MobileRead Book Challenges discussion

Summary of challenges



Page Count



Indie Read and Review Challenge
**********************************

Book Bonfire Challenge
************

Classics Challenge
******

Gimme the Prize Challenge
**********

Short-cuts Challenge
54%

PAGES

This year I'm looking to complete 18,000 pages of reading.

I have no page limit on individual books and novels, novellas and short stories will all contribute to the total.

I use a combination of paperback pages, pages advertised in Goodreads/Amazon or calculated pages in Calibre to determine the size of each book/story.

The Books:

1: - The Chimes by Charles Dickens. 100 pages.

2: - Dark Currents by Lindsay Buroker. 320 pages.

3: - Persuasion by Jane Austen. 236 pages.

4: - The Followers by Evan Bollinger. 62 pages.

5: - Taking the Highway by M. H. Mead. 384 pages.

6: - Halfskin by Tony Bertauski. 276 pages.

7: - Mr. Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett. 337 pages.

8: - A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute. 351 pages.

9: - Untimed by Andy Gavin. 342 pages.

10: - Yesterday's Gone: Episode 1 by Sean Platt and David Wright. 100 pages.

11: - Storm Damage by John A. A. Logan. 200 pages.

12: - Mine by Robert R. McCammon. 487 pages.

13: - Under the Looking Glass by Alisa Tangredi. 142 pages.

14: - Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. 295 pages.

15: - Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne. 426 pages.

16: - Slaves of God - Brian Rappatta. 356 pages.

17: - The Last Bad Job - Colin Dodds. 239 pages.

18: - Chess - Stefan Zweig. 76 pages.

19: - Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë (Audiobook). 530 pages.

20: - Hallowed Ground - Steve Savile & David Niall Wilson (Audiobook). 302 pages.

21: - The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky. 800 pages.

22: - Shift - Hugh Howey. 565 pages.

23: - Pale Queen's Courtyard - Marcin Wrona. 323 pages.

24: - A Dark-Adapted Eye - Barbara Vine. 300 pages.

25: - A Clean Kill in Tokyo - Barry Eisler. (Audiobook) 390 pages.

26: - The Breaking - Dusk Peterson. 90 pages.

27: - Cansville - by Alan Flurry. 195 pages.

28: - Bangkok Wet - by Simon Royle. 229 pages.

29: - Waking the Moon - by Elizabeth Hand. 495 pages.

30: - Game of Souls - by Terry C. Simpson. 271 pages.

31: - The Long and the Short Swords - by Gary Ballard. 164 pages.

32: - The Good Earth - by Pearl S. Buck. 357 pages.

33: - Cold Compass - by Barry Napier. 309 pages.

34: - Thugs Like Us - by John Carnell. 158 pages.

35: - Passage - by Connie Willis. 780 pages.

36: - Sugar & Spice - by Saffina Desforges. 495 pages.

37: - The Forever War - by Joe Haldeman. 254 pages.

38: - The Conjure Book - by A. A. Attanasio. 171 pages.

39: - The Pretty Gentleman - by Max Fincher. 372 pages.

40: - The Takers - by R. W. Ridley. 226 pages.

41: - Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family - by Thomas Mann. 730 pages.

42: - Head of Words - by Chris Ward. 284 pages.

43: - Snow Burn - by Joel Arnold. 126 pages.

44: - The God of Small Things - by Arundhati Roy. 340 pages.

45: - The Passage - by Justin Cronin. 766 pages.

46: - Sleight Malice - by Vicky Tyley. 232 pages.

47: - The War of the Worlds - by H G Wells. 180 pages.

48: - Cain - by José Saramago. 160 pages.

49: - Cruel Justice - by M. A. Comley. 340 pages.

50: - The Anubis Gates - by Tim Powers. 387 pages.

51: - Frankenstein - by Mary Shelley. 278 pages.

52: - The Gunslinger - by Stephen King. 238 pages.

53: - Sybil Exposed - by Debbie Nathan. 320 pages.

54: - The Satanic Verses - by Salman Rushdie. 547 pages.

55: - Bitter Orange - By Marshall Moore. 196 pages.

56: - Noah's Ark - by Andrew J. Morgan. 282 pages.

57: - Mandragora - by H. D. Greaves. 280 pages.

58: - Black Swan Green - by David Mitchell. 371 pages.

59: - The Secret River - by Kate Grenville. 334 pages.

60: - Brother's Keeper - by Glen Krisch. 50 pages.

61: - The Other Alexander - by Andrew Levkoff. 358 pages.

62: - I Am Legend - by Richard Matheson. 159 pages.

63: - Sprout of Disruption - by Taona Dumisani Chiveneko. 550 pages.

64: - Killers - by Shaun Jeffrey. 326 pages.

65: - Making Sense - by Jim Murdoch. 156 pages.

66: - Roadside Picnic - by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. 224 pages.

67: - Horns - by Joe Hill. 368 pages.

68: - Wall of a Thousand Tears - Julian Mok. 376 pages.

69: - Dubliners - by James Joyce. 279 pages.

70: - Buckyball - by Fabien Roy. 232 pages.

Total: 22,861 or 18,000 pages. (100% complete)

Note 1: Added Batch 1 from my short-cuts challenge. 232 pages.
Note 2: Added Batch 2 from my short-cuts challenge. 134 pages.
Note 3: Added Batch 3 from my short-cuts challenge. 200 pages.
Note 4: Added Batch 4 from my short-cuts challenge. 320 pages.

CHALLENGE COMPLETE!!

INDIE - READ & REVIEW

This year I'm looking at reading and reviewing 34 indie works.

This is restricted to novels and novella-length works in accordance with my review policies of my review site: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/

The Books:

- Dark Currents by Lindsay Buroker. Review

- The Followers by Evan Bollinger. Review

- Taking the Highway by M. H. Mead. Review

- Halfskin by Tony Bertauski. Review

- Untimed by Andy Gavin. Review

- Storm Damage by John A. A. Logan. Review

- Under the Looking Glass by Alisa Tangredi. Review

- Slaves of God - Brian Rappatta. Review

- The Last Bad Job - Colin Dodds. Review

- Shift - Hugh Howey. Review

- Pale Queen's Courtyard - Marcin Wrona. Review

- Cansville - by Alan Flurry. Review

- Bangkok Wet - by Simon Royle. Review

- Game of Souls - by Terry C. Simpson. Review

- The Long and the Short Swords - by Gary Ballard. Review

- Cold Compass - by Barry Napier. Review

- Thugs Like Us - by John Carnell. Review

- Sugar & Spice - by Saffina Desforges. Review

- The Pretty Gentleman - by Max Fincher. Review

- The Takers - by R. W. Ridley. Review

- Head of Words - by Chris Ward. Review

- Snow Burn - by Joel Arnold. Review

- Sleight Malice - by Vicky Tyley. Review

- Cruel Justice - by M. A. Comley. Review

- Bitter Orange - By Marshall Moore. Review

- Noah's Ark - by Andrew J. Morgan. Review

- Mandragora - by H. D. Greaves. Review

- Brother's Keeper - by Glen Krisch. {Review}

- The Other Alexander - by Andrew Levkoff. {Review}

- Sprout of Disruption - by Taona Dumisani Chiveneko. {Review}

- Killers - by Shaun Jeffrey. Review

- Making Sense - by Jim Murdoch. {Review}

- Wall of a Thousand Tears - Julian Mok. Review

- Buckyball - by Fabien Roy. {Review}

Total: 34 out of 34 books. (100% complete)

CHALLENGE COMPLETE!!

BOOK BONFIRE

This year I'm attempting to read 12 books that exist as paperbacks or hardbacks on my bookshelves by the end of 2012.

The Books:

- Mr. Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett.

- Mine by Robert R. McCammon.

- Waking the Moon - by Elizabeth Hand.

- Passage - by Connie Willis.

- The Forever War - by Joe Haldeman.

- The Conjure Book - by A. A. Attanasio.

- The God of Small Things - by Arundhati Roy.

- The Passage - by Justin Cronin.

- The Anubis Gates - by Tim Powers.

- The Gunslinger - by Stephen King.

- The Satanic Verses - by Salman Rushdie.

- Black Swan Green - by David Mitchell.

Total: 12 out of 12 books. (100% complete)

CHALLENGE COMPLETE!!

Additional Reads:

- Horns - by Joe Hill.

CLASSICS

This year I'm attempting to read at least 6 classics with the stipulation that I'm expecting to read:

1 x Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Complete)
1 x H G Wells (Complete)
1 x Jules Verne (Complete)
1 x Charles Dickens (Complete)

The Books:

- The Chimes by Charles Dickens.

- Persuasion by Jane Austen.

- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne.

- Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë.

- The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

- The War of the Worlds - by H G Wells.

Total: 6 out of 6 books. (100% complete)

CHALLENGE COMPLETE!!

Additional Reads:

- Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family - by Thomas Mann.

- Chess - Stefan Zweig.

- The Good Earth - by Pearl S. Buck.

- Frankenstein - by Mary Shelley.

- Dubliners - by James Joyce.

GIMME THE PRIZE

This year I'm attempting to read 10 prize winning books. The prizes can vary from literary prizes such as the Pulitzer, through genre-based awards such as the Hugo and even to independent awards such as the IPPY.

The Books:

- Mr. Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett. British Fantasy Award for Best Newcomer in 2011

- Mine by Robert R. McCammon. Bram Stoker award for best novel in 1990

- A Dark-Adapted Eye - Barbara Vine. Edgar Award for Best Novel in 1987

- Waking the Moon - by Elizabeth Hand. Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature in 1996 and James Tiptree Jr Award (1995)

- The Good Earth - by Pearl S. Buck. Pulitzer Prize in 1932

- Passage - by Connie Willis. Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (2002)

- Sugar & Spice - by Saffina Desforges. 2011 Red Adept Mystery Award.

- The Forever War - by Joe Haldeman. 1976 Hugo Award for Best Novel

- The Takers - by R. W. Ridley. 2006 IPPY Award Winner.

- The God of Small Things - by Arundhati Roy. 1997 Man Booker Prize Winner.

Total: 10 out of 10 books. (100% complete)

CHALLENGE COMPLETE!!

Additional Reads:

- The Anubis Gates - by Tim Powers. 1983 Philip K. Dick Award.

- The Satanic Verses - by Salman Rushdie. Whitbread Award for Novel (1988)

- The Secret River - by Kate Grenville. Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book Overall (2006)

- The Other Alexander - by Andrew Levkoff. eLit Book Awards - Gold Medal for Historical Fiction (2011)

- Roadside Picnic - by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. Graoully d'Or for Roman étranger (1981)

SHORT-CUTS

This year I'm intending to read at least 100 short stories (under 15,000 words). These stories can be released separately or part of an anthology.

The Stories:

Batch 1: 232 pages
Rodeo Cowboys - by Ursula Istrati. 12 pages.
Strange Candy - by Robert McCammon. 9 pages.
Happy New Year - by Kenn Dahll. 9 pages.
Shadows over Innocence - by Lindsay Buroker. 19 pages.
Stray - by Lee Allen Howard. 18 pages.
Bad Cupid - by A. D. Cooper. 20 pages.
The Paper Menagerie - by Ken Liu. 16 pages.
'Tis the Season - by China Miéville. 16 pages.
What He Wants - by Eden Cole. 20 pages.
Luscious Love - by Zach Sweets. 20 pages.
Doctor's Orders 1 - by C. M. Knox. 18 pages.
Pole Star - by Josephine Myles. 20 pages.
A Murder of Crows - by Edward Medina. 35 pages.

Batch 2: 134 pages
The Milkman - by Ac Adams. 8 pages
The Two Piece Jigsaw - by Alp Mortal. 38 pages.
With Her Eyes - by Liu Cixin. 20 pages.
Transfection - by David Gaughran. 20 pages.
Altered States - by L.E. Harner. 30 pages.
Mayan Blood - by Justin Swapp. 18 pages.

Batch 3: 200 pages.
The Name on My Wrist - by J. M. Snyder. 7 pages.
Hot Desert Daze - by J. E. & M. Keep. 10 pages.
Acquired Taste - by Shayla Kersten. 20 pages.
Into the Bermuda Triangle - by Jordan Castillo Price. 25 pages.
Autopilot Engaged - by Jordan Castillo Price. 27 pages.
Red-Eye Dawn - by Jordan Castillo Price. 28 pages.
Who Says Shamrocks Aren't Lucky? - by Jaime Samms. 15 pages.
Vampire Boys Club - Dahlia Black. 10 pages.
Summer Escape - Jayson James. 30 pages.
Connecting Flight - by Jordan Castillo Price. 28 pages.

Batch 4: 320 pages.
Black Box - by Jordan Castillo Price. 28 pages.
Flying Blind - by Jordan Castillo Price. 25 pages.
Reality Check - by David Brin. 5 pages.
Singularity: A Binary Love Story - by Allison M. Dickson. 5 pages.
Dancing Lights - by Inge Moore. 6 pages.
Radio Silence - by Jordan Castillo Price. 25 pages.
Updown - by Simon Haynes. 5 pages.
Legend of the Pumpkin King - by J. Michael Radcliffe. 5 pages.
Pumpkin - by Bill Pronzini. 10 pages.
Short of Breath - by Trent Zelazny. 10 pages.
Treats for Adeline - by Peter Tackaberry & Elizabeth Voss. 11 pages.
Monster Night - by Brian James Freeman. 11 pages.
A Little Halloween Talk - by Joe R. Lansdale. 4 pages.
Final Boarding - by Jordan Castillo Price. 35 pages.
Trick - by Gerard Houarner. 15 pages.
Invitation Only - by Ray Garton. 15 pages.
The Halloween Phantoms - by John R. Little. 15 pages.
Devoured - by Paul Melniczek. 11 pages.
Sleep - by Michael K. Rose. 7 pages.
The Legend of Halloween Jack - by Lisa Morton. 12 pages.
The Tunnel - by Michael K. Rose. 7 pages.
A Fine Mess - by David Michael. 8 pages.
Curtain Call - by David Michael. 5 pages.
2BR02B - by Kurt Vonnegut. 10 pages.
The Nose - by Nikolai V. Gogol. 30 pages.

Total: 54 out of 100 stories. (54% complete)

FIRST!!!!

Beaten to the punch. :)

I'm interested in what is in the Short-cuts and Book Bonfire challenges. I think I know what all the others are.

Yes, I need to know about the book bonfire.

Book Bonfire is about burning through the paperbacks sitting in my bookshelves feeling awfully unloved.

I have hundreds of unread electronic books but I also have a large number of unread paperbacks. I'm trying to make sure I spend some time reading them.

So no - it doesn't mean I'm staging a performance of Fahrenheit 451 in my library.

Short-cuts is about short stories. I've always had an aversion to spending time on short stories growing up. I always wanted to read novel length stories. However, I think I'm missing out and this challenge is a way to get me to commit time to more short stories. I've been collecting some free fantasy magazines, short stories and anthologies for some time now so I should read some of them.

I was thinking that Book Bonfire was about reading blacklisted books that certain groups would set fire to. I had found 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books List and figured adding a few Judy Blume titles to my reading list would be appropriate.

Oh my good God Homey! That list shocked the hell out of me. People seriously challenge these authors?

It reads like an adolescent's good reading list. Nearly everything on there should be read: Robert Cormier, Paul Zindel, S E Hinton, John Steinbeck (seriously?!), Roald Dahl, Madeleine L'Engle, Judy Blume, Katherine Patterson, Harper Lee (you have to kidding!), Mark Twain (now I know I'm tripping), William Golding.

I could go on, but this I find this list more offensive than any of the books on it and I think if anything, people should post links to this list when cataloguing books that every teenager should read.

Already a bit of a slow start reading about half as many pages as I should in January so far.

Unfortunately, some of these books I really had to work hard to enjoy and that slowed me down considerably.

I really need to find time to start knocking off some books in my "book bonfire" challenge and my "gimme the prize" challenge, but I've been distracted by MR book club selections.

Hmmm, I know how that works.

But I've not read anything in 2013 so far.

First book review up for 2013. A bit of a fizzer for the first which is a shame: Dark Currents

http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/01/27/dark-currents-by-lindsay-buroker/

MrsJoseph wrote: "Hmmm, I know how that works.

But I've not read anything in 2013 so far."

January is over-rated as a reading month. :)

OK - second review posted. This one is for the small supernatural mystery novella - The Followers.

Find the review here: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/02/02/the-followers-by-evan-bollinger/

New review up! This time for Taking the Highway.

Great ideas and some ripping action scenes put this one on top of the pile-up for me. Have a read: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/02/10/taking-the-highway-by-m-h-mead/

Great review! That sounds really interesting!

Finished what I call Batch 1 of my short-cuts challenge. 13 short stories.

Quite a bit of trash in there, but a couple of gems as well. I highly recommend The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu and I enjoyed 'Tis the Season by my favourite author, China Miéville.

Most of the rest was GBLT romance/erotica though. I can only handle it in small doses but it's a bit of fun.

I can OD on erotica, no problem. (TMI?)

(and the judges award another TMI point to MrsJ.)

Christa wrote: "(and the judges award another TMI point to MrsJ.)"

lol!

lol!

Is there a contest?!?

OK. After a bit of a lag, I've finally written another review for my site. This one is for Halfskin.

This was a techno thriller and I enjoyed it.

http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/03/12/halkskin-by-tony-bertauski/

Another review complete. This time for the light-hearted young adult time travel romp, Untimed.

The review is here: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/03/17/untimed-by-andy-gavin/

Love the review!

Thanks MrsJ. A couple of people have been telling me that they like my reviews lately, which seems odd to me as I don't think they're particularly marvellous.

One of the reasons I started the review site was to see if I had a writer in me, and I'm left feeling like I can write words OK, but a novel? Perhaps not.

But I feel great when people say or write that they like my reviews. It's a nice feeling. :)

Indie review alert! Short story time, with a literary anthology from John A. A. Logan - Storm Damage.

Review here: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/03/24/storm-damage-by-john-a-a-logan/

Another review up. Join Maura Reyes down the rabbit hole to unravel a surreal mystery in Alisa Tangredi's Under the Looking Glass

Review: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/03/31/under-the-looking-glass-by-alisa-tangredi/

OK - so we're now a quarter of the way through the year. How am I doing?

My simple GoodReads book challenge is showing I'm ahead by 3 books, but some of my books can be a bit on the smallish side, so how's my page count?

Page count challenge is showing almost 28%. I'm ahead of the curve.

My indie read/review challenge is also showing almost 26.5% so that's doing well also.

Book bonfire and Gimme the prize challenges are showing about 17% and 20% respectively so they need some work.

Classics is showing 50% done so that one is looking pretty set for the year.

Short-cuts is showing 19% which is also a bit under.

Hope everyone else is going OK on their challenges.

An aimless piece of non-sequitur.

My Dark Fiction group in GoodReads asked me to design the next quarterly reading challenge for the group. Usually it's the winner of the last challenge that designs the subsequent challenge. However, as it's usually a fairly small rotation of speed readers, the winner of last quarter's challenge invited me (who will never ever win) to design this one.

I was pretty chuffed as it's something I'd like to do. It did take me quite a bit of time to come up with though.

Anyway - for a bit of a laugh you can see the challenge that I designed. I don't believe you need to be a member of the group to read a post or two, so a direct link shouldn't be a problem.

Challenge Thread

If anyone expresses shock that I included a task specifically for indie authors - then you do not know me well enough to comment. :P

Impressive job, Caleb!

Good luck as you "turn the page".

Thanks Nyssa. These challenges are actually really fun because of the diverse nature of the tasks and the fact that it extends over 3 months.

I usually don't change much if any of my reading plans for any of the challenges, but it can be interesting watching what you read fit in like puzzle pieces (albeit sometimes with a little bit of brute force).

I'm still not very clear on what I'll actually be doing after June yet though.

To be absolutely honest, my focus is much more on writing, reading and crocheting.

Believe it or not, I started tapping out the first few paragraphs on a novella yesterday (too early to tell whether it will go the distance). I'm still enthusiastically learning and practising crochet. I'm trying to go beyond the scarf/hat/shawl fare and into the sweater/jacket territory. And above all of that is my reading and review site.

I wish I didn't have to find a new job. I've clearly got enough on my plate already. Without a job I'd also throw myself back into my music, but at the moment there's nowhere to fit it. :(

Do you ever think sometimes that you worked out far too late in life that you were made for other things?

WOw! That is a GREAT challenge, Caleb! And so detailed! :-)

You know...since you are crocheting... I desperately want a Dr. Who scarf.

^.^

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that there's a pattern (of sorts) for Doctor Who's famous scarf.

Actually, hunting around I found the actual knitting pattern from BBC. It's using garter stitch all the way through.

Caleb wrote: "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that there's a pattern (of sorts) for Doctor Who's famous scarf.

Actually, hunting around I found the actual knitting pattern from BBC. It's using garter stitch ..."

I don't know what that means. LOL!

It just means it's using the very first stitch that is taught in knitting.

So with one lesson, anyone could knit the Doctor's scarf.

Phew! Finally finished The Brothers Karamazov. That was epic!

I enjoyed it a great deal, but I think I'm going to have to find time to go back over all the comments I made and passages I highlighted and mull it over some more.

You know, you might enjoy Absalom, Absalom!.

And what do you know? I own that book already. That's a bit handy.

I think I put another of his books on my reading list this year, but it was his collection of short stories. Maybe if time permits I can sub this in.

Thanks MrsJ.

:-D

I'm seriously behind on my reviews at the moment. I do have a lame excuse and that is that the next one I had to write was of a book I did not enjoy.

I always find negative reviews much harder to write than positive or even lukewarm reviews.

Anyway - I finally managed to post the review.

http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/05/19/slaves-of-god-by-brian-rappatta/

Caleb wrote: "I'm seriously behind on my reviews at the moment. I do have a lame excuse and that is that the next one I had to write was of a book I did not enjoy.

I always find negative reviews much harder to ..."

I was scared for a moment! I thought that it was the one I begged you about and I was like, Oh, no!! I've broken Caleb! :(

Ha! No - I haven't got to reading that yet. I have one I'm reading now and then another to read and then the one you gave me.

So I am actually behind on my reading as well - Dostoyevsky crippled me in April. But I'm trying to keep to smaller books for the moment in a bid to catch up.

OK - another review published. This time it's an absurd apocalyptic tale by Colin Dodds - The Last Bad Job.

Not for the terribly serious.

Have a read of the review: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/06/01/the-last-bad-job-by-colin-dodds/

I’ve finally put up my review of Shift Omnibus Edition by Hugh Howey. This guy is a bit of a big gun in the indie author world and I sometimes wonder whether reviewing his work aligns with the intentions of my site.

Whatever I end up deciding, I’ll certainly keep reading.

Check out the review here: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/06/16/shift-by-hugh-howey/