2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion
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From Fiction to Reality Challenge - 2016
I just read the first of my first pair. My first non-fiction book was War of the Roses By Alison Weir. This was something I've always had an interest since I saw Ian McKellan in Richard III. Weir writes a great history book. Now to find a fiction book that ties in.
Tuck, congratulations on finishing your first book!Cheri, how are you liking the challenge so far?
Cassandra wrote: "Cheri, how are you liking the challenge so far?"I love it! It's a great idea to read related fiction and non-fiction. And I have yet to start the pair I'm most excited about!
Updated message 130. I've just finished my first pair, putting me at 3/10 books, and 1/5 pairs.Fiction: Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (3 stars). A story following the lives of patients in a cancer ward, in the early 1960s Soviet Union.
Non-Fiction: The C-Word by Lisa Lynch (4.5 stars). The author's personal account of her battle with breast cancer.
I've also read the fiction book of my next pair; a murder mystery based in London, and have picked out a non-fiction book about violent crime in London to match it.
I'd like to join in, please. To start with 6 pairs and the first will be Alan Mallinson's Words of Command for the novel, finished this month (see my 100 book challenge.), and link this withWaterloo by Tim Clayton.
Welcome to the challenge, Colin!Cheri, glad to hear that you're enjoying this one. :)
I just finished my second non-fiction book - I'll do My Own Damn Killin': Benny Binion, Herbert Noble and the Texas Gambling War - Gary Sleeper. I really enjoyed this book, especially since I live in North Texas and knew a lot of the places mentioned.
Nice job, Tuck! That puts you to two total books read, right?
2/10Here's my first pair
Non-fiction : Je serai un territoire fier et tu déposeras tes meubles⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book questions the masculinity/virility model. It tries to deconstruct it and to explain why men are alienated by this outdated model.
Mauprat ⭐⭐⭐
Romantic novel from 1837. Novel about equality, liberty and the education of men. It's speak about what it is to be a men and a women, and what love and marriage should be.
If you can read French I strongly command Je serai un territoire fier et tu déposeras tes meubles.
Update message 95. Halfway there!Read: 2/4
✔1. The Witches: Salem, 1692✯✯/The Crucible✯✯✯
Also picked my other two, Man o' War: A Legend Like Lightning and Man O' War. I grew up with an appendix quarter horse (when you cross an AQHA quarter horse with a registered Thoroughbred) and his sire, like so many... many... many other thoroughbreds trace back to Man O' War so being the horse crazy child I was, I devoured everything about him, especially Farley's book, so I'm looking forward to reading Our's book.
/end ramble.
I have already read several books in your examples. This sounds like it would be a challenge for me as non-fiction is not my favorite. So, this sounds perfect to broaden my reading. I'll try for 5 pairs (10 books) this year
Welcome to the challenge, Teresa!Bobbi - that's so cool that you have a personal connection to the horse. I read about Man o' War a bit with Seabiscuit: An American Legend.
5/10I did the Fiction first. Now I have to find books that match.
a.The Girl You Left Behind read 1-20-16
b.
a. The Grapes of Wrath 1-26-16
b.
a. Like Water for Chocolate 1-28-16
b.
a. Ready Player One 1-1-16
b.
a. Still Alice 1-5-16
b.
Maria wrote: "5/10I did the Fiction first. Now I have to find books that match.
a.The Girl You Left Behind read 1-20-16
b.
a. The Grapes of Wrath 1-26-16
b.
a. Like Water for Chocolate 1-28-16
b.
a. Read..."
If you're look for non-fiction about gaming I suggest Beyond Barbie and Mortal Kombat: New Perspectives on Gender and Gaming or if it's too scholarly for your taste maybe You're Never Weird on the Internet it's a memoir.
Updated #146I'm now going to read 5 pairs/10 books
These are the two pairs I've added to my list:
4a Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (Fiction)
4b Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang (Non-Fiction)
China
5a The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (Fiction)
5b Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup (Non-Fiction)
Slavery
Maria wrote: "5/10I did the Fiction first. Now I have to find books that match.
a.The Girl You Left Behind read 1-20-16
b.
a. The Grapes of Wrath 1-26-16
b.
a. Like Water for Chocolate 1-28-16
b.
a. Read..."
If you're looking for something on the lighter side to go with Still Alice, may I suggest Tuesdays with Morrie? I've been told it's a great memoir, if a little saccharine, but that's the author's style.
Update: I read Omon Ra, a fiction book about the U.S.S.R.'s attempt to make it seem like they had traveled to the moon. I am going to read "A Brief History of Time" next
I have finished my first pair:1 Navy SEALs
The Unsung Hero ✔ 5.1.16 ★★★★★
No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden ✔ 31.1.16 ★★★★
Amanda, I updated your goal. Have you finished any books yet?
No not yet Cassandra! I'm reading Wild Swans at the moment. I've decided to swap The Lily Theater by Lulu Wang for Snow Flower and the Secret Fan as I can get a copy quicker. Good luck with your challenges!
Cassandra, I'm enjoying it so far. It reads more like historical fiction than non-fiction. It is well-written.
Cassandra. Have now completed my first pair of books:Alan Mallinson - Words of Command the fictional tale of Matthew Hervey a Waterloo veteran.
Tim Clayton - Waterloo a historical account of the battle in 1815.
Joining in :) Love the idea!From Fiction to Reality
Duration: 01 Jan 2016 - 31 Dec 2016
Progress: 2/10 Books; 1/5 Pairs
1. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America - Non-fiction; 3/11/2016; ★★★ and The Jungle Fiction; -4/18/2016 ★★★★
Both take place in Chicago in the late 1890s/early 1900s
2.
3.
4.
5.
Possibilities:
- The Cure for Dreaming-3/7/2016; Hypnotism, suffragist
- Salt to the Sea-4/2/2016; WW2 Germany; Wilhelm Gustloff
- The Bell Jar-5/16/2016; mental illness; mental institution
- The Lake House-5/21/2016; mental illness/PTSD; WWI
- Pretending to Be Erica-5/23/2016; con artists; child kidnapping
Updated message 5I finally completed 1 of my pairs with 3 books total read. Kind of slow going on this challenge so far.
3/10 read
1/5 pairs complete
1a What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami (memoir about Murakami as a runner)
1b
2a Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (letter to his son about race)
2b Native Son by Richard Wright (classic novel about race)
I don't read much non fiction so this would be a challenge.. I'm in for 6 pairs. Total of 12 books. Since this started in January maybe I'll use the non fiction version to books I've already read earlier this year. I'll put them down when I find the matching book.
1/6 Pairs Read
1a. The Winds of War by Herman Wouk 4/1/2016 5 Stars
historical fiction of the leadup to WWII through the eyes of a political Naval officer and his American Family
1b. Never Surrender: Winston Churchill and Britain’s Decision to Fight Nazi Germany in the Fateful Summer of 1940 by John Kelly 4/15/2016 2 Stars
Nonfictional account of the leadup to WWII through the political lens of Great Britain & Churchill
(In the battle of WWII accounts the fiction beat out the nonfiction. Winds of War is longer and have a soap operish feel but it's chock full of information on WWII that's more readable than in Never Surrender. )
Yvonne wrote: "I don't read much non fiction so this would be a challenge.. I'm in for 6 pairs. Total of 12 books. Since this started in January maybe I'll use the non fiction version to books I've already read..."
Good luck.
Welcome to the challenge, Jacki and Yvonne!
I've added two more books to my list, both are fiction books.Stephen King's Revival - meh.
Stephanie Pintoff's In the Shadow of Gotham - Great historical mystery; I want to finish off the series.
Updating Msg. 32. I am finishing my first pair.I read 2 books about Griots.
For fiction, I read Sundiata.
I am not sure if this is really fiction or nonfiction since it is an epic tale about a real person by a griot. But for the challenge, I'm going to count it as fiction.
For nonfiction, I read African Music: A People's Art.
This is about traditional musical instruments and the people who play them, including some discussion of the role of griots.
4/10Here's my second pair
Nonfiction: Second début ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ About feminist issues. The challenge of being a women (Independence, love, violence)
Fiction: Carmen et autres nouvelles ⭐⭐⭐ A romance about a strong femme fatale and the difficulty she experience in love and her struggle to keep her liberty. Also touche the subject of violence.
Here's my first pair
Nonfiction : Je serai un territoire fier et tu déposeras tes meubles⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book questions the masculinity/virility model. It tries to deconstruct it and to explain why men are alienated by this outdated model.
Mauprat ⭐⭐⭐
Romantic novel from 1837. Novel about equality, liberty and the education of men. It's speak about what it is to be a men and a women, and what love and marriage should be.
/
Just finished my first of 10 pairs: 50 Years in Gombe and We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. I really enjoyed the pairing - they are totally different, of course, but reinforce each other in such interesting ways. I might just read all books in pairs like this from now on, it was kind of fascinating!
Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Heather! I've been meaning to read We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves for a while now.
Update: 5/10 and 6/10Modern China pair
Both books take place from the Cultural Revolution through the present.
Fiction: The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin (4 stars)
Non-fiction: China in Ten Words by Yu Hua (5 stars)
Completed the second pair.Fiction to Reality Challenge 2016
1a. Words of Command – Allan Mallinson
1b. Waterloo – Tim Clayton
2a. The Girl on The Train –Paula Hawkins
2b. Fire and Steam – Christian Wolmar
Great job, you three! Have you been enjoying your pairs so far?
I am really enjoying this challenge so far. I think the pair I am working on now is going to be my favorite. I read Médicis Daughter: A Novel of Marguerite de Valois and now I am working on The Rival Queens: Catherine de' Medici, Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois, and the Betrayal that Ignited a Kingdom.
Updated: 10/10 (5 PAIRS) Completed ✔
-PAIR ONE- Child Abuse/Neglect :
1. A Child Called "It" (Dave Pelzer #1) by Dave Pelzer [Read 2/18/2016]
2. Matilda by Roald Dahl [Read 2/18/2016]
-PAIR TWO- Circus :
3. Circus: An Album by Linda Granfield [Read 2/19/2016]
4. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern [1/7/16]
-PAIR THREE- Witchcraft :
5. In the Days of the Salem Witchcraft Trials by Marilynne K. Roach [Read 2/20/2016]
6. Grave Memory by Kalayna Price [Read 1/2/16]
-PAIR FOUR- Paramour/ Doxy :
7. Changing Woman and Her Sisters: Stories of Goddesses from Around the World by Katrin Hyman Tchana [Read 2/19/2016]
8. Heartless by Kat Martin [Read 1/14/2016]
-PAIR FIVE- Dog:
9. Siberian Huskies by Bob Temple [Read 2/19/2016]
10. Worthy by Catherine Ryan Hyde [Read 1/28/2016]
Interesting! I added The Rival Queens: Catherine de' Medici, Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois, and the Betrayal that Ignited a Kingdom to my to-read list. :)Congratulations, Sherry! What was your favorite pair?
Good so far. Moved me out of a crime novel rut. Thanks for keeping us going.
Updated message 211/5 pairs
3/10 books
I've finished my first pair....Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void (nf) and The Martian Chronicles (f)
Both are about traveling to Mars. One was written in the 1950s and imagines us colonising Mars in the 1990s. The other gives an idea of all the work we still need to do to get to Mars (long past the 1990s). Both are excellent
I've been ogling this challenge for some time and decided to participate after all. Please sign me up for 3 pairs:1.
The true life events that inspired parts of Moby Dick.
2.
Both books are about the hunt for rare books.
3.
Both books deal with the history of 19th Century British Arctic exploration "The Franklin Expedition" which resulted in the death of a lot of men.
Edit: I'll add another pair
4.
Both books are about court cases that deal with racism.
Read 4/4 pairs or 8/ 8 books
Finished!
2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge
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Pandemics
--Fiction - Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (2 stars), in which a virus, planted by a bioterrorist, sweeps the world.
--Nonfiction - Beating Back the Devil: On the Front Lines with the Disease Detectives of the Epidemic Intelligence Service by Maryn McKenna, about those who are trained to deal with epidemics, including bioterrorism.