Bill’s Comments (group member since Nov 30, 2021)

Bill’s comments from the On The Same Page group.

Overall, I'm going to try and read 120 books in 2025. For my independent Challenges, I'm going to try and keep it simple; Start a series, Continue a Series and Non-Series books. I'll keep three threads open as I would like to try and break each challenge by genres.. Mystery (with sub-genres for countries or zones), Fantasy, Horror, Fiction, Spy / Thriller, Sci-Fi, maybe Graphics and Young Adult.. We'll see how it all goes.. I think Mystery will have its own thread as a quick look seems to indicate that is the genre that I possess most books by. Now for Non-Series, I'll add Non-Fiction, Poetry, Fiction and some others as I tend to buy more of those as standalones.

It sounds interesting, I'll give it a try.

1. I Capture the castle. Find a book with a castle on the cover.

2. The Heart of Darkness. Find a heart or depiction of darkness on the cover. - Deadly Beloved by Jane Haddam

3. The Master and Margarita. Find alcoholic drinks on the cover.

4. The Woman in White. Find a white cover or a woman on the cover. - Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 2 by James Tynion IV

5. The Grapes of wrath. Find grapes or fruit on the cover.

6. The Call of the Wild. Find an animal from Alaska on the cover.

7. The Lord of the Rings. Find a Lord, rings, or jewelry on the cover.

8. Moby Dick. Find ocean animals or an ocean on the cover. The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown

9. The Secret Garden. Find a garden or flowers on the cover. by Agatha Christie

10. Frankenstein. Find a monster on the cover. When the Tripods Came by John Christopher


2 alternatives.

1. The Time Machine. Find a clock or any machine on the cover.

2. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Find a photo, a picture, or a gray cover. Burn Book: A Tech Love Story by Kara Swisher

Jonnie wrote: "I'm in. Do we have a start date?"

January 1, 2025

Patty wrote: "Can someone help - I keep getting an error message. I tried to create a new topic but having some trouble."

You can only create 3 new topics per day I believe. As many comments as you want, but only 3 topics.

Patty wrote: "I am taking those "Readers Rights" to heart and adopting them into my life!!"

It's an excellent philosophy

1735. The Night Librarian: A Graphic Novel

I've enjoyed focusing on graphic novels this month. I still have two on the go and some of my Dec books will probably still be graphics. Here is my review of The Night Librarian: A Graphic Novel by Christopher Lincoln 3.5 stars

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

In December I'm focusing on Children / Middle Grade stories, starting with The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

Alondra wrote: "Vikki wrote: "Crooked Kingdom might end up on my list too"

It's good. I really liked the duology. I am now going back to the original first book in the Grishaverse, because even though these are s..."

Every website that I checked had the stories broken down differently. I went with Fantastic Fiction finally to choose Crooked Kingdom as the final book in that part of the Grishaverse.

Vikki wrote: "Crooked Kingdom might end up on my list too"

Good luck if you read it, Vikki.

Pam wrote: "Bill wrote: "Such an interesting list. I've only read The Paradise (it was excellent. Did you ever see the TV series based on it? It was set in England) and Shogun, loved it to.. Ah Marikasan... Ko..."

If you do read World of Wonders, I'll be interested in your thoughts. It's been so long since I read it..

The majority of my reading tends to end up revolving around one series or another. I have been deleting some from my TBR lists because there are just too many... of course also adding more... *Sigh* I need to read more non-fiction. I was happy with the books I read in 2024 and I'll keep an eye on your selections for more ideas....

*you might want to change your title to Ioana's 2025 challenge*... They don't call me Capt. Pedantic for nothing you know.

Sounds like a fun year of traveling ahead. A friend of ours and her husband used to work for a company that organized bus tours all over North and South America. They used to be gone for months at a time. She showed us photos of a boat trip they took to Antarctica. Looked awesome.... I hope you enjoy yours... Oh... and good luck on your reading too. 😃

Congrats on completing your 12, Pat! Now on to 2025

Alondra wrote: "Congratulations, Bill!! Woot-woot!! 🥳🥳🥳"

Thank you, Alondra

Ioana wrote: "Congratulations, Bill! An author I've read a handful of books only, and I hope to read some more someday."

Thanks, Ioana.

She's an author I've got on sort of a bucket list of who I would to read all of before I die...

Ioana wrote: "Nice list, Bill. I've read The Testaments, Imago and The City of Mirrors. All good, all disturbing in their own way. I can't wait to read your reviews. ..."

Thanks a lot, Ioana. I'm looking forward to your list.

Lea wrote: "This looks like a great challenge, Bill. I hope you are able to finish out these series this year...so you can start some more! I have read The Testaments, Crooked Kingdom and The City of Mirrors, ..."

Your recommendation is always a good one. And trust me, I'll be starting quite a few series..

Ioana wrote: "I haven't read any of these, but I am guilty too...I still have 36 books on my TBR added in 2010. I will try to read some of them next year, but I know I will not finish them all. Too many books, t..."

Enjoy your challenges too, Ioana. And thanks.

Give me a couple of weeks.. 😁👌👍

1. An author you have read a book from more than 2 times. The Naming of the Dead by Ian Rankin

2. A book written In the year of the snake. 🐍 (1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2013, 2025) Gun Honey: Collision Course by Charles Ardai

3. A book written by two authors. A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel by Ursula K. Le Guin & Fred Fordham

4. A book you bought because of the cover only. Cloud Warrior by Patrick Tilley

5. A book you bought because of the author only. Alabaster: The Good, the Bad, and the Bird by Caitlín R. Kiernan

6. A book you bought because it was a new release. On Book Banning: Or, How the New Censorship Consensus Trivializes Art and Undermines Democracy by Ira Wells

7. A book with a persons name in the title. - Gideon's March by J.J. Marric

8. A ghost story.

9. A collection of short stories. - Ai Jiang's Smol Tales From Between Worlds by Ai Jiang

10. A book based on historical events. Pearl by Sherri L. Smith

11. A book about revenge. The Abominable Man by Maj Sjöwall

12. A book that has more than 40 chapters. - Crime Machine by Giles Blunt

13. The main character owns a small business. The Chinese Alchemist by Lyn Hamilton

14. A character driven novel. Fatale Compendium by Ed Brubaker

15. A book with a strong female character. - Squire by Nadia Shammas & Sara Alfageeh

16. A book about royalty. The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

17. A book that the time frame spans more than 10 years. A Darker Domain by Val McDermid

18. A book from a different culture. The Complete Persepolis: 20th Anniversary Edition by Marjane Satrapi

19. A book about books. Howards End Is on the Landing: A Year of Reading from Home by Susan Hill

20. A book located in your home state. (Or country if your country does not have states.) The Red Mass by Rosemary Aubert

21. A book located in the state you were born. (Or country if your country does not have states.) The Downloaded by Robert J. Sawyer

22. A book set in a fictional town. Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 2 by James Tynion IV

23. A book that has people on the cover. The Infinity Particle by Wendy Xu

24. A book that has a body of water on the cover. Wycliffe And Winsor Blue by W.J. Burley

25. A book that has a tree on the cover. Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice

26. Choose any of the remaining topics that did not win the 2025 Motley Challenge.

Completed: 14

Madeline wrote: "Great question, I think I am just going to read and listen to Holiday novels."

Sounds excellent.

Since I started in 2022, I've visited 40 countries. Only 9 this year... Maybe next year!

Lea wrote: "Bill wrote: "This might become an annual challenge for me. I'd like to ensure that the books haven't been on my shelves for more than 10 years... Mind you, I am vetting some others and just removin..."

So many distractions and so many shiny new books to buy...