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2019 Individual Challenges
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Rumpelteazer's 2019 Reading Challenge
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The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware.A very good story and it read surprisingly quick. I should have finished it a lot earlier, but life happened.
I'm now thinking about whether I want to take notes on every book I read. For some books there isn't much useful to note down, besides a summary. I'm afraid if I start skipping books I will stop taking notes altogether.
Billy Whistler by Bill ThompsonA fun read.
Another series finished. The ones I have on my immediate waiting list are all mysteries and I'm already reading several mystery series. So it's time to read some first in series and see if I can find a series in another genre I want to read.
I do some notes on every book in my good reads link. That's so I can look back later.
In just over two weeks I'm going on vacation. It's going to be a reading retreat, so I'm now looking at what to read.As usual I plan to read some horror stories (latest releases of Jeremy Bates and SA Jacobs) and I might finish the week with Lethal White by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling).
Old Bones by Douglas Preston & Lincoln ChildA fun read, the mystery isn't fully explained in the end, the chronology doesn't fully add up. But a fun read, to hopefully a fun series.
I am thinking it's time for Preston & Child to retire the Agent Pendergast series, those are getting more ridiculous with every new book. It's fine if he makes a guest appearance now and then, but I think his story is finished, and has been finished for a while now.
Looking at the books I have on my Reading Retreat list it's, as usual, way too long. So I think that after I finish my current book I already go into vacation reading mode, just to get in the right mood.I'm really looking forward to my week vacation, from the 23rd. Usually I do a lot of reading, but I've decided to bring a diamond painting with me, so I have to see how much of each I end up doing.
I had intended to read the next Inspector Van Veeteren book, but I realized I wasn't looking forward to it. It's a good series, just too slow for me, at least at this point. So I've moved the series to my Occasional list.I did readThe Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg. A fun start of a YA fantasy series. So I've added that series to my Active list.
My reading seems to have slowed down lately. Not surprising, since I have been spending more and more time doing my other hobbies. So I'm not too worried, I'm enjoying myself doing the other things and I can get creative with those, which is nice. I'll probably adjust my reading goals for next year from my usual numbers down. I do want to set some goals regarding my active series and possibly one to deal with my TBR of new series list, that one is starting to get ridiculously long.
Greygallows by Barbara Michaels.Okay, a bit too straightforward for me, I would have liked a better twist at the end.
I just made a "Vacation Reading" collection on my Kobo and selected the books I had planned to read next week. There are 8 books, not counting my current book, which I probably won't be able to finish before Monday.Some are shorter reads, I should be able to finish it in a day, but others are longer reads (e.g. the latest Stephen King). So it looks like my vacation reading will carry on after my vacation.
I had a good look at what I've read so far this year and it's really focused on series. With only three books left in my series challenge I think it's time to have fun and read some stand alone books and some new authors (only 13 so far this year).
Brimstone by Tamara Thorne.A great read. Recommended if you like horror and don't mind some explicit stuff (although, for Thorne, this was rather tame).
Bianca wrote: "Brimstone by Tamara Thorne.A great read. Recommended if you like horror and don't mind some explicit stuff (although, for Thorne, this was rather tame)."
Ooh! And it's in Kindle Unlimited, too! In the time it took me to type this, it was already delivered to my Voyage. :D Thanks for the recommendation!
LOL, Now I have to check it out too xD
The Haunting of Beacon Hill by Ambrose IbsenA nice start to a series, a bit too open ended for my tastes, but Ibsen usually publishes the books in a series is fairly quick succession.
The drawback of going on a horror binge during vacations is that when I'm on my own, like this vacation, that I tend to freak myself out. This book wasn't particularly spooky. But I just took a shower and noticed that the shower makes this eerie "woooooooo" sound. Then I thought to myself that at least the door to my accommodation doesn't have a window in it. I tend to freak myself out when having to go to the toilet at night and imagining a face in the door window. Then I remembered that there is a window over the door and that it would be more upsetting if you saw a face appear in that. So yeah, I think I'll have a problem going to the toilet during the coming night.
To console myself I'm now going to watch some episodes of The InBetween with Paul Blackthorne. Yes, it deals with ghosts, in a type of Medium kind of way. But Paul Blackthorne with his own British accent is so sexy.
The Haunting of Gatesworld Manor by Cat Knight.Meh. A bit predictable. But at least it was short.
I've let my randomizer app choose my next read, since I didn't know what to choose from my vacation reading list. Up next the latest book by Deborah Harkness.
Time's Convert by Deborah HarknessThis is a sequel series to Harkness' All Souls Trilogy. This books delves into how vampires are made and survive the first months and years in Harkness' universe. It follows two vampires in very different times and how one has a hard time, not made easier by his vampire family and the other also has a hard time, even though she's got all the support she needs.
It also follows Diana and Matthew, of the first series, and their twins.
Okay read. A bit slow.
The Haunting of Roan Mountain by S.A. JacobsA fun, little horror story. Second book in The Paranormal Archeologist series.
It's also my last book for this vacation. I'm starting another one tonight, but I won't be finishing that before leaving tomorrow morning. Of the five books I've finished this week three had a title that started with "The Haunting of ...". Lol.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab.A fun book, took a while to read, but that was because I read so much during my vacation probably.
The Sleep Experiment by Jeremy Bates.I wasn't too wild about this story. For my the first half dragged. Bates tried to build up tension, I think, but it wasn't working for me. In the second half the shit hit the fan. It was okay, except that Bates revealed some things that should have been revealed in the first half, some of which were irrelevant to the story IMHO. Also, I didn't like the twist. It was too much out of the blue for me.
Some Can See by J.R. Erickson.Okay. It could have been a lot better, but the characters were almost caricatures of their personalities.
Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny.A good read. Just one more left and then I'm up to date with this series.
The Haunting of Lannister Hall by Amy Crossand
Unto Us a Son Is Given by Donna Leon
That was the latest book of Leon's Brunetti series, which means I have just one book left to read to finish my series challenge.
But this week it's horror week. And I'm having a hard time to decide what to read next.
Bloodletting by Michael McBrideA good read. I had expected it to be more of a horror, but it was a thriller with horror elements.
I've slowed down, I don't think I'll make my goal of 40000 pages this year. We'll see. I'm not bothered by it, since I'm enjoying my other/new hobbies a lot.
The Guardians by John GrishamA really good read. Although I really enjoy Grisham's novels I really need to be in the mood for them to be able to read them.
Luckily the mood struck when his latest book was released.
Today I bought my first paper book in a year and a half. For the same reason as last time: my sister and I are going to a theme park (the Efteling) on Monday and I don't want to carry around a fragile ereader.Last time I came to the conclusion that roller coasters aren't my thing anymore, unfortunately. My sister will want to ride a couple, which is fine with me. But I will need a book to keep myself entertained whilst waiting somewhere warm and dry (and with a snack and a drink).
I randomly picked a book off the shelf and it was recommended by Stephen King, which usually means I like it, too. The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor.
The Haunting of Stephen Wells by Brian L. Blank.Okay, a good story, a bit too slow of pace for me.
It the eleventh book I've read this year where the title starts with "The Haunting of...". LOL.
It's just been a haunting year then, I suppose? :D
DoodlePanda wrote: "It's just been a haunting year then, I suppose? :D"I just counted. 45 out of the 94 books I've read so far this year have been books that can be classed as horror or ghost story. So I guess you're right.
I'm currently reading a The Cat Who book, and I still need to read the latest Armand Gamache book, but I've also lined up 3 horror/ghost novels for the very near future.
The Cat Who Saw Stars by Lilian Jackson BraunVery enjoyable and quick read.
Now I'm reading a quicky (I hope) horror, before starting on the latest Armand Gamache book, which is the final book in my series challenge for this year. I had expected to have finished it by August, but at least I've finished the challenge. Although I expect to read more than 100 books, I don't think I'll manage to reach my 40000 page goal this year. Oh well, I'm having too much fun with my other hobbies at the moment.
The Sick House by Ambrose Ibsen.A good story. I expected it to end on somewhat of a cliffhanger, but it didn't. Can't wait to read the next two books, but I have some other books lined up first.
A Better Man by Louise Penny.Okay, one of the weaker books in the series.
But it means I've now, finally, finished my series challenge for this year.
But it means I've now, finally, finished my series challenge for this year."Congrats! :)
Thanks.I'm looking at what my series goals will be for next year. I'm going to take it more easy than this year. I don't expect to read much, if any, books of my current series until after my reading retreat in January. I'm just having too much fun reading whatever I feel like reading.
The Experiments by Bill Thompson.A very entertaining story. I really like this series, they're not particularly scary, but the stories are very entertaining and great quicky reads.
Cari Mora by Thomas Harris.Okay. If Harris wanted to create a villain rivaling Hannibal Lecter in creepiness he failed, miserably. The bad guy is just too over the top, a caricature, to be be believable and creepy.
Also the ending feels rushed, it could have been longer and more tense.
The House on Cold Hill by Peter James.Okay. The haunting incidents got to be a bit same-y and repetitive. There's no slow build up and escalation of incidents. More about the hidden room could have been written.
There's a second book, I've got it on my TBRS (to be read soon) list, hopefully it will be more satisfying.
This was my 100th book of the year. So I've met another goal. My 40,000 page goal I won't reach. I will probably fall short with 2000 to 2500 pages.
I'm looking at fantasy books on Amazon. I think I might be in the mood for one. But I'm not sure what I'm after. Just that I don't want any doorstopper length books, or anything too complicated, that won't work with my current reading slump.
Medicine For The Dead by Ambrose Ibsen.Okay, it dragged a bit for me, but that is probably more because of my reading slump than due to the writing.
London Falling by Paul Cornell.I liked this one a lot. Three London police officers and an intelligence analyst working on a task forces to get a crime boss are in the house of a person of interest when *something* happens to them and they get the Sight; they can see all kinds of paranormal things going on. The crime boss gets killed in the interrogation room and they go after their suspect, a witch. All whilst getting used to their new powers.
Sort of like the Rivers of London/Peter Grant series, but more serious.
I'm hoping to squeeze one more novella in before the new year (we decided to keep the store closed on the 31st, since it's always quiet, so four consecutive days off!).
After that I might start with a reread of the Sookie Stackhouse series, I never finished the full series but it's too long ago to just pick up where I left. Or I might go for something else.
The Haunting of Hilltop Mansion by Carrie Bates.A decent haunted house novella. I liked the ending.
That's it for 2019.
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I get a lot of that. It's Goodread's server, not you.