Beth’s Comments (group member since Mar 06, 2014)

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

2019 year-long challenges:
1. 2019 Planning vs Achieving Challenge
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

2. 2019 New to U Authors Challenge
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Duration: January 1-31 2019
Level: Have a cuppa - 1-5 books
read: 5/5!

Step 1 - Boil the water
Read books that are a bit "steamy", set in a hot climate or make you feel warm inside. Or books where the author's name or title begins with B, O, I or L.
First cup: Subtleties of the Incredible Mullah Nasrudin by Idries Shah - author's name begins with I 1/5/2019

Step 2 - Choose your tea
Read books with a color on the cover to match the type of tea you choose.
Black - black tea

Norse Mythology 1/23/2019

Step 3 - Steep the tea
Read books with page counts to indicate how strong you like your tea
Medium - 151 to 300 pages -- No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters (215) 1/10/2019

Step 4 - Sweet?
Read books to indicate how sweet you like your tea.
No sugar - Stand alone novel
One spoonful - Book one in a series
Guards! Guards! 1/26/2019 (first in the City Watch series)

Step 5 - Black or white?

Nonfiction - Lemon
Common Sense 1/21/2019

Achieving Post
1 Jan to 31 Dec, 2019

10/10 award winners
1. Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening 1/27/2019 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story
2. A Stranger in Olondria 3/15/2019 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel
3. The Spy Who Came In from the Cold 3/20/2019 Edgar Award for Best Novel
4. Citizen: An American Lyric 3/23/2019 National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry
5. Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood 4/7/2019 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story
6. Monstress, Vol. 3: Haven 5/4/2019 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story
7. The Left Hand of Darkness 9/22/2019 Nebula Award for Best Novel
8. Declare 5/28/2019 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel
9. Spinning Silver 5/29/2019 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel
10. The Song of Achilles 9/6/2019 Orange Prize for Fiction (2012)

7/10 books that are for so long in my TBR they are covered with spider webs and dust bunnies:
1. Norse Mythology 1/23/2019 (on TBR since 2016)
2. Roadside Picnic 1/26/2019 (on TBR since 2016)
3. Three Men in a Boat 1/27/2019 (on TBR since 2016)
4. The Social Contract 2/7/2019 (on TBR since 2016)
5. The Bacchae and Other Plays 2/12/2019 (on TBR since 2018)
6. A Stranger in Olondria 3/15/2019 (on TBR since 2015)
7. The Spy Who Came In from the Cold 3/20/2019 (on TBR since 2016)

5/10 chunksters:
1. The Odyssey 3/4/2019
2.Declare 5/28/2019
3. Tigana 6/18/2019
4. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (abridged) 7/26/2019
5. Bleak House 11/30/2019
18/10 new to me authors: see message in other thread:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

21/15 books from my favorite genre/s (fantasy & science fiction):
1. The Sandman Universe: The Dreaming #1 1/25/2019
2. Guards! Guards! 1/26/2019
3. Roadside Picnic 1/26/2019
4. Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening 1/27/2019
5. A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar 3/15/2019
6. The Black Tides of Heaven March 2019
7. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch April 2019
8. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy April 2019
9. City of Bones April 2019
10. Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening396738] Jan 2019
11.Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood April 2019
12. Monstress, Vol. 3: Haven May 2019
13. The Left Hand of Darkness 4/29/2019
14. Declare 5/28/2019
15. Spinning Silver 5/29/2019
16. Tigana 6/18/2019
17. The Song of Achilles 9/6/2019
18. Use of Weapons 10/27/2019
19. A Night in the Lonesome October 10/31/2019
20. The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains 6/3/2019
21. The House on the Borderland 9/22/2019
5/10 books from my favorite authors:
1. No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters 1/10/2019
2. Norse Mythology 1/23/2019
3. Guards! Guards! 1/26/2019 (reread)
4. The Odyssey 3/4/2019 (reread)
5. Macbeth 4/10/2019 (reread)

2019 Planning Vs Achieving Reading Challenge
1 Jan to 31 Dec, 2019

Planning Post

This year I will read:
10 award winners (past and present, any literary award/people's choice counts)
1 complete trilogy (the Three Californias trilogy)
10 chunksters (over 450 pages)
15 new to me author(s)
10 books that are for so long in my TBR they are covered with spider webs and dust bunnies
15 books from my favorite genre (fantasy and science fiction)
10 books from my favorite author(s)

Doing this again this year
Duration: Jan - Dec 2019
Level: Come What May
books read: 18!
January
1. Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky 1/26/2019
2. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome 1/27/2019
3. Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening by Marjorie M. Liu 1/27/2019
February
March:
4. A Stranger in Olondria 3/14/2019
5. The Spy Who Came In from the Cold 3/20/2019
6. Citizen: An American Lyric 3/23/2019
April
7. The Black Tides of Heaven
8. Women & Power: A Manifesto
9. Cloud Atlas
10. City of Bones
11. Why Poetry
12. Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening
May
13. Declare 5/28/2019
14. Spinning Silver

June
14. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman 6/2/2019
15. Tigana
16. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
July
August
September
17. The Sound and the Fury
October
18. A Night in the Lonesome October
November
December

Title: The Red Magician
Author: Lisa Goldstein
Pages: 188
Date read: 12/08/2018
Letter: L in authors first name
Mini-challenge task: 25. Read a book with "red" in the title. (10 points)

Ok! I can do task 25. I have The Red Magician which is just long enough (188 p) for the minimum page count.
Letter: L for last name of author Lisa Goldstein
I'll add to the read books thread when I finish it.

Title: Her Body and Other Parties
Author: Carmen Maria Machado
Pages: 241
Date read: 12/7/2018
Letters: M (last name)
Bonus it fits: 23. Read a book that has a birth (40 points)

I didn't realize we already had one for task 23! Can we use this one for something else?

I think I will be able to fit in another book.

For task 29, do you think Chalice would work? The MC keeps bees (for honey).

Done! I finished my book & updated the read books thread for task 22.

I have started Her Body and Other Parties. The first story in the collection fits task 23: Read a book that has a birth (40 points). I think I'll finish tomorrow.

Title: The Snow Leopard
Author: Peter Matthiessen
Pages: 338
Date read: 12/6/2018
Letters it fits: M (last name) or S (title)
Bonus it fits:
22. Read a book that is tagged religious (must be tagged by more than 25 users) (20 points)

Update: I think I'll finish The Snow Leopard today or tomorrow.

Ok, I'll use it for that.

I am reading The Snow Leopard which is tagged as religion (35 times). Can we count this for:

22.Read a book that is tagged religious (must be tagged by more than 25 users) (20 points)

If not I will see what else it fits. I will add it to the books read when I'm done.

Oh, I see. I misread the MPG rules.

I'll see if I can find something tagged for the mpg, then. And I think I can make sure that my spell-it-out book gets points for the mini-challenge.

I thought the MPG word just had to be in the title?

If not I will figure out something else.

So my plan for next week is to read a book for the MPG (Kiss) *and* a book for the mini challenge (that will also fit one of the letters). I think I can squeeze in both.

I'm thinking of Black Gods Kiss for the MPG.

title: Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr
Author: John Crowley
Pages: 442
date read: 11/30/2018
Letters in current word it fits: C (author's last name) K (title)

Duration: Dec 1- Jan 31
completed: 1/26/2019
level: Tinsel: 6-10 books - 10 books read!

S The Snow Leopard 12/6/2018
T Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo translated by J.R.R. Tolkien
12/19/2018
A Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky 1/26/2019
R The Red Magician 12/8/2018

+

L No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters by Ursula K. Le Guin 1/10/2019
I Subtleties of the Incredible Mullah Nasrudin edited by Idries Shah 1/5/2019
G - Gwindor from The Children of Húrin 12/22/2018
H -Her Body and Other Parties 12/7/2018
T The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien 12/30/2018
S The Sandman Universe: The Dreaming #1 by Simon Spurrier 1/25/2019

I'm reading Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr - it's carrying over from last week, so I think I can finish it this week.