MobileRead Book Challenges discussion
2018 Individual Challenges
>
Rumpelteazer's 2018 Reading Challenge
Statistics:Books read: 108
Pages read: 40540
Books abandoned: 1
New authors: 34
Active series:* Guido Brunetti (21/28)
* Nic Costa (9/11)
* Chief Inspector Armand Gamache (8/14)
* The Void Trilogy (2/3)
* Lockwood & Co (3/5)
* The Mayfair Witches (1/3)
* Mortal Engines (1/5)
* Winthrop House (1/2)
Waiting List
* DI Hillary Greene (1/17)
Finished/back burner/stopped series:
* World's Scariest Places
* The Others
* The Magicians
* Sebastian St. Cyr
* The Afterlife Investigations
* Ruth Galloway
* Gideon Crew
* House of Souls
* Lincoln Rhyme
* Black Acres
* Abhorsen/The Old Kingdom
* Corona Heights
* World's Scariest Places
* Detective Inspector Chen
* Rivers of London
Series to finish:*
*
*
I hope to finish the next series, if not make serious headway with them:
*
*
Long series planning:
*
*
ABC challenge 2018
Titles in brackets I haven't read and are for planning purposes and reminders for myself.
A
* After the Snow - Susannah Constantine
* Abhorsen - Garth Nix
* Asylum - Ambrose Ibsen
* About Face - Donna Leon
* The Amber Light - Ambrose Ibsen
B
* The Brutal Telling - Louise Penny
* Bury Your Dead - Louise Penny
* The Burial Hour - Jeffery Deaver
* The Borderland - Ambrose Ibsen
* The Blue Demon - David Hewson
* The Beautiful Mystery - Louise Penny
* Beastly Things - Donna Leon
C
* City of Endless Night - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
* The Carrow Haunt - Darcy Coates
* The Cruelest Month - Louise Penny
* Clariel - Garth Nix
* The Cutting Edge - Jeffery Deaver
* The Clockmaker's Daughter - Kate Morton
* The Children's Home - Charles Lambert
D
* The Deliveryman - Jeffery Deaver
* The Demonic - Lee Mountford
* Devil's Rock - Paul Tremblay
* Darkest Part of the Woods - Ramsey Campbell
* The Demon and the City - Liz Williams
* The Dark Angel - Elly Griffiths
* Dante's Numbers - David Hewson
* Drawing Conclusions - Donna Leon
* The Dagger in the Desk - Jonathan Stroud
E
* The Essex Serpent - Sarah Perry
* The End of Temperance Dare - Wendy Webb
* Elevation - Stephen King
F
* Forest - Ambrose Ibsen
* The Fallen Angel - David Hewson
G
* The Girl of His Dreams - Donna Leon
* The Graveyard Apartment - Mariko Koike
* The Garden of Evil - David Hewson
* Goldenhand - Garth Nix
H
* How to be Champion - Sarah Millican
* The Hour Before Dark - Douglas Clegg
* The Haunting of Riley Watson - Alexandra Clarke
* The Hangman - Louise Penny
* Hunted - Darcy Coates
* The House of Long Shadows - Ambrose Ibsen
* The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson
* The House Next Door - Anne Rivers Siddons
* The Hollow Boy - Jonathan Stroud
* A House by the Sea - Ambrose Ibsen
* The Haunting of Rookward House
I
* Island of the Dolls - Jeremy Bates
* I'll Be Gone in the Dark - Michelle McNamara
* In A Dark, Dark Wood - Ruth Ware
* In Absentia - Ambrose Ibsen
* In Darkness - Ambrose Ibsen
* The Iron Khan - Liz Williams
J
* The Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan
K
* The Keeper - Sarah Langan
L
* Lirael - Garth Nix
* Lake Silence - Ann Bishop
* Laurie - Stephen King
* Lies Sleeping - Ben Aaronovitch
M
* The Mystery House: San Antonio - Eva Pohler
* The Magicians - Lev Grossman
* The Magician King - Lev Grossman
* Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore - Robin Sloan
* The Magician's Land - Lev Grossman
* Murder on the Oxford Canal - Faith Martin
* Malefic - Ambrose Ibsen
* Mountain of the Dead - Jeremy Bates
* Mortal Engines - Philip Reeve
N
* Nest - Terry Goodkind
* Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case - Garth Nix
O
* The Occupant - Ambrose Ibsen
* The Outsider - Stephen King
P
* The Pharaoh Key - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Rhyme
* Precious Dragon - Liz Williams
Q
* A Question of Belief - Donna Leon
R
* Riptide - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
* A Rule Against Murder - Louise Penny
* The Roanoke Girls - Amy Engel
S
* The Stranger Beside Me - Anne Rule
* The Skin Collector - Jeffery Deaver
* The Seventh Sacrament - David Hewson
* Snake Agent - Liz Williams
* The Steel Kiss - Jeffery Deaver
* The Sandman: Master of Dreams - Neil Gaiman
* The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes
* The Sandman: The Doll's House
* Salem's Lot - Stephen King
* The Screaming Staircase - Jonathan Stroud
* The Shadow Pavilion - Liz Williams
T
* The Tower - Simon Clark
* To Hold the Bridge - Garth Nix
* A Trick of the Light - Louise Penny
* The Temporal Void - Peter F. Hamilton
* Temple - Matthew Reilly
* The Thin Wall - E.M. Parker
U
* The Uninvited - Dorothy MacArdle
V
Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead
W
* The Watchmaker of Filigreestreet - Natasha Puller
* Why Kill the Innocent - C.S. Harris
* Wychwood - George Mann
* Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China - Jung Chang
* The Weight of Lies - Emily Carpenter
* The Whispering Skull - Jonathan Stroud
* The Witching Hour - Anne Rice
X
* Mr. X - Peter Straub
Y
* You In? - Kealan Patrick Burke
Z
* Zombie - Joyce Carol Oates
It's good that you don't do challenges you know you won't complete, I think that would ruin the joy of reading!
DoodlePanda wrote: "It's good that you don't do challenges you know you won't complete, I think that would ruin the joy of reading!"I know I will get stressed out and then give up all together. I've done so much required reading for college and uni that I just can't do that anymore. I mostly blame having been forced to read Portnoy's Complaint, back then I could deal with a lot of cr*p, but that was just too much for me. I think it's the only book I had to read for my bachelor degree that I didn't finish.
I can appreciate that. Anything by Roth or Bellow studied in school will do that.
Bianca wrote: "DoodlePanda wrote: "It's good that you don't do challenges you know you won't complete, I think that would ruin the joy of reading!"I know I will get stressed out and then give up all together. I..."
Ugh. That looks mindnumbingly boring.
I have to admit that I didn't finish a good chunk of my college required texts:
- Billy Bud, Sailor (fuck you, Bill)
- Moby Dick (stop harassing the sealife)
- Everything Witman except Leaves of Grass
- Everything by Faulkner except Absalom, Absalom! and A Rose for Miss Emily. And yes, totally skipped The Sound and the Fury. UGH.
Skipped Frankenstein as well - by that time I was DONE. And hateful, lol.
What killed me was The Awakening. Oh, GOD I hate that book! And I had to read it TWICE.
I had a pretty high tolerance for reading things I didn't like. The book that got most of my classmates was The Crying of Lot 49, I wouldn't say I loved it, but I did like it. There are very few required reads I didn't read, except in secondary school for French and Dutch. Those English books I didn't read which I should have read I read years later (at a time when I appreciated them more than I would have before).Because I've read so many books I didn't really like I have decided not to force myself to read books because they are bestsellers or everyone's reading them. If I think I won't like it I'll skip it.
((hugs))The Sound and the Fury is quite good after the opening section. But that opening section is up there (or down there) with Joyce for me.
Bianca wrote: "I had a pretty high tolerance for reading things I didn't like. The book that got most of my classmates was The Crying of Lot 49, I wouldn't say I loved it, but I did like it. There are..."I only liked the odd stuff, lol. I enjoyed that gothic (what IS the name??) but only as a character study and not a romance.
I enjoyed things like Metamorphosis and Bartleby the Scrivener. And adored my Shakespeare. Browning the few poems I really enjoyed. And I liked epic poetry for a time - till I got sick of being hit in the head with it, lol.
HomeInMyShoes wrote: "((hugs))The Sound and the Fury is quite good after the opening section. But that opening section is up there (or down there) with Joyce for me."
Really? I've heard rave reviews but... couldn't get into it.
It is proably because the first part is written from the point of view of an someone with a mental and intellectual difficulties. To add to this it is very much stream of consciousness and jumps around chornogically. It is just a very difficult piece of writing.
Shakespeare and Chaucer are the ones I couldn't stand in the end. So much time we wasted on Shakespeare. Seriously. One play every semester of high school. Ten plays through grades 8 to 12. Ten.Books by Canadian authors I read in high school:
Who Has Seen the Wind
I've added the goal to write at least 12 reviews this year.
Due to a discussion in another thread I'm now considering rereading The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I've reread The Hobbit a couple of years ago. I've read TLOTR once in full, The Fellowship of the Ring I have read twice and I did start on The Two Towers but didn't get far to it. I reread the entire trilogy in 2002.I thought it were three long books, probably because I got the trilogy as a omnibus with a load of appendices. But each book isn't that long and it will be fun to revisit Middle Earth (I watch the films about once a year).
I just set my GR reading challenge to 100 book for 2018. It now says I have read 0 books and that I'm on track. I must admit that I'm so used to being ahead on my challenge that not seeing "you're X books ahead" makes me a bit anxious.
I finished the first book of the year. January 1st is always a great day for reading.How to be Champion: My Autobiography by Sarah Millican.
I had this one penciled in for my vacation, but I needed a fun read. Sarah Millican is one of my favourite (British) stand-up comedians. I loved her book. She discusses things that are usually taboo like they are normal things, and they are. It was all rather recognizable to me.
HomeInMyShoes wrote: "Lol."Yes, sad but true. Luckily, after finishing my first book I'm now one book ahead (phew) and with my vacation in two weeks time I get a chance to get ahead a little. I'm not sure how much time I have this week. The past couple of weeks I worked more than full time, I'm secretly hoping this week will be back to normal. But it probably won't, it's the last week of the Christmas vacation for schools, which means that this week we get a lot of parents in with children that are fed up by being dragged everywhere since the holiday started and/or are tired by the day of shopping and/or are high on sugar. Some of them don't behave properly, some parents can't be bothered to correct their children and don't like it when you do. In other words: my least favourite week of the year.
Riptide by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child.A fun, though predictable, adventure thriller. Preston and Child do what they do best and have written a fast paced thriller. As usual there is a bit of possible paranormal elements and a dose of science.
The Mystery House by Eva Pohler.An okay read. There is a second book in the series but I'm not going to read it, this first book was a bit too cozy for me, though it was refreshing that there wasn't a romance storyline, it usually is in cozy ghost stories in my experience.
I'm currently in the mood for fantasy books, which is good since I have a bunch of them on lingering on my Kindle. I'm wondering if in a week's time I'm in the mood for horror; I usually read that genre when going on vacation.
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley.A good read, though the first half was a slow read for me.
Now, on with the next Gamache book. I need something easy to read which I can finish on Sunday or Monday. Then my vacation reading will start.
It took a while, but I've finally finished The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny. I blame the cold I've had for about a week for my slow reading.Now let's see if I can squeeze in a couple more book during my vacation week.
Nest by Terry Goodkind.A good story, but rather depressing. Goodkind could have cut the main character some slack, especially at the end.
So far I'm doing okay. I manage to stay 1 book ahead of schedule according to GR, I had hoped to get ahead more this week but it doesn't look like that will be happening. Of the six books I've read four are by authors new to me, so that's good. I will need to get back to my series though. But not this week.
I read way too much of Sword of Truth a long time ago and it doesn't surprise me that Terry doesn't cut the main character some slack.I enjoyed them at the time, but I don't think I'd pick up a Goodkind book again.
He's one of the four new to me authors. But it did get a bit depressing after a while. Also, I feel more could have been with the story, the ending was a bit disappointing, besides it being depressing.Now onwards with the latest Pendergast book. Not that the authors of that series cut Pendergast much slack. But at least they let him get snarky on a regular basis.
I really did enjoy the first book of Sword of Truth. But after a while it is just so much of the same.
City of Endless Night by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child.A good story, a bit slower than usually. This story isn't part of a series-within-a-series, which often happens within the Pendergast series and is there to move Pendergasts personal story forward.
Up next:The Magicians by Lev Grossman. I watched the first season of the tv series a year and a half ago. Now I'm in the mood to read the story. After that I think I'm finally going to read Ann Rule's The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy The Shocking Inside Story.
I've had an okay Reading Retreat. I've finished 3 books and I've read over 25% of the fourth.I've enjoyed it so much that I'm planning another visit to this vacation park in April or May. Though I think I'll ask my sister to join me, and if she does I'll be reading less. I'm glad I didn't invite her this week; she likes to do things and go out. The weather this week wasn't great (we've had cold, rain and a proper storm) and I was able to stay indoors as much as I wanted.
The Magicians by Lev Grossman.I really enjoyed this, so I've added the trilogy to me active list.
It seems that lately I've developed a knack for picking books that are slow reads for me. Combine that with real life stuff happening and I've lost the advantage I've build up during my vacation last week. Oh, well. In a couple of weeks I'm going dog and house sitting for a week and again for a couple of weeks in July/August. Although I still work during that I have a chance to get some distance between me and The Family Thing.
Up next:
The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy The Shocking Inside Story by Ann Rule. I've had it on my TBR list for ages, but the ladies on the My Favorite Murder podcast talked about how good it was so now's a good time to read it. Even if I'm afraid that it'll be a slow read, most non-fiction is for me. Plus on Sunday I have a craft project planned and on Monday I have to go to the police, so less time to read during my weekend than normally.
Nope.At the end of my vacation week I was two book ahead of schedule according to MR. Now, due to some slow reading (not sure if it's just me, the books I chose or both) I'm right on track. Bugger.
I'm hoping to finish my current book tomorrow. If I do I've read almost 4000 pages in January, 350 over my average for that month. After that I'm going to read some of my series, hopefully well known characters will read faster. OTOH, of my nine book in January six were by new to me authors, so that's a good start.
The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy The Shocking Inside Story by Ann Rule.A great read. Unlike most non-fiction this was a quick read for me.
January was a good month. I'm now one book ahead again on MR, I've read almost 4000 pages, almost 300 pages above average for January. February is, statistically, the worst reading month of the year. Averaging 2685 pages. I'm planning to focus on my active series next month. The randomizer app I use picked the Lincoln Rhyme series next for me.
I've also decided that there are several series I want to finish this year. See post #4.
Technically February is the shortest month as well. And just a lousy weather month here to boot. So much to hate about February, so little time. :P
HomeInMyShoes wrote: "Technically February is the shortest month as well. And just a lousy weather month here to boot. So much to hate about February, so little time. :P"I think that's why I have finished more books in February than any other month since I started tracking (and that includes an extra January.) Can't go outside, might as well read.
I've no idea why I read less in February than in any other month, it's over 800 pages less than average. I know that in January I read more than average because I go on a reading retreat, last year May was a good month and in 2016 it was June, when I also rented a bungalow somewhere (which I've planned for November this year). July is also a good month, that's when I usually dog/house sit.February isn't off to a good start; I've got an eye infection. I called the doctor to make an appointment, but I can't until it starts hurting again or it last longer than three days (which is until Saturday, so then I have to wait until Monday).
Mine's usually summer. I just get more busy being outside and the kids are off and need more me time. Then we go camping and I'm lucky to read maybe 50 pages in a week of camping. We're going for three weeks this year so a month of reading pretty much blown.January to April : good
May: suspect
June to August: terrible
September to November: good
December: usually off, or just a few light titles
The Skin Collector by Jeffery Deaver.A good book. It took longer to read it than it should, because of a double eye infection. During the day it was okay, but in the evening my eyes goo-ed up and reading wasn't easy. Last night, for the first time since Wednesday, my eyes didn't goo, so hopefully they are now on the mend. (On the other hand I did manage to listen to a lot of podcasts to keep me entertained, since watching TV at night wasn't an option either).
I just saw that the latest Lincoln Rhyme book is released in April, including that book there are only three full books and one short story to go. So I should be able to finish this series in 2018.
Up next is a Guido Brunetti book by Donna Leon. I didn't let my randomizer app choose. I need something quick and easy to read, I'm trying to get back up to speed.
The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon.An okay story, although both story lines have realistic endings, they are, to me, also unsatisfactory. Also the first story line isn't really worked out, it's almost as if Leon had two stories, both of them too short for a full book and stuck them together to have enough for publication.
I'm still not gaining any ground, I keep being either one book ahead of schedule or I'm right on target. I now hope that when I'm going housesitting in a couple of weeks, and working less that week, that I can get some serious reading done.
The Magician King by Lev Grossman.A very good story, I liked it better than the first book. Mainly because the main character wasn't as annoying as in book 1.
Up next a Lincoln Rhyme short story, which I should be able to finish today and after that I'm not sure yet.
The Deliveryman by Jeffery Deaver.I'm still not a fan of short stories in series, there's always the danger you miss one or can't get one and you miss a vital detail (which happened with the Sookie Stackhouse series for me). Also most are just used to plug the release of a full book of the series and the extract from that book is often longer than the short story. This seems not to be the case with Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series. There are two short stories so far, but they are longer than average and tell a good story.
Up next is Susannah Constantine's fiction book. It seems you either love it or hate it, but at least it's short and since I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for it'll do as a filler.
I think novellas/short stories can work well for some series but for others they end up just being teasers which I really don't like. Good: Dresden Files where he basically does a "monster of the week" stand-alone story and rarely has anything spoiler like in it.
Bad: The Steampunk Chronicles where the short "stories" are really just a prologue for the next book and have huge cliffhangers in them.
I've read about 8 books of the Sookie Stackhouse series in paper books and in one book a character (Claudine?) popped up, without any introduction who or what she was. I actually went back to the previous book to see if I missed anything. I didn't know about short story half books. I can deal with it when the short stories are sold separate usually for $1 to $2. What I really hate is when one of those short stories is published in an anthology with other series short stories and you have to spend full book money for just one short story, because you don't know any of the other series.
/end of rant, and definitely time to go to bed.
After the Snow by Susannah Constantine.Meh. In an interview the author presented it as a mystery. But it wasn't. It was an okay story, but rather simplistically written and a bit too obvious.
The Seventh Sacrament by David Hewson.A solid addition to the Nic Costa series, a bit slow at times.
I just saw that in two weeks time the next Others book is released. Yay, I was thinking recently how I was in the mood for that series.
Lirael by Garth Nix.I'm really liking this series so far (2 books in). It took a little longer to read than it should have due to a fast but furious cold. But today I read about 60% of the book to finish it. I think that if you like The Others you'll also like this series.
I'm now, once again on schedule or one book ahead, due to the stupid cold. I will have to choose my reading wisely next week and hopefully I can get some extra reading done.
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan.An okay story, but not good enough to read the prequel or continue with any sequels when they are published.
MobileRead Book Challenges
Books mentioned in this topic
The Haunting of Rookward House (other topics)A House by the Sea (other topics)
The Hollow Boy (other topics)
Lies Sleeping (other topics)
Mortal Engines (other topics)
More...
* Try to read 100 books
* Try to read 40000 pages
* Keep the number of books in my active series to a reasonable number.
* Write 12 reviews