I was walking wee reader around the children’s section of the library the other day when I spotted the black and red cover of Joan Aiken’s The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. And while I didn’t pick it up that day, it made me wonder what other children’s or young adult books have I missed out on?
Like The Phantom Tollbooth, A Wrinkle in Time, Perks of Being a Wallflower. So I hope to read some of these this month.
Also I’m still chugging my way through the Forsyte Saga – and enjoying it far more than I expected. I doubt I will complete this book in May as the kindle app tells me I’m just 13% through!
Next, I’ve neglected quite a few categories in the Mixing It Up Challenge, so I hope to remedy that in May by finishing at least half of these categories:
Biography
James Tiptree, Jr. : the double life of Alice B. Sheldon – Julie Phillips
The man who loved China : the fantastic story of the eccentric scientist who unlocked the mysteries of the Middle Kingdom – Simon Winchester
History
The secret history of the Mongol queens : how the daughters of Genghis Khan rescued his empire Jack Weatherford
The last empress : Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the birth of modern China – Hannah Pakula
Horror
Full dark, no stars – Stephen King
The last werewolf – Glen Duncan
I, Lucifer – Glen Duncan
Romance
Dating Mr. December – Phillipa Ashley
The Winter Sea – Susanna Kearsley
Travel
Between the woods and the water : on foot to Constantinople from the Hook of Holland : the middle Danube to the Iron Gates – Patrick Leigh Fermor
Among flowers : a walk in the Himalaya – Jamaica Kincaid
Journalism and humour
Al-Jazeera : the inside story of the Arab news channel that is challenging the West – Hugh Miles
Reporting from Ramallah – Amira Hass
Science and natural history
How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming – Mike Brown
Wicked plants : the weed that killed Lincoln’s mother & other botanical atrocities – Amy Stewart
The sound of a wild snail eating – Elisabeth Tova Bailey
If you want to completely and entirely torture yourself, the 1001 Children’s Book installment offers excellent fodder (I prefer it to the adult version, and actually just had to buy my own copy of it to properly fawn over). The fact that they arrange it by age group would also make it something that’s arguably useful for Wee Reader, if you need a proper excuse. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is one of my very favourites, but I do think of it as a winter read…though perhaps that’s an argument for reading it in the heat of summer as well! (I happen to be in the middle of re-reading A Wrinkle in Time right now…and finally I hope to finish that series, which I never did as a younger reader.) Good luck with your challenge reading; May is a good time to make a concerted effort, without the desperation that might accompany your resolve in October!
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Excuse? Isn’t adding to my TBR list excuse enough? 😛
So erm yeah of course I immediately jumped to my library’s catalogue page to see if they have a copy nearby – it’s currently checked out, perhaps someone else saw your comment!
A Wrinkle in Time – ah yet another series to read!
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Dang. Did they also check out Anita Silvey’s books about lists of kidlit? On a related note, I’ve just started The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books, edited by J. Peder Zane, which is almost an entire book full of lists. I think I might “need” my own copy of this one too.
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Darnit, my library does NOT have a copy of The Top Ten. But plenty by Anita Silvey – first time I’ve heard of her. Books books books! Lists lists lists! 😛
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[…] Mr. December – Phillipa Ashley So not my cup of tea, but I’m trying to finish more categories for the Mixing it up challenge. Emma Tremayne leaves her high-powered PR job and moves to the Lake […]
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