YA Addicted Book Club discussion

I rather enjoyed my more casual approach to things this year so I think that will be my approach again next year. My Goodreads goal will be 100 books as usual. Outside of that I want to just keep chipping away at some of my long outstanding goals. I think I am going to specifically target some of them just so I can get them finished. I'll also be listening to more audiobooks as I'm planning on walking more next year (I've set a goal of walking at least 2,000 km). This thread will be just to keep track of what I read on a monthly basis.

Woo! Good on you for the walking Gord. Audiobooks make that better for sure. Any particular outstanding goals you are thinking about focusing on?

I've got some 9-10 challenges in mind that I want to wrap up next year. They are ones that I've only got a few things left and I just need to focus them down.

As for series or books I've got a couple ideas. I want to be caught up with In Death by the end of next year which should be easy. I want to read through Card Captor Sakura, One Punch Man, and FMA next year. Outside of that I'm batting around a couple of other manga series as well. Things like maybe Death Note or Hellsing.

Overall I'm keep an open mind to things. Those challenges are going to probably force some odd books on me.

Genre Bingo

1. Locked Room Mystery
2. Cozy Fantasy/Scifi
3. Paranormal Romance Moonlight and Magic
4. Urban Fantasy Storm Front
5. Historical Fantasy
6. Dark Fantasy Berserk Deluxe Edition Volume 9
7. Mythology
8. Gothic
9. Howdunit
10. Time Travel
11. Military
12. Non fiction Butts: A Backstory
13. Forensic
14. Legal
15. Humour
16. Epic
17. Alternate History
18. Contemporary
19. LitRPG Reincarnated as a Sword (Light Novel) Vol. 1
20. Romance Under the Table
21. Apocalyptic
22. Arthurian
23. Beach Read
24. Acadamia
25. Classic The Invisible Man

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Trope Bingo

1. Secret Identity
2. Found Family
3. Damsel/Dude in Distress
4. Emotional Scars Triptych
5. Wallflower (protagonist is an outsider or someone who would not normally be the center of attention.)
6. Put Them All Out of My Misery (antagonist is miserable and blames it on everyone else and wants to destroy their community or world.)
7. Conjuring Evil (a demon or evil spirit is somehow summoned, usually through the use of a Ouija Board or witchcraft and leading to possession or a haunting.)
8. Splitting Up the Party
9. Teenager Saves the Universe
10. Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" ( only known by his/her job title or some other descriptive moniker, or an obscure or odd word that functions as an unusual nickname.)
11. Anyone Can Die
12. Library Full of Secret Knowledge
13. Training Sequence(s)
14. Idol/Celebrity
15. The Lucky Novice
16. The Waiting Evil
17. Talking Animals
18. Forbidden love/ Star-Crossed Lovers
19. Meet-Cute
20. Fish Out of Water
21. Lovable Rogue
22. Sunny/Grumpy Relationship
23. Lost Powers
24. Pseudo-European Medieval Setting in fantasy novels In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 1
25. New girl/boy in town Omens

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Manga/Comic Bingo

1. Orange Cover
2. Slice of Life
3. Historical
4. Isekai
5. Aliens
6. Animal Characteristics/Transformations
7. Fairy Tales
8. Butler
9. Countryside
10. Demon King
11. Elemental Powers
12. Spies
13. Gods
14. Guilds
15. Guns/Explosives
16. 2 people on the cover
17. Fantasy
18. Hotels/Inns/Castles
19. Monster Girls
20. Rivalry
21. Reincarnation
22. Royalty
23. School Uniform on cover
24. Thieves
25. Martial Arts

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

50 State challenge

Alabama Triptych
Alaska Butts: A Backstory
Arizona Butts: A Backstory
Arkansas Butts: A Backstory
California Butts: A Backstory
Colorado Butts: A Backstory
Connecticut Beyond Reach
Delaware Dark in Death
Florida Upright Women Wanted
Georgia Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting
Hawaii Under the Table
Idaho Butts: A Backstory
Illinois Butts: A Backstory
Indiana
Iowa Secrets in Death
Kansas Beyond Reach
Kentucky Beaches, Bungalows & Burglaries
Louisiana Butts: A Backstory
Maine Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor
Maryland Butts: A Backstory
Massachusetts Triptych
Michigan Butts: A Backstory
Minnesota Secrets in Death
Mississippi Triptych
Missouri Secrets in Death
Montana Triptych
Nebraska Secrets in Death
Nevada Secrets in Death
New Hampshire Beyond Reach
New Jersey Butts: A Backstory
New Mexico Race to the Sun
New York Butts: A Backstory
North Carolina Butts: A Backstory
North Dakota
Ohio Under the Table
Oklahoma Race to the Sun
Oregon Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting
Pennsylvania Butts: A Backstory
Rhode Island Under the Table
South Carolina Butts: A Backstory
South Dakota Bitter Fruit
Tennessee Butts: A Backstory
Texas Butts: A Backstory
Utah It Happened One Summer
Vermont Beyond Reach
Virginia Butts: A Backstory
Washington It Happened One Summer
West Virginia Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places
Wisconsin Dark in Death
Wyoming Faithless

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

A-Z Book Titles

A: All Systems Red
B: Butts: A Backstory
C: Cryptid Club
D: Dark Frost
E: The Elusive Samurai, Vol. 1
F: Faithless
G: Garlic and the Witch
H: Hunter x Hunter, Vol. 03
I: It Happened One Summer
J: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 1—Phantom Blood, Vol. 1
K: Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (Light Novel) Vol. 13
L: Laid-Back Camp, Vol. 12
M: Moonlight and Magic
N: Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting
O: Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu, Volume 10
P: Princess Jellyfish 2-in-1 Omnibus, Vol. 2
Q:
R: Reincarnated as a Sword (Light Novel) Vol. 1
S: SAKAMOTO DAYS 4
T: The Treasure of the Black Swan
U: Under the Table
V: Vampire Hunter D
W: Written in Red
X:
Y: Yu-Gi-Oh! (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 6: Includes Vols. 16, 17 18
Z: Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Genre challenge

FICTION
Fantasy Reincarnated as a Sword (Light Novel) Vol. 1
Science Fiction All Systems Red
Dystopian Upright Women Wanted
Mystery/Thriller Secrets in Death
Horror I Am Not a Serial Killer
Historical Fiction Strike the Zither
Romance Under the Table
LGBTQ+ Belle of the Ball
Literary Fiction The Scent Keeper
Graphic Novel/Comic/Manga Sakamoto Days, Vol. 4
Short Story
Young Adult/New Adult Let's Get Textual
Classic - old (before 1900) The Invisible Man
Classic - new (Beloved, To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye) Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Women's Fiction It Happened One Summer
Western (Zane Grey, Louis L'Amour, NOT a romance "western")
Fable/Fairy Tale/Folklore/Mythology Touch of Frost
Comedy Wyrd Sisters
Author of Color Fist of the North Star, Vol. 9

NONFICTION
Biography/Autobiography/Memoir Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting
Self Help The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
History Butts: A Backstory
True Crime Pablo Escobar: My Father
Poetry
Personal Interest (Art, Food, Hobby, etc.)

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Time for my first update of the year. I entered the month with a lot of left over reading from the holidays which threw off my plans a wee bit. I didn't get as much challenge work done this month but I got a little bit done. I'll be honest here, I'm not sure how much challenge work I'll be getting done for the next couple months. This anime season is packed, work is crazy busy, and I've still got a big back log of library stuff I'm working through.

And that is okay if you dont get much challenge stuff done Gord. Which anime are you most excited for? And of course, best book of the month?

Oh man, most anticipated anime would have to be either Bofuri season 2 or Tomo Chan. Tomo has been great so far. Bofuri has had a bit of a rough start but I still enjoy it. They are just blitzing through the source material currently.

As for best book but best new novel would probably be All Systems Red. My biggest complaint with it was that I wanted more.

That is always my feeling with Murderbot, more please.

I have so much anime I want to watch its overwhelming and I never actually start any :P

Tonight I'm finishing up one of my older and bigger challenges. I started this one back in Dec/2019 and have been picking at it since. Hopefully I didn't miss anything.

Time for that monthly update and, well, I wouldn't say I'm embarrassed, but I am a bit shocked. Outside of audiobooks I've only read two novels this months and those were light novels. Everything else has been manga and comics. That will be changing soon as I have several novels on the docket that aren't audiobooks. Outside of that I've been knocking out several challenges this month including one of my big ones. Some of it was planned and some was coincidental.

Nothing wrong with enjoying a manga filled month! Plus all those audio books

I had 6 audiobooks in one month and it was a short one.

Thats great! So much walking for you

Not my strongest month of reading overall. Life/work was not a kind one this month. That being said I did complete a couple more challenges and I did get some reading done.

As usual, I love your manga selection. So good!

Not as much manga this month but I still got some in.

I know its a lower total than you're usual but still a good month overall. Which was the best book?

In Death, Solo Leveling, Murderbot would probably be my top books but Reincarnated as a Sword, Sakamoto Days, and Beyond Reach were also all solid books as well.

What did you think of I Am Not a Serial Killer? That one sounds very interesting!

It had an interesting premise but I didn't click with the book overall. I think a lot of it came down to the fact that I just didn't like the MC. I also wasn't a fan of the narrator either. The voice just didn't match the MC in my opinion.

Oh that's a shame. But I get it. It's kinda hard to like a book when you don't like the MC 😬 Good to know though

Do you recommend any books that you have read this year

Oh of course but it all depends on what you are looking for. Also keep in mind that I have some rather odd tastes. Some top picks off of what I have read this year are:

Novels
In Death - I've been working through this series for a couple of years now and it's been a consistently great read. It's a slightly futuristic/mystery/romance kind of series. The big draw of this series is by far the characters and their interactions. The author has created a great ensemble of characters it's great to see them interact on the page.

Murderbot - I just started this series this year and so far I've been really enjoying it. It's a sci-fi story set deep in space about a rogue security unit who is learning what it means to be free. I've read the first three books so far and it has been great so far.

Grant County - Another murder mystery series and again this is a pretty mature series covering some pretty dark material. I'll be hones there this is not a series that one reads to feel good. Some of the characters are pretty despicable and some pretty despicable things but it's that portrayal and exploration of those characters that is so fascinating.


Manga/comics/light novels
Berserk - I put this on my list because this is not just one of my favorite mangas of all time but one of my all time favorite pieces of fiction. That being said this recommendation comes with a massive warning. I don't normally put warnings on my recommendations but this series is not afraid to visit pretty much anything and everything traumatic. It's gory, it's violent, it has assault in the colors, and a lot worse. This is a series that is extremely dark. It's a dark medieval fantasy about a mans journey through life and his struggle against fate and destiny.

Laid Back Camp - And on the other end of the spectrum from Berserk is this lovely little series. It's a chill series about camping and has one of my favorite portrayals of an introvert ever. You learn a bit about camping (in Japan), a bit about various tourist areas in Japan, and is just a fun, laid back series.

Komi Can't Communicate - This is a fun comedy series about a young girl with a communication disorder who want's to make friends. Your mileage may vary as not all the jokes land but overall it has funny moments and sweet moments.

Solo Leveling - This is a Korean power fantasy that has been just a great read. I have been reading the novel version of this series but you can also read these as a comic and I think most people read the comic version.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear - Another power fantasy series. This is a lot more laid back and chill then Solo Leveling as the MC is so over powered that nothing is really a challenge for her. It's a fun little read. This is another series that is also available in a manga version but I've been reading the light novels.

Thank you. I have been having a horror kick right now

Time for another monthly update. I've completed some smaller challenges this month and I'm working on finishing up one of my older ones.

Nice Gord! and yay for finishing up some smaller challenges. Which older challenge are you working on completing now?
Any standout books for the month?

I'm working on a challenge revolving around celebrations. Every day of the year has some sort of celebration. For instance May 1st is of course things like May Day but it's also Lei Day and National Chocolate Parfait Day. Each day would list a weird celebration and two tasks to pick from. It's been a long challenge and I'm down to the things that my normal reading just wouldn't cover. I've got two days left currently. One that I'm reading a book for now and another one I'm waiting for a book to come in.

As for standout books There was Triptych, and V for Vendetta. TMNT and Easy Nevada were way better then they had any right to be as well.

I had a pretty good weekend for challenges and I'm feeling pretty good as a result. I'm a part of three different challenge groups currently because I'm a madman. A lot of the challenges I do are open ended and I don't normally focus a challenge. I read what ever and if it fills a task somewhere then that is great. The problem with that approach though is there are times where I get into a rut. Whatever I'm reading it doesn't line up with anything and my challenges kind of stagnate a bit. This weekend I completed a few things that just shook up my challenges and got things moving again across all three groups. Some stand out accomplishments this weekend.

Celebrations, I mentioned this in the post above. I finished another month and I just need one more book to finish it. I have it on hold at the library and I'm just waiting for it to come in.

Rolling Down the Highway, this was a long challenge based around the American interstate highways. I started this challenge about four years ago and I finally finished it. I'm just waiting for the mod to review my stuff and give me the final thumbs up.

Buffy, a shorter challenge based around the Buffy timeline. I was stuck on this one for a while and I finally got moving on it again and then finished it this weekend.

Plants vs Zombies, this has been a long, long, long, grueling challenge that I've been working on for three years now. It's not done but I finished the second final world this weekend. I now just have three more levels in the final world and then it's done. Looking through things and I might be the first to finish this challenge. It seems that most people have dropped out over time.

Outside of these major milestones I've completed a several tasks that I've been hung up on now for a while. It just feels good to finally be making some progress.

Yay that is fabulous Gord!

Another month

Looks like a decent month! Best book? Best manga?

Best book was Exit Strategy. I mean it's more Murder Bot. After I'd say Solo Leveling and Foxglove Summer were also solid entries. On the manga/comic side that is a lot harder. Berserk is of course on top for obvious reasons. Yokohma Kaidashi Kikou was an amazing slice of life manga. Yu-Gi-Oh was more solid story telling with over the top battles. Sakamoto Days was more great action. W.I.T.C.H was a surprise comic that I didn't expect to be as great as it was. There is a lot of solid manga and comics in that list.

Fair! and I agree Murder Bot all the way

Another month down and I don't think I'm hitting 400 this year. That's fine though. I completed a few more challenges this month which has been nice. The one I'm most proud of is finally completing my Celebrations challenge which I think I've been working on for something like four years. In July I should be completing another long challenge I've been working on for a very long while.

Awesome Gord
Best book of the month?

Congrats on finishing the challenge! Four years is a long time!

Oh man, the hardest question of the month.

Novels
There were several good novels this month honestly. In Death and Will Trent were good of course. Pablo Escobar was much better than I expected and an interesting glimpse into something I knew little about. Amelia Peabody and Mrs. Pollifax were both excellent start to series. Solo Leveling was more dumb power fantasy fun and That Time I got Drunk was just pure dumb fun.

Manga/Comic
Again so many good options here. I Hate Fairyland 5 was probably the standout for me. It was unexpected and it just gave me everything that I loved about the original series. I have no idea how to explain why I love this series so much as so much of it would be considered crude and offensive to many I follow here on Goodreads but it just ticks all the boxes for me. Outside of that Laid Back Camp is more chill slice of life fun, TMNT was more great turtles story, Zombie Tramp was more dumb fun, Tombs was more weird Ito. The other stand out for me would have to be Run on Your New Legs. It reminded me why I love reading so much. That glimpse into a life that I know of but know nothing about.

Liliana wrote: "Congrats on finishing the challenge! Four years is a long time!"

I've got a few that I am working on now for four years. Some I'm coming on finishing soon and some still have a ways to go.

Gord wrote: "Oh man, the hardest question of the month.

Novels
There were several good novels this month honestly. In Death and Will Trent were good of course. Pablo Escobar was much better than I expected an..."

Totally fair Gord! You had some really good books this past month

I'm just waiting for my final confirmation from the mod but I should have just finished another long challenge. This one was started in Apr/2020 and it has been a daunting challenge. For a while I wasn't sure I was going to ever finish this one.

Nice Gord!

Another month and another giant stack of books. This bug going around Goodreads currently really made this update a pain.

Omg Gord YES! Idk what is going on with Goodreads, but it is SO annoying!!

Looks like a good reading month, though!

Nice month Gord! So much manga!

This was definitely not my strongest month for reading. Not sure what happened honestly. Just life and being busy at work.