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Post by janetandjohn on Dec 27, 2017 22:07:10 GMT
I did well in a cack-handed way for 2017. My aim was 3 or more books first published more than 50 years ago, 4 non-fiction, and read or remove 30 books from the earliest 50 on my TBR.
In fact, I read several more of the first published more than 50 years ago - Listed 8, probably read 10 or more. 4 non-fiction? Listed 7, probably read 10 or more (and one removed not read. Finally, the earliest 30 from my TBR?? Listed 21, but actually only read 11, and removed 10 - but whooo hooo! Lot of books! Now for 2018. I think I will keep reading(!), but won't you join me with your own challenge? This is what I want to do: * Read more books by male authors, so at least 5 books * Read every book on the top shelf of my bookcase (There are 20 currently) * Read 3 books first published 100 or more years ago * Read the 5 oldest swaps on my TBR Read More Men. DONE
1. The Free - Willy Vlaughtin READ - liked a lot
2. Some Buried Ceasar - Rex Stout READ -ditto!
3. The Prime of Tamworth Pig - Gene Kemp READ - cute for reading aloud to tinies
4. Three Day Road - Joseph Boyden READ - harrowing, but brilliant
5. The Norfolk Mystery - Ian Sansom DID NOT FINISH - charity shop
6. The Rest of Us Just Live Here - Patrick Ness READ - Brilliantly odd YA novel
7. The Z Murders - J Jefferson Farjeon READ - enjoyed
8. Drifting South - Charles Davies READ - enjoyed
9. The Rabbit Back Literature Society - Pasi Ilmari Jaaskelainen - READ - didn't care for much
10.Over My Dead Body - Rex Stout - READ and enjoyed
11. This Side of Brightness - Colum McCann READ- harrowing, but with perhaps a hope that things might improve.
Every book on the Top Shelf
1. The View on the Way Down - Rebecca Wait - READ - A brilliant read2. Unexpectedly, Milo - Matthew Dicks READ - a slow start - and then pure enjoyment3. Angel - Elizabeth Taylor READ - quirky but perfect, really enjoyed
4. A Half Forgotten Song - READ - too long by about 100 pages; not bad
5. The Final Confession of Muriel Stark ** SEE BELOW under 5 oldest swaps
6. The Song Collector - Natasha Solomons - READ and enjoyed
7. Tales from Firozsha Baag - Rohinton Mistry - READ - quite good interlinked stories
8. Beck - Mal Peet 9. Dress your family in Corduroy and Denim - David Sedaris READ - dark and wryly amusing 10. The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri - READ - clever insight into immigrant families in the USA **
11. Family Roundabout - Richmal Crompton - READ - and enjoyed
12. Gap Creek - Robert Morgan - Brilliant READ!
13. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle! - Barbara Kingsolver - READ - fiction author who decided to eat local for a year. Fascinating!
14. The Heart's Invisible Furies - John Boyne OH! what a read!
15. Songs of Willow Frost - Jamie Ford - Slow to start but a good one.
16. Human Crocquet - Kate Atkinson - DNF 17. The End of Everything - Megan Abbott
3 books published 100 years ago or more. DONE
Anne of Green Gables - L M Montgomery READ and lovedAnne of Avonlea - L M Montgomery READ and enjoyed Anne of The Island - L M Montgomery READ and enjoyed
5 oldest swaps on my TBR. DONE
1. The Final Confession of Mabel Stark - Robert Hough** READ - not best ever but OK (7-8 years since swap!)
2. Dona Nicanora's Hat Shop - Kirstan Hawkins READ - Good fun - liked it!
3. The Things We Never Said - Susan Elliott Wright READ and liked much more than expected 4. The Namesake – Jhumpa Lahiri - READ - and liked better than expected ** listed also under "top shelf" 5. The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart - Glenn Taylor - READ and enjoyed.
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Post by rosemary3 on Dec 27, 2017 23:32:08 GMT
I just about managed to finish my 2017 challenge before Christmas, so I think I'll do much the same as I did in 2017, with a few more on the second list to get me caught up with the group I'm in:
10 oldest on my TBR:
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe read and mostly enjoyed, 22/4/18
The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley read and loved, 11/8/18
The Inheritors by William Golding reread and loved, 5/8/18
Knots & Crosses by Ian Rankin read and enjoyed, 26/5/18
Girl, 15, Charming But Insane by Sue Limb read and mostly enjoyed, 27/11/18
Tommy Glover's Sketch of Heaven by Jane Bailey read and enjoyed, 18/2/18
Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd read and enjoyed, 14/12/18
Fidelity by Susan Glaspell read and enjoyed, 18/9/18
A Sentimental Journey by Laurence Sterne read and enjoyed, 5/2/18
Carwash by Lesley Howarth read and enjoyed, 28/5/18
8 from the 1001 Books list that the GR group have already read:
Dead Babies by Martin Amis read and didn't like much, 23/11/18
City of God by E.L. Doctorow read and was confused, 27/11/18
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft read and not quite sure, 6/4/18
If Not Now, When? by Primo Levi read, amazing book, 28/4/18
The Book of Illusions by Paul Auster really enjoyed this one, 22/5/18
Cocaine Nights by J.G. Ballard read, was OK, 1/9/18
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk read, too gross in places but funny in others, 24/10/18
Julie or the New Heloise by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (a huge one) - no chance - maybe next year??
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Post by elliej84 on Dec 29, 2017 10:11:50 GMT
Well, I'm in and I will continue with last years idea of getting rid of some series books. I managed to read at least 1 from each series so lets hope I can do the same again.
Mark Billingham - Tom Thorne
Book 3 - Lazy Bones
Book 4 - The Burning Girl
Book 5 - Lifeless
Book 6 - Buried
Book 7 - Death Message
Book 8 - Blood Line
Michael Connelly - Harry Bosch
Book 1 - The Lincoln Lawyer (Mickey Haller - FF advised to read this before Echo Park) - Read Feb 18
Book 12 - Echo Park - Read Jul 18
Book 13 - The Overlook (Kindle)
Book 14 - The Brass Verdict (Kindle) - Also Mickey Haller 2
Book 18 - The Black Box
Book 20 - The Crossing
Book 21 - The Wrong Side of Goodbye
Book 22 - Two Kinds of Truth
John Connolly - Charlie Parker
Book 2 - Dark Hollow
Book 3 - The Killing Kind
Book 4 - The White Road
Book 5 - The Black Angel
Book 6 - The Unquiet
Book 7 - The Reapers
Patricia Cornwell - Dr Kay Scarpetta
Book 12 - Blow Fly (Kindle) - Read Jan 18
Book 13 - Trace
Book 14 - Predator
Book 15 - Book of the Dead
Book 16 - Scarpetta
Book 17 - The Scarpetta Factor
Book 18 - Book 19 - Book 20 - Book 21 -
Book 22 - Flesh & Blood
Book 23 - Depraved Heart (Kindle)
Linda Fairstein - Alex Cooper
Book 12 - Hell Gate - Read Apr 18
Book 13 - Silent Mercy (Kindle)
Tess Gerritsen - Rizzoli & Isles
Book 6 - The Mephisto Club - Read Jun 18
Book 7 - Keeping The Dead
Book 8 - The Killing Place
Book 8.5 - Freaks (Kindle)
Elly Griffiths - Dr Ruth Galloway
Book 3 - The House At Seas End
Book 4 - A Room Full of Bones
Book 4.5 - Ruths First Christmas Tree (Kindle)
Book 5 - Dying Fall
Book 6 - The Outcast Dead
Book 7 - The Ghost Fields
Book 8 - The Chalk Pit
James Patterson - Michael Bennett
Book 5 - I, Michael Bennett
Book 6 -
Book 7 - Burn
Karin Slaughter - Will Trent
Book 7 - Unseen - Read May 18
Book 8 - The Kept Woman
I'm also going to add that I would like to try to decrease the amount of unread books on my kindle, so I will try to also read at least one per month.
Kindle Books:
Blow Fly - Patricia Cornwell - Jan
Thin Air - Michelle Paver - Jan
Notorious Nineteen - Janet Evanovich - Feb
A Woman in a Million - Monica Wood - Feb
Breathless in Love - Bella Andre - Apr
NYPD Red 2 - James Patterson - Apr
The Keeper of Lost Things - Ruth Hogan - May
Moonrise - Sarah Crossan - May
And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer - Fredrik Backman - Jun
Big Bones - Laura Dockrill - Jul
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Post by adelynechan on Dec 29, 2017 10:31:32 GMT
This isn't a "Challenge" in itself but more a compilation of other challenges that I'd like to do: 3 per month from the Monthly Book Categories and the 40 Book Challenge. I was going to do an A-Z Challenge as well but having looked at the books I have, there are quite a few of the rarer letters missing and I don't really want to buy just for a specific letter. They will overlap quite significantly and having picked out books for some of the categories I reckon I'd need 55-60 books to finish both.
On top of that I really want to get through three "big" books: The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell and Andrew Hodges' Alan Turing: The Enigma, both of which I've been putting off for quite some time now, and Geoffrey West's Scale: The Universal Laws of Life and Death.
That looks like a years worth of reading for me!
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Post by janetandjohn on Dec 29, 2017 11:06:42 GMT
This isn't a "Challenge" in itself but more a compilation of other challenges ............. On top of that I really want to get through three "big" books: The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell and Andrew Hodges' Alan Turing: The Enigma, both of which I've been putting off for quite some time now, and Geoffrey West's Scale: The Universal Laws of Life and Death. That looks like a years worth of reading for me! A bit later I will post the BFG challenge, Adelyne, so don't forget to transfer those over onto that one! |
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Post by adelynechan on Dec 29, 2017 14:04:40 GMT
This isn't a "Challenge" in itself but more a compilation of other challenges ............. On top of that I really want to get through three "big" books: The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell and Andrew Hodges' Alan Turing: The Enigma, both of which I've been putting off for quite some time now, and Geoffrey West's Scale: The Universal Laws of Life and Death. That looks like a years worth of reading for me! A bit later I will post the BFG challenge, Adelyne, so don't forget to transfer those over onto that one! Thanks for posting the new BFG challenge Mrs Mac - transferred onto there now! Conveniently all three of these books fit into separate 40 Book Challenge categories too so I'll be making progress on that too  |
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Post by pennylane on Dec 29, 2017 17:07:32 GMT
I will continue to add the next books on various series when I have sorted them out  Carried over from 2017 - Lifeless (5) by Mark Billingham Dancing With the Virgins (2)- Stephen Booth Flesh House (4) - Stuart MacBride Added for 2018 -Predator (Kay Scarpetta, #14) by Patricia CornwellCross Bones (Temperance Brennan, #8) by Kathy Reichs - Crossed off after starting and realising I read this years ago lolCockroaches (Harry Hole, #2) by Jo NesbøNo Time for Goodbye (No Time For Goodbye #1) by Linwood Barclay READ FEBThe Secret Friend (Darby McCormick #2) by Chris Mooney |
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Post by natsplatt on Jan 1, 2018 9:46:06 GMT
I'm going to challenge myself to read some more classics thus year, I've been quite lax about them recently.
So, going to attempt at least 6 this year. I will update which ones as I go along!
Nat
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peppercricket
Book Assistant
Batley Townswoman's Guild presents the Battle of Pearl Harbour
Posts: 7,075 
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Post by peppercricket on Jan 1, 2018 10:36:55 GMT
Lynn Shepherd (Charles Maddox)
Tom-All-Alone's (1)
A Treacherous Likeness (2)
The Pierced Heart (3)
Lloyd Shepherd (Charles Horton)
The English Monster (1)
The Poisoned Island (2)
Savage Magic (3)
The Detective & The Devil (4)
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Post by aileen11 on Jan 1, 2018 12:50:49 GMT
Still more of the oldest on my tbr. Managed to read only six last year, but removed 4 carrier bagsful from the tbr and carted them off to the charity shop.
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Post by windysisters on Jan 3, 2018 11:59:43 GMT
Well last year I set out to finish off some series but only completed one (Shardlake by CJ Sansome).
This year I will try to finish the Simon Serrailler series by Susan Hill and the Lydmouth series by Andrew Taylor
Simon Serrailler:
5. The Shadows in the Street (read in March)
6. The Betrayal of Trust (read in April)
7. A Question of Identity (read in June)
8. The Soul of Discretion (read in June)
Lydmouth:
4. The Suffocating Night (read in July)
5. Where Roses Fade (read in August)
6. Death's Own Door
7. Call the Dying
8. Naked to the Hangman
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Post by pennylane on Feb 20, 2018 22:11:01 GMT
First one down No Time For Goodbye by Linwood Barclay my first of his and an enjoyable one even if I could see where it was going, it picked up during the second half.
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Post by froglady on Mar 4, 2018 19:34:18 GMT
I'll read 20 books from my Kindle - I tend to read everything on my Kindle these days, as it's safer that way - if a book annoys me, it's liable to end up in the shredder, and I can't do that with a Kindle so it's cheaper!
Sal
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peppercricket
Book Assistant
Batley Townswoman's Guild presents the Battle of Pearl Harbour
Posts: 7,075
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Post by peppercricket on Mar 5, 2018 8:43:17 GMT
I'll read 20 books from my Kindle - I tend to read everything on my Kindle these days, as it's safer that way - if a book annoys me, it's liable to end up in the shredder, and I can't do that with a Kindle so it's cheaper! Sal Really? You'd do that Sal?!  |
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Post by froglady on Mar 5, 2018 13:45:23 GMT
I'll read 20 books from my Kindle - I tend to read everything on my Kindle these days, as it's safer that way - if a book annoys me, it's liable to end up in the shredder, and I can't do that with a Kindle so it's cheaper! Sal Really? You'd do that Sal?! I do if I get really upset with a book! Sal |
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