MobileRead Book Challenges discussion

This year I'm not going to do the 100 books challenge because last year I noticed that I avoided longer books. I've decided to count pages this year and my goal is to read 10.000 25.000 pages (average of 192 480 a week) which is probably a bit too easy but I want to see this year how much I would read in a normal year I upped my goal because after just two months I'm almost half way towards my goal, hopefully this is a more realistic target.

Total books/short stories read: 102
Total pages read: 36032

This year my main goal is to try and bring back the number of different series I'm reading. For every two series I finish I can start reading a new series.

Series I'm currently reading:
* Millennium Trilogy
* The Cat Who...
* Dresden Files
* Cotton Malone
* Ring
* Dr. Laszlo Kreizler
* Haunted Bookshop
* A Song of Ice and Fire
* Jaz Parks
* Aurelio Zen
* Nic Costa
* Rama
* Sebastian St. Cyr
* Bridgerton
* James Potter (on hold because author has announced that the next stories will be on hold indefinitely)
* Inspector Montalbano
* Mary Russell
* Haunted Guesthouse
* Timmy Quinn
* Brother Cadfael
* Charlie Parker

Bianca wrote: "This year my main goal is to try to bring back the number of different series I'm reading. For every two series I finish I can start a new series.


I solved that by stopping reading series. :)

Bianca wrote: "This year my main goal is to try to bring back the number of different series I'm reading. For every two series I finish I can start a new series.

Series I want to finish:
* Millennium trilogy
* T..."

I've got a lot of series to finish, too...

MrsJoseph wrote: I've got a lot of series to finish, too...

I want to bring it down to about 4 I'm activily reading. There are series I'm up to date with and I'll read new books when they are published and there are several series I'm reading but only when I'm in the right mood, if that makes any sense.

I just finished the first book of the year.

1. by John Harwood. An okay read although at times the short stories featured in the book were more interesting than the main storyline.

2. by Arthur Conan Doyle. A great read, even after almost 120 years.

3. by Erik Lynd. A very short story but okay, it somewhat reminded me of Stephen King.

4. by Merabeth James. Quick and entertaining. It could have done with more editing because some sentences are too long with too many commas and often the space between a period and the start of a new sentence wasn't there (which could have been a conversion error).

5. by Michael Weems. An interesting read. Not a horror or even a traditional ghost story, but a story with ghosts in it. I liked the twist at the end.

In comparison to last year I've slowed down a lot. I've been working my way through The Girl Who Played With Fire for a while now and I can't even seem to read quick read quickly. It'll pass but it does annoy me.

6. by Stieg Larsson. I found this a better read than the first book in the Millennium Trilogy, which took a while to get going. However, the first book was more of a stand-alone book and after finishing this book you have very little choice but to go straight on the final book of the series.

7. by Sarah Rayne. Another good story by Sarah Rayne. Although it was a quick read it didn't feel what I like to call a "snack book" (quick read, easily forgettable).

8. by Lilian Jackson Braun. A nice fluffy read, unlike one of the previous book where Qwilleran travels out of Moose County I did like this one.

I finished my first series of the year!

9. by Stieg Larrson. Despite each book being a slow read for me the series was very good. I prefer the last two books over the first one because that took a while to get going.

Because I've finished two ongoing series I can start a new series. It was hard to choose but I'm going to start the James Potter series.

Bianca wrote: "I finished my first series of the year!

9. by Stieg Larrson. Despite each book being a slow read for me the series was very good. I prefer..."

Congrats!


BTW, I hate it when Qwill travels out of Moose County, too.

MrsJoseph wrote: "BTW, I hate it when Qwill travels out of Moose County, too. "

I didn't dislike this one too much. What I did notice and annoyed me, I realized today, was that Braun left too many things open in the end. Qwill had doubt if he really fell into the waterfall or if it was intentional, she didn't do anything with that storyline. Also if there were any FBI agents amongst the artists and she also never told if there were any dead amongst the people whose houses were destroyed.

I can handle it when some things aren't resolved but this book, on reflection, just didn't feel finished there were too many loose ends.

10. by G. Norman Lippert. Good story and interesting to see how someone continues, more or less, with JK Rowlings series.

Bianca wrote: "10. by G. Norman Lippert. Good story and interesting to see how someone continues, more or less, with JK Rowlings series."

I thought JK hated fanfic?

MrsJoseph wrote: I thought JK hated fanfic?


I don't know about that but I did like this book. Probably because although the familiar characters play a role in the book they don't play big roles and because they're older it isn't strange when they act differently than in JK's books. I never got into fanfic because I don't like it when well known character act differently (IMO) than in the original books.

Time for another update:

* by Alice Kimberly. Like the other books in the series it's okay, I still think the hard-boiled detective talk of the ghost often feels a bit forced but the books are entertaining enough.

* by Caleb Carr. A great sequel to the first in the Dr. Laszlo Kreizler series. Carr is very good at describing the late 19th century and it really adds to the atmosphere of the story. The plot was a bit overly complex, having to solve one crime to solve the original one plus several little, non-related, mysteries.

* by William Meikle. It's been a while since I've read the orginal Carnacki stories but I liked these eight new short stories. What did detract from them is that in several stories Meikle just copies and pastes the exact same explanation about Carnacki's equipment and set up. Reading the stories back to back makes this repetition very annoying and not very professional.

by Jonathan Janz.
Mediocre at best. Janz tries to keep the tension high throughout the story but, at least for me, it had the opposite effect. In the second half he also seems to use all the gory things he could think of, again that didn't work for me. Janz also uses a lot of sexual violence/gore, now I'm not a prude but I got annoyed with it because if the story was written well most of it wouldn't have been necessary or at least not described in such detail as it was.

by Louis Bayard.
An okay historical mystery. Main characters aren't especially likeable and the pace is rather slow but entertaining enough.

by Stavros Halvatzis.
Okay, could have done with a bit more editing to tighten up the story.

by George R.R. Martin.
It took me a while to read, because I took a bread from the fantasy genre for a while. I did like it but I think Martin could have told the same story a lot quicker.

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Another collection of great short stories.

by Alice Kimberly.
A nice fluffy story. I liked it better than the previous ones and wasn't as irritated with the hard-boiled language of the ghost.

Going slightly crazy at the moment. A couple of weeks ago I had trouble finding books to read that fit my mood but at the moment there are too many books I want to read. I'm currently reading Steve Berry and next up is another Dresden File, then the latest Haunted Bookshop. Because I finished of a series I can choose a new series to start but which one, there are at least 5 high on my to start list. I've also downloaded several Amazon freebies or very cheap books.

Hopefully my sister isn't planning a lot of activities during our holiday next week!

Loosheesh wrote: "Ah, the dreaded too-many-choices dilemma ;-)"

That's the best problem to have!

MrsJoseph wrote: "That's the best problem to have!"

Not when I'm preparing for my holiday, LOL! Yesterday I found myself running around the house gathering everything we need and making lists of everything that still needs to be done and packed. I caught myself making a reading list while I never plan ahead more than one or two books and read what I'm in the mood for.

Hopefully tonight I can catch up on some reading because I think I won't have much time to read tomorrow and Monday.

by Steve Berry.
Very entertaining. Basically a modern day Indiana Jones. As in the previous two books in the Cotton Malone series it seems a bit complicated in the beginning with several groups wanting to get to the same religious artefact but Berry is very able to bring everything together into a satisfying end.

I got quite some reading done during my holiday next week.

by Jim Butcher.
It starts with a bang and it ends with one too! I like this book best in the series up until now and I can't wait to read the next one.

by Alice Kimberly.
Again, I like this one best of the series. Before I got annoyed with the way the ghost speaks but since the previous book it has either toned down or I got used to it. The next book was supposed to come out in January but it doesn't seem available.

by Andrea Camilleri.
I'm not sure what to think of this series yet. It was okay but not a page turner. I think I'll give this series another book or two to prove itself before deciding to to on or not.

That is quite a bit. I need to get to reading, too! I'm sorta stuck in a rut.

MrsJoseph wrote: "That is quite a bit. I need to get to reading, too! I'm sorta stuck in a rut."

I had a reading dip at the beginning of the year and thought I would read less than in 2011. But although I've read less books than last year up until now I think I'm well on my way to read about the same number of pages as last year.

My biggest problem will be my challenge of not starting a new series until I've finished two I'm currently reading. After I finish The Ring and Dresden Files most series left I have to either read two or three books to finish it but they're really long books (800+ pages) or I need to read 4+ books to finish the series. I'm trying to read a bit more stand-alone books to get enough variation so I won't grow bored with a series and abandon it.

Loop by Koji Suzuki.
I'm not sure about this book. The series has developed from a creepy thriller to a scientific thriller, very scientific. Only about halfway through the link is made between this story and the other stories in the series. I do have to say that the scientific bits were easier to follow and understand than in the two previous books.

House of the Lost by Sarah Rayne.
Her stories remind me a lot of Barbara Michael's novels, only with a little less romance thrown in. I like it how she manages to merge both a historic and a contemporary story line.

Beekeeping for Beginners and The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King.
My first broken promise this year (it surprised me it didn't happen sooner). I started this series without finishing two I'm currently reading. But it was worth it.

A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King.
I really liked this book, although I hope that in future books the religion and feminism will be toned down a bit. I've already started the next one in the series but I think after that I'll take a short break to read something else to try and avoid getting fed up with the series.

Time for another update. I've slowed down a bit with reading and playing more video games at the moment.

A Letter of Mary by Laurie R. King.
Not as good as the first two, but still entertaining.

The Charlemagne Pursuit by Steve Berry.
Again, not as good as the previous books in the series. Most well known characters are absent in this book and I felt it dragged a bit. It hasn't got as much action as the other books.

The Cat Who Wasn't There by Lilian Jackson Braun.
Entertaining and a lot better than the previous one.

Bianca wrote: "Time for another update. I've slowed down a bit with reading and playing more video games at the moment.

A Letter of Mary by Laurie R. King.
Not as good as the first two, but still entertaining.

..."

I think we're all slowing down a bit. Maybe it's just springtime?

I'm just noticing you finished Dr. Lazlo...I started reading the Alienist but stopped due to gore factor. DId you enjoy them all?

MrsJoseph wrote: "I'm just noticing you finished Dr. Lazlo...I started reading the Alienist but stopped due to gore factor. DId you enjoy them all?"

Yes, although they were both slow reads for me. They were very well written. I'm not bothered by gore and I felt that the gore in these books wasn't to shock or purposeless gore (that I don't like).

The second one in the series has less gore but more personal horror and trauma.

The Moor by Laurie R. King.
O Jerusalem by Laurie R. King.

Two other great Mary Russell stories. I like The Moor best of the two, not because of the somewhat familiar setting (Baskerville area) but there's more action. I felt that O Jerusalem was a bit slower and it took a while to find out what the mystery was that needed to be solved.

I've taken a little break from the Mary Russell series

Property of A Lady by Sarah Rayne. I like Sarah Rayne's book, they remind me of Barbara Michaels a lot. Her stories have are a bit darker and have a little less romance in them than Michaels' books. This was another great story about a haunted house.

The Hunting Ground by Cliff McNish.
It started promising but in the end it was just a meh story. What bothered me most was that there was no motive given why the evil ghost was evil and why a little girl ghost becomes evil. It also bothered me that the father in the story is only referred to as "Dad" even in the chapter telling the story from his point of view.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett.
I've been putting off reading this book because I heard so many good things about it and I didn't want to be disappointed by not liking it. But my sister wants to see the film soon and I always like to read the book before I see the film adaptation.
I'm glad to say that I really liked the story, although the ending is rather abrupt (I like neat and happy endings) it fits the story.

A quick list of what I've read during the last couple of weeks. Although my reading mood has returned my mood about keeping lists has gone :p

by Laurie R. King.
by Sarah Rayne.
by Laurie R. King.
by Dean Koontz.
by Paul Collins.

I'm taking a break from reading detectives/mysteries, horror and urban fantasy. I like those genres but I've read a bit too much of those lately.

I'm also contemplating if I'm going to continue with my cutting back active series challenge, there are so many series I'd like to try out. Or, as a compromise, I might change it so I'm allowed to read the first book in a series to see if I like it or not.

At least someone around here is reading. :)

At the moment it really depends on the book for me how fast I read it, until recently I read everything as fast as possible.

However, on 3 July I can renew my mobile phone contract and choose a new one. I plan on replacing my Blackberry with a Galaxy Note, hoping it will also function as a tablet, and I think that I will read a lot less when I get it!

Homeinmyshoes wrote: "At least someone around here is reading. :)"

QFT

by Isabel Allende.
I really loved this book. In my early teens I loved the Zorro series with Duncan Regehr and I was afraid that this book would disappoint. It tells how Zorro got to be Zorro and about his relationship with his family and friends.

by Arthur C. Clarke and Lee Gentry.
In the first book in the Rama series the main character of the book was spaceship Rama. This second book is all about the group people who explore the second Rama spaceship that appears 70 years after the first one. There's a lot of tension and backstabbing between the characters and several story threads aren't cleared up at the end of the book (hopefully in the next book they will). I liked the first book better.

I've decided that after finishing the second book in the Inspector Montalbano series I won't be continuing this series. It just isn't my style and I can't get interested in it, I can't explain why though.

by Andrea Camilleri.
I've decided this series just isn't for me. I'm not sure what it is but the series just can't keep me interested.

by Jim Butcher.
It took a while but I finally finished it. Some stories were better than others but overall I liked it.

by Jim Butcher.
I'm not sure what to think of this latest book in the Dresden Files. I liked the story but it wasn't a typical Dresden Files story. As others have said, it seems this book is setting up the rest of the series' story line.

As I've written on MR I've decided to change my series challenge a bit. My "series waiting list" has currently over 30 series on it and for quite a few I'm not sure if I really like them. I'm now going to allow the reading of the first book in a series to see if I want to continue with a series. Hopefully this way I can cut down both the number of series I'm reading and my waiting list.

by C.S. Harris.
It's been a while since I first read the first book of this series but I was able to pick up the story okay. Sebastian St. Cyr is this time asked to help with an investigation to determine who killed the young wife of a lord after the body was discovered in the arms of the Prince Regent. It's an entertaining a quick read.

by E.J. Copperman.
A cozy mystery where the ghost of a private investigator and his client haunt a house that the new owner is trying to make into a guesthouse. At first I thought it a bit predictable but Copperman surprised me. Entertaining enough to put on my "series waiting list" to continue with.

by C.S. Harris.
Again, St. Cyr is asked to help with an investigation into a serial killer. This story also deals more with St. Cyr's personal life. Like the two books before this is a nice quick read making you want to continue with the series quickly.

by Steve Berry.
This series is starting to get a bit formulaic: Cotton Malone is minding his own business and is violently pulled into an adventure to search for a historical and/or religious object. There are at least three fraction, one bad group and two good ones, with Cotton working for both of them. There is also always a deadly woman involved. I've only two more books plus a short story left in this series I'll finish the series but I'm hoping the formula will change.

by Lilian Jackson Braun.
I've taken a break from this series for a couple of months because I found I wasn't enjoying the series anymore. But I thought it was time to try it again and enjoyed it. Qwilleran has moved into one of the big mansions in town for winter. The owner, an elderly woman, has moved to a warmer climate. Soon the news comes she has committed suidice. Qwill doesn't trust this turn of events and investigates.

by Laurie R. King.
The last couple of books in this series I found to be "okay". It might be because I was tiring of the series and took a short break before continuing but I really liked this book better than the previous ones.

by C.S. Harris.
Yes, the plots aren't really believable but the stories are very enjoyable nonetheless. The books before were dark and I feel this one has a lighter tone to it, which I also like. I also like the overarching story line, it keeps you interested in reading the next book but it does not give you the feeling that it's one long book cut into smaller bits.

by Jennifer Rardin.
I've read the first two books of the Jaz Parks series about two years ago and liked them. I always planned to continue with them but I never did. Since I'd finished the Dresden Files and was in the mood for another urban fantasy I reread the first book and was rather disappointed. It was okay, but not enough to motivate me to continue with this series.

I've also tried reading by Bill Bryson, I've enjoyed other books by him enormously but after 70 pages or so I found continuing a chore. I like his somewhat cranky humour but in this book he was acting like a grumpy old man, being negative about almost everything he encounters on his travels. I didn't find this enjoyable at all so I decided to stop reading.

and by Laurie R. King.
A good two-book story. At the moment I'm trying to alternate between series but I just had to move right on because I wanted to know what happened.

by E.J. Copperman.
Although a little bit predictable I like it how she throws in a twist at the end (she did it with the previous book, too).

by C.s. Harris.
Another good addition to the series, although I'm wondering how many personal setbacks Harris can make up for Sebastian St. Cyr.

It seems that in the past week I only pick out books to read that are average at best. It did help me to cull my "future series" list but I'd like to read something better next. I'm now trying to decide whether to read the next and latest Mary Russell or the next Sebastian St. Cyr.

I've also decided that the Nic Costa series is one of those series I read a book from whenever I feel like it and does not belong on my "active series" list. Which means that I need to finish one more series before I'm allowed to start a new one, I haven't got a clue which, since all the series I read the first book from lately are not good enough to continue with.

by David Hewson.
A good story but I think this series doesn't do it for me. I might read a book from this series every once in a while but I've taken it off my "active series" list.

by Paul Christopher.
The idea of the story is good, the execution not. There is too much info dumping and after a while it gets annoying. When the characters are in a non-English speaking country many of the foreign character either start out speaking in their own language (translated a couple of lines later) or use foreign words/phrases when talking in English. For me this doesn't enhance the story at all. Another series I won't be continuing with.

by Brian McGilloway.
Another series that isn't going to my "future series" list. A police procedural set in Ireland. I don't know if it was the first person narrative or the slowish pace but I just found this book mediocre.