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2018 Individual Challenges
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Rumpelteazer's 2018 Reading Challenge
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A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny.A good story, it's interesting how Penny keeps evolving her characters and keeps showing sides you don't know about them.
With just over three and a half months to go I took stock of my progress of my challenges. I have three books to read to reach my goals for my ongoing series. Two of which I plan to read in the next couple of weeks. And for my ABC challenge I just need to tick off the Y and Z. For both I got books lined up, now just find the motivation to read them.
The Borderland by Ambrose Ibsen.Good short story, can't wait to continue with it.
But first a book by a new to me author and thus a new to me series: The Screaming Staircase, by Jonathan Stroud, first book in the Lockwood & Co. series (which is a finished series). It's a YA series, but from the reviews I gather that it's also a good read for adults.
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan StroudGreat story, since I've recently finished a series I can start a new one, this will be it. It's also a short and finished series.
The Amber Light by Ambrose Ibsen.
A bad week for reading. Between Monday and Saturday I read just over 100 pages. That's less than my daily average over a year. It was a busy and chaotic week. And in the evenings I was just too tired to concentrate on reading. Today I've managed to read over 100 pages, I'm reading a Peter F. Hamilton book and although I enjoy them they're never quick reads for me.
I've been doing well since mid August, so hopefully I can keep it up after this week off.
The Temporal Void by Peter F. Hamilton.I've finished it! It was a good book, don't get me wrong, but I just can't read Hamilton quickly, plus last week I didn't have a lot of time to read. Although last weekend I had planned to finish it today I didn't think I would, since we adopted two kitten yesterday. But they discovered I have the ability to sit still for a long time, which makes me the ideal person to sleep on and demand cuddles from.
Now I need to polish off some short(er) stories and then a new author I think.
I feel that Hamilton is a slow read for me too, but I do like his books. I just have to be mentally prepared for it to take time, so I need to be in the right mood.
DoodlePanda wrote: "I feel that Hamilton is a slow read for me too, but I do like his books. I just have to be mentally prepared for it to take time, so I need to be in the right mood."It's the same for me, for me it's double; it's a slow read and his books are long. Also sci-fi isn't my thing really. I also allow myself a break in the middle if I feel I need one. I plan to finish this trilogy next year.
It was short story weekend:You In? by Kealan Patrick Burke
In Darkness by Ambrose Ibsen
The Dagger in the Desk by Jonathan Stroud
Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates
The last book read like a Facebook post by a serial killer/sexual predator. Not my favourite style to read, though the story itself was good. Which means that I've finished my ABC challenge!
In September I read about 400 pages less than average, which means that I'm about 500 pages behind overall this year. Hopefully I can make it up in November when I go on vacation, but I'll see. TBH I'm glad if I get to the 40000 pages this year, with more time spend on other hobbies, plus the kittens.
Temple by Matthew Reilly.A fun adventure thriller. It did have too many exclamation marks after descriptive sentences and the descriptions of weapons and vehicles were overly detailed (for me). But it was only his second book, so hopefully that improves in later book, if not, they are fun enough to forgive it.
Also, in the second half there were a couple of obvious OCR mistakes. One made me spit out my drink. The main character is in a difficult situation when he yells at one of his adversaries "Freeze", however, the OCR changed it into "Freezer. LOL.
The Shadow Pavilion by Liz Williamsand
Goldenhand by Garth Nix
Which means that I've finished Nix's series and I only have one book to read, the 8th Armand Gamache book, to finish my series goals for this year. But first Kate Morton's latest book.
Earlier this week I put several scary novels on my Kindle, some I already had and others I've bought, in anticipation for my vacation next month.
The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton.A good story, though some things were a bit predictable.
Now let's see if I can reach my average for October by Wednesday. I need to finish 800 pages by then. Which should be achievable, though it will be hard since I don't have much time to read on Monday. Which is normally a day off for me, but I promised to join my father on a trip to a supplier.
I recently finished Suicide Forest, which I've had on my TBR since you reviewed it three years ago. LOL I intend to read the whole series, I just hope it doesn't take me as long as it took me to get around to the first one. :D
Congrats on almost finishing your goal!! yay! I'm currently listening to Peter Hamilton's Pandora's Star. Great book, but hard to follow when you have a cold. I'm about 1/3 through it. I have the first two of the Void Trilogy in my Audible account as well but have not yet started.
Christa wrote: "I recently finished Suicide Forest, which I've had on my TBR since you reviewed it three years ago. LOL I intend to read the whole series, I just hope it doesn't take me as long as ..."They're fun books, though somewhat similar in their set up. You reminded me to check if any new books came out for the series and one did. So I might treat myself and get it when I go on vacation, since I like to read horror when I'm away.
Stephanie wrote: "Congrats on almost finishing your goal!! yay! I'm currently listening to Peter Hamilton's Pandora's Star. Great book, but hard to follow when you have a cold. I'm about 1/3 through it...."Thank you. I'm also on track to read 100 books, it's unsure if I manage to read 40,000 pages. I've decided not to push myself to read 800 pages by midnight on Wednesday. I'll be happy to finish my current book by then. I need to read at least 3000 pages in both November and December to make my goal. It's achievable, especially in November when I have a week of vacation. However, this year I've been reading less than normal, so I'll have to wait and see. I'm not going to push myself because I know that will lead to a reading burn out.
Hamilton's books are fun, but I agree that you need to be able to focus on them or you bet bogged down. I only have one more to finish The Void Trilogy, hopefully I'm in the mood to read it early next year.
The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny.Okay. This story wasn't about the mystery, which was fairly basic, but more to move the main characters forward in their overarching storyline.
The Fallen Angel by David Hewson.A good story. I thought I only had one book left in the series, but it turns out that a new book was published last week, almost a decade after the previous one.
For a while now I've been saving books for my vacation next week. I realized that, as always, I have saved many more books than I can read, so I've decided to start my vacation reading early.
The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud.I'm really liking this series, a shame there are only 5 books in it.
The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons.Not my thing. Too slow and I didn't much care for the main characters. But at least I have crossed off a book that's been on my TBR pile for a long time.
I'm not sure I've made the right book choice earlier this week. Normally when on vacation I read shorter and normal length books; 200-500 pages. After a couple of books I wasn't too wild about I decided to start with Anne Rice's The Witching Hour, which is just over 1300 pages. I had planned to start it this weekend, I always read a lot of horror on my vacation and usually start a long book in the last couple of days. I'm enjoying the book, but it's a slow read for me this far. It isn't helped by my sister wanting to go out and do things more than I would when I'm on my own, so there's less time to read. When we leave on Monday I hope to be somewhere between 40% and 50% in the book.
The Witching Hour by Anne RiceAt over 1300 pages the longest book I've read since July 2017 when I reread Stephen King's It. A good book. A bit too long, but I can understand why it had to be done. It's basically an introduction to the next two books. The history of the Witches of Mayfair and the start of the "real" story. It was good read, though I did nearly choke on my tea yesterday when one of the female characters described her private parts as "nether mouth". Not a good visual.
Mountain of the Dead by Jeremy Bates.My 100th book of the year! And I thoroughly enjoyed it, so much that I finished it two days before I had hoped to finish it. Hopefully I can squeeze in another short book before midnight tomorrow.
It was a good month. I've read a lot more than average and I'm only 200 pages behind my average over 6 years. With a bit of work I might make up that difference. But, unless something happens, I should be able to make 40000 pages. The only goal I didn't reach was writing reviews, which doesn't surprise me.
Elevation by Stephen KingA good shorter story. I should have been able to finish it on Friday, but it was both busy and after reading a lot over the past couple of weeks I needed a bit of a break.
Up next is the last/latest? book of the DI Chen series by Liz Williams.
The Iron Khan by Liz Williams.The final/latest book in the series, officially. A sixth book has been self published but Amazon doesn't have it. So I need to see if I can get it. If not, it's a shame, since it does leave the series hanging.
Good news: my father has decided not to open the store on the Sunday and Monday before Christmas (we're normally closed on those days, but with Christmas my father often wants to open the store on those days). This means I have 4 days of reading to look forward to! The week before Christmas is always crazy busy so I can use those 4 days off. After that only three days of working (filled with hyper-active and/or fed up kids who have to accompany their parent(s) during a shopping trip) and then another 3 days off until the 2nd of January.
Mortal Engines by Philip ReeveAn enjoyable book. Added to my series, since it consists of only 5 books I should be able to finish it in 2019.
I love it when I pick exactly the right book to read.I had initially planned to start the next Lockwood & Co book after Mortal Engines, but I felt it was too similar; teenagers in a bleak world. So instead I picked the new PC Peter Grant/Rivers of London book.
And it turns out I was really in the mood for something sassy and smart arsed. Also, every time they mention Father Thames in the series I can't help but see him as Ian McShane. I don't have that with any other characters in the book.
It such a great feeling when you pick the perfect book :D
Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch.The right book at the right time. I loved it. This time of year I need quick and easy reads, films and tv series, because after a busy day in the store my brain can't process much. But only one more day and then we have FOUR days off. Then three days of work and then another three days off.
I've almost reached my goal of 40,000 pages. Just 450 pages to go. My current book will bring me within 14 pages of that goal.
The Hollow Boy by Jonathan Stroud.I really liked this one, the best one so far. It's a shame there are only two more books in this series (iirc the series is finished).
I've just done most of the chores I'd planned for today; wrapping the gifts, installing a new ceiling light in my bedroom, clean the litter boxes. Now I only have to go to the baker and after that I can do whatever I want the rest of the day. Which will be reading and playing on my Nintendo Switch.
A House by the Sea by Ambrose Ibsen.A fun horror story.
Which means that I've reached my goal of 40,000 pages! Yay. So now whatever I manage to read is a bonus. I'm not expecting to read a lot; the days between Christmas and New Year's Eve are usually busy in the store. On Sunday I have plans with my sister and I'll be staying over at her place until Monday, when I have to run several errands for New Year's Eve.
Congrats on reaching 40,000! :)
The Haunting of Rookward House by Darcy Coates.Another fun horror story. I like Darcy Coates' writing.
This was probably the last book of 2018 I finish. With what I have planned over the next couple of days it means there will be less reading time.
I have another Darcy Coates book lined up to read soon, Craven Manor. I suspect I'll be reading a lot of her books.
You seem to be the only one still reading. Duly impressed by 40000.
I'm still reading too. I've just gotten really bad at updating my thread. :D
I'm reading too, just not as much as the beginning of the year :)I just haven't had the energy to post updates :P
It hasn't been a good year, since keeping more detailed records in 2012 it's been third worse.But I've had more things to fill my time with; gaming and listening podcasts mostly. Next year I plan to add watercolouring/crafting, but that combines well with listening to podcasts, so it might not have a big impact.
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Books mentioned in this topic
The Haunting of Rookward House (other topics)A House by the Sea (other topics)
The Hollow Boy (other topics)
Lies Sleeping (other topics)
Mortal Engines (other topics)
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The first book in the Black Acres series, the books are short (less than 100 pages each), so good for in between longer books. An interesting start. It did end in a cliffhanger, but the author warned about that at the start of the book.