.  I wish that we could have gotten to know Beatrice/Marit better.  It seems that George falls in love with her, but I couldn't pinpoint why.  For the ambiguous love, I dropped the book a star.  I just had too many questions at the end of it.  Maybe the second book will answer some of those for me.

Princess

• #1 The Princess and the Hound
• #2 The Princess and the Bear
• #3 The Princess and the Snowbird
• #4 The Princess and the Horse
• #5 The Princess and the Wolf

Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love

Title: Cinderella Vol. 1: From Fabletown with Love

Author: Chris Roberson and Shawn McManus

Publisher: Vertigo 2010

Genre: Graphic Novel; Fantasy

Pages: 144

Rating:  5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fables Series; Mount TBR

When supernatural artifacts from the Homelands begin surfacing in the modern world, it falls to Cinderella, Fabletown's best kept (and best dressed) secret agent to stop the illegal trafficking. But can Cindy foil the dark plot before Fabletown and its hidden, exiled inhabitants are exposed once and for all? Whether she's soaring through clouds, deep-sea diving, or cracking jaws, Cindy travels from Manhattan to Dubai and hooks up with a handsome, familiar accomplice who may be harboring secret motives of his own. Meanwhile, trouble brews back home in Fabletown when Cindy's overworked, under appreciated assistant decides to seize control of The Glass Slipper, Cindy's exclusive shoe boutique.

A spin-off from the regular series, we get to know Cindy the spy just a bit better.  I loved the spy novel/Bond movie feel to the entire series.  Cindy is sarcastic, smart, funny, and down right dangerous.  I love her.  As much as I like Snow White in the regular series, Cindy is a whole new breed of Fable.  And I love how her cover in Fabletown is an affair with Beast and the vapid owner of a shoe store.  Nice cover Cindy!  It makes her real personality so much more fun.  I will definitely be adding the other Cinderella series, Fables are Forever, to my TBR list for next year.

Cinderella:

• #1 From Fabletown with Love
• #2 Fables are Forever

Adrianna's Fairy Tales by Adrianna White

Title: Adrianna's Fairy Tales

Author: Adrianna White

Publisher: 2011

Genre: Erotic fairy tales (I'm calling this a genre)

Pages: 147

Rating: 2 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Telling tales; Mount TBR

How I Got It: Free ebook from iBook store

Adrianna’s collection of novellas take the classic story of fairy tales that we’re all accustomed to and throws it out the window in an erotic retelling of our beloved princes and princesses. The characters are hot and the action is steamy, these stories will titillate both the mind and the nether regions. Be warned, these stories rarely end as we would hope.

I downloaded the free iBook version complete with all three tales. I sped through these stories, but overall was really disappointed.

1. Naughty Cinderella: So Cinderella is a prostitute.  I can deal with that.  It makes sense. But the Prince is such a white knight on a horse that he's boring.  And the most graphic sex scene is one of her clients.  Not very sexy at all.

2. Riding Red Hood: I was confused through most of this story.  Was Red a werewolf?  Was the Big Bad Wolf really a werewolf?  What about Red's fiance Fredrick?  It felt like an abusive relationship to me.  Not sexy at all.

3. Beauty and the Beast with Two Backs: Ugh!  I've always issues with Beauty and the Beast storylines (see my review of Beastly and Beauty).  This one really just intertwined Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty and it just didn't work.  And none of the sex scenes were sexy.  They just made me uncomfortable.

Beauty by Robin McKinley

Title: Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast

Author: Robin McKinley

Publisher: Harper Trophy 1978

Genre: Fairy Tales

Pages: 247

Rating:   2 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Semi-Charmed Challenge -- Pair of Antonym Books; Telling Tales; Support Your Local Library

How I Got It: Library Loan

A strange imprisonment

Beauty has never liked her nickname. She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones. But what she lacks in looks, she can perhaps make up for in courage.

When her father comes home with the tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must go to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will. Her father protests that he will not let her go, but she answers, "Cannot a Beast be tamed?"

I am disappointed.  To be fair, I have always had issues with the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale.  Why does Beauty love the Beast?  I understand that the Beast must make someone fall in love with him so that the curse can be broken.  But why does she love him?  All he's done is take her from her family and then try to "care" by giving her books and clothes.  Blah!  For that matter does the Beast even love her?  He could be using her to break the curse, but drop her the minute it's done.  And there lies my issue with the fairy tale.

This retelling is the same except for the first third.  I had high hopes.  The first third is spent with Beauty and her family.  They are wealthy, they lose the wealth, they try to make a name for themselves in a small town.  Interesting story.  And then Beauty goes to the Beast's castle and everything falls into place.  I was bored. Just bored.  I am regulating this fairy tale to the bottom of the barrel.

Sirena by Donna Jo Napoli

Title: Sirena

Author: Donna Jo Napoli

Publisher: Scholastic 1998

Genre: Myths and Fairy Tales

Pages: 210

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Telling Tales; A to Z: N; Support Your Local Library

How I Got It: Library loan

In Donna Jo Napoli's beautiful prose, the tragic love story between a mermaid and a mortal comes to life for young readers. When Sirena meets Philoctetes, Hercules' friend, she falls in love. But the young warrior must return home to fight the Trojan War and leave his magical love behind.

A retelling of the classic mermaid/siren myths of Ancient Greece.  I loved that Sirena is a mermaid who does not act like a human.  Too many times mermaids act like humans with fish tales.  Thankfully we see a very different being in this story.  Napoli's words read like poetry.  They flow almost like the currents of the ocean.  My only issue is with Philoctetes himself.  He's not a very good hero and I'm not very attracted to him.  Yet, I understand Sirena's need for love and belonging.  And it's that need that kept me reading.  Now I need to check out Napoli's other retellings.

The Frog Prince by Stephen Mitchell

Title: The Frog Prince

Author: Stephen Mitchell

Publisher: Harmony 1999

Genre: Fairy Tales

Pages: 188

Rating:   5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges:  Semi-Charmed Challenge -- One day read; Telling Tales; Support Your Local Library

How I Got It: Library loan

In this brilliant jewel of a book, the best-selling author of Tao Te Ching: A New English Version expands and deepens the classic fairy tale in the most surprising and delightful ways, giving new emphasis to its message of the transcendent power of love.

The Frog Prince tells the story of a meditative frog's love for a rebellious princess, how she came to love him in spite of herself, and how her refusal to compromise helped him become who he truly was. This is a magical book that moves (amphibiously) from story to meditation and back, from the outrageous to the philosophical to the silly to the sublime. Profound, touching, written in prose as lively and unpredictable as a dream, The Frog Prince tickles the mind, opens the heart, and holds up a mirror to the soul.

Interesting retelling of the fairy tale.  We get to see more of the Princess' and Frog's inner thoughts through the journey.  I like the idea of teaching life philosophy through fairy tales.  They are the easiest to understand.  We can explore deeper meanings through classic well-known stories.  The slim novella only took me an hour to read and yet I feel like I could spend many more hours contemplating the messages included.  I don't have much else to add.  I like it.  I want to read more fairy tales/reinterpretations/philosophy stories.  I really should add some more to my TBR list.

Two great passages:

What may appear to be proud, ungrateful, and headstrong from the outside may from the inside express an unshakable integrity of character.  Pride, if is doesn't step over the line into arrogance, is simply an unprejudiced self-esteem.  Ingratitude is the appropriate response to a kindness that has hooks on it.  Headstrong is another word for trusting your own heart. -- pg. 103

There remains the question of meaning.  A frog turns into a prince.  A lost son is found.  A queen long dead steps down from her pedestal, flushed with life.  Is this wishful thinking?  Whistling in the dark?  And if it isn't, if such transformations are images of what can actually happen to us, in us, what do they entail?  What do they look and feel like? -- pg. 184

Side note: Listening to Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds while listening was a good choice.  Soothing acoustic music set the mood for this books.

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Title: Beastly

Author: Alex Flin

Publisher: HarperTeen 2007

Genre: YA Fairy Tales

Pages: 304

Rating:  4 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Telling Tales; Book2Movie; Read Your Name - F

How I Got It: Library Loan

I am a beast. A beast! Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright. I am a monster.You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll,stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

If I was 15, I would have loved this book.  As I am 30, I liked it.  Overall a cute read, but nothing I will gush over.  I liked Lindy, Will, Magda, and Kendra.  All were great characters.  Kyle/Adrian was so-so.  I get that he was supposed to be the villain in the beginning and find redemption in the end, but I never found him charming, at any point in the book.  This maybe my 30-year-old self not being attracted to 15-year-old boys.  But I also think part of it lies with his personality.  The change seemed rather abrupt and disgenuine.  I just didn't believe him.  Oh and the chat room transcripts... seemed really hooky and silly.

Movie

I have to confess that I saw the movie before reading the book.  After watching the movie, I would have rated it 3 stars.  But after reading the book, I now give the movie 4 stars.  Raising the age of the main characters made the true love romance feel real.  I just can't believe in 15-year-olds finding their one love.  While I am not a fan of Vanessa Hudgens in general, she did a decent job as Lindy.  I loved Alex Pettyfer as our Beast.  He had the right amount of vanity in the beginning, but we also really get to see his gradual change.  I could have done without Olsen twin (which one?) as Kendra.  She's supposed to be ugly at the beginning.  She was just too glamorous to be believed.  Neil Patrick Harris' Will was great.  And the change in makeup really did it.  He was still a Beast, just an interesting looking Beast.

Fables: Super Team

Title: Fables Vol. 16: Super Team

Author: Bill Willingham

Publisher: Vertigo 2011

Genre: Graphic Novel; Fantasy

Pages: 160

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fables Series; A to Z -- S; Support Your Local Library

Now why oh why in this mixed-up world would we saddle an important series that has never had anything to do with Super Heroes with a title like “Super Team”? And why has that snotty little Pinocchio suddenly got it into his head that he needs to design tight-fitting costumes for a carefully selected team of Fables? In fact, why was the little brat caught looking over his own comic-book collection, mumbling things like, “We can call him Werewolf Man, and he can be The Golden Knight, and she can be called The Green Witch?”

Another great, although somewhat anticlimactic, volume.  Bigby continues to be one of my favorite characters in the entire series.  Ozma is growing on me.  I really enjoyed Mister Dark and suspect Nurse Spratt will become a major player soon.  The North Wind is the constant blowhard.  Blufkin's adventures were fantastical enough.  I think that's what keeps me reading: The character.  I love all the different and interesting characters Willingham has created.  They liven up the somewhat tired fairy tale stories.  I can't wait to see what happens to the scattered Fables next.  And there was quite a few cliffhangers at the conclusion of Volume 16!  So exciting...

Fables:

1. Legends in Exile
2. Animal Farm
3. Storybook Love
4. March of the Wooden Soldiers
5. The Mean Seasons
6. Homelands
7. Arabian Nights (and Days)
8. Wolves
9. Sons of Empire
10. The Good Prince
11. War and Pieces
12. The Dark Ages
13. The Great Fables Crossover
14. Witches
15. Rose Red
16. Super Team
17. Inherit the Wind
18. Cubs in Toyland

Fables: Rose Red

Title: Fables Vol. 15: Rose Red

Author: Bill Willingham

Publisher: Vertigo 2011

Genre: Graphic Novel; Fantasy

Pages: 256

Rating: 5  / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fables Series; Support Your Local Library; RYN - R; Color Coded - R

Rose Red, sister of Snow White, has finally hit rock bottom. Does she stay there, or is it time to start the long, tortuous climb back up? The Farm is in chaos, as many factions compete to fill the void of her missing leadership. And there’s a big magical fight brewing down in the town square, right under her window.

Another great addition to the Fables series.  This one had so many storylines, and I loved every single one.  That's not always the case.  Of course we get the main storyline of Rose Red's triumphant return.  But we also get Beauty and Beast's baby, Bellflower's (Frau Totenkinder) battle with Mr. Dark, an interesting meeting with the North Wind, and a few shorts after the move to Haven.  I loved it!  The best part... the beautiful illustrations.  This volume included the series' 100th issue.  The artwork for that issue was too beautiful not to share.  So, I made it my button for this year's challenge.  Enjoy!

Fables:

1. Legends in Exile
2. Animal Farm
3. Storybook Love
4. March of the Wooden Soldiers
5. The Mean Seasons
6. Homelands
7. Arabian Nights (and Days)
8. Wolves
9. Sons of Empire
10. The Good Prince
11. War and Pieces
12. The Dark Ages
13. The Great Fables Crossover
14. Witches
15. Rose Red
16. Super Team
17. Inherit the Wind
18. Cubs in Toyland

Jack of Fables: The End

Title: Jack of Fables Vol. 9: The End

Author: Bill Willingham

Publisher: Vertigo 2011

Genre: Graphic Novel; Fantasy

Pages: 144

Rating: 4  / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fables Series; Name - E; My Years - 2011; Support Your Local Library

Jack Frost seeks to kill a dragon, unaware that it’s his own father. Jack Frost has just set upon the greatest quest in a long and distinguished career of great quests: To kill a dragon. Of course, he is not aware that the dragon in question is in fact his own father. Meanwhile, the Page Sisters find a new purpose in life: restoring the Great Library. This volume includes JACK OF FABLES #50, a special issue that includes appearances by everyone who’s ever shown up in the series.

As much as I loved the Jack of Fables series, towards the end I was just kinda done with it.  It was good, don't get my wrong, I just wasn't on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happened.  I didn't get sucked into the world within the pages.  Something just wasn't magical enough for me.  I continue to read the main Fables series and love all the volumes.  Jack just became a tiresome character and I never really got into his son, Jack Frost.  I was ready to find out the ending.  And boy was it an ending.  As the volume notes, they went Shakespearean with the ending.  Crazy stuff!  Overall, a good read, just not great.

Jack of Fables:

1. The (Nearly) Great Escape
2. Jack of Hearts
3. The Bad Prince
4. Americana
5. Turning Pages
6. The Big Book of War
7. The New Adventures of Jack and Jack
8. The Fulminate Blade
9. The End

Fables: Witches

Title: Fables Vol. 14: Witches

Author: Bill Willingham

Publisher: Vertigo 2010

Genre: Graphic Novel; Fantasy

Pages: 192

Rating:  5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fables Series; A to Z - W; My Years - 2011; Support Your Local Library

While the meek and mild flying monkey Bufkin is trapped in Fabletown's collapsed business office with the evil witch Baba Yaga, Frau Totenkinder and the witches at the Farm upstate prepare to deal with Mister Dark down in what's left of Fabletown.

Loving this turn of events...  We see more of Mr. Dark, his building empire, and the plans being made to stop him.  I love the changes to Frau Totenkinder.  She's always been one of my favorite characters.  And now we get an introduction to Ozma.  Very interesting turn, indeed!  Plus we finally see more interactions in Haven.  I'm loving Ambrose, but he really needs to wake up and notice Ride.  I feel the big showdown approaching, but it will probably be drawn out for at least two more volumes.  I'm okay with that.  I love this series so much.

As a side note,  I caught a wonderful little comment alluding to the novel Peter and Max.  Nicely done!

Fables:

1. Legends in Exile
2. Animal Farm
3. Storybook Love
4. March of the Wooden Soldiers
5. The Mean Seasons
6. Homelands
7. Arabian Nights (and Days)
8. Wolves
9. Sons of Empire
10. The Good Prince
11. War and Pieces
12. The Dark Ages
13. The Great Fables Crossover
14. Witches
15. Rose Red
16. Super Team
17. Inherit the Wind
18. Cubs in Toyland

2012 Telling Tales Reading Challenge

From An Armchair by the Sea:  

Rules:

· Challenge runs from January 1st 2012 to December 31st 2012. You may sign up to participate at any point between these dates.

· In your sign up post you must mention the level of participation you intend to complete

· Any genre counts as long as it is related to fairytale, folklore, or mythology in some way. If you’re not sure if it counts – as long as you can make a case for why it should, then it does!

· You can re-read books for this challenge as long as the reviews you link are written during 2012, and the challenge can also overlap other challenges.

· Whatever you read must either be a version of a fairytale or myth, or contain fairytale or mythological characters, settings, or sequence of events.

· Every month there will be update posts either here or on my sister’s blog. Please link up your reviews for that month on this post.

The Categories

Each category contains five levels, which are as follows:

Level 1: Read 5 books

Level 2: Read 10 books

Level 3: Read 15 books

Level 4: Read 20 books

Level 5: Read 25 books

Twisted Fairytales – retellings or modern interpretations of fairytales or myths. Classics – Myth and fairytale from the classics genre (e.g. Homer, Grimm, Virgil, Hans Christian Andersen)

Graphics – Graphic novels and comics based around or containing elements of mythology and fairytale. Examples include Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series and Bill Willingham’s Fables series among others.

Poetry & Drama – We’ve put this in because we’re sure there must be some, but currently neither Esther nor I can think of any (Homer aside!) Any suggestions please let us know!

Non- Fiction – Anything about myth, fairytale, folklore or fantasy in general that doesn’t belong to the fictional genre.

Adaptation Amalgamation – Watch a film and read the book it is based on. This category can incorporate as many other categories as you like (i.e all your films do not have to be based on graphic novels, but some can be, and some twisted fairytale, some non-fiction etc)

Mix n Match – Exactly what it says. Sign up for a level and pick that number of books from any or all of the other categories.

Fairy Tales...  I love them, but how have I not done a reading challenge yet?  That's okay, this year I am rectifying that oversight.  Behold my committment to Level 2:  10 books based on fairy tales.  I am choosing the Mix n Match category, as I am still choosing my books.  My tentative TBR:

1. The Goose Girl -- Shannon Hale (Books of Bayern #1) (2005)
2. Enna Burning -- Shannon Hale (Books of Bayern #2) (2006)
3. River Secrets -- Shannon Hale (Books of Bayern #3) (2008)
4. Forest Born -- Shannon Hale (Books of Bayern #4) (2011)
5. Mythology -- Edith Hamilton (1999)
6. Beauty -- Robin McKinley (2005)
7. Pegasus -- Robin McKinley (2010)
8. TBD
9. TBD
10. TBD

Jack of Fables: The Fulminate Blade

Title: Jack of Fables Vol. 8: The Fulminate Blade

Author: Bill Willingham

Publisher: Vertigo 2011

Genre: Graphic Novel; Fantasy

Pages: 128

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fables Series

With Jack Horner, former star of JACK OF FABLES, permanently transformed into a dragon, Vertigo reboots the series with a new hero, Jack Frost. The world in which this story takes place is the world in which Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers lived, only thousands of years later. All that remains is superstition and feudalism and all of the old technology is regarded as magic now. Jack seeks the magic blade which will defeat the Giant King. But of course nothing is as it seems since the good guys always reveal themselves to be evil in the end.

I was a bit disappointed by this volume.  I've come to expect all kinds of great things from the Fables and Jack of Fables series.  And this one really just disappointed me.  I felt the plot was rushed and lacked the finesse of characters.  The witch fell flat.  The king fell flat.  Hell, even MacDuff the wooden magical owl fell flat.  I finished reading the volume and didn't want more.  That's a bad sign.  Hopefully, Volume 9 gets better...

Jack of Fables:

1. The (Nearly) Great Escape
2. Jack of Hearts
3. The Bad Prince
4. Americana
5. Turning Pages
6. The Big Book of War
7. The New Adventures of Jack and Jack
8. The Fulminate Blade
9. The End

Jack of Fables: The New Adventures of Jack and Jack

Title: Jack of Fables Vol 7: The New Adventures of Jack and Jack

Author: Bill Willingham

Publisher: Vertigo 2010

Genre: Graphic Novel; Fantasy

Pages: 128

Rating:  5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fables Series

Jack Frost, son of Jack of Fables, has left our world and has decided to make his way to the Imperial Homeworld, where his mother is still trapped under a city of thorns. Along the way he will encounter many fantasy monsters, brigands and troops of roving goblins, and have to battle his way through them.

And while Jack Frost undertakes his quest, Jack of Fables is slowly transforming into something unexpected -- and deadly.

I've liked the Jack of Fables series, but it has been getting a bit old.  I was done with Jack's antics.  I needed something new.  Thankfully, Jack's son Jack Frost has more or less taken over the volume.  And he's out to make a name for himself as a hero.  His naiveté intrigues me.  He's just so heroic and innocent, such the opposite of his father.  I wonder where the story will lead to next?  Here's hoping we see more of Jack Frost and that lazy dragon!

Jack of Fables:

1. The (Nearly) Great Escape
2. Jack of Hearts
3. The Bad Prince
4. Americana
5. Turning Pages
6. The Big Book of War
7. The New Adventures of Jack and Jack
8. The Fulminate Blade
9. The End

Fables: The Great Fables Crossover

Title: Fables Vol. 13: The Great Fables Crossover

Author: Bill Willingham

Publisher: Vertigo 2010

Genre: Graphic Novel; Fantasy

Pages: 232

Rating: 5  / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fables Series

All nine issues of the long awaited crossover between Vertigo's two popular series Fables and Jack of Fables are collected here.The world of Fables is introduced to a whole new set of characters...The Literals. The Literals are characters that embody, literally, different literary genres such as Mystery, Comedy and Romance. One of The Literals goes by the name The Storymaker, one who can vanquish the world of Fables with one stroke of his pen.When Jack discovers the existence of The Literals and their leader Kevin Thorn aka The Storymaker, Jack must leave his own book and crossover to the world of Fables to warn Fabletown about Kevin Thorn. Does the The Storymaker plan to close the book on the Fables universe once and for all?

I loved The Literals!  How could you not?  Mystery, comedy, blockbuster, noir, science fiction, and especially fantasy...  And come on, horror as a little girl?  Perfectly creepy!  The fight between the Fables/Literals/half-Fables (that would be Jack of course) was perfect fun.  I loved seeing the culmination of the volumes length buildup between the Litearls and Jack and the Page Sisters and Mr. Revise and Kevin Thorne.  It made for an interesting read.  The only thing I didn't like: no mention of Mr. Dark.  I hope we get back to that storyline in Volume 14 Witches...

P.S.  Bigby as a little girl?  Priceless!

Fables:

1. Legends in Exile
2. Animal Farm
3. Storybook Love
4. March of the Wooden Soldiers
5. The Mean Seasons
6. Homelands
7. Arabian Nights (and Days)
8. Wolves
9. Sons of Empire
10. The Good Prince
11. War and Pieces
12. The Dark Ages
13. The Great Fables Crossover
14. Witches
15. Rose Red
16. Super Team
17. Inherit the Wind
18. Cubs in Toyland

Fables: The Dark Ages

Title: Fables Vol. 12: The Dark Ages

Author: Bill Willingham

Publisher: Vertigo 2009

Genre: Graphic Novel; Fantasy

Pages: 192

Rating: 5  / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fables Series

Tourists of the world unite! If you've ever craved a guided tour of Fabletown's secret Manhattan location, prepare to be voraciously satiated. Pinnochio has a field day taking a certain VIP around the city. And exactly which Fabletown denizens are no longer active (dead, alive or otherwise) just might shock you into a comic book coma. Also in this volume, you'll find the 4-part story featuring Freddy and Mouse, two local rogues who just want to get along and perhaps turn a bit of profit in the post-war, topsy-turvy world. Meanwhile, in Fabletown, a new political group forms called the Society of Seconds, and what they want doesn't seem very reasonable at all.

First of all, look at that cover!  It is gorgeous!  I was mesmerized by the cover for at least 10 minutes without even starting the volume.  But don't worry, once I got into the volume I most heartily enjoyed that as well.  Such twists and turns.  I've come to expect surprises with every Fables volume, but this one really got me.  I admit it, I teared up with Boy Blue's story.  I wanted to smack Rose Red.  I championed Bigby and Frau's attempts to save Fabletown.  And I tried to hide myself away from Mr. Dark.  The art continues to be more and more intricate and beautiful.  I can't wait until tomorrow when I can start the next volume!

Fables:

1. Legends in Exile
2. Animal Farm
3. Storybook Love
4. March of the Wooden Soldiers
5. The Mean Seasons
6. Homelands
7. Arabian Nights (and Days)
8. Wolves
9. Sons of Empire
10. The Good Prince
11. War and Pieces
12. The Dark Ages
13. The Great Fables Crossover
14. Witches
15. Rose Red
16. Super Team
17. Inherit the Wind
18. Cubs in Toyland