February's book round-up and another challenge

This satisfying pile is of books acquired in the last month, some of them via Bookmooch, as I continue to add to the collection of books set between the wars (which, like the long sixteenth century, extends beyond WWII to allow a range of reactions to it).

Joy at Thoughts of Joy, who already hosts the Young Adult Challenge, has started another: the Anything Agatha Challenge. Joy posted about reading The Tuesday Murders, the first of the Miss Marple stories and met an enthusiastic reaction from regular readers. Wonderful woman that she is, she decided to start a challenge: to read any 10 works by Agatha Christie in 2008, no advance list required, which makes it easy to raid the library shelves, rummage in the charity shops and negotiate a discount for bulk in your favourite secondhand bookshop. Having just decided to conduct a serious survey of the English detective story (no, not really, I just love a good murder) I immediately signed up. Good thing I recently acquired a couple of Christie's books.

February's booklist looks very short, but then it is a short month and I've been very busy at work, as well as a weekend in Devon, not to mention reading most of The Court of the Air twice (it was very good and I didn't want to finish it).

• Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie
• Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford – re-read
• Lady Friday by Garth Nix
• Thurber Carnival by James Thurber - re-read
• The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt
• Selected Tales by Jacques Ferron
• The Book of Lyonne by Burgess Drake - re-read
• They Came Like Swallows by William Maxwell
• August Folly by Angela Thirkell

Canadian Book Challenge (ends 1 July 2008): 5 of 13 completed (1 review -still - pending)
Outmoded Authors Challenge (ends 29 February 2008): 8 of 9 completed, 2 reviews to write.
Young Adult Challenge (runs 1 January-31 December 2008): 2 completed, 1 review posted.

I started to read for the From the Stacks Reading Challenge but haven't done too well at this; I read 4 books out of 5, but was having such trouble posting about one of the books I rather lost heart! It's become something of a private challenge, as I am determined to read the fifth book, and to post about the first (The Fisher King). I just need to get my thoughts together.
I'm also participating in the Short Story Reading Challenge, extending my six months' of story reading to a year.
Graphic Novel Challenge: I haven't posted anything yet, but I'm reading! After a while though, I need a solid block of text to focus on.

Last year's books are here. Links are mainly to reviews on this site; the occasional book on country topics (including novels and cookery books) is reviewed on Cat Musings.