Jen First Ever "don't hold me to this" plan

[Jen]

This is the first time I have ever participated in any form of reading challenge, as well as the first time trying to document my reading habits in spreadsheet form, so this should be interesting.

My plan, very loose definition of the word in this case, is to:
(a) fit as many of the books I would usually read into this challenge (somehow)
(b) motivate myself to read outside of my comfort zone, and especially explore both classical works of fiction, but also female authors (inspiration coming from the Read Women Challenge group)

I will also be defaulting to audiobook for some of these (is that cheating?) particularly for the whopper.

Already Read:
An artificial night (Seanan McGuire, October Daye #3) probably for 12. A book based on a myth, though potentially for 21 or 22.

Reading/Listening

28. A non-fiction: At Home by Bill Bryson (Audiobook)

Chosen
3. A book you meant to read in 2016: A darker shade of magic (I've heard rave reviews for this one so it's high up on my tbr list)
18. A really long book (600+ pages): David Copperfield (Audiobook voiced by Richard Armitage, already have chills of anticipation ;) )
43. A book with a chilling atmosphere (scary, unsettling, cold): And then there were none by Agatha Christie

To Choose
1. A book from the Goodreads Choice Awards 2016 (link)
2. A book with at least 2 perspectives (multiple points of view)
4. A title that doesn't contain the letter "E"
5. A historical fiction
6. A book being released as a movie in 2017
7. A book with an animal on the cover or in the title
8. A book written by a person of color
9. A book in the middle of your To Be Read list
10. A dual-timeline novel
11. A category from another challenge
12. A book based on a myth
13. A book recommended by one of your favorite authors
14. A book with a strong female character
15. A book written or set in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland)
16. A mystery
17. A book with illustrations
19. A New York Times best-seller
20. A book that you've owned for a while but haven't gotten around to reading
21. A book that is a continuation of a book you've already read
22. A book by an author you haven't read before
23. A book from the BBC "The Big Read" list (link)
24. A book written by at least two authors
25. A book about a famous historical figure
26. An adventure book
27. A book by one of your favorite authors
29. A book published outside the 4 major publishing houses (Simon & Schuster; HarperCollins; Penguin Random House; Hachette Livre) - check all the editions
30. A book from Goodreads Top 100 YA Books (link)
31. A book from a sub-genre of your favorite genre
32. A book with a long title (5+ words, excluding subtitle)
33. A magical realism novel
34. A book set in or by an author from the Southern Hemisphere
35. A book where one of the main characters is royalty
36. A Hugo Award winner or nominee (link)
37. A book you choose randomly
38. A novel inspired by a work of classic literature
39. An epistolary fiction
40. A book published in 2017
41. A book with an unreliable narrator
42. A best book of the 21st century (so far)
44. A recommendation from "What Should I Read Next" (link)
45. A book with a one-word title
46. A time travel novel
47. A past suggestion that didn't win (link)
48. A banned book
49. A book from someone else's bookshelf
50. A Penguin Modern Classic - any edition
51. A collection (e.g. essays, short stories, poetry, plays)
52. A book set in a fictional location

Ok, wish me luck :)

[Sophie]

No, audiobooks are absolutely not cheating, otherwise I don't know if I would have been able to finish last year haha

Omg I didn't know Richard Armitage narrated audiobooks, I need to check those out!!!

Edit: he actually narrated quite a few, but sadly none of them interest me :( I love his voice though!

[Jen]

Yeah, audiobooks are amazing - particularly on a long commute.

Agreed, Richard Armitage's voice is pretty amazing!

It's the main reason I'm choosing to listen to David Copperfield, that and a fantastic Librivox version of Little Dorrit, that has convinced me a bit more of Charles Dickens.

The Voice has also conned me into listening to the adapted Hamlet novel, though that was also voted audible book of the year last year... IDK, will update once I've figured out whether it lives up to all the hype :).

Do you have any audiobook recommendations from your forays last year?

[Sophie]

I've noted down some recommendations, along with other member in the dedicated Audiobook club topic!

Sadly, after listening to Great Expectations and to A Christmas Carol (narrated by Neil Gaiman, who is one of my favorite) and not really liking them both, I don't think Dickens is for me :(

I caved and added Hamlet, Prince of Denmark to my TB,R, thank you for the recommendation! I read a few of Shakespeare's play at school and didn't really like them, but I would like to know the story of the most famous ones, so it's a great opportunity to listen to a novel version.