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BLK Winter Reading Challenge
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Participating:Angie
Kathleen
Colleen
Darkpool
Sharlene
Ella's Gran
Angie's Comfort Reading Challenge8/10
Timeframe: 1 June - 31 August
Book 1: The Tea Rose - This is one that I have been wanting to re-read for ages. I have yet to read the third book in this trilogy, but since it has been such a long time since I have read the first two books, I'm re-reading them. Loved it as much the second time around - 10 June
Book 2: The Elegance of the Hedgehog - I've owned a copy of this for ages. It was one of the books mentioned in The End of Your Life Book Club, which has provided me with the impetus to read it. Can't wait to finally read this wee gem - 18 July
Book 3: Belle - Just like with The Tea Rose, I want to read the others in this series, but need to refresh my mind regarding the storyline - 29 June
Book 4: Here be Dragons - Another I've been wanting to read for a very long time - 9 July
Book 5: Anne of Green Gables - I thought I had read this as a child, but I either did so without the slightest comprehension, or I saw the book on my bookshelf so often, that I thought I had. What a great character Anne is - 12 July
Book 6: Misconception: A True Story of Life, Love and Infertility - Another book I've been meaning to read for ages - 13 July
Book 7: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - This book has had so many good reviews, that I just had to read it. And now the second book is all downloaded and ready to go on my kindle - 19 July
Book 8: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry - This one sounded just my cup of tea, and it was - 10 August
Book 9:
Book 10:
I would like to be apart of this challenge.
DP's Comfort Reading Challenge10/10 WOOHOOO!!!!!!!!!
Timeframe: 1 June(ish) - 31 August(ish)
1. First up I have Doomsday Book. (Read 30/5 - 14/6)
Having read the whimsical To Say Nothing of the Dog three years back, I've been intending to read the rest of the Oxford Time Travel series ever since. I've read the short story that started it all - Fire Watch a couple of times, but have been a bit daunted at moving on to the more substantial and serious members of the series. Bought the paperback when I spotted it cheap online somewhere back in January, and took it away on holiday with me this Queen's Birthday w/e. Very pleased to have got a whacking great chunk of it read while sitting in the wintry sunlight in Rotorua on Sunday afternoon.
2. H.M.S. Surprise. (Read 6/6 - 2/7)
Started reading this series a few years ago... and by reading, I mean listening to. Only up to #3 as initially the library didn't have all volumes in the series on CD, but they seem to have fixed that problem now. If I knock off one per year from now on that should see me well into my 60's.
3. Here be Dragons.
To be read once it turns up from the library. A re-read for me, but it's the best part of 20 years since I last read it
4. Twin Spica: Volume 12 (Read 15/6 - 5/7)
Sigh, so sad to finally get to the end of this gorgeous series.
5. Daughter of the Forest (Read 9/7 - 17/7)
Another that has been on the "to read" list for a while. I just adored the two previous books I read by Marillier.... and totally not disappointed by this one. Another series to work my way through over the next couple of years.
6. Better Homes and Hauntings (Read 3/7 - 9/7)
I loooooove Molly Harper. First 2 chapters of this were free on Audible, so I'm listening to those and will have to read the rest on the paperback copy I have out of the library. Reviews seem to indicate that this is not Harper's best work, so I have lowered my expectations accordingly.
7. The Lightning Thief (Read 3/7 - 29/7)
Highly recommended by several students whose opinions I respect. I have the audiobook version out of the library, but have also discovered this is part of the huge swag of ebooks I acquired last year, so it is sitting on my phone so I can read happily away whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Update 5/7. Hit a bit of a roadblock here when I realised the CD set I had out of the library only had the first 4 of 8 CDs included. So, I've taken that back, ordered another copy, and in the meantime have acquired another audiobook to keep me entertained as I drive around the place....
Update 29/7. Yay, finished!! Really enjoyed it, looking forward to the rest of the series....
8. Doctor Who: Death Comes to Time (Read 5/7 - 13/7)
Replacement audiobook while waiting for another copy of The Lightning Thief. A 6 part, full cast radio play rather than a book, per se.
9. Silver Shadows (Read 3/8 - 12/8)
Not the best instalment of the series by a long chalk.
10. Summer Knight (Read 29/7 - 13/8)
Can this really only be book 4 in the series?
11. The Pursuit of Love (Read 19/8 - 31/8)
Yeah, so I'm only 212 pages in to book #3 above, so I've added this at the bottom of the list. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and will be looking out "love in a cold climate" before long I should think.
Mod
Mod
Timeframe: 1 June - 31 August
10/10
Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou 30/06
Because I hadn't read anything & I know she's a great author.
Ink by Amanda Sun 01/07
The first in a series I hadn't heard of before picking this up at the library.
First Comes Love by Katie Kacvinsky 11/07
Just because I could read it.
Looking for Alaska by John Green 30/07
I want to read all of John Green's books.
Vampire Academy 23/07
The first in a series that I own all the books for, so why not start it now?
Frostbite 14/08
Second in Vampire Academy...
Shadow Kiss 16/08
Third in Vampire Academy...
Blood Promise 22/08
Fourth in Vampire Academy...
To All the Boys I've Loved Before 12/08
A Ya that I added to me TBR this year.
The Truth About Alice 22/08
I judged this book by the cover & glad I got it out. Good book.
Sharlene wrote: "All the books I need/want to read at the moment are all part of some other challenge so if I read anything "extra", then I will add it here."I'm the same at the moment!
Lesley's Comfort Reading ChallengeDuration: Winter (and maybe Spring) 2014 - or as Darkpool says June-ish - August-ish ☺
Here it is 11 days into winter and I haven't set up my post for this challenge! I'm going to use this challenge to get all the books read over my recent previous challenges that I really want to read and haven't. Plus I'm hoping to read some of those from yester-year that I know I've read but so long ago it's all a bit vague.
Catching up with what I have been reading in these winter months that haven't been group/challenge reads.
Beat Until Stiff (audio version) 14/06/2014
New to me author. Mystery/crime genre which was quite good to listen to travelling to and from work. 3 stars.
Heart of a Killer (audio) 16/06/2014
Another mystery/crime one by David Rosenfelt. I like his books. 3 stars.
Roux Morgue (another audio) 19/06/2014
Another mystery/crime by the same author as the first title listed here. While I liked the first book I'm not so keen on her second one. She seems to have succumbed to including fing and blinding just for the sake of it. Pity. 2 stars.
Mr. Churchill's Secretary 2/07/2014
Saw this ebook become available in the library. I had put this on my wishlist a wee while ago because it looked like a good read. It was. 3 stars.
The Invention of Wings 25/07/2014
At last it was my turn to have this book from the library. I had it on reserve for months! I wasn't disappointed. 4 stars.
Fin & Lady: A Novel (audio) 27/07/2014
I had seen this book talked about by several people so when I saw it was available through the library I snapped it up. A well done coming of age story with a twist or two for difference. 4 stars.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 04/08/2014
My hairdresser insisted I read the book telling me it was much better than the movie. She is right. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And she's lent me the next two as well! 4 stars. (and she's good at doing hair too - bonus stars for her)
The Night Searchers (audio) 12/08/2014
Another of the Sharon McCone mysteries by Marcia Muller. Easy to listen to while driving and I enjoy them. 3 stars.
Love in the Time of Cholera 16/08/2014
I didn't much like a couple of the characters yet, even so, and the fact the book was a bit of a slog, I found myself not only enjoying the writing and storytelling, but also the story itself, but didn't find it amazing. 3 stars.
Bury Your Dead (audio) 24/08/2014
I enjoyed listening to this book, but I'm not sure if I would have the same enjoyment reading it. I think being set in Canada with French & English would make it less readable for me - a bit like movies with captions, but because it was spoken the translations of French phrases were just naturally interwoven. 3 stars.
What She Left Behind 24/08/2014
I've been waiting for this book from the library for ages. It was worth the wait. Once I picked it up and started reading I couldn't stop. Added to my favourites for 2014 shelf! 5 stars.
I've got two library books to read and then I'm dedicating myself to this challenge. Reports are almost finished and school holidays are only three weeks away, so it's time to start thinking of the books I'm going to enjoy this winter...
Angie wrote: "...and school holidays are only three weeks away..."Amen, Sister!!
Sharlene wrote: "All the books I need/want to read at the moment are all part of some other challenge so if I read anything "extra", then I will add it here."I've been thinking about this, and I've decided that if the book is a group read or part of a challenge but I'm really keen to read it, I'm going to allow it. When I thought back to the reason I set this challenge, it was to give people the excuse to read what they really wanted to read. No rules, unless you personally want to set some rules. Enjoy!
Thanks for the clarification, Angie :-) We Goodreaders do get a bit obsessed with rules and restrictions in some challenges! One thing I love about this group is how laid back we are about stuff like that.
Mod
Woohoo!! School holidays are here, and I'm hoping to up my pace on this one just a bit!
Darkpool (protesting GR censorship) wrote: "Woohoo!! School holidays are here, and I'm hoping to up my pace on this one just a bit!"Love, love, love school holidays!
Winter reads need to be comfort reads for me. And I missed the library this week. Durn!Reduced to my old favourites on my bookshelves. Back to Kerry Greenwood.
Exciting to scroll through the challenge posts here and seeing which have been updated.
Woohoo! I'm up to 9 books finished.... however, I can't see me finishing either of "here be dragons" or "pursuit of love" by the end of Sunday so I may fail even this challenge. Actually, I'm driving to the 'tron to visit my parents on Sunday, so that may knock a hole in PoL after all. Hmm... might just make it!
Well, I got 12 books that weren't parts of challenges or group reads (past or present) read for this challenge and as a result I've completed my Goodreads challenge!! As well I managed to read a couple that were group reads and half of the book I chose for our August challenge.
(I think I need to do some housework/gardening but shhh don't tell anyone).
And I'm done! feels like the first time I've ever actually completed one of these things in the allowed time.
It looks like my inability to count remains alive and well! That will be eleven books that I completed for this challenge -duh.
Thanks Darkpool. You did pretty good yourself! :)
Book Loving Kiwis
Books mentioned in this topic
The Pursuit of Love (other topics)Bury Your Dead (other topics)
Blood Promise (other topics)
Vampire Academy (other topics)
To All the Boys I've Loved Before (other topics)
More...
The BLK Winter Reading Challenge is affectionately called The Comfort Reading Challenge.
Your challenge is to read 10 books that you just want to read! There are no set categories and no rules. A good excuse to get to some of those books that are calling to you, "Read me!"
I know that there are a few I've been putting off due to group reads and challenges, so I'm looking forward to having an excuse to read them during June, July and August.
Enjoy! I'm going to list my books as I go and just go with the flow.