Winners of the 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge!

Thank you to everyone who participated in my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge! I hope you all enjoyed revisiting some "old friends", as well as discovering new ones.
All the entrants met the requirements to be entered for the $25 Amazon gift certificate, so I'm letting Random.org choose the 1st ($25), 2nd ($10) and 3rd ($5) place winners.


And the winners of my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge are...


3rd place: Jenn Mathis, $5 Amazon gift certificate


2nd place: Elizabeth Morgan, $10 Amazon gift certificate


1st place: Kimberly Bea wins the $25 gift certificate with the following highly impressive reading list (actually ALL the entrants reading lists were highly impressive!):


New:

1. Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong
2. Doppelgangster by Laura Resnick
3. The Guerney Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
4. Fortune’s Folly by Deva Fagan
5. Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe
6. Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
7. Firespell by Chloe Neill
8. Blood Roses by Francesca Lia Block
9. Clan Daughter by Morgan Howell
10. Royal Destiny by Morgan Howell
11. Fallen by Lauren Kate
12. How High the Moon by Susan Kring
13. The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
14. Salt and Silver by Anna Katherine
15. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
16. The Lost Sister by Megan Kelley Hall
17. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
18. Need by Carrie Jones
19. Unholy Ghost by Stacia Kane
20. Crazy/Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
21. Hell Fire by Ann Aguirre
22. The Waters and the Wild by Francesca Lia Block
23. Quakeland by Francesca Lia Block
24. Hannah, Daughters of the Sea by Kathryn Lasky
25. How to (Un)Cage a Girl by Francesca Lia Block
26. Pretty Dead by Francesca Lia Block
27. Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst
28. Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James
29. Dark and Stormy Knights (anthology) edited by P.N . Elrod
30. Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon
31. The Life and Opinions of Amy Finawitz by Laura Toffler-Corrie
32. The Stepsister Scheme by Jim Hines
33. The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
34. The White Cat by Holly Black
35. The Laughter of Dead Kings by Elizabeth Peters
36. Cheat the Grave by Vicki Pettersson
37. Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist
38. My Worst Best Friend by Dyan Sheldon
39. Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
40. Perchance to Dream by Lisa Mantchev
41. Deadtown by Nancy Holzner
42. Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells
    

Old Reads:

1. Water Song by Suzanne Weyn
2. I, Coriander by Sally Gardner
3. Thief With No Shadow by Emily Gee
4. An Infinite Thread (anthology) by the Merry Sisters of Fate (Maggie Stiefvater, Brenna Yovanoff, and Tessa Gratton
5. Vintage by Steve Berman
6. I Was a Teenage Fairy by Francesca Lia Block
7. King’s Property by Morgan  Howell
8. Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block
9. Eating in the Underworld by Rachel Zucker
10. Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson
11. College of Magic by Caroline Stevermer
12. The Leto Bundle by Marina Warner
13. Sisters of Misery by Megan Kelley Hall
14. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
15. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
16. Ghost Orchid by Carol Goodman
17. Finn  Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson
18. Half Magic by Edward Eager
19. Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones
20. Tales of Moominvalley by Tove Jansson
21. Ammie, Come Home by Barbara Michaels
22. The Prince of Darkness by Barbara Michaels
23. Someone in the House by Barbara Michaels
24. Ecstasia by Francesca Lia Block
25. Primavera by Francesca Lia Block
26. Ordinary Jack by Helen Cresswell
27. Jhereg by Steven Brust
28. Dragon by Steven Brust
29. Cats Have No Lord by Will Shetterly
30. The Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood by Meredith Ann Pierce
31. Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson
32. Sunshine by Robin McKinley
33. Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
34. Dhampir by Barb and J.C. Hendee
35. Thief of Lives by Barb and J.C. Hendee
36. Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson
37. Sister of the Dead by Barb and J.C. Hendee
38. The Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
39. Moominpappa at Sea by Tove Jansson
40. Traitor to the Blood by Barb and J.C. Hendee
41. Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev
42. Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth by E.L. Konigsberg

Congratulations, ladies! And thanks to everyone who entered!

Books I Read in 2010/New-Old Reading Challenge Round-Up

Here are the books I read in 2010. Those marked with double **'s were re-readings of an old favorite. It looks like I didn’t quite meet my own goal of one “old” book for every “new” book I read, but I came close. Out of 30 books, 13 of them were “old reads”.

So how did you do? Did you join my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge? Here were the categories, in case you’ve forgotten:

(1) Read a minimum of 4 “old favorites” in 2010 and be entered for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift certificate.

(2) Read a minimum of 8 “old favorites” in 2010 and be entered for a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift certificate.

(3) Read 12 or more “old favorites” in 2010 and be entered for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift certificate.

Email me your reading list, with your “old favorites” marked, to jdipastena@yahoo.com no later than midnight PST January 14, 2011, and please type “2010 New/Old Reading Challenge” in the subject line. Include your email address, please. Winners will be drawn on January 15. (If no one enters, the gift certificates will all fall to me by default. Do you really want that to happen? ;-) )

Joyce DiPastena's 2010 Reading List

(my favorite "new" book of the year is marked with 

three ***s, in red)

Haunts Haven, by Joan Sowards (fiction - begun in 2009)

Missing, by Ronda Hinrichsen (fiction)

He Walked the Americas, by L. Taylor Hansen (non-fiction)**

Apollo's Child, by Joan Smith (fiction)

The Talisman Ring, by Georgette Heyer (fiction)**

Easterfield, by Anna Jones Buttimore (fiction)

The Ogre Downstairs, by Diana Wynne Jones (fiction)**

The Prince and the Pilgrim, by Mary Stewart (fiction)

The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart (fiction)**

Your Money or Your Life, by Neil Cavuto (non-fiction)

The Hollow Hills, by Mary Stewart (fiction)**

Queen in Exile, by Donna Hatch (fiction)

The Last Enchantment, by Mary Stewart (fiction)

Bow Street Gentleman, by Margaret SeBastian (fiction)**

See No Evil, My Pretty Lady, by Miss Mae (fiction)

Chocolate Roses, by Joan Sowards (fiction)

Henry Plantagenet, by Richard Barber (non-fiction)**

Friday's Child, by Georgette Heyer (fiction)**

Trapped, by Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen (fiction)

The Plantagenets: A Pride of Kings, by Juliet Dymoke (fiction)**

The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Emmuska Orczy (fiction)

The Black Moth, by Georgette Heyer (fiction)**

These Old Shades, by Georgette Heyer (fiction)**

Redemption, by Susan Dayley (fiction)

Flame-Colored Taffeta, by Rosemary Sutcliff (fiction)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by JK Rowling (fiction)**

Perilous, by Tamara Hart Heiner (fiction)

The Door in the Wall, by Marguerite De Angeli (fiction)**

At Day's Close: Night in Times Past, by A. Roger Ekirch (non-fiction)

By Heart and Compass, by Danielle Thorne (fiction)

**re-reading of an old favorite

***Favorite "new" book of 2010

What Am I Reading for My 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge?

I finished reading The Door In the Wall a couple of days before Thanksgiving. I'd forgotten much about the story except for one exchange, which has lingered with me from the first time I read it several years ago:

"How can you tell when it has been an hour?" asked Robin.


"By the feel of it," said John.

I wondered then, and still wonder, if people in the Middle Ages and other eras before the invention of clocks really did learn to "feel" the length of time spans, such as hours? Anyway, I've always liked that idea. :-)

With my memory of The Door in the Wall refreshed, this little book will be remaining on my keeper shelf.

Now for my next "new read". It's been awhile since I've selected a non-fiction book, but I discovered this author and book on a Halloween program on the History Channel and was so intrigued that I ordered the book. I don't remember the name of the History Channel program...something about "the dark". And that's what this book is about. It's called At Day's Close: Night In Times Past, by A. Roger Ekirch. Here's the back cover blurb:

In the centuries before electric lighting, nighttime was thought to be a separate "season", an "alternate reign" that defied established habits and values. In this strikingly original work, A. Roger Ekirch resurrects a vivid world with its own rules and rituals, scents, sights, and sounds--a universe of torchlight travels and moonlit travails, of satanic spirits, night kings, and bandogs, of sewing circles and blanket fairs. Panoramic in scope, At Day's Close is fashioned on an intimate scale, enriched by personal stories and twenty years of research.

I will share a Tuesday Teaser from At Day's Close on Tuesday.

If you would like to join my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge, it's not too late (if you're a fast reader)! Click here and here for more information. And remember, there are prizes involved if you join us!

What Am I Reading for My 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge?

Finished up Perilous, by Tamara Hart Heiner. Watch for my review in December, and in the meantime, check out her blog tour. (See yesterday's post.)

"Old read" time again! I've chosen The Door in the Wall, by Marguerite de Angeli. The Door in the Wall was a Newbery Medal book in 1949. Here's the back cover blurb:

The bells clang above plague-ridden London as Robin lies helpless, cold, and hungry. The great house is empty, his father is fighting the Scots in the north, his mother is traveling with the Queen, and the servants have fled. He calls for help but only the stones hear his cries. Suddenly someone else is in the house, coming towards Robin. It is Brother Luke, a wandering friar, who takes Robin to St. Mark's Monastery, where he will be cared for until his father sends for him.


At last the message comes--Robin is to meet his father at Castle Lindsay. The journey is dangerous, and the castle is located near the hostile Welsh border. Perched high in the hills, the castle appears invincible. But it is not. Under the cover of a thick fog the Welsh attack the castle. And Robin is the only one who can save it...

I will share a Tuesday Teaser from The Door in the Wall on Tuesday.

If you would like to join my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge, it's not too late (if you're a fast reader)! Click here and here for more information. And remember, there are prizes involved if you join us!

What Am I Reading for My 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge?

Okay, I finished my latest "old read": Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling, and I'm all freshened up and ready for the movie! 

Now for a "new read". I'll be reviewing Perilous, a Young Adult Thriller by Tamara Hart Heiner, in December, so I decided to get a jump on the book by reading it now. Here's the back cover blurb:


Jaci Rivera has plans for her sophomore year: go to regionals with the track team, make the honor roll, and eat too much pizza with her best friends, Callie and Sara. Her biggest concern is Amanda, the pushy girl who moved in a few months ago. 

What she doesn't plan for is catching a robber red-handed, or being kidnapped. The desperate thief drags her and her friends 2,000 miles across the Canadian border. They escape from his lair, only to find that he has spies and agents watching their path home, waiting to intercept them and take them back. 

Then Jaci finds something out about her family. Something which irrevocably connects her to their kidnapper, and makes her question their chances of escape.

I will share a Tuesday Teaser from Perilous on Tuesday.

If you would like to join my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge, it's not too late (if you're a fast reader)! Click here and here for more information. And remember, there are prizes involved if you join us!

What Am I Reading for My 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge?

I greatly enjoyed Flame-Colored Taffeta by Rosemary Sutcliff. My only complaint was that I wish there had been more of it, but it was probably just the right length for a children's book. I enjoyed the author's writing so much, though, that I've ordered three more of her titles. I'm looking forward to sharing them with you when I read them!

Now back to an "old read". With the first installment of the final Harry Potter movie coming up this fall, I've decided it's time to re-read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling, to refresh my memory a bit before the movie. I suspect that most of you are already familiar with the story, but just in case some of you accidentally missed it, here's the back cover blurb. (Hmm, okay, so my copy doesn't appear to have a back cover or dust jacket blurb. So here's a description from Goodreads.)

The heart of Book 7 is a hero's mission--not just in Harry's quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man--and Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself. Attentive readers would do well to remember Dumbledore's warning about making the choice between "what is right and what is easy," and know that Rowling applies the same difficult principle to the conclusion of her series. While fans will find the answers to hotly speculated questions about Dumbledore, Snape, and you-know-who, it is a testament to Rowling's skill as a storyteller that even the most astute and careful reader will be taken by surprise.

I will share a Tuesday Teaser from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on Tuesday.

If you would like to join my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge, it's not too late! Click here and here for more information. And remember, there are prizes involved if you join us!

What Am I Reading for My 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge?

Thanks to several sleepless nights this week, I finished reading Redemption in record time (for me). I hope to share an interview with the author, Susan Dayley, soon. While we're waiting, I've moved on to my second "new" read: Flame-Colored Taffeta, by Rosemary Sutcliff. Flame-Colored Taffeta is a historical young adult novel. Here is the back cover blurb:

When twelve-year-old Damaris discovers a young man who has been shot in the woods near her house, she doesn't stop to worry that he may be a smuggler or a spy wanted by King George's Customs House men. Instead, she turns to those she can trust--her best friend, Peter, and Genty Small the Wise Woman--for help in saving his life. And after Tom Wildgoose recovers enough to be able to talk about himself, but chooses to be evasive when answering Damaris's questions, she doesn't really mind. What is important to Damaris is that he will be leaving soon, taking away all the adventure and mystery he had suddenly brought into her life.

But then Tom is captured by Mr. Farrington, who threatens to turn him over to the authorities. In a true act of loyalty, Damaris jeopardizes her own safety to try to rescue the mysterterious young man and set him free once again.

I will share a Tuesday Teaser from Flame-Colored Taffeta on Tuesday.

If you would like to join my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge, it's not too late! Click here and here for more information. And remember, there are prizes involved if you join us!

What Am I Reading for My 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge?

Okay, I've selected my new read! It's Redemption: The story of Jonah, a historical novel by Susan Dayley.

Here's the back cover blurb:

It is the eighth century BC. No Hebrew will purposely venture into the Assyrian Empire, whose practice of barbarous slaughter casts a shadow of fear over all of Israel. But God calls Jonah, an Israelite prophet, to cry repentance to the evil empire's capital--the great and terrible city of Nineveh. Fearing the Assyrians and doubting the wisdom of the divine call, Jonah flees in the opposite direction. But in a series of miracles, God gives Jonah a second chance to obey.


Journey with Jonah in a wealth-lade ship of Tarshish, hear his prayers inside the belly of a great fish, witness his struggles working in a desert caravan, and feel his terror as he finally arrives in Nineveh. And while Jonah does eventually preach in the great city, the prophet still has some lessons to learn...


With historically accurate details, Redemption is a story of repentance, trust, and God's love for all his children.

I will share a Tuesday Teaser from Redemption on Tuesday.

If you would like to join my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge, it's not too late! Click here and here for more information. And remember, there are prizes involved if you join us!

What Am I Reading for My 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge?

I finished Georgette Heyer's The Black Moth last night, and in spite of my new/old book challenge, chose to immediately dive into another "old" GH title: These Old Shades, while I had all the characters from The Black Moth still fresh in my mind. (I promise I'll make up for it with two "new" reads next!) Although the names are changed between The Black Moth and These Old Shades and a few relationships are altered (the brothers in The Black Moth are no longer related in These Old Shades), it is nevertheless clear, upon reading these books together, that These Old Shades was intended as a sequel to The Black Moth.

I have not read The Black Moth often, and admit it is not one of my favorite Georgette Heyer titles. I compared the copyright dates this time round, and it appears that The Black Moth was published after These Old Shades (1929 vs 1926). And yet, as I read The Black Moth this time, and wondered at  the lack of depth and cohesion that so many of Ms Heyer's titles have, I found myself wondering if, perhaps, The Black Moth might have been written first, perhaps before Ms Heyer had fully developed the rich and splendid storytelling abilities so evident in the majority of her Regencies. It had the feeling to me of an "early work", lacking the maturity of the books that followed. I have no way of knowing if this is so. I merely share with you the thought that passed through my mind while reading it.

Now on to one of my all-time favorite Georgette Heyer titles, These Old Shades! Here is the back cover blurb:

The gentleman in question is Justin Alastair, the Duke of Avon, known by friends and enemies alike as Satanas--the devil. On this particular evening, the dangerous rake crosses paths with Léon, a red-headed youth of low birth who is fleeing a certain beating at his brutal brother's hands. On a whim, Avon buys the boy and makes him his page. It soon becomes clear, however, that Léon is not what he seems, and that Avon has an ulterior motive for bringing him into his household. Set in pre-Revolutionary France, These Old Shades follows a twisting course as young Léon (or is it Léonie?) is swept up in a dangerous mystery: how to account for the page's amazing resemblance to the sinister Comte de Saint Vire, for example; and why will this man go to any lengths to get the youth in his power?


I will share a Tuesday Teaser from These Old Shades on Tuesday.


If you'd like to join my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge, it's not too late! Click here and here for more information. And remember, there are prizes involved if you join us!

What Am I Reading for My 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge?

I just finished The Scarlet Pimpernel. What a rollicking fun read! Thank you, all, who recommended it to me.

The Scarlet Pimpernel was a "new" read for me, so now it's time for another "old" read. A friend asked me if I thought Georgette Heyer's The Black Moth had been influenced by The Scarlet Pimpernel. Since, at the time, I hadn't read The Scarlet Pimpernel and it has been years and years (and years) since I read The Black Moth, I couldn't answer her question. Now that I'm a few pages into The Black Moth, I see what she means! Not plot-wise, but in other ways that you'd have to read both books to see for yourself. So yes, I do wonder if Georgette Heyer was a fan of The Scarlet Pimpernel. If I have an opportunity to meet her in the next life, I'll have to ask. :-)

In the meantime, here's the back cover blurb for The Black Moth, by Georgette Heyer:

Lovely Diana Beauleigh was under siege. The notorious Duke of Andover meant to have her--if not with her assent, then by force. But Diana was not about to surrender her virtue. She had already lost her heart to the man who rescued her from the Duke--a handsome mysterious highwayman.

I will share a Tuesday Teaser from The Black Moth on Tuesday.


If you'd like to join my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge, it's not too late! Click here and here for more information. And remember, there are prizes involved if you join us!

The Black Moth

What Am I Reading for My 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge?

Okay, so I finished A Pride of Kings, by Juliet Dymoke and decided it's a keeper. Maybe it wasn't the absolutely most riveting book I've ever read, but it was nevertheless an interesting take on the life of William Marshal. Plus, it was tremendous fun to see how many historical quotes the author managed to slip into the novel! I used one of the same quotes in Illuminations of the Heart, though in a different context and by a different character. Don't worry, the original speaker (assuming he actually said it) has been dead for over 800 years, so the quote is safely in the common domain. :-)

Now on to another "new" read, one that was recommended to me by a friend over a year ago. I've seen at least two versions of the movie, but until now, have never read...The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. Here's the back cover blurb:

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a classic adventure novel, the storyline of which takes place in the early years of the French Revolution. It is also a precursor of spy novels, as the title character, the Scarlet Pimpernel, works undercover and in disguise to save French aristocrats from the guillotine. 

In the novel, Marguerite Blakeney, a French actress, is married to a Sir Percy Blakeney, a seemingly vain and simple man. The French Ambassador to England, Citizen Chauvelin, blackmails Marguerite into giving him information that leads to his discovery of the Scarlet Pimpernel's true identity. Marguerite only realizes once her husband has once again left for France that the man she betrayed, the Scarlet Pimpernel, is in fact none other but Sir Percy. 

I will share a Tuesday Teaser from The Scarlet Pimpernel on Tuesday.

If you'd like to join my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge, it's not too late! Click here and here for more information. And remember, there are prizes involved if you join us!

What Am I Reading for My 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge?

I've finished "new read" Trapped, by Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen, on Friday. Yesterday, while browsing through my bookshelves for my next "old read", I came across a four book paperback series called: The Plantagenets, by Juliet Dymoke. I remember collecting and reading these books while I was in college, undoubtedly lured by my fascination, even then, with the Plantagenet kings of England. What I can't recall now is whether I saved these books all these years because I actually loved the books, or whether I kept them simply because of their Plantagenet connection. So, I decided it's time to re-read one of these books to find out: Is it still a "keeper" or is it not? Time and reading will tell!

Here's the back cover blurb for volume 1 of The Plantagenets: A Pride of Kings, by Juliet Dymoke:

King Stephen of Blois nearly hanged him.

King Henry II died in his arms.

Young King Henry falsely accused him of treachery.

King Richard bestowed upon him the highest honors.

King John betrayed him.

Landless and penniless, William Marshal became the most celebrated knight in all of Europe, his prowess on the tourney fields enabling him to rise to power and serve five kings of England. Throughout their reigns, through both fortune and disfavor, William Marshal never swerved in his loyalty to the quarrelsome, unpredictable, autocratic brood of Henry II, founder of the great Plantagenet dynasty.

A Pride of Kings is the first of The Plantagenets, a series of historical novels which tell the story of the Plantagenet monarchs through the eyes of the men and women who served them, loved them, or betrayed them, and in so doing, helped shape the events of English history.

I will share a Tuesday Teaser from A Pride of Kings on Tuesday.

If you'd like to join my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge, it's not too late! Click here and here for more information. And remember, there are prizes involved if you join us!

What Am I Reading for My 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge?

I actually finished Friday's Child several days ago, but haven't had time to update this post until now.

Trapped, by Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen, is a new read for me, although the author is not. I previously read her debut book, Missing, and participated in her book blog tour for that title. I am also participating in her blog tour, now underway, for her newest novel, Trapped. Click here to find out how you can enter to win one of THREE free copies of Trapped!

Needless to say, before I can review Trapped for Ronda's blog tour, I first have to read it, which I am in the midst of doing right now.

Here's the back cover blurb of Trapped:

Her expression remained somber, but excitement crept into her voice. "You  are the Firstborn She...You must go to them. You want me to act as  bait? Not bait, Emi. A spy. Our Trojan horse."
When Emi Warrin  wakes one night to find a thief in her mother's house, she has no idea  the intruder has planted a trap - a mysterious letter that will change  her life forever. Lured to the Austrian Alps with Daniel, the man she  loves, Emi is thrown into a perilous, mafia-like world of feuding  families and a devastating curse that spans generations. As the  Firstborn She - the only firstborn female in hundreds of years - only  Emi can free her family from the curse that will soon afflict her as  well. But for Emi to break the curse, she must delve into evil designs.
As Emi struggles to understand her destiny as the Firstborn She, she  learns that everything isn't as it seems and that all choices have  consequences. Can Emi break the curse before it's too late?

I will share a Tuesday Teaser from Trapped on Tuesday.

If you'd like to join my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge, it's not too late! Click here and here for more information. And remember, there are prizes involved if you join us! :-)