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Orlok's 2016 SFE Challenge
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Orlok
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Jun 16, 2016 03:36PM
Great band. Still listen to them from time to time.
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Christa never ceases to amaze. ;-D
MrsJoseph wrote: "Christa never ceases to amaze. ;-D"^this
#25: A book that's becoming a movie this year - A Monster Calls by Patrick NessA YA modern fairy story with real bite. Powerful and emotional - 5 stars.
I read that a couple years ago. It's becoming a movie? That might be interesting.
#26A book that takes place during Summer - The Night Stalker by Robert Bryndza. An okay police procedural which takes place during a summer heatwave in London. I did get a bit irritated with the main protagonist's irrational behaviour at times, but it was still readable.
#27A classic from the 20th century - My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. A collection of short stories, including a few about Reggie Peppers, a Bertie Wooster like character, which was a surprise given the title of the book. A fun read.
#28A romance set in the future - Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I'm claiming the future romance category with this one for now, though I may swap it for the based on a fairy tale category if that doesn't work out.
Six ahead of pace. You've still on target even with some harder ones coming up. Deathless.
I think you'd enjoy it. If you were going to enjoy a Valente book it would be that one. Her writing style is not always for everyone.
Yes, Deathless is my punt for the fairy tale category, based on your recommendation, and the rave reviews on Amazon. In fact I have already bought it, but I've got Justin Cronin's "The City of Mirrors" lined up next for my 600 pager challenge. I'll hopefully get to Deathless after that.
#29"The City of Mirrors" by Justin Cronin, my 600 page read challenge. Great book, and the best of the trilogy in my opinion.
#30 A science-fiction novel - The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North (excellent!)
#31
A self-improvement book - The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss (did not finish, but I'm counting it anyway, as I got about half-way, and I don't think I could face another one...)
#32A book based on a fairy tale - Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente. Amazing imagination, and a very clever weaving of the Russian folklore into the dreadful realities of life lived in Leningrad during the invasion by the Germans in the Second World War.
Orlok wrote: "#32A book based on a fairy tale - Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente. Amazing imagination, and a very clever weaving of the Russian folklore into the dreadful realities of life lived in Leningrad..."
That sounds good@
#33A New York Times bestseller - Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben. A happy coincidence - I was researching the NYT bestsellers to find one to read, and saw that this was on the 2016 list, and I'd already read it earlier this year :)
Orlok wrote: "#33A New York Times bestseller - Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben. A happy coincidence - I was researching the NYT bestsellers to find one to read, and saw that this was on the 2016 list, and I'd alr..."
:-D
Now that one's pretty sweet.
Isn't it? Feels like I got away with something :)
#34A book at least 100 years older than you - Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville (1853). Short and sweet (well intriguing, maybe).
Only 6 to go!
Orlok wrote: "#34A book at least 100 years older than you - Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville (1853). Short and sweet (well intriguing, maybe).
Only 6 to go!"
I hated Bartleby. HATED
I can see why. A very frustrating read, though I gave Melville some credit for trying what must have been something different for the time.
Ah, Melville. For me, Melville is like...You know when you're at a party or a gathering and your friends are like, "Hey, you should go talk to that guy over there. He's great and I think you'd really hit it off." Then you go talk to him and ten minutes in you're thinking, "WTF?" and you see your friends across the room pointing and laughing because they got you to talk to THAT guy?
That's how I feel about Melville.
:DIt's the first Melville I've read (no I have never read Moby Dick) and I don't intend to go there again. But I have to say that this challenge has taken me places I would otherwise never have gone.
Orlok wrote: "#32A book based on a fairy tale - Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente. Amazing imagination, and a very clever weaving of the Russian folklore into the dreadful realities of life lived in Leningrad..."
I told you you should read it. :)
HomeInMyShoes wrote: "I told you you should read it. :)"Absolutely right. Not something I would normally have gone for, but it still resonates now, several books later.
#35A book about a road trip - Down Under: Travels in a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson. A really enjoyable read.
Christa wrote: "Ah, Melville. For me, Melville is like...You know when you're at a party or a gathering and your friends are like, "Hey, you should go talk to that guy over there. He's great and I think you'd re..."
Yesssss!
Orlok wrote: ":DIt's the first Melville I've read (no I have never read Moby Dick) and I don't intend to go there again. But I have to say that this challenge has taken me places I would otherwise never have g..."
Moby Dick is a flipping waste of time and breath. Ugh. I tried my best to read as little of that as possible. I never understood the interest.
#36A political memoir - The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History by Boris Johnson. Very good.
Only 4 to go! The one I will most struggle with is going to be A book recommended by someone you just met. Bit of a weird thing to ask a stranger. I'm contemplating just asking someone on a train who I see reading, but that can be misconstrued...
#37A book with a protagonist who has your occupation - The Deadline: A Novel About Project Management by Tom DeMarco
This was a difficult one to decide on, and in the end I went with the above, which is exactly my current profession. A bit of a slog, with a few bright spots but mostly useless as a learning experience. At least it's out of the way :)
Orlok wrote: "The one I will most struggle with is going to be A book recommended by someone you just met. Bit of a weird thing to ask a stranger. I'm contemplating just asking someone on a train who I see reading, but that can be misconstrued..."I keep considering the same thing, but yeah, it could be awkward.
Orlok wrote: "The one I will most struggle with is going to be A book recommended by someone you just met. Bit of a weird thing to ask a stranger. I'm contemplating just asking someone on a train who I see reading, but that can be misconstrued... "Dazrin wrote: "I keep considering the same thing, but yeah, it could be awkward. "
You can make a GR Recommendation request...
MrsJoseph wrote: "You can make a GR Recommendation request..."Yes, it did occur to me. Feels a bit like cheating though :)
#38 Going Postal by Terry Pratchett for the satirical book challenge.
Orlok wrote: The one I will most struggle with is going to be A book recommended by someone you just met. Bit of a weird thing to ask a stranger. I'm contemplating just asking someone on a train who I see reading, but that can be misconstrued..."Well I did it yesterday. I noticed a guy across the aisle from me on the train was reading a Lee Child, so I asked him for a recommendation :-)
It was The Feather Men by Sir Ranulph Fiennes (the explorer) btw.
Orlok wrote: "Well I did it yesterday. I noticed a guy across the aisle from me on the train was reading a Lee Child, so I asked him for a recommendation :-)It was The Feather Men by Sir Ranulph Fiennes (the explorer) btw. .."
Oh, it's cool that you got a rec. :) Was the conversation as odd as you feared?
No, the guy got it right away, and was very friendly about it :) He also came up with the rec straight away, even though I said he could have some time to think about it.
Orlok wrote: "No, the guy got it right away, and was very friendly about it :) He also came up with the rec straight away, even though I said he could have some time to think about it."
Oh, that's awesome! :)
#39 A book from Oprah's Book Club - The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Boy, that took me an age to decide upon which one to read from the available options. Not bad in the end, and a quick read, so all good.
One to go. Yaaayyyy!
Orlok wrote: "#39 A book from Oprah's Book Club - The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
One to go. Yaaayyyy! "
WOW!! You've done great!! Congratulations.
Well done!! You're gonna make it! :D
woooow
Thanks all. I didn't think I'd do this one without at least modifying some categories, but it just shows what you can do with no real planning or thought... :D
#40. FINISHED!!!A book recommended by someone you just met - The Feather Men by Ranulph Fiennes.
Wasn't entirely sure in the early days if I'd get there, and it has been quite a journey. Disappointingly the last one, recommended by a stranger on a train, was far from great. I found it a slog to get through, partly due to the writing style which I found flat and often uninteresting, and partly due to the fact that it didn't seem to know if it was a thriller or a non-fiction retelling of actual events.
But what the hey. FINISHED!!! ;-)
Congrats, Orlok! Well done! :)
Thanks all. Now it's time to think on 2017. Hmmmmmmm...
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