Janice Junks the Chunks 2014 Challenge

[Janice, Moderator]

I have 1320 pages (3 books) to go until I finish Slick's Slugs. I just finished plotting out my April reads and it looks like it will be May before I finish the section. And I sooo want to move on to Mickey's Marchers.

[Laura]

Good luck, Janice. You'll be there before you know it!

[Janice, Moderator]

Thanks Laura. I should have spaced Jo Nesbo's series out a bit instead of reading them all one after the other.

[Laura]

Yeah, sometimes series are more enjoyable when spaced out. But there's always that temptation to read them all. I have such a hard time planning my reading in advance.

[Michelle T.]

Janice wrote: "I have 1320 pages (3 books) to go until I finish Slick's Slugs. I just finished plotting out my April reads and it looks like it will be May before I finish the section. And I sooo want to move o..."

I know Janice is so difficult, I'm staring school next week, and my time is going to be very limited...

[June]

I really loved Cutting for Stone . The only reason I ranked it a 4 instead of 5 was because the first third of the book spent too much time describing things. For me it disrupted the flow of the story. After that it was amazing.

[Janice, Moderator]

June wrote: "I really loved Cutting for Stone . The only reason I ranked it a 4 instead of 5 was because the first third of the book spent too much time describing things. For me it disrupted the flow of the st..."

I'm not sure when I'll get to it. Maybe sometime this summer. I've heard lots of good things about it.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Heh I was the opposite June. I loved the first two thirds of the book, and lapped up all the descriptions. The last third for me didn't quite live up to the first ones (not terribly, just a few irks and annoyances though), so it got a four.

[Marnie]

Janice wrote: "Thanks Laura. I should have spaced Jo Nesbo's series out a bit instead of reading them all one after the other."

I'm trying to space out The Matthew Shardlake series for that very reason. I find it amazing when I plot out my monthly reads ( which I do every month) how there are just too many books I want to squeeze in. I wish I read faster!

[Janice, Moderator]

LOL! I have that same problem, Marnie. I did up my April plan earlier today and expressed the same wish about reading faster.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

I made a pile. I shouldn't have made a pile...

[Ava Catherine]

Janice, you are really on fire! Congratulations on getting close to completing Slick's Slugs! : ) You are so close!

[Janice, Moderator]

Rusalka wrote: "I made a pile. I shouldn't have made a pile..."

I made a list.

I have a pile, but it has nothing to do with the chunksters and everything to do with my bookcase running out of room.

[Janice, Moderator]

Connie wrote: "Janice, you are really on fire! Congratulations on getting close to completing Slick's Slugs! : ) You are so close!"

Considering that I'm reading other books as well, I've ramped up my reading this year. I need to be more patient. :)

[Laura]

I've never planned my monthly reading, but I'm finding out that in this group, it's helpful! May just drag a calendar out today lol.

[Laura]

Rusalka wrote: "I made a pile. I shouldn't have made a pile..."

Lol!

[Laura]

Marnie wrote: "Janice wrote: "Thanks Laura. I should have spaced Jo Nesbo's series out a bit instead of reading them all one after the other."

I'm trying to space out The Matthew Shardlake series for that very..."

Marnie I'm curious, have you always planned out your monthly reads, or did you start that after joining here lol?

[Marnie]

I just started planning out my reads because of Goodreads. I'm in multiple groups and that is the only way I can keep up. Plus I do love the gophering part and then figuring out which library has which book. I have lots of fun planning everything. I also read a couple " just because " books each month so that I can add some spontaneity to my reading.

[Laura]

Gotcha. :)

[Janice, Moderator]

I have a checklist that I use each month -
2 chunksters
2 leftover stew challenge
1 monthly challenge for YLTO
1 group read for YLTO
1 group read for SAI King Recommends group
1 Syndicate Book Club read (every other month)

If I don't follow the checklist, I don't get everything read that I want to read.

[Laura]

No doubt! Quite an ambitious list. I never thought about reading goals before joining GR.

[Janice, Moderator]

Me either! Before GR's I went through a dry spell when I read very sporadically. I was reading the Syndicate Book Club (in real life book club) and that was only 1 book every two months. Plus, I wasn't reading books that I particularly enjoyed or would have chosen for myself, so it wasn't satisfying. I used to read all the time, so I gave myself a shake, joined GR's, and now I'm completely obsessed about reading again.

[Laura]

Lol, and happily so! :)

[Janice, Moderator]

I've been reading Robert McCammon's books over the last couple of weeks. Boy's Life,which I finished last week, is 582 pages. I'm currently reading Swan Song which is 960 pages. I wasn't going to consider them for the chunkster challenge because I was so rigidly fixated on the books I had selected for Slick's Slugs. And because I wasn't finished Slick's Slugs, I couldn't consider them for Mickey's Marchers either.

Oh well... read them and don't count them! NOT!

So I reworked Slick's Slugs and worked them in. Bonus is, I'll be finished the section next week. YEAH!!

[Sarah]

Glad you have been able to nicely slot those two reads in to Slick's Janice - I bet you'll be pleased to get your badge!

[Laura]

Yay, go Janice, go!! Woooot! :)

[Suzanne]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets sidetracked by other chunky books. I may be reworking my list, too! You're so close to that badge! Way to go, Janice!

[Janice, Moderator]

I just looked back and realized that I didn't have the right connection between Nemesis and The Shining. I was scratching my head a bit until I realized that Harry Hole (protagonist in Nemesis) and Jack Torrence (protagonist) are both alcoholics. Phew! Dodged a bullet!

That's the risk when you start rearranging. Those connections can be tricky!

[Sarah]

Good connection Janice!

[Laura]

That is a unique connection! And a good one.

[Janice, Moderator]

Yay! I finished Slick's Slugs and with a 5 star read. Woot! Swan Song was an awesome book.

[Cherie]

Yay Janice!!! Congratulations on finishing your Slick's section!

[AmyCynthia]

Awesome job Janice!!!

[Lisa]

Congrats Janice! Enjoy Mickey's Marchers!

[Sarah]

Nice one Janice! Looking forward to seeing what you have lined up for Mickey's!

[Laura]

Yay, Happy Dance! Congratulations!

[Janice, Moderator]

Thanks everyone. I'm excited about planning Mickey's section. What I have in msg 2 is just ideas at the moment. But I have an appointment in half an hour, and I offered to help a friend this evening, so it may be a while before I can start gophering.

[Almeta]

Great book line-up. You read many good four and five star reads.

The only thing that kept me from a five star rating of Swan Song was the memory of The Stand.

Congratulations.

[Janice, Moderator]

While I did see some similarities in the two books, they were two different stories and I decided not to compare them.

There were a couple of things that happened that didn't quite make sense to me, but I decided I could overlook them. (view spoiler)[ One was how quickly Roland forgot his parents and didn't recognize them. I didn't quite get the whole "mask of Job" thing. The other thing was how quickly and easily the devil did his disappearing act - unless McCammon was setting up a sequel. (hide spoiler)]

I was quite lucky that my reads were all 4 & 5 stars. I hope the next 6 are as good.

[Janice, Moderator]

I'm done playing with connections and have Mickey's Marchers waiting for the whistle to start marching.

[Sarah]

Would you like to buddy read The Alienist. I got it for Christmas and have been dying to read it!

[Esther]

Janice wrote: "I'm done playing with connections and have Mickey's Marchers waiting for the whistle to start marching."

Nice list.

The Alienist is a favorite of mine. Have fun!

And Let me know what you think of Brent Weeks.

[Laura]

I agree. Alienist was wonderful.

[Janice, Moderator]

Sarah wrote: "Would you like to buddy read The Alienist. I got it for Christmas and have been dying to read it!"

Sure! I'm not sure when I can get to it. Maybe the end of May?

I read it a number of years ago and really enjoyed it. Lately, I've had the urge to re-read it. I was looking at my bookshelf the other day and it occurred to me that it was a rather thick book. I check... almost 600 pages. It was perfect timing that I was in the process of planning Mickey's Marchers. :)

[Janice, Moderator]

Esther wrote: "And Let me know what you think of Brent Weeks."

I will! It's up next after Fingersmith. I already have it loaded on my iPad.

[Sarah]

I'm flexible Janice. I've got others to read with the buddy reads already planned and I'd like to fit in some non-challenge books at some point too - my shorter books are being neglected at the moment!

[Janice, Moderator]

Lets aim for the end of May, beginning of June then. I have Fingersmith, The Angel's Game, The Hangman's Daughter, and The Troop all coming up for various buddy and group reads.

[Marnie]

Congratulations on finishing Slick! You have some great titles lined up for Mickey. I know you've read The Alienist ( pardon my not linking wifi on the plane is being a pain) because I snagged the title from you for the ABC challenge. It will be a great reread.
The Hangman's Daughter is great on Audio so enjoy. Fingersmith is fun too. I read that one so I will be curious how the audio is....

[Janice, Moderator]

I don't have Hangman's Daughter on audio. I'll be reading it on Kindle. I could pick it up on audio for $1.99... something to consider. I think I paid $.99 for the Kindle edition. I bought the whole series for $.99/book a while ago.

[Janice, Moderator]

I have my first checkmark in Mickey's Marchers. I finished Fingersmith yesterday. I gave it 5 stars.

Marnie, the audiobook was really good. The only problem I had was I found it difficult to go back to confirm what I understood to be going on as far as the scheme was concerned. The narration was superb, though.