Planning vs Achieving - A Reading Challenge

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Welcome Emily!

[Tari]

Updated msg. 195, finished the 75 I'd planned to using some of the prompts. I'll keep filling it in until I'm out of characters :)

[Sammy]

Ok, so I'm a little late to the party, but as I'll definitely read more than 30 books in what remains of the year, I'll be playing along with this one too :)


This year I will read:
5 award winners (past and present, any literary award/people's choice counts)
2 complete series (more than 3 books in total)
2 complete trilogies
3 books that I keep avoiding
10 chunksters (over 450 pages)
2 new releases
40 new to me author(s)
6 out of my comfort zone books
5 books that are for so long in my TBR they are covered with spider webs and dust bunnies
10 books from my favorite genre
6 books from my favorite author(s)
5 books that everybody else seems to have read but me

[Sammy]

Achieved:

8 award winners (past and present, any literary award/people's choice counts):

1. The Road
2. Holes
3. Slaughterhouse-Five
4. An Artist of the Floating World
5. A Pale View of Hills
6. The Penelopiad
7. Beartown
8. Boy's Life

--- complete series (more than 3 books in total):

Series 1:

1. All Systems Red


3 complete trilogies:

Trilogy 1:

1. The Diamond Throne
2. The Ruby Knight
3. The Sapphire Rose

Trilogy 2:

1. Illuminae
2. Gemina
3. Obsidio

Trilogy 3:

1. The Lies of Locke Lamora
2. Red Seas Under Red Skies
3. The Republic of Thieves

3 books that I keep avoiding:

1. The Secret Agent
2. The French Lieutenant's Woman
3. The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories

21 chunksters (over 450 pages):

1. The Moonstone
2. The Art of Fielding
3. Seveneves
4. Speaks the Nightbird
5. The Priory of the Orange Tree
6. Holy Warrior
7. King's Man
8. The Old Curiosity Shop
9. Phineas Finn
10. Our Mutual Friend
11. Pandemic
12. Children of Time
13. The Queen of Bedlam
14. Knight's Shadow
15. Saint's Blood
16. Tyrant's Throne
17. The Bloody Red Baron
18. War God: Nights of the Witch
19. Bourbon Creams and Tattered Dreams
20. The Five
21. The Darkness That Comes Before

5 new releases:

1. The Jane Austen Society
2. The Foundling
3. The Sandman
4. The Midnight Library
5. The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

46 new to me author(s):

1. Heidi's Guide to Four Letter Words
2. Interior Chinatown
3. Louis L'Amour Trail Mix: Volume 1
4. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride
5. The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories
6. The Alchemist
7. Oblomov
8. We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
9. A Court of Thorns and Roses
10. The Castle of Otranto
11. Swann's Way
12. The Eyre Affair
13. Confessions of a Bookseller
14. An Act of God
15. Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings from the Road
16. Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears and Unleash Creativity
17. Swan Song
18. Paradox Bound
19. Titus Groan
20. Infinite Jest
21. But Enough About Me
22. The Godfather
23. A Prayer for Owen Meany
24. Dogs of War
25. From Russia with Love
26. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
27. Into the Darkest Corner
28. City of Bones
29. The Murderer's Son
30. Pachinko
31. Shadowplay
32. The Sound of Waves
33. The Bear and the Nightingale
34. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
35. Cranford
36. Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come for the Comedians, We Are All in Trouble
37. Quicksand
38. The Bermondsey Bookshop
39. Bodies from the Library: Lost Classic Stories by Masters of the Golden Age
40. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
41. The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories
42. The Bookshop
43. The Printed Letter Bookshop
44. How to Find Love in a Book Shop
45. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
46. Winter Pilgrims

4 out of my comfort zone books:

1. ФантАstika: Almanac of Bulgarian Speculative Fiction
2. Finnegans Wake
3. I'll Be Gone in the Dark
4. The Prince
5. The Italian Girl

8 books that are for so long in my TBR they are covered with spider webs and dust bunnies:

1. Raft
2. The Left Hand of Darkness
3. Hyperion
4. The Night Watch
5. The Shadow of the Wind
6. 84, Charing Cross Road
7. The Long Goodbye
8. The Power of One

12 books from my favorite genre:

1. A Maze of Death
2. For We Are Many
3. All These Worlds
4. The Heart Goes Last
5. Golden Son
6. The Death of Grass
7. The Collapsing Empire
8. The Consuming Fire
9. Ubik
10. The Zap Gun
11. Vulcan's Hammer
12. Solaris

7 books from my favorite author(s):

1. Nation
2. Sword of Kings
3. The Alchemist's Code
4. Lisey's Story
5. The Shining
6. The Institute
7. Ill Met in the Arena

8 books that everybody else seems to have read but me:

1. Black Beauty
2. The Poisonwood Bible
3. The Importance of Being Ernest
4. Anne of Green Gables
5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
6. The Girl Who Played with Fire
7. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
8. Just One Damned Thing After Another

[Tari]

Msg. 195 is officially done. I went quite a bit past my original numbers after my first finish post. I just wanted to go till I ran out of characters in the post lol. ;)

[Sammy]

I'm calling message 205/6 done. went well over estimates with everything except the series, as I have mostly read terilogies this year, or picked up series I was already reading. :)

[Helen]

6-MONTHS

PLANNING VS. ACHIEVING

May 1 to Oct. 31, 2022 Finished on 9-27-22!

Plan:

This six months I will read:

_4__ award winners (past and present, any literary award/people's choice counts) DONE
_1__complete series (more than 3 books in total)=9 DONE
_1__complete trilogy=3 DONE
_12__books that I keep avoiding DONE
_2__chunksters (over 450 pages) DONE
_8__new releases DONE
_20__new to me author(s) DONE
_6__out of my comfort zone books DONE
_6__books that are for so long in my TBR they are covered with spider webs and dust bunnies DONE
_20__ books from my favorite genre (Nonfiction) DONE
_10__ books from my favorite author(s) DONE
_4__ books that everybody else seems to have read but me DONE
_4__ books by authors I know personally DONE



(*)Note: A book may fit into more than one category. Make sure to count it in all that apply

38 out of 38 Top Finished!


Award winners FINISHED
++1 Before the Ever After Jacqueline Woodson 5-8-22 (Coretta Scott King Award 2021)
++2 In Calabria Peter S. Beagle 5-14-22 (World Fantasy Award Nominee for Novella--2018)
++3 Terrific Jon Agee 5-30-22 (California Book Award for Juvenile (Silver) (2005), Irma Black Award Nominee (2006))
++4 Awful End Philip Ardagh 6-22-22 (Literary AwardsDeutscher Jugendliteraturpreis for Kinderbuch (2003))


Complete Series Fixer-Upper Mysteries by Kate Carlisle FINISHED
++1 A High-End Finish 5-29-22
++2 This Old Homicide Kate Carlisle 7-3-22
++3 Crowned and Moldering Kate Carlisle 7-8-22
++4 Deck the Hallways 6-22-22
++5 Eaves of Destruction 8-10-22
++6 A Wrench in the Works 4-10-22
++7 Shot Through the Hearth 5-14-22
++8 Premeditated Mortar 8-31-22
++9 Absence of Mallets 9-1-22

Trilogy: The Eddie Dickens Trilogy FINISHED
++1 Awful End Philip Ardagh 6-22-22
++2 Dreadful Acts Philip Ardagh 6-22-22
++3 Terrible Times Philip Ardagh 6-22-22


I keep avoiding FINISHED
++1 The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine Mark Twain 5-24-22
++2 The Trespassers Zilpha Keatley Snyder 5-29-22
++3 5-Minute Really True Stories for Bedtime Sally Symes 6-22-22
++4 I is for Island: A Prince Edward Island Alphabet Hugh Macdonald 6-23-22
++5 Enough As She Is: How to Help Girls Move Beyond Impossible Standards of Success to Live Healthy, Happy, and Fulfilling Lives Rachel Simmons 6-23-22
++6 A Year Without Mom Dasha Tolstikova 6-24-22
++7 How to Speak Brit: The Quintessential Guide to the King's English, Cockney Slang, and Other Flummoxing British Phrases C.J. Moore 6-24-22
++8 Why Do Cats Wear Pajamas? Karen Lancaster Brown 6-24-22
++9 The Rithmatist Brandon Sanderson 7-2-22
++10 Gray Wolf Island Tracey Neithercott 7-3-22
++11 Final Draft Riley Redgate 7-8-22
++12 Please, Mr. Panda / Por favor, Sr. Panda Steve Antony 7-10-22

Chunksters (over 450 pages) FINISHED
++1 At Home: A Short History of Private Life Bill Bryson 6-23-22 (497 pages)
++2 Happy Days Were Here Again: Reflections of a Libertarian Journalist William F. Buckley Jr. 6-23-22 (473 pages)


New Releases FINISHED
++1 Republican Rescue: Saving the Party from Truth Deniers, Conspiracy Theorists, and the Dangerous Policies of Joe Biden Chris Christie 5-8-22 (published 2021)
++2 Please Scream Inside Your Heart: Breaking News and Nervous Breakdowns in the Year that Wouldn't End Dave Pell 5-24-22 (published 11-9-21)
++3 Death of a Green-Eyed Monster M.C. Beaton 5-29-22 (published 2-15-22)
++4 The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future Stephen Marche 5-29-22 (published Jan. 4, 2022)
++5 Terrific! Sophie Gilmore 6-4-22 (published 7-6-21)
++6 The Lifeguards Amanda Eyre Ward 7-2-22 (published 4-5-22)

[Helen]

6-MONTHS

Planning vs. Achieving

70 out of 70 Bottom Finished!


New to me authors FINISHED
++1 Republican Rescue: Saving the Party from Truth Deniers, Conspiracy Theorists, and the Dangerous Policies of Joe Biden Chris Christie 5-8-22
++2 Before the Ever After Jacqueline Woodson 5-8-22
++3 A Bear's Life Ian McAllister 5-8-22
++4 Homer the Library Cat Reeve Lindbergh
++5 Frankie Works the Night Shift Lisa Westberg Peters
++6 Whoever You Are Mem Fox 5-14-22 (Mem Fox)
++7 Race the Wild Wind: A Story of the Sable Island Horses Sandra Markle 5-14-22 (Sandra Markle)
++8 In Calabria Peter S. Beagle 5-14-22 (Peter Beagle)
++9 From A to Z - A Life of Glee Jason Kutasi 5-14-22 (Jason Kutasi)
++10 Compost Stew Mary McKenna Siddals 5-14-22 (Mary Siddals)
++11 Marimba!: Animales from A to Z Pat Mora 5-14-22 (Pat Mora)
++12 Five Total Strangers Natalie D. Richards 5-24-22 (Natalie Richards)
++13 Please Scream Inside Your Heart: Breaking News and Nervous Breakdowns in the Year that Wouldn't End Dave Pell 5-24-22 (Dave Pell)
++14 Wagging through the Snow Laurien Berenson 5-24-22 (Laurien Berenson)
++15 Left of Bang: How the Marine Corps' Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life Patrick Van Horne 5-24-22 (Patrick van Horne)
++16 The Beach at Night Elena Ferrante 5-28-22 (Elena Ferrantes)
++17G is for Golazo: The Ultimate Soccer Alphabet James Littlejohn 5-28-22 James Littlejohn)
++18 The Case Against Satan Ray Russell 5-29-22 (Ray Russell)
++19 The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future Stephen Marche 5-29-22 (Stephen Marche)
++20 The Trespassers Zilpha Keatley Snyder 5-29-22 (Zilpha K. Snyder)

Out of comfort zone FINISHED
++1 In Calabria Peter S. Beagle 5-14-22 (Fantasy)
++2 The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine Mark Twain 5-24-22 (Fantasy)
++3 The Beach at Night Elena Ferrante 5-28-22 (Dark Fantasy)
++4 The Language Lover’s Puzzle Book: Lexical perplexities and cracking conundrums from across the globe Alex Bellos 6-24-22 (Puzzles way too hard for me)
++5 The Rithmatist Brandon Sanderson 7-2-22 (Fantasy)
++6 God's Shrink: 10 Sessions and Life's Greatest Lessons from an Unexpected Patient Michael Adamse 7-3-22 (discomfort seeing God as a psychotic person)


Long TBR FINISHED
++1 Before the Ever After Jacqueline Woodson 5-8-22 (5800's)
++2 Homer the Library Cat Reeve Lindbergh (#35 from 4-6-17)
++3 Frankie Works the Night Shift Lisa Westberg Peters #29 from 4-6-17)
++4 Whoever You Are Mem Fox 5-14-22 (#98 on TBR list from April 22, 2017!)
++5 A High-End Finish Kate Carlisle 5-27-22 (#2727 on TBR list since March 28, 2020!)
++6 At Home: A Short History of Private Life Bill Bryson 6-23-22 (#932 on TBR list since 10-24-19!)

Favorite Genre-Nonfiction FINISHED
++1 Republican Rescue: Saving the Party from Truth Deniers, Conspiracy Theorists, and the Dangerous Policies of Joe Biden Chris Christie 5-8-22
++2 A Bear's Life Ian McAllister 5-8-22
++3 Whoever You Are Mem Fox 5-14-22
++4 Compost Stew Mary McKenna Siddals 5-14-22
++6 Please Scream Inside Your Heart: Breaking News and Nervous Breakdowns in the Year that Wouldn't End Dave Pell 5-24-22
++7 Left of Bang: How the Marine Corps' Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life Patrick Van Horne 5-24-22
++8 Wolf Island Ian McAllister 5-28-22
++9 G is for Golazo: The Ultimate Soccer Alphabet James Littlejohn 5-28-22
++10 The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future Stephen Marche 5-29-22
++11 T Is for Territories: A Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut Alphabet Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak 5-30-22
++12 F Is for Fiddlehead: A New Brunswick Alphabet Marilyn Lohnes 6-4-22
++13 G Is for Golden Boy: A Manitoba Alphabet Larry Verstraete 6-4-22
++14 Terrific Turtles Anders Hanson 6-4-22
++15 Itch!: Everything You Didn't Want to Know About What Makes You Scratch Anita Sanchez 6-4-22
++16 5-Minute Really True Stories for Bedtime Sally Symes 6-22-22
++17 At Home: A Short History of Private Life Bill Bryson 6-23-22
++18 I is for Island: A Prince Edward Island Alphabet Hugh Macdonald 6-23-22
++19 Happy Days Were Here Again: Reflections of a Libertarian Journalist William F. Buckley Jr. 6-23-22
++20 Enough As She Is: How to Help Girls Move Beyond Impossible Standards of Success to Live Healthy, Happy, and Fulfilling Lives Rachel Simmons 6-23-22

Favorite Authors FINISHED
++1 Shot Through the Hearth Kate Carlisle 5-14-22 (Kate Carlisle)
++2 Alice in Charge Phyllis Reynolds Naylor 5-24-22 (Phyllis Naylor)
++3 A High-End Finish Kate Carlisle 5-29-22 (Kate Carlisle)
++4 Death of a Green-Eyed Monster M.C. Beaton 5-29-22 (M. C. Beaton)
++5 My Friend Is Sad Mo Willems 6-4-22 (Mo Willems)
++6 Deck the Hallways Kate Carlisle 6-22-22 (Kate Carlisle)
++7 Tacky and the Haunted Igloo Helen Lester 7-2-22 (Helen Lester)
++8 This Old Homicide Kate Carlisle 7-3-22 (Kate Carlisle)
++9 Crowned and Moldering Kate Carlisle 7-8-22 (Kate Carlisle)
++10 Children Of Christmas Cynthia Rylant 7-13-22 (Cynthia Rylant)

Everyone else read but me FINISHED
++1 Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith Jon Krakauer 7-8-22
++2 Anthem Ayn Rand 7-15-22
++3 The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer 9-2-22
++4 Woman on the Edge Samantha M. Bailey 9-27-22

Author I know personally FINISHED
++1 Chatter to Flatter Your Platter: Essays that explore wisdom and humor in everyday life Moj Dehghan 8-5-22
++2 My 1st Investments Book R. Lamont W. 9-12-22
++3 When the World Outlawed War David Swanson 9-13-22
++4 Lightning's Blues: A Collection of Short Stories Dan R. Arman 9-13-22