2025 Reading Challenge discussion
ARCHIVE 2016
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Paul's Spinning Carousel - 180+ books in 2016
Cassandra wrote: "Great job, Paul!"Thank you! Admittedly I'd be happier if I felt I had time to write reviews as well (I mean, I could fat dog it and not write as much as I have done, but I don't want to), but even with that in mind, I really can't complain. These are the sacrifices we have to make, I suppose. ;)
Has your challenge being going well for you too Cassandra? :)
My challenge has been going very well! I'm struggling a bit with one of the books I'm reading right now, but so far it's been a good book year. :)I like writing super short reviews that capture what I was thinking right after I finished the book, but I admire folks that write more detailed and/or organized reviews. You are very thorough! Mine are more of a quick stream-of-conciousness paragraph. I like having the record of my thoughts, though.
Cassandra wrote: "My challenge has been going very well! I'm struggling a bit with one of the books I'm reading right now, but so far it's been a good book year. :)I like writing super short reviews that capture w..."
Good to hear! :) Apart from that one book you're struggling with, of course - which one, incidentally? If there's been some one or two (or more ;)) books that have particularly stood out so far, I'd love to hear. :)
I have nothing against shorter reviews or people who write them or anything - immediate impressions can definitely be good and valuable too. I just like the idea of, as you say, being more thorough/detailed (wouldn't say organised though, at least not in my case :P) and giving a fuller (not necessarily better) picture. Of course that new fervour had to bump right up my final semester of college, so yeah. ^_^ (Plus as it is my reviews so far this year have mostly just been long successions of quick stream-of-consciousness paragraphs anyway, so it's not like the two styles are that different really. ;))
Maya wrote: "Yay, a Mark fan! <3 I love him!"Hello! *waves* :) There are quite a few of us around other than me and you, and there might be even more that I don't know (about) though I know the official group here's been dormant for quite some time. I can point you towards some if you'd like, though part of me can't help but feel it would be mildly intrusive if I did so, so I absolutely wouldn't mind if you turned me down on that front. :)
I definitely wouldn't mind! I've met Mark a few times, and he's always been amazing. :D
I'm struggling to get through The Years of Rice and Salt. It's very interesting, but it's not an easy book to read. I'm liking it more as I get farther into it, though! The standouts so far are The Road and Humans of New York: Stories. What have been your favorites so far?
Cassandra wrote: "I'm struggling to get through The Years of Rice and Salt. It's very interesting, but it's not an easy book to read. I'm liking it more as I get farther into it, though! The standouts ..."
Hey Cassandra! :) I've partially read Humans of New York: Stories, I keep following the site as well, and I find these little stories amazing. How is it going for you?
Cassandra wrote: "I'm struggling to get through The Years of Rice and Salt. It's very interesting, but it's not an easy book to read. I'm liking it more as I get farther into it, though! The standouts ..."
Ah, OK! I'm vaguely familiar with Kim Stanley Robinson (some of his books are in my local library, and I know Aurora and Shaman made a fairly big impact when they came out), but I don't really know The Years of Rice and Salt except from seeing it here and there in people's statuses. It's good that it's getting more appealing for you though! :)
Ahhh, The Road, yes good. I remember loving that when I read it (though maybe loved is the wrong word), but it's been years since then, and it's been too long. I'd definitely like to read it again, no question, but there's just too many other books and new things in the way! Then again there are worse problems to have I suppose ;) EDIT: I also haven't read another Cormac McCarthy book either, which is a shame, even if/though I really liked the Coen Brothers' adaptation of No Country for Old Men. And Humans of New York I've been meaning to read ever since it was nominated at the Choice Awards last year.
Too many to list! I think. Definitely Waiting for Godot and Back From the Brink: The Autobiography are my only five-star books so far this year, but if I were to make a shortlist for top X or so (which is looking pretty hard, believe me) it'd be hard to leave out The Marvelous Land of Oz, The Martian, All the Light We Cannot See, Long Walk to Freedom, A Little Life, The Princess Diaries, and Games Wizards Play. I'm also rereading Watchmen right now, and while I loved it then, and there are still odd little bits and doubts floating around, and while I'm only a third of the way through I'm definitely loving it even more now. :)
I really liked Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy (starting with Red Mars) as an example of "epic" science fiction with a lot of politics and intrigue. I must admit that I haven't read the third book, even though I've meant to for a long time.The Years of Rice and Salt is a bunch of stories that take place in a world where European civilizations were essentially erased by the bubonic plague. It's a bit difficult to see the parallels and differences between this world and ours, and it also throws around a ton of religious (Buddhist and Muslim) terminology without any explanation. I'm glad that I know a fair bit about both religions, but it's making me realize I don't always how different pieces of our history fit together in the grand scheme of "world history." So he makes the reader work a bit to understand what's going on in this book.
I loved Watchmen when I read it last year! I like how you get to know the characters better than in the movie, but it's one of the few situations where I actually think the tweaked movie ending is stronger than the book ending.
Cassandra wrote: "I really liked Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy (starting with Red Mars) as an example of "epic" science fiction with a lot of politics and intrigue. I must admit that I haven't rea..."Argh, I can't believe I forgot about Red Mars, thank you! I could have sworn that it was on my TBR list and all, though now that I check it it isn't. Looks like I'll have to rectify that now. :)
The Years of Rice and Salt does sound interesting, but definitely like a challenge at the same time. I wouldn't necessarily say no to it personally, but I'm figuring that I'd wait until I'd read some of Robinson's other work first before committing to it.
I have to admit that I've never actually seen Watchmen, even though I bought the book around the time it came out, and I've never really wanted to either. I did hear the ending was different though, but not really as to how or if it was better or not. (view spoiler) was the general idea I got.
Maya wrote: "I definitely wouldn't mind! I've met Mark a few times, and he's always been amazing. :D"Here you are! :) I think this should be a good enough start, they're the people I can come up with most immediately right now. Now that I've realised it there are probably more of us under Mark's Goodreads friends and followers, so hopefully there won't be too many problems connecting up. :)
(I've put the list under a spoiler tag because it's kind of long, and I've also put people's ID usernames in there in case that helps with recognising them [I'm KickbackYak btw :)])
(view spoiler)
I've never met Mark unfortunately, but he's only come here the once and I live like three hours by bus away from where he was at the time. I'm fairly sure I'm going to be moving up there full time for the next while though, and I'm slightly more confident now than I used to be, so hopefully if/when he comes over here again I'll be able to go sometime and everything will indeed be amazing. :)
That happens to me sometimes too! If a book isn't on my to-read list, it'll never get read, so I always try to keep it updated.I hardly ever watch movies, so this is a strange case where I have seen the movie in addition to reading the book. Here's my reasoning for why I like the movie ending better: (view spoiler)
What I like best about Watchmen is that there are many different ways to view each character because they are all very complex and nuanced.
I'm so looking forward to Red Mars! I started it, read five percent and had to put it away for buddy reads and other challenge stuff for Q1. Then later I just decided to start a new when I have time, I really want to be able to absorb it properly.
Cassandra wrote: "That happens to me sometimes too! If a book isn't on my to-read list, it'll never get read, so I always try to keep it updated.I hardly ever watch movies, so this is a strange case where I have s..."
I admire your optimism regarding your to-read list - sometimes for me it feels like even if it's on the to-read list it's never going to be read. Then again that can be a cue that it doesn't belong there at all anymore! ;) I get the sense that I'm going to be doing a lot of that in a few months time in particular.
(view spoiler)
Personally I find it hard for some reason to be sure whether the characters *are* complex, but they definitely have the appearance of complexity, which sometimes can be enough. And like you've said it's not just the main characters either. What I'm responding to right now for one is Dave Gibbons's artwork, which I always loved even when I felt Moore's dialogue felt short and the juxtapositions between that and the art were a bit on-the-nose, but now I'm picking up on way more details than I did when I read it first. Plus Moore's dialogue in general is coming across better to me now (still has problems), not to mention that there's foreshadowing littered all over the place. I'm liking that it's so introspective too, even if sometimes that can contribute the impression that there's nothing particularly going on at all. In fact, though I haven't read Douglas Adams's Dirk Gently, and I know bringing it up seemingly out of nowhere must be a bit weird, but from what I remember (though I could be wrong, and I could have this completely backwards) that he's a holistic detective in the sense that to solve the crime he attempts to solve the world/society the crime takes place in, and it really feels like Watchmen is attempting to do that, and it's oddly appealing. So no, issues 5 and 6 were a little rough, but I'm still having a brilliant time with it. :)
Sometimes the tbr needs a little cleaning ^^ And shelves at home. Just realised I think the last list book by Paulo Coelho might be the last one I want to read. The others other than Prym and Alchymist has been sitting on the shelf for years and years. Might be a sign..
I always feel good when I clean out my to-read list. I got rid over over 300 books at the beginning of the year, so I think I'll make that a yearly thing. I know I need to read Watchmen again, because I could feel all the Tales of the Black Freighter bits going over my head. Do you feel like you're understanding the ways the in-comic comic and the main storyline intertwine better on second reading? I didn't love Moore's writing style when I read it, but I still appreciate the world and characters that he created. I think you're right that the artwork does a lot to contribute to that.
I want to read Watchmen this year. I ment to last year, but this year I can even use it for Popsugar ^^
Winter wrote: "Sometimes the tbr needs a little cleaning ^^ And shelves at home. Just realised I think the last list book by Paulo Coelho might be the last one I want to read. The others other than Prym and Alchy..."Absolutely! I'm pretty fortunate that at the very least I've read every book I'll want to read on my shelves at home (thus far), and it's only a question of which ones I want to *re*-read. That's definitely not the case with my Kindle however, which my to-read-own shelf will attest to, heh. I do plan on reading all of them at some point though, admittedly partly because I've paid money for them, but I really don't feel like it's a grudging obligation "grrr, now that I have them, I guess I *have* to read them" sort of thing.
I've never read any Coelho, actually, though I know a few of his books are in my library, including The Alchemist. I was planning on just reading that one and not any more in particular, because I can't help but feel vaguely suspicious of his merit for some reason. Are there any you've read of his that you'd recommend? :)
Cassandra: To an extent they are, I'll have to admit. I mean, they are still very evocative and sinister, and the different art style used really adds to it, though interlaying it with the main story (such as it is) does lead to awkwardness to an extent sometimes. I get that (view spoiler), but I think I knew that when I first read it, and it was something I had to find out elsewhere instead of its being all that clear. Plus it's even more worldbuilding, and it gives the whole thing a pleasingly metafictional tinge too. Tales of the Black Freighter is Watchmen within Watchmen arguably, the Watchmen of the world of Watchmen.EDIT: I should also mention that I'm liking the text extracts after the issues a fair bit more now, and I liked them to begin with. I think it's because I've spent a good long while almost immersing myself in that style, so it's coming across a lot better as a result.
Winter: I'm using it for Popsugar too! Admittedly that's really as much because it was easily on hand as anything else. That being said, I don't know whether I'll be able to get around to it in time, but the first four volumes of Death Note are in my library, and I would definitely like to check at least one of them out before it's too late. :)
My kindlelibrary are running rampant lol. But granted many of them are freebie classics so there's that - listbooks ;) After my birthday haul I have quite a few on my shelves unread, but I want that so it's okay. Many of them I really look forward too. But I want to clean out some older books so the ones I have will be the ones with covers I like or books I like to re-read.
Well he is a like/dislike author to be honest. His style is quite dreamy and abstract. I haven't been in mood for it in a long time. I liked The Alchemist.
His list-books are The Devil and Miss Prym and Veronica Decides to Die. I think The Alchemist is the place to start and you just need to see for yourself if you are one of those who love his style..
Winter wrote: "My kindlelibrary are running rampant lol. But granted many of them are freebie classics so there's that - listbooks ;) After my birthday haul I have quite a few on my shelves unread, but I want th..."
Ah, you're talking about the 1001 Books list! For some reason I thought The Last List was a book he'd written, heh. Then again, it wouldn't be too surprising, it seems like he's written a lot!
I don't think I'd mind dreamy and abstract, though I can understand people having problems with it, and I can definitely understand needing to be in the mood for it. Personally, I'd always heard him being praised for being inspirational and being criticised for being blandly inspirational, which might not be too far away from dreamy and abstract.
I've heard of Veronika, but not of Miss Prym, though I don't know as to how much whether that's because Veronika was/is in my library, whether I heard about it from somewhere else, or both. I'll keep both of those in mind, though what you say about starting with The Alchemist and seeing where you are from there makes sense. Thanks :)
Lol I'm just so used to using the expression list books when talking about them I forgrt not everyone might understand what I mean^^ He is hit/miss. I can see why people love him, but also why some might not like his books at all. It's a preference thing. If you like his style or not :)
Book #39
At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien
Finished 19th February 2016
247p
Why I read it: I had been vaguely wanting to read some of this man's strange books for a while, and this year seemed the perfect time to finally do so.
Rating: 4/5
Categories: General/literary, short, novel, male, white, Ireland, 1930s, February, new, borrowed, standalone, adults.
Challenges: Léamh go Brách
Book #40
The Scarecrow of Oz (Oz, #9) by L. Frank Baum
Finished 20th February 2016
180p
Why I read it: The Oz-dysey continues.
Rating: 3/5
Categories: Fantasy, short, novel, male, white, USA, 1910s, February, familiar, ebook, series, children'.
Challenges: None?
Book #41
Rinkitink in Oz (Oz, #10) by L. Frank Baum
Finished 21st February 2016
156p
Why I read it: Still more Oz.
Rating: 3/5
Categories: Fantasy, short, novel, male, white, USA, 1910s, February, familiar, ebook, series, children'.
Challenges: None?
Wow! I walk away for a few weeks and suddenly your challenge board becomes the go-to-place to talk about TBR lists, authors, and the impact they have on the people around them. I missed out on some great conversation. Looks like I'll need to stay more attentive. :) But, from way at the beginning of that, I agree with Cassandra: I love your review format. It's okay that you don't have a full review, you just do you, Paul. You do you.
Jackie B. wrote: "Wow! I walk away for a few weeks and suddenly your challenge board becomes the go-to-place to talk about TBR lists, authors, and the impact they have on the people around them. I missed out on some..."Hee. I'm not sure how it happened myself, but happened it did. ;) I'll agree though, it was definitely pretty fun. :) (And I was going to say this in your thread some time back but backed off due to being a bit nervous, welcome back! I'm certainly not going to complain if you stay more attentive, as you put it. :))
Aw, thank you. :) I think. I mean, I get the sense this is a compliment, and I'm not sure (it might just be encouragement), but I'm going to take it as a compliment regardless because I feel like it. So there. ;) I mean, I'll admit to feeling mild review angst every now and then, but it usually goes away pretty quickly because I've rationalised that as I'm not going to be writing them for the immediate future I don't have to worry about finding or not finding time to write them. This might not actually make sense, but I like to think it does.
(And so as I don't run the risk of repeating myself in a reply to your comment on my status, of course you can bug me for an/my opinion if you want one/it, don't ever hesitate! I mean, I can't guarantee it'll be a good one, but it'll definitely be an opinion, and it might even be mine. Who knows. ;))
Book #42
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Finished 22nd February 2016
436p
Why I read it: I decided to pull this old chestnut out again and see what it would reveal to me.
Rating: 5/5
Categories: Science/speculative, medium, graphic novel, male, white, UK/USA, 1980s, February, familiar, physical, standalone, reread, adults.
Challenges: Popsugar (graphic novel), February Reading History
Book #43
The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
Finished 24th February 2016
302p
Why I read it: I'd say I was buoyed by the film, and when I bumped into this on my local Kindle store for a ludicrously seeming cheap price, I decided to get it.
Rating: 3/5
Categories: General, medium, novel, male, white, USA, 2000s, February, new, ebook, standalone, adults.
Challenges: Group Reads
Book #44
Dancer by Colum McCann
Finished 24th February 2016
336p
Why I read it: This book was part of a (neverending) list of books to watch out for in one of my English textbooks in secondary school from years back, but though I kept that list in mind, I only got around to reading this now.
Rating: 4/5
Categories: Historical, medium, novel, male, white, Ireland/USA, 2000s, February, familiar, borrowed, standalone, adults.
Challenges: Léamh go Brách
Wow Paul, you've read some really cool books so far! I found a few to add to my TBR list. I love Watchmen.You have a really cool review set up. I never thought to add much more than a rating to mine.
Bobbi wrote: "Wow Paul, you've read some really cool books so far! I found a few to add to my TBR list. I love Watchmen.You have a really cool review set up. I never thought to add much more than..."
I really think I have! And hopefully there are many more to come, of course. ;) May I ask which ones you've decided to add? :)
Thank you! :) It's a little but funny about the reviews, actually, because for most of last year I only gave a rating too. Then I decided that now that I had properly set myself up here or something like that, that I might as well make the most of it and start writing reviews. So I borrowed here and there from some other people and cooked up my own format, then attached it to slightly daft rambling tiny paragraphs and sent them out to the world. This year then because I knew I had more of an intent to do it I started writing longer ones with less of a turnaround time - it helped that I was formulating ideas as I was reading and that there was generally only a certain time of the week when I could write them, so I had a fair amount of time to think about them. Sadly college has gotten pretty busy right now so I don't really have time to write them anymore, which isn't something I'm *too* concerned about because college is definitely more important and I'm better off not worrying about having the time to write them when it's time I don't really have. That being said though, I anticipate having a lot of time off when college finishes this summer, so I should be more than able to catch up then. :)
Sure! I added the other Oz books as I only read the first one when I was in junior high. I finally added All the Light We Cannot See to my list after reading your review of it. I had been on the fence but it sounded like it was something I would enjoy. A Brief History of Seven Killings, much for the same reason you read it. :) I'm also considering The Girl Who Would Be King pretty seriously as well.
College does have a way of eating up one's free time, but I have to say that I'm impressed that you've been able to get so much reading and reviewing done. I think we're all looking forward to the end of this term-- more reading time for us all. :)
Good choices! And if/whenever you get around to them, I'd love to hear what you think. :) (Also, apologies for not realising to ask until now, but have you read anything so far this year that would stand out for you Bobbi? :))I'd read the first Oz book too around a year or two ago after seeing the (1939) film a bunch of times growing up, but I only considered touching the others (and I'm not even sure when I found out they existed) fairly recently. They're pretty good on the whole, I've found! Granted, few of them are really *that* great, and they can tend to be a bit samey and lacking sometimes, but I still feel like they've been worth my time and investment, even if it never takes me that long to read them. I'm planning on stopping when Baum died and the series was passed to other writers though, not least because they're no longer in the public domain then.
All the Light We Cannot See was very good, definitely. It took me a while to get into it, and I'm not sure I found that I liked it as much as it was advertised overall (though I wouldn't mind reading it again someday) but I'd certainly recommend it to people interested in WWII fiction and people in general.
A Brief History of Seven Killings was an interesting one. It took me a while to get into it too, and in a sense I'm not sure I ever really did get into it. It's got a lot of violence and sweariness in it here and there, which kind of threw me out of it sometimes, but considering that you have a Deadpool for a picture I get the sense that might not be a problem for you. ;) It's the type of book that feels more impressive than enjoyable or particularly likeable at times, though I did enjoy it - certainly my overall impressions of it now are enormously positive. It's just that it occasionally lapses into a heavy, heavy stream-of-consciousness style that left me on the outside a bit, and there's a general sense that there's not quite a story there, and it left me struggling sometimes trying to find and grasp the throughline of it. Saying that though, I do have a greater sense now that Marlon James was trying to do something different, that he was more aiming to evoke an atmosphere instead, a world and a way of life. Certainly though I wish the locations could have been a tad more detailed and grounded, I felt he did a near extraordinary job of sufficiently differencing his narrators. And there were a *lot* of narrators. I'm still not sure whether it should have won the Booker or not, mind you - certainly it strikes me as an unusual choice (not that there's anything wrong with that; I feel like A Little Life would have been unusual too) but I feel like that's not really a question that matters, never mind that it's a question I can't really answer right now (I've read A Spool of Blue Thread, but have yet to read The Year of the Runaways or The Fishermen, and Satin Island I'm holding off on until I read one of Tom McCarthy's earlier and arguably better-regarded works like Remainder or C).
Definitely consider The Girl Who Would Be King! I had a fairly large problem with the ending I'll admit, but to be frank a lot of that would be fairly specific grumpiness on my part, and/so I get the sense that it's an ending that a lot of people would have little less or no problem with, which is completely fine. Kelly Thompson is still a writer with a fair lot of promise and potential, and I'm still happy that she's been able to get out there and keep writing and land opportunities like the Jem and the Hologram comics. She just needs to break free from cliché a bit and to get a better editor, and she should be grand. So yes, definitely go for it is what I'd say! :)
(I'll also recommend wildbow's Worm here, which is a somewhat similar but definitely not identical story to Girl, and which I mentioned in my review as well. It is extremely long though, which may put you off it, and that's understandable, even if I do think for the most part it was very very good.)
Oddly enough, college seems to have helped me a lot in terms of reading time - though my morning and evening commute isn't massive, it's fairly sizable, so it's definitely enough time for me to bring my Kindle and read some on the way up and down on the bus and to read some before my first lecture starts. And I always try to have at least 45 minutes a night for my library books, and even more on the weekends. ;) :)
All the best to you in your challenges and exams! Hopefully you get to read some (more) really cool books as well. :)
No worries. :) Besides a couple of rereads, I would say there were two stand outs so far this year. Vicious and its morally ambiguous and downright unlikable characters stuck with me if only because it played with good versus evil and turned it on its head and did it well. While you think know who probably should read as the antagonist as you go along, the "hero" does things that are every bit as villainous along the way because both main characters truly believe they are in the right, at least at the end of the day.The other one, Kill the Boy Band, I was slightly more shocked I liked so much. I entered the Goodreads giveaway for it on a lark and won it so I read it to put up a review before it went on sale this week. What I expected was fluff. What I got was fluff with depth that had interesting things to say about fandom culture and celebrity obsession. It was darkly humorous in a way that I wasn't expecting from a debuting YA author. There are rough patches of course, but it's a quick read that has a lot to say to a younger audience in a relatable way.
That's my Deadpool for President 2016 campaign button. :). As long as the violence and swearing fits in the story and isn't there for violence and swearing's sake which happens more often than one might expect, it really doesn't bother me all that much. Otherwise, much like it did for you, it takes me right out of the story and I find it hard to get back into it. I will most definitely check out Worm as well. Thanks for the suggestion. :)
Ah, okay. I have a long commute as well, but I have to drive it so while I can listen to audio books, I prefer an actual paper or kindle book-- something about having it in my hands. It's a thing. ;) I try to give myself at least 20 pages a night but best of intentions and all of that.
Best to you as well!
Bobbi wrote: "No worries. :) Besides a couple of rereads, I would say there were two stand outs so far this year. Vicious and its morally ambiguous and downright unlikable characters stuck with m..."I have both Vicious and A Darker Shade of Magic on my Kindle! I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to get around to either, and I wasn't not sure which one I was going to read first when I did, but you're definitely swinging me towards Vicious, plus it came out first so far as I remember, so that appeals to me too. Cheers for that. :)
I've never heard of Kill the Boy Band, and tbh I rarely see a whole lot that appeals to me in the giveaways even if I check them every day (though I'll admit that's because I tend to look down on self-published work in general, which I know is completely unfair), but you actually make it sound really interesting! I may consider it. :)
Ah, fair enough, that's completely understandable. For what it's worth I don't think I thought that the violence or the swearing in Brief History (or indeed Girl or Worm for that matter, although Girl to a fairly lesser extent) were *that* gratuitous, even if they did shock and jolt me somewhat. I feel like talking about "authenticity" and "flavour" would be massively the wrong tack to take when I'm a twentysomething Irish white guy discussing a book set in the ganglands and reggae scene of 1970s Jamaica written by a Jamaican author (though I assume that the book is fairly true to the experience of the time) but the swearing at least I definitely thought worked and added to the atmosphere. It's completely possible that what (more or less) worked for me might not work for you though.
Paper/Kindle books would definitely be the vast majority of what I read too, though I have nothing against audiobooks either - it's just that I have so much going on in those aspects that the poor audiobooks rarely get a look in. That being said there were some absolutely lovely ones that managed to figure last year, like The Graveyard Book and Locke & Key. And I would definitely like more to figure, but it's really just a case of ease of access and whatnot and occasionally being worried that the narrator won't work out for me, no matter how unlikely that is.
(Plus while we're sort of on the topic, Worm has a fan-made audiobook currently in progress that I haven't listened to or been involved with, but [anecdotal, I know] one of my friends on another site is listening to at the moment, and he generally seems to have very few problems with it in that respect, so that might be something that interests you, but if not (it might not be feasible for a drive/commute as I'm not sure it can be downloaded), it's no problem. :))
Book #45
The Lost Princess of Oz (Oz, #11) by L. Frank Baum
Finished 27th February 2016
273p
Why I read it: What do you know, it's even more Oz!
Rating: 3/5
Categories: Fantasy, medium, novel, male, white, USA, 1910s, February, familiar, ebook, series, children's.
Challenges: None?
Book #46
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Finished 29th February 2016
92p
Why I read it: I'd been more or less meaning to read some Hemingway for quite some time as he's one of these Great Authors, but I only got around to it now when this book popped up in the I Spy challenge and I found it was in my library, even though this was really always one of the ones I could have started with.
Rating: 4/5
Categories: Classics/general, short, novel, male, white, USA, 1950s, February, new, borrowed, standalone, adults.
Challenges: I Spy: Book Edition (extra)
Book #47
The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker
Finished 1st March 2016
657p
Why I read it: A bunch of my friends had raved about it years ago so I kept it in mind (despite not really knowing what it was about), but I only got to getting it when it showed up as a Kindle Monthly Deal once.
Rating: 4/5
Categories: Historical fantasy, long, novel, female, white, USA, 2010s, March, new, ebook, standalone/series, adults.
Challenges: Recommended by Reading Challengers, Group Reads, A to Z Character Edition (Y)
Book #48
All That Is Solid Melts into Air by Darragh McKeon
Finished 1st March 2016
400p
Why I read it: This was a book I'd seen reasonably prominently in bookshops a bit, and it seemed fairly well-praised, so it stuck in the back of my mind. However I only really started paying attention to it when I found it in my library and realised McKeon is actually an Irish author, so I decided to pick it up.
Rating: 3/5
Categories: Historical, medium, novel, male, white, Ireland/USA, 2010s, March, new, borrowed, standalone, adults.
Challenges: Léamh go Brách, A to Z Character Edition (Z)
Book #49
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
Finished 4th March 2016
286p
Why I read it: I'd seen this book in bookstores before sometime - I got drawn in because of the 24-Hour Bookstore part (naturally), but got a bit turned off because the title reminded me too much of Mr Magoriam's Wonder Emporium. Yeah. The book must have stuck with me though because when it showed up as a Kindle Daily Deal I went straight for it.
Rating: 5/5
Categories: General/mystery/thriller, medium, novel, male, white, USA, 2010s, March, new, ebook, standalone, adults.
Challenges: None?
Book #50
The Country Girls (Country Girls, #1) by Edna O'Brien
Finished 4th March 2016
240p
Why I read it: This year seemed like the perfect time to finally loan out Edna O'Brien's landmark, controversial (at the time) debut novel.
Rating: 4/5
Categories: General/coming of age, short, novel, female, white, Ireland/UK, 1960s, March, new, borrowed, series, adults.
Challenges: Léamh go Brách
Book #51
The Tin Woodman of Oz (Oz, #12) by L. Frank Baum
Finished 5th March 2016
250p
Why I read it: Still more Oz. He sure knew how to write them, I suppose.
Rating: 3/5
Categories: Fantasy, short, novel, male, white, USA, 1910s, March, familiar, ebook, series, children's.
Challenges: None?
Book #52
Soul Music (Discworld, #16) by Terry Pratchett
Finished 10th March 2016
288p
Why I read it: Mark Oshiro was reading it, though I should stress that I probably wouldn't be still reading these if I wasn't enjoying them.
Rating: 3/5
Categories: Fantasy, medium, novel, male, white, UK, 1990s, March, familiar, borrowed, series, adult.
Challenges: None?
That feeling when it doesn't fit into a challenge... (although mine always have one, Let's turn pages) :)
Not a feeling I get very often Winter - I'm fairly secure in my challenges right now actually, although for most of them I have definite books earmarked for them as opposed to ideas so the concern is that if I don't get around to reading them in time. It's not something that really worries me though. :) I'm a little more unsure about the Popsugar Challenge but I've been thinking sometime when I'll freed up I'll look through the list again and just hurl books at abandon that fit into it, so I should be ok for that too. Maybe what I need are *more* challenges... ha, no, I'm not sure about that, be careful about what you wish for and all that ;)You're right about Let's Turn Pages of course - it's not so much that I forgot about it, it's more that it's so obviously a challenge that every book fits into that including it feels almost like cheating, you know? And while I *could* go back and add it to all of my books that I've read, I don't wanna. And you can't make me either, even if you are a mod. :P (Kidding of course :))
Lol yes, definitely careful what you wish for ^^ Too few challenges is not a problem for me, it's more a question of reining myself in :P I might have to fix my goodreads goal a little though, I don't really like being 4,5,6 books ahead. Nothing to reach for. ^^ I find the I SPY is going to be challenging this year. Most books don't fit in there naturally.
I know what you mean about reigning yourself in all right - I went in for the Reread challenge this February and it threw me a little out of kilter, so I was slightly fretting I won't read all the books I want to read for the Group Reads challenge this month (I should make it no problem now though) and it'll take a bit of readjusting to get back to my list of books I had for yearly challenges and the like. Not to mention all those other pesky books that are peeking their head in. But we readers have to take the rough with the smooth, right? ;) And if you think 4-6 books ahead is a lot, you should see where I am. ^^ I'll still wait and see where I am later on and push it upwards if/when I get close.Yeah, the I Spy was a bit of a tricky one all right. Some of them I really had to reach for, although I definitely do have books for all 25 in mind. And, if ever you're looking for help on that front, and you think I might be able to provide it, don't hesitate to drop in again and ask me for some, you know? :)
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Cirque Du Freak (other topics)Men Explain Things to Me: And Other Essays (other topics)
The Picture of Dorian Gray (other topics)
Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea (other topics)
The Undertaking (other topics)
More...
Book #38
The Deportees and Other Stories by Roddy Doyle
Finished 17th February 2016
256p
Why I read it: I've still got that 16 feeli..."
I've never read it, though I'm fairly sure it was that big and that popular when it came out (it might have been included/excerpted in a schoolbook once even?) that I have a general idea of some of the things that happen in it. Not all of it though. It's on my mind to get around to it and more of Doyle in general this year, but I'm not sure as to what extent that's going to happen anymore.