British Books Challenge: I'm claiming my crown

When I got to Book 50 on my British books list I thought I was ready to claim my crown, but then I re-read the terms of the challenge again on The Bookette and it definitely says 50 books by British writers. That meant the book that I had most recently read, A LONELY DEATH by Charles Todd didn't count, because, as you know, the author is an American mother and son, and neither did another one of those listed for the same reason WHERE MEMORIES LIE, Deborah Crombie

 Although I could argue that both are nearly as representative of British crime fiction as they come.
So I had to complete two more British books. Thank goodness I had two on hand.

So here is my list of 52 including the two that don't count **.

1. 4.6, RELICS OF THE DEAD, Ariana Franklin
2. 4.5, A NEW LEASE OF DEATH, Ruth Rendell
3. 4.6, THE JANUS STONE, Elly Griffiths 
4. 4.0, LATE, LATE IN THE EVENING, Gladys Mitchell
5. 4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE, Ann Cleeves 
6. 4.7, WHERE MEMORIES LIE, Deborah Crombie   **
7. 3.8, MONSIEUR PAMPLEMOUSSE TAKES THE CURE, Michael Bond
8. 4.4, FATAL QUEST: WOODEND'S FIRST CASE, Sally Spencer
9. 4.5, OUR LADY OF PAIN, Elena Forbes
10. 4.5, DUMB WITNESS, Agatha Christie
11. 4.4, A COTSWOLD KILLING, Rebecca Tope 
12. 4.5, RAILWAY TO THE GRAVE, Edward Marston
13. 4.7, A LONELY DEATH, Charles Todd   **
14. 4.3, THE DARK LADY, Sally Spencer
15. 4.7, THE DEAD HAND OF HISTORY, Sally Spencer
16. 4.4, DEAD MAN'S WHARF, Pauline Rowson
17. 5.0, STAGESTRUCK, Peter Lovesey
18. 4.6, FIVE LITTLE PIGS, Agatha Christie
19. 4.4, BEGGARS BANQUET, Ian Rankin
20. 4.4, THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY, Agatha Christie
21. 4.3, NEMESIS, Lindsey Davis
22. 5.0, THE END OF THE WASP SEASON, Denise Mina 
23. 4.5, TO THE HILT, Dick Francis
24. 4.5, THE SATURDAY BIG TENT WEDDING PARTY, Alexander McCall Smith
25. 4.8, DEAD LIKE YOU, Peter James
26. 5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING, Ann Cleeves
27. 4.5, STILL MIDNIGHT, Denise Mina
28. 4.6, BRUNO, CHIEF OF POLICE, Martin Walker 
29. 4.3, THE GOLDEN MILE TO MURDER, Sally Spencer
30. 4.3, BLUE MONDAY, Nicci French
31. 4.3, EVIL UNDER THE SUN, Agatha Christie
32. 4.4, DELIVER US FROM EVIL, Peter Turnbull
33. 4.5, THE MESSENGER OF ATHENS, Anne Zouroudi
34. 4.5, THE FAMILY, Martina Cole
35. 4.6, THE DARK VINEYARD, Martin Walker
36. 3.5, STIFF UPPER LIP, JEEVES, P.G. Wodehouse
37. 4.3, ONE, TWO, BUCKLE MY SHOE, Agatha Christie 
38. 4.3, A GRAVE IN THE COTSWOLDS, Rebecca Tope
39. 4.7, HEARTSTONE, C.J. Sansom
40. 5.0, DEAD TOMORROW, Peter James
41. 4.4, THE SALTON KILLINGS, Sally Spencer
42. 4.6, TEN-SECOND STAIRCASE, Christopher Fowler
43. 4.8, SILENT VOICES, Ann Cleeves
44. 4.8, THE HANGING WOOD, Martin Edwards 
45. 4.6, SAD CYPRESS, Agatha Christie
46. 4.4, THE JUDGEMENT OF STRANGERS, Andrew Taylor
47. 4.3, DEVIL-DEVIL, Graeme Kent
48. 5.0, A THOUSAND CUTS, Simon Lelic
49. 4.1, DEATH AT THE PRESIDENT'S LODGING, Michael Innes
50. 4.5, TEN LITTLE NIGGERS, Agatha Christie
51. 4.5, THE FOUR LAST THINGS, Andrew Taylor
52. 4.4, THE MOVING FINGER, Agatha Christie

Completed: British Books Challenge 2011

Among the 15 or so reading challenges I've "accepted" for 2011 is the British Books Challenge being hosted at The Bookette.

The terms of the challenge for International Friend

For any wonderful bloggers living overseas who wish to support British writers. 

You can choose between: 

• Winston Churchill - Read 6 books by British authors in 2011

• The Royal Family - Read 12 books by British authors in 2011

There will also be the chance to earn yourselves a Crown if you manage to read 50 books by British writers in the year. This is open to everyone because I want to give special treats to people who love to support British talent. You don't need to decide now if you are aiming to meet this target. I'll post about this much later in 2011.

I imposed an extra rule on myself: all the books had to be crime fiction and all by different authors.

Yesterday with the completion of RELICS OF THE DEAD by Ariana Franklin I reached Royal Family level.
Here is what I've read:

1. 4.6, RELICS OF THE DEAD, Ariana Franklin
2. 4.5, A NEW LEASE OF DEATH, Ruth Rendell
3. 4.6, THE JANUS STONE, Elly Griffiths 
4. 4.0, LATE, LATE IN THE EVENING, Gladys Mitchell
5. 4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE, Ann Cleeves 
6. 4.7, WHERE MEMORIES LIE, Deborah Crombie - see review for note about inclusion on this list
7. 3.8, MONSIEUR PAMPLEMOUSSE TAKES THE CURE, Michael Bond
8. 4.4, FATAL QUEST: WOODEND'S FIRST CASE, Sally Spencer
9. 4.5, OUR LADY OF PAIN, Elena Forbes
10. 4.5, DUMB WITNESS, Agatha Christie
11. 4.4, A COTSWOLD KILLING, Rebecca Tope 
12. 4.5, RAILWAY TO THE GRAVE, Edward Marston 

Now that I've got here so early in the year I might see if I can get a Crown by reading 50 books by British authors in the year. I have certainly got enough on my TBRs to get close to that, but for the remainder of the list, although I'll stick to crime fiction, I'll allow myself to count books by the same author. (e.g. all the Agatha Christies I read from now on will count etc). I think I'll need to do that to get to 50 as that would be over 25% of my anticipated reading total for the year (and I've got a lot of other reading on my plate)

I'll continue to keep my records on my Reading Challenges Update and to tag them with .

Review: BURY YOUR DEAD, Louise Penny

Published: Minotaur Books, New York, 2010
ISBN 978-0-312-37704-552499
371 pages
Source: Local Library

Publisher's Blurb:
As Quebec City shivers in the grip of winter, its ancient stone walls cracking in the cold, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache plunges into the most unusual case of his celebrated career. A man has been brutally murdered in one of the city's oldest buildings - a library where the English citizens of Quebec safeguard their history. And the death opens a door into the past, exposing a mystery that has lain dormant for centuries...a mystery Gamache must solve if he's to apprehend a present-day killer.

My take:
Those who say this is a "must read" are not wrong. And neither are those who say this is Louise Penny's best novel so far aren't either.
But you do need to read this series in order! And in particular you must read THE BRUTAL TELLING  before you read BURY YOUR DEAD.

Inspector Armand Gamache is recovering from an event that happened since THE BRUTAL TELLING but I'll let you find out from what for yourself. But let me tell you that in BURY YOUR DEAD he solves no less than three mysteries.  And I learnt so much about Quebec's history! We learn too that Armand Gamache is not always right, and that he knows how to say sorry.
The whole book is such good reading. There is more than the police procedural and the writing is wonderful.

My rating: 5.0 and with that it slides to the top of my best reads so far this year.

1. Still Life (2005)
2. Dead Cold (2006)  aka A Fatal Grace
3. The Cruellest Month (2007)
4. The Murder Stone (2008) aka A Rule Against Murder
5. The Brutal Telling (2009)
6. Bury Your Dead (2010)


THE BRUTAL TELLING was the winner of the Agatha Award for best novel of 2009. and I'll be very surprised if BURY YOUR DEAD does not capture a whole swag of nominations.
BookPage, in the US, named BURY YOUR DEAD their Mystery of the Month for October 2010
Check Louise Penny's Reviews page.

Other titles I've reviewed
4.8, THE CRUELLEST MONTH
4.9, A RULE AGAINST MURDER

Louise Penny's website.

I'm "counting" this novel in the Canadian Book Challenge 2010-2011

Review: IN THE TEETH OF THE EVIDENCE, Dorothy L. Sayers - audio

AUDIOBOOK: In the Teeth of the Evidence: UNABRIDGED

• By Dorothy L. Sayers
• Narrated by Ian Carmichael
• Length:8 hrs and 15 mins
• Release Date:04-02-10
• Source: I purchased it.

A collection of 17 short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers first published by Victor Gollancz in 1939.
The book's title is taken from the first story in the collection.

The stories in the collection

Original cover

* Lord Peter Wimsey stories:
          o "In the Teeth of the Evidence"
          o "Absolutely Elsewhere"
 * Montague Egg stories:
          o "A Shot at Goal"
          o "Dirt Cheap"
          o "Bitter Almonds"
          o "False Weight"
          o "The Professor's Manuscript"
* Other stories:
          o "The Milk-Bottles"
          o "Dilemma"
          o "An Arrow O'er the House"
          o "Scrawns"
          o "Nebuchadnezzar"
          o "The Inspiration of Mr. Budd"
          o "Blood Sacrifice"
          o "Suspicion"
          o "The Leopard Lady"
          o "The Cyprian Cat"

My take:

This was an entertaining audio book, narrated with touches of the dramatic by Ian Carmichael.
I thought it gave a good idea of the range of Dorothy L. Sayers' crime fiction writing.
I particularly liked the Lord Peter Wimsey stories and enjoyed meeting Montague Egg who was new to me. Many of the "other stories" had a Poe-ish quality to them.

My rating: 4.4

I'm "counting" this in the  2011 Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge and the Cruisin' thru Cosies Reading Challenge

Review: THE RULE BOOK, Rob Kitchin

Publisher: Pen Press, 2009
ISBN13: 978-1-906710-57-6
352 pages
Source: complimentary copy supplied by the author.

Blurb:

April in the Wicklow mountains and a young woman is found dead, seemingly sacrificed. Accompanying her body is Chapter One of The Rule Book – a self-help guide for prospective serial killers. The case is assigned to the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and headed up by Detective Superintendent Colm McEvoy. Since the recent death of his wife, McEvoy is a shadow of his former self – two stones lighter with a wardrobe of ill fitting suits, struggling to quit the cigarettes that killed his wife, and still getting used to being a single parent. Less than twenty four hours later a second murder is committed. Self-claiming the title ‘The Raven’, the killer starts to taunt the police and the media. When the third body is discovered it is clear that The Raven intends to slaughter one victim each day until The Rule Book is published in full. With the pressure from his superiors, the press, and politicians rising, McEvoy stumbles after a killer that is seemingly several steps ahead.

Is The Rule Book as definitive as The Raven claims?

My take:

This was a very ambitious first novel. So much action occurs in just 12 days, so much blood is shed, and from a writer's point of view, so many threads to be tracked, so many characters to be fleshed out. And for me, this is the best novel I've read so far this year.

I came to THE RULE BOOK having already met Detective Superintendent Colm McEvoy in the second novel from Rob Kitchin, THE WHITE GALLOWS. The author took pity on me after I had reviewed the latter, and sent me a copy. My local library still doesn't have either. 

McEvoy is still grieving the death of his wife Maggie, trying to cope, not very successfully, with being a single parent, when the serial killer, whom the media will label The Raven, hits. The first scene of crime is a gruesome one - the victim appears to have willingly swallowed a sword - and they really don't get any better. As McEvoy pits his brain against that of The Raven the murders pile up, tempers fray. The media, hot on the heels of McEvoy's superiors, bays for blood. There is even a member of McEvoy's team who does his best to gain glory for himself at the expense of the team effort. The personal cost as McEvoy struggles on working 16-18 hour days is huge.

An excellent read, one you must add to your list.

Obtainable at
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rule-Book-Rob-Kitchin/dp/1906710570/
http://www.amazon.com/Rule-Book-Rob-Kitchin/dp/1906710570/

My rating 5.0

Don't just take my word for it: check the reviews on the author's site.

My review of the next in the series:  THE WHITE GALLOWS

I'm counting THE RULE BOOK as my first book in the Ireland Reading Challenge

Review: THE HALF-CHILD, Angela Savage

Publisher: Text Publishing Melbourne Australia 2010
ISBN:978-1-921656-54-5
322 pages
Source: Local Library

Publisher's blurb
Jayne Keeney is a fiesty thirty-something Aussie who has been living in Bangkok for many years. She has been hired to investigate the alleged suicide of a young Australian woman in a seedy Thai coastal town. Maryanne Delbeck was happy and harmless, her father refuses to believe she took her own life. Jayne immerses herself in the case, navigating the backstreet world of Thai ladyboys, monks, strippers, expats and corrupt officials.
Maryanne’s death is not the only mystery awaiting Jayne among Pattaya’s neon signs and go-go bars. While working undercover at the orphanage where Maryanne volunteered, Jayne discovers something far more sinister. Now her life is in danger, her case is still unsolved and she barely has time for dinner with her handsome new love interest, Rajiv. With love and death both circling, Jayne now has two cases to crack and very little time to do it.

My take:

Maryanne Delbeck was a twenty-one-year old Australian volunteer working for Young Christian Volunteers in Bangkok. The year is 1996. Less than five months after her arrival in Thailand Maryanne jumped from a hotel rooftop in Pattaya, falling fourteen storeys to her death. She had found work at the New Life Child Centre in Pattaya, an orphanage that prepares babies for international adoption.

Jayne Keeney decides the best way to investigate what caused Maryanne to jump is to volunteer at the orphanage herself.  In her gathering of relevant information she calls in favours from a friend at the Australian Embassy, from a new Indian friend Rajiv, and from Police Major General Wichit whom she assisted in a case involving his own daughter. As Jayne extends her net she realises she is looking at something much more organised than a young woman's suicide.

I'm not an expert in Thai culture by any means but I have been to Thailand several times in the last 30 years, and spent time not only in Bangkok but also Chiang Mai and Kanchanaburi. Angela Savage's settings and descriptions rang very true for me, and I thought a very credible flavour of Thailand came through.

The plot in THE HALF-CHILD is very credible, and well threaded. Angela Savage shows how a crime fiction author can get under the skin of another culture, and focus on social issues as well as a crime fiction theme.
A very good read from an Australian author worth your while to look for. I think you can read these books out of order - I had rather hazy memories of the previous title in the series, BEHIND THE NIGHT BAZAAR. See my mini review below.

My rating: 4.5

About Angela Savage (from Text Publishing)
Angela Savage travelled to Laos on a six-month scholarship in 1992 and ended up staying in Asia for six years. She was based in Vientiane, then Hanoi and Bangkok where she set up and headed the Australian Red Cross HIV/AIDS subregional program. Her love affair with Asia continues and she has returned many times since. Behind the Night Bazaar won the 2004 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript. Angela lives in Melbourne.

Angela Savage writes (on her blog) about the launch of THE HALF-CHILD

Mini-review of
BEHIND THE NIGHT BAZAAR  (published 2006) My rating 4.5
Jayne Keeney, fluent in Thai language, is an Australian private investigator living in Bangkok. Her last investigation into a marital infidelity resulted in her being severely wounded and two weeks later, stitches out, she has arranged to visit her friend Didier de Montpasse living in Chiang Mai. Didier is gay and works on an HIV/AIDS awareness program. He and Jayne get on very well, drawn together by a love of crime fiction. Jayne and Didier go to meet someone in a gay bar behind the Night Bazaar in Chiang Mai. There Didier has an argument with his Thai lover who has a gambling problem. Later that night Nou, Didier’s lover, is discovered dead, in the bar, butchered and mutilated. Soon Didier is also dead, shot at home by the police who say he was attempting to escape arrest. Jayne is determined to prove Didier’s innocence and to find out who really killed Nou. The content of story seems to stem from Savage’s own experience in South East Asia when she worked for the Australian Red Cross in setting up an HIV/AIDS program in Bangkok. In some senses it presents a stereo-typed view of Thailand, particularly of Bangkok and Chang Mai, where the under-age sex industry seems to flourish, with Australians amongst those who feed it. On the other hand, there is an unmistakeable tone of authenticity, raising issues that we need to think about.
A Victorian Premier’s Literary Award Winner in 2004, shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Best First Crime Fiction in 2007.

I am going to "count" THE HALF-CHILD in

• Aussie Author Challenge
• 2011 Global Reading Challenge (Asia - Thailand)

Review: THE BRUTAL TELLING, Louise Penny

Published by Headline 2009, 2010 (paperback)
ISBN 978-0-7553-4105-4
460 pages
Source: Local Library

Publisher's blurb

Chaos is coming, old son.

With those words the peace of Three Pines is shattered. As families prepare to head back to the city and children say goodbye to summer, a stranger is found murdered in the village bistro and antiques store. Once again, Chief Inspector Gamache and his team are called in to strip back layers of lies, exposing both treasures and rancid secrets buried in the wilderness.

No one admits to knowing the murdered man, but as secrets are revealed, chaos begins to close in on the beloved bistro owner, Olivier. How did he make such a spectacular success of his business? What past did he leave behind and why has he buried himself in this tiny village? And why does every lead in the investigation find its way back to him?

As Olivier grows more frantic, a trail of clues and treasures from first editions of Charlotte’s Web and Jane Eyre to a spider web with the word “WOE” woven in it lead the Chief Inspector deep into the woods and across the continent in search of the truth, and finally back to Three Pines as the little village braces for the truth and the final, brutal telling.

My take:

The discovery of the body of an apparent outsider dead on the floor of the bistro in Three Pines, murdered, appears to signal the end of life in the little Canadian hamlet as its residents know it.

But even before the murder, change has been on the way. The old Hadlee house, featured in an earlier novel, has been sold and is being re-born as an exclusive guest house. It's new owners are ambitious and unlikely to let anything stand in their way. 

And why won't Olivier tell Inspector Gamache that he knew the murdered man?

Many of the residents living in Three Pines have come to escape from their old world and achieve a lifestyle change. But in a murder investigation secrets are the first thing to be uncovered. It just amazed me that some of it hadn't come out in earlier investigations. THE BRUTAL TELLING is after all #5 in the series.

This is a great read. There was a lot more that I was going to include in this review: how Gamache adds another member to his team, how we learn so much more about Gamache and his methods, the humorous images of Rosa the duck dressed in baby clothes to keep her warm, the development of the characters of the other members of Gamache's team, and how cleverly the threads of the mystery that surround the murder are woven. But really, I can't do better than to urge you to get hold of a copy of THE BRUTAL TELLING and see for yourself.
The writing is superb.
But I would really urge you to read the books in the series in order. That way you'll appreciate how Louise Penny has developed the setting and the characters who interact within it.
For myself, I have the next waiting on my shelves!

My rating: 4.9

THE BRUTAL TELLING was the winner of the Agatha Award for best novel of 2009.

1. Still Life (2005)
2. Dead Cold (2006)  aka A Fatal Grace
3. The Cruellest Month (2007)
4. The Murder Stone (2008) aka A Rule Against Murder
5. The Brutal Telling (2009)
6. Bury Your Dead (2010)

Other titles I've reviewed
4.8, THE CRUELLEST MONTH
4.9, A RULE AGAINST MURDER

Louise Penny's website.

I'm "counting" this novel in the Canadian Book Challenge 2010-2011

On a humorous note: Just recently I added Gotland to my list of places, fictional and otherwise, to avoid. 
 I think that list (Midsomer, St. Mary Mead, Gotland) should be expanded to include Three Pines don't you?

Review: PRIME CUT, Alan Carter

Publisher: Fremantle Press, 2011

Awards:  Shortlisted, Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award, 2010 (as Chinese Whispers)

ISBN13: 9781921696503

HB/PB: Paperback

Pages: 320

Source: e-copy of the (Proof Read version) on my Kindle, supplied by the publisher for review purposes.

Sample Chapter: PRIME CUT extract.pdf

Book Club Notes:  View Book Club Notes

 

Publication date: February 2011

Publisher's blurb

Meet Cato Kwong — disgraced cop and ex-poster boy for the police force. Banished to the stock squad after the fallout from a police frame-up, Cato is brought in from the cold to solve the case of a torso washed up on the wild shores of the Great Southern Ocean. But Cato faces powerful opposition when his investigation lifts the lid on the exploitation of migrant workers and disturbs an even darker criminal mind.

My take:

This really is a remarkable novel. Two main stories are told in tandem. The first begins in the Prologue with the murder of a woman and her son in Sunderland, England in 1973, the day of the FA Cup. What Detective Sergeant Stuart Miller sees at the scene of the crime will stay with him for the rest of his working life and in fact contributes to him emigrating to Busselton in Western Australia. 35 years later he still has nightmares.

The second story begins in Western Australia in October 2008. Detective Senior Constable Cato Kwong and Detective Sergeant Jim Buckley are part of Western Australia's Stock Squad and are also at a crime scene. In Cato's view they are "washed-up has-beens recycled as detectives.... The Laughing Stock Squad." And then they are called to a murder scene, at HopeToun: a headless torso in the shallows on the beach. The local policewoman is Senior Sergeant Tess Maguire, recovering from sick leave after being beaten up. HopeToun is a laid-back holiday or retirement spot for wheatbelt farmers, not a place where you expect murders to happen. In recent times though HopeToun has become a mining town.

What makes this novel remarkable is the way the author forwards these plot strands in tandem. It took a bit of getting used to at first. There is little to tell the reader that you've changed from one plot to another, just a change of characters. Often, but not always, the plots are basically at the same point, like the interviewing of a suspect.

But there's much more than that to keep the reader involved. There are prior links between some of the characters which are gradually teased out for us. There are genuine murder mysteries with lots of attendant red herrings. There's a good feel for the climate in Western Australia, both physical and economic. And there is some excellent characterisation.

My rating: 4.7

I'm already looking forward to Alan Carter's second novel - I hope there is one!

PRIME CUT will be available from Fremantle Press

About the author:
Alan Carter was born in Sunderland, UK, in 1959. He holds a degree in Communications Studies from Sunderland Polytechnic and immigrated to Australia in 1991. Alan lives in Fremantle with his wife Kath and son Liam. He works as a television documentary director. In his spare time he follows a black line up and down the Fremantle pool. Prime Cut is Alan Carter’s first novel. He wrote it while he was living in Hopetoun as a kept man.

2011 Challenges:

• 2011 Global Reading Challenge:
• Aussie Author Challenge
• e-book challenge

Challenges I've joined in 2011

I've probably ventured into land of foolishness for 2011, over-committed myself to blazes, but time will tell.
I do intend to use the books I read in more than one challenge, so that will help a bit.
Overall I'm aiming at reading somewhere near 140 books.
As always my "extra" to each challenge is that my books will be crime fiction.
I will count all the books I read, made-from-paper, e-books, and audio books in my total.

Looking for some Challenge Ideas?

Here are the challenges and my level of commitment.

	Canadian Book Challenge 2010-2011   I have to read 13 books by Canadian authors by 1 July 2011. So far I've read 8, so I'm well on track.
	2011 Global Reading Challenge: Challenge site  http://2011globalreadingchallenge.blogspot.com/ I have committed myself to reading 21 titles, all crime fiction, 3 titles each from 7 "continents". I think my 7th continent will be historical crime fiction.
	2011 Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge Get a Clue Level: 7-9 books, must have been written prior to 1960 Progress page on the challenge site
	Cruisin' thru Cosies Reading Challenge I'll try for Investigator: 7-12 books Definition: most cozies take place in a small town or village, generally considered "gentle" books, and the sleuth is usually an amateur.
	Ireland Reading Challenge aiming for Luck o' the Irish level (4 books)
	Agatha Christie Reading Challenge I'm aiming for my next 12 titles. How to join the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge
	Aussie Author Challenge I'm aiming for True Blue: 12 books
	Nordic Challenge 2011 I'm aiming for Odin 11-20 books
	e-book challenge I'm aiming for obsessed: 20 books
	British Books Challenge Royal Family level: 12 books by British authors.
	Historical Fiction Challenge Daring & Curious : 5 books
something New Zealand	maybe 4-6 books
	This is a personal challenge more than anything else. It will be an overlapping challenge, and I aim to exceed 20 titles which was my total this year.
	Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge I'm aiming for Out of Breath: 6-10 more books than in 2010 when I read 136 My aim is 142+ and will include all books read in all formats include audio books.
	Again, another personal challenge. In 2010 I read 46 new-to-me authors and I'll be keeping count in 2011 to see if I can exceed that total, even by 1.

Memes I'll be participating in

	Crime Fiction Alphabet I manage this one. Each week, beginning Monday 10 January 2011, you have to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week. Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname.
	Sunday Salon Over 500 bloggers worldwide share their reading reports every Sunday
	Weekly Geeks A weekly task for book bloggers is set every weekend. I participate most of the time.
Friday's Forgotten Books	Pattinase's Friday's Forgotten Books is a weekly meme when we talk about crime fiction titles of the past.

Which Challenges in 2011 - followup

Since my Weekly Geeks post last Saturday I have been giving some serious thought to which Challenges I will participate in during 2011. You'll see the results of my decisions in the right hand margin.

I had already decided that I would take part in

• The Agatha Christie Reading Challenge:
  in 2011 I hope to read at least another 12 titles in my quest to read the novels and short stories of Agatha Christie roughly in the order in which they were published. This is a challenge that I manage, in conjunction with a monthly blog carnival.
• The 2011 Global Reading Challenge:
  I have committed myself to Expert level: 21 titles, all crime fiction, 3 titles each from 7 "continents"
• The Canadian Book Challenge 2010-2011:
  I have to read to 13 books by Canadian authors by 1 July 2011. So far I've read 3.

and then I added

• Booklover's 2011 Aussie Author Challenge:
  I have signed up to TRUE BLUE level of 12 books by Australian authors (at least 9 different authors)
• I've also joined the Ladybug's e-book reading challenge at obsessed level of 20 books. 

Since then I've joined

• Nordic Challenge, and looking at Odin level of 11-20 books
• Ireland Reading Challenge - Luck o' the Irish Level of 4 books 
• Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge - Get a Clue 7-9 books 
• Cruisin' thru the Cozies - Investigator: 7-12 books

And now I'm keeping an eye out for a

• New Zealand crime fiction challenge
• Historical crime fiction challenge- this I think will be my own variation of a Historical fiction challenge
• the 2011 edition of the 100+ Reading Challenge, although in reality I don't need to join a challenge to do that. I could just set myself a personal goal, say 130, and aim for it.

I also decided to give the Crime Fiction Alphabet a run again. This is not so much a challenge as a weekly meme, with a different letter of the alphabet featured each week beginning 10 January 2011.
In addition I'll keep contributing to Pattinase's Friday's Forgotten Books

Looking for some Challenge Ideas? - A Novel Challenge is a great resource.

Like my friend Bernadette at Reactions to Reading, I am anxious to get reading some of the unread books I have both on my shelves and on my Kindle.
I also want to support fellow bloggers who are running these reading challenges as well as find out what books people are enjoying reading.

Last night, in an attempt to get organised I worked out what books might fit for which challenge, and, thank goodness, there will be some books that can count for more than one challenge.
After I had made lists using about 70 of the titles sitting in my TBRs, it struck me that I have quite a number of titles which won't be counted in any of the challenges unless I do something like the British Book Challenge and an American Crime Fiction Challenge.

Weekly Geeks 2010-39: Plans for 2011

This week's Weekly Geek task suggests we think about the challenges we might join in 2011.

Share with us which challenges look tempting to you! (You don't have to "officially" join any of the challenges for this weekly geek. Just let us know which ones you'd be most interested in.)

It prompts me to think about why we join challenges. As a reading colleague is won't to say, it is not really a challenge if the task you set yourself is easily accomplished. A reading challenge should push you towards the achievement of a task and push you to breaking new ground in your reading.

People who decide not to commit to challenges talk about how they feel that challenge-reading puts them in a bit of a strait-jacket. For me though the challenges make me seek out books to read, so I think they actually broaden my reading horizons.

I've already committed myself to 3 challenges.

• The Agatha Christie Reading Challenge:
  in 2011 I hope to read at least another 12 titles in my quest to read the novels and short stories of Agatha Christie roughly in the order in which they were published. This is a challenge that I manage, in conjunction with a monthly blog carnival.
• The 2011 Global Reading Challenge:
  I have committed myself to reading 21 titles, all crime fiction, 3 titles each from 7 "continents"
• The Canadian Book Challenge 2010-2011:
  I'm currently sadly lagging in this one. I have to read to 13 books by Canadian authors by 1 July 2011. So far I've read 3.

So I'm committed to 43 books there, with not much overlap.

The Weekly Geeks post pointed participants to a wonderful resource A Novel Challenge which lists all sorts of book reading challenges and as a result of browsing there I've more or less decided I will join the following:

• Booklover's 2011 Aussie Author Challenge:
  I need to increase my reading/reviewing of Australian crime fiction. I joined this challenge in 2010 and completed FAIR DINKUM level of 8 books fairly easily.
  I'm glad to see that in 2011 there is TRUE BLUE level of 12 books by Australian authors (at least 9 different authors), so that's what I'll sign up to.
• I'm tempted to join the Ladybug's e-book reading challenge at obsessed level of 20 books.
  In 2010 I've read 32 books on my Kindle, so it should be achievable

Other challenges I think I'll consider (if you have suggestions I would be glad of them)

• something in the line of historical mysteries - maybe a target of about 6 for the year.
• something related to Scandinavian crime fiction - again 6-8 titles all from different countries.
• The What’s in a Name challenge (or similar) which Reactions to Reading describes today
• 100+ reading challenge, but I might set my own target of 130. I think I'll make 125 fairly easily this year.
• maybe something related to translated books - similar to Lost in Translation. In my case it would be crime fiction titles, and I would be aiming for about 12 books.

I would be looking at some overlap I think - the ability to count some of the books for more than one challenge.