Author: Deacon Nick

Back to the Classics 2017

Books and Reading

Back to the Classics Reading Challenge 2017 Wrap-up

The Back to the Classics Challenge was hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate, who asked participants to read a classic in one of twelve different categories. For completing 6, 9, or 12 books, participants also earned entries into a drawing for a $30 Amazon gift card. I finished and reviewed the full twelve books, but at times it was a chore. I had difficulty making it through Far from the Madding Crowd, The Trial, and Dead Souls. On the other hand, Rebecca and Kristin Lavransdatter were books I couldn’t wait to get back...

European Reading Challenge 2017 banner

Books and Reading

European Reading Challenge 2017 Wrap-up

The goal of the European Reading Challenge hosted by Gilion at Rose City Reader was to read books from different European countries. There were several different levels to choose from, each of which was represented by a different level of hotel accommodation: FIVE STAR (DELUXE ENTOURAGE): Read at least five books by different European authors or books set in different European countries. FOUR STAR (HONEYMOONER): Read four qualifying books. THREE STAR (BUSINESS TRAVELER): Read three qualifying books. TWO STAR (ADVENTURER): Read two qualifying books. ONE STAR (PENSIONE WEEKENDER): Read...

Hunted Down by Charles Dickens

Book Review / Books and Reading

Hunted Down by Charles Dickens

Hunted Down by Charles Dickens is a novella divided into five parts and recently published as a stand-alone Kindle ebook from Open Road Media. Hunted Down has all the hallmarks of a Dickens story: characters with evocative names (Julius Slinkton, Miss Niner), wonderful Victorian sentences, and a mysterious plot. Unfortunately, the mystery takes a while to get going and the climax isn’t up to Dickens’ typical standards. Still, it didn’t take long to read, it only cost me 99 cents, and the story wasn’t horrible, only disappointingly average. For...

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Book Review / Books and Reading

The Autobiography of Malcolm X as Told to Alex Haley

My whole life had been a chronology of—changes. I had already read The Autobiography of Malcolm X once before, but it still held my interest this time around. Malcolm X led one of the most dramatic and tragic lives of the twentieth century, and as he says, his whole life was a chronology of changes. He chronicles them all in his autobiography, which reads like a spiritual confession. I was impressed by Malcolm X’s willingness to share the personal details of his life, especially his wayward youth. The book...

Deal Me In 2018 Collections

Books and Reading

Deal Me In Short Story Challenge 2018

Jay at Bibliophilopolis is once again hosting the “Deal Me In” Short Story Reading Challenge, and I am definitely back for another year of reading one short story per week. I have so many short story anthologies sitting on my To-Be-Read shelves that I think I could probably do this challenge for the next fifteen years. The unique and fun part of this challenge is that it involves using a deck of cards. Here’s how Jay describes it: Before you get started reading, come up with a roster...

Kristin Lavransdatter

Books and Reading

Classics Club #17: Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset

So a man must learn to accept, when he produces offspring from his own body, that his heart will burn if he loses them or if the world goes against them. God, who gave them souls, is the one who owns them—not I. Kristin Lavrandsatter by Sigrid Undset is a book that everyone should read, for a multitude of reasons. First, it is a beautiful work of historical fiction set in medieval Norway, a time of political unrest, plague, and physical struggle. Next, it is the story of...

Nonfiction Challenge 2018

Books and Reading

Nonfiction Reading Challenge 2018

Last year I read a paltry three nonfiction books, so I’m glad Katie at Doing Dewey is hosting a nonfiction challenge for 2018. It’s a flexible challenge, so I’m going to keep it simple by reading a few nonfiction books that have been on my radar for awhile. I’m hoping to triple my nonfiction reading by reading nine books in 2018. Katie’s challenge is also going to feature a giveaway, Twitter chats, and a quarterly group read-along. Be sure to check out all the details at the 2018...

British Book Challenge

Books and Reading

British Books Challenge 2018

The British Book Challenge is back again this  year, hosted by Chelley at Tales of Yesterday. I read a lot of British classics, so it was easy to decide to participate. Here are the details: The British Books Challenge is a reading challenge that will be running here on Tales Of Yesterday between 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2018 and the main focus of the challenge is reading and reviewing books by British authors. This challenge is available for all bloggers and/or booktubers who review books on their...

Victorian Reading Challenge

Books and Reading

Victorian Reading Challenge 2018

Becky at Becky’s Book Reviews is hosting the 2018 Victorian Reading Challenge, a challenge I have not tried before. Since I have so many Victorian books on my Classics Club list, I’m going to give it a go. Becky has a checklist of different types of Victorian books and several options to choose from, with the only requirement being to read a minimum of four Victorian books: Option A. Read alphabetically A-Z with authors OR titles OR a blend of authors/titles. I’ve decided that from now on X...

Books and Reading

Read It Again, Sam 2018 Reading Challenge

As I wrote about earlier, in 2018 I’m going to focus mostly on reading books that have been on my to-be-read shelf for years. However, there are a few books that I want to reread for various reasons, so I’m going to join the Read It Again, Sam 2018 Reading Challenge, hosted by Bev at My Reader’s Block. There are four different levels to the challenge as outlined by Bev: Déjà vu: Reread 4 books Feeling Nostalgic: Reread 8 books A Trip Down Memory Lane: Reread 12 books...

Mount TBR 2018

Books and Reading

Mount TBR 2018 Reading Challenge

The reading challenge sign-ups continue with Bev’s Mount TBR 2018 Challenge. This is her seventh year hosting this challenge that encourages readers to read the books that have been purchased over the years and never read. I have an embarrassing amount of books on my to-be-read shelf, so I am definitely participating in this challenge again. There are several levels to this challenge, each of which is represented by a different mountain: Pike’s Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s Mount Blanc: Read 24 books from your...

Monthly Keyword Challenge

Books and Reading

Monthly Keyword Reading Challenge 2018

Bev at My Reader’s Block is too good at coming up with tempting reading challenges. I can’t seem to keep from signing up for them. A new one for me for 2018 is the Monthly Keyword Challenge, which she is hosting for the first time. In this challenge, Your task is to read at least one book each month whose title includes one or more of the key words for that month. For instance, in January you might read Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon. See Bev’s...