The Reading Challenge Group discussion
Personal Challenges - 2014
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Camille's 2014 Reading Challenge [Completed]
Camille, best of luck in your challenge to get through your TBR! I think a lot of us (on the site) are guilty of buying books when we shouldn't. That's why we're a little (a lot!) obsessed!Enjoy your reading, you have some very interesting choices there that I can't wait to hear about.
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I love that you're reading in more than one language, too. I'm trying to reach a point with French where I can read French literature, but thus far I've only managed children's books, heh.
Thank you for your comments :-)@Iasa: I did enjoy The Night Watch. I gave it 4/5. It was my first LGBT read (I would think it qualifies as LGBT as most of the characters are homosexual). I actually never knew about it until I started reading, I picked it up because I love historical fiction.
It is well-written and detailed, and you really get how it felt to live during the war. The drama between the characters did annoy me a little bit sometimes, but overall I would recommend you give it a try.
@Faye: I still read children's books, they're good! But you just have to take little steps. If you ever want some ideas of what you could read in French, I'd love to help you.
Good luck with your challenge Camille, you've got a great selection
Thanks, Kiwi.31.
The Beautiful and DamnedAbsolutely loved it, even if the characters annoyed me greatly in the same way the characters in Wuthering Heights annoy me. You just want to tell them to get on with it! It is beautifully written.
First post updated with my summer challenge.My personal aim for this summer is to read 3 history books to catch up on all my unread history books. It's easier for me to read non-fiction when I'm off as I need more time to process what I read. Being a teacher, I am fortunate enough to have quite a bit of time off during the summer.
34.
The Master of Ballantrae: A Winter's TaleIt was an okay read, but not my favourite. I feel better having read another classic, though!
Camille, I love your choice of books. I enjoy reading most WWII fiction, and my husband will read anything set in Ireland or Scotland, so you have pleased us both today!
I love WWII fiction too. Gladto help ☺
36.
Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the WestThis was a very good, shocking read. Very interesting.
I have finished my reading challenge for the year!
I have just bumped up the number to 50 to see what I can do :-)
38.
HolesI read this book as a child and have always remembered it. It was as awesome rereading as reading it the first time :)
I agree Camille, Holes is such a great book
Camille wrote: "36. [book:Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom..."Congratulations on your great progress, Camille.
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40.
Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of KingsA bit disappointing but interesting nonetheless. It's the first book for my "Read 3 history books challenge".
43.
Z: A Novel of Zelda FitzgeraldA nice little read to get me back on track. It was very interesting.
Hi Camille, I would be interested to know your views on Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, it's also on my tbr and I confess I was looking forward to reading it.
Hi Kiwi. I gave it 3/5. I know my sister loved it and gave it 4 stars, but quite a few things bothered me in the book.Here is a copy of my review:
If you're looking for a nice, cutesy, fast read,you'll enjoy this book.
Although it annoyed me a lot after a while, I still wanted to finish it - I tend to have no patience for books which annoy me. It's probably what I would call a feel-good summer read.
However, a lot of things annoyed me after Camille dies (it does feel strange writing such a sentence with my name in it!!).
- Camille is "crazy". I did like how it was described from the child's point of view. What bothers me though is that her mental illness is never really explained or properly used as an issue to be developed throughout the novel. Most characters are also a bit nuts in their own way, which I think diminishes the importance of Camille's struggles. What was the point of creating a character suffering from mental illness to just drop the subject matter later on?
- CeeCee is not believable as a 12-year-old. The way she behaves and people behave towards her ranges from a 5-year-old to a young adult. Sometimes I had to remind myself she was 12.
- There are way too many coincidences in the book for happy endings for all the story lines. Seriously, no one is that lucky in life.
- Where are the men in the story?? Every male character is a piece of thrash. The only decent guy is dead and has no purpose whatsoever in the story. I find this a bit disturbing.
- The last thing that I found extremely annoying was all the stupid feel-good sermons and quotes about how to get better when you're feeling down. Please, pass me a bucket...
I got this book from the library. I didn't mind borrowing in and reading it, but I would not reread and I would have been disappointed had I bought it. So, if you can get it for free (or have already bought it), I would say maybe go for it and see what you think. It is not a terrible book, it's just that once I noticed all the issues I mentioned, I got more and more annoyed after each page.
Camille wrote: If you're looking for a nice, cutesy, fast read..."Thanks Camille for your honest review
You're welcome.46.
Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern ChinaThis is the second book for my history challenge. I am supposed to have read 3 by Monday, but it won't happen. The way I see it, it's better to have read 2 than 0!
47.
The Day of the TriffidsI am currently reading The Woman in White and struggling through it. So I decided to pick a short, easy read for a bit of a break. It's not usually my type of book, but I loved it! It also complete D for the Alphabet Soup Challenge.
49.
Mémoires sur la vie privée de Marie-Antoinette50.
Strangers Have the Best CandyI am now officially at 50 books so far this year!
Thank you :-)51.
To Kill a MockingbirdI have finally read this novel and it is definitely one of my favourite books ever! I absolutely loved it!
52.
The Wind in the WillowsSuch a lovely little story :)
I watched the Disney adaptation as a child (it's a pretty good one, to be honest) and have always wanted to read the book. I'm glad I did, I loved it.
Camille wrote: "52. The Wind in the WillowsSuch a lovely little story :)
I watched the Disney adaptation as a child (it's a pretty good one, to be honest..."
This year was my first time reading The Wind in the willows too with Peter Pan and they were both pretty good reads and loved the Disney adaptation too.
Oh, I think it's the first time I hear someone tell me they know of the Disney adaptation!! I thought no one in the world but me and my siblings knew it hehe (The Wind in the Willows, that is!). I haven't read Peter Pan yet, but I want to.
Camille wrote: "Oh, I think it's the first time I hear someone tell me they know of the Disney adaptation!! I thought no o e in the worl but me and my siblings new it hehe (The Wind in the Willows, that is!). I ha..."Awesome Camille! Yeah I read Peter Pan this year after I read the dark version of it by Brom called The Child Thief and he told me the uncut original version of Peter Pan inspired him to write the Child Thief and Peter Pan is much darker than the Disney version.
The Child Thief sounds great!Everything is darker than the Disney adaptation. The first time I read The Little Mermaid, which is already pretty grim as an animated film, I was a bit traumatised...
Thanks Camille! Def check it out. The artwork he did in it was great and it was a pretty good book Brom wrote.
Ocean at the end of the lane was pretty good. I read it last year and enjoyed it.
Camille wrote: "49. Mémoires sur la vie privée de Marie-Antoinette50.
[book:Stra..."Good for you, Camille! Woot woot!
Wind in the Willows was a nice film from what I remember as a kid. Sometimes I think it's best not to read after a movie, but I've been making a point to read as many as I can before they come out. Speaking of kids movies, Secret if NIMH is what traumatized me as a kid. Nightmares. *shudder*
Lindsay wrote: "Wind in the Willows was a nice film from what I remember as a kid. Sometimes I think it's best not to read after a movie, but I've been making a point to read as many as I can before they come out...."Secret of NIMH is a pretty good animated film and the book is better.
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Books mentioned in this topic
The Book Thief (other topics)Anne's House of Dreams (other topics)
The Book Thief (other topics)
Anne's House of Dreams (other topics)
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea (other topics)
More...
The idea behind setting myself this challenge as a New Year resolution was that my "To-Be-Read" was ever growing. So I decided I would limit the number of books I buy to no more than 2 or 3 a month, hopefully none. But I can't resist the £1 books from the charity shop :)
So, my goal is to read at least 3 books a month so I can reach 36 by the end of the year. I tried to be as realistic as possible, as work takes up a great deal of time! I find out I can read more than I thought if I really want to, so I will be going over 36. It'll be interesting to see how many books I can actually read in a year.
I speak both French and English, you will find books in both languages.
Anyway, here is what I have read so far!
1.
10.
18.
26.
34.
42.
50.
58.
66.
74.
82.
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Alphabet Soup Challenge
A- An American Bride in Kabul
B- The Bronze Horseman
C- Crossing the Border (short story)
D- The Day of the Triffids
E- Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West
F- The 5th Wave
G- The Great Gatsby
H- Hollow City
I- Inside the Whale
J- Je n'ai pas interrogé les morts
K-
L- The Ladies' Paradise
M- Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
N- Nanny Knows Best: The History of the British Nanny
O- The Ocean at the End of the Lane
P- The Pearl
Q-
R- Ruta's Closet
S- The Summer Garden
T- Tatiana and Alexander
U- The Unknown Unknown: Bookshops and the Delight of Not Getting What You Wanted
V- The Valley of Amazement
W- War and Peace
X-
Y-
Z- Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
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I'd Like To Buy A Vowel Challenge
No As- The Wind in the Willows
No Es- To Kill A Mockingbird
No Is- The Ocean at the End of the Lane
No Os- Après La Rafle
No Us- Franny and Zooey
No Ys- Heat and Dust