Susie's Reading Challenge for 2016

[Susie]

Overall goal for 2016 is to read at least 60 books, up from 40 in 2015.


I. 2016 AAB Bingo Challenge

I am doing a Classics Bingo Challenge in another group, but this one looks fun, so I will see how far I get!



18/25 completed

✔ B1: A book that has been translated - The Little Prince 1/3/16 ☆☆☆
✔ I1: A book that reminds you of your childhood - The Borrowers 6/23/16 ☆☆☆☆
✔ N1: A book about an unfamiliar topic - The Noonday Devil: Acedia, the Unnamed Evil of Our Times by Jean-Charles Nault 5/8/16 ☆☆
✔ G1: A book about a learning disability - The Courbet Connection 12/15/16 ☆☆☆☆☆
✔ O1: A book by an AAB seasonal author - Cranford 9/6/16 ☆☆☆

B2: A book with scientists -
I2: A book about a natural disaster -
✔ N2: A book written in epistolary style - Daddy-Long-Legs 2/24/16 ☆☆☆☆☆
✔ G2: A book that includes a major historical event - A Tale of Two Cities 6/24/16 ☆☆☆☆☆
✔ O2: A book you have owned for 1 year or more - Washington Square 9/29/16 ☆☆☆☆☆

✔ B3: A book with more than 250 pages - Their Eyes Were Watching God 6/12/16 ☆☆☆☆☆
✔ I3: A book of poetry - A Spicing of Birds: Poems by Emily Dickinson 1/28/16 ☆☆☆
✔ N3: An AAB group read - The Awakening by Kate Chopin 2/5/16 ☆☆☆
✔ G3: A book of fairy tales, mythology.... - Medea by Euripides 1/10/16 ☆☆☆☆
✔ O3: A book with a protagonist of the opposite gender - Sons and Lovers 3/25/16 ☆☆☆☆

✔ B4: A book published between 1910-1920 - Dubliners 2/21/16 ☆☆☆☆
✔ I4: A book with magic - Deadly Intentions 7/27/16 ☆☆☆
✔ N4: A book set in a country not your own - Middlemarch by George Eliot 1/31/16 ☆☆☆☆☆
✔G4: A book with a colour in its title - The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman 8/13/16 ☆☆☆☆
O4: A book based on a play -

✔ B5: A book that features an animal - Cat Nap by Claire Donally 1/14/16 ☆☆☆
I5: A book by an author with same name as an ancestor -
N5: A book with an LGBT protagonist -
G5: A book by a local author -
O5: A book chosen by someone else -

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[Susie]

II. At least 15 Classics: (Classics for Beginners Challenge on GR)

1. Middlemarch by George Eliot 1/31/16 ☆☆☆☆☆
2. The Awakening by Kate Chopin 2/5/16. ☆☆☆
3. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 2/12/16 ☆☆☆☆☆
4. Lady Windermere's Fan 2/21/16 ☆☆☆☆☆
5. Dubliners 2/21/16 ☆☆☆☆
6. The Sign of Four 3/8/16 ☆☆☆
7. Sons and Lovers 3/25/16 ☆☆☆☆
8. O Pioneers! 3/29/16 ☆☆☆☆
9. To the Lighthouse 4/18/16 ☆☆☆
10. Moll Flanders 5/3/16 ☆☆☆
11. Northanger Abbey 5/29/16 ☆☆☆☆
12. Their Eyes Were Watching God 6/12/16 ☆☆☆☆☆
13. A Tale of Two Cities 6/24/16 ☆☆☆☆☆
14
15.

[Susie]

III. 20 Cozy Mysteries/books: (Cruisin through the Cozies Challenge 2016)

1. Cat Nap by Claire Donally 1/14/16 ☆☆☆
2. Murders on Elderberry Road 2/4/16
3. Murder on the Eightfold Path by Diana Killian 3/21/16 ☆☆☆
4. The Eagle Catcher 3/24/16 ☆☆☆☆
5. Bloom and Doom 5/ /16 ☆☆☆☆
6. Clammed Up 6/ /16 ☆☆☆☆
7. Killer Cupcakes 6//16 ☆☆
8.
9.
10. Deadly Intentions 7/27/16 ***
11.
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13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

[Susie]

IV. 2 - 3 books of Poetry:

1. A Spicing of Birds: Poems by Emily Dickinson 1/28/16 ☆☆☆
2. Poems by Rainer Maria Rilke 2/24/16 ****

3. The Art of Losing: Poems of Grief and Healing 7/29/16 ***

[Susie]

V. 2 - 3 Short Stories / Collections:

1. Dubliners 2/21/16 ☆☆☆☆
2. The Yellow Wallpaper 8/13/16 ☆☆☆☆
3. The Death of Ivan Ilych9/10/16 ☆☆☆☆

[Susie]

VI. At least 2 Plays:

1. Medea by Euripides 1/10/16 ☆☆☆☆
2. Lady Windermere's Fan 2/21/16 ☆☆☆☆☆
3. Oedipus Rex 4/17/16 ☆☆☆☆
4. All's Well That Ends Well 7/2/16. ☆☆☆☆☆

[Susie]

VII. Classics Bingo Challenge 2016 (Catching Up on Classics group on GR)

20/25

B1: Written by Nobel Laureate -
✔ B2: Sci-fi or Fantasy Classic - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ☆☆☆
✔ B3: Classic of Africa - The Stranger 2/25/16 ☆☆☆☆
✔ B4: Children's Classic - The Borrowers 6/23/16 ☆☆☆☆
✔ B5: Winner of a Foreign Literary Prize - To the Lighthouse 4/18/16 ☆☆☆

✔ I1: Published/Written Before 1600’s - Medea by Euripides 1/10/16 ☆☆☆☆
✔ I2: New-to-You Author - Middlemarch by George Eliot 1/31/16 ☆☆☆☆☆
✔ I3: Classic Play - Lady Windermere's Fan 2/21/16 ☆☆☆☆☆
✔ I4: Banned Book - The Awakening by Kate Chopin 2/5/16 ☆☆☆
✔ I5: Published in the 1700's - Moll Flanders 5/16. ☆☆☆

✔ N1: Classic of the Americas - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 2/12/16 ☆☆☆☆☆
✔ N2: Short Story Collection - Dubliners 2/21/16 ☆☆☆☆
✔ N3: FREE SPACE - Daddy-Long-Legs ☆☆☆☆☆
✔ N4: Poetry Collection - A Spicing of Birds: Poems 1/28/16 ☆☆☆
✔ N5: Classic of Europe - A Tale of Two Cities 6/24/16 ☆☆☆☆☆

G1: Published in the 1600's -
✔ G2: Book from Le Monde’s 100 Books of the Century - The Little Prince 1/3/16 ☆☆☆
✔ G3: Classic Non-fiction - The Interior Castle ☆☆☆☆
✔ G4: Classic from School - Sons and Lovers 3/25/16 ☆☆☆☆
G5: Published in the 1800's -

O1: Literary Prize of Your Country/Region -
✔ O2: Gothic Classic - Northanger Abbey 6/16 ☆☆☆☆
O3: Classic of Asia or Oceania -
✔O4: Mystery or Crime Classic - The Sign of Four 3/8/16 ☆☆☆
✔O5: Prize-Winning Female Author - O Pioneers! 3/29/16 ☆☆☆☆

[Susie]

VIII. My 'just because' list:

1. Nancy Drew The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene - an oldie but goodie! 2/2016
2. Nancy Drew The Hidden Staircase 3/3/16
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

[Susie]

IX.

[Susie]

X.

[[deleted user]]

Good luck, Susie! Will you let yourself overlap the 2 bingo challenges?

[Susie]

Heather wrote: "Good luck, Susie! Will you let yourself overlap the 2 bingo challenges?"

Since this is my first year doing any bingo challenges, I will let some of them overlap, but the categories are so different, we'll see how it works out.
I would like to complete a 'blackout' for my Classics Bingo Challenge, and see how far I get with this AAB Bingo Challenge...

Well see how it goes...are you doing both too?

ETA: The Little Prince fits both! ;)

[Susie]

I read Medea, a play today...wondering if it fits in the G3 square, for a book of mythology?

[Leslie]

Susie wrote: "I read Medea, a play today...wondering if it fits in the G3 square, for a book of mythology?"

or I3, classic play...

We read this as a group play last year -- please feel free to add your comments:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

[Susie]

Leslie wrote:
"or I3, classic play...

We read this as a group play last year -- please f..."

I was going to use it for a Classic Play but moved it to I1 in my Classics Bingo Challenge, which is Written/Published before the 1600's...

[Susie]

Finished Middlemarch yesterday and loved it! It has everything...great story, great characters, a masterful writer in George Eliot that weaves it all together...a classic indeed!

[LauraT]

Susie wrote: "Finished Middlemarch yesterday and loved it! It has everything...great story, great characters, a masterful writer in George Eliot that weaves it all together...a classic indeed!"

I think it is her masterpiece. I LOVE it!

[Shirley]

Susie wrote: "Finished Middlemarch yesterday and loved it! It has everything...great story, great characters, a masterful writer in George Eliot that weaves it all together...a classic indeed!"

Those were my thoughts too, when I read Middlemarch!

[Susie]

Finished The Awakening yesterday for my middle AAB Bingo middle square - group read...

[Susie]

Finished Dubliners for my B4 square - published between 1910-1920. 4 stars.

I liked many of the short stories but they also seem to get darker and more depressint as you move through the book. Good news is they are short, so I have been reading several of them more than once to see what else may open up to me.
Happy that I have finished this...feels like an accomplishment... :)

[Susie]

A first for me...didn't even know what 'epistolary style' was until I started this challenge but I filled that square, N2, with Daddy-Long-Legs, which got 4 stars from me, for being an easy, enjoyable read. The premise of the story is about an orphaned girl, who grows up in an orphanage, then corresponds with her unknown benefactor as they pay for her to attend college. The story follows her through those years in a completely unfamiliar world, with a twist thrown in at the end...

[Leslie]

Daddy-Long-Legs was my first epistolary book too! Did you know that it was made into a musical with Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron? Not as good as the book but still fun.

[Susie]

Just added Sons and Lovers to my AAB Bingo card, so I'm up to 9 of 25 read...yay!

I enjoyed it much more than I expected, so that's always a nice surprise...gave it 4 stars.

The writing was sometimes severe, sometimes gut wrenching, and definitely sometimes hot and heavy! But it always grabbed and held my attention...

[Susie]

Finished The Noonday Devil: Acedia, the Unnamed Evil of Our Times today and used it for my N1 square for my AAB Bingo - an unfamiliar topic...

This booked addressed a new/old take on the sin of sloth, referred to as acedia. This was a long ago concept used by many religious orders, and the author is bringing attention to how this can manifest in our lives in the current world.
Written by a monk, I liked many parts of the book, but the last part referencing married couples and single persons really bugged me with it's outdated and condescending language...
2 stars...

[Pam]

Susie wrote: "Finished Middlemarch yesterday and loved it! It has everything...great story, great characters, a masterful writer in George Eliot that weaves it all together...a classic indeed!"

Yes love Middlemarch, one of the best classic novels and her greatest.

[Susie]

Yes Pam...it set a high bar for the rest of my reading this year!

[Pam]

Quite! Most books will struggle to meet it I fear ....

[Susie]

Books for Bingo read in June:

I1 - The Borrowers - 6/23/16 ☆☆☆☆
This was a reread from childhood and I really enjoyed it...again! It was great to see that I read some wildly imaginative books when I was younger...that makes me happy now!

G2 - A Tale of Two Cities - 6/24/16 ☆☆☆☆☆
This takes place during the French Revolution and a 'classics classic' that I read for the first time...loved it and definite recommend!
It is great storytelling...all these diverse storylines that Dickens pulls together at the end is very satisfying and so well done...amazing!

B3 - Their Eyes Were Watching God - 6/12/16 ☆☆☆☆☆
This was for the 'more than 250 pages' square...I had never heard of it but saw rave reviews in another group and very glad I picked it up.
It is dark and sad and yet very uplifting all at the same time...definite recommend!

3 row complete...Bingo!

[Pam]

Well done!

I must get round to reading A Tale of Two Cities - I was working my way through Dickens a few years back but haven't reached that one.

[Susie]

Read The Yellow Wallpaper, a short story today , for my G4 square, 'a color in the title'. It's kinda cheating since it is a very short story, but a great intense read. It is a first person story about a woman, going mad and her chronicling of it...
It is sad, emotional and very disturbing in places...a great short read!

[Pam]

I absolutely love that story ... first read it when I was about 10 when I came across it in a collection of ghost stories. It isn't of course, but so disturbing and creepy. And a feminist critique of how women were treated at that time. I could 'see' the wallpaper with the intensity of Gilman's description.