Browsing articles tagged with " reading lists"
January 7, 2010
Rebecca Reid
18 Comments

Two Books on Literacy (Growing a Reader from Birth and The ABCs of Literacy)

My son is only 26 months old, but he’s beginning to learn at the speed of light (from my perspective). After twenty minutes of a Sesame Street “two” episode, for example, he knows he has two hands, two eyes, two feet, and that there are two apples, two spoons, and two bowls on the table. He learned circles just as fast and loves finding circles everywhere we go. “Look, Mommy! Circles!” is a frequent comment.

Because he’s so ready to learn, I’ve been pondering how to introduce him to the world of letters, the world of reading, and a pre-preschool world of him and me. I know he’s not ready to learn to read, but what can I do now to help him be ready in another year or two?

I decided to seek out some books that might help. While I checked out dozens of books, I only read two in the past few weeks. Growing a Reader from Birth by Diane McGuinness was fascinating, but I was disappointed that the majority of the book focused on baby language learning rather than learning to read (as the title would suggest). The ABCs of Literacy by Cynthia Dollins, on the other hand, was just what I was looking for, and I’ve even ordered my own copy I loved it so much. Both books were geared toward parents and childcare givers, and the second is one every parent of a toddler should read. Continue reading »

August 29, 2009
Rebecca Reid
18 Comments

TBRs and Other Lists

The other day, I found a random box of “childhood treasures” in a closet. The most interesting thing I found in it was a folder with a number of book-related items, some old, some recent. Continue reading »

August 27, 2009
Rebecca Reid
19 Comments

My RIP List for a Lifetime

Before I begin, I should clarify a few things. I hate being scared, and I hate horror. And I don’t dislike: I mean hate. And I don’t really like Halloween because I don’t even like candy (I’ll take it if you give it to me … but I’m not going to go seeking it) or pumpkin carving. Continue reading »

July 21, 2009
Rebecca Reid
6 Comments

Chicago, Chicago!

Last month I read Carl Sandburg’s poetry so I’d have something “local” to submit to the Bookworms Carnival: Local Authors. I realized as I read his poetry that I know very little about my own home town. I spent some time learning about Chicago history this month, and it’s been fun. I’m also working on some reading lists so I can keep learning. Let me know your favorite Chicago-centered books, fiction and nonfiction.

I found that many of the books I got were quite dry histories, and I didn’t have much patience with them. I read some and mostly I looked at the pictures of some. My history lesson came from videos. Here are two of the books I’ve read and one of the videos that I’ve enjoyed lately. Continue reading »

March 30, 2009
Rebecca Reid
No Comments

Past Challenges


Really Old Classics Challenge [ends 28/02/10]. 4/1 (4 for classicist “certification”) + 1/1 (extra credit retelling)

I host this challenge because I love reading the old classics, although sometimes I need motivation to do so myself! An asterisk below indicates I also counted a read for another challenge.


japlit-button
The Japanese Literature Challenge [ends 30/01/10]. 2/1. Finished on time.

I joined this challenge because I know very little about the Japanese culture and literary tradition. An asterisk below indicates I also counted a read for another challenge.

Everything Austen Challenge (until 31 December 2009). 5/6


Dewey Decimal Challenge (1 book from each “century” in 2009, not necessarily in order) 10/10 FINISHED ON TIME

  • 000 – Generalities. The Book that Changed My Life; A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel; Rereadings by Anne Fadiman; The Well-Educated Mind by S. Wise Bauer; The New Lifetime Reading Plan by Clifton Fadiman; The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel; Book by Book by Michael Dirda
  • 100 – Philosophy and Psychology. Plato and Platypus Walk into a Bar by Thomas Cathcart; Consolation of Philosophy by Alain de Botton; Sophie’s World (a novel; doesn’t count for the challenge) by Jostein Gaarder
  • 200 – Religion. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis; God: A Biography by Jack Miles
  • 300 – Social Sciences. The Words We Live By by Linda Monk; Naked Economics by Charles Weehlan; Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond; The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made by Walter Isaacson;
  • 400 – Language. Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog by Kitty Burns Florey; Alpha Beta by John Man;
  • 500 – Natural Sciences + Math. The Great Equations by Robert P. Crease; Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife;
  • 600 – Technology. Better by Atun Gawande; Proust and the Squid: The Story of Science and the Reading Brain by Maryanne Wolf; What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained by Robert L. Wolke
  • 700 – The Arts. Fundamentals of Photography by Tom Ang; Examples : the making of 40 photographs by Ansel Adams; The Digital Photography Handbook by Doug Harman;
  • 800 – Literature and Rhetoric. The Art of Reading Poetry by Harold Bloom; How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry by Edward Hirsch; How Does a Poem Mean? by John Ciardi; How Novels Work by John Mullan; Children’s Literature by Seth Lerer
  • 900 – Geography and History. Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts; Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin;


BiblioShakespeare Challenge (6 works by or about the Bard in 2009) 4/6 QUIT (GOAL will be 4 next year)

2009 Science-Book Challenge (3 works) 0/3


World Citizen Challenge (7 works, one in each category, 2009) 5/7 QUIT EARLY. INTEND TO FINISH LATE.

  • Politics: The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order by Samuel P. Huntington
  • Economics: Naked Economics by Charles Weehlan; The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time by Jeffrey Sachs
  • History: Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond; The Fate of Africa by Martin Meredith; The Muslim Discovery of Europe by Bernard Lewis; U.S. Diplomacy Since 1900;
  • Culture or Anthropology/Sociology: Material World: A Global Family Portrait by Peter Menzel; Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization by Arjun Appadurai
  • Worldwide Issues: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel; World Hunger: 12 myths by Frances Moore Lappe; Hunger: an unnatural history by Sharman Apt Russell; Planet of Slums by Mike Davis; The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon
  • Memoirs/Autobiographies: Daughter of the East by Benazir Bhutto; Memoirs of WWII (the abridged version) by Winston Churchill;

Spice of Life Challenge: “A Feast” (July 2009 – December 2009) Read 8 books in three categories 8/8 FINISHED ON TIME!

See my pool of books here.


9 for 09 (until 27 Dec 2009) 4/9 QUIT

  • The Discoverers by Daniel Boorstin (long)
  • The Stranger by Albert Camus (free)
  • Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov (used)
  • Twentieth Century Pleasures by Robert Haas (dusty)
  • The Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner (letter “R”)
  • Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (cover)
  • Inside My Heart by Robin McGraw (strange)
  • Too Late the Phalathrope by Alan Paton (distance)
  • The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (alive or not)

RIP (four books, until 31 October 2009)4/4 FINISHED on time!

Take a Chance Challenge (until 30 November 2009) I may do just a few of these challenges. 3/10. QUIT PART WAY THROUGH.


Summer Lovin’ Challenge (until 22 September 2009). Reread 3 favorites FINISHED! (late) 3/3


Beowulf on the Beach Reading Challenge (until 7 Sep 2009). Read one book from the list. FINISHED! (late) 1/1


Dewey’s Books Challenge (5 books in 2009)   FINISHED! 5/5


Martel-Harper Challenge (2 works each quarter) 2/2

2009 3rd qtr (2 of these):

  • Book Number 59: The Door, by Margaret Atwood
  • Book Number 50: Jane Austen, A Life, by Carol Shields
  • Book Number 44: The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck
  • Book Number 21: The Cellist of Sarajevo, by Steven Galloway
  • Book Number 16: Letters to a Young Poet, by Rainer Maria Rilke
  • Book Number 8: Short and Sweet: 101 very short poems, edited by Simon Armitage, published by Faber and Faber

The Really Old Classics Challenge (5 works, until July 2009) 5/5

Martel-Harper Challenge (2 works each quarter)

2009 2st qtr. UNFINISHED! 1/2

Read with Kids (April 1 – June 30, 2009)

Count the time you read with your kids. Below, I will list the chapter books I finish with my young son in this quarter.

Once Upon a Time III Challenge: The Journey (one book in one category, 2nd quarter 2009) FINISHED! 4/1.

  • Fantasy: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare; The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein; The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit; Uglies by Scott Westerfield; Eragon by Christopher Paolini; Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino; The Green Knowe Chronicles by L.M. Boston; Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Treasury by Betty MacDonald
  • Fairy Tales: The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi; The Classic Fairy Tales by Maria Tartar; Complete Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen; Complete Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault; The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale; Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale; Zel by Napoli; Beast by Napoli; Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Macquire; Castle Waiting
  • Folklore: Tale of the Genji, 1001 Arabian Nights; Beowulf
  • Mythology: Mythology by Edith Hamilton; The Aeneid by Virgil
  • Nonfiction: The Brothers Grimm by Jack Zipes

Global Voices Book Challenge: Read Your Way Around the World (one book from an “unfamiliar” country by April 23, 2009) FINISHED! (late) 1/1

Martel-Harper Challenge (2 works each quarter)

2009 1st qtr. FINISHED! 2/2

The Well-Seasoned Reader Challenge (3 works, 1st quarter 2009)

  • The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters
  • The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
  • The Art of Eating by M.F.K. Fischer

(DIDN’T FINISH :( 0/3 )

March 27, 2009
Rebecca Reid
No Comments

Non-Picture Books Reviews by Title

Related lists:

Short Stories

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updated 2 July 2010

March 3, 2009
Rebecca Reid
3 Comments

Really Old Classics Mini-Challenge Round-Up

A number of people got some Really Old Classics read by the end of February. I’m sending a lucky winner a book of your choice. But first, here’s who participated in the first half of the Really Old Classics Challenge. I’ve formed it like a mini-blog carnival so you might get an idea for your next Really Old Classics read. Continue reading »

February 27, 2009
Rebecca Reid
7 Comments

Friday (February) Finds: TBR Additions in February

As I mentioned, I moved this month, so I feel I missed a good deal of great book reviews. I’ve done some quick reviews of Google Reader and I’ve tried to visit a number of blogs; as I did so, I didn’t always comment, but I did read your reviews. As compensation for not commenting, here’s a list of what I found notable as I read your blogs this month.

Did you write a really good book review or read a really good book that I haven’t comment on? Please share and I’ll make sure I come visit! Continue reading »

February 24, 2009
Rebecca Reid
2 Comments

Current Challenges

External Challenges

These challenges were started by other bloggers. I took them on for a good reason, as described below. Links on this list go to the description below.
Orbis Terrarum Challenge
Black Classics Challenge
Our Mutual Read
Clover, Bee, and Reverie
Scottish Literature Challenge

Personal Challenges

These personal challenges are explained below.

Monthly Project Books
A Year of Classics
Forget-Me-Not Genres
Balanced Reading
JLit Personal Challenge

Ongoing Projects

These are tracked elsewhere on Rebecca Reads. Links will take you to a different page.
1000 Books
A History of Children’s Literature
HTR&W
Pulitzer Project
Read the Nobels
Newbery Award
Caldecott Corner
U.S. Presidential Reading
LDS Presidents
101 Great Books

Ended Projects

Once Upon a Time Challenge
Graphic Novel Challenge
Women Unbound

See other past challenges here. Bold below indicates the book has been read.

Orbis Terrarum Challenge [ends 30/11/10] 3/8.

This challenge is to read authors from around the whole world. Alternatively, one can read authors from various countries in one continent. I may read strictly books by African authors, but I may add some other world authors as well. I haven’t decided yet.

  • Read South America: [Argentina] The Invention of Morel by Aldolfo Bioy Casares
  • Read Africa: [Senegal] God’s Bits of Wood by Ousame Sembene
  • Read Europe: [Norway] Hunger by Knut Hamsun
  • Read Asia: [China] Love in a Fallen City by Eileen Chang; [China] Rickshaw by She Lao
  • Read Oceania: [Australia] Voss by Patrick White;
  • Read North America:

Black Classics Challenge [ends 31/12/10]. 2/3 .
I joined this challenge because I am very unfamiliar with black classics. In researching books for the February 2010 Classics Circuit on the Harlem Renaissance, I became very interested in reading some of the pre-Renaissance classics! I’m joining at the “curious” level, although I will track as many as I read below.

For a list of possible reading options, visit the sign up post.



Our Mutual Read [ends 12/31/2010]. 2/8.

I decided to join this challenge because I have really enjoyed almost every Victorian novel I’ve read thus far! I look forward to reading more and learning even more about the era. For a list of possible reading options, visit the sign up post. (Below, I only list books read specifically for this challenge.)


Clover, Bee, and Reverie [ends 12/31/2010]. 7/14

I decided to join this challenge because I love the idea of specifying my poetry reading into categories. I began counting reads for this challenge in February 2010. Ideas for possible categories: Ancient Greece and Roman, lyrical/romantic poetry, modern poetry.

Scottish Literature Challenge [ends 12/31/2010]. 0/1. I don’t know much about Scottish Lit, so here will be my introduction. I don’t yet know what I’ll read for this.

Personal Challenges


Monthly Project Books. 5/12

Each month, I will select a “project” book to focus on. This will probably be a longer non-fiction book that I have been wanting to read for a long time and yet have always been intimidated by. It will probably be something I own, but it can be a library book. The subject and/or title of the project book will be decided the month before. There are to be no lists to choose from, because this is a project of “whatever I feel like reading this month.” I have plenty of such intimidating books taunting me from my stacks!


A Year of Classics

During 2010, I want to focus on reading the classics. While there is of course a place for modern fiction and modern classics in my reading, I want to gain a better grounding in the Western classics in the coming twelve months. English and American literature is a key interest for me (and may form the basis of my “classics” reading), but European classics also tempt me and I’m completely unfamiliar with them. This year, I also want to have some experiences with a few non-Western classics. Below, I will list all classics read in 2010, whether or not they also count for other challenges.

[I stopped keeping a running list here. Trust me, I've been reading lots of classics.]


Forget-Me-Not Genres

I want to remember the “forgotten genres”: short stories, poetry, and drama. My focus in the coming months will be poetry. However, I also want to try to reintroduce short stories into my regular reading, and get some drama read each quarter (especially at least one Shakespeare play each quarter). I will keep track of 2010 posts in each genre below:


Balanced Reading

I will not feel guilty for not reading a modern novels, YA, or other “must read” books. That said, I do hope to read an out-of-my comfort zone book each month. Anything that doesn’t fit a “challenge” or “reading list” on this site is considered a “balance read.”


JLit Personal Challenge

My goal for this personal challenge is to read as much Japanese literature as I can in 2010. I also want to read about the nation in terms of history. I will keep track of what I read below.

Once Upon a Time Challenge [ended 20/06/10]. 3/1 FINISHED!

A challenge to read fantasy, folklore, fairy tales, and mythology. Oh, there are so many books I’d love to read! I’ll list any I read during the challenge dates below. I had fun doing this project!

Women Unbound [ended 30/11/10]. 8/8 FINISHED!

I joined this challenge because it focuses on women in fiction and nonfiction: a subject I am always happy with reading more about! An asterisk below indicates I also counted a read for another challenge or a read-a-long; I’m hoping by the end of the year there are at least 8 books read just for this challenge, in addition to the others! I’ve learned to add lots of women’s lit into my regular reading! More is lined up.

For a list of possible reading options, visit the sign up post.


Graphic Novel Challenge [ends 12/31/2010]. 5/4. FINISHED!

I joined this challenge because I read very few graphic novels and I should give them more of a try. the intermediate level is to read between 3 and 10 graphic novels. I’m aiming for one a quarter, although I’ll list any read in 2010 here. For a list of possible reading options, visit the sign up post. I learned to find graphic novels in all different genres. I enjoy them!

January 15, 2009
Rebecca Reid
12 Comments

Blogging Goals, Reading Journal (January 15), and a Winner

I have so many “reading goals” for the New Year that this week I started to feel a bit burned out, like I was reading just to cross it off the list. I should be reading for my own personal development and enjoyment. I also want to join in Reading Journal this week (is there a “day” for that meme?) and Library Loot, since they are related. Finally, I’ve selected a winner of The Book that Changed My Life. Continue reading »

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