Liam's Not-So-bad Shame Challenge

[Liam]

As you can see, I have no problem abandoning series that aren't doing it for me haha ;]. Honestly the most daunting aspect of this list is the "not yet started section", because I realllllllyyyyy would like to finish the series that I'm already in the middle of before I start new ones. The other problem is that I read a lot of non-fantasy books as well, so that sets me back from tackling these series. I'll be updating this as I go! This has been the best reading year I've ever had, so I'm hoping to keep the streak going. Oh also, these books are in absolutely no particular order, I was just scanning by shelves and putting stuff in as I went =].

Completed/Up to Date Series:

- The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis. (7/7). My childhood <3.
- Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling. (7/7).
- The Inheritance Cycle, Christopher Paolini. (4/4).
- Ender’s Saga, Orson Scott Card (4/4). Not fantasy but w/e this is my thread I can do what I want =P ;].
- Storm Light Archive, Brandon Sanderson (2/2). All time, #1, Favorite.
- The Kingkiller Chronicle, Patrick Rothfuss (2/2).
- Mistborn, Brandon Sanderson (6/6).
- Steelheart, Brandon Sanderson (3/3).
- Shades of Magic, V.E. Schwab (3/3). Ew.
- Six of Crows (2/2).
- Red Rising, Pierce Brown (3/3).
- Broken Empire Trilogy, Mark Lawrence (3/3).
- The Powder Mage Trilogy, Brian McClellan (3/3).
- The Giver, Lois Lowry (4/4).
- Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkein. (4/4).
- The Band UTD (1/3)
- Riyria Revelations (6/6)
- The Faithful and the Fallen, John Gwynne (4/4).

Series In Progress:

- The Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan (4/14).
- Malazan Book of the Fallen (1/10). Might pick these up again one day, but I’ll need a lot of time haha.
- The Riyria Chronicles, Michael Sullivan (3/4)
- Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne, Brian Stavely (2/4)
- The Draconis Memoria, Anthony Ryan (1/2)
- Illuminae (2/3)
- Themis Files, Sylvain Neuvel (2/3).

Not Yet Started:

- Dune, Frank Herbert.
- The Broken Earth Series, N.K. Jemisin.
- Hyperion Cantos, Dan Simmons.
- The Belgariad, David Eddings.
- The Legends of the First Empire, Michael Sullivan.
- Moontide Quartet, David Hair.
- The Shado Campaigns, Django Wexler.
- Empires of Dust, Smith Anna Spark.
- Book of the Ancestor, Mark Lawrence.
- The Winnowing Flame, Jen Williams.
- Uprooted, Naomi Novik.
- Gods of Blood and Powder, Brian McClellan.
- Farseer Trilogy, Robin Hobb.
- The Licanius Trilogy, James Islington.
- Codex Alera, Jim Butcher.
- The Warlord Chronicles, Bernard Cornwell.
- Remembrance of Earth's Past, Cixin Liu.
- Inda, Sherwood Smith.
-The Raven Cycle, Maggie Stiefvater.
- Long Price Quartet, Daniel Abraham.

HIGH PRIORITY FOR 2018:
- The Broken Earth Series, N.K. Jemisin.
- The Legends of the First Empire, Michael Sullivan.
- The Draconis Memoria, Anthony Ryan.
- Moontide Quartet, David Hair.
- The Shado Campaigns, Django Wexler.
- Gods of Blood and Powder, Brian McClellan.
- Farseer Trilogy, Robin Hobb.
- The Warlord Chronicles, Bernard Cornwell.
- Inda, Sherwood Smith.
- Long Price Quartet, Daniel Abraham.
- The Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne, Brian Stavely

Abandoned:

1. King Raven Trilogy, Stephen R. Lawhead (2/3).
2. Inkworld Trilogy, Cornelia Funke (1/3).
3. Unwind, Neal Shusterman (1/4).
4. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer (2/8). Liked them well enough, but I outgrew them more or less.
5. Redwall (3/WHO KNOWS). Again, loved these books when I was young, but I outgrew them, and there are way too many of these haha.
6. Lightbringer, Brent Weeks (1/3).
7. Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, Brandon Sanderson (1/5).
8. The Cinder Spires, Jim Butcher (1/2). Might pick these back up, pending the review for Book 2.
9. Chaos Walking, Patrick Ness (0/3).
10. The Magicians, Lev Grossman (1/3).
11. The Archived, V.E. Schwab (1/3).
12. American Gods, Neil Gaiman (0/0).
13. The Vagrant, Peter Newman (1/3).
14. The Red Queen’s War (1/3).
15. The Green Ember, S.D. Smith (1/3). Liked the first book well enough as a standalone, but I'm not interested enough to finish. More of a kids book.
16. The Space Trilogy, CS Lewis [2/3]
17. The Shadow Series, Orson Scott Card [3/5]
18. The Divine Cities, Robert Jackson Bennett (1/3). Nope.
19. The Dresden Files, Jim Butcher (3/15).
20. Greatcoats, Sebastien de Castell (3/4). Unfortunately just did not work for me at all.

[Tammie]

Your list doesn't look too bad. I read a lot of non-fantasy too. I ended up adding those to my list as well so I could keep track of them too. I also don't have a problem abandoning series either. I've got a huge DNF list.

[Angela, I'm Silverfox lost]

Great list Liam. Like Tammie, I read a bit of non fantasy as well. I ended up including them on my list.

[Bill]

Nice list Liam. I don't read much non-fantasy but you should add them to your list. Welcome to the challenge.

[Liam]

Yeah that's a good idea =]. I might revisit it soon, but it took me enough time just to type of what's here haha. Thanks everybody!

[Jenna, I'd be free if not for Temper & Edgewalker]

Great list! You actually don't have too many incomplete series - good luck!

[Liam]

I updated my 5 for 1 Challenge Log, and slipped it at the bottom of my list =].

Currently trying to finish The Giver series (begrudgingly), and I abandoned the Green Ember. I think I needed this because it's just laziness that's kept me from finishing most of these haha, but there's so many new series I want to start. I'd like to knock out as many of the series on my in-progress list as possible before the end of this year, and then next year I can focus on new series.

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

That's where I'm at - there are a bunch of new ones I'm eager to start, but I've been dragging some of these others out for over 10 years. I also have a bad tendency to start new ones I'm only kind of interested in just because they are available. We'll see how the mini challenge goes, haha.

[Liam]

Sammmeee haha. Literally it's been like 8 years of gradual progress trying to finish some of these, and I couldn't even tell you why. So I need to just get it over with and commit to finishing them haha. Lord of the Rings especially has been far too long, but it's been so long since I read The Two Towers that now I feel like I should start over with the Fellowship. *sigh*.

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Liam wrote: "Sammmeee haha. Literally it's been like 8 years of gradual progress trying to finish some of these, and I couldn't even tell you why. So I need to just get it over with and commit to finishing them..."

Lol, there's just always two more awesome ones to start for every one we're reading. I have an entire section dedicated to series I'd have to restart before continuing because it has been so long... sigh ditto haha.

[Liam]

Made some good progress this month =]. I completed the Powder Mage Trilogy, as well as the Giver Quartet, and I got a jump on The Wheel of Time, The Dresden Files, LOTR, and Riyria. I'm almost done with The Fellowship and Theft of Swords, so hopefully by the end of next month I'll have both of those completed.

[Tammie]

Wow, great job!

[Angela, I'm Silverfox lost]

Awesome progress Liam.

[Liam]

Thanks Tammie and Angela!

[Bill]

Nice progress Liam. You are jumping into so many good series.

[Liam]

Bill wrote: "Nice progress Liam. You are jumping into so many good series."

Thanks Bill!

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

That is good progress! I'm looking forward to the Riyria reads - those have been outstanding on my list for too long now. :)

[Liam]

Niki Hawkes wrote: "That is good progress! I'm looking forward to the Riyria reads - those have been outstanding on my list for too long now. :)"

Yeah me too. It feels good to just get certain things cleared out. After my first challenge log is done I might adjust my ratio a little bit on the 5 for 1, just because some of the other series I have to finish are all like 10-15 books long haha.

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

I think the few number of series you have open calls for a ratio adjustment for sure. The 5 for 1 is great for me because I have so many options open and can zero out that ratio about once a month. The ones you have going will take considerably longer though lol. I'd say 3 for 1 at the least, and maybe even a 2 for 1. When you get open series under 20, you're basically already winning haha.

[Liam]

Yeah because I'm honestly not bad at finishing series haha. Once I start it I'm usually committed to getting it done. There's really only a few that I've had forever. The challenge was good for me to kick-start everything though. I just wanted to be free to get into the new series I want to read.

[Liam]

Made a bit of progress =]. Finished LOTR, so that's totally complete. Made progress on The Dresden Files, as well as Riyria (reading the final book now). Got myself up to date for The Band (Kings of the Wyld) and Illuminae.

My "in progress" is honestly not bad AT ALL anymore, as most of what remains is longer series. Still debating on whether to read the final Greatcoats book. I completed four series and abandoned two, since I started.

It's a good feeling actually to get all of that out of the way, because now I can just focus on wheedling down my "not yet started". I'm very happy about it haha. I'd like to read The Faithful and the Fallen, and The Draconis Memoria before the year is over, which might be a tad harder for me since I'd prefer to do those on Kindle or physical copies, but we'll see =].

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Considering the majority of your remaining in progress series are 10+ beasts, you're doing amazing with this challenge! I'm jealous you get to start so many new series without blowing your challenge haha. Great job.

[Tammie]

You're doing great!

[Miche]

Great job, Liam!

[Liam]

Niki Hawkes wrote: "Considering the majority of your remaining in progress series are 10+ beasts, you're doing amazing with this challenge! I'm jealous you get to start so many new series without blowing your challeng..."

Yeah, that's what I figured haha. The 5 for 1 idea really helped motivate me, but I really only needed one of them. It's good to be fresh again haha.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Seems like a bunch of people are winding down their challenge... Congrats!

[Scott , Karsa Orlong]

Great job, crushing it.

[Liam]

Thanks guys!

Is there a TBR challenge happening? I'd probably hop on that, as my main goal now is to clean out my TBR.

[Saul the Heir of Isauldur]

Lots of good series-es (serii? hehe). I'm kind in the same way, stuck with a series right now, though I really want to start Malazan. I already own the first, and it's been on my shelf for a couple of years.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

@Liam: Overflowing Bookshelf Challenge

@Saul: If you're willing to wait, a new Malazan group read starts in January

[Angela, I'm Silverfox lost]

Great progress Liam. Both The Faithful and the Fallen and Draconis Memoria are really good! Well the books in both series I've read so far.

[C.P.]

Great progress, Liam! You're doing really well with continuing your series.

[Liam]

Thanks guys! Saul you should definitely join in for the huge BR we're doing in January for the Malazan books.

Thanks Angela =]. I've had those on my TBR for so long, so I'm very much looking forward to them.

[Liam]

Just made a few updates and adjustments to my list =]. Primarily, I added a "High priority for 2018" mini-list under me "Not Yet Started" section and pasted it below. If I can get through/be up to date on all of those series by the end of this upcoming year, I will be very, very happy. I managed to complete 11 series this year, along with a whole number of standalones and re-reads in addition to that in just this past year. So I feel like it should be manageable, as I'm taking my time with both Malazan and the Wheel of Time. We'll see ^_^.

HIGH PRIORITY FOR 2018:
- The Broken Earth Series, N.K. Jemisin.
- The Legends of the First Empire, Michael Sullivan.
- The Draconis Memoria, Anthony Ryan.
- Moontide Quartet, David Hair.
- The Shado Campaigns, Django Wexler.
- Gods of Blood and Powder, Brian McClellan.
- Farseer Trilogy, Robin Hobb.
- The Warlord Chronicles, Bernard Cornwell.
- Inda, Sherwood Smith.
- Long Price Quartet, Daniel Abraham.
- The Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne, Brian Stavely

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Nice list! I'm also looking forward to tackling moontide, powder mage, staveley (loving), and Inda. Maybe we can help motivate each other. I'm obviously excited to see some of my other favs on your list. :)

[Liam]

Niki Hawkes wrote: "Nice list! I'm also looking forward to tackling moontide, powder mage, staveley (loving), and Inda. Maybe we can help motivate each other. I'm obviously excited to see some of my other favs on your..."

Yes definitely ^_^. I'm always so bad at staying on track with buddy reads, but hearing other people talk about the books I want to read always gets my motivation levels up =].

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

I think we're about to see if I'm good at staying in track or not in January. Aside from a busy August, I've managed to join only about 2 a month. Having a series that people are as excited to dive into certainly helps.

[Hailee]

I was intending to read the Moontide quartet myself in 2018 but since joining this group I have commited to so many other books I now don't know if I'll have time :-(. Maybe a september start if I don't agree to anything else in the meantime lol!!

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

We could set a tentative date maybe? Then see how things are going and alter it if need be? I definitely feel ya with the over commitment thing lol. I think at least 3 others have mentioned wanting to read it recently, so it might be fun to get the ball rolling.

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Lol sorry, that was kind of an awkward way to invite us into a buddy read. No pressure.

[Liam]

I think Niki likes pressuring other people into buddy reads because it makes her feel better about how overbooked she is haha ;].

Obviously kidding =]. If you set a tentative date and people are interested, I'd totally be into doing a BR. BRs that I can do on audio are much easier for me to get in on, and this book in particular is one I've been planning to listen to instead of doing a physical copy.

[Liam]

Also, the more points for Team Niki the better 😊

[Hailee]

Well I'm up for it. The date I'm most confident that I personally can fit it in is a September start date. But if there is interest to start earlier I'd do my best to join in 🤞 as I really have been wanting to read this series for a while.

[Liam]

September sounds good to me as well =].

[Hailee]

If that works for you as well Niki (and others if we post it to the invite thread) we could tentively agree to read one a month (so we'd be done by the end of 2018) but if by September we are really overbooked we would be free to extend reading them into 2019? Unless you prefer to do one every two months anyway?

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Uh oh, Liam's on to me, lol.

One a month unless we get there and we're swamped sounds great. :) how does the 15th of Sept sound (and the 15th for the following books/months)? I'm away from my desktop until Tuesday, but I'll put together a proposed schedule for the series then and let peeps know about it. I think both Ahdam and Angus (for book 2) sounded interested.

This'll be fun! ^_^

[Hailee]

That all sounds good to me. So happy I'll be reading this series in 2018 after all!!

[Liam]

Perfect =]

[Miche]

From your list I have 4 that I will try to start next year too:

- The Broken Earth Series, N.K. Jemisin.
- The Legends of the First Empire, Michael Sullivan.
- Inda, Sherwood Smith.
- Long Price Quartet, Daniel Abraham.

[Liam]

Glad to hear that some others are doing Inda and LPQ!

They're books that fit into my "Not hyped by VERY curious" category haha. I have just about zero expectations for them, but am secretly hoping I love them.