Reluctant Heroine     1-03  books
Eager For Challenge  4-06  books
Brave Heart              7-10  books

It’s fun to conquer a slalom course of games.  Nina’s completely open theme merely gives ranks to strive for.  I love that we’re invited to make what we wish of this group!  Since it’s my vision, I easily pledge to ‘Brave Heart’:  10 books!  I sometimes save the best for last, so shelf-sitting has nothing to do with eagerness.  My take on “Guilty Reading” is dual.

(A)  Books I’m less interested in than others.  Perhaps a cover hadn’t captivated me or a synopsis indicates it isn’t my favourite cup of tea.  Stay tuned to find out if I stand corrected and enjoy them more than I imagined.

(B)  I have copies that are in disrepair, even if the subjects are wonderful.  There are great used bookstores that buy from me.  I endeavour to read and decide what I’m not keeping, while I have contacts that will buy them.

PLEASANT SURPRISES

“Blue Fire”  Phyllis A. Whitney  1961
“Never Call It Loving”  Dorothy Eden  1966
“The Ghost Of The Isherwoods”  Carol Beach York  1966
“The Secret”  Carol Beach York  1984
“If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln”  Anne McGovern  1966
“A Killer Tide”  P.J. Alderman  2006
“Kilroy And The Gull”  Nathaniel Benchley  1977
“Hercules & Other Tales From Greek Myths”  Olivia E. Coolidge  1949

GLAD TO BE FINISHED

“Read And Buried”  Erika Chase  2012
“Greenapple Street Blues”  Ted Staunton  1987
“Dark They Were & Golden-Eyed”  Ray Bradbury  1949
“The Sign Of Four”  Arthur Conan Doyle  1890
“Forward, Shakespeare!”  Jean Little  2005
“The Salzburg Connection”  Helen MacInnes  1968
“Charlotte’s Web”  Elwyn Brooks White  1952

**** CHALLENGE CONQUERED! ****

Tourist           05 countries
Vacationer      10 countries
Business Traveler  15 countries
Adventurer       20 countries
World Traveler    30+ countries

Here’s a walk in the park that isn’t well known!  Other than yours, see how many countries are covered in books.  Multiple countries in the same one accumulate!  I’ll at least aim for ‘Vacationer’:  10 countries but we’ll see what my perusals contain.  Click any reading banners I post, to open all the sign-up sites.

“Black Amber”  Phyllis A. Whitney  – TURKEY
“Thunder On The Right”  Mary Stewart  – FRANCE
“Uncertain Voyage”  Dorothy Gilman  – AMSTERDAM, SPAIN
“The Salzburg Connection”  Helen MacInnes  – AUSTRIA, SWITZERLAND
“Ghost Town Treasure”  Clyde Robert Bulla  – USA
“The Snow Goose”  Paul Gallico  – ENGLAND
“Mystery At Black Rock Island”  Robert Sutherland  – SCOTLAND-
“The Foundling Fox”  Irina Korschunow  – GERMANY
“Celtic Praise”  Robert VanDeWeyer – IRELAND
“The Haunting At Cliff House”  Karleen Bradford  – WALES
“Blue Fire”  Phyllis A. Whitney  – SOUTH AFRICA
“Stories Of Ghosts, Witches”  F. Littledale – ICELAND
“The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax”  D Gilman – MEXICO, ARMANIA, YUGOSLAVIA
“Dark They Were & Golden-Eyed”  Ray Bradbury  – MARS!
“The Little Prince”  Antoine De St. Exupéry  – ASTEROID PLANETS!
“Hercules & Other Tales From Greek Myths”  – GREECE, MOUNT OLYMPUS

18 countries + 3 non Earth locations.

**** CHALLENGE CONQUERED! ****

20th Century   02
Victorian         05
Renaissance     10
Medieval          15
Ancient History  25+

I spoke with the hostess about ‘historical’:  defined as fiction made up to be in the past.  It can describe once current fiction now at least 50 years old to us.  She prefers the original perception, inventing a historic tableau but accepts fiction outdated by time, if a distinct time capsule is captured.  I’m new to this genre and look forward to samples of both.  I will stretch myself to the ‘Victorian’ level:  5 books.

  
“The Ghost Of Windy Hill”  Clyde Robert Bulla  1968
“Room With A Clue”  Kate Kingsbury  1993
“Do Not Disturb”  Kate Kingsbury  1994
“The Copper Sunrise”  Bryan Buchan  1972
“Hercules & Other Tales From Greek Myths”  Olivia E. Coolidge  1949
“Irish Cures, Mystic Charms, Superstitions”  Lady Wilde  1991
“Stories Of Ghosts, Witches, Demons”  Freya Littledale  1971
“Never Call It Loving”  Dorothy Eden  1966
“Haunting Jordan”  P.J. Alderman  2009
10)  “Street Of Riches”  Gabrielle Roy  1955

“Blue Fire”  Phyllis A. Whitney  1961
“The Salzburg Connection”  Helen MacInnes  1968
“The Sign Of Four”  Arthur Conan Doyle  1890
“The Secret Adversary”  Agatha Christie  1922
“Murder On The Links”  Agatha Christie  1923
“The Snow Goose”  Paul Gallico  1940
“Mystery In The Pirate Oak”  Helen Fuller Orton  1949
18)  “Ghost Town Treasure”  Clyde Robert Bulla  1957

**** CHALLENGE CONQUERED! ****