Mark's first climbing challenge

[Mark]

So here we go, my first Goodreads challenge! I've long been a reader, but really hit my stride six months ago. I've always known there are many books on my shelves I've never read, but was surprised at the number once I started sorting them out. This challenge is the perfect opportunity to take care of a good chunk of them. The good news is that there are a lot of books there that I actually want to read, so I doubt I'll reach a point where I'm reading for the sake of reading.

I'm declaring my stash at 104 books - 78 physical books and 26 ebooks (I shamelessly added a dozen ebook freebies this morning!). The target is 60.

Update - June 12th
Mt. Kilimanjaro - 28/60
2018 total - 55

[Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review)]

Happy reading and climbing Mark :)

[Mark]

First book done - The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde. I had a head start on this yesterday, but the majority of the book has been read today so I can include this to start me off!

[Mark]

Number 2 - Hunger by Perrin Aybara Briar. Picked this up as a Kindle freebie recently, but didn't realise it was so short - more so as the final third of the 'book' was a preview for another. Fast-paced fun little zombie story though.

[Mark]

It's not been my intention to start with short books, but I've rattled through a couple more:

3 - Allhallow's Eve by Richard Laymon. Having gone through my bookshelves, I found I had 15 Laymon books I've never read, so this will be one of many to appear during this challenge. It was fairly typical Laymon really, you know what you're going to get! 4/5.

4 - Dark Ride by P.G. Kassell. This was another Kindle freebie and a good page turner, a horror thriller culminating in a theme park. 4/5.

[Mark]

5 - Alarums by Richard Laymon. I mentioned above that you know what you're going to get with Laymon, but then of course the next one I read is a little different. This is more mystery/thriller than horror, and not a great one either. 3/5.

[Mark]

6 - Perfect Remains by Helen Fields. Fantastic crime thriller, the first in a series, featuring a new Detective Inspector in Edinburgh. Gets a little gruesome at times too, particular the parts with amateur dentistry! I'll certainly be adding the next in the series to my TBR list. 5/5.

10 days in to the year, and I'm 1/10th of the way through the challenge!

[Mark]

7 - The Runaway Train by MW Griffith. Short-ish crime thriller. There's a story in there, but I just felt it needed to be longer. Too many jumps ahead made for a very bitty read. 2/5.

[Mark]

It's been a while since my last update, but I've gone through three longer books in that time, two of which count for this.

8 - Brick by Conrad Jones. Thriller about a young kid who accidentally kills the son of a local crime lord. Very good, though I wasn't really sure about the ending as the main cop (around whom the series is focused) wasn't really involved in the conclusion. 4/5.

9 - The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. I'm sure this series is well known on Goodreads! As with the first book, this one took me a little while to get in too, but loved it overall. I won't be on to the third book immediately, but it's not going to be too far off. 5/5.

[Mark]

Jessika, I'm coming round to that way of thinking too! There will definitely be more Sanderson to come after The Hero of Ages.

Back to the challenge, and the fact that I read this in a day will probably give you an idea of my thoughts...

10 - The Martian by Andy Weir. I've not seen the film yet (though will do), but did know the general story. This definitely exceeded expectations, and it's very much a page turner. Easy 5/5.

[Mark]

11 - Fire in Frost by Alicia Rades. First in the series about a young woman discovering her psychic abilities. Didn't really do anything for me. 2/5.

[Sharon]

The books you've been reading sound really good to me. I'm going to have to look into purchasing some of them.

[Mark]

More than a month since my last update - shame on me! March was fairly quiet in reading terms though, April has been a bit better. I've completed a few more for this challenge;

12. Influence by Chris Parker. 3/5.

13. The Woods by Harlen Coben. My second Coben book and certainly want to read more. 5/5.

14. Angel of Death by GP Burdon. 3/5.

15. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea by Jules Verne. 5/5.

16. The Stand by Stephen King. Finally read it! I started this a while back, and I'm sure most of you know it's a bit beefy. I was familiar with the story having seen the TV mini-series a few times (love it) and was pleased to see it was largely faithful to the book. The book certainly met expectations. 5/5.

17. Forgotten Girls by Alexa Steele 4/5.

[Mark]

18. Endless Night by Richard Laymon. A teenage girl witnesses her best friend and her family brutally murdered and has to go on the run as she's chased by the gang of killers. Bloody and brutal. 4/5.

19. Midnight's Lair by Richard Laymon. A group of tourists get trapped in a cave, but they're not alone. Think of the film 'The Descent' and add the usual Laymon trademarks and you won't be far off. 4/5.

[Mark]

20. City of Skies by Farah Cook. Fantasy dystopia with a bit of an odd mix of modern tech and Norse mythology. 3/5. I've also read the second book in the series but didn't enjoy it so much so I don't think I'll be taking it any further.

21. The Debt Collector by Jon Mills. This was a Kindle freebie about a hitman fresh out of prison and looking to retire, but is forced in to one more job by his mob boss. The 'romance' side of the story didn't really do anything for me and took the edge off the characters. 3/5. More in the series, but not sure if I'll come back to it.

22. Priestess of the White by Trudi Canavan. I'd previously read Canavan's Black Magician Trilogy which was ok, not spectacular, so this one has sat on my bookcase for sometime. Fancied a bit of fantasy so finally picked this up and loved it. Two more in the series added to my TBR. 5/5.

[Mark]

23. The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. The second book in The Long Earth series, it's taken me a fair while to get on to this one having completed the first early last year. Continues the story well, and have the remaining three to come too. 4/5.

[Mark]

It's a bit slow.... I've been reading plenty of late, but only 5 of the last 24 books I've read I previously owned. Ooops.

24. No Trench to Rest (The French Bastard 1) by Avan Judd Stallard
25. The Hero of Ages (Mistborn 3) by Brandon Sanderson
26. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
27. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
28. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

I'm up to 55 books for the year, 28/60 for this challenge - I'll likely come up short but I'm enjoying reading and that's what matters.