Things are happening in the blogosphere, and I fully intend to participate!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

This always seems to fall into the crazy weeks of August when I'm trying to get ready for school to start. Last year, I hesitated about participating because I didn't think I would have time. Well, I made time and ended up reading more than I expected. So I plan to do the same this year. Bout of Books, here I come!

I'm not doing quite as well at keeping up with my Classics Club List as I had hoped. I began last year on August 28 (the day before my birthday), so I figured I could just read 10 books by that date each year. Well, it's August 7, and I've only read six so far. I'll have some catching up to do in this next year! And these spin lists are incredibly helpful for chipping away at my list.

1. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
2. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
3. Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
4. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
5. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
6. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
7. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
8. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
9. The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
10. Autobiography of Anthony Trollope by Anthony Trollope
11. Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
12. Erewhon by Samuel Butler
13. The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
14. Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald
15. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
16. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
17. Waverly by Sir Walter Scott
18. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
19. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
20. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

I picked A Little Folly by Jude Morgan up off the New Books shelf at the library. It was a book I couldn’t resist – a Regency romance! Think Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer. This is a genre I love to escape into.

A Little Folly follows siblings Valentine and Louisa. The novel begins with their extremely overbearing father dying, leaving them free to live their lives the way they want for the first time ever.  This means inviting their cousins (on their mother’s side, therefore frowned upon by their father) to stay. They bring a friend, Lady Harriet Eversholt, who is currently separated from her husband. Scandalous! And fascinating…especially to Valentine, who hasn’t much experience with worldly women.

Louisa is thrilled that her father’s death means she can finally turn down Pearce Lynley, the man her father picked out for her to marry. After that bold stroke, where were her newly found freedom take her next?

A Little Folly was certainly a enjoyable read. The plot had just enough twists to keep you guessing. The characters, for the most part, where easy to imagine being friends with. Honestly, though, I did have a bit of difficulty in getting a handle on James Tresilian. His characteristics kept changing enough that I couldn’t quite get a hold on who he was. There are definitely some plot points and themes strongly reminiscent of Jane Austen. As someone who wishes Jane Austen would have written three times as many novels as she did, I am happy to see her influence in A Little Folly.

For fans of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer,  A Little Folly is a great addition to your bookshelf.

I love the lazy days of summer. This morning, I was able to sleep in. Now I'm sitting on my front porch enjoying the blue sky and sunshine, and getting very distracted by the book sitting next to me. Just a month of these days left to savor, until the craziness of the school year begins again!

Thoughts on Harry Potter (After my HP Reading Marathon a couple weeks ago, I put together some coherent thoughts - I hope - about the series as a whole. Feel free to add your opinion or your favorite parts of Harry Potter!)
Newbery Reading Challenge - Mini-Challenge #3 (If you're participating in my Newbery Reading Challenge this year, here's another chance to earn some extra bonus points!)

Room by Emma Donoghue (Not what I expected, but oh my goodness, what a book!)
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos (I seriously don't know how some books get to be chosen Newbery winners.)
Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier (Once Gwen stopped whining about a boy, I enjoyed this book a lot more.)
The Curriculum Vitae of Aurora Ortiz by Almudena Solana
The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton (I loved this book!!)

The Secret Life of William Shakespeare by Jude Morgan (I've always been fascinated by Shakespeare, so it's fun to read a historical fiction novel of his life.)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (This honestly doesn't look like my sort of book at all, but it is a Newbery Award winner, so I'll give it a try. Besides, it's written by Neil Gaiman, so how bad could it possibly be?)