Thursday, March 12, 2009

Winter Challenge Summary


First the list of all the books I managed to read for this great challenge hosted by My Two Blessings.


1. King's Fool by Margaret Campbell Barnes
2. Lady Anne and the Howl in the Dark by Donna Lea Simpson
3. What Would Jane Austen Do? by Laurie Brown
4. With Violets by Elizabeth Robards
5. The Testament by David Morrell
6. Blessings by Anna Quindlen
7. The Book of Air & Shadows by Michael Gruber
8. The Book Thief by Michael Zusak
9. The Hellfire Club by Peter Straub
10. Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
11. Dragon Tears by Dean Koontz
12. Mr. X by Peter Straub
13. The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick


Winter is always a very difficult time for me. As some of you might know, I suffer from clinical depression and I unfortunately get to be visited by it more often during the cold, dreary, mostly sunless days of winter. This year it actually was quite worse since on top of my usual struggles, I was also struggling in my personal life, my professional career wasn’t going anywhere and many days, even weeks, I had to live on a very limited budget. Of course books have always been my rescue and not having been aware of what was ahead of me, I put up the Winter Challenge list with books that were perfect for helping me get outside of myself and somehow survive this season that is thankfully coming to an end.

I honestly enjoyed all of the thirteen books, but if I had to pick my most favorite and most ‘life-saving’ it would be The Book of Air & Shadows. The main reasons are that it was very funny, very clever and utterly entertaining. I truly believe that sometimes laughter is the best medicine and this book proved that well known theory to me yet again. What I like about this challenge though is that it didn’t have any particular theme so I could pick any books I wanted. And I did my best to make it genre-wise diversified. I have there horror, mystery, chick lit, memoir, action thriller, popular and historical fiction. It’s almost like a little bit of everything. I will certainly be looking for a second helping next winter around.

9 comments:

  1. I'm sorry that this has been such a tough winter for you. I'm glad at least that you had a few books to help keep you busy. I hope things are looking up for you!

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  2. Thanks Jo-Jo, I am just looking forward to more sun and warm days.

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  3. Sorry that winter was not the best of times for you, but you got a great list there.. I gotta check your reviews so maybe I could add some more books to my tbr :)

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  4. I am really sorry to hear about your depression. I know a lot about depressions through relavies, including the winter blues. Good that the books helped you getting through. In my family we try to light a lot of candles and stick together near the warm fire in our living room.
    I wish you a warmer, happier spring.

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  5. Thank you girls. I really appreciate it. I have hopes that I may finally be able to manage it, I have struggled with it for so long that at least I know when it's coming and what I can do about it.

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  6. Great list of books, Lilly. Added some to my wish list. Glad to hear they helped you get through the Winter. Sorry to hear it was so difficult. Happy that you participated in the Challenge. The final wrap up is up, if you want to relink to that post. I'm starting to get ready for Callipidder Day's Spring Reading Challenge and making a list.

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  7. Great list of books and good job on finishing. I finished up yesterday, and will post my wrap up tomorrow.

    Spring, with its sunnier and longer days, is just around the corner! Hang in there.

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  8. Glad that you had the help of books to get you through the winter. I am going to check out The Book of Air & Shadows by Michael Gruber.

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  9. I agree with you that laughter is the best medicine. That's why my other blog is named Smiling Sally. I love to put in jokes and light hearted stuff. Congratulations on meeting your challenge.

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