You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

This year, we’re going to traipse around the stars and all things astrological.

The Challenge:

The challenge is to read 12 books throughout the year. You must select and read one book from each zodiac sign to complete the challenge. You may select from any of the seven categories, as long as you remember that you need to have each zodiac sign represented. If you wish, you may restrict yourself to one category. For example, you may choose to read all twelve tasks assigned to the superheroes.

Badges

There is a total of 84 tasks listed, so 84 books.

Badge One – Challenge Badge = 12 books completed. This is the only level you need to complete the challenge. Any additional reading is optional.

Badge Two – First Additional Badge = will be awarded when you read an additional 2 rounds of the zodiac signs (24 additional books). The same rules apply – each round includes one book from each zodiac sign. When you have completed this badge, you will have read a total of 36 books.

Badge Three – Second Additional Badge – will be awarded when you read 2 more rounds of the zodiac signs (24 additional books). The same rules apply – each round includes one book from each zodiac sign. When you have completed this badge, you will have read a total of 60 books.

Badge Four – will be awarded when the remaining 2 rounds have been read. All 84 tasks have been read.

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General Rules: (please read carefully as there are some changes)

1. You must read 12 different books, one from each zodiac sign. Each book is exclusive to one task. You may not repeat tasks. The same rule applies to optional rounds.

2. You may not combine books with the Monthly Challenge.

3. The challenge is from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018. You must start and complete your books within the year AND within the time that you start the challenge. If you are late starting the challenge, you may not count books prior to your start date. For example, if you start May 1st, you may only count books read between May 1 – Dec 31.

4. Books must be at least 175 pages long. They may be any format (audiobook, ebook, hardcover/paperback). In the case of ebooks & audiobooks, use the hardcover edition to determine page length.. If there is no hardcover edition, use the paperback edition. From the book page, select “all editions”, then select “hardcover”. If no hardcover editions, select “paperback”. If more than one edition, sort by “num ratings” and go with the first listing. If you are still unable to identify, ask for a ruling.

5. Books may be any genre unless specified in a task. In the case of graphic novels or books consisting of a lot of pictures, the text must be equivalent to that of a 175-page book.

6. If a task refers to the title, the subtitle or series title doesn’t count unless specified in a task.

7. If a task refers to the cover, it will be based on the cover of the issue you read.

8. You will need to start your own reporting thread in this folder to track your progress. There will be a thread set up to report your success in completing the challenge and to request your badge.

♈️ ARIES ♈️

Month - March - March by Geraldine Brooks - 298pp
Symbol - Ram - Trouble in Mudbug by Jana Deleon - 321pp
Element - Fire - Memoirs Of A Geisha by Arthur Golden - 512pp
North American Zodiac - Falcon - The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk - 531pp
Stone - Opal - The Butcher's Hook by Janet Ellis - 349pp OR ✔ Wideacre by Philippa Gregory - 622pp - Finished 26/01/18
✔Superhero - Ares - Circe by Madeline Miller - 352pp - Finished 07/07/18
Actor by Sign - Tim Curry - The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas - 704pp

♉️ TAURUS ♉️

Month - April - The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim - 262pp
Symbol - Bull - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry - 960pp
✔Element - Earth - The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor - 352pp - Finished 16/03/18
North American Zodiac - Beaver - Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden - 435pp
Stone - Jasper - It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini - 444pp
Superhero - Rhino - Villain by Shūichi Yoshida - 304pp
Actor by Sign - Audrey Hepburn - War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - 1392pp

♊️ GEMINI ♊️

Month - May - Hawk of May by Gillian Bradshaw - 368pp
Symbol - Twins - The Painted Man (also known as The Warded Man) by Peter V. Brett - 544pp
Element - Air - American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis - 416pp
✔North American Zodiac - Deer -The Dumb House by John Burnside - 204pp - Finished 13/02/18
Stone - Agate - Hounded by Kevin Hearne - 303pp
Superhero - Copycat - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - 386pp
Actor by Sign - Johnny Depp - Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie - 265pp

♋️ CANCER ♋️

Month - June - A June of Ordinary Murders: A Mystery by Conor Brady - 392pp
✔Symbol - Crab - The Iron King by Maurice Druon - 340pp - Finished 27/01/18
Element - Water - The Bull from the Sea by Mary Renault - 290pp
North American Zodiac - Woodpecker - Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez - 348pp
Stone - Rose Quartz - The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley - 448pp
Superhero - Sandman - The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley - 368pp
Actor by Sign - Meryl Streep - The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles - 470pp

♌️ LEO ♌️

Month - July - Born on 4th July by Ron Kovic - 224pp
Symbol - Lion - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith - 233pp
Element - Fire - Arminius: The Limits of Empire by Robert Fabbri - 384pp
North American Zodiac - Salmon - The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - 336pp
Stone - Carnelian - The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran - 402pp
Superhero - Kraven the Hunter - End of Watch by Stephen King - 368pp
Actor by Sign - Sean Penn - Mystic River by Dennis Lehane - 496pp

♍️ VIRGO ♍️

Month - August - The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman - 511pp
Symbol - Maiden - The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente - 328pp
Element - Earth - Green Earth by Kim Stanley Robinson - 1088pp OR 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson - 561pp
North American Zodiac - Bear - Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak - 513pp
Stone - Amethyst - The Follies of the King by Jean Plaidy - 423pp
Superhero - Rogue - The Death of an Owl by Paul Torday - 320pp
Actor by Sign - Anne Meara - Awakenings by Oliver Sacks - 464pp

♎️ LIBRA ♎️

Month - September - September by Rosamunde Pilcher - 628pp
Symbol - Scales - A Time To Kill by John Grisham -752pp
Element - Air - Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon - 1185pp
North American Zodiac- Raven - The Bone People by Keri Hulme - 450pp
Stone - Azurite - Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell - 384pp OR Court of Lions by Jane Johnson - 389pp
✔Superhero - Judge Dredd - Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman - 256pp - Finished 31/05/18
Actor by Sign - Viggo Mortenson - The Road by Cormac McCarthy - 324pp

♏️ SCORPIO ♏️

Month - October - Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury - 263pp
Symbol - Scorpion - White Oleander by Janet Fitch - 412pp
Element - Water - Beside the Ocean of Time by George Mackay Brown - 208pp
✔North American Zodiac - Snake - The Good People by Hannah Kent - 386pp - Finished 22/03/18
Stone - Copper - The Cold Commands by Richard K. Morgan - 481pp
Superhero - Anti-Venom - Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - 230pp
Actor by Sign - Jodie Foster - The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris - 436pp

♐️ SAGITTARIUS ♐️

Month - November - Butterflies in November by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir - 296pp
Symbol - Archer - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie - 259pp
Element - Fire - Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault - 427pp
North American Zodiac - Owl - The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault - 406pp
Stone - Obsidian - Moloka'i by Alan Brennert - 400pp
✔Superhero - Hawkeye - The Coffin Path by Katherine Clements - 384pp - Finished 12/02/18
Actor by Sign - Ralph Fiennes - The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje - 336pp

♑️ CAPRICORN ♑️

Month - December - Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan - 240pp
Symbol - Goat - A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman - 352pp
Element - Earth - Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay - 592pp
North American Zodiac - Snow Goose - Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz - 359pp
Stone - Quartz - The Outcasts of Time by Ian Mortimer - 400pp
Superhero - Cannonball - Temeraire by Naomi Novik - 342pp
Actor by Sign - Sissy Spacek - Carrie by Stephen King - 242pp

♒️ AQUARIUS ♒️

Month - January - The January Queen by Joyce Stranger - 189pp
Symbol - Water-Bearer - A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin - 852pp
Element - Air - When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi - 258pp
North American Zodiac - Otter - The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain - 320pp
Stone - Turquoise - A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab - 401pp
Superhero - Aquaman - Of Poseidon by Anna Banks - 337pp
Actor by Sign - John Hurt - A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt - 192pp

♓️ PISCES ♓️

Month - February - The Western Wind by Samantha Harvey - 304pp
Symbol - Fish - River of Destiny by Barbara Erskine - 448pp
Element - Water - Into the Water by Paula Hawkins - 353pp
North American Zodiac - Wolf - Idaho by Emily Ruskovich - 320pp
Stone - Jade - The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham - 214pp
Superhero - Siren - The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar - 496pp
Actor by Sign - Glenn Close - Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre-Ambroise Choderlos de Laclos - 404pp

I like how you've organized your thread. I may have to borrow the idea and organize by zodiac sign.

Great organization. I think I may have to "borrow" your idea also.

I agree. I am not sure if I want to organize it by task or by sign. I won't have my computer for a few hours, so I have some time to decide.

Phew! I need a rest! This gophering business is hard work 😉 At least I have made some decent headway on it.

Nice work Lisa! I also organized my thread by sign. It seems a bit easier to keep an overview, at least for me.

It was a lot of work already just to get it set up. I still have to start adding books.

I too liked how you organized your thread and will probably "borrow" the idea. Just remember "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". ☺

Lori Z wrote: "I too liked how you organized your thread and will probably "borrow" the idea. Just remember "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". ☺"

Lol, Lori!

Borrow away all you like, everyone! 😀

Peggy wrote: "Nice work Lisa! I also organized my thread by sign. It seems a bit easier to keep an overview, at least for me.

It was a lot of work already just to get it set up. I still have to start adding bo..."

I predict many hours of gophering ahead, Peggy! 😉

I just found out that you can do so much gophering it's not even fun anymore. A break for dinner and I'll save a bit for tomorrow when bf watches formula 1.

I pretty much copied your set up Lisa. I'm not even going to start bookish research til tomorrow pm.

Well, that's enough gophering for me for today. I will finish the rest of the tasks in the next couple of days. I'm actually now wondering why I bothered gophering for all the tasks as I will probably only read enough books to get 1 or 2 badges. Lol! What a donut! Oh well, I've started so I might as well finish.

Lisa wrote: "Well, that's enough gophering for me for today. I will finish the rest of the tasks in the next couple of days. I'm actually now wondering why I bothered gophering for all the tasks as I will proba..."

it is better to be safe than sorry lisa

Cody wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Well, that's enough gophering for me for today. I will finish the rest of the tasks in the next couple of days. I'm actually now wondering why I bothered gophering for all the tasks as..."

Very true, Cody. I think all 84 tasks will be pushing it though. I'm a bit of a slowcoach 😉

as am i :) i am hoping though that instead of reading books that are 6 -1000 pages along some of the 200 page books will boost me :)

Cody wrote: "as am i :) i am hoping though that instead of reading books that are 6 -1000 pages along some of the 200 page books will boost me :)"

That's a good tactic 🙂 I'm trying to keep my challenge books on the shorter side too, but there are some chunksters in there as well.

How many books are you aiming to read?

Peggy wrote: "I just found out that you can do so much gophering it's not even fun anymore. A break for dinner and I'll save a bit for tomorrow when bf watches formula 1."

LOL! I've been so busy trying to keep up with all the posts that I haven't had time to gopher.

Lisa wrote: "Well, that's enough gophering for me for today. I will finish the rest of the tasks in the next couple of days. I'm actually now wondering why I bothered gophering for all the tasks as I will proba..."

LOL!

I think I'm going to gopher for the first 12 and see what happens.

Lisa wrote: "Cody wrote: "as am i :) i am hoping though that instead of reading books that are 6 -1000 pages along some of the 200 page books will boost me :)"

That's a good tactic 🙂 I'm trying to keep my chal..."

hiya :) i am aiming to read 36 but i struggled to do 26 this year :(

i think the 'baby' books will push me through though.

also a problem i have is if i do not like an authors style, i cannot read their books; even if it is the greatest story ever. whereas if i like the authors style, the book could literally start ... there was once a naughty little collie called molliewoof ... and i would zip through it.

i am hoping i have picked well, there are a couple of rereads and a couple from auhors i know i like but quite a few are really new to me, i dont think i have ever read a book about SAS people

Janice wrote: "Peggy wrote: "I just found out that you can do so much gophering it's not even fun anymore. A break for dinner and I'll save a bit for tomorrow when bf watches formula 1."

LOL! I've been so busy t..."

ha i do exactly the same, i woke up with 30 notifications this AM, still trying to wade through them now

Cody wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Cody wrote: "as am i :) i am hoping though that instead of reading books that are 6 -1000 pages along some of the 200 page books will boost me :)"

That's a good tactic 🙂 I'm trying to..."

Good luck with your target of 36, Cody. I'm sure you will do it 🙂 I am planning on reading a number of chunksters and series books outside this challenge which will probably eat into how many books I get through. I am going to aim for 12 so I get Badge 1 and then any other badges will be a bonus.

I know what you mean about author writing styles. I have a similar problem. I used to always force myself to finish every book I started, even if I hated it, but now I have decided that there are just too many other books out there to waste time reading something I am not enjoying. I've abandoned a lot of books this year.

Janice wrote: "Peggy wrote: "I just found out that you can do so much gophering it's not even fun anymore. A break for dinner and I'll save a bit for tomorrow when bf watches formula 1."

LOL! I've been so busy t..."

Same! I had nearly 40 notifications to catch up on this morning! The yearly challenge makes us even more chatty than normal 😉😁

Lisa wrote: "Cody wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Cody wrote: "as am i :) i am hoping though that instead of reading books that are 6 -1000 pages along some of the 200 page books will boost me :)"

That's a good tactic 🙂 ..."

thanks, good luck with your challenge :) i am submerged in fantasy at the moment , in honesty i always have been, so i am hoping the challenge will help open my eyes to other things and i am probably going to try to stick with that

i know after 15 pages or so if i will like a book, if not they just get put down, i have put a book down after the first page before today but i think he introduced a character and spelt their name differently 3 times, i doubt it would have been the best book

Cody wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Cody wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Cody wrote: "as am i :) i am hoping though that instead of reading books that are 6 -1000 pages along some of the 200 page books will boost me :)"

That's a g..."

Thanks. I am also really into fantasy right now as I am working my way through all the books in The Realm of the Elderlings series by Robin Hobb. Have you read any of them? Yes, the yearly challenge is good at broadening your horizons in terms of genre. I am quite eclectic when it comes to my book tastes but historical fiction and fantasy are the genres I read the most.

no i havent read them but i will keep her in mind(for next year, unless they are set in china?

Cody wrote: "no i havent read them but i will keep her in mind(for next year, unless they are set in china?"

No, they are not set in China. She is a really good author, her books are excellent with great world building and characters. Are you after books specifically set in China? If so, I think The Grace of Kings is set there. Or at the very least it's a fantasy world based on Ancient China.

Wow Lisa, I'm super impressed by your gophering! You have books for almost all tasks. And you have some very good ones in there :)

Lisa wrote: "Cody wrote: "no i havent read them but i will keep her in mind(for next year, unless they are set in china?"

No, they are not set in China. She is a really good author, her books are excellent wit..."

not really i was just discreetly gophering :P

that will do great though so thank you :P

Like many others I think this is a great settup and I will borrow it as well :p
Thanks!

Peggy wrote: "Wow Lisa, I'm super impressed by your gophering! You have books for almost all tasks. And you have some very good ones in there :)"

Thanks, Peggy. I definitely won't be reading all of them but it was fun to gopher!

Cody wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Cody wrote: "no i havent read them but i will keep her in mind(for next year, unless they are set in china?"

No, they are not set in China. She is a really good author, her books are ..."

No worries. The Grace of Kings is meant to be very good from what I've heard. I have it sitting on my TBR. I already have a book picked out for Jade but I might swap it out and read TGOK instead.

Clément wrote: "Like many others I think this is a great settup and I will borrow it as well :p
Thanks!"

Borrow away, Clément 🙂

Gophering complete! That's all 84 tasks accounted for. Now watch me only read 12 of them! Lol!

Great job, Lisa! :)

Lisa wrote: "Gophering complete! That's all 84 tasks accounted for. Now watch me only read 12 of them! Lol!"

LOL! That's what I'm afraid I'll do, but gophering is irresistible. I'll finish writing the monthly challenge so that you can gopher a bit more.

Janice wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Gophering complete! That's all 84 tasks accounted for. Now watch me only read 12 of them! Lol!"

LOL! That's what I'm afraid I'll do, but gophering is irresistible. I'll finish writing..."

Yay! I need some more gophering to keep me occupied 😉

Plus you want to have options! You'll always find something you're in the mood for and you can easily give up some of them for monthly challenges.

Peggy wrote: "Plus you want to have options! You'll always find something you're in the mood for and you can easily give up some of them for monthly challenges."

Yes, that's very true, Peggy.