2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion
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Adam's 101 Books
I usually have the same three types of books running too:) Good luck with your challenge!
I also do the same thing! Audiobooks are a new addition to me; I find they can be amazing. When you say you are going to go through the books on your bookshelf, are we talking about a real physical bookshelf? And how many books?
Thanks Megan & Jackie. I have about 40 physical books that I'm still interested in reading that I'd like to get through this year. I also have about 70 audiobooks to catch up on too, but I'll have to save that goal for next year. I like to buy audio books when they go on sale, but I didn't realize I had so many unread until just now.
1.
I chose this book mainly because the author has the same name as me. I liked some of the history behind distillation and all the scientific discoveries that lead to what we have today, but a lot of the chemistry in the book went over my head. I'd only recommend this book if you have some background in chemistry or have some experience in brewing your own drinks.Audiobook
3 Stars
2.
It was fun to hear Steve Martin share a few stories from his life. For example he talked about how he got his first job at Disneyland selling brochures, then worked in a magic shop where he began performing, and found out that it was much easier to entertain people with comedy than doing complicated magic tricks. My main beef though with the book is that it's so short, and I don't really feel like I know him a whole lot better than before. Still worth the read though for the stories that he does share. There's a lot about the difficulties with his Dad and how his success affected his parents and sisters and things like that. Audiobook
3 Stars
Does Steve Martin narrate the audiobook himself?
Yes he does, which makes it more personal. Plus he sings a few songs & tells some of his old stand up jokes which no one else could have done.
That's awesome! I will definitely add this to my TBR.
3.
I wanted to resurrect my favorite Game of Thrones characters from the dead so I decided to read this book again. I picked up on a few things I missed the first time, and I enjoyed reading through some of the best moments of the book such as Tyrion's "confession" & when Viserys finally gets his crown.By the way, does anyone know how to make a book count towards your challenge when it's the 2nd time you've read it?
Audiobook
5 Stars
You can't count your book a second time unfortunately with Goodreads but you can count it here on the group (:
The only way I've found is to delete it from your books and list it as currently reading again.
This is something that might work, haven't tried it yet. Quite a few times, by accident, I've added different editions of the same book. So, I would go through my TBR and find a book shelved under to be read when I know I marked it as read. When I hit "Find Duplicates", one book would be shelved as "Read" and the other under TBR or Currently Reading. So, I assume, it may let you mark them both as "Read". What you cannot do is rate it or review it twice. Worth a shot to see if this would allow you to keep "rereading" a book in the GR's system.
I look forward to hearing if anyone finds an easy solution to this. All feedback is welcome! :)
I've found that adding another edition of the book and marking that one as read this year counts.
Jackie B. wrote: "I look forward to hearing if anyone finds an easy solution to this. All feedback is welcome! :)"What works for me is when I reread a book, I change it from Read to Currently Reading, and when I'm done I change it back to Read. Then the review page splashes up, or if it doesn't I find it by going to the book page and clicking Edit Review. Then click on More Details and that'll pull up more options. One of those will be number of times you've read this book and you can put that in the box and hopefully put in the right dates. I'd say that should work, because it's worked for me (I didn't specify dates for the first time I read things for the most part though.) Just so long as it makes sense of course. :)
Adam wrote: "Thanks Megan & Jackie. I have about 40 physical books that I'm still interested in reading that I'd like to get through this year. I also have about 70 audiobooks to catch up on too, but I'll have ..."I do the same thing!! And sometimes I even have a fourth if I can find a book that is very different from the others I'm reading. Like one religious/philosophy/sociology book (I love learning how people think and believe), one non-fiction, one fiction on audible and one fiction on paper.
Yes I can't stand being confined to only one book at a time either! It's like only having one kind of food for dinner with no side dishes. It's nice to jump around and read what you are in the mood for at the time.
Adam wrote: "Yes I can't stand being confined to only one book at a time either! It's like only having one kind of food for dinner with no side dishes. It's nice to jump around and read what you are in the mood..."Totally agree Adam, good luck with your challenge!
4.
Wow this book took FOREVER to finish. It's a deceivingly long book. Only 300 pages, but they are huge pages so it's more like 600+ compared to a regular sized book. I love the Song of Ice & Fire books but this one is not like the others. It's more of a reference book to read who begat who, who lived where and a lengthy description of each land, castle & city. I was hoping it would get into some good stories about the Mad King mentioned in the books, and it did, but only for a few pages.I can tell that a lot of work and thought went into making this book, and the illustrations in the book were awesome. I also liked the thick leather-like cover that made it feel like it was an actual history book from the story. Also, I feel like having read this will make reading more books from the series more enjoyable since I'll understand better the traditions & history of each land & people.
It was a real chore to finish this book, but I'm still glad I did.
Hardback
3 Stars
Adam wrote: "4. Wow this book took FOREVER to finish. It's a deceivingly long book."Adam-- you are braver than I. I am curious to see if you find the books easier to read now that you understand the history and culture.
Jackie B. wrote: "Adam-- you are braver than I. I am curious to see if you find the books easier to read now that you understand the history and culture."The main thing I got from the book was how important the Targaryens were in the world. I understand more why people would be willing to support having them in power again. Things were just easier for people when they knew who was in charge, especially when they still had their dragons. It's no wonder the old timers keep bringing them up throughout the books.
I did reread Book #1 and I picked up on a lot of things I missed the first time, mainly because when I first read it I knew very little about the families and the lands. This time I didn't have to follow along with a map like the first time since I pretty much knew where the important places where.
5.
This book goes through some popular things that people have used as evidence for life after death, both current topics and older ones from the 1800's & early 1900's. The author is able to debunk a few, cast doubt on some, but then shrugs her shoulders at a things she can't explain. The only conclusion in the book if you want to know, is that it's really hard to prove it one way or another. Guess we'll just have to die and find out!Audiobook
4 Stars
6.
I really enjoyed this book. Now I understand a lot better the hype of the Star Wars franchise and its fan base. I've always been a fan, but not one that would watch the movies more than 2 or 3 times. The book explains how much Star Wars has influenced not only American culture, but also worldwide. For example Japan really took to the movies more than a lot of other countries. Part of the book also explains why many people were disappointed in the prequel movies and now I can totally see why. The book ends at the time when George Lucas sells the company to Disney which at first a lot of fans were pretty upset about, but now people are realizing that it was the best way to ensure the future of Star Wars for future generations.Audiobook
5 Stars
Adam wrote: "6. I really enjoyed this book. "Did you enjoy the audiobook format and recommend it to others? Or should anyone interested in reading try either?
For this one I prefer the audiobook over the physical book. It's very well done & easy to follow. The narrator's voice ranges from frustrated to excited depending on the tone of each chapter.
7.
This is the guy who wrote the book that "Men Who Stare at Goats" was based from. I really enjoy his curiosity and how he isn't afraid to jump right into to something in order to get the story for himself. For example he once booked a cruise just so he could get to interview the popular psychic Sylvia Brown, and then asked her straight up why she told all those parents that their child was either still alive or dead, when later she was proved to be completely wrong. In another chapter he enters the recruiting phase of a cult, and talks about how he could see how someone could fall into that frame of mind. I will eventually have to read all of his books. I love getting the inside scoop of fascinating stories through the mind and humor of this author. I only gave it four stars just because I liked his other books "Them: Adventures with Extremists" and "Men Who Stare at Goats" a little better than this one.Audiobook (narrated by the author)
4 Stars
8.
I bought this because it was the Daily Deal on Audible and seemed like it might be interesting. Some of it was, some of it wasn't. Some, if not all, of the stories were pulled directly from the internet as their sources, which I could have done myself browsing Facebook and looking for interesting stories. It was okay but I can't really recommend it. Maybe I am spoiled from just reading a Jon Ronson book and expect all interesting subject's to be personally investigated. But this one is just a hodgepodge of mostly little known stories. There were 3 stories however about Star Wars that were all in the book I just read last week, my #6 above. I wonder if the author just read that too and added the little known facts in his book.A few interesting things I did learn: Customer service calls are not only outsourced to other countries, but also to US prison inmates who work for $1 an hour. South Africans used to stick pencils in their hair and shake their head to see if they would be considered white or colored to the rest of society. (If it fell out they were white, if it stayed in they were black, no matter what their actual skin color was.) Background noise is added to cell phones during the silences so you can tell you are still on the line with someone.
Audiobook
3 Stars
9.
A little more light-hearted compared with the Game of Thrones books, but just as much character and surprise. I hope to see more stories soon about Egg & Sir Duncan the Tall.Hardback
5 Stars
10.
Now this is a book you could sit and talk about for weeks! If I could do it all over again I'd have read the actual book first instead of the audio book. There's way too much going on to catch everything. Still, I got most of it and then watched the movie afterwards & also enjoyed that. One of my favorite quotes from the book: "Books don't offer real escape, but they can stop a mind scratching itself raw."
This book was really like no book I've read before. After getting into the first story in the book (I thought it was the only one at the time), it abruptly ended and I even redownloaded the audio book to see if I could fix the error. It didn't fix it, so I reluctantly continued, and found out later that there are actually 6 stories in the book in chronological order. It goes from one to six, then six to one, and as each story finishes you pick up on the connections from each lifetime, and it's really masterfully done.
Audiobook, then Movie
5+ Stars
11.
I really enjoy reading about the history of the town I live in. This book talks about the days when 25th street was known for gambling, prostitution, speakeasies, how part of it was saved from being demolished & the restored historical buildings that are there today. Signed Paperback
4 Stars
12.
After watching the new Star Wars movie and recently reading How Star Wars Conquered the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise I thought I'd give a Star Wars book a try. This was my first one I admit I'm already hooked. I had watched all the Clone Wars episodes with my kids, and this book was meant to be the story line of the last season, but it was sadly cancelled by Disney. Fortunately the story survived for this book and most of the voices from the show participated in the audio book which was pretty awesome. I'm looking to see what Star Wars book to read next, but there are so many. I found a list though and only a few of them are included in the Star Wars "canon" which any future official movies will stick to. All the others have been put into a Star Wars "expanded universe" which the future movies might borrow from but don't have to follow. I think I'll go through all the canon ones first since they seem to be the most important.
Audiobook
5 Stars
Adam wrote: "10. Now this is a book you could sit and talk about for weeks! If I could do it all over again I'd have read the actual book first instead of the audio book."I'm glad you had such a positive experience with Cloud Atlas! I have heard very polarizing and mixed reviews. Most of my peers didn't like it, though. I really want to read it and try to understand their passionate dislike.
You would recommend reading the physical book?
Jackie B. wrote: "You would recommend reading the physical book? "I think that would be the best way to get everything out of it. Each story/time is written in a different way, and some of them can get pretty complicated, especially the British composer guy's story because of the way he talked.
13.
It was a neat story, but the book really failed to create any tension when everyone already knows the two main characters, Darth Vader & the Emperor can't die. Audiobook
3 Stars
14.
Pretty cool story about who Tarkin is and how he came to power before the movies. Even Darth Vader came to respect him in the book.Audiobook
4 Stars
15.
My favorite Star Wars book so far. This book could stand alone without any other movies or books. They did a really good job at making the new villain in this book, Count Denetrius Vidian, more heartless than any other villain so far. The way he murders people disturbed me a whole lot more than in any other Star Wars story, except for maybe the Sarlacc pits. Audiobook
5 Stars
16.
This is a story of an old grumpy man who seems to be angry at everyone. Each chapter alternates between his current life in his old age and his past which shows you how he became the man he is today. I liked this a whole lot more than I thought I would at first, and it's a story that will stick with me for a long time.Audiobook
5 Stars
Adam wrote: "16. This is a story of an old grumpy man who seems to be angry at everyone. "I've never even heard of this book-- but it sounds great. I'll definitely add it to my TBR.
17.
Nothing really special here. The book develops the characters better than in the movie, but still wasn't really all that exiting and it didn't add a whole lot to the story. Also the audiobook had so many sound effects that it was sometimes hard to hear the narration which was annoying.Audiobook
3 Stars
18.
I picked this up on sale from one of the Daily Deals from audible and I'm glad I did. The book is a collection of short stories, or episodes, and it fits in well with the tv series when Mulder & Scully were partners. Each story is a mystery and not all of them can be solved or explained, but are fun to imagine them as if they were actual cases. Also one of the narrators is Bronson Pinchot from Perfect Strangers who does an excellent job.Audiobook
4 Stars
19.
Good writing, but not a super exciting story. In a nutshell, the main theme of the book is "Life sucks and then you die."Audiobook
3 Stars
Adam wrote: "19. Good writing, but not a super exciting story. In a nutshell, the main theme of the book is "Life sucks and then you die.""Wow. Brutal. But, good writing is sometimes worth it.
Jackie B. wrote: "Wow. Brutal. But, good writing is sometimes worth it.""Yes, still very much worth reading because of the excellent detail in the writing. All the characters were so different and foreign to what I'm used to that it was hard to identify with them (for example I've never served in the military or have been close to anyone that was an illegal alien), but it was interesting to learn about how these two characters lived and interacted with each other and their circumstances.
20.
Just finished this in time for our book club in a couple days. I've only seen a couple of the episodes on tv called "Making a Murderer" but I read online that the book was less biased than the show so I read the book instead. From the info in the book, to me it seems pretty clear that he was innocent of the first crime but guilty of the 2nd. If they had let his nephew testify about the murder I bet that the trial would not have lasted as long as it did, and his confession leaves no reason for doubt in my mind that both Steven & his nephew Brendan are now where they should be, behind bars.Kindle
5 Stars
21.
This is a sequel to You and it's just as awesome as the first one. The book takes you into the mind of a highly intelligent & witty sociopath who is lives life to the fullest and when he gets his mind set on a woman it's hard for him to think about anything else. And when things don't go as planned, he figures out how to fix things and removes the people who stand in his way. He's not a guy you should cross.My favorite part of the book is how he increasingly obsesses over a "mug of piss" that he forgot while hiding in a closet in the first book before one of his murders.
You know it's a good book when it gets you routing for the bad guy to win. The narrator for the audio book sounds exactly like an obsessive sociopath too. It's perfect. Just don't listen to it with any kids around, he can get a little dirty.
5+Stars
Audiobook
On a whim I decided I needed to educate myself about the Batman comics. I found a recommendation online on which sets of stories to read in order to get most of the "canon" story. Most of these were a volume or collection of comics that ran together to tell one story. Here are the ones I read & which I liked best:22.
The origins of Batman, Commissioner Gordon, etc. It's a good one to read if you're watching the tv show Gotham.Kindle Comic Book
144 pages
4 Stars
23.
Cool story about one of the most complex characters in the Batman comics. It's written as a sequel to Year One.Kindle Comic Book
144 pages
4 Stars
24.
Deep storyline and very good artwork. This one reads like a murder mystery and keeps you guessing till the end. Really enjoyed this one.Kindle Comic Book
376 pages
5 Stars
25.
A sequel to The Long Halloween & just as good.Kindle Comic Book
391 pages
5 Stars
26.
Batman comes out of retirement when it he can't stand doing nothing anymore. It's not part of the canon, and was maybe my least favorite of all these that I've read, but it came highly recommended.Kindle Comic Book
51 pages
3 Stars
27.
This would be a good one to make a movie about. It's about the Joker's origin and explains more of why he is the way he is.Kindle Comic Book
48 pages
5 Stars
28.
Spoiler: Robin dies in this one. But it's not really a spoiler since that's given away right on the cover. I learned though that there is more than one "Robin." The first Robin (Dick Grayson) went on to become Nightwing. He was the one who was an acrobat. The Robin in this story is named Jason Todd, who was an orphan that Batman took on as a sidekick for a while. The difference between these two Robins is important to know for the comics written after this. I didn't like the story as much in this one as some of the others, but it was an important part of the canon.Kindle Comic Book
144 pages
3 Stars
29.
This one was more of a physiological thriller where the Joker & others locked up in the Arkham Asylum try to convince Batman he's just as crazy as they are. The artwork in this one was probably the best of all of these.Kindle Comic Book
216 pages
4 Stars
30.
My all around favorite one. Superman is even in this one too, and it's cool to see how their stories coincide with each others. I wonder if they will borrow parts of this for the new Batman vs. Superman movie? Kindle Comic Book
320 pages
5 Stars
Now that I've read most of the important Batman comics, I think it would be fun to go read the essential Superman ones. I love how complex these stories can get and how all the stories run together.
31.
This #4 of the mistborn series, but #4, #5 & #6 take much further in the future than #'s 1-3. 4-6 are more in a steam punk age I would say. I enjoyed the story but I'm in no rush to read 5 & 6. Gotta catch up on some of these other books I've already bought first. 4 Stars
Audiobook
32.
This is a rewrite or modernized version of Little Fuzzy. You're probably better off not knowing anything about the story before you read it, but I'll just say it's a very original & thought-provoking story and I highly recommend it. 5 Stars
Audiobook
33.
These were very interesting lectures on ways to give life meaning and other ways of looking at life through the minds of several different philosophers. 4 Stars
Audiobook
Adam wrote: "On a whim I decided I needed to educate myself about the Batman comics. I found a recommendation online on which sets of stories to read in order to get most of the "canon" story. "This is awesome, Adam! Thanks for sharing. I've added a few of these to my TBR pile now. :) I've heard great things about Hush, and I'm glad you enjoyed it.
2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge
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I might reread the Game of Thrones books this year since it sounds like the next book is not going to be done for a while, and I'm starting to mix up the differences between the book & the shows. But my main goal is to get through all the books I have on my bookshelf (mostly WWII & Old West history books) that I have bought at one time or another with the intention of reading them, before I buy too many that I'll never finish them.
I've got into the habit of at least reading 3 books at a time. One as an audio book to listen to while I'm driving at work, one as a physical book that I can read in the evenings when it's quiet and one on my kindle that I can read at night when I can't sleep or take it with me when I might have some downtime. That probably sounds a little obsessive, but who cares! I'm enjoying it.