Beth’s Comments (group member since May 03, 2014)

Beth’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Author Alphabet
January - December 2023

23/26 completed

A. - Arthur C. Clarke - The Songs of Distant Earth - 1/2 ★★★★
B. - Barnes, Steven and Larry Niven - Dream Park - 1/31 ★★★★
C. - Compton, D.G. - The Quality of Mercy - 1/3 ★★★★
D. - Dams, Jeanne M. - Holy Terror in the Hebrides - 1/4 ★★★★
E. - Everett, Percival - Wounded - 2/9 ★★★★
F. - Frans de Waal - The Age of Empathy - 3/26 ★★★★
G. - Gabriel García Márquez - Memories of My Melancholy Whores - 2/6 ★★★
H. - Holdstock, Robert - Where Time Winds Blow - 1/28 ★★★★
I. - Isaac Asimov - Earth Is Room Enough - 1/13 ★★★★
J. - Jeanne M. Dams - Malice In Miniature - 1/9 ★★★★
K. - Kemelman, Harry - Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home
L. - Louise Penny - A Fatal Grace - 1/25 ★★★
M. - Muriel Spark - The Driver's Seat - 4/10 ★★★★
N. - Niven, Larry - The Ringworld Engineers - 2/24 ★★★
O. - Orson Scott Card - Songmaster - 1/19 ★★★★
P. - Preston, Douglas - The Lost City of the Monkey God - 1/12 ★★★★
Q. - Quinn, Kate - The Diamond Eye
R. - Rimas, Andrew and Evan D.G. Fraser - Beef - 1/9 ★★★
S. - Salinger, J.D. - Nine Stories - 1/7 ★★★★★
T. - Truman Capote - Other Voices, Other Rooms - 2/3 ★★★
U. - Updike, John - The Maples Stories - 2/15 ★★★★
V. - Varley, John - Titan - 2/17 ★★★★
W. - Wyner, Gabriel - Fluent Forever - 5/14 ★★★
X. - Baxter, Stephen - Timelike Infinity
Y. - Yates, Richard - Cold Spring Harbor - 2/18 ★★★★
Z. - Zafón, Carlos Ruiz - The City of Mist - 1/5 ★★★★

Author Alphabet

24/26 completed

A: Arthur C. Clarke - Rendezvous with Rama - 3/31 ★★★★
B: Bradbury, Ray - The Halloween Tree - 2/10 ★★★
C: Carey, M.R. - The Boy on the Bridge - 1/25 ★★★★★
D: Doctorow, Cory - Information Doesn't Want to Be Free - 1/24 ★★★★★
E: Ernest Hemingway - The Old Man and the Sea - 1/4 ★★★★★
F: Frank Herbert - Destination Void - 6/8 ★★★
G: Gaiman, Neil - Trigger Warning - 2/3 ★★★★
H: Harrison, Kim - Pale Demon - 1/28 ★★★★★
I: Ishiguro, Kazuo - The Remains of the Day - 5/29 ★★★★★
J: John Wyndman - The Day of the Triffids - 3/24 ★★★★
K: Kotler, Steven - Tomorrowland - 3/26 ★★★★
L: L.M. Montgomery - Anne of Green Gables - 1/12 ★★★★★
M: Moore, Kate - The Radium Girls - 1/5 ★★★
N: Neil Gaiman - Stardust - 2/8 ★★★
O: Oliver Sacks - The River of Consciousness - 2/16 ★★★
P: P.G. Wodehouse - Cocktail Time - 2/1 ★★★★
Q: Quentin Crisp - Manners from Heaven - 2/26 ★★★★
R: Roach, Mary - Gulp - 1/12 ★★★★★
S: Sarah Nović - Girl at War - 2/14 ★★★
T: Terry Pratchett - A Slip of the Keyboard - 2/7 ★★★★
U: Updike, John - The Witches of Eastwick - 4/19 ★★
V: Vowell, Sarah - The Partly Cloudy Patriot - 1/21 ★★★★
W: Wilhelm, Kate - Juniper Time - 1/10 ★★★★
X:
Y:
Z: Zafón, Carlos Ruiz - The Shadow of the Wind - 6/14 ★★★★★

I didn't quite finish but am calling this one cooked. :) There's only one left, but there are a few other books I want to finish up before the end of the year so I'll leave it for later.

10/11 completed

2013 TBR
Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong - 1/3 ★★★
How to Be Good by Nick Hornby - 1/30 ★★★★
Wish I Could Be There by Allen Shawn - 4/24 ★★
Tales of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong - 5/14 ★★★★
Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman - 6/6 ★★★★★
Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong - 7/4 ★★★
The Island of the Colorblind by Oliver Sacks - 11/4 ★★★★
Pale Demon by Kim Harrison



Prerequisites
The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison - 2/3 ★★★★
White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison - 5/16 ★★★★
Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison - 12/28 ★★★★

Author Alphabet 2017

26/26 completed

A: Armstrong, Kelley - Spell Bound - 1/3 ★★★
B: Bill Bryson - A Walk in the Woods - 1/9 ★★★★
C: Crouch, Blake - Pines - 1/7 ★★★★
D: Dodie Smith - I Capture the Castle - 2/15 ★★★★★
E: Englander, Nathan - For the Relief of Unbearable Urges - 1/20 ★★★★
F: French, Tana - The Trespasser - 8/11★★★★
G: Geoff Dyer - Yoga for People Who Can't Be Bothered to Do It - 1/28 ★★★
H: Hutchison, Dot - The Butterfly Garden - 1/12 ★★★★
I: Isaac Asimov - The Caves of Steel - 9/24 ★★★★
J: J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hobbit - 3/6 ★★★★
K: Kim Harrison - The Outlaw Demon Wails - 2/3 ★★★★
L: Lawrence Wright - Going Clear - 4/14 ★★★★★
M: Margaret Atwood - The Robber Bride - 1/18 ★★★★★
N: Norman, Matthew - Domestic Violets - 1/22 ★★★★
O: Okoraror, Nnedi - Lagoon - 1/5 ★★★
P: Pollock, Donald Ray - The Heavenly Table - 1/9 ★★★★★
Q: Quentin Crisp - How to Go to the Movies - 7/12 ★★★★
R: Rinehart, Mary Roberts - The Circular Staircase - 2/12 ★★★★
S: St. Aubyn, Edward - Never Mind - 3/26 ★★★★★
T: Trevor Noah - Born a Crime - 1/17 ★★★★
U: Updike, John - Rabbit, Run - 6/22 ★★★★★
V: Vonnegut, Kurt - Cat's Cradle - 3/16 ★★★
W: Walter Tevis - Mockingbird - 3/21 ★★★★★
X: Alexander McCall Smith - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - 8/12 ★★★★
Y: Yann Martel - The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios - 7/26 ★★★★
Z: John Scalzi - Fuzzy Nation - 7/10 ★★★★

Cleaning Out the TBR Closet 2017

I'll play! There are eight books I added in 2013 that are still lingering on my TBR, and one will require me to read three previous books in the series.

10/11 completed

2013 TBR
Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong - 1/3 ★★★
How to Be Good by Nick Hornby - 1/30 ★★★★
Wish I Could Be There by Allen Shawn - 4/24 ★★
Tales of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong - 5/14 ★★★★
Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman - 6/6 ★★★★★
Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong - 7/4 ★★★
The Island of the Colorblind by Oliver Sacks - 11/4 ★★★★
Pale Demon by Kim Harrison



Prerequisites
The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison - 2/3 ★★★★
White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison - 5/16 ★★★★
Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison - 12/28 ★★★★

Finished!

Level Career Tribute, 4 books per district.

52/52 completed

District 1: Precious Gems
R - Roald Dahl - My Uncle Oswald - 5/15 ★★★★
U - The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose - 5/31 ★★★★
B - The Braindead Megaphone by George Saunders - 6/4 ★★★★★
Y - A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle - 4/19 ★★★



District 2: Masonry and Weapons
A - Awakenings by Oliver Sacks - 3/8 ★★★
R - What If? by Randall Munroe - 5/24 ★★★★★
C - Claire North - The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - 4/14 ★★★★
H - Humans of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton - 3/9 ★★★★★



District 3: Technology
W - Westerfeld, Scott - Polymorph - 3/17 ★★★★
I - Invaders by various authors - 11/30 ★★★★
F - Fry, Stephen - Moab is My Washpot - 4/21 ★★★★
I - The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne - 4/24 ★★★



District 4: Fishing
F - Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges - 4/13 ★★★★
I - Ira Levin - The Stepford Wives - 5/16 ★★★★
S - Scott Westerfeld - Evolution's Darling - 3/22 ★★★★★
H - Haig, Matt - Echo Boy - 7/7 ★★★★



District 5: Power/Electricity
A - Arthur Conan Doyle - A Study in Scarlet - 5/17 ★★★★
C - Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card - 3/31 ★★★
D - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick - 3/15 ★★★★
C - Card, Orson Scott - Ender's Shadow - 3/22 ★★★★★



District 6: Transportation
C - Cass, Kiera - The Crown - 6/2 ★★★
A - Atwood, Margaret - Moral Disorder - 3/19 ★★★★
R - Ronson, Jon - The Men Who Stare at Goats - 5/17 ★★★
S - Stephen King - Doctor Sleep - 4/14 ★★★★



District 7: Lumber
T - Tammet, Daniel - Embracing the Wide Sky - 6/12 ★★★★★
R - Robison, John Elder - Look Me in the Eye - 4/3 ★★★★
E - Enders, Giulia - Gut - 5/14 ★★★
E - Elizabeth Berg - Open House - 4/29 ★★



District 8: Textiles/Clothing
S - Surfacing by Margaret Atwood - 3/27 ★★★
A - Anne Bishop - Marked in Flesh - 4/16 ★★★★
R - Resident Alien by Quentin Crisp - 6/19 ★★★★
I - I, Robot by Isaac Asimov - 9/16 ★★★★



District 9: Grain/Harvest
C - Carol Rifka Brunt - Tell the Wolves I'm Home - 5/7 ★★★★★
O - Over Tumbled Graves by Jess Walter - 5/21 ★★★
R - Reckoning by Veronica Wolff - 4/8 ★★
N - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett - Good Omens - 5/8 ★★★★



District 10: Livestock
C - Chris Hadfield - An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth - 6/10 ★★★★
O - Over to You by Roald Dahl - 8/19 ★★★★
W - Wednesday Is Indigo Blue by Richard Cytowic and David Eagleman - 6/21 ★★★★
S - Stephen King - Mr. Mercedes - 4/9 ★★★



District 11: Agriculture
S - Schwab, V.E. - A Darker Shade of Magic - 4/8 ★★★★
I - Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik - Notorious RBG - 8/12 ★★★★
L - Let Me In by John Ajvide Lindqvist - 6/30 ★★★★
O - Oliver Sacks - Uncle Tungsten - 8/20 ★★★



District 12: Mining
C - The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett - 7/30 ★★★
O - Oliver Sacks - Seeing Voices - 7/10 ★★★
A - Armstrong, Kelley - Living with the Dead - 6/14 ★★★
L - Lipsky, David - Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself - 7/13 ★★★★



District 13: Nuclear Weaponry
B - Bad Dirt by Annie Proulx - 4/29 ★★★★
O - Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman - 7/18 ★★★★
M - The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall - 5/28 ★★★★★
B - Between You & Me by Mary Norris - 5/13 ★★★★

Antonym Challenge
October 2016 - September 2017

I'm late to the party as usual but would like to do this one!

Level Easy = 6–10 books

4 pairs completed (8 books)

1. Crooked/Straight
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo - 10/15 ★★★★
Kentucky Straight by Chris Offutt - 12/20 ★★★★



2. Policeman/Robber
The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien - 10/22 ★★
The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood - 1/18 ★★★★★



3. Angel/Devil
Archangel's Heart by Nalini Singh - 11/27 ★★★★
The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock - 12/7 ★★★★



4. Sleep/Wake
Sleepless Nights by Elizabeth Hardwick - 12/18 ★★★★
Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong - 10/22 ★★★

Finished this one tonight! It was the Y author that took me the longest.

A - Atkinson, Kate - Emotionally Weird - 2/9 ★★★★★
B - Bacigalupi, Paolo - Pump Six and Other Stories - 2/13 ★★★★★
C - Chuck Wendig - Zer0es - 1/23 ★★
D - Dick, Philip K. - The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch - 3/7 ★★★★
E - Eugenides, Jeffrey - The Virgin Suicides - 1/25 ★★★★
F - Fry, Stephen - Moab is my Washpot - 4/21 ★★★★
G - Grandin, Temple - The Autistic Brain - 1/9 ★★★★
H - Hawking, Stephen - The Universe in a Nutshell - 1/5 ★★★★
I - Ira Levin - The Stepford Wives - 5/16 ★★★★
J - Joseph Heller - Catch-22 - 1/31 ★★★★★
K - Kondō, Marie - Spark Joy - 1/8 ★★★★
L - Lennon, J. Robert - Pieces for the Left Hand - 1/2 ★★★
M - Mindy Kaling - Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? - 1/3 ★★★
N - Ness, Patrick - A Monster Calls - 1/9 ★★★★
O - Oliver Sacks - On the Move - 2/5 ★★★★★
P - P.G. Wodehouse - Barmy in Wonderland - 1/19 ★★★
Q - Quentin Crisp - Resident Alien - 6/19 ★★★★
R - Robin Sloan - Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore - 1/28 ★★★
S - Stanton, Brandon - Humans of New York - 1/7 ★★★★★
T - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman - Good Omens - 5/8 ★★★★
U - Udall, Brady - The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint - 5/28 ★★★★★
V - V.E. Schwab - A Darker Shade of Magic - 4/8 ★★★★
W - Wilhelm, Kate - Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang - 2/24 ★★★★★
X - Proulx, Annie - Close Range - 1/13 ★★★★
Y - Yevgeny Zamyatin - We - 9/20 ★★★
Z - Elizabeth Berg - Open House - 4/29 ★★

Sushi Train
Open Duration

I'll spell out two of my favorites at level Tiger.
♓ Tiger: 16-25 books read

20/20 completed

Seattle Roll

S - Serious Men by Manu Joseph - 7/27 ★★★
E - The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood - 7/24 ★★★★★
A - Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself by David Lipsky - 7/13 ★★★★
T - Terry Pratchett - The Color of Magic - 7/30 ★★★
T - Tremblay, Paul - A Head Full of Ghosts - 8/18 ★★★
L - Lust & Wonder by Augusten Burroughs - 7/31 ★★★
E - Etgar Keret - The Seven Good Years - 8/5 ★★★★

R - Ronson, Jon - So You've Been Publicly Shamed - 7/21 ★★★★★
O - Oliver Sacks - Seeing Voices - 7/10 ★★★
L - Lawrence Ferlinghetti - A Far Rockaway of the Heart - 8/7 ★★★★
L - Leyner, Mark - Gone with the Mind - 8/5 ★★★★★



Kappa Maki

K - Kerman, Piper - Orange Is the New Black - 7/18 ★★★★
A - Arthur Conan Doyle - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - 8/28 ★★★★
P - Philip K. Dick - A Scanner Darkly - 9/22 ★★★
P - PopCo by Scarlett Thomas - 11/1 ★★★★★
A - Andre Norton - The X Factor - 7/20 ★★

M - Matthew Norman - We're All Damaged - 7/16 ★★★
A - Arthur Conan Doyle - The Sign of Four - 8/8 ★★★
K - King, Stephen - The Bazaar of Bad Dreams - 8/7 ★★★★
I - I, Robot by Isaac Asimov - 9/16 ★★★★

I scaled back because I'm experiencing a bit of a book/time crunch toward the end of the month, but completed Kindergarten level doing the spell-it-out option.

5/5 completed

Drama

D - Dunn, Katherine - Geek Love - 6/9 ★★★★★
R - Resident Alien by Quentin Crisp - 6/19 ★★★★
A - An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield - 6/10 ★★★★
M - Mitchell, David - Slade House - 6/18 ★★★★
A - Armstrong, Kelley - Living with the Dead - 6/14 ★★★

Finished tonight!

11/11 completed

S - Schwab, V.E. - A Darker Shade of Magic - 4/8 ★★★★
T - Tremayne, S.K. - The Ice Twins - 4/24 ★★★
E - Enders, Giulia - Gut - 5/14 ★★★
G - The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead - 4/27 ★★★
O - Open House by Elizabeth Berg - 4/29 ★★
S - Stephen King - Doctor Sleep - 4/14 ★★★★
A - Anne Bishop - Marked in Flesh - 4/16 ★★★★
U - Udall, Brady - The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint - 5/28 ★★★★
R - Reckoning by Veronica Wolff - 4/8 ★★
U - The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose - 5/31 ★★★★
S - Stephen Fry - Moab is My Washpot - 4/21 ★★★★

Embrace Your Inner Child
June 2016

I'll do the spell-it-out option using the book title Drama.
Level Kindergarten: 2 to 5 books

5/5 completed

Drama

D - Dunn, Katherine - Geek Love - 6/9 ★★★★★
R - Resident Alien by Quentin Crisp - 6/19 ★★★★
A - An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield - 6/10 ★★★★
M - Mitchell, David - Slade House - 6/18 ★★★★
A - Armstrong, Kelley - Living with the Dead - 6/14 ★★★

I'll third the Iron Druid Chronicles recommendation. It's one of my favorites.

A trilogy that was very good was The Grisha series by Leigh Bargudo, starting with Shadow and Bone.

Some past favorites have been a couple of Richelle Mead's adult urban fantasy series: the Georgina Kincaid books (starting with Succubus Blues) and Dark Swan series (starting with Storm Born).

Earth Day Challenge
April 15 - June 15, 2016

This looks like a fun one! I'll go for level Community Leader.

51/50 Carbon Credits

Earn an extra carbon credit per book read that is a borrowed book or a digital book.

1 Carbon Credit Tasks:
☙ Save a tree - Read a book with a tree on the cover.
☙ Walk to work - Read a book with a verb in the title.
☙ Ride your bike - Read a book where someone travels for a living.
☙ Celebrate the day - Read a book that has 22 as part of the page numbers. (Example: 422 pages, or 229 pages, etc.)
☙ Celebrate the Earth - Read a book that starts with the letter E, A, R, T or H.
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield - 6/10 ★★★★ (1 + 1 CC)



2 Carbon Credit Tasks:
☙ Live green - Read a book with a mostly green cover.
Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt - 5/7 ★★★★★ (2 + 1 CC)
☙ Learn about the Earth - Read a science book.
What If? by Randall Munroe - 5/24 ★★★★★ (2 + 1 CC)
☙ Plant Wildflowers - Read a book with a flower in the title.
☙ Compost - Read a book that you've already read to re-use it for a new purpose.
☙ Save water - Read a book that's set at sea or where someone captains a ship or boat.



3 Carbon Credit Tasks:
☙ Bring your own bags - Read 2 books where one title "fits" inside the other. (All of the letters of one book title are in the other one.) (3 CC)
The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead - 4/27 ★★★ (+ 1 CC)
Gut by Giulia Enders - 5/14 ★★★ (+ 1 CC)
☙ Pick up Trash - Read 2 books that have been on your to-read shelf for over a year. (3 CC)
So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld - 5/5 ★★ (+1 CC)
The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson - 5/17 ★★★ (+1 CC)
☙ Go Organic - Go back to basics by reading 2 books that are the first in their series. (3 CC)
Over Tumbled Graves by Jess Walter - 5/21 ★★★ (+1 CC)
A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle - 5/17 ★★★★ (+1 CC)
☙ Pull Weeds - Read a book where someone fights against the "bad guys".
Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch - 4/24 ★★★ (3 + 1 CC)
☙ Visit a farmers market - Read a book set on a farm.



4 Carbon Credit Tasks:
☙ Build up the local environment - Read 2 books that are 4+ in their series. (4 CC)
Stars Above by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles 4.5) - 5/28 ★★★ (+1 CC)
Living with the Dead by Kelley Armstrong (Otherworld #9) - 6/14 ★★★ (+0 CC)
☙ Plant a vegetable garden - Find 10 veggie names in a book. (Names may be repeated)
☙ Install solar panels - Read a book with a sun on the cover and a book that is set in a sunny climate.
☙ Clean Naturally - Clean your house naturally by reading 2 books with different essential oils in their text.
☙ Donate your time - Read a book that spans at least 3 years.
Moab is My Washpot by Stephen Fry - 4/21 ★★★★ (4 + 1 CC)



5 Carbon Credit Tasks:
☙ Plant a tree - Spell out the word TREE using spell-it-out rules. (5 CC)
T - Tremayne, S.K. - The Ice Twins - 4/24 ★★★ (+ 1 CC)
R - Roald Dahl - My Uncle Oswald - 5/15 ★★★★ (+ 0 CC)
E - Elizabeth Berg - Open House - 4/29 ★★ (+ 1 CC)
E - Embracing the Wide Sky by Daniel Tammet - 6/12 ★★★★★ (+1 CC)
☙ Speak out - Read 4 books, each from a different genre that all have the same first letter in the title (A, An, The can be ignored if desired.)
☙ Create a Plan B - Read a book that's set on another real planet.
☙ Setup a windmill for energy - Read a book with wind in the title or series and a book with something tall on the cover.
☙ Donate your money - Read a book with someone who has a lot of money.
The Crown by Kiera Cass - 6/2 ★★★ (5 + 1 CC)

What Dinosaur Are You?
April - June 2016

I'm a stegosaurus.

11/11 completed

S - Schwab, V.E. - A Darker Shade of Magic - 4/8 ★★★★
T - Tremayne, S.K. - The Ice Twins - 4/24 ★★★
E - Enders, Giulia - Gut - 5/14 ★★★
G - The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead - 4/27 ★★★
O - Open House by Elizabeth Berg - 4/29 ★★
S - Stephen King - Doctor Sleep - 4/14 ★★★★
A - Anne Bishop - Marked in Flesh - 4/16 ★★★★
U - Udall, Brady - The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint - 5/28 ★★★★
R - Reckoning by Veronica Wolff - 4/8 ★★
U - The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose - 5/31 ★★★★
S - Stephen Fry - Moab is My Washpot - 4/21 ★★★★

The Rocky Horror Picture Show
March-December 2016

I'd like to join this one! I was a big Rocky Horror fan in my college days, saw it many times and had the soundtrack (with audience participation) on vinyl. Going to go for all 17 songs and backdate to the beginning of this month, with a tentative deadline of December.

17/17 completed

Science Fiction/Double Feature
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (about androids) - 3/15 ★★★★

Dammit Janet
Surfacing by Margaret Atwood (someone proposes) - 3/27 ★★★

Over at the Frankenstein Place
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (cover depicts rain) - 4/9 ★★★

Time Warp
The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock ("time" in the title) - 12/7 ★★★★

Sweet Transvestite
Polymorph by Scott Westerfeld (sexual identity issues - main character can change genders at will) - 3/17 ★★★★

Sword of Damocles
Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card (character named Peter) - 3/31 ★★★

I Can Make You a Man
Seeing Voices by Oliver Sacks (cover is teal/green) - 7/10 ★★★

What Ever Happened to Saturday Night?
Sleepless Nights by Elizabeth Hardwick ("night" in the title) - 12/18 ★★★★

Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me
Reckoning by Veronica Wolff (creature of the night) - 4/8 ★★

Once in a While
Cry to Heaven by Anne Rice (infidelity) - 6/27 ★★★★★

Eddie's Teddy
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick (red cover) - 3/7 ★★★★

Planet, Schmanet, Janet
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield (stars on the cover) - 6/10 ★★★★

Rose Tint My World
Moral Disorder by Margaret Atwood (character named Nell) - 3/19 ★★★★

Don't Dream It Be It
Staked by Kevin Hearne (fantasy) - 3/2 ★★★★

Wild and Untamed Thing
Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop (paranormal) - 4/16 ★★★★

I'm Going Home
Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card (space travel) - 3/22 ★★★★★

Super Heroes
Winter by Marissa Meyer (young adult) - 4/2 ★★★★

Hunger Games Challenge: Escape the Capitol
Open Duration

I'll do spell-outs at level Career Tribute, 4 books per district.

52/52 completed

District 1: Precious Gems
R - Roald Dahl - My Uncle Oswald - 5/15 ★★★★
U - The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose - 5/31 ★★★★
B - The Braindead Megaphone by George Saunders - 6/4 ★★★★★
Y - A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle - 4/19 ★★★



District 2: Masonry and Weapons
A - Awakenings by Oliver Sacks - 3/8 ★★★
R - What If? by Randall Munroe - 5/24 ★★★★★
C - Claire North - The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - 4/14 ★★★★
H - Humans of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton - 3/9 ★★★★★



District 3: Technology
W - Westerfeld, Scott - Polymorph - 3/17 ★★★★
I - Invaders by various authors - 11/30 ★★★★
F - Fry, Stephen - Moab is My Washpot - 4/21 ★★★★
I - The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne - 4/24 ★★★



District 4: Fishing
F - Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges - 4/13 ★★★★
I - Ira Levin - The Stepford Wives - 5/16 ★★★★
S - Scott Westerfeld - Evolution's Darling - 3/22 ★★★★★
H - Haig, Matt - Echo Boy - 7/7 ★★★★



District 5: Power/Electricity
A - Arthur Conan Doyle - A Study in Scarlet - 5/17 ★★★★
C - Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card - 3/31 ★★★
D - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick - 3/15 ★★★★
C - Card, Orson Scott - Ender's Shadow - 3/22 ★★★★★



District 6: Transportation
C - Cass, Kiera - The Crown - 6/2 ★★★
A - Atwood, Margaret - Moral Disorder - 3/19 ★★★★
R - Ronson, Jon - The Men Who Stare at Goats - 5/17 ★★★
S - Stephen King - Doctor Sleep - 4/14 ★★★★



District 7: Lumber
T - Tammet, Daniel - Embracing the Wide Sky - 6/12 ★★★★★
R - Robison, John Elder - Look Me in the Eye - 4/3 ★★★★
E - Enders, Giulia - Gut - 5/14 ★★★
E - Elizabeth Berg - Open House - 4/29 ★★



District 8: Textiles/Clothing
S - Surfacing by Margaret Atwood - 3/27 ★★★
A - Anne Bishop - Marked in Flesh - 4/16 ★★★★
R - Resident Alien by Quentin Crisp - 6/19 ★★★★
I - I, Robot by Isaac Asimov - 9/16 ★★★★



District 9: Grain/Harvest
C - Carol Rifka Brunt - Tell the Wolves I'm Home - 5/7 ★★★★★
O - Over Tumbled Graves by Jess Walter - 5/21 ★★★
R - Reckoning by Veronica Wolff - 4/8 ★★
N - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett - Good Omens - 5/8 ★★★★



District 10: Livestock
C - Chris Hadfield - An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth - 6/10 ★★★★
O - Over to You by Roald Dahl - 8/19 ★★★★
W - Wednesday Is Indigo Blue by Richard Cytowic and David Eagleman - 6/21 ★★★★
S - Stephen King - Mr. Mercedes - 4/9 ★★★



District 11: Agriculture
S - Schwab, V.E. - A Darker Shade of Magic - 4/8 ★★★★
I - Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik - Notorious RBG - 8/12 ★★★★
L - Let Me In by John Ajvide Lindqvist - 6/30 ★★★★
O - Oliver Sacks - Uncle Tungsten - 8/20 ★★★



District 12: Mining
C - The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett - 7/30 ★★★
O - Oliver Sacks - Seeing Voices - 7/10 ★★★
A - Armstrong, Kelley - Living with the Dead - 6/14 ★★★
L - Lipsky, David - Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself - 7/13 ★★★★



District 13: Nuclear Weaponry
B - Bad Dirt by Annie Proulx - 4/29 ★★★★
O - Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman - 7/18 ★★★★
M - The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall - 5/28 ★★★★★
B - Between You & Me by Mary Norris - 5/13 ★★★★

I'm glad the name changed back too! Never wanted to say anything but I always cringed at the redundant term "novel books." :)

Author Alphabet Challenge: 2016

26/26 completed

A - Atkinson, Kate - Emotionally Weird - 2/9 ★★★★★
B - Bacigalupi, Paolo - Pump Six and Other Stories - 2/13 ★★★★★
C - Chuck Wendig - Zer0es - 1/23 ★★
D - Dick, Philip K. - The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch - 3/7 ★★★★
E - Eugenides, Jeffrey - The Virgin Suicides - 1/25 ★★★★
F - Fry, Stephen - Moab is my Washpot - 4/21 ★★★★
G - Grandin, Temple - The Autistic Brain - 1/9 ★★★★
H - Hawking, Stephen - The Universe in a Nutshell - 1/5 ★★★★
I - Ira Levin - The Stepford Wives - 5/16 ★★★★
J - Joseph Heller - Catch-22 - 1/31 ★★★★★
K - Kondō, Marie - Spark Joy - 1/8 ★★★★
L - Lennon, J. Robert - Pieces for the Left Hand - 1/2 ★★★
M - Mindy Kaling - Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? - 1/3 ★★★
N - Ness, Patrick - A Monster Calls - 1/9 ★★★★
O - Oliver Sacks - On the Move - 2/5 ★★★★★
P - P.G. Wodehouse - Barmy in Wonderland - 1/19 ★★★
Q - Quentin Crisp - Resident Alien - 6/19 ★★★★
R - Robin Sloan - Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore - 1/28 ★★★
S - Stanton, Brandon - Humans of New York - 1/7 ★★★★★
T - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman - Good Omens - 5/8 ★★★★
U - Udall, Brady - The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint - 5/28 ★★★★★
V - V.E. Schwab - A Darker Shade of Magic - 4/8 ★★★★
W - Wilhelm, Kate - Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang - 2/24 ★★★★★
X - Proulx, Annie - Close Range - 1/13 ★★★★
Y - Yevgeny Zamyatin - We - 9/20 ★★★
Z - Elizabeth Berg - Open House - 4/29 ★★

Decades Challenge: 2016

I'd like to participate but would like to leave myself open to read several earlier titles this year, so I'll do Level I.

65/65 completed

2016
1. Spark Joy by Marie Kondō - 1/8 ★★★★
2. Staked by Kevin Hearne - 3/2 ★★★★
3. Reckoning by Veronica Wolff - 4/8 ★★
4. Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop - 4/16 ★★★★
5. The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead - 4/27 ★★★
6. Stars Above by Marissa Meyer - 5/28 ★★★
7. The Crown by Kiera Cass - 6/2 ★★★
8. We're All Damaged by Matthew Norman - 7/16 ★★★
9. Lust & Wonder by Augusten Burroughs - 7/31 ★★★
10. Gone with the Mind by Mark Leyner - 8/5 ★★★★★
11. A Collapse of Horses by Brian Evenson - 9/23 ★★★★★
12. Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood - 9/25 ★★★★
13. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo - 10/15 ★★★★
14. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany - 10/20 ★★★★
15. Archangel's Heart by Nalini Singh - 11/27 ★★★★
16. Invaders by various authors - 11/30 ★★★★



2015
1. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling - 1/20 ★★★★
2. Zer0es by Chuck Wendig - 1/23 ★★
3. On the Move by Oliver Sacks - 2/5 ★★★★★
4. Undermajordomo Minor by Patrick deWitt - 2/9 ★★★
5. Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf - 2/15 ★★★★
6. Humans of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton - 3/9 ★★★★★
7. Winter by Marissa Meyer - 4/2 ★★★★
8. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab - 4/8 ★★★★
9. The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne - 4/24 ★★★
10. Between You & Me by Mary Norris - 5/13 ★★★★
11. Slade House by David Mitchell - 6/18 ★★★★
12. So You've Been Publicly Shamed by JonRonson - 7/21 ★★★★★
13. Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik - 8/12 ★★★★
14. The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King - 8/17 ★★★★
15. A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay - 8/18 ★★★



2014
1. Euphoria by Lily King - 2/16 ★★★★
2. The Almost Nearly Perfect People by Michael Booth - 2/28 ★★★★★
3. Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King - 4/9 ★★★
4. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North - 4/14 ★★★★
5. Gut by Giulia Enders - 5/14 ★★★
6. What If? by Randall Munroe - 5/24 ★★★★★
7. Echo Boy by Matt Haig - 7/7 ★★★★
8. The Public Library by Robert Dawson - 7/19 ★★★★
9. Lock In by John Scalzi - 9/11 ★★★★
10. The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld - 10/12 ★★★
11. Tigerman by Nick Harkaway - 11/8 ★★★★
12. Young Money by Kevin Roose - 11/12 ★★★
13. How We Got to Now by Steven Johnson - 12/7 ★★★
14. Last Plane to Heaven by Jay Lake - 12/23 ★★★★★



2013
1. Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton - 1/7 ★★★★★
2. The Autistic Brain by Temple Grandin - 1/9 ★★★★
3. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King - 4/14 ★★★★
4. An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield - 6/10 ★★★★
5. The Seven Good Years by Etgar Keret - 8/5 ★★★★
6. How to Write Short by Roy Peter Clark - 8/14 ★★★
7. Kabu Kabu by Nnedi Okorafor - 10/2 ★★★★
8. Almost True Confessions by Jane O'Connor - 10/14 ★★
9. Middle Men by Jim Gavin - 10/28 ★★★★
10. Bathing the Lion by Jonathan Carroll - 11/8 ★★
11. Asunder by Chloe Aridjis - 11/16 ★★★★
12. The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence - 11/20 ★★★★
13. We Are Water by Wally Lamb - 12/4 ★★★★★



2012
Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan - 1/28 ★★★



2011
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness - 1/9 ★★★★



2010
Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself by David Lipsky - 7/13 ★★★★



2009
Wednesday Is Indigo Blue by Richard Cytowic & David Eagleman - 6/21 ★★★★



2008
Pump Six and Other Stories by Paolo Bacigalupi - 2/13 ★★★★★



2007
Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison - 4/3 ★★★★



2006
Moral Disorder by Margaret Atwood - 3/19 ★★★★