The 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards Challenge

[Cheri]

Update - 4/8

Nonfiction:
The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome by Alondra Nelson (4 stars)

[Cheri]

Update: 5/8

Fiction - The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel (5 stars)
This book drew me in completely -- beautiful prose, imaginative tales, humor, depth, and wells of grief. I'm sure there is more than I got on a first reading, but the writing was so wonderful and the crazy situations felt so true (if not real) that I will go back again. One of the most satisfying books I've read in a while.

[Cheri]

Kadijah Michelle wrote: "Cheri wrote: "Hi, Kadijah -- I am reading a book translated from the Korean that just came out in English in February 2016, then wondered whether I could count it (since it came out in Korea earlie..."

Hi, Kadijah, sorry, I just saw your reply! The book is The Vegetarian by Han Kang. I read it and did count it! Interesting book.

[Rachael]

Update: 5/10 read! I am halfway there and have also managed to read 5 different genres.

[Kadijah Michelle]

So, how is everyone's year going? How many five start books have you all read so far published in 2016?

Here are the statistics for this challenge:
We have 56 participants and have read 45 our of 718 books pledged.

[Rachael]

Kadijah Michelle wrote: "So, how is everyone's year going? How many five start books have you all read so far published in 2016?

Here are the statistics for this challenge:
We have 56 participants and have read 45 our of ..."

I have only given five stars to one book so far for this challenge: Morning Star. It was fabulous! I would really recommend it, although as it's the last in trilogy you have to read the whole brilliant series.

[Maria]

So far this year I've given 2 books 5 stars. That's Catcher In The Rye, (I know, I'm a little late in reading this, but I didn't get this when I went to school) and Orphan Train. I've read a lot of 4 stars and some 3 stars. I usually know I'm pretty much going to like a book before I read it though.

[[deleted user]]

Updated message 11.

Read 4/10

1) Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs (fantasy)
2) Morning Star by Pierce Brown (Science Fiction/Young Adult Fiction)
3) Time Siege by Wesley Chu (Science Fiction)
4) The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin (Science Fiction/Horror)
5) Babylon's Ashes by James S. A. Corey (Science Fiction)
6) Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine (Young Adult/Fantasy)
7) The Thorn of Emberlain by Scott Lynch (Fantasy)
8) League of Dragons by Naomi Novik (Fantasy)
9) Calamity by Brandon Sanderson (Young Adult/Fantasy)
10) Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay (Fantasy)
11) Kill Switch by Jonathan Maberry (Horror)
12) River of Ink by Paul M. M. Cooper (Historical Fiction)
13) The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson (Fantasy)

[Maxine]

Hi, I'd like to join this challenge please.
My aim is 15 books.

17/15 - complete

1. RoomHate Penelope Ward - Romance
2. Calamity - Brandon Sanderson - YA Fantasy
3. The Maker of swans, Pariac O'Donnell - Fiction
4. The Hidden Oracle, Rick Riordan - middle grade/ya fantasy
5. Orphan X - mystery/thriller (Although i thought it was bloody terrible, for some reason it has high reviews)
6. The Hatching - Horror
7. Black - YA
8. Rebel of the Sands - YA fantasy
9. And I Darken - YA fantasy
10. The Bands of Mourning - Fantasy
11. Yellow - YA
12. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - ya fantasy
13. Queen of Hearts - YA Fantasy
14. Fire Touched - Fantasy
15. When Breath Becomes Air - memoir
16. Fellside - mystery/thriller
17. Nevernight - Fantasy

[Cindy III]

I'd like to join. My goal is to read 16 books. (Hopefully I can complete since it is yearlong sort of.)

The 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards Challenge
Duration: Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2016

1. My Neighbor Seki, Vol. 5 Feb. 7
2. A Silent Voice, Vol. 5 Feb 9-10
3. A Silent Voice 6 May 17
4. The Land of Forgotten Girls (Middle Grade & Children's) June 9-10
5. Up From the Sea (Young Adult Fiction) June 17
6. Orange: The Complete Collection 1 (Graphic Novels & Comics) Jul. 5
Handa-kun, Vol. 2 July7
7. Orange: The Complete Collection 2 (Graphic Novels & Comics) Jul. 15-18
8. Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 9 July 26
9. The Midnight War of Mateo Martinez (Middle Grade & Childrens) Aug. 7
10. A Good Month for Murder: The Inside Story of a Homicide Squad Aug. 18-
11. Black Butler, Volume 21 Oct. 22
12. Tokyou Ghoul v. 8
13. Saga v. 6
14. Monstress v. 1
15.
16.

11/16

[Emma]

update to message 4 - read 1/15

[Rachael]

Updated message 87. 6/10
Another five stars and a wish that it is nominated for and/or wins a Goodreads Choice Award for Half Lost. It was brilliant and I couldn't put the book down until I'd finished it.

[Melissa]

I would like to join this for 10 books please.

[Fr. Andrew]

Update: 3/16 done

1. The Ukrainian and Russian Notebooks: Life and Death Under Soviet Rule by Igort(2/24/16) - GRAPHIC NOVEL
2. Loner: A Novel by Teddy Wayne (3/20/16) - FICTION
3. The Other Catholics: Remaking America's Largest Religion by Julie Byrne (4/9/16) - NON-FICTION

[Konstantina✨️]

Hey, I'd like to enter for 45 books, please!

- A study in Charlotte
- Seven Black Diamonds
- Glittering Court
- Rebel of The Sands
- Yellow Brick War (after I read the previous books in the series)
- Half Lost (again, need to read the series)
- The Crown

[[deleted user]]

Updated message 11

Finished 4/10

Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs (fantasy)
Morning Star by Pierce Brown (Science Fiction/Young Adult Fiction)
Calamity by Brandon Sanderson (Young Adult/Fantasy)
13) The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson (Fantasy)

[Ilona]

Updated message 29

1) Fiction - The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth

(1/5)

[Fr. Andrew]

Update: 5/16

1. The Ukrainian and Russian Notebooks: Life and Death Under Soviet Rule by Igort(2/24/16) - GRAPHIC NOVEL
2. Loner: A Novel by Teddy Wayne (3/20/16) - FICTION
3. The Other Catholics: Remaking America's Largest Religion by Julie Byrne (4/9/16) - NON-FICTION
4. Guapa by Saleem Haddad (4/12/16) - FICTION
5. New Kids on the Block's Hangin' Tough by Rebecca Wallwork - (4/13/16) NON-FICTION

[Natalie]

Mystery Death of a Nurse
1/20

[Cheri]

Update: 6/8 - Fiction or Debut
We Love You, Charlie FreemanKaitlyn Greenidge (4 stars)
An unusual story about race in America that spans the 20th century. I loved the first half of the book -- the young teenager from Boston who moves with her parents and sister to teach sign language to a chimp who lives with them, the secret society that Nymphadora belongs to, the busload of deaf black children who stop at a small homestead in Maine. But there was so much going on in the book that I became unsure what to focus on. Chapters feature different characters, and issues like sex, divorce, language and friendship get picked up but not developed. I was never sure how the chimp fit into the story (just part of the set-up?) and I wanted a further exploration of the use of sign language. But it was a different, intriguing read that I found to be thought provoking.

[Kadijah Michelle]

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is May! I just finished up the April statistics for this challenge, and we have 60 participants. You all have read 59 books of the 804 pledged. Great job!

[Meranda]

I LOVE this challenge. I always struggle with reading new releases so this will encourage me to read more (along with my library membership I FINALLY got!)

I am taking some of the categories out since they don't apply to me or I'm not interested in them.

I am just going to list the books that I have read! I'm going to shoot for 35 books in this challenge -- Seven books in Fiction and 2 in the other categories (of course this may change as books are released this year that may spark my interest)

Fiction
1. My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Mystery & Thriller
1. The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian (This may fall into the regular 'Fiction' category)
2.

Historical Fiction
1. At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier
2.

Fantasy
1.
2.

Romance
1.
2.

Science Fiction
1.
2.

Horror
1.
2.

Humor
1.
2.

Nonfiction
1.
2.

Memoir & Autobiography
1.
2.

History & Biography
1.
2.

Science & Technology
1.
2.

Debut Goodreads Author
1.
2.

Young Adult Fiction
1.
2.

Young Adult Fantasy
1.
2.

[Erin]

Update to #44 (2/17)

Memoir & Autobiography:
1. A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic’s Wild Ride to the Edge and Back

Historical Fiction:
1. Salt to the Sea

[Stephanie (Chinchillita)]

*Update Message 45*
The Siren

1/10

[Jill]

I'd like to join, I think I'll try for 20

Fiction

Mystery & Thriller

1. Far From True by Linwood Barclay 1/4/16
.
Historical Fiction
Fantasy
Romance
Science Fiction
Horror
Humor
Nonfiction
Memoir & Autobiography
History & Biography
Food & Cookbooks
Graphic Novels & Comics
Debut Goodreads Author
Young Adult Fiction
Young Adult Fantasy
Middle Grade & Children's
Picture Books

[Fr. Andrew]

Updated Message 52.

7/16 done

Thanks!

[Jessie]

Update message 74.

1/5 done

Read:
1. Glass Sword

[Emma]

UPDATE TO MSG 4 - READ 10/15

[Sam F]

I've finally read my first book published in 2016 - they are hard to get from the library!

Fiction - And After Many Days by Jowhor Ile - an excellent book based in Nigeria in the late 1990's.

[[deleted user]]

Completed 5/10

Finished: Kill Switch by Jonathan Maberry - 4 stars

[Maxine]

Updated # 112

5/15

[Megan]

Just completed another Fantasy selection - A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas. I really enjoyed this book! And I will definitely be reading more from this author - if she can take the more simple story from the first book and deepen the characters, showing how tragedy can change and alter even love, she is a force to be reckoned with! I'm incredibly impressed and cannot wait to read the final book! 4.5 stars

3/30

[Cheri]

Update - 7/8

Fiction (possibly Debut):
The Girls by Emma Cline (5 stars)
What an excellent read this is! It's the story of Evie, a young adolescent who gets caught up in the craziness of a cult in 1969. There is a vividness and immediacy to the prose that made me see life through Evie's eyes, to feel her longing for acceptance, and to remember my own teenage years. I was especially pleased that the author used the 1960s as a setting rather than as an explanation for Evie's behavior, which seems like it belongs to today as much as to the turbulent summer of 1969.

**Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book through a Goodreads Giveway, but I was not required to write a review.**

[Rikke]

Update msg. 73

13/15

Just read This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab - it's amazing!!

[Rachael]

I keep finding out about lots of interesting books being published this year - I want to read all of them! So, I am going increase my target for this challenge to 12 books, an average of 1 per month.
Off to change my original post (message 87) now.

[Megan]

Just completed my first nonfiction 2016 book - Midnight in Broad Daylight: A Japanese American Family Caught Between Two Worlds by Pamela Sakamoto. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The author's writing is clear and told as a story, rather than a dry recitation of facts. The book is readable, and the figures depicted are inspiring! Someone needs to purchase the rights to this book and adapt it into a film! Definitely worth reading! 4.5 stars

4/30

[Cindy III]

update 1 for msg. 113

2/16

[Sam F]

Finished my 2nd book written in 2016:

The Winter Girl by Matt Marinovich

[[deleted user]]

Updated message 11

Completed 6/10

[Rachael]

Updated message 87: 7/12 complete

[Ariel]

Update - 9/10 Read, Post #84.

[Megan]

Just completed a fiction selection - The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney. The last 80 pages of this book were the redeeming factor for me and made the whole book worth reading. I had difficulty with the characters, who were all mired in their own mistakes and inevitably hurt those around them. The book is well-written, and overall, I appreciated it. Worth reading. 4 stars

5/30

[Natalie]

Treachery at Lancaster Gate
Historical Mystery
2/20

[Natalie]

Redbone 3: The Rise of the Fold
Fiction
3/20

[Jessie]

Updated message 75

2/5 done

Read:
1. Glass Sword
2. He Will be My Ruin

[Hannah]

Message #30 updated
3/12 books read

[Ilona]

Updated message 29

Historical Fiction: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

(2/5)

[Natalie]

Carl Weber's Kingpins: Cleveland
Fiction 4/20

NYPD Red 4
Mystery 5/20

[Mary Pat]

UPDATE:


1/10

League of Dragons
-Fiction
-Historical Fiction
-Fantasy
-Science Fiction

[Anna]

Not sure how I missed this challenge. I'd like to join in for 10! And, yes, I'm going to claim credit for the 1 2016 book I've already read for the year.

3/10 Updated August 28, 2016

1. This Census-Taker by China Miéville - Fiction
2. The Fireman by Joe Hill - Fiction
3. The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian - Fiction