2025 Reading Challenge discussion

For 2014 my plans are to read at least 30 books. I know that I can do it, because 2013 I read 24 books and I could have read more if I had been faster and read every day.

These 30 books I try to read will also include the books from challenges in this group. And if I read something that could be in many challenges, so it be. I don't choose different books for different challenges. For example A Game of Thrones will be book for Around the World, The Chinese Zodiac and Recommended by reading challenges.

When I have read a book in challenge, I add ✔ in front of the description. Like for example in Around the world challenge:

✔ North America

I add books to challenges as soon as I figure out what to read. Books also might change if I decide that the book I first thought reading ain't interesting enough to read after all.

Created shelf for challenges in 2014. This way I can easily see what books I have planned that I could read during the year and in different challenges. You can (hopefully) see it here.

2014 GOODREADS/PERSONAL CHALLENGE

In this post I keep track of books I'm currently reading or have read during this year. My personal challenge is to read 40 60 books this year.

Currently reading:


On hiatus:



January
1. A Game of Thrones
2. The Hobbit
3. And the Mountains Echoed
4. The Carrie Diaries
5. Summer and the City
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

February
7. Countdown
8. Alice in Wonderland
9. Stardust
10. The Rosie Project
11. Fangirl

March
12. Mort
13. Blogging for Dummies
14. Päästä meidät pahasta
15. Doctor Who - The What, Where, and How: A Fannish Guide to the TARDIS-Sized Pop Culture Jam

April
16. Relic

May
17. Reliquary
18. The Witches
19. The Enormous Crocodile (read at work for kids)
20. Clockwork Angel

June
21. The Wheel of Darkness
22. Cemetery Dance
23. Fever Dream
24. Cold Vengeance
25. Two Graves
26. White Fire

July
27. I, Robot
28. The Yellow Wallpaper
29. The Fault in Our Stars
30. I Heart New York
31. Extraction
32. Beautiful Creatures
33. Divergent
34. I Heart Hollywood
35. I Heart Paris
36. I Heart Vegas
37. I Heart London
38. I Heart Christmas
39. Origin

August
40. Guards! Guards!
41. Insurgent
42. Allegiant

September
43. The Golden Compass
44. UR

October
45. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

November
46. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
47. The Gruffalo

December
48. Blue Labyrinth
49. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
50. Franklin Wants a Pet
51. Cinderella Penguin, or, The Little Glass Flipper
52. The Fox and the Hound
53. The Lost World
54. The Friday Night Knitting Club
55. "Et kuitenkaan usko..." - Ville Haapasalon varhaisvuodet Venäjällä
56. Jenny Lopez Saves Christmas
57. Grimms' Fairy Tales
(58. Doctor Who: Behind You)

AROUND THE WORLD IN BOOKS CHALLENGE
Duration: January 1 - December 31, 2014

For this challenge, your task is to read books from different regions of the world. The book must take place in that region, be written in a language of that region, OR be written by an author from that region.

✔ North America


Central America


Caribbean


✔ South America


✔ West Europe


✔ East Europe and Former Soviet Union


Africa


Middle East


✔ East Asia


✔ South Asia


Southeast Asia


✔ Australia & South Pacific


7/12 completed

FIRST QUARTER CHALLENGE: THE CHINESE ZODIAC (Shēngxiào)
Duration: January 1 - March 31, 2014


✔ 1. The Horse. On January 31, 2014, it becomes the Year of the Horse! Horses like being the center of attention. Read a book where the main character is famous OR read a memoir about or a biography of a celebrity.


✔ 2. The Goat. Home is where Goats feel the most comfortable. Read a book that takes place in the country you were born in.

Side note: This book takes place in the city I was born in (Oulu, Finland)! :D

✔ 3. The Monkey. Monkeys are the masters of practical jokes. Read a humorous book.


✔ 4. The Rooster. Roosters tend to "tell it like it is." Read a non-fiction book.


✔ 5. The Dog. While loyal and faithful, Dogs have trouble finding mates. Read a book that contains a troubled romance.


✔ 6. The Pig. Pigs love to have fun but tend to prefer spending to saving. Read a book you have purchased (rather than borrowed).


✔ 7. The Rat. Constantly seeking knowledge, Rats are curious and clever. Read a book that teaches you something.


✔ 8. The Ox. Oxen aren't very sociable and prefer life-long friendships to casual acquaintances. Read a book in which the main character could be described as an introvert.


✔ 9. The Tiger. Tigers love to be challenged. Read a book you find challenging in some way maybe because of its length, style, or subject matter.


✔ 10. The Rabbit. Rabbits tend to enjoy meeting people from different places and learning about different cultures. Read a book about a culture not your own.


✔ 11. The Dragon. The Dragon is often considered to be the strongest sign, and the only one that is a mythical animal. Read a book that contains a mythical or paranormal creature.


✔ 12. The Snake. Snakes work hard but tend to be easily bored. To prevent boredom, read a short book (i.e., one with fewer than 100 pages).


12/12 completed

RECOMMENDED BY READING CHALLENGERS
Duration: January 1 - December 31, 2014

For this challenge, set a goal for how many of these books you would like to read. You know they'll be good because your fellow reading challengers have recommended them!

Read


To read


7/5 completed

JANUARY: NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS CHALLENGE
Duration: January 1 - 31, 2014

✔ 1. Save more money. Instead of buying a book, read a book you borrowed (from a friend or the library) or was given to you as a gift.


✔ 4. Spend more time with friends. Old favorite books are just like old friends. Reread an old favorite.


✔ 5. Watch less TV. Instead of watching TV or going to the movies, read a book that got turned into a movie or TV show.


✔ 7. Go on a trip. Read a book that takes place in a country you've never been to. (This can be a made up country.)


4/4 completed Jan 15th

GROUP READS

In this post I'll track the Group reads I've taken part.


January


February

DAPHNE'S CHALLENGE: EXPLORATIONS IN LOVE
Duration: February 1 - 28, 2014

Love comes in all flavors right?

✔ 4. Autassassinophilia. Another way to say you love death, destruction, or mayhem. Read a mystery, horror, or thriller.


✔ 7. Star-crossed lovers. In honor of the original star-crossed lovers, read a book that takes place in Renaissance Italy, Elizabethan England, or was book to movie that had Claire Danes or Leonardo DiCaprio in them. (There are a lot, seriously. Check out IMDb if you don’t believe me.)


✔ 9. Plushophilia. A love of stuffed animals. They even call themselves plushies. Read a book about a sub-culture OR read a book involving anthropomorphism.



3/3 completed

BONUS (If I have time after finishing those first three books)
1. Philia. Translated from the ancient Greek as brotherly love. Read a book that features some sort of ‘bromance’ or two strong male characters.

8. Mechanophilia. Who doesn't love cool machines? Read a Steampunk/Cyberpunk book OR read a book that machines (like a spaceship) play a big role.

SECOND QUARTER CHALLENGE: FINISH THOSE SERIES!
Duration: April 1 - June 30, 2014

Pendergast series

Previously read
✔ The Cabinet of Curiosities
✔ Still Life With Crows
✔ Brimstone
✔ Dance of Death
✔ The Book of the Dead



To read
✔ Relic
✔ Reliquary
✔ The Wheel of Darkness
✔ Cemetery Dance
✔ Fever Dream
✔ Cold Vengeance
✔ Two Graves
✔ White Fire




COMPLETED June 30th!

THE VERY MINI BIRTHDAY CHALLENGE
Duration: May 1 - 31, 2014

✔ 1. Read a book that was published year you were born.


✔ 2. Read a book from an author who shares a birthday or birth year with you.

THIRD QUARTER CHALLENGE: HUNGER GAMES
Duration: July 1 - September 30, 2014

May the odds be ever in your favor.

✔ The Capitol: The capitol is filled with beautiful extravagant people. Read a book with “beauty” in the title OR read a book where the main character is said to be extraordinarily beautiful.


District 1: District 1 produces luxury items. Read a book about people who are rich OR read a book where a piece of jewelry plays an important role.
???

✔ District 2: District 2 produces weapons and trains peacekeepers. Read a book about a war OR read a book with a cop as one of the characters.


✔ District 3: District 3 makes electronics. Read a book about a technologically advanced society OR read a book with a computer (or robot) as a main character.


✔ District 4: District 4 is a fishing district. Read a book about a fisherman OR read a book that at least partially takes place on a boat.


District 5: District 5 is the source of electrical power. Read a book that features a lightning storm OR read a book that is set in a place without electricity.


✔ District 6: District 6 is the hub of transportation. Read a book written by an author from a different country OR read a book that takes place in a real location you could visit.


✔ District 7: District 7 produces lumber and paper. Read a book that takes place in a forest OR read a physical book made out of paper (as opposed to an ebook).


✔ District 8: District 8 makes textiles. Read a book about fashion OR read a book with an item of clothing on its cover.


✔ District 9: District 9 produces grain and has no characters named in the books. Read a book with an unnamed main character OR read a book with a character who is a vegetarian.


District 10: District 10 specialized in raising livestock. Read a book that has a domestic animal as a character OR read a book that has an animal in the title.
???

✔ District 11: District 11 is an agricultural district and Rue, a young herbalist, originated here. Read a book where a young person dies OR read a book where an herbalist saves someone from dying.


✔ District 12: District 12 is the mining district, and Katniss and Peeta, its tributes, wear clothes that catch fire. Read a book that has a fire that is helpful in it OR read a book that has the word “coal” somewhere in it (add a quote of the sentence where you found the word).

"..He paused to jab a poker into the fire, causing a flare-up of the dying coals that cast a panoply of flickering light across the room.."


✔ District 13: District 13 is a rebellious district that specialized in nuclear technology. Read a book centered around a nuclear disaster OR read a book where the main character is rebellious.



11/14 completed

JULY: THE SUMMER VACATION SPELL OUT CHALLENGE
Duration: July 1 - 30, 2014

For this challenge, spell out a place you are visiting or would like to visit. You can use ANY of the first letters of the main words in a title of a book (don't use words like "a", "an", "the", or "of") or the initials of its authors.

W The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
L I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk
E Extraction by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
S The Fault in Our Stars by John Green


Finished July 11th!

SECOND QUARTER CHALLENGE: #READWOMEN2014
Duration: April 1 - June 30, 2014
-----UPDATED DURATION: APRIL 1 - DECEMBER 31, 2014

For this challenge, decide how many new-to-you female authors you would like to read. Once your goal is set, read! And come back and tell us who your favorites were to get great female authors more exposure. Each author can only count once.


Read
1. Countdown by Mira Grant
2. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
3. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
4. I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk
5. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and..
6. ..Margaret Stohl
7. Divergent by Veronica Roth
8. Origin by Jessica Khoury
9. The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
10. Franklin Wants a Pet by Paulette Bourgeois
11. Cinderella Penguin, or, The Little Glass Flipper by Janet Perlman
12. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

AUGUST: GREAT EMPIRES
Duration: August 1 - 30, 2014

Our theme for the month is empires, so this challenge is about a few of the greatest ones.

✔ 1. The Ottoman Empire (1299 – 1923) was a multinational/ multilingual empire and was also known as the Turkish Empire. Read a book that was originally written in a language other than your own OR read a book that contains at least one Muslim character.


✔ 3. The Byzantine Empire (330 – 1204 & 1261 – 1453) had its capital in Constantinople (aka Istanbul, aka Byzantium) and fell once but was temporarily revived. Read a book that takes place in a city that has at least one other name OR read a book where something that is broken is put back together.


✔ 9. The Mongol Empire (1206 – 1368) was the largest land empire (that covered only joining land) spanning from China to Europe and fell because Genghis Khan’s grandchildren kept fighting over leadership. Read a large book (more than 500 pages) OR read a book that contains siblings fighting.



3/3 completed

SEPTEMBER: THE BANNED BOOKS CHALLENGE
Duration: September 1 - 30, 2014

✔ 3. This is a list of the most frequently challenged books of the 21st century by year. Choose a year that has significant meaning to you (i.e., graduated, married, baby born, hamster died, etc.), and then read a book from that year's list.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
2007 I finally got courage to leave my ex who was treating me.. well, not so nice.


✔ 5. Chances are you have recognized some books on these lists. Some may even be on your TBR list or some maybe your favorite books. But do you recognize the most challenged authors of the 21st Century? Sort your TBR list by author and find one who is on this list.

UR by Stephen King


2/2 completed

FOURTH QUARTER CHALLENGE: GRATITUDE SPELL OUT
Duration: November 1 - December 31, 2014

We're entering the holiday season which is a great time for us to think things we're grateful for. For this challenge, spell out something for which you're thankful. You can use ANY of the first letters of the main words in a title of a book (don't use words like "a", "an", "the", or "of") or the initials of its authors.

I'm grateful for having loving and loveable

H - J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
U - Ville Haapasalo: Et kuitenkaan usko
S - Washington Irving: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
B - Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child: Blue Labyrinth
A - Arthur Conan Doyle: The Lost World
N - Kate Jacobs: The Friday Night Knitting Club
D - Julia Donaldson: The Gruffalo

7/7

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I reserved "few" posts for future challenges. I hope that's ok.

Feel free to comment books that I have chosen for different challenges. I'm also open for all book recommendations!

I'm almost finished with Game of Thrones. Only 2 chapters to go. Yay! Prolly gonna get it finished tonight or early tomorrow. (It's 10.30 pm now..)

So, finished Game of Thrones yesterday.

I really liked reading it and it was hard to put aside when the night came and had to sleep.

I have watched the TV series and now that I have read the book I understand better what is going on in the world and with all the people. The TV series is bit too shallow in these things.

The only thing that I think that's worth complaining, is the amount of different names given! "And then there was this and that and he and she and the sons of those and daughters of them.." It was so confusing and I had to check all the names from GoT wikia and see if the character was fame enough for the TV series.

Also it was confusing when one character was called with different names. Like The Hound. I know him with that name and when they were talking about Sandor Clegane I was totally lost and was "Who the heck is Sandor?"

But anyways, I liked it a lot. I'd like to continue with the rest of the books from Song of Fire and Ice series, but because of the challenges I have accepted I can't. Oh well, maybe I can read rest of them in some other challenges.


Next book that I'm going to read is The Hobbit. I have read it many times already but it's in two challenges so.. And it's actually pretty fast to read and that's what I need right now after reading a long book.

Merja wrote: "So, finished Game of Thrones yesterday.

The only thing that I think that's worth complaining, is the amount of different names given! "


Hi Merja, I totally agree about all the characters! I read Book 3 last month and was totally lost on who some of the characters were and how they knew other characters. Way too many! I guess as long as I know the main "HBO-worthy" people, I'll be okay. :)

Yeah, I think that too. As long as I know who are worthy for HBO, it's enough.

***

And now I have finished with The Hobbit. Almost got it finished already yesterday but when I got it to the point when they entered Mirkwood, I decided it would be great place to finish for the day. So I continued from that today and got it finished! Took around 8 hours total to read it.

I have read it many times but this was the first time after seeing the two great movies (waiting the final part!) and every time Bilbo was speaking I imagined Martin Freeman to say all the lines. As well as Smaug's lines to be said by Benedict Cumberbatch.

***

Next book I'm gonna read is And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

Finished And the Mountains Echoed today. It was first book from Khaled Hosseini I have read and I now wait to read his other books.

Next book that I'm going to read is The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell. I have been watching the TV series so I hope that the book is as good as the series. Or better! :D

for game of thrones books it helps to use the list of characters that are in the back of the book. also try your best to get everyone memorized as well as their nicknames before you go on to Clash of kings. it will help. and don't put too much time in between reading the books in the series because there is a chance you will forget some characters or major story lines that carry over to book 2. just trying to help!

Thanks Alison! :)

I've been thinking of writing all the names down to paper so that it'd be easier to memorize all of them. And if I hadn't found this group and all those lovely challenges I think that I'd be currently reading Clash of kings. Or even Storm of swords. But I'll try to get my hands to Clash of Kings asap.

So, finished The Carrie Diaries yesterday. It was really good book. Even some things were changed for TV series, I didn't care. Though it was bit surprising that Carrie had two sisters instead of one and father was scientist instead of being lawyer.

Now I'm reading Summer and the City. And it's not even any challenge book :D But I hope that I can read it pretty quick and it won't affect any challenges.. :P

And I'm finished with Summer and the City :D Took only a day to read it. Well, few hours actually. Anyway, I liked it and I do hope that there's gonna be more Carrie books. Like what happened between after her first summer in NY and before Sex and the city. But I guess those books won't happen in near future.

Next book I'm gonna read is actually re-read. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I thought that I'll read it towards Chinese zodiac challenge, 1. The Horse. On January 31, 2014, it becomes the Year of the Horse! Horses like being the center of attention. Read a book where the main character is famous OR read a memoir about or a biography of a celebrity. Harry Potter is famous in wizarding world. At first I was thinking of re-read the story of Nancy Spungen, but it's been ages since I last time read Harry Potter, so.. :D

Edited 7th post to track group reads that I'm taking part.

Harry Potter is still in progress. My left eye has been behaving badly, thanks to Ophthalmia (oh what a lovely word), so I've been trying to let my eyes rest as much as possible. But I believe that I'm gonna finish it today.

Finished Harry Potter yesterday. My energy levels been so low past few days so I didn't have enough energy even to read.

Now I'm not sure what book to read next. But luckily day has just started and there's still many hours to go before I can even start a book. Stupid work.. :P

Message #8 is now dedicated for February's monthly challenge, Explorations in love.

Still thinking what book to read next.. Maybe some Terry Pratchett could be fun!

So, I started reading Dodger by Terry Pratchettover 2 weeks ago but I got stuck with it. Main reason might be that I started in new job and I've been pretty tired after long days. And second, I've been really sick and it has also affected to my energy levels. I'm going to continue reading it because it's one of the books in 1st quarter challenge.

But now I try to read books towards the February challenge and I already finished Countdown by Mira Grant. And now trying to decide between Alice in Wonderland and Stardust.

Finished Alice in Wonderland and now I'm 2/3 completed with the February's challenge. Next I'm reading Stardust that goes towards two different challenges, February and First quarter Chinese Zodiac challenge.

I've now finished February's challenge. I do have that "bonus round" thing with it, but not sure if I'm going to read those two books. But now I'm going to start reading The Rosie Project and I realized that it can go towards Around the world challenge and maybe also Chinese Zodiac as The Ox - Introvert character. Or what do you think?

So, finished The Rosie Project. It was a book I just couldn't put away while reading. But of course I had to have few pauses.. Longest one was to sleep a whole night :D

Now I try to continue reading Dodger..

Been pretty lazy lately what comes to reading books. I've been also thinking of putting all the challenges to hiatus and just read what feels good at that moment and when it feels good to read. But let's see what happens..

I've been lazy too. I've been reading a chapter here and there but just not finishing anything. My goal for today is to finish one of the 2 books I have in progress. Finishing both would be even better!

Added new challenge for 2nd quarter: Finish those series! I'm going to try and read all the Pendergast books and also Newsflesh trilogy books. Was thinking also Game of Thrones, but I know already that it takes longer than 3 months to read 4 very very long books now that I'm working and I don't have so much time to read anymore I used to have when I was unemployed. So only 2 series I know I'll (hopefully) enjoy.

The Chinese Zodiac Challenge is completed! Yay! And at one point I was so sure that I can't do it.

Next up, 2nd quarter challenge: Finish those series. 14 books to read in 3 months, but I believe that I can do it. The Newsflesh Trilogy has few shorties and I have more and more energy to read now that spring is here!

But now I gotta choose: Pendergast or Newsflesh? Or something totally different?

So I chose Pendergast and I'm pretty happy with that. Just finished first book, Relic, and it got me hooooooked :D Unfortunately I was so tired every night when I went to bed that I fell asleep while reading, so it took pretty long to finish it.

Next up is Reliquary, 2nd book in Pendergast series.

Stupid flu and long work days are taking all my energy so once again, I've been slow what comes to reading. But Reliquary is almost done. After that I'm going to concentrate to May mini challenge, which I'm also leading.

Finished Reliquary and I liked it a lot! Like all the other Pendergast books that I've read. Only 6 books to go in that series and I'm almost done with 2nd quarter challenge :D

But before that I'm reading The Witches, going towards May mini challenge.

The Witches was very fast book to read so got it finished yesterday. I've seen the movie many times and I might have read the book already once before, but not sure. Really liked the book a lot and it's going to be one of those books I'm going to read to my kids someday. If I just get kids, that is.

Now I'm reading Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. She shares the same birthday (July 27th) with me.

Finished with Clockwork Angel. Really liked it. The only problem with it was the length of chapters :D With my settings in Kobo one chapter was from 30 to 40 pages.

But now that I'm finished with the birthday challenge, I'll continue 2nd quarter challenge by reading more Pendergast books.

So, it's June! And I'm without a job -> more time to read.

This month I won't take part in any new challenges because I'm behind the schedule of 2nd quarter challenge. 11,5 books to read before end of June! Oh my! Luckily some of them are shorties, so hopefully I'll get all of those read.

Better continue reading ~>

Changed the goal for 2nd quarter challenge. Don't have enough time to finish two series. So I'm going to read Pendergast series. I have time for Newsflesh series later.

Yay, next quarter and July's challenges are here! But this time I only take part to quarterly challenge that has Hunger Games theme! Trying to read all the 14 books. Just gotta figure out what books to read so that I can use the books in other challenges too, like i.e. in yearly around the world challenge. Of course I don't know yet what challenges August and September brings, but anyway :)

And what comes to 2nd quarter challenge, I have only 1,5 books to go! I can do it! I know I can!