The Tales of Beetle the Bard

What fun! :-) Reading this short book of stories by J.K. Rowling was just as pleasant and absorbing as reading the Harry Potter books was for me. As in I was totally inside the story world and didn't care about anything else. It's nice when books do that, isn't it?

There are five fairy tales in this collection, each followed by some notes and commentary by Albus Dumbledore. I enjoyed this analysis and 'historical' information just as much as I did the stories themselves.

I won't say more, as it's a short book and you should read it. Unless you hate Harry Potter, in which case it's probably not for you! :-)

Challenges: 2010 Countdown Challenge, 999 Challenge

The Friday Night Knitting Club

This was another recommendation, which unfortunately I was expecting much more from. Kate Jacobs' book was ok, but I found it only that, I wanted to enjoy it more than I did.

The premise is great - Georgia owns a  wool shop and loves to knit. With time, several women become regular customers and end up spending Friday night together, some knitting, some learning to knit. They share and grow and generally have a good time. It works, although they are of different ages and backgrounds and have very different problems.

What was the problem for me? I didn't care enough about the characters... I suppose they didn't jump off the page for me. It's a nice enough light book to relax with, but that's about it. I did love the knitting focus though, so who knows if I won't be reading about the characters' further knitting adventures!

Challenges: 2010 Countdown Challenge, A-Z Challenge

Women Unbound Challenge

I realize that I have less will power than some other people, but there are some challenges that I really, really cannot say no to. The Women Unbound Challenge, co-hosted by Aarti, Care, and Eva,is all about reading books related to women's studies - non-fiction about women and related fiction all qualify. There are three levels you can choose as a reader:

• Philogynist: read at least two books, including at least one nonfiction one.
• Bluestocking: read at least five books, including at least two nonfiction ones.
• Suffragette: read at least eight books, including at least three nonfiction ones.

I'm going to be brave and ambitious and go for the Sufragette level - but I do reserve the right to change my mind! Some options are below and I'm sure more will be added as we go along.

The challenge runs from November 2009 to November 2010.

Completed: 4/8 as of 7 September 2010

Fiction (1/5):

• Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
• Empress Orchid by Anchee Min
• The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel
• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
• The Awakening by Kate Chopin
• The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
• Beauty by Robin McKinley
• Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald
• The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
• Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson

Non-Fiction (0/3):

• The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How it Has Undermined All Women by Susan Douglas and Meredith Michaels
• What Mothers Do, Especially When it Seems like Nothing by Naomi Stadlen
• Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Muslim Women by Geraldine Brooks
• Women who Run With Wolves by Clarissa Estes
• Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
• Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi
• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
• Bluestockings by Jane Robinson 
• Wild Swans by Jung Chung