Once Upon a Time II: Completed!

I have completed the Once Upon a Time II Reading Quest. :D I finished it over the weekend, by reading A Midsummer Night's Dream, as sort of a bonus for "Quest the Third". I had read it before and enjoyed it then and now. I have always loved the Elizabethan language, and prefer to read Shakespeare and Spencer and the like out loud when I have the time. I didn't do that this time, but still savored the sounds of the words in my head.

This was a delightful challenge, and I especially enjoy the, well, challenge of finding books for the fable and mythology categories. I hope it's held again next year--it's one I will certainly do again!

For a recap, here is what I read:

Quest the Second:
Fable:
Mountain Jack Tales by Gail Haley
read 2 June 2008
This was a mediocre retelling in which the author chose to have a narrator tell the tales in an Appalachian dialect. I am an Appalachian mountain girl myself, and still had occasionally difficulty understanding. I can only imagine the reaction from one who did not grow up hearing this language. The tales themselves were clinical, sterile retellings with no life in them and the overall result was a dismal disappointment.

Fairy Tale:
Snow by Tracy Lynn
read 13 May 2008 | my review

Fantasy:
Horns and Wrinkles by Joseph Helgerson
read 19 May 2008 | my review

Mythology:
Dream Angus: The Celtic God of Dreams by Alexander McCall Smith
read 26 May 2008 | my review

Quest the Third:
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
read 14 June 2008

edit: After re-reading the requirements for Quest the First ("Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time II criteria. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres."), I realized that I have completed that one as well, with my 13 June completion of the most excellent alternate history fantasy Anno Dracula. Go me!