2017 Get Into the New Year Challenge

[Kaitlyn]

I "finished" my poetry book, New Selected Poems
So I didn't actually finish this. I got quite far into it but found myself losing more and more interest as I read. It's no doubt that Les Murray has a way with words, he is a great writer. The poems just aren't to my liking. I know many would love this selection of poems but the never ending farm scenery and many references to religion and God. Again, this is selective, I myself am not a religious person so I don't relate to these poems. I also live in a more urban setting, instead of Les Murray, who grew up in a more rural setting. There's no denying his poetry can be beautiful, it just has to be read by the right person. And I am not that person.

[Hailey]

I'm in! Even if I'm a little late...

Read a book that became a movie - Hidden Figures

Read a book with one word title - Champion by Lu Marie (Currently Reading)

Read a book about a culture your not familiar with - Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (I finished this book so this may be cheating but shhh)

[Paula]

I'm in!

For this month I chose:

- Read a book with a one word title.

I read Chinatown by The Sun Bros. I need to re-read it now, because...there's a lot happening in this graphic novel and I need to read it more slowly and digest all the things I just encountered. ^_^

[Hanna]

I shall be doing;

-Read a book with more than 500 pages

And

- Read a female author

Happy Reading!!!

[Travis]

So I'm switching my books a little bit! I really want to read Black Prism by Brent Weeks so I'm gonna do that for my book with 500+ pages and omit the other 2 books I was going to read since this book might take me a minute!

[Cassidy]

I'm in! I'm going to challenge myself to read a biography - I haven't read many for pleasure (in second grade I read one about Walt Disney, but that's about it), so this will help broaden my tastes!

[Simona]

So I completed my first topic:
•Read a book with more than 500 pages: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
★★★★★ I loved it! It's my favourite installment of the Throne of Glass series and I can't wait to read the last book. /.\

Also I'm changing one of my topics, turns out the book I chose is the second in a series I haven't read yet :( So the new topic and book are:
•Read a book with non human characters: The Unearthly by Laura Thalassa

[Lucy]

I finished reading American Psycho. I honestly can't recommend this to anyone I know. There was stomach-chrurning violence and sexual assault only broken up by page after page of monotonous, useless descriptions of music albums, clothing, and food. This was the first book I read that made me physically ill to read. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. The author, Bret Easton Ellis, is a very talented writer. His work is just so horrifically detailed and well written.

[Shelby]

Hey everyone!

I'm adding two more books to my January challenge. I'm in school now and these are required reading for my classes so I figure to let them tag along on this challenge. I don't think I'll be able to finished the book I'm currently reading by the month's end though... it's not as interesting as I thought and I'm already up to my eyeballs in school and work (20 credit hours on top of work)... here are my two picks:

Read a book that you previously abandoned: Night by Elie Wiesel (Not that precious but I think it'll still count)

Read a book that was made into a movie: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (2005 movie ftw!)

Happy reading!

[Gianna]

Gianna wrote: "i'm in!!
challenges:
1. read a book published in 2016 >> Away We Go by Emil Ostrovski
2. read a book by a female author >> Of Fire & Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

i'm very excited!"

update: 1/12/17
I finished Away We Go last weekend; here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
i gave it ★★★1/2 !

[AnnaRosieReads]

I know I'm a bit late, but I've chosen
Read a book from a author you love that you haven't read yet: American Gods by Neil Gaiman AND
A book by a female author: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

[Chrissy]

I finished Wayfarer (after rereading Passenger) and I loved it. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.
This has become one of my favorite duologies. I really liked the time travelling aspect and I loved the characters. While I would have liked it if two certain characters had reunited a bit earlier in the book, I enjoyed how the second book also focused a lot on friendships in addition to romance. The new characters we got to meet in the second book were also a lot of fun. I know this will be one of those series that I am going to reread again and again. Definitely recommend it.
(If you liked A Thousand Pieces of You I think you would really enjoy this series, and vice versa.)

[[deleted user]]

I'm In!

Book of Poetry: "I Wrote This For You" by pleasefindthis, Iain S. Thomas, Jon Ellis

A Classic: "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

Friend Recommendation: "Forbidden" by Tabitha Suzuma

[Simona]

Second topic of the challenge completed!
•Read a book with non human characters: The Unearthly by Laura Thalassa
★★★☆☆ I enjoyed the book for the most part, but it wasn't anything special. Well at least the book only featured about 2 or 3 humans (and even that was questionable). There were some things that bugged me. Usually when a vampire falls in love with a human the vampire at least looks around the same age but now this 700 year old vampire that looked to be in his late 20s was lusting after a 16 year old. It just made me a bit uncomfortable. And some of the theories the author was trying to plant just made no sense. I don't think I'm invested enough to read the next book in the series.


Previously completed:
•Read a book with more than 500 pages: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas ★★★★★


The next topic in my challenge is:
•Read a book with magic: Empire of Storms - Sarah J. Maas

[Carrie]

Hi! I'm Carrie, still new to the group. I just recently finished two books which both fell under the following categories:
•Read a book by a female author
•Read a book with magic
A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir
and Daughter of Dusk by Livia Blackburne was also
•Read a book published in 2016
They were both sequels to other books I had read, and very strong sequels. I gave them both 4/5 stars. I would recommend them both to people who enjoy high fantasy, especially if they are bored with monarchies.
The other books I plan to read this month also fall into categories on the list, but I will wait until I actually finish them before I post about them.

[Leigh]

In! Read a book published in 2016, im currently reading Magnus Chase, the Hammer of Thor by Rick Rioridan and a biography, im planning on reading Yes Please by Amy Poehler

[Tessa]

I recently finished The Female of the Species and gave it 5 stars.
It was honest, brutal and absolutely wonderful. There are a lot of books who deal with difficult themes that are devastating to read (at least to me), but this book managed to be fun and lovely whilst addressing the kind of stuff we like to pretend doesn't actually happen.
I can't recommend this book enough, it's beautifully written, the characters are soo amazing and I really feel like I learned something.

[Victor]

Kaitlyn (thebookisdead) wrote: "Victor wrote: "Kaitlyn (thebookisdead) wrote: "So I'm switching my book over 500 pages to "All The Light We Cannot See" because I just finished it and not sure if I'll get to my other book. I can't..."

If your're interested in another history novel set in WW2, I recommend Mischling. It focuses on twins that are sent to Auschwitz and follows their story while there. It's inspired by true events.

[Casey]

I have finished my first book of 2017 and a book over 500 pages. I completed the Black Prism by Brent Weeks. I gave it a 5 out of 5 stars. I loved this book! The characters are amazing and the world is interesting. I love the idea of using the light spectrum to make magic. But, with the caveat that using too much can kill you or make you insane. The plot twists were unexpected and it was just an all around great start to a series. I have found another favorite author/series!

[Casey]

Travis wrote: "So I'm switching my books a little bit! I really want to read Black Prism by Brent Weeks so I'm gonna do that for my book with 500+ pages and omit the other 2 books I was going to read since this b..."

Travis you have to read the Black Prism! sooooo good!

[Victor]

I finished reading Memory Wall, by Anthony Doerr. I give the book 3 out of 5 stars. I really wanted to like the book, especially because I enjoyed one of his previous books so much. The thing is, I'm not much of a short story person but I still gave this a chance. Short stories just don't give me enough time to connect to the characters. That being said, the book was well written and I did enjoy one story in particular (it was titled The River Numunas).

I would recommend the book if you like short stories or just want some light reading. I probably won't be picking up another short story book anytime soon.

I'm also adding a new book to my list for this month.
•Read a book published in 2016
I picked News of the World

[Kaitlyn]

So I'm DNFing my book for one word, "Flawed" by Cecelia Ahren. I'm surprised how much I disliked what I read of this book. Especially so because Cecelia Ahren is the author of "P.S. I Love You" and "Love, Rosie" both books that became movies. This is her debut YA novel and it's a dystopian, so very different from her precious books. My problem is the dystopian part. I just can't believe that a corrupt government, like ours, would ever try to make a perfect government by marking people as "Flawed" for lying, deceiving, cheating, or being unloyal to their government. Also, these people aren't locked up, just forced to have a giant "F" marked on their skin. But, if a normal person shows sympathy towards a "flawed" they can be thrown in jail? How does this make any sense. That the flawed person isn't punished (in a way) but the non-flawed person can be locked up? Along with the unbelievable society, the main character, who is also our narrator, is incredible daft. She believes she perfect and that the system is right and not until her neighbor is taken away to be put on trial as a flawed does she start to see the system for what it is, wrong. I just can't will myself to finish this book. Ready Player One is my favorite dystopian novel and any other book that tries at the dystopian plot better do a damn good job; because I'm judging.

[Aly]

-read a book that became a movie (the book thief)
-read a non fiction book (vita di galileo)

[Abby]

Kaitlyn I read flawed and I don't think you're missing much. standard dystopian YA.

[Kaitlyn]

Thanks Abby! I feel better about not finishing it.

[Elisabeth]

I finished the two books I planned to read for this:

• Read a book that you know nothing about: AuserLesen - This was a collection of stories by Austrian writers who won a certain grant for writing. Most of the stories or collections of poems in this were really not my thing and some were even kind of alienating, which is why I only gave this 2/5 stars.

• Read a mystery or thriller: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie - I liked the stories featured in this, but it wasn't overly exciting so I rated it 3/5 stars.

I also finished two additional books:
•Read a book with non human characters: The Wind in the Willows - A nice little story about some woodland creatures. I enjoyed the story and the writing, so I gave it 3/5 stars.

•Read a book by a female author: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo - The ending wasn't really my thing, but I still really liked the conclusion to the Grisha trilogy. Especially all of the parts that featured Nikolai and the humor that comes with them. I gave this book 4/5 stars.

[Gianna]

Gianna wrote: "Gianna wrote: "i'm in!!
challenges:
1. read a book published in 2016 >> Away We Go by Emil Ostrovski
2. read a book by a female author >> Of Fire & Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

i'm very excited!"

u..."

update 1/14/17
I'm changing my book for the second challenge I picked to The Melody of You and Me by M. Hollis, because I might not finish Of Fire & Stars by the end of January. Here's my review for The Melody of You & Me: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... :)

[Lily]

Just finished reading Life of Pi less than two hours ago.
Man.
Man, this is a great book.

Here's what I think: you either love it or hate it. This is not an action-packed book, even though the plot is about a boy who's stuck on a boat with a tiger for 277 days. This is a story about time and growth and life. The time it takes to learn to die, or rather how you never really do, how you never really stop being afraid, and how when you do, for short periods of time, it comes unexpected and makes you look like an insane person.

I loved Pi. He's so bright and true. I loved Richard Parker, the tiger. I loved how even though some things seemed quite impossible indeed, they were told in such a way that it became irrelevant whether they were actually real or not. I thought I would dislike the pace, the lack of action, of dialogue, I thought maybe I would get bored. I didn't. The way Yann Martel crafts his descriptions is incredible.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.

[Tessa]

I just finished Brutal Youth which I had chosen as a book that intimidates me and because of the cover.
It was a surprisingly nice read. I was really worried about the "brutal" part of the book, mostly about the extreme bullying, and it was in many cases even worse than I had expected- but there is so much else going on and the view switches between so many different characters, it was actually not that devastating to read. Also the writing is amazing.
4/5 Stars

[Amanda]

Welp, I finished all the books I chose for this month's challenge.

Wrapped up Chronicles, Vol. 1 by Bob Dylan. It was very interesting. I preferred the first and last sections about his early life in NYC before he recorded Freewheelin'. The middle sections were interesting as well. But harder to get into as it was a bunch of philosophizing and rambles about the struggles of recording a record. But he has such a way with words! I would have loved it no matter the subject matter probably.

4/5 stars

[Evelina]

Just finished Crystal Storm and gave it 4/5 stars.
This book was really good, it wasn't as good as the last one because not a lot happened in it but it still was amazing and My baby Magnus...the best
And the bloody end....OMG!...broke me

[Amanda]

*GIZMO* .Jay. wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Welp, I finished all the books I chose for this month's challenge.

Wrapped up Chronicles, Vol. 1 by Bob Dylan. It was very interesting. I preferred the first and last ..."

You should def pick if up!!! You get a tiny glimpse into the mystique of Dylan and his songwriting process. If you haven't read Suze Rotolo's book, that's a must read imo as well. A Freewheelin' Time: Greenwich Village in the Sixties, Bob Dylan and Me to get more a feeling of the vibe of living in NYC in the 60s.

[Amanda]

Since I finished all the categories/books I selected for this month's challenge I decided to use the remaining categories to select books from my giant stack of tbr 's I own.

Comic book: Angel Catbird, Vol. 1

I categorized this under comic book instead of graphic novel because it's about superheroes and only 60ish pages.

Overall I was underwhelmed. The plot was not nearly as sophisticated as what I would expect from Margaret Atwood. The illustrations, however were marvelous. The last several pages are full of fan art and the process of creating the characters, which was also really cool to see. I wish the plot had been more than the basic good vs evil, cats vs rat set up. But I still raced through it and finished it, so there must have been some enjoyment in it. Hah.

Rating: 3/5 stars

[Bekka]

I'm in! I just joined this club todat so I'll stick with what I know I can get my hands on in the next few days :)

•Read a book that became a movie
After You by Jojo Moyes

•Read a play
I'm currently reading Macbeth- Shakespeare
Midsummer Night's Dream-Shakespeare
Then Antigone- Sophocles
And then Death Knocks- Woody Allan

•Read a classic- The Pearl- John Steinbeck (I just finished Frankenstein in December otherwise I'd be tackling that one now)

I also plan to hit Heart of Darkness-Joseph Conrad, but I don't know what section that would be under. Read a book that you know nothing about?

[Victor]

I just finished News of the World and give it 4 out of 5 stars. It's a pretty short book (a little over 200 pages) and, admittedly, I was pretty bored with the first 1/4 of the book. However, the characters grew on me and, as the story picked up, I wanted to keep reading to how they ended up.

The book is set in Texas, just after the civil war, and the author does a good job setting the atmosphere in regards to the political differences that took place in that time, as well as cultural differences in Texas, between Native Americans, Mexicans, and the White Americans. I like reading fiction books that can also act as a quick history lesson.

I'm also adding another book to the challenge:

•Read a book that you know nothing about - I picked Geek Love. I don't remember why I bought this book, but it has been sitting in my tbr for awhile.

I originally planned to read It, by Stephen King, but I just haven't been able to psych myself into reading it since I put it down the first time.

[Amanda]

I'm going to:

- Read a book that became a movie
And
- Read a book by a female author

[kelsie]

I don't have internet, so I'm a little behind on posting here, but I finished my nonfiction pick (Body Counts by Sean Strub). It was a memoir about politics during the aids crisis, written by a gay man who was entrenched in party politics and lgbt activism. I gave the book 4.5 Stars mainly because I was very emotionally involved, I think. I don't have much nonfiction background to compare it with, but I was engrossed and moved. I would definitely suggest people read this.

[Abby]

I'm in!
To start, I'll read a Classic: 1984 by George Orwell.

[Nat]

I just finished my last book for the challenge, Wishing on a Star. It's the first in the Cheetah Girls series (for a book that became a movie). I liked the book. It wasn't great, but it gives the rest of the series some potential for character development, drama, and new B plots. It wasn't anything amazing, but it was enjoyable once I got past the slang.

[Brenda]

I'm in!
•Read a book with one word title -Eligible- I gave it four stars. It is Pride and Prejudice with a modern twist

Read a book with non human characters -The Case of the Colonist's Corpse (Klingons!)- It is Perry Mason in SPACE. I gave it four stars. I would have bought more of this series.

•Read a manga- Pride and Prejudice Classics. It's Pride and Prejudice in Manga form. It was very good. I liked it enough to buy the Sense and Sensibility manga.

[Aerial]

I'm in!

I'm going to be reading:

A book with non-human characters: Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast --edit: finished 1/29/2017.

The Girl On The Train for a book that became a movie. --edit: finished 1/25/2017.

[ColeOrion]

Read a book with 500+ pages
I picked Illuminae and I finished it. Amazing book.
Read a book by a female author
Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi. Once again I finished it

[Dana]

I just finished the first book in my new year challenge. Pathetically slow, I know. I'm hoping to tear through the second one. Okay, I finished "Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits" by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson.

This was for the Short Stories category. I've never really read a compilation of short stories before, so this was a really interesting new experience for me. The biggest difference I noticed between reading this and just about every other book I've read was that you had to switch gears pretty quickly. Pretty much as soon as you get involved with the current set of characters, the story is beginning to wrap up. That was okay, though, because it was like getting a snippet-look at a different world each time.
My absolute favorite story in the entire book was "The Water Horse" by Robin McKinley. If you liked "Uprooted" by Naomi Novik, allow me to unabashedly pull you towards McKinley's "The Water Horse" and place it in your hands. It's beautiful and sweet, and there's a strong thread of self-empowerment and community running through it. I really enjoyed the entire book, though. Each story is really different, and they're all incredibly well done. Now go read "The Water Horse". :-)

[Casey]

I just finished my choice for a book by a female author. I read The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemsin. I ended up giving this book a 3 out of 5 stars. I found this book to be fairly confusing for the first few hundred pages. The world was interesting and the writing lovely. I just could not get passed the lack of explanation or some of the stylistic choices. I did like the main character and like I stated earlier the world is incredibly interesting. Maybe the next book in the series will be more informative and less confusing.

[Elisa]

Read a comic book:
I've read Patsy Walker AKA Hellcat. I really like this series so far, it's a lighthearted and sometimes silly superhero comic. If you like The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, you'll probably like this as well. 5/5

[Elisa]

Read a book by an author you love:

Lamb by Christopher Moore is about Jesus's childhood but told by his best friend Biff. I'm so glad I enjoyed this book because I'm probably going to hell for reading it. 5/5

[kx]

Starlight wrote: "I'm in!

Read a book with magic
- The Crown's Game

Read a book by a female author
- Red Queen"

The Crown's Game
This book was great! The magic used in this book is really different from normal magic, especially on Nikolai’s front. But something I did notice is how this is very insta-lovey. Nikolai and Pasha both become super infatuated with Vika upon seeing her. The incorporation of Imperial Russia into the mix just made this even more enjoyable to read from. The pacing of this book was alright, it kept me reading till the very end. 5/5

Red Queen
Red Queen was entertaining enough to read from, the idea of Mare having to hide her blood status was really interesting all whilst she learns how to use her power and how to undermine the Silvers from within the palace. Something that bugged me was the romance, at times it felt like Mare would just want to be with any guy, near her age, that she talks to. It’s similarities to other Young Adult Dystopian Novels is something that is hard to ignore - such as the Hunger Games. Mare’s closeness with Killorn really resembled Katniss’s relation to Gale. Mare is also super poor and is good only at one thing - pickpocketing. Segregation is also another similarity - it’s much like Divergent’s Faction System, Hunger Games’ Districts and Red Rising’s Hierarchy of Colours. 4/5

[Greyson]

I finished my first one to read a comic by finishing the first vol. to Lumberjanes. I really liked this comic even from just the first one I'm already in love with the characters (and shipping them) I was a little curious at first to why the speech patterns were so familiar when I realized it's by the writer of Adventure Time one of my all time favorite shows. Overall I really liked it and really want to read the 2nd vol. to find out what the heck's going on.

[Jane]

(i'm in!) joining in late so sticking with what i have on hand that fits the challenge. going with

- a book from an author you love that you haven't read yet
A Gathering of Shadows by VE Schwab

- a book of poetry
Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately by Alicia Cook

[Casey]

I've finished my third book for this challenge, Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake. I ended up rating it a 3 out of 5 stars.

This book did not live up to the hype for me at all which was disappointing. The world is what saved this book for me. I enjoyed the different magics and the fact that it all takes place on a hidden island off the mainland. Unfortunately, where this book falls flat is in its characters. The three queens all seemed to read the same, and they did not have much depth. The same goes for the side characters. They all felt the same for me. The twists were fairly predictable and some of them felt too forced. It did not feel like a natural progression. I understand the need for dramatic tension but some of it was unnecessary and just a poor vessel to move along the central plot.