Spring Reading Thing - Wrap Up

I really enjoyed participating in the Spring Reading Thing 2009 set up by Katrina at the Callapidder Days blog (www.callapidderdays.com). I love to read and chose a list of books I thought I could complete in the three month time period. Out of the 12 books on my list, I finished 8 1/2. My favorite was probably "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas." The author used a child's point of view to describe the concentration camps of World War 2. Although the book has a child-like innocence to it and is a quick easy read, it shows the horrors of the holocaust in a new way. I also enjoyed "A Lion Called Christian" and Jodi Picoult's new book, "Handle With Care." Here is my list from March with the dates I finished the books:

1. The Hour I First Believed (Wally Lamb) - Finished 4/3
2. The Translator (Daoud Hari) - Finished 4/6
3. 3:16 The Numbers of Hope (Max Lucado) - Finished 4/14
4. Daughters of the Desert (Claire R. Murphy et. al.) - Finished 4/8
5. Handle With Care (Jodi Picoult) - Finished 4/25; WOW!
6. A Lion Called Christian (John Rendall et. al.) - Finished 5/24
7. The Choice (Nicholas Sparks)
8. The Tale of Edgar Sawtelle (David Wroblewski)
9. Same Kind of Different as Me (Ron Hall & Denver Moore)
10. The Glass Castle (Jeanette Walls)
11. Merle’s Door: Lessons From a Free-thinking Dog (Ted Kerasote) - Finished 6/12
12. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (John Boyne) - Finished 4/14, Excellent Book!!

My 1/2 book is "The Glass Castle." I read half of it and then several other books were ready at the library, so I returned it with plans to finish it later. I still haven't been back to pick it up but hope to this summer. I also plan to read the four books I missed during the summer; in fact, I have "Same Kind of Different As Me" on the counter right now, but I have to finish another book before I start it. The reason I didn't finish all the books on my list is that I kept finding additional books to read. Since I finished 5 additional books not on my list, I figure I did all right. I loved Mary Higgins Clark's new book, "Just Take My Heart" and "Tea Time for the Traditionally Built," the new Number One Ladies Detective Agency book by Alexander McCall Smith.

The difficult part of the challenge for me was feeling okay to deviate from my list. I'm definitely a list person (love to cross off tasks when they're accomplished) and at first I felt guilty for reading a book that wasn't on my list. But then I decided that the list was a starting point and the main point was just to enjoy reading good books. The thing I liked best about the challenge is seeing the books that others are reading and hearing their opinions. I also think it's neat to see how many people participated in the Spring Reading Thing - almost 250 people - that's awesome! I can't wait until next spring!