2025 Reading Challenge discussion
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Dorottya's 2017 book challenge for (at least) 75 books
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Love the idea of a TBR jar :) Best of luck with your challenge and hope you have a great reading year! Happy new Year!
Thank you for the kind words! Happy New Year to you, too!*****************************************************
Book nr. 2 finished:
(amazing biography/interview/discussion book about one of the most legendary living actors in Hungary edited by a really talented journalist - I think Iam going to do the same for each Hungarian book in case any non-Hungarian sees this)
Since my last post, I managed to read 2 more books:
- this book... I can't even find the words. The perfect heart-warming, yet not cheesy, deep book about weirdos who have a hard time fitting in society.Probably one of the best books I have ever read.
- I got around to this, too. I have mixed feelings. Liked parts of the writing, liked the '50s social aspects, but I could not get invested in the love story for multiple reasons and I was not a fan of the ending.
5th book of the year:
4-star read. I think it is a good ending to a great first book. It was a bit too action-packed for my taste... but the 1-star minus comes from something I feel is a storytelling mistake of the author that is not credible and make a few pages of the book completely unnecessary (if you are interested, what exactly I am "angry" about, it is written in my review for the novel).
6th book of the year:4.5 star read, book obtained via Goodreads giveaway:
I'd recommend this one the most for those people who would be interested in a fast-paced, slightly political (not current world politics way, though) noir crime thriller story with a steampunk-ish, but rather ambiguous setting. World-building is excellent, pace is perfect.
Let's continue with the books I have read so far since last time I posted here: book nr. 7:
5-star read, recommended for those who do not have an aversion to read surreal scenes as long as they can find some meaning for everyday life behind them. (but it could also be I was a bit biased because of an AMAZING theatre version I saw)
book nr. 8:
It was a pretty fast read, some tell-all book about everyone's favourite Lady Di. It did deliver what it intended to deliver, but I found some of the reporter's deduction skills quite... unprofessional?... plus a lot of word-on-word quote unnecessary (more in my review)
book nr. 9:
To be honest, if I read it a few years ago, I would give it a 5-star rating, because I love thrillers, but now, as I have read more, I have read a lot that were better. My biggest issue was probably this "main character acting stupid as a cheap plot device, and in a not always realistic way" trope, but I also had problems with her characterisation (especially her as a parent).
Also, I can proudly declare that with the last book, I already absolved the 2nd TBR jar challenge for the year. Because I pulled out the challenge "read a psychological thriller" :).
book nr. 10:
A really moving account and collection of writings/musings of a man who lost his wife and mother to his toddler son in the "Bataclan attack"... it was really genuine and real. From the title, though, I expected more insight on the social outcome of the happenings.
book nr. 11:
Would have been an absolute stellar romance book if it was not for the token sexcrazed uncredibly immature sidekick best friend trope :(. But the romance part I was LIVING FOR. Such great, well-roundedm comple characters and such a moving, gripping story!
After a long hiatus, here I am, back. At least I was better with my reading than my updating here!So.
Book nr. 12-13.
I am going to deal with these two books together. These are your run-of-the-mill new adult romance books with immature characters who whine and take turns in "I love you, I hate you" with a few cheap plot tools. 1,5 stars each.
Book nr. 14.
A 5-star read for me. I loved this. Moving and touching, but not cheesy. Also pretty informative and realistic.
Book nr. 15.
4 stars. I started reading it in university years, and I loved it back then... but now, I saw some flaws, mostly infodump that could have been dealt with more "elegantly".
Book nr. 16.
This is kind of my weakness genre... historical women's fiction... it was a lovely read. A light mystery, lots of athmospheric writing and a swish of femininity! 5 stars
Book nr. 17.
4 stars. LOVED how the author wrote about the main character's dilemmas in her love love. EXCELLENT. But some of the side plot lines and characters could have used a bit more elaboration.
Book nr. 18.
Oh sweet nostalgia... Busytown is the best ever. So cute stories! 5 stars
Book nr. 19.
It was a sweet enough book, but I wasn't as wooed by it as a lot of others. I did not care at all for the Simon and Baz parts, especially because the writing was not as good as in the Cath parts... the romance with Cath was cute, though. 3.5 stars
Book nr, 20.
4 star book. It was nice and athmospheric, it had a really unique vibe. I would have needed a bit more ooomph from it, though.
Book nr. 21.
Amazing concepts (especially regarding Penny and Cal's relationship in the past and moral dilemmas), crappy execution... cliché characters, cheesy lines, unrealistic stuff. 2.5 stars
Book nr. 22.
3 stars. Kind of disappointing ending to a guilty pleasure, cheesy manorhouse trilogy. I still liked the overall vibe, but it was too soap opera-y and rushed.
Book nr. 23.
4 star book. Really cool concept, amazing wordbuilding. I could have done without the I'm not the other girls trope and cliché characters.
Book nr. 24.
4 stars. I am trying not to let the fact there is a ghostwriter involved skew my opinion. There were a few annoyingly unrealistic things about the story, but otherwise, it was dreamy and cute fluff.
Book nr. 25.
4 stars. This is my type of biography: simple and focusing mostly on the interesting parts, also shows the ups and downs of a life really well. There were a few boring parts, though (mostly Welsh / English songs - too much of them for my liking).
Book nr. 26.
4.5 stars... bit hard to get into because of really eloquent, high-brow language, but boy, it is worth reading through! So moving and just pure food for thought.
Book nr. 27-28.
1.5 and 1 star(s) respectively.
It seems like Bella Andre is not my author... I don't mind erotic scenes in literature, as long as the romance element is strong... but here... not really. Wrong notions to teach (territorial jerk seen as caring etc.), cliché plotlines, cheesy dialogues, unrealistic settings and deeds...
Book nr. 29.
1.75
Great main concept, HORRIBLE execution. Whiny, annoying main character, unrealistic behaviour from characters, wrong teachings to kids about when you are a good friend / how to act when your best friend does something that you can vomit from (that's how far it is from your set of values), miscommunication just for the sake of moving the story on, unrealistic depiction of people working in schools...
TBR challenges done:
March - banned book: Brave New World
April - read a book in English: Her Ladyship's Maid
so I'm back... better late than never...
5-star. Stellar story which portrays a lot more than it's plot (the aftermath of a ship sinking): feminism in the 1930s, different views on it, reliability of the narrator... and the main heroine for once is not perfect and not dumb!
4. Quite good fictional account of the history of Hungarian puppet theatre. For my taste, it focused too much on the progressive movements and not enough on the traditional children's plays to be a 100% true account.
5,
The non-fiction book I read because of this year's Eurovision entrant Francesco Gabbani. It is a really interesting read, study on how humans might have formed out of apes and humans' characteristics. Perfect writing for non-science-minded people like me, because it is really easy to read!
2
I liked the main dilemma in the book and the main concept, but hated the execution. Really unrealistic scenes, over-the-top characters and a main character who is way to immature to realistically be as old as she is.
4
Written by the same guy who wrote the book about András Kern, in one of my first posts. Now it is about a really famous quiz TV presenter and official skeptic... I liked this one a lot, but I was missing something from it.
4
It is an article collection by a famous Hungarian journalist, It was fun rom the most part but I did not get the structure and how some articles made it to the book (I found them cheaper in quality).
5
It is a stellar novel. Psychological thriller at its best... the psychological part was spot on, really complex and realistic. It is really gory and creepy, though, not for the faint hearted.
5
It is a dictionary / study on old Hungarian family names, and how these names got their ending letters/sounds. As a budding writer wanting to write stories set a few centuries ago, it was quite useful for me.
4
It's not you, it's me. Stellar book. Was just too much politics in it or me. But, on the other hand, I loved the ending revelation and also the inner lamentations, monologues of the main character.
TBR challenges:
May: the title book I am reading should contain a word that the title of the book closest to me contains. It was the word "magyar" and "Mai magyar bábszínház" was the one I chose for it. (magyar means Hungarian)
June: book released originally in the year I was born. This time I read The Remains of the Day, which was released in 1989.
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Can You Keep a Secret? (other topics)A mai magyar bábszínház (other topics)
The Remains of the Day (other topics)
The Naked Ape (other topics)
The Lifeboat (other topics)
More...
Since I started reading
I have my own reading challenge this year, too, with a TBR jar, which has a bunch of little challenges (some more easy, some posing more of a challenge) written on pieces of paper. Out of those, I pull one every month and I have to read a book that fits the description on the paper in the given month. They include stuff like:
- a book that I was supposed to read in high school or university but I did not
- an author who has the same initials as me
- a novel about theatre (I love theatre :D)
- a classic
- a Man Booker-prize winner
- a romance story
-a book with purple cover
- continuing a series
- a new to me author
etc.
I pulled the first one for the year, that is: a book with a female name in the title.I was secretly a bit glad I got an easier one for the first one to start out as an instant sense of success. It seems like I am going to read
I hope I can keep up, not fail my TBR jar challenge and manage tio read at least 75 books this year.