Book Vipers Magic Square Challenge

[Catherine]

I decided on the 25 in advance and had the whole pile of books to read on my bedside table and I've steadily been whittling them down!

[Pat]

I've changed my mind as I've gone along. Nearly finished now. Congrats Jason. I loved Jane Austen. She's so funny. Pretty up to date with her observations on people too.

[Sally]

I've finished two more books, which is 19 in total:

YOUR FAVOURITE GENRE: Vanity Fair
AN OLD FAVOURITE: Jane Eyre

My magic square now looks like this:

X X X X X
X O O X X
O X X X X
O X X X O
X O X X X

[Jason]

Well done sally, nearly there.

[Sally]

Slightly concerned about not finishing all my challenges for the year, so I've made a change and put in A Dance with Dragons as my 'Bestseller', having read it a few months ago. So my magic square now looks like this:

X X X X X
X O O X X
O X X X X
X X X X O
X O X X X

By the way, Paul, does an author who is new to me and whose first book was published in 2012 qualify as 'A New Author'? If so, I can use the book I'm reading now, Deeper Water by Jessie Cole, which was published last month and is turning out to be even better than I expected :-)

[Paul]

Debut Author was meant to be the first book by a new author, but if it fits with a little bit of artistic licence then that is fine.

Finished two on my magic square in the last week:
Ecko Rising
The Day of the Triffids

My square now looks like this:

X X X X X
X X O X X
X X O X O
X X X X X
X X X O O

[Gail]

Another quick question. Are there any rules in this challenge about having to read novels of a certain length or not including any children's books, or books of short stories, or is it anything goes, so long as it fits the description in the square?

[Paul]

Anything as long as it fits the square description. The primary intention is to get people out of their comfort zone when reading and discovering new books and authors and genres

[Gail]

Ah, okay - thanks. I'm not sure if I have a comfort zone - I like trying new authors and genres!

[Paul]

Me too Gail. Though there are some genres that I will not read at all.

[Gail]

Which genres? I am not interested in romance novels, but I read a Mills & Boon once out of curiosity. Ifound it bizarrely entertaining in a very corny way, but it didn't inspire me to read any more! I also don't much like chick-lit, but I've read a few. I don't think there is any genre that I haven't read anything from - other than the more specialised sub-genres that I haven't explored yet. Like steam-punk - I'm not even quite sure what that is.

[Toyah]

I've finally made it over the halfway mark with Mansfield Park :) I'm actually enjoying it now, but as I only have time to read to and from work it's taking a while to make it through this one!

[Paul]

Tend to avoid chick lit, romance, costume drama classics & horror to name a few. Feel free to have a browse through my read book list.
Steam punk is a sub genre of sic fi that features steam powered contraptions and other assorted machines. I have read the odd example but not much yet.

[Gail]

Ah, I think horror might be one I've not read from. That might be out of my comfort zone, in fact, because I don't like being scared and getting nightmares! Although I tend to see that as quite a healthy comfort zone!

And yes, I got the feeling that steam punk was something to do with steam trains. I think it's one of those genres where I'd have to read a few of them to get a clearer sense of what it means.

[Paul]

Just started Move Along, Please: Land's End to John O'Groats by Local Bus for my magic square.

[Toyah]

finally waded through Mansfield Park and started on Sappho' s One Hundred Lyrics

[Paul]

Toyah wrote: "finally waded through Mansfield Park"

You're braver than me!

[Toyah]

It took me six weeks. I feel brain dead! It rarely takes me that long to read anything. Definitely time for a lighter read next I think. Reading Sappho' s One Hundred Lyrics as a quickie, then possibly Claws by Ricky Sides! :)

[Jason]

Is Mansfield Park a bit of a chore then?

[Pat]

If you don't like it, yes. I did but then I do like ms Austin

[Toyah]

I think it depended on my mood, some days I got through a couple of chapters, others a couple of pages! I'll definitely be trying another Austen book before I pass judgement on her as a writer.

[Jason]

Sounds a bit like count of Monte Christo some days it feels like a chore, other days it is fantastic.

[Toyah]

Ok so I finished and started Claws by Ricky Sides within a week. It was really good! Some of the writing wasn't amazing, but it was a really good read! Started The Bloodletters Daughter tonight, decided I HATED it. Not my thing at all. So I am moving on to read both Agatha Christie The Mysterious Affair at Styles, and Paulo Coelho Lime the Flowing River. I figure one heavy, one light one should keep me occupied.

[Jo]

I have 8 to go I think, but one of those (The Spinning Heart) I am starting now. I love this challenge, and even if I don't finish it by year end, I am going to complete it regardless. Naturally, I am leaving to last my least natural selections....

[Paul]

I have four to go. I can make it a little bit longer if that helps Jo

[Jo]

Going to have a bit of a go at a few in my next few reads, so still hoping to make it, but thanks, I don't mind if I have to complete it for myself outside the main challenge.

[Toyah]

My Challenge so far: 15 read, 2 currently reading, leaving 8 to read :)

[Sandy]

That's great Toyah! I think I have one or two more to go. I'm going to look at my books this weekend.

[Sally]

I've finished my last free choice, The Slow Regard of Silent Things, a truly magical book.

My magic square now looks like this:

X X X X X
X O O X X
O X X X X
X X X X O
X X X X X

[Pat]

Paul, I need an extra month as have put The Iliad on list as book on shelf for last 10 years - I don't think I have any others - and its a long one.

[Pat]

No wait. Its ok. I can do fried green tomatoes.... forgot that one - more than 10 years too! Much shorter.

[Jason]

Yay! The Iliad gets another 10 years on the shelf. haha

[Jazzy]

I haven't even had a shelf for 10 years. I've never lived one place for 10 years in my life! :)

[Pat]

Yes, Jason, probably. I loved the Aeniad when I was 18 and studied it at school. Been meaning to read the Odyssey and the Iliad since. Now got a copy of the latter, about 10 years ago, not quite there yet....

[Jason]

I've read both, but very different from each other, prefer the Odyssey as it is more of a story.

[Pat]

Our Teacher would agree with you. Strange to think that she may no longer be alive now, or very old. I'm a tad older than 18 now

[Toyah]

OK I'm currently reading both Gone Girl and Like the Flowing River. I think that will leave me with five to go.

[Charlotte]

After months of not getting round to it, I have just started on my 24th book of the challenge...a new author. Reading Ghost Moth. Just a travel book to go then complete.

[Paul]

Charlotte wrote: "After months of not getting round to it, I have just started on my 24th book of the challenge...a new author. Reading Ghost Moth. Just a travel book to go then complete."

Almost there!

[Pat]

3 more to go

[Jo]

I have 7 to go, I seem to have stalled slightly! Book Club reads and library books getting in the way. But pleased to have got to 18.

Well done Charlotte, so close, touching distance.

[Paul]

Three to go now!


X X X X X
X X O X X
X X X X X
X X X X X
X X X O O

[Kim]

Paul wrote: "Three to go now!


X X X X X
X X O X X
X X X X X
X X X X X
X X X O O"

Way to go, Paul!

[Pat]

Two to go

[Sally]

I just finished my 'Travel Book', The Green Road Into The Trees: An Exploration of England, so I have three to go as well :-)

My magic square looks like this:

X X X X X
X X O X X
O X X X X
X X X X O
X X X X X

[Toyah]

Just finished Gone Girl, and still reading Like the Flowing River, leaving me with 7 books to read I think!

[Tytti]

My Magic Square:


XOOXO
XOXOX
XXXXO
XXXXX
XXXXX

So I have about 19, after I finish one book. I think it will stay like that, not planning to read books that would suit this challenge.

[Joanne]

XXXXO
XXOXX
XOXXX
XXXXX
XXOXX

Can I ask about the book still on my shelf after 10 years? Is that still on the shelf as in bought but not read or as in "it was great, I can't get rid of it"? I cull my bookshelves regularly so there are no unread book that have been there longer than a year or so, but there are quite a few that have been there 10 years because I love them.

[Paul]

It was originally intended as those books that you had bought and never quite got around to reading, but if it is a re-read that is fine

[Tytti]

A thought occurred to me: Does the travel book have to be non-fiction or can it be a novel? The one I have in mind is about a train journey via the Trans-Siberian Railway. I believe the author wrote about her own experiences in the 1980s, it sure sounded like it.