Peter's finished but will likely change reading plan

[Peter]

1. A book you meant to read in 2015, but didn't - Completed Jan. 18
- An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield


2. A book set in a different continent
- Battle Royale by Koshun Takami


3. A book from the Goodreads Choice Awards 2015 (winner or nominated) - Completed Feb. 20
- The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher


4. A book by an author you discovered in 2015
- Armada by Ernest Cline


5. A book with a title beginning with the 1st letter of your name
- Prospero's Children by Jan Siegel


6. The highest rated on your TBR - Completed March 4
- Golden Son by Pierce Brown (There are one or two titles with a higher rating but have very few reviews, so I chose to go with this one)


7. A book about books
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak


8. A classic book with less than 200 pages - Completed Jan. 7
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens


9. A book that was mentioned in another book - Completed Oct 28
- 1984 by George Orwell


10. A book by an author you feel you should have read by now
- The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett


11. A book from the Rory Gilmore challenge - Completed March 22
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass


12. A childhood classic
- Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson


13. Reader’s Choice
- Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie


14. A book with one of the five W’s -or H in the title (Who/What/Where/When/Why/How)
- What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe


15. A book set in the past (more than 100 years ago) - Completed Oct 26
- The Essence of Karate by Gichin Funakoshi


16. A book from the top 100 mystery novels
- Eye of the Needle by Ken Follet


17. A book with a beautiful cover - Completed Apr 13
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern


18. A book on a summer/beach reading list - Completed March 12
- The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (Listopia 2015 Summer Reading List)


19. A non-fiction book - Completed May 26
- A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout


20. A book with a first name in the title - Completed Jan. 23
- Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn


21. A book from the Goodreads Recommendations page
- The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi


22. The first book in a new to you series
- Blood Song by Anthony Ryan


23. The next book in a series you are reading - Completed Aug 11
- The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett


24. A "between the numbers" book of a series (0.5, 1,5, 2.5, etc.) - Completed March 14
- The Lightning Tree by Patrick Rothfuss


25. A book whose main character is in a profession that interests you
- The Bone Collector by Jeffery Deaver


26. A book everyone is talking about - Completed Jul 4
- A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab


27. A book with a beautiful title (in your own opinion)
- The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin


28. A biography, autobiography, or memoir - Completed Feb. 29
- You're Never Weird on the Internet by Felicia Day


29. A book by an author who writes under more than one name - Completed Sep 26
- 11/22/63 by Stephen King


30. A fairytale from a culture other than your own
- The Thing Beneath the Bed by Patrick Rothfuss

31. A work of young adult fiction - Completed May 7
- Morning Star by Pierce Brown


32. A historical fiction book - Completed Oct 20
- Thirteen Years Later by Jasper Kent


33. The 16th book on your TBR - Completed Jun 18
- Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup (16th in order of books I added to my list)


34. A book about mental illness
- The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius by Kristine Barnett


35. An award winning book - Completed May 11
- The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters


36. An identity book - a book about a different culture, religion or sexual orientation - Completed Nov 18
- I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson


37. A book that you've seen the movie of but haven't read - Completed May 19
- A Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson


38. A book about an anti-hero - Completed Feb. 18
- The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch


39. A previous suggestion that did not make it into the list - Completed Jul 12
- The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (animal as a main character)


40. A novella from your favorite genre
- Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence (I haven't located a novella, so may just try to read a book from my favourite genre.)


41. A book about a major world event (fiction or non-fiction)
- Another Man's War: The True Story of One Man's Battle to Save Children in the Sudan by Sam Childers


42. A top 100 fantasy novel
- Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie


43. A book about a thing that goes bump in the night - Completed Sep 21
- The Eye of the Moon by Anonymous


44. A book you're embarrassed to read in public
- Chicken Soup for the Couple's Soul by Jack Canfield


45. A book related to a hobby or passion you have
- False Gods by Graham McNeill


46. A crime story
- Along Came a Spider by James Patterson


47. A book with a type of food/drink in the title
- The Cider House Rules by John Irving


48. A dystopia
- Divergent by Veronica Roth


49. A book with a great opening line
- Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs


50. A book originally written in a language other than English
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson


51. A short story from a well-known author
- How Old Holly Came To Be by Patrick Rothfuss


52. A book published in 2016 - Completed Apr 24
- The Orion Plan by Mark Alpert

[Zaz]

I'll read Battle Royale too, but near the end of the year. The feedback in 2015 was pretty good, so I hope we'll enjoy it too! A Darker Shade of Magic is on my list too, no high expectations here, I hope it's better than Vicious.

I'm currently reading The Fifth Season, it's good for the moment but too much dark for my tastes.

[Peter]

Yea, I've wanted to read Battle Royale for quite a while now. I've heard it described as the original Hunger Games, much more mature and serious in tone. And I've only heard good things about a Darker Shade of Magic. It's supposed to be quite a different and unique take on magic and I'm a sucker for books that break the norm and introduce something new or different.

I don't know a lot about the Fifth Season, but I really like the title, and it has good ratings here. Let me know what you think; I tend to like fantasy that is darker or grittier in tone. Don't get me wrong, I love the lighter stuff too, but I enjoy when authors create worlds where there are consequences (sometimes severe) to the characters' choices.

I'm also expecting this to change regularly. I wasn't able to make it to 52 books this year but I'm aiming on getting more books read than I did this year.

[Maple]

Great list! We have a few overlaps and I am excited about being able to discus them, especially Battle Royale and What If?. I hope you enjoy Night Circus. It's one of my favorites.

[Peter]

I'm really looking forward to What If! I don't think I'll read it all in one sitting - it just seems like a book that lends itself to being read in chunks, reading one of the sections at a time and coming back to it later. Looking forward to discussing it to; I enjoy those kinds of hypothetical discussions and debates among friends.

I had to find a place to get Night Circus in. I've only heard really good things about it and I really like the cover. When I saw it in the bookstore, I was instantly interested.

[Maple]

I agree. I think What If will be the book I start right away and will read a little bit at a time as I read other books around it.

I've heard they're in the works to make Night Circus into a movie. I am very intrigued by this. Morgenstern has some really vivid and amazing imagery in the book that leaves me wondering how they will handle that in a movie. If you like Sci-Fi/Supernatural stuff, I think you'll enjoy this one :)

[Peter]

I'm even more excited to read it now! Sci-FI/Supernatural are among my favourite genres.

[Maple]

Excellent!

[Francesca]

I was one of the people that read Battle Royale this year and I loved it! I thought it was fantastic, I hope you enjoy it. I've also read 12 Years a Slave and seen the movie, just such a heart-breaking and moving story. Quite tough to read at points but definitely worth it.

[Peter]

I've seen the movie and thought it was very well done. I can't imagine being placed in a situation like that myself and it's horrible that events like that happened, and are still happening in some parts of the world.

[Zaz]

I just finished the 5th Season. The world building was very interesting and complex and I also really liked the various ethnies/creatures. 2 of the POV worked well for me, but not the more present, so it was overall not appealing. As said before, it's dark fantasy/post-apocalyptic, which is not in my comfort zone and had affected my pleasure while reading, but I'd like to continue the series at some point. Looking forward to your opinion on it :)

[Peter]

Dark fantasy is what I enjoy most, and I like deep world building. I really like the title of the book; as soon as I read the title I couldn't stop trying to figure out what a fifth season would entail. I'm looking forward to reading this one, but probably won't get to it for a little while.

[Pam]

I like your list! I'm planning on reading Pierce Brown's trilogy in 2016.

[Peter]

Thanks! I read the first book this year and it was a lot better than I though it was going to be. I'm looking forward to reading the other two and finishing the series.

[Peter]

I've updated my list with a completed list of books. I've made a few alterations to it here and there and will probably continue to tweak it a little bit. I've also updated the books I've finished. I probably won't hit the full 52, but but goal is to make it to 26. However, I'm currently ahead of schedule towards making that goal, so if I can keep it up and should be able to push my number closer to completing the whole thing.

[Zaz]

The Night Circus and The Last Policeman are 2 of my favorites for 2016, they were both really interesting and totally worked with me.
I don't know how The Water Knife is but I'm reading a short stories book by this author and it's totally amazing. I hope his full novels have this quality, I've 2 on my TBR and I'll probably read one this year.

[Peter]

Ooops, I forgot to add in the book for topic 52, The Orion Plan - fixed that. I'm actually really interested in this one, and have it on hold at the library already. The author has been compared to Michael Crichton and he's one of my favourite authors so I have high hopes.

Zaz, I'm looking forward to The Last Policeman too. One of my friend's read the series and said it was really incredible. I'm not so sure about the Night Circus anymore... Originally I was very interested in it based on the cover and I've only heard good things about it, but at the same time I've heard it described as a romance, and I'm not usually a fan of any books that focus on relationship drama or teenage angst...

[Sophie]

Peter I can reassure you about the romance in The Night Circus is definitely isn't a cheesy drama. It is there, but doesn't take too much place, and is described in a very unusual way. Read it, you'll understand ;)

And I added The Last Policeman and The Orion Plan in my TBR, thanks guys.

[Zaz]

In my opinion, it's not a romance, it's magical realism focused on a circus and a contest. I agree with Sophie, there's a love story between adults, I found it described in a poetic way (for me, all the book was lovely). I think you can read the ebook sample to see if you're fine with the pace and the writing, if yes, you'll probably enjoy all the book as the quality is the same all along.

[Peter]

Zaz, that makes me feel better about it. I'll give it a shot at least. I'm not sure when I'll fit it in yet...I'm definitely reading out of order and I already have my next few reads on hold at the library, just waiting for them to come in.

I'm currently listening to the 5th wave on audio book, and WOW! I'm really impressed. It's not anything like what I thought it was going to be, and the writing is intense and gripping. I'm using audio books to try and push my total number of reads this year closer to 52 - I find listening to a book in the car on my commutes, as well as reading one or two physical books at work and at home helps me to keep moving through my list.

Sophie, I'm REALLY looking forward to The Orion Plan! I really enjoy techno-thrillers so I'm hoping it's as good as some of my favourite by Crichton. It will likely be my next read as long as it comes back into the library by the time I finish the two I'm reading now!

[Peter]

Updated my list with some more I've completed.

I have to say I didn't enjoy the Night Circus as much as I expected. It started off great, but I found it very anti-climactic. The description was very good though.

Best book I've read so far this year goes to Morning Star. Seriously, if you're reading this, go read the first two of the series just so you can read book three. It's that good. In fact, the whole series is great, but book 3 is the standout.

Starting The Last Policeman next, and listening to A House in the Sky on audiobook.

[Michelle]

Did you enjoy The 5th Wave much? That was one of my favorites from last year. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is my opening line book too, so I'll get to discuss that with you also. :) I hope you enjoy The Book Thief. It's one of those books that seems to be universally loved and, yet, I really disliked it. I think it's just me though.

[Pam]

I'm reading Morning Star right now. I agree - it's a great series!

[Peter]

I thought the 5th wave was ok. I gave it 4 stars (it was more like 3.5) because it was interesting and I liked the characters but it was a little predictable. I'll probably pick up the second one eventually but if it doesn't impress me I likely won't continue with the series.

Pam, Morning Star is sooooo good. By far the best of the series! I hope you enjoy it!

[Michelle]

The romancey bits are a bit of an eye roll for me, in the series, but it's not saturated with it which I appreciate. I liked the second one a bit more, I think. It follows all of the survivor group but focuses primarily on Ringer. It is nice to experience a different side of the story.

I see you're reading Armada also. That one was a bit of a disappointment for me after Ready Player One. I didn't think it was as cohesive.

[Pam]

Peter - I just finished The Infinite Sea and enjoyed it much more than The 5th Wave! It was much less predictable and takes an interesting turn. I feel like I have to read the 3rd book now to make sense of it all! This is the problem with trilogies and series.

[Michelle]

I agree with Pam. What I liked about The Fifth Wave was the eerie sense of isolation, the inability to tell friend from foe. The Infinite Sea was a bit darker and it takes it all a bit deeper.

[Peter]

Pam - I will probably pick up the second and third one in the series from the library at some point, but they aren't a priority. I enjoyed the first one enough to be interested to see where the story goes, but I don't feel compelled to keep reading the series either. At this point there are a number of other series that are screaming for my attention (although I'm still waiting for three of them to have their next book published!!!) so I will focus on those for the time being as I've managed to get a bunch of them into my list for this challenge.

Emm - I agree I liked the isolation factor. I really liked the paranoia and the way the (view spoiler)[alien tactics forced people to start turning on each other and lose trust in others, and then started using people to hunt down and exterminate survivors. It seemed plausible and terrifying. I also liked that the invasion happened "off screen" before the actual story, and the aliens stayed dormant until activated. (hide spoiler)] It was an interesting concept that was different from other stories out there.

If you both enjoyed this series, I would highly recommend the Red Rising trilogy. I might be biased because I just finished the last book and it was absolutely amazing, but all three tackle similar issues of trust, isolation, paranoia, and have some intense twists!

[Michelle]

The Red Rising trilogy is one I've been meaning to read but haven't quite yet. I will get to it soon, I hope. I'm glad to hear it is as good as everyone says.

[Peter]

Updated my list again with a few more I've crossed off.

I really enjoyed The Last Policeman. In general it was a fairly typical "whodunit" type mystery, but the pre-apocalyptic setting with impending doom from a meteor strike really changed the tone. It was a breath of fresh air when compared to today's overcrowded post-apocalyptic tendencies. Seeing the lead up and development of characters before a global catastrophe was extremely interesting.

A Stir of Echoes was good, but I think I liked the movie more. It's been quite a while since I saw it, so I'd have to see it again to be sure, but overall, I think the movie may have done a better job of grounding the characters. I enjoyed the story, and but things in the book took a fair amount of time to develop (possibly because I knew some of what was coming). I think the family dynamic and the issues between the main character and his wife are what pulled me out of the book the most - their interactions always seemed unrealistic to me. Overall though, I liked the book.

I also really enjoyed A House in the Sky. It was by no means an easy read, nor was it a truly happy book. However, the author's perspective, and more importantly her message is one of optimism and hope. Her story was truly inspiring.

Next books to be tackled are the Daylight War (reading now) which I'm excited for, and so far enjoying. It's book 3 in the Demon Cycle books and seems to be raising the stakes for the characters. I'm also listening to 12 Years a Slave on audiobook.

After those two I'm planning on changing things up a bit and diving into the philosophical study of karate with The Essence of Karate, and if it ever arrives (I placed the order at the end of April...) enjoying a western/action/paranormal/pulpy adventure mashup with The Eye of the Moon.

[Peter]

Updated my list and crossed a few more off. I'm at 25/52...

I know that's not impressive compared to some of the members here who read that many books in a month, but it's a significant improvement over my total number of books last year and my goal was to make it to 50% this year; I will hopefully be crossing off at least 3 more books by the end of the year that I'm currently reading.

So, even though I won't get to 52 total, I've almost met my personal goal. This challenge has been a great motivator to get me to read more and although my schedule and commitments do not always allow me to read as much as I would like, I have steadily increased my reading over the past two years.

For year three, my goal will be to get further than I did this year.

[Francesca]

That's excellent! I've been in a similar position, I think I've made it to about half way on the challenge itself with a few side reads as well. I haven't made it that far but I beat myself from last year and that was my plan. I think it's good to go at your own pace and to be aware of what you may or may not manage to accomplish. For me, reading 52 books in one year seems impossible as I'm quite a slow reader anyway sometimes and because life and other things get in the way. Then there are those who manage over 100 books a year and I'm just sat there thinking 'how?'

You've done really well!

[Pam]

That's great Peter! I started reading a lot more and finishing books one I joined GR and started doing challenges. It's been a real motivator for me!

[Peter]

Thanks for the encouragement! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one not able to make it through the full 52. I wish I could, there just always seems to be something that comes up, so most of my reading is done in short periods of time.

I'm jealous of the people able to get through so many books, because there are so many I want to read!

[Marta]

I am glad you met your goal, that's what counts! Different goals suit different people. No need to copy those with more time or higher reading speed.

[Peter]

That's why I really like this group! There is no pressure to do anything specific and it is very easily adapted to each member's personal goals.

[Sophie]

I'm so happy to see that we are able to continue to be this open which each other after three years and especially motivate people to read more, even if it's only 10 books a year.

Were you able to read a bit more challenge books in December, or did you mainly enjoy side-reads?

[Peter]

I finished one more challenge book, and I'm in the middle of two others. I don't think I'll finish the two before the end of this year, but my motivation for finishing them has kind of waned. I'll probably read them gradually over the next little while in between reads for the 2017 challenge, so I'll get them finished, just not quite within this year.

The last few days has been a lot of traveling and visiting family and friends for the holidays so I haven't had much time for reading. I work overnight on New Years Eve, but honestly, I'll probably start one of my planned 2017 books a little early that night.