T4MC Wrap Up Post!

Wrapping up my T4MC challenge with this post!!  I finished at the end of June with 205 points and was pleased to have been able to do all the 20 point challenges!  Next up, Part 4!

5 Point Challenges
Read a book by an author you’ve never read before - The Maze Runner (Maze Runner Trilogy (Hardback))- James Daschner
Read a book with a one word title - Deeper - Megan Hart
Read a book with an animal name in the title
Read a book with a proper name in the title - Jack: Secret Circles (Repairman Jack)- F. Paul Wilson
Read a fantasy

10 Point Challenges
Read an ‘Austenesque’ book - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!
Read a book with a two word title - The Touch - F. Paul Wilson
Read a book that is part of a series - Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom (Book 1) - Julie Kenner
Read a book about a real person
Read a mystery


15 Point Challenges
Read a book written in the 60’s (any century)
Read a book with a number in the title - The 13th Apostle - Richard & Rachael Heller
Read a book by an author born in March, April, May or June. - An Enemy of the State (The LaNague Federation, Book 1)  F. Paul Wilson
Read a book with a three word title - Vision in White (The Bride Quartet, Book 1) - Nora Roberts

Read a book by an author with three names - Beyond the Highland Mist (Highlander, Book 1)- Karen Marie Moning


20 Point Challenges

Read a book with over 500 pages - Labyrinth - Kate Moss
Read a book with a four word title - A Wedding in December: A Novel- Anita Shreve
Read a book by two authors - Ciao Bella: A Novel - Gina Buonaguro & Janice Kirk
Read a book written in the 70s (any century) - The Murders of Richard III - Elizabeth Peters
Read a book that has been number one on the NYT Best-sellers list - The Last Song - Nicholas Sparks

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - April 4, 2010

I missed last week as I was on vacation but I'm back for this segment of What Are You Reading hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey through A World of Books.

The Past:

- I finally finished reading Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. It was long but reasonably enjoyable.
- I also read Maze Runner which I had heard many good things about and while I liked it, I didn't like it as much as I expected too. Not enough character development for my liking maybe.
- I finally finished my first Kindle book too! The Peabody-Ozymandias Traveling Circus & Oddity Emporium and found it to be another excellent book dealing with The Otherness.

The Present:
- I started to read Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning and am enjoying it so far at 100 pages in. It is not only a time travel novel, but it is first in a series so satisfies 2 reading challenge requirements for me - boo-ya!

So...what have you been reading?

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - Mar 8, 2010

Hosted by Sheila at her One Person's Journey Through Books blog, its time to let everyone know what you've been reading this week and yes, its not quite Monday yet. Deal! :-)

Last Week:

- A Wedding in December - Anita Shreve
- Jack: Secret Circles - F. Paul Wilson (have I ever mentioned how much I *love* Repairman Jack?)

Currently:

- The Touch - F. Paul Wilson. I'm still in "Jack" mode even though this isn't technically Jack and then:

Upcoming:

- The Peabody- Ozymandias Traveling Circus and Oddity Emporium again by "The Man" F. Paul which I'd started reading on a friend's Kindle until I noticed it was sort of introduced in Secret Circles and the timeline puts it *after* the The Touch and me being very anal about reading things in order...

After that, who knows, whatever strikes my fancy at the time. How about you, what are you reading?

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - Mar 1, 2010

The start of a new month, the potential (I hope) beginning of spring and a new Monday for reading! Its hosted by Sheila over at Book Journey so check out what everyone else is reading this week!

Last Week:

The Olympics really got in my way but I finally managed to finish Highland Guardian by Melissa Mayhue and it was my *only* read of the week. I have to say that I did not enjoy this book quite as much as the first one in the series. I found the characters to be somewhat lacking or something was missing, I don't know exactly what it was I was looking for.

Currently:

Since I'm still waiting on hubby to *ahem* finish the next Young Jack book, I'm delving out of my comfort zone on my next book. Back in University, I took many literature courses and read a variety of books, some of which I really liked and some of which I never care to remember ever again (Middlemarch...ugh).....

WAIT!!! Stop the Presses! I've been informed that my current line of writing might be in error. I was going to read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen but it has been pointed out to me that I've already read it back in one of those University classes. Oh well, so much for my plan and back to the drawing board...

A little while later....

After sorting and looking through my available books, I have decided to read A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve. I've read a couple of her other books - The Pilot's Wife which I really enjoyed and another which was just so-so until the very last page and BAM - what an ending! This is a library book so I can count it in my library challenge and for one of my requirements for T4MC. Maybe when I'm finished this one, young Jack will be ready for me.... :-)

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - Feb 22, 2010

It's the Monday, What Are You Reading - Olympic edition as in "I haven't been reading much because I can't lift my a** off the couch or unglue my eyes from the tv". Currently just waiting for Virtue & Moir to do their skate for Canada and go for the gold!!

This weekly meme is brought to you by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through A World of Books!

So with that, here's what I've been up to:

Currently Plowing Through:

I'm reading Axis by Robert Charles Wilson which is the sequel to Spin and while sci/fi is not usually my genre of choice, I enjoyed Spin more than I am enjoying Axis.

Next:

Stupidly, I gave my husband first crack at Jack: Secret Circles which would have been my next book but alas, I need to let him finish it first. Sigh. So, maybe the next Melissa Mayhue book, Highland Guardian which also is a book for my time travel challenge!

So, what are you reading this week?

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

For the first time from its new home over at Sheila's One Person's Journey Through A World of Books comes It's Monday! What Are You Reading meme! Thanks Sheila for hosting this meme!

Last Week:

- It took me longer than I think it should have but I finally finished reading Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marilier. Its the first person in her Sevenwaters Trilogy and while I liked it, it was slow moving at times, getting better near the end. This was a library book also so helped with my Library Challenge!

- I borrowed my friend's Kindle and started to read The Peabody-Ozymandias Traveling Circus and Oddity Emporium by "The Man" F. Paul Wilson and while its technically not a Repairman Jack novel, it is a part of the whole Adversary Cycle. Honestly though, the Kindle has been slow going!

Currently:

I got inspired to once again tackle The Dresden Files and started The Summer Knight on Friday. If you're looking for paranormal, Jim Butcher's got you covered with The Dresden Files!

So what are you reading on this fine Monday during I Love to Read Month? A friend and I have our little contest during the month to see who reads the most pages. The loser treats to lunch or dinner! A little friendly, fun competition that benefits us both and gets us out of the house for some "kid free" time!

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Honey, I Have Something to Tell You...

...I've been having an affair with a man named Jack! I can't seem to keep my hands off him!

Of course I'm referring to Repairman Jack who is a fictional character in F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack and Adversary Cycle series.

When I stumbled across a reference to one of Wilson's books a little over a year and a half ago, I was intrigued. I sent an email to my friend and her interest was peaked also and she started on a search for the books. I didn some research, came across the Repairman Jack website and I was hooked, without ever reading a single line of his books!

Jack is not your typical repairman. He fixes things but its not appliances or plumbing problems that he fixes. He fixes situations and in doing that, he gets involved in some situations of his own. In the eyes of the government, Jack doesn't exist but he soon discovers that his existence is very important and he finds himself caught in a situation beyond his control, something bigger than just a scam or a missing person. He was born for this, whether he likes it or not. Its the classic "good vs evil" but its so, so much more than that.

Jack's a character I grew attached to almost immediately. He's honest and reliable and loyal to a fault and "The Man" as Wilson is often known as has created a real treasure with this series and while there are many times I think he needs a slap upside the head, he constantly amazes me at how he continually weaves the separate storylines together so that they intertwine and become one.

While I've mentioned the Repairman Jack series, there are really *2* separate series intertwined and to fully understand the one, you must read the other. While the Adversary Cycle is not Repairman Jack per se, Jack is a part of those stories too. I'm a huge proponet of reading series in order. It irks me to no end to find out I've read the wrong book first. Some people may not be bothered by that but I am so I've outlined below the reading order of the Adversary Cycle/RJ books. I did not read the books in the exact order listed below, I am ashamed to say. I read many of the Jack books first before reading Black Wind which I found to be an excellent story and when I came to read By The Sword, a lot of things became clear in my mind. The Man tied things together once again!

Reading Jack is a huge undertaking but one I would highly recommend. Not all of the items listed below are novels. The Man has written many short stories involving Jack and not all of the books have been published yet. I urge you to find a F. Paul Wilson book, preferably Black Wind and see what you think. I don't think you will be disappointed!

(novels listed in ALL CAPS)
(yet to be released novels in italics)
(* can be found in THE BARRENS AND OTHERS)

(**can be found in AFTERSHOCK & OTHERS)

The Past:

"Demonsong" (prehistory)

"Aryans & Absinthe" ** (1923-24)
BLACK WIND (1926-1945)
THE KEEP (1941)
REBORN (Feb-Mar 1968)
"Dat Tay Vao"*** (Mar 1968)
Jack: Secret Histories

Jack: Secret Circles (published Feb 2010)

Jack: Secret Vengeance (yet to be published)

Year Zero Minus Three:

SIBS (February)
"Faces"* (early summer)
THE TOMB (summer)
"The Barrens" *(ends in September)
"The Wringer"
"A Day in the Life"* (October)
"The Long Way Home"
LEGACIES (December)

Year Zero Minus Two:

"Interlude at Duane's" ** (April)
CONSPIRACIES (April) (includes "Home Repairs")
ALL THE RAGE (May) (includes "The Last Rakosh")
HOSTS (June)
THE HAUNTED AIR (August)
GATEWAYS (September)
CRISSCROSS (November)
INFERNAL (December)

Year Zero Minus One:
HARBINGERS (January)
BLOODLINE (April)
BY THE SWORD (May)
GROUND ZERO (July)

THE TOUCH (ends in August)

The Peabody-Ozymandias Traveling Circus & Oddity Emporium (ends in September)
"Tenants"*

Repairman Jack #14 (Fatal Error is slated to be the title)

Year Zero:

"Pelts"
REPRISAL (ends in February)
the last Repairman Jack novel (ends in April)
NIGHTWORLD (starts in May)

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