MobileRead Book Challenges discussion

Update 6/27/12: Okay, well, my tickers all broke while I was gone, and since I was going to change things anyway, I cleared this whole post.

I'm still tracking books read via the GR challenge widget, and I will try to keep tracking pages. Beyond that, I'm just going with "whatever". So, consider all the "side challenges" to now just be for tracking purposes, and not actual goals. If I meet them, great, but I'm not really going to make it a point to try. :)

As of book #69, 19,328 pages read.

The introduction and rapidly-growing participation in the KDP Select program has led to a freebies binge. This section will be the Kindle Freebies Decimation Challenge in which I attempt to read at least some of the freebies I grabbed.

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The wonderful Harlequin discount code that's good till 1/31/12 has forced me to also add a Harlequin Decimation Challenge. Right now I'm going with 20 books for the challenge, but that could change.

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This is Series Goals Part A. I intend to read some series, including getting caught up on ones I'm already reading, and trying some new ones. This category also includes trilogies. Goals so far (covers are ones completed):

Dresden Files - get caught up in time for release of #14 (4 books + completion of Side Jobs)
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Millennium Trilogy - read all three books
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Grovont Trilogy (+1) - finish by reading the remaining two books
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The Hollows/Rachel Morgan - (4 books)

Joe Pitt - try it, if I like it read more (5 books)

Harry Potter - first 5 will be re-reads. (7 books)

Pretty Little Liars - (I think there are 12, my goal is 4 or 5)
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First 20 Books of 2012
Spoilered because I'm tired of scrolling.
(view spoiler)[
1. 4/5, finished 1/3/12

2. 5/5, finished 1/8/12

3. 4/5, finished 1/12/12

4. 3/5, finished 1/13/12

5. 4/5, finished 1/15/12

6. 3/5, finished 1/15/12 (140)

7. 3/5, finished 1/16/12 (130)

8. 4/5, finished 1/16/12 (130)

9. 3/5, finished 1/16/12

10. 4/5, finished 1/17/12

11. 4/5, finished 1/17/12

12. 3/5, finished 1/18/12

13. 3/5, finished 1/19/12

14. 4/5, finished 1/20/12

15. 3/5, finished 1/22/12

16. 4/5, finished 1/25/12

17. 4/5, finished 2/3/12

18. 4/5, finished 2/10/12

19. 3/5, finished 2/11/12

20. 5/5, finished 2/16/12
(hide spoiler)]

2nd 20 Books of 2012
Spoilered because I'm tired of scrolling.
(view spoiler)[
21. 4/5, finished 2/19/12

22. 5/5, finished 2/23/12

23. 3/5, finished 2/25/12

24. 3/5, finished 3/5/12

25. 4/5, finished 3/8/12

26. 4/5, finished 3/17/12

27. 4/5, finished 6/26/12

28. 4/5, finished 6/26/12

29. 4/5, finished 6/27/12

30. 3/5, finished 7/5/12 - may revise rating after I've had some time to think about it.

31. 4/5, finished 7/9/12

32. 3/5, finished 7/10/12

33. 3/5, finished 7/15/12

34.

35.

36.

37.

38. plus other shorts / novellas

39. plus other shorts / novellas

40. plus other shorts / novellas
(hide spoiler)]

3rd 20 Books of 2012
(view spoiler)[
41. 4/5, finished 7/21/12

42. 5/5, finished 7/25/12

43. 5/5, finished 7/25/12

44. 4/5, finished 8/18/12 (yes, I took another "break")

45. 5/5, finished 8/18/12

46. 4/5, finished 8/23/12

47. 3/5, finished 8/24/12

48. 4/5, finished 8/26/12

49. 4/5, finished 9/1/12

50. 3/5, finished 9/3/12

51. 3/5, finished 9/4/12

52. 3/5, finished 9/5/12

53. 3/5, finished 9/6/12

54. 2/5, finished 9/8

55. 4/5, finished 9/9/12

56. 4/5, finished 9/9/12

57. 4/5, finished 9/11/12

58. 3/5, finished 9/11/12

59. 4/5, finished 9/14/12

60. 3/5, finished 9/16/12
(hide spoiler)]

4th XX Books of 2012


61. 3/5, finished 9/17/12

62. 2/5, finished 9/18/12

63. 3/5, finished 9/20/12

64. 3/5, finished 9/22/12

65. 3/5, finished 9/23/12

66. 3/5, finished 9/24/12

67. 3/5, finished 9/26/12

68. 4/5, finished 10/6/12

Post!!!!



(I couldn't resist.)

MrsJoseph wrote: "Post!!!!



(I couldn't resist.)"

LOL I totally expected that. I just didn't know if it would be you or Loosheesh that got to it first! :-)

Hahaha! I love you two. I really do. You've added more to my GR experience than I can ever explain. **hugs**

And now you can look at my reserved posts to see an approximation of what will be in them! I know, exciting!! Woo hoo!

Loosheesh wrote: " the only question is, will I be able to stick to my guns and actually read them? "

Yes, there's always that. I've been asking myself the same thing. Oh, and the Amazon Freebie Decimation Challenge was a last minute inspiration due to my sudden binge-clicking. The new KDP program has resulted in so many freebies, I simply cannot help myself!!! But I figured if I'm going to mass-download at this year's end, I should attempt to knock out a large number of them next year.

SO, I helped to create a list of the Top Fantasy Books of All Time with a different group I'm in.


An Aficionado’s Guide to the top 100 Fantasy Books of All Time

1 The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
2 A Game of Thrones
3 The Harry Potter Collection
4 The Name of the Wind
5 Mistborn: The Final Empire
6 The Eye of the World
7 Robin Hobb Collection: Farseer Trilog - Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, Assassin's Quest
8 The Dark Tower Series Collection: Gunslinger, Drawing of the Three, Waste Lands, Wizard and Glass, Wolves of the Calla, Song of Susannah, the Dark Tower
9 Gardens of the Moon
10 The Belgariad, Vol. 1: Pawn of Prophecy, Queen of Sorcery, Magician's Gambit
11 Daughter of the Empire
12 Wizard's First Rule
13 The Color of Magic
14 The Sword of Shannara Trilogy
15 Good Omens
16 Elric of Melniboné
17 The Great Book of Amber
18 Magic Bites
19 The Dark Elf Trilogy Collector's Edition
20 The Dragonlance Chronicles/Dragons of Autumn Twilight/Dragons of Winter Night/Dragons of Spring Dawning
21 A Wizard of Earthsea
22 Howl's Moving Castle
23 The Last Unicorn
24 The Fionavar Tapestry
25 Kushiel's Dart
26 Chronicles of The Black Company
27 The Malloreon, Vol. 1: Guardians of the West, King of the Murgos, Demon Lord of Karanda
28 Magician
29 His Dark Materials
30 The Mists of Avalon
31 Daughter of the Forest
32 Daughter of the Blood
33 The Complete Chronicles of Conan: Centenary Edition
34 Legend
35 Perdido Street Station
36 The Way of Kings
37 Dead Witch Walking
38 The Chronicles of Narnia
39 The Lions of al-Rassan
40 The Dark Is Rising Sequence
41 Moon Called
42 Darkfever
43 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
44 The Princess Bride
45 Storm Front
46 The Night Angel Trilogy
47 The Blade Itself
48 The Neverending Story
49 Sabriel
50 The Iliad
51 The Deed of Paksenarrion
52 Night Watch
53 Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy
54 American Gods / Anansi Boys: Coffret 2 volumes
55 Queen's Own
56 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
57 Interview with the Vampire
58 The Curse of Chalion
59 The Once and Future King
60 The Talisman
61 The Lies of Locke Lamora
62 A Spell for Chameleon
63 Hounded
64 Percy Jackson and the Olympians Boxed Set
65 Watership Down
66 His Majesty's Dragon
67 The Black Prism
68 The Odyssey
69 Mary Poppins
70 Neverwhere
71 Stardust
72 Tigana
73 The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales
74 The Warded Man, Demon Cycle #1
75 Fool's Errand
76 Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
77 The Liveship Traders Trilogy: Ship of Magic + Mad Ship + Ship of Destiny.
78 Elantris
79 Eragon, Eldest & Brisingr
80 Beowulf: A New Verse Translation
81 Furies of Calderon
82 The Children of Húrin
83 The Eyes of the Dragon
84 Redwall
85 The Dragonbone Chair
86 The Magic Kingdom of Landover: Volume 1
87 Best Served Cold
88 Dead Until Dark
89 Alanna: The First Adventure
90 On a Pale Horse
91 The Last Herald-Mage
92 Charlotte's Web
93 The Divine Comedy
94 Graceling
95 Black Sun Rising
96 Dragon Wing
97 Priestess of the White
98 Swords and Deviltry
99 The Book of Three
100 Dreams Underfoot

THIS is the list that I want to start with for 2012:

1 Mistborn: The Final Empire – I really need to read this, too
2 Robin Hobb Collection: Farseer Trilog - Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, Assassin's Quest – read the first one need to finish the rest
3 The Dark Tower Series Collection: Gunslinger, Drawing of the Three, Waste Lands, Wizard and Glass, Wolves of the Calla, Song of Susannah, the Dark Tower – read the first 4 and need to read the rest…probably need to start over again
4 Gardens of the Moon – really need to start
5 Daughter of the Empire
6 Wizard's First Rule
7 The Color of Magic – started but I never get far
8 Good Omens
9 Elric of Melniboné
10 Magic Bites
11 The Dark Elf Trilogy Collector's Edition
12 The Dragonlance Chronicles/Dragons of Autumn Twilight/Dragons of Winter Night/Dragons of Spring Dawning
13 Howl's Moving Castle
14 The Fionavar Tapestry – really need to read
15 Chronicles of The Black Company – read the first book, need to finish the rest
16 Magician - read about 1/3 of the first half. Will try again
17 Daughter of the Forest
18 Daughter of the Blood
19 The Complete Chronicles of Conan: Centenary Edition
20 Perdido Street Station
21 The Way of Kings
22 Dead Witch Walking
23 The Lions of al-Rassan
24 Moon Called – need to finish series, read the first 2
25 Darkfever
26 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
27 Storm Front – need to finish series
28 The Night Angel Trilogy – will start soon! 2012
29 The Neverending Story
30 Sabriel
31 The Deed of Paksenarrion – read one and ½ and need to finish up
32 Night Watch
33 American Gods / Anansi Boys: Coffret 2 volumes
34 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
35 The Curse of Chalion
36 The Once and Future King
37 The Talisman
38 Hounded – read the first and need to finish series
39 Percy Jackson and the Olympians Boxed Set
40 His Majesty's Dragon
41 The Black Prism
42 The Odyssey
43 Mary Poppins
44 Neverwhere
45 Stardust
46 Tigana
47 Fool's Errand
48 Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
49 The Liveship Traders Trilogy: Ship of Magic + Mad Ship + Ship of Destiny.
50 Elantris
51 Furies of Calderon
52 The Children of Húrin
53 Redwall
54 The Dragonbone Chair
55 The Magic Kingdom of Landover: Volume 1
56 Dead Until Dark
57 The Divine Comedy
58 Graceling
59 Black Sun Rising
60 Dragon Wing
61 Priestess of the White
62 Swords and Deviltry
63 The Book of Three
64 Dreams Underfoot

I am in awe of the number of posts without the year 2012 actually starting. :)

Holy crap. See, now I'm going to want to go through those and see if there's anything *I* want to read, but I can't do that because I already have too damn many books. :-/

Homeinmyshoes wrote: "I am in awe of the number of posts without the year 2012 actually starting. :)"

LOL See, last year I didn't reserve enough posts, and ended up re-doing my challenge thread with less-than-stellar results. I decided to avoid that this year. :-)

Christa ♥☺♥ wrote: "Holy crap. See, now I'm going to want to go through those and see if there's anything *I* want to read, but I can't do that because I already have too damn many books. :-/"

Just sent you a rec!

MrsJoseph wrote: "Just sent you a rec!"

Got it, and it's one I've been eyeing for a while but forgot about, so good call!

Christa ♥☺♥ wrote: "MrsJoseph wrote: "Just sent you a rec!"

Got it, and it's one I've been eyeing for a while but forgot about, so good call!"

:-D

I think you'll like that. I was iffy at first but hooked by the end of the 1st chapter.

I've added another goal for this year: To read some of the work of the recently departed Christopher Hitchens. As a lifelong agnostic, my religious reading over the years has been based in comparative studies, rather than books from a particular viewpoint. This has been for two reasons: one, I'm already exposed to an large number of viewpoints from people from all corners of faith (and non-faith), and two, when a large number of books on a subject are available, I generally choose more objective reference-type works over books with a subjective viewpoint. Plus there's the simple fact that there are waaaay more books in the world than there are hours in my life to read them.

The thing which has spurred my decision to read some of his work is simply this - I finally had time to read his obit in the NYT this morning, and I read several of the comments. It was incredible to see so many "I didn't agree with him, but he was necessary and important and will be missed" comments. So I will be reading his work not only as a tribute to a man who sparked thought, debate and controversy so effectively, but also as a tribute to the heartwarming fact that, even in this polarized climate that batters me daily, I have seen proof that many are still capable of respecting and recognizing the value of someone that they so strongly disagree with.

Christa wrote: "I've added another goal for this year: To read some of the work of the recently departed Christopher Hitchens. As a lifelong agnostic, my religious reading over the years has been bas..."

That sounds great, Christa. He sounds really interesting. I can't wait to read your review.

Added some more tickers. My OCD demands that I be more organized about this, but the rebel in me resists any attempt to control my reading. *sigh* I suspect I will be taking calibre to the mountains with me this weekend, because I'm just that big of a nerd.

Christa wrote: "Added some more tickers. My OCD demands that I be more organized about this, but the rebel in me resists any attempt to control my reading. *sigh* I suspect I will be taking calibre to the mountain..."

I've been wanting to add a ticker or two, but thought you all would think it was too much. Happy to know I'm not alone! :)

I wonder if they'd allow me to do the same on my List thread over at MR?

Nyssa wrote: "I've been wanting to add a ticker or two, but thought you all would think it was too much. Happy to know I'm not alone! :)

I wonder if they'd allow me to do the same on my List thread over at MR?"

I don't see why not. The ticker issue last year was only with signatures, not those in the actual posts.

True. I'll give it a go...if I can get Ticker Factory to cooperate. Some of the images (like the cute little music note) are not working properly and I'm getting other images instead.

You know, there was a famous set of cheese advertisements featuring an Australian chef/celebrity. The catchphrase was "Where's the cheese?".

Now that question doesn't suit here (or does it bwahahaha!), but I think I can introduce a new catchphrase: Where's the smut?

Caleb wrote: "Now that question doesn't suit here (or does it bwahahaha!), but I think I can introduce a new catchphrase: Where's the smut? "

LOL! Oh, there will be some smut. I mean, I need stuff to read in between the other stuff, right? That's where the smut comes in. I guess I didn't need to include a challenge for it because it's kind of a given that I'm going to read some. ;-)

We want smut! We want smut! We want smut! We want smut!


:-D

I'd be interested in smut like recommendations as the short story freebies I've downloaded have been pretty disappointing in one way or another.

Nyssa - Here's a link to my smut shelf, sorted by rating. (The ones with no rating haven't been read yet.) I think I got most of the rated ones from Fictionwise & AllRomance.

Thank you! I'll check those out!

Looks like my first 2012 book will be . I started it last week but didn't really get much reading done until this weekend. I certainly don't mind - it's a very good book! And I'm pretty sure I picked it up for free at Amazon sometime last year, so it will also count toward the Freebie Decimation Challenge.

Okay, no, it wasn't a freebie. And already, on the very first book, my GR stats will be different than my actual stats (reflected on the pages ticker) because the page count in GR is incorrect. The Kindle edition states 274 but Amazon states 314 for that ASIN. If I remember, I'll submit a librarian request to fix it later.

And yes, I know that page counts aren't really relevant for ebook editions, but if there is going to be a page count entered, it should match the source of that edition (in this case, Amazon), right? Right.

Oh thank you! I had forgotten we have a few GR Librarians in the group. Again, thank you!

Now, what to read next...
Would like to get started on the Harry Potter re-reads, but I also want to read Dresden #10, and a friend wants me to read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo so we can see the movie together.

I think I'll start Girl and see how I like it. It may not be my thing, but I told him I'd at least try.

I decided to go low tech with mine, but I'm starting to feel somewhat inadequate.

^I figured the ticker last year, but there was nothing cool like guns or engine blocks to suit my redneck prairie guy view. :)

Guns would have been cool. Last year folks were amused by my snakes & teddy bears. This year I went with completely normal butterflies to throw them off.

Christa wrote: "Guns would have been cool. Last year folks were amused by my snakes & teddy bears. This year I went with completely normal butterflies to throw them off."

I wish I could just stick my GR widget into my sig...

Am I the only one who is having notifications issues? As in, I'm not getting most of them. Grrr.

Just took a trip through my calibre libary, adding some new Kindle Freebies. In the past month, I've gotten nearly 80 Freebies from Amazon. Damn you, KDP!

With all the new year specials and some of my own purchases I picked up about 45 new books. :(

OK - some of these were on my wish list for a while, but still...

Caleb wrote: "With all the new year specials and some of my own purchases I picked up about 45 new books. :(

OK - some of these were on my wish list for a while, but still..."

*sigh* The acquisitions never end, no matter how we try... I started taking advantage of the Harlequin coupon code. Got 8 so far, about 16 more on the wishlist. They end up at .05 each. That's 20/$1. That's sub-garage-sale rate. I can't say no to that.

Wow! How did you do that??!

I have only bought 1 book this year...but I have not found anything to really catch my interest this year.

Do what? The Harlequin books? Coupon code is in MR bargains forum. If you put $4 or more in your cart, the code takes $4 off. So I shop specifically for the $4.05 books and check out one at a time. Apparently some people had trouble if they tried to do more than 4 in a row, so I buy 4, sign out, then wait till the next day and do 4 more. The code is good till the end of the month so I have time to clean out most of the $4.05 books on their site, probably. :-D

Loosheesh wrote: "Omigosh, I ran over here to implore you not to tell her how to get practically free books but, alas, I was too late ... lol

I've seen the code since it was first posted but I haven't bought any bo..."

LOL Yep, too late! :-) I ignored the code at first when I got the email from Harlequin - it wasn't until I actually looked at the thread on MR that I realized it could be used repeatedly. Then it got a whole lot more interesting to me. :-D

I guess the only thing better than practically free smut is free smut. :)

^Yikes. I've been picking up a few books, but they've all been on my challenge list for this year and it's no where near 45.