A challenge of relative ease and merriment discussion

Hi there guys!
There are only a couple of days left of the year (so you still have time to finish a book!), and I thought we could talk about how it all went!


How did it go overall - did you finish?

What was the hardest category for you this year?

Which is your favourite book you read this year, and did you use it for one of the categories of the challenge?

Did you take part in Goodread's yearly challenge? If so, how many books did you set and where did you end up?

Will you join the new 2017 challenge? (invite has been sent out to you all)


I hope you have all enjoyed this challenge, and that I'll see you all next year as well!

I guess I can start :D

I just finished! I've been really slacking during the fall and didn't really realise how much until just a couple of weeks ago. I had still to finish my "acquired before 2016" book, and to decide and read a banned one. So I guess those were also my hardest categories to finish. I ended up choosing The Alchemist for my banned book, as my parents gave me their copy of it about a year ago and all of Paulo Coelho's books have been banned in Iran. So managed to squeeze that in these last two days (good this my internet was out yesterday!) Without this challenge, and feeling like I couldn't exactly "fail" my own challenge, I probably wouldn't have read that book to be honest.

I'm also not a big fan of contemporary fiction, but due to this challenge I did push myself to pick one and it turned out to be pretty nice in the end!

Favourite book is tricky, but I was kind of blown away by the series starting with A Natural History of Dragons, and I ended up reading all four books within a couple of weeks, and could count the fourth for "released in 2016".

I always join the general Goodreads challenge and I always begin with 52 books cause I feel like a book a week is a good pace for me. But then come summer I revise it depending on how much I've been reading the first half of the year and so on. In the end my goal was 75, and I am now at 82. Knowing myself however, I am pretty sure I'll manage to squeeze one more book in before this year finally dies.

And of course I will join the 2017 challenge - I started it!


So in the end this is what I ended up with:


a book written by a woman - Chimera by Mira Grant
a book written by a man - The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
a book released in 2016 - In the Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan
a book released before you were born - The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee (1981, I was born in 1987)
a non-fiction book - Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
a book for children - Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett
a YA book - The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
a book for adults - Fellside by M.R Carey
a microhistory - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
a romance - Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton
a book of fantastical fiction - Star Wars: Before The Awakening by Greg Rucka
a mystery - Spells and Scones by Bailey Cates
a book of contemporary fiction - Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jayne Robin Brown
a book of historical fiction - The Warrior’s Path by Catherine M. Wilson
a graphic novel - The Saga of Rex by Michel Gagné
a book you acquired before the start of 2016 but never got around to reading - Our Lady of the Ice by Cassandra Rose Clarke
a book recommended by someone you know - Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear
a collection of short stories - The Heart of Aces by a bunch of authors
an award winning book - Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond (Pulitzer + others)
a banned book - The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Ba book written by a woman - You're Never Weird on the Internet by Felicia Day
a book written by a man Badass: The Birth of a Legend by Ben Thompson
a book released in 2016 The Girls by Emma Cline
a book released before you were born The Lost World by Conan Doyle
a non-fiction book Never Kiss a Man in a Canoe by Tanith Carey
a book for children The Grimstones: Hatchedby Asphyxia
a YA book Divergent by Veronica Roth
a book for adults Aliide, Aliide by Mare Kandre
a microhistory / social history of just one thing (see discussion) The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean
a romance Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding
a fantastical book (fantasy, sci fi, supernatural, etc) The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
a mystery The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine
a book of contemporary fiction You by Caroline Kepnes
a book of historical fiction The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
a graphic novel Inerview with the Vampire: Claudia's Story by Ashley Marie Witter
a book you acquired before the start of 2016 but never got around to Tre dramer by Samuel Beckett
a book recommended by someone you know (friends, family etc) South of the Pumphouse by Les Claypool
a collection of short stories The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
an award winning book The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
a banned book The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Hey! Finally checking in!
A Challenge of Relative Ease and Merriment: 2016
Books Read in 2016: 12
Challenge Books read: 11/20
a book written by a woman – Attack of the Ninja Frogs (Dragonbreath #2) by Ursula Vernon
a book written by a man - nope
a book released in 2016 – You Negotiate Like a Girl: Reflections on a Career in the NFL by Amy Trask
a book released before you were born - nope
a non-fiction book - nope
a book for children – The Lost Heir (Wings of Fire #2) by Tui T. Sutherland
a YA book - nope
a book for adults – The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: the Faust Act by Kieron Gillen
a microhistory / social history of just one thing (see discussion) - nope
a romance – Dearest Clementine by Lex Martin
a fantastical book (fantasy, sci fi, supernatural, etc) – Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1&2, by John Tiffany
a mystery - nope
a book of contemporary fiction – Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk
a book of historical fiction - nope
a graphic novel – The Walking Dead, Vol. 2
a book you acquired before the start of 2016 but never got around to - And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
a book recommended by someone you know (friends, family etc) – Isn’t It Pretty to Think So? By Nick Miller
a collection of short stories – From Sac: Human Patterns by Various/Jordon Briggs (my friend had a story in this one!)
an award winning book - nope
a banned book - nope

I also read the first issue of the Walking Dead, which doesn’t count for any of the challenge categories, from what I can tell.
How did it go overall - did you finish? NO I most certainly did not. I read about 11 of the 20 books required.

What was the hardest category for you this year? The contemporary fiction choice was a weird, crazy ride of a book.

Which is your favourite book you read this year, and did you use it for one of the categories of the challenge? You Negotiate Like a Girl was my fave this year, and I did use it for the Released in 2016 category. Amy had a lot to say to the ambitious business woman and the avid sports fan in me. She also tweeted me back a few times when I shared what her book meant to me, and that was very special to me as well.

Did you take part in Goodread's yearly challenge? If so, how many books did you set and where did you end up? I did. I set it at 52, one per week, which I have easily been able to hit in the past. I worked too much and read too little this year though, and fell short.

Will you join the new 2017 challenge? Yes, I intend to take part in the 2017 Challenge of Relative Ease and Merriment, thank you kindly. 