Monday, September 26, 2016

Reading New England Challenge...

This reading challenge, hosted by The Emerald City Book Review, has several different challenge levels, from reading just one book to reading twelve. I chose to do the Six State Challenge because I thought reading a book set in each of the six New England states sounded like fun, and because I thought I could successfully complete it. And I did!

Here are the six books I read:


For Maine:  Small as an Elephant by Jennifer Richard Jacobsen
For New Hampshire:  Light on Snow by Anita Shreve
For Vermont:  Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
For Massachusetts:  The Wolves of Andover by Kathleen Kent
(Although I later read Nobody's Secret by Michaela MacColl,
which is also set in Massachusetts, and which I ended up liking a lot better.)
For Connecticut:  The Inheritance by Tom Savage
For Rhode Island: A Gilded Grave


I had a lot of fun completing this reading challenge. And I added several other New England books to my TBR list like Olive Kitteridge, The Secret History, Folly, It and The Boston Girl, which means I just might do this reading challenge again next year all on my own. Of the books I read this year, my two favorite were Small as an Elephant and A Gilded Grave. But I'm glad to have read all six. So thank you, Lory, for hosting this great reading challenge!

And Happy Reading!

21 comments:

  1. Congratulations! I didn't take part in this challenge but it's been interesting to see what other people have read.

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    1. I liked this challenge because I only had to commit to six reads...and that's about my reading challenge speed. :)

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  2. Sounds like a fun challenge. Congrats for completing it.

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    1. Thanks! I can only do one or two challenges a year, and then I really need to be able to finish them quickly, because I tend to lose interest around July...I guess I have a short attention span. :)

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  3. I enjoyed all of your reviews so much. You found some books I had not heard of before, as well as some I was more familiar with. I'm so glad this challenge was manageable for you and that you had fun with it. Congratulations!

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    1. It was a lot of fun. Thanks for setting it up in the first place! What a great idea for a reading challenge. :)

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  4. Congratulations! I was eyeing this challenge but already had too many going on. But you found some really interesting books, many I hadn't heard of. (I do love Understood Betsy, though! We listened to it when our daughter was little.)

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    1. Come on, Lark, you just have to read one book to participate! I bet you can find a New England book that you'd like to read by the end of the year...

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    2. Yeah, come on, Lark! Seriously...I have reading challenge limits myself, so I completely understand what you mean. :)

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    3. I'll think about it! I'm really trying to reduce my stress around reading, though.

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    4. Reading should NEVER feel like a chore! Besides, there will always be another reading challenge next year. :)

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    5. My favorite way to reduce reading stress is to find books that count for two (or more) things at once. Just guessing there might be some New England book on one of your other lists...

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  5. Congrats on completing this challenge, Lark! Glad you'd fun and thanks for sharing these books with us. :)

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  6. Fun! I really enjoyed A GILDED GRAVE. Can't wait for the next book in the series. SMALL AS AN ELEPHANT was a good read, too. Glad you enjoyed them.

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    1. Thanks! I thought A Gilded Grave was a very fun read, and the second one is almost as good as the first, but not quite.

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  7. Sad to say that I haven't heard of much less read a single book on your list. I have got to remedy that and try to read more broadly! I'm a big fan of Maine, so maybe I'll start with Small as an Elephant. Congrats on completing what sounds like a fun challenge.

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    1. Small as an Elephant is a very charming book; it was my favorite. And I had never heard of it either before I googled "books set in Maine". :)

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  8. This sounds like it was a lot of fun! I don't think too many of us suffer from not having anything to read next, but it's sometimes nice to have a bit of direction.

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    1. What I like about these challenges is that I usually end up reading books I otherwise would never have read...and I tend to find some real bookish treasures along the way. Which I love. :)

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