Diane’s Comments (group member since Nov 19, 2015)

Diane’s comments from the 2015 Reading Challenge [Closed] group.

What was your reading goal for 2015? Did you accomplish it?
My goal was 100 books for the year. I've less than 100 pages left in book number 116!

What was your favorite book (or books) of the year?
I rated 9 books as 5* this year. The biggest surprise was the The Diary of a Young Girl, which I expected to be depressing. It was not. Other favorites: The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, My Life in France, Me Before You and The Visitors.

What was your least favorite book (or books) of the year?
Three Bags Full. Non-human characters are not my book to read! Also a tough read was the The Glass Bead Game.

Who was your favorite character (or characters) of the year?
This one is tough, but I'd say Joe Rantz in The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics was one of my favorites.

Who was your least favorite character (or characters) of the year?
The flock of sheep in Three Bags Full were my least favorite characters.

What was your favorite book cover (or book covers) from this year?
The Visitors The House at Riverton
Wishin' and Hopin' The Miniaturist

Which book surprised you most this year?
The Diary of a Young Girl. I was surprised and pleased that it was so enjoyable.

Did you discover anything new about your reading tastes?
I was able to branch into several different types of books with this challenge -- and enjoy them! My typical genre is historical fiction.
Do you have any reading regrets this year?
No, I had a great time! If there was any regret, it was at the end I choose a few books just to fit a challenge. If I had researched more, perhaps I could have found a book that I would have enjoyed more.

What is your reading goal for 2016?
1. I will keep my total book challenge at 100.
2. Complete the 2016 Popsugar Challenge and
3. Add and complete the Book riot challenge

Completed the challenge!

Two books left to complete the challenge!

Zaz wrote: "Welcome :)

Big Little Lies received a lot of love here!
I read the Adventures of Sherlock too, I'll continue his stories next year as they are not really compelling.

We have the love triangle, it..."
I must have deleted it somehow when I copied the list. I'll fix it now. :)

6 more to go!

I just found this group! I've been working on this challenge independently; and this group popped up when I was researching books with non-human characters. Here's my progress.

WEEKS & TOPICS
✔1. a book with more than 500 pages
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
✔2. a romance
Keeping Company by Tami Hoag
✔3. a book that became a movie
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
AND
Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
✔4. a book published this year
Mightier Than the Sword by Jeffrey Archer
✔5. a book with a number in the title
The Heir Apparent: A Life of Edward VII, the Playboy Prince by Jane Ridley
✔6. a book written by someone under 30
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
✔7. a book with nonhuman characters
Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann
✔8. a funny book
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
✔9. a book by a female author
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
✔10. a mystery or thriller
The Technologists by Matthew Pearl
✔11. a book with a one-word title
Delicious! by Ruth Reichl
✔12. a book of short stories
Chestnut Street by Maeve Binchy
✔13. a book set in a different country
China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
✔14. a nonfiction book
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie
✔15. a popular author's first book
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
✔16. a book from your favorite author that you haven't read yet
The Escape by David Baldacci
✔17. a book a friend recommended
The Goldfinch by Donna TarttDonna Tartt
✔18. a Pulitzer-prize winning book
The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse
✔19. a book based on a true story
The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan
✔20. a book at the bottom of your to read list
The Butterfly's Daughter by Mary Alice Monroe
✔21. a book your mom or dad loves
I picked the first book of a series my mother-in-law enjoyed
The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman
✔22. a book that scares you
The English Spy by Daniel Silva
✔23. a book more than 100 years old
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
✔24. a book based entirely on its cover
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
✔25. a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
✔26. a memoir
My Life in France by Julia Child
✔27. a book you can finish in a day
Walking on Water by Richard Paul Evans
✔28. a book with antonyms in the title
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
✔29. a book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit
Egypt: The Visitors by Sally Beauman
✔30. a book that came out the year you were born
The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes by Adrian Conan Doyle
✔31. a book with bad reviews
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
✔32. a trilogy (the first)
The Perfect Mistress by Victoria Alexander
✔33. a trilogy (the second)
His Mistress by Christmas
✔34. a trilogy (the third)
My Wicked Little Lies
✔35. a book from your childhood
Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey
✔36. A book with a love triangle
The Swan Gondola by Timothy Schaffert
✔37. a book set in the future
Blackout by Connie Willis
✔38. a book set in high school
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
✔39. a book with a color in the title
The Red Lily Crown: A Novel of Medici Florence by Elizabeth Loupas
✔40. a book that made/makes you cry
The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene
✔41. a book with magic
All Clear by Connie Willis
✔42. a graphic novel
The Explorers Guild: Volume One: A Passage to Shambhala by Kevin Costner
✔43. a book by an author you've never read before
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
✔44. a book you own but have never read
The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich
✔45. a book that takes place in your hometown
Field of Prey by John Sandford
✔46. a book that was originally written in another language
The Ludwig Conspiracy by Oliver Pötzsch
✔47. a book set during Christmas (or similar holiday)
Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb
✔48. a book written by an author with your same initials
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown
✔49. a play
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
✔50. a banned book
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
✔51. a book based on OR turned into a tv show
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
✔52. a book you started but never finished
The Nautical Chart by Arturo Pérez-Reverte