We are absolutely thrilled today to have Stacia Kane join us here at The Readventurer.  Catie has been a huge fan of the Downside Ghosts series - featuring the complicated dark heroes Chess and Terrible - for a few years and Tatiana is a recent fan.  It won't be long before we pressure Flannery into reading them too! 

To help celebrate the release of Sacrificial Magic (available today!), the fourth book in the Downside Ghosts series and the best yet according to Catie, we asked Stacia Kane a few questions about Chess, Terrible, and what she's got coming up for us next.

Stick around afterward for a giveaway!
 
The Readventurers: The first three books were released back to back in 2010. Sacrificial Magic comes out in March, and Chasing Magic comes out in June. Is there a sixth book on the way?

Stacia Kane:  There will be a sixth book from  HarperVoyager, yes. Beyond that I don’t know what’s going to happen.

Chess and Terrible love to listen to classic rock and punk from the 70’s and 80’s. Would you welcome the ghost apocalypse if it meant that your favorite music would live on forever?

Hahahaha! I’d much rather it live forever without the ghost apocalypse. I think as much as I love the music, I’d feel kind of shitty saying it’s more important than millions of lives. In fact, none of the music I mention was produced after 1997, because that’s when Haunted Week happened. Not that good music stopped being made, but odds are that at least some if not most of the bands active at that time were killed, and since so many industries shrunk and the punk community is so small—relatively speaking—anyway, I didn’t want to assume anyone survived. Which is kind of bad, assuming my favorite bands are dead, but it wouldn’t be realistic otherwise, would it? Eighty percent of the world’s populations died and governments fell and a new totalitarian one took over, but all the good bands are still putting out great music? I kinda don’t think so.

In other interviews, I’ve read that while writing Unholy Ghosts, you initially didn’t plan on Terrible as a love interest for Chess. Once you realized that they had chemistry, did you go back and revise his character at all? Did you feel any pressure (internal or external) to make him more appealing and less frightening initially?

Well, I hadn’t planned him as a love interest per se but I had planned for them to become very close; I knew from the first scene at Bump’s place that her perception of him was going to change and that as she was nicer he was going to open up to her a bit more, which would change her perception further, and so on. So I definitely planned for them to have a real connection, I just didn’t expect their chemistry to be SO strong, and I didn’t expect that I would love him as much as I did.

But no, I didn’t revise anything, and I didn’t want to change anything about him or the way he was introduced. Honestly, the whole “point”—if there is a point—is that what we see isn’t always who people really are, and that it’s who they are inside that counts. I wanted Chess to slowly get to know him and realize who he really is, and I wanted the reader to get to experience that  exact same “unveiling" along with her.

And I never  wanted, and still don’t ever want, to try to downplay or hide the negative aspects of his character, either. It was important to me that Chess be a little afraid of him at first and that she be kind of a bitch to him. It was important that in UNHOLY MAGIC we see him actually doing his job: not beating people up because they threatened Chess, but just because they owe Bump money and it’s Terrible’s job to collect that money by whatever means necessary. It’s important to me that he not be made out as some kind of poor sweetheart forced by his size to hurt people and that he cries inside when he does it. He doesn’t. He enjoys what he does; he doesn’t really care very much about the people he hurts, in general (although being around Chess has changed that to the point that by UM he didn’t want her to see him do it; it’s not that he doesn’t want to do it anymore, just that that it’s a side of himself he wishes she wasn’t as aware of and doesn’t want her to witness). Just like Chess has some serious flaws and is a damaged person, so is Terrible.

For me one of the biggest revealing moments for him as a character—outside of anything romantic - was in UM when he and Chess were discussing the ghosts of murdered people, and he says something like “Right, it doesn’t matter how hard you hit, it never goes away for real.” Which I just think says so much about him and how he sees the world. Chess uses drugs to mask her pain, but he uses violence.

I have a good picture in my mind of what Terrible looks like, but  I’ve struggled to think of a real person who fits his description. Is there a real-life person that you were thinking of when you described Terrible, or is he purely from your imagination?

He’s purely from my imagination. I never actually use celebrities or whatever as “models” for my characters’s appearances; I prefer to leave it kind of vague and let the reader fill it in (the exception is that Chess really does resemble Bettie Page; not exactly, but she has the same sort of face shape and pert nose, and of course the hair). I will say, though, that after I write them I do sometimes see people who remind me of them or who I think could resemble them. NOT look exactly like them at all, but have similar qualities. Like for Terrible I think of actors like Javier Bardem or Jason Momoa or Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Again, it’s not that they look just like him, at all, just that they have similar qualities or attributes.

One parallel that I see between Chess and Terrible is that they’re both highly loyal to their employers, even though their jobs sometimes conflict with their own values. Chess doesn’t question the Church’s harsh punishments or treatment of the poor, and Terrible lets himself be seen as a mindless thug. Is that something that you thought about?

It is, yes! Another layer of understanding between them, another similarity and way they would understand certain things about each other/each others’ outlooks without needing to discuss it or be told. But remember, Terrible does actually see himself as a mindless thug, or at least, he doesn’t think he deserves to be seen as more. He’s been treated like that all his life, so he basically just believes it.
[Gah!  That response broke my heart!]

Will Chess ever question the Church’s methods or will she forever see it as the only place that she ever felt safe?

Hmm. I’m not entirely sure. It really kind of depends on for how long the series goes on. But even if she does question it she’ll still see it as the place that “rescued” her, even if she discovers it’s not as benevolent and positive and always-right as she’s thought. I think even now she’s got some awareness of that. It’s just that this issue is kind of black-and-white to her, as some things are with all of us: the Church saved her, so the Church deserves her loyalty, and that’s that. Even as she’s uncomfortable with many things about it—even though she doesn’t acknowledge that discomfort—she still thinks it deserves her loyalty. But don’t forget, when loyalty to the Church and its teachings came up against saving Terrible’s life, the Church lost without even a second thought. And we’ll see in SACRIFICIAL and CHASING MAGIC more of the concept of Chess realizing that if she’s ever forced to make a choice the Church will lose.

But honestly, I don’t know for sure what will happen with Chess and the Church. I have a few ideas in mind and don’t know which one will win, or if there’ll be a new one, or even, of course, if I’ll get to write those final books. So we’ll see.

One thing I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of is Chess wrangling with uptight, opinionated people. Do you love writing those scenes as much as I love reading them?

Hahaha, yes! I admit I have a lot of fun with those.

Chess has such a negative view of herself, which is understandable given her past. But I feel like occasionally, she’ll have little moments of clarity – like when she feels brave after Terrible labels her so, or when she decides not to go back to Lex, even when she’s alone and it would be the easy thing to do, or when she recites Church law with perfect memory and conviction. Will there be more of these moments for Chess? Is she going to start to see herself more clearly (even just a little bit)?

I think so, yes. One thing that makes Chess so fun to write, and what—for me at least—kind of saves her from being too depressing or whatever, is her belief in her own abilities as a witch. She’s always known she’s good at her job and she takes pride in that, and it’s really nice to write those moments; it’s nice to see her acknowledging her own skills at something. Sometimes I wonder if the reason she’s able to do that is because she started doing it after she left all those awful “homes” and people and situations behind, so no one ever actually told her she wasn’t good at being a witch, if you know what I mean. And she worked very hard for that; when her classmates were out having fun she was studying and pushing herself because she was afraid she’d lose her scholarship (and readers will hopefully get the chance to see some of that).

So she was that way from the beginning, had that strength from the beginning, but now I think as she lets more and more people into her life—people who aren’t affiliated with the Church—she’s starting to find some good things there, too. Certainly, and I hope this isn’t really a spoiler, we’ll see her own confidence starting to grow a bit as her relationship with Terrible strengthens. We’ll see it grow as she realizes that there are people who actually like her for her; even Lex, who she viewed as just using-each-other-for-sex, is still around now that the sex has stopped, which makes her wonder just how only-sex that relationship was.

So basically, yes. She’s letting more people into her life and realizing that not only do those people enjoy her company but she actually enjoys theirs; she’s very slowly moving away from the extremely solitary life she lived before to one where she interacts with other people, and that’s kind of breaking the shell she keeps between herself and the rest of the world and opening her up, so to speak. But it is a very, very slow process. You don’t undo a lifetime of conditioning and belief and behavior in a couple of months; you don’t stop hating yourself suddenly just because you find love. You know? It may help some, it may be a bit of a Band-Aid, but it’s not a cure.

I really appreciate that you’ve never made Chess’ drug use into something exciting or glorified. It feels like a constant, nagging presence in the story – something that she can never forget, even when she’s battling ghosts or kissing Terrible. Do you sometimes want to forget about it? Do you ever feel confined by it, while you’re writing?

Yes and no! I love the structure it gives me/the stories; I love that it’s something always there. And sometimes it helps keep me grounded in the world and in Chess’s head. On occasion I do wish I didn’t have to write it again, but at the same time, it is who she is. And just like I can’t ignore any other part of her character or anyone else’s character, I can’t ignore that one either.

As a reader, I am torn between wanting Chess to become sober and healthy, and not wanting that at all because it would be unrealistic for her to do so. Do you struggle with that?

Oh, totally, yes. It’s very difficult for me to imagine a sober Chess; I honestly have a hard time even thinking how I would write a sober Chess! But I’m also aware that she’s growing as a character and as a person, and that she has to do that, and I think to make her grow in every other way but leave her there in that one way just wouldn’t work very well.

I think it’s safe to say that she’ll keep growing, and it’s an issue that will have to be addressed. Anything beyond that would be a spoiler, though.

One of the things that I love the most about Sacrificial Magic is that I think it’s a great example of a romance, post-happily-ever-after (if that can even be applied to Terrible and Chess). The insecurities that they both have seem very realistic and I think that you’ve really shown that it’s harder to actually be with someone than it is to initially get together.

Thank you! I try really hard to show that, to show that just because you love someone doesn’t mean all the issues and/or problems just instantly go away; well, just like I said two answers ago. Love can help heal wounds but it isn’t a cure-all. And if your characters are strong enough and real enough it should be obvious where those conflicts and issues will come from.

Does it make you nervous at all to have so many of us out here so highly invested in what happens to Terrible and Chess? Is there anything we could do to ensure that neither one of them dies? We’re not above bribery or extravagant gifts. Just so you know.

Ha! There’s an answer here I so wish I could give, but it’s a huge spoiler for CHASING MAGIC.

Can you give us any hints about what’s coming up next? Do you have any new projects that you’re working on?

I’m working on a YA project I’m pretty excited about; it’s another alternate-history-dystopian type story, with a historical setting rather than present day. It’s got demons and magical machines and Fae and diseases and poverty and wealth, and is really fun to write so far. So I’m hopeful about that. But of course whether or not it will sell is another story.

Thank you so much for joining us today!  Happy release day!

Thanks again for having me!

We read quite a few interviews while putting together these questions, and we were all impressed by how much thought and effort Stacia Kane always puts into her answers, including the ones that she was so gracious to send us.  It's clear that she has a very clear picture of who her characters are and where they're going.  Stacia Kane can be found on her blog, twitter, and goodreads.

And now, because we love being shameless pushers of great books, we are giving away one book of your choice from The Downside Ghosts series.  If you haven't started these yet, Unholy Ghosts is a great introduction.  If you've read the first one or two but just haven't picked up the others, they only get better and better so what are you waiting for?  And, if you've been dying to get your hands on Sacrificial Magic for months - it's here!  Giveaway ends Tuesday April 3rd.  Open internationally.

Last week we reviewed J. Anderson Coats's upcoming debut novel The Wicked and the Just, a historical fiction YA novel taking place in 13th century Wales that follows two teenage girls who witness the conflict between occupied Wales and reigning English from the opposing sides, but eventually learn that they have much more in common than they ever thought.

Ms. Coats graciously agreed to answer some of our questions about her work and her writing career.

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We can not start this interview without finally asking: how do you pronounce Gwinny’s name? Gwenhwyfar? Welsh words have the craziest spelling.

There is no single way to pronounce things in Welsh. The language has developed along regional lines over hundreds of years, so I make no claim that my pronunciation is “correct” but rather reflects how I learned it.

Depending on where you are, it’s Gwen-hwih-VAR or Gwen-hwee-VAR. Sometimes it’s more like Gwen-HOOey-VAR.

Here’s a native Welsh speaker pronouncing it.

BBC Wales has a great little clickable sound board that overviews each letter of the Welsh alphabet. The nice thing about Welsh is that you generally pronounce every letter, so once you learn the sounds, you’re off to the races.

It is probably fair to say that the influence and power of women in politics was pretty limited during the period in which your novel is set. What made you want to write about this conflict from the point of view of two teenage girls?

Much of the conflict in late thirteenth-century Wales was experienced in ordinary ways by ordinary people, and that’s what interested me. Witnessing the mayor of Caernarvon enact a toll policy wouldn’t be as interesting as seeing Cecily and Mistress Tipley cutting through the toll line while all the Welsh had to wait in it. This conflict wasn’t as interesting viewed from the top. I wanted to get inside it.

I chose to write from the point of view of teenage girls primarily because Cecily and Gwenhwyfar were the characters that spoke to me, but also because I’m interested in the lived experiences of girls and women in the past. The influence of women in politics was definitely limited, but that doesn’t necessarily mean their influence was limited everywhere. I was interested in how women and girls did exercise power, and what form that might take.

And speaking of the two heroines, Cecily and Gwinny, we thought their voices were very distinct. Was it difficult for you to “find” these voices, or did they come to you fully realized from the very beginning?

Cecily spoke to me from the beginning clear as new glass. She has always been clever, single-minded and more than a little entitled. In fact, in earlier drafts she was even worse and I had to tone her down!

Gwenhwyfar was a little more elusive. All I had of her initially was her pure undiluted rage. She came into focus more gradually, and in response to her interactions with her brother and would-be sweetheart. They did a lot to soften her rough edges and define her inner life.

The spoken word has changed significantly over the last 7-8 centuries. How much of a challenge was it for you to have your narrators speak in a way that is relatable to contemporary readers, while being true to the novel’s setting?

The language in The Wicked and the Just was definitely a balancing act. I didn’t want the story to feel artificially archaic, that I was sprinkling in random words from the Oxford English Dictionary just for “flavor.” So I steered away from vocabulary in favor of rhythm; the internal meter of the narrative is meant to echo medieval prose literature and early modern ballad poetry.

Word choice was still fairly front and center, though, and I tried to use context as much as possible to keep the readers in the loop. During copyedits, I had to defend individual words that were considered “too modern.” I wrote little mini-dissertations in the margins and cited the OED. My geek senses were tingling for two whole weeks!

Your novel is set in Middle Ages. What attracted you to this particular period in history? Was there a specific historical event or maybe a book that sparked your interest in the subject when you were younger?

When I was in the sixth grade, my gifted enrichment program did a unit on medieval culture. One of the books available for our perusal was Castle by David Macaulay. (If you’ve never read it, Castle is a slice-of-life tour through a fictional castle in Wales with the most lovely and detailed illustrations.) This book pulled me so firmly into the medieval world that I don’t think I’ve ever really left. Castle made the middle ages feel familiar, approachable and real.

I went straight to my public library and systematically checked out every book on medieval Wales, then the middle ages in general. When I’d read them all, I started harvesting titles from bibliographies and bugging my mother to get books for me on interlibrary loan. This was how I learned how crass Macaulay’s anglicizations were, but by then I was onto other things, most notably When was Wales? by Gwyn Williams.

Williams’ dissection of traditional scholarship introduced me to the idea that history isn’t facts, but a collection of narratives written by human beings for a given purpose. The Wales that Williams presented was a complicated, fascinating place where history wasn’t encapsulated in the past, but had real and immediate bearing on the present.

Knowing as much about this period as you do, what would you say are the best and worst things about living in 13th century Wales?

It very much depended on who you were. Cecily’s Wales was a pretty attractive place. English burgesses who were citizens of the town of Caernarvon didn’t have to pay any taxes, and the rents for the houses and lands were very low. There were all kinds of special privileges attached to being a burgess, too. Gwenhwyfar’s Wales, on the other hand, wasn’t so nice. The Welsh had to make up for the taxes that the burgesses didn’t pay, and they had a lot of restrictions placed on what they could do and say and where they could go. Life in north Wales in 1293 was pretty good. If you were English.

Besides the setting/history of The Wicked and the Just, what are some of your favorite historical periods or events to learn about?

The middle ages will always be my favorite historical era hands down, but I’m also fascinated by the great age of sail - the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. There’s also something eerily captivating about the Great War (WWI) and the world that died in the trenches. And early colonial Australia, with the Rum Corps and Norfolk Island. I could go on for paragraphs. Our shared human experience on this rock is way stranger than fiction and all the more engaging for being true.

The Wicked and the Just is your debut novel. Can you tell us a little bit about your road to being published? Was it a bumpy road? Or did this novel find its publisher very quickly?

I wrote my first novel at age thirteen. It was about a hundred pages long, typed, single-spaced, and it was really bad. By age eighteen, I’d written five more, each slightly less bad than the last. I started querying at age twenty, and I queried four novels over ten years before I wrote and sold The Wicked and the Just. Ray Bradbury famously said that your first million words don’t count. I think it was more like two million for me. But then within a month in 2010, I went from unagented to having a book contract – it was a whirlwind.

You hold master’s degrees in library science and history. What do you feel you are first - a historian? a librarian? a writer?

I don’t know that I can separate them out. Being a writer is something I live and breathe. It’s how I approach the world. It’s how I work through problems. It’s how I pick apart ideas and identify the constituent elements. It’s something I’ve always been.

The other two I’ve discovered, but that doesn’t mean they’re any a less a part of the way I approach the world. Librarians impose order and historians appreciate context. When I was younger, I didn’t have the vocabulary to express these ideas in quite the same way; I needed the training for that. But they were always there.

As a person well versed in both history and literature, can you recommend us some good historical fiction novels, both young adult and adult?

I love THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE by Jacqueline Kelly and MAY B. by Caroline Starr Rose - both are for middle-grade readers. In the YA arena, I’d can’t read PAGAN’S CRUSADE by Catherine Jinks, BLOODY JACK by L.A. Meyer, and SAMURAI SHORTSTOP by Alan Gratz enough times. For adults, definitely THE NAME OF THE ROSE by Umberto Eco, and even though it’s not straight historical fiction, DOMESDAY BOOK by Connie Willis is one of the best novels about the Black Death I’ve ever read.

Do you plan to continue writing young adult stories? Historical fiction? What is next for you?

I write things I’d like to read and let the experts decide where they should be shelved.

Right now I’m working on several projects. One is a companion novel to The Wicked and the Just which follows Maredydd ap Madog, whose father is the ringleader of the rebellion of 1294, as he negotiates the future his father wants for him and the future he wants for himself. Then there’s a standalone book that’s set in twelfth-century Wales about a warband, an abduction, a badly-timed war, a charismatic but mercurial king’s son and a girl who would do about anything for a chance at a normal life.

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Thank you very much to for taking time to talk to us, Ms. Coats! We hope we see you here again next year.
The Wicked and the Just is not going to be released until April 17, 2012, but we are lucky to have one ARC of this novel to give away. US only. Open until midnight EST on 3/20. Good luck!

This is our first blog hop and we are so excited that is focused on science fiction! All three of us are avid sci-fi readers so we've picked out 10 recommendations for sci-fi lovers. Each one is linked the GoodReads page for the book:

One winner will get his/her pick from the 10 books we've selected. (or any YA or adult science fiction book under $13 & available from The Book Depository (or Amazon if in the US) If the book is only available in hardback, we will buy that edition, otherwise we will buy the paperback version. If the winner has an e-reader and would prefer the e-version, if it is possible to gift it by email, we are able to do that as an alternative.  Please see our giveaway policy if you have any questions or feel free to email us at thereadventurer(at)gmail(dot)com or use our contact form. Good luck and happy hopping!

Wonder
Author: R.J. Palacio
Publication Date: 2/14/12
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Blurb (GR): I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse. 

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances? 

R. J. Palacio has written a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next. With wonderfully realistic family interactions (flawed, but loving), lively school scenes, and short chapters, Wonder is accessible to readers of all levels. 

Review:
August Pullman burrowed under my skin and punched me in my tear ducts pretty early on in this book.  Maybe it was his Star Wars obsession, or his sense of humor, or his general spirit that captured me but it was probably all three—and so much more.  As a kid with craniofacial abnormalities, he's heard it all, all the awful names kids (and adults) can come up with. He's seen all the horrified looks. Until this year, though, he'd never been to school. Wonder follows Auggie as he starts his year until he graduates from the fifth grade.

The story is told from multiple viewpoints: Auggie, his sister, her boyfriend, her sister’s ex-best friend, and two of Auggie’s friends from school. The technique worked for me in this case, as it was fascinating to see events from different perspectives and to feel what each character was feeling. I keep trying to decide which narrator I enjoyed hearing from the most but they each gave me something to think about: What it means to be comfortable, how much influence parents have on their children’s personalities, how taking one minute to do something for someone else can make all the difference.  I sound like a motivational speaker right now. Treat everyone with kindness! Teach your kids to look beyond looks! Let’s all just take care of each other!

Middle grade books are hit or miss for me. I truly feel they must be some of the hardest books to write; children's books as well.  Conveying messages to impressionable age groups while still telling an engaging and well-constructed story is a feat. I can see how some readers may view this book as heavy-handed or forcing moral values. I guess I just didn't see it. The book reads like what it is supposed to read like: A book about a young boy who is and manages to remain a wonderful and caring human being despite being subjected to numerous events that would make me want to go weep in my room. I think children are smart enough to know that not every child in Auggie's situation is surrounded with so many wonderful people. They go to school. They know that other kids are not always nice, especially to anyone who deviates from whatever is "normal" (if anything is normal). If books for children always told the truth, far more kids in books would be picked up by sex traffickers, be in abusive households, and struggle with food insecurity. Believing that the universe will take care of everyone is a bit delusional - that is not the case. But teaching children to believe that good things can happen to everyone and that there are more kind than evil people in the world? I don't see the harm in that. 

There is a fine line between playing on the emotions of your readers and emotional manipulation. I’m not a big crier in books - I can only think of three or four books that have made me tear up at all - but I cried several times in this book. (On a plane, no less!)  I think there was only one segment of the book that felt overdone and that had to do with the family dog.  And while I may or may not have snuggled with my dog after I read that section, I didn’t cry because I’m not sold on the necessity of that portion of the book. However, I will concede that the dog’s character provided the perfect vehicle to introduce discussions of blind love and souls/bodies and those were highlights for me. (Hearing Auggie's thoughts about maybe coming back as a handsome man broke my heart a little bit.) The only other aspect of the novel that didn't work for me was the use of song lyrics in chapter titles and in the body. Then again, I’ve never been the biggest Natalie Merchant fan. I thought this book was wonderful (pun initially unintended but I'm leaving it in so I guess there is intent behind it now) and I absolutely recommend it to parents and teachers who would like to read something worthwhile and inspirational with children as well as to any readers who enjoy middle grade books. 

5/5 stars

Paranormal YA is so hot right now, especially books about angels or fallen angels. (Two of our recent favorites have been Angelfall and Unearthly/Hallowed!) We know how many people are in love with this genre so it is exciting for us to announce that we're giving away ARCs of two exciting, upcoming paranormal YA books. A little book love to belatedly celebrate Valentine's Day...

Happy New Year! I've been thinking for a few months about knocking out a significant amount of classics in 2012. I had all these grand ideas of doing a shared blog challenge and setting group goals and cross-posting reviews of any classics my friends read throughout the year. (still will cross-post reviews of some of my fellow bloggers but no "challenge" beyond mere attempt) A few other bloggers ARE running Classics challenges this year so if that is your thing, go for it!

Here are a few I've seen around:
Back To The Classics, hosted by Sarah Reads Too Much
A Classics Challenge, hosted by November's Autumn
Greek Classics Challenge 2012, hosted by Howling Frog Books

I had several conversations with friends about what a "classic" book is and it seems obvious that the definition is different for everyone. (Duh.) I'm not here to declare myself QUEEN OF THE INTERWEBZ and lay down the definition of a classic for all. But HEAR YE, HEAR YE! The Readventurer declares that the definition of a classic, for the purposes of her 2012 reading goals is just any book written before 1980 whose author is deceased. Sure, there are modern classics whose authors are still alive. Sure, there are hundreds of thousands (or millions) of books that fit the criteria which are underwhelming and/or utter crap. But I don't care about that, all I care about is jumping into a bunch of stories and oldey timey drama and crossing off list items. Speaking of lists, I'm going to start with the Pulitzer Prize winners at the beginning, though I'll probably jump around once in a while. Despite the fact that I've read over a thousand books, I was a bit embarrassed when I added the list of winners to my blog and found that I'd read...wait for it...wait for it...

ONE BOOK ON THE LIST.

Welcome to Mortification Station, me. (it was Killer Angels by Michael Shaara but I'm just going to reread it because I don't remember it at all) So my quest to read these worthy titles begins with His Family by Ernest Poole. Never heard of it? I hadn't either! Here's the blurb from the world's most accurate source for information, Wikipedia:

        His Family tells the story of a middle class family in New York City in the 1910s. The family's patriarch,  widower Roger Gale, struggles to deal with the way his daughters and grandchildren respond to the              changing society. Each of his daughters responds in a distinctively different way to the circumstances of their  lives, forcing Roger into attempting to calm the increasingly challenging family disputes that erupt.

In all seriousness, I'm excited. It's on. Oh, and let me know if you are reading any classics this year, whether it is for a challenge or not. If you want to cross-post any reviews, just let me know.

Oh, and CONGRATULATIONS! You finished reading this post. If you comment on this thread and tell me one classic that you are embarrassed you haven't read or that you want to read this year, you can enter to win one Penguin clothbound classic (up to $15,the link shows 24 choices but there are more than that available in the price range). Open Internationally. Fill out your info on the contact form and extra entries if you tweet or blog about it. I WANT ALL THE CLOTHBOUND CLASSICS! Contest ends 1/31, 9pm PST. Good luck!

Here's a sample tweet: Enter to win the Penguin Clothbound Classic of your choice @TheReadventurer: http://www.thereadventurer.com/1/post/2012/01/2012-the-year-of-the-classics-giveaway.html

Yay! I have 100 followers! Obviously, I have to do something to celebrate so I'm giving away a book from The Book Depository to one lucky winner. (Open anywhere Book Depository ships) I am on vacation until Halloween so this giveaway will be open until November 1st, 2011 at 8pm PST. If the book you pick is not yet released, I will preorder it for you and it will ship when it is released. If the book is already out, my regular policy is active. All you have to do to enter is be a follower but additional entries may be earned by spreading the word in various ways. Here are the choices: