Challenge: 50 Books discussion
Finish Line 2016
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Juli's Year of Random Reading
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This is the list of book types from Popsugar's 2016 reading challenge (http://www.popsugar.com/love/Reading-.... I look forward to filling in all the blanks this year.A book based on a fairy tale
A National Book Award winner
A YA bestseller - Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
A book you haven't read since high school
A book set in your home state
A book translated to English - Princess of Cleves
A romance set in the future
A book set in Europe - The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
A book that's under 150 pages - Happy Hooligan: a Complete Compilation 1904=1905
A New York Times bestseller - Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
A bulk that's becoming a movie this year
A book recommended by someone you just met
A self-improvement book - Anger and Stress Management God's Way by Wayne Mack
A book you can finish in a day - What Pet Should I Get by Dr. Seuss
A book written by a celebrity - The Butler Speaks by Charles McPherson
A political memoir
A book at least 100 years older than you - Oroonoko and Other Writings by Aphra Behn
A book that's more than 600 pages
A book from Oprah's Book Club
A science-fiction novel - Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
A book recommended by a family member
A graphic novel
A book that is published in 2016 - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
A book with a protagonist who has your occupation
A book that takes place during Summer
A book and its prequel
A murder mystery - Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
A book written by a comedian
A dystopian novel
A book with a blue cover
A book of poetry - Pop Sonnets: Shakespearean Spins on Your Favorite Songs by Erik Didriksen
The first book you see in a bookstore
A classic from the 20th century
A book from the library - I Wish My Teacher Knew
An autobiography
A book about a road trip
A book about a culture you're unfamiliar with
A satirical book - The Rare and Extraordinary History of Holy Russia by Gustave Dore
A book that takes place on an island - Silver on the Tree
A book that's guaranteed to bring you joy - He Shall Thunder in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters
Mod
Ooh, free form! Although, you have so many lists you'd like to read from (1001, Youth Media Awards, etc.) that you pretty much have a reading plan set! Either way, good luck! I can't wait to see what you read this year! :)
Mod
Ack! Another reading challenge for me to print to use someday! :)
Tiffany wrote: "librarian4Him02 wrote: "My plan for reading this year is not to plan a plan. The last couple of years I've been fairly regimented in my reading and had multiple print books going on at the same tim..."So true Tiffany. My free form plan went out the window about two weeks in to 2016. Despite my best efforts to focus on one book at a time, I find I'm currently in the middle of two books at once. It was three, but I just finished one this evening. :)
Juli
January1) The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper
12/10/15-1/5/16
1 audio file - 11.18 hours
5 stars - A great children's classic.
2) Anger and Stress Management God's Way
1/1-1/15
119 pages
4 stars - Biblical solutions to anger and stress. Really hit home for me on several points.
3) What Pet Should I Get? - Dr. Seuss
1/6
34 pages
2 stars- Cute book, but the rhyme scheme didn't always work and I didn't like the unresolved ending.
4) Go Set a Watchman - Harper Lee
1/7-1/19
6 CDs, 7 hours
5 stars - Superb writing and a one of the best coming of age stories I've read in a long time.
5) Pop Sonnets: Shakespearean Spins on Your Favorite Songs - Erik Didriksen
1/15-1/24
128 pages
5 stars - A super fun parody on both pop music and Shakespeare sonnets. Would give it way more than five stars if I could.
6) Miffy - Dick Bruna
1/25/16
24 pages
4 stars - Super cute book for young readers.
7) Last Stop on Market Street - Matt de la Pena
1/25/16
28 pages
4 stars - Beautiful message and reminded me of my grandma and how close we were.
Total Pages Read: 333
Total Hours Listened: 18.18
February8) Conversion - Katherine Howe
1/16-2/3
410 pages
2 stars - Suspenseful, fast-paced, but anticlimactic ending.
9) The Butler's Guide to Running a Home and Other Graces - Stanley Ager & Fiona St. Aubyn
2/10-2/15
208 pages
5 stars - Inspired me to be more diligent in my housekeeping and I learned a lot.
10) Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear - Lindsay Mattick
2/24/16
56 pages
5 stars - Cute read telling the real story behind Winnie the Pooh.
11) Rosie's Walk - Pat Hutchins
2/27/16
32 pages
5 stars - The true story lies in the illustrations. Poor fox.
12) The Princess of Cleves - Madame de Lafayette
1/16-2/29
271 e-pages (read on my iPad)
4 stars - Readable classic from 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.
Total Pages Read: 1,310
Total Hours Listened: 18.18
March13) Bone Gap - Laura Ruby
2/20-3/10
7 discs, 8.5 hours
4 stars - Fast paced and suspenseful with a bit of fantasy thrown in.
14) Manifold Greatness: The Making of the King James Bible - Helen Moore & Julia Reid
3/1-3/24
208 pages
3 stars - Interesting and informative look at the compilation of the KJB.
Total Pages Read: 1,518
Total Hours Listened: 26.68
April15) Brooklyn - Colm Toibin
3/18-4/1
6 sound discs, 7.5 hours
3 stars - Literary fiction with a character I strongly related to.
16) The Rare and Extraordinary History of Holy Russia - Gustave Dore
3/24-4/1
104 pages
3 stars - Satirical history of Russia from its beginnings to early 19th century, detailed woodcut illustrations
17) The Elephant and the Bad Baby - Elfrida Vipont
4/1
32 pages
4 stars - Fun illustrations and a good lesson for Baby
18) The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle
4/2-4/10
Unpaged
5 stars
19) Max and Moritz: With Many More Mischief Makers Mor or Less Human and Approximately Animal - Wilhelm Busch
4/9-4/18
60 pages
3 stars - Classic graphic novel/comic (the Max and Moritz comics were the only ones listed in 1001 Comic Books, so that's all I read of this title)
20) Mr. Gumpy's Outing - John Burmingham
4/10-4/11
32 pages
5 stars - Mr. Gumpy takes kids and animals on a river outing with unfortunate results
21) The Customer Rules: The 39 Essential Rules for Delivering Sensational Service - Lee Cockerell
3/23-4/22
189 pages
4 stars - Excellent advice for providing quality customer service.
22) Greenwitch - Susan Cooper
4/1-4/15
1 soundfile, 6.38 hours
4 stars
23) Made to Kill - Adam Christopher
4/1-4/26
237 pages
5 stars - Detective story in film noir style with a robot as the detective.
24) When People are Big and God is Small
10/13/15-4/28/16
242 pages
3 stars - Biblical advice on fearing God rather than man, but hard to get into.
25) Meg and Mog - Helen Nicoll & Jan Pienkowski
4/28/16
28 pages
1 star - Cute illustrations, but I had problems with the story line.
Total Pages Read: 2442
Total Hours Listened: 40.56
So it turns out my year of random reading has become not random and I decided to set some goals after all. Here are the goals and how they're shaping up:Spiritual development (12)
1. Anger and Stress Management God's Way - Wayne Mack
2. Manifold Greatness: The Making of the King James Bible - Helen Moor & Julian Reid
3. When People are Big and God is Small - Edward T. Welch
4. When Sinners Say, "I Do" - Dave Harvey
5. Marriage is Hard - Susan Black
Professional development (library, homemaking, etc.) (8)
1. The Butler's Guide to Running the Home and Other Graces
2 The Customer Rules: The 39 Rules for Essential Rules for Delivering Sensational Service - Lee Cockerell
3. I Wish My Teacher Knew - Kyle Schwartz
4. The Butler Speaks - Charles McPherson
Classic fiction (1001 book) (6)
1. Princess of Cleve's
2. Oroonoko and Other Writings - Aphra Behn
Something modern (fiction, nonfiction, poetry) (6)
1. Go Set a Watchman
2. Pop Sonnets: Shakespearean Spins in Your Favorite Songs
3. Conversion - Karen Howe
4. Brooklyn - Colm Toibin
5 Made to Kill - Adam Christopher
6. Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe in Conspiracy Theories - Rob Brotherton
7. Career of Evil - Robert Galbraith
8. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - J.K. Rowling, Jack Tiffany, Jack Thorne
9. Welcome to Night Vale - Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
10. Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles's War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News - A. Brad Schwartz
11. William Shakespeare's Star Wars - Ian Doescher
12. The Last Bookaneer - Matthew Pearl
Children's fiction (1001 book) (6)
1. Miffy - Dick Bruna
2. Rosie's Walk
3. The Elephant and the Bad Baby - Elfrida Vipont
4. The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle
5. Mr. Gumpy's Outing - John Burmingham
6. Meg and Mog - Helen Nicoll & Jan Bienkowski
7. Good Night Alfie Atkins - Junella Bergstrom
8. Little Brown Bear is Afraid of the Dark - Claude Lebrun
9. Each Peach Pear Plum - Janet and Allan Ahlberg
10. Where's Spot - Eric Hill
11. The Baby's Catalogue - Janet and Allan Ahlberg
12. Dear Zoo - Rod Campbell
13. Good Dog, Carl - Alexandra Day
14. Bathwater's Hot - Shirley Hughes
Award Winners (11)
1. The Dark is Rising
2. Last Stop on Market Street
3. Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear
4. Bone Gap
5. The Grey King - Susan Cooper
Graphic novel/comic book (1001 book) (6)
1. The Rare and Extraordinary History of Holy Russia - Gustave Dore
2. Max and Moritz - Wilhelm Busch
3. The Katzenjammer Kids: Early Strips in Full Color - Rudolph Dirks
4. Happy Hooligan: a Complete Compilation 1904-1905 - Federick Burr Opper
Also read
1. What Pet Should I Get?
2. Green Witch - Susan Cooper
3. Silver on the Tree - Susan Cooper
4. Still Life - Louise Penny
5. He Shall Thunder in the Sky - Elizabeth Peters
6. A Fatal Grace - Louise Penny
7. Arthurian Book of Days - Caitlin and John Matthews
Perhaps I'll shoot for randomness again next year with better success :)
Mod
hehehe... Well, categories are fun, too :)
May26. When Sinners Say, "I Do" -- Dave Harvey
1/31-5/15
189 pages
4 stars - Great reminders about how and why to show grace to your spouse.
Total Pages Read: 2631
Total Hours Listened: 40.56
June27) Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories - Rob Brotherton
5/11-6/11
304 pages
4 stars - Interesting theories.
28) Good Night Alfie Atkins - Junella Berstrom
6/16
27 pages
4 stars - Poor dad is run ragged with a humorous result at the end.
29) Little Brown Bear is Afraid of the Dark - Claude Brown
6/16
14 pages
5 stars
Total Pages Read: 2976
Total Hours Listened: 40.56
July30) Career of Evil - Robert Galbraith
7/14-7/19
15 discs, 17.5 hours
5 stars - Delightfully creepy serial killer mystery
31) Oroonoko and Other Writings - Aphra Behn
5/1-7/23
189 pages
4 stars - Collective writings of a classic female author
Total Pages Read: 3165
Total Hours Listened: 58.06
August32) Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
8/1-8/6
327 pages
4 stars - Overall a good storyline. Now I need to see the play.
33) Welcome to Night Vale - Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor
7/24-8/7
401 pages
4 stars - Creepy and weird in a good way...like Night Vale itself.
34) Each Peach Pear Plum - Janet and Allan Ahlbert
8/14
26 pages
5 stars - Rhyme and I Spy, what's not to love?
35) Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles's War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News - A. Brad Schwartz
8/8-8/31
337 pages
5 stars - The fascinating truth about the aftermath of this famous broadcast.
Total Pages Read: 4256
Total Hours Listened: 58.06
September36) The Katzenjammer Kids: Early Strips in Full Color - Rudolph Dicks
9/1-9/3
29 pages
3 stars - Comic strip with the theme of mischievous boys.
37) Where's Spot? The Original Lift-the Flap Book - Eric Hill
9/5
22 pages
4 stars - Fun reading for the younger set, complete with flaps to lift
38) The Baby's Catalogue - Janet and Allan Ahlberg
9/5
32 pages
3 stars - Babies and their parents' daily activities in fun illustrations.
39) The Grey King - Susan Cooper
8/16-9/11
1 audio file, 5.66 hours
5 stars - Fourth book in Cooper's classic series.
40) William Shakespeare's Star Wars - Ian Drescher
9/5-9/17
174 pages
5 stars - A fun and unique retelling of this classic film
Total Pages Read: 4513
Total Hours Listened: 63.72
October41) Dear Zoo - Rod Campbell
10/2
18 pages
3 stars - A fun lift the flap book about pets
42) Good Dog, Carl - Alexandra Day
10/2
32 pages
4 stars - A wordless book that tells about Carl the dog minding the baby while mommy runs errands. Lots of humor.
43) Bathwater's Hot - Shirley Hughes
10/2
18 pages
3 stars - Fun rhyming text and cute illustrations.
44) I Wish My Teacher Knew - Kyle Schwartz
9/8-10/11
258 pages
5 stars - A must-read for all teachers (and by the way, thanks for all you do).
45) Silver on the Tree - Susan Cooper
9/12-10/11
1 audio file - 9.43 hours
5 stars - The conclusion to the Dark is Rising series.
46)Happy Hooligan: A Complete Compilation 1904-1905 - Frederich Burr Opper
10/11-10/22
107 pages
3 stars - A classic comic and (maybe) some of the basis for Charlie Chaplin's great slapstick.
47) Still Life - Louise Penny
10/12-10/26
1 audio file 9.6 hours
3 stars - Cozy mystery set in a small Canadian town.
Total Pages Read: 4946
Total Hours Listened: 82.75
November48) Marriage is Hard - Susan Cooper
6/9-11/1
150 pages
5 stars - A must read for the married and almost married alike.
49) The Butler Speaks - Charles McPherson
10/27-11/20
247 pages
4 stars - Practical household tips and service industry history. Highly interesting and useful.
Total Pages Read: 5343
Total Hours Listened: 82.75
December50) He Shall Thunder in the Sky - Elizabeth Peters
11/13-12/13
15 sound discs, 17.25 hours
5 stars - definitely my favorite of the Amelia Peabody books
51) A Fatal Grace - Louise Penny
12/14-12/24
9 sound discs, 10.5 hours
4 stars - Two brutal murders. Just one murderer?
52) The Arthurian Book of Days - Caitlin and John Matthews
4/1-12/31
192 pages
4 stars - The legend of King Arthur and his Knights told in 365 daily readings
53) The Last Bookaneer - Matthew Pearl
11/20-12/31
389 pages
4 stars - Last glory days of publisher's notorious "helpers"
Total Pages Read: 5924
Total Hours Listened: 110.5
Thus ends Juli's Year of Random Reading. My final totals are:53 books
5, 924 pages
110.5 hours
It's been a great year. Looking forward to more great reading in 2017. Happy New Year, everyone!
Juli
I'll be making selections from my to-read shelf at home, my Goodreads to-read shelves, the 2016 reading challenge over at Popsugar, 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up, and a new Goodreads group that I joined (Reading Challenge: Read All the Youth Media Award Books of 2015, YA Division). Also each year I try to add a new genre that's outside of my normal reading zone. This year I'm adding comic books and graphic and will get ideas from 1001 Comic Books You Must... Of course I will also count audio books in my tally.
So, that's my plan. Here's to another 50 plus books in 2016.
Juli