NOTICE: (Updated March 5, 2010)

Beginning December 19, 2009, Books 'N Border Collies will be posting but only intermittently while I pursue personal goals. I plan to share some reading I'm doing, but there will be no reviews. I will, however, be sharing my exploration of vegetarian cooking and the cookbooks and websites I use to educate myself. I hope you enjoy it!

Lezlie



Thursday, March 27, 2008

What I've Learned So Far . . .


I'm almost to the 3 month mark of being a blogger. I've been having so much fun that it seems like much longer! The Challenges have been a huge draw for me, and as I looked over my spreadsheet of titles I've committed to and thought about all the great books I've discovered since I wrote up my lists, I started to think my lesson so far had been, "Never make your year's reading plan in January." Not so, my friends!! Lucky me! With the exception of the To Be Read Challenge, all the lists can be altered at will! Oh, glorious day! (I know, I know. The Challenges are not meant to be taken that seriously, but once I've set myself some goals I can be real bull-headed about changing them. Not always a good thing. And I like to follow the rules.)

It took some doing, because I cross-challenged with a lot of books, but some changes were made to accommodate my literary ADD. I'm sorry to say that Far From The Maddening Crowd and Wuthering Heights lost their spots unless I read faster than I think I can. I have a few "Undetermined" spots they still may fill, but they might see the TBR Challenge next year, where I can't remove them again. :-) But in their place are some interesting reads I couldn't pass up. I've added:

-- Finn by Jon Clinch, because it's about Huck's father and I want to read it right after Huck Finn

-- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz because I want to read Was by Geoff Ryman (which I've also added), which is based on Oz

-- Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe, because I'm reading Things Fall Apart right now, and I really want to read more by him

I think I made a few more adjustments also, but those were the ones I was the most excited about. I'm re-energized! My new lesson: "Challenge lists are not written in stone. Be flexible!"

Happy Reading, Everyone!
Lezlie

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your comment on my blog, Books for Breakfast-Drinks for Dinner. Perhaps I'll try to read it again in a few years... I've noticed that my tastes change rapidly.

I hope you enjoy "Finn." I *loved* it and wrote positively about it on the blog... to my surprise, the author contacted me to say thanks. Super nice guy, as we say in Minnesota!

I hope you stay clear of these last March storms... enjoy!

Lezlie said...

Kristin ~ I just recently came across your blog, and I really enjoy it! Thanks for stopping over! I, too, have to give books a second chance sometimes. There are times when my opinion is directly related to my mood.

I didn't realize you're in Minnesota, too! You must be as ready for spring as I am. I'm dreaming in green. . .

Lezlie

Shelley said...

I read the Wonderful Wizard of Oz a few years ago and it is so different from the movie! It's pretty bizarre and gruesome in some parts, but I really liked it. I would love to read more, maybe I'll try this one by Ryman. I hated Wicked by McGuire, but just saw the musical last night, and it was awesome. I guess I'm just in an "Oz" kind of mood right now!
I also loved Things Fall Apart. I'll be looking forward to your review of Arrow of God.

joanna said...

I'm ending up with a lot of substitutions too Lezlie - it's impossible not to add new titles when you read some of the reviews and something always has to go... I'm also keeping a list of books bumped over to next year... :-)

I didn't realise the Wizard of Oz was a book, I'm ashamed to admit, I'll have to get my hands on that. I recently bought the film to see if I still like it and I have Wicked waiting to be read too...

Lezlie said...

Chain Reader ~ I read "Wicked" when it first came out and I wasn't read fond of it either. I suspected that maybe if I read the original Oz book it would make more sense. I never got around to it though. Gregory Maguire has another book that I *loved*: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister.

I'm trying to get "Arrow of God" read this weekend, so hopefully you won't have long to wait! :-)

Joanna ~ If I'm not mistaken, there is a series about Oz that Baum wrote. I'm not sure how many are in it.

I'm sure these won't be the last changes I make. :-) Strangely, I had a ton of fun trying to make the substitutions and get everything to fit correctly in all the different challenges. It was a challenge just to make sure all of them were still covered! I have a list for next year going, too. And probably the year after that! :-)

Lezlie