2025 Reading Challenge discussion
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The Complete Works Challenge 2015
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Updated comment 231In August I read one more of Virginia Lee Burton's books, bringing me to 8/11. The tricky thing is that one of her books is out of print and not in the library... I wonder if I'll ever be able to complete this challenge?
I also am finally making progress on the complete works of Brian Selznick at 5/26 books! I've got to keep working there as we run into quarter 4.
Update:Jojo Moyes
Sophie Kinsella
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Shopaholic Takes Manhattan
Shopaholic Ties the Knot
Shopaholic and Sister
Shopaholic & Baby
Mini Shopaholic
Shopaholic to the Stars
Can You Keep a Secret?
9/20
I edited my original message 31 and so far 6 books read and two series(trilogies) completed.
Just completed another Jojo Moyes book - Night Music. This book was a touch slow getting started (particularly in audiobook format) but it became interesting about 1/4 of the way in and riveting about halfway through. I loved the complex characters and description of English country life. Ending was a bit less romantic than I would have liked but overall, well done. 4 stars
I'm gonna have to withdraw from this challenge. Definitely took on too much at the start of the year!
Updated message 6I choose Ann Patchett - here is my complete list of books for this challenge
✓ 1. Bel Canto read 2/18/2015
✓ 2. State of Wonder read 8/4/2015
✓ 3. Run read 1/12/2015
✓ 4. Truth and Beauty read 10/1/2015
✓ 5. The Magician's Assistant read 4/8/2015
✓ 6. Patron Saint of Liars read 2/12/2015
✓ 7. Taft read 2/9/2015
✓ 8. What now? read 1/10/2015
✓ 9. The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life read 4/16/2015
Challenge completed!
I think I will also drop out of this challenge. I haven't scheduled any of my author's books, so I haven't read any. I've been reading whatever came my way, suggestions, and random picks at the library. So, I'm sorry Murakami, I still want to read all your books, but it won't happen this year.
Just completed another Higgins' book - Fools Rush in. Another great Higgins' read! Loved the characters and their journey. Definitely worth reading! 4.5 stars
I think I am dropping this challenge, Anne Rice writes chunky books and I don't want to rush them
I am in for one and it's The Complete Novels of Jane AustenStarted on the 26th of July and finished on the 23rd of August
Just finished another Jojo Moyes book - After You. A very good sequel to Me Before You. One of the things I appreciate about Moyes' is that her characters are not white-washed - they have their own issues and show them warts and all. There is an inherent honesty in her stories. This book is no different - definitely worth reading! 4 stars
October update completed 11/33I will not be able to finish all 33 by the end of the year (although I never realistically thought I would) but I am going to see how many I do finish by December 31st.
Just completed another Jojo Moyes' book - Peacock Emporium. Really interesting story about two unhappy people who have to find out who they are before they can be happy together. My one complaint about the book was that it was confusing at the beginning with the disparate stories and lack of chronology. Overall, definitely worth reading! 4 stars
Just completed my final Kristan Higgins' book - Just One of the Guys. Another great Higgins' book! I enjoyed some of the backstory she built in for her characters and appreciated the message in this book. Definitely worth reading! 4 stars2/4 authors completed!
Updated message 144. Challenge complete.
I had planed on doing one with Jane Austen as i read all her completed works, but i have just finished the Inheritance cycle by Christopher Paolini and now starting the complete works of Shakespeare, I don't know if i will be able to finished before the end of the year though.
Updated message 231Well, I am definitely slagging behind on this challenge. I knew that if I invested in so many Yearly challenges at least one would get away from me.
I'm at 9/10 in Virginia Lee Burton books. The last one is a biography of her life. I hope to get that read this week. I did have to cut one book out; Calico the Wonder Horse, or The Saga of Stewy Stinker is out of print. I have tried to locate a copy, but they are all a bit out of my price range. So, 10 books instead of 11.
As far as Brian Selznick's works are concerned, I'm only at 10/26! Yikes. I've got a long way to go, but I'm not willing to give up yet. I hope that during the holidays I can really crank through these. Making progress!
CHALLENGE COMPLETED!6/6 - Author: Ayn Rand
Atlas Shrugged
Anthem
We the Living
The Fountainhead
The Early Ayn Rand: A Selection from Her
Unpublished Fiction
Three Plays
Updated my challenge in message 105 Just two to go, The Goldfinch and A god in ruins. Just earlier this week I noticed I forgot Not the End of the World complete Kate Atkinson list but luckily it was quick read. I have to say that Life after life which I finished earlier this week, was even more superb the second round. So lovely to read something great for change, I have been too much bad books during a year.
Finished! (I only had three, so I took it kind of easy on this one.)Author: Mary Roach
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal
Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife
My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places
COMPLETED: 3/3
I was wondering when will you update the list of finished participant? Mine was completed in 6/28/2015 message 247
I updated message # 244.I have read 6 of the Oz books and i have 13 more to go.
Anyone else that are reading Donna Tartt this year and has The Little Friend left?
Just completed another Zevin book - Because It Is My Blood. Slow to start and overall, just ok. If it wasn't for a challenge, I probably wouldn't have finished. 2.5 stars
I updated post 263.I finished with Jojo Moyes and now I'm working on finishing Sophie Kinsella. I really have come to love Jojo Moyes' works- she is a great writer and I can't wait to get my hands on After You!
Dana wrote: "I updated post 263.I finished with Jojo Moyes and now I'm working on finishing Sophie Kinsella. I really have come to love Jojo Moyes' works- she is a great writer and I can't wait to get my hand..."
Congrats! I'm still plugging away on Moyes' work but After You was fantastic!
Megan wrote: "Dana wrote: "I updated post 263.I finished with Jojo Moyes and now I'm working on finishing Sophie Kinsella. I really have come to love Jojo Moyes' works- she is a great writer and I can't wait t..."
Which books by Moyes have you enjoyed so far and which ones do you have left?
Dana wrote: "Megan wrote: "Dana wrote: "I updated post 263.I finished with Jojo Moyes and now I'm working on finishing Sophie Kinsella. I really have come to love Jojo Moyes' works- she is a great writer and ..."
I still have five left: Last Letter from Your Lover, Windfallen, Silver Bay, Honeymoon in Paris and Sheltering Rain. Really hoping I can make it through all of them! I really enjoyed Me Before You and the Horse Dancer. How about you?
Just completed another Zevin book - In the Age of Love and Chocolate. While I appreciated the concept and the complex main character, overall, these books fell flat for me. There was so much to be explored, and yet, the story focused on the main characters' feelings and overwhelming guilt to the detriment of the plot. Not my favorite series. 2.5 stars
Megan wrote: "Dana wrote: "Megan wrote: "Dana wrote: "I updated post 263.I finished with Jojo Moyes and now I'm working on finishing Sophie Kinsella. I really have come to love Jojo Moyes' works- she is a grea..."
There were a few I couldn't get my hands on, but I enjoyed Windfallen and The Girl You Left Behind. My library system did not have copies of Night Music, The Horse Dancer, or The Peacock Emporium, but I hope I can get a hold of them someday!
I am not planning to read any further books by Agatha Chrisite this year so my final tally for this challenge is 13/33 - this is the only challenge I won't finish completely but I have had a lot of fun trying.List of completed books on page 2 message 94
Just finished another Moyes' book - The Last Letter from Your Lover. While I enjoyed the overall story, I found the delivery a bit clunky and the characters a bit difficult to care about. I usually like Moyes' complicated characters, but these were a touch difficult to get to know. Worth reading. 3.5 stars
Just completed another Zevin book - The Hole We're In. I liked the writing but not much else. The characters were unlikeable and mostly unredeemable. The story didn't really go anywhere or seem to have much of a point other than criticizing a lot. I agree with some of the author's criticisms, but the story just seemed to be a vehicle for those criticisms, rather than fitting within a cohesive narrative. Not worth reading. 2.5 stars
Just completed another Moyes' book - Sheltering Rain. While this was an interesting read, it does make sense that this was the author's first book. The characters took awhile to develop. I finally got hooked on the plot about 1/3 of the way in. Overall worth reading. 3.5 stars
Just finished my next to last Moyes' book - Windfallen by Jojo Moyes. At the end, this book was enjoyable. However, it took a very long time for me to get interested in the book and the characters. In fact, after having read almost all of Moyes' books this year, I have realized that in her earlier works she tried to write historical fiction. Most of the time she juxtaposed that historical story with a modern tale. In almost all of her books, the modern tale was much more interesting, with more interesting characters, than the historical. I'm glad that her most recent books have focused primarily on modern times. This book would have benefitted from more of that. The ending was also a bit rushed, as if the author couldn't quite figure out how the characters had sorted themselves, so just ended it. Overall, not my favorite but not awful. 3 stars
My last Zevin book - Margarettown by Gabrielle Zevin - was incredibly disappointing. I really did not enjoy this book! There were hints of little commentary and asides that made AJ Fikry so entirely charming, but the remainder of the book just seemed like abstract thoughts and partial stories cobbled together. I did not like any of the sketches paraded as characters. Overall, not worth reading. 1 star3/4 authors
My last Moyes' book and last book of the challenge - Silver Bay by Jojo Moyes. I really enjoyed this book! Thankfully, Moyes focused on the present in this one, rather than jockeying back and forth between the past and present. Her characters were beautiful and flawed. Definitely worth reading! 4 stars4/4 - Challenge completed!!!
Well, I'm more or less throwing in the towel on part of my challenge. For my 2015 challenge I elected two authors: Virginia Lee Burton and Brian Selznick. Burton has written 10 books, one of which is out of print and I can't find anywhere-- so I completed reading her complete works with 9/9 published and available works!
Selznick is where I got stuck. I was planning on reading all 26 of the books he not only wrote, but illustrated for. Alas-- I made it to 15/26, and I never did get to the book which was the whole reason I chose him: The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I found the books he had chosen to illustrate were not that engaging, and I didn't particularly enjoy his own written word either. Alas.
That said, I plan on at least reading Hugo Cabret in 2016, if nothing else.
What a great challenge! I'm so glad I participated.
I'm finished this challenge! I finished Jojo Moyes a few weeks ago, and finished Sophie Kinsella just a few days ago (even added an extra book!). Final list:Jojo Moyes:
One Plus One
The Girl You Left Behind
The Last Letter from Your Lover
The Ship of Brides
Silver Bay
Sheltering Rain
Windfallen
*There's more of her books out there, but these were all I could get from my library system.
Sophie Kinsella:
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Shopaholic Takes Manhattan
Shopaholic Ties the Knot
Shopaholic and Sister
Shopaholic & Baby
Mini Shopaholic
Shopaholic to the Stars
Shopaholic to the Rescue
Can You Keep a Secret?
The Undomestic Goddess
Remember Me?
I've Got Your Number
Twenties Girl
Wedding Night
21/20
Ha! On the last day of the year, I'm currently reading the last remaining novel on my list for this challenge. It is a short and catchy read, so I fully expect to actually finish it before the day/year is over. I chose Seanan McGuire (pseudonym Mira Grant):
15. A red-rose chain (OD #9)
I've also read a lot of her published short stories in various anthologies, though I have a few left of those.
I almost did it. Last year I read Life after life and Goldfinch and this year it was my plan to read writers other stuff as well as re-read those. I have started Goldfinch but no way to finish it today.Lovely challenge, I think both Kate Atkinson and Donna Tartt have amazing books. I should have just started earlier, I had to read quite rush and some of those book could work better with slower pace.
THE COMPLETE WORKS CHALLENGE - 2015
January 1st - December 31st, 2015
Donna Tartt
[x] The Secret History (1992)
[x] The Little Friend (2002)
[] The Goldfinch (2013)
Kate Atkinson
[x] Behind the Scenes at the Museum (1995)
[x] Human Croquet (1997)
[x] Emotionally Weird (2000)
[x] Not the End of the World (2002)
[x] Case Histories (2004)
[x] One Good Turn (2006)
[x] When Will There Be Good News? (2008)
[x] Started Early, Took My Dog (2010)
[x] Life After Life (2013)
[x] A God in Ruins (2015)
12/13
THE COMPLETE WORKS CHALLENGE - 2015January 1 - December 31, 2015
dismal fail - only finished one! Guess I wasn't in the mood for Grisham?
Do you have authors you like but haven't had the chance to explore his or her writing fully? Here's your chance! For this challenge, pick an author (or two or three) that you enjoy. Look him or her up on Goodreads, and read every book he or she has written (not every version, don't worry, just every unique work). You do NOT need to count short stories or books your author has merely contributed to, introduced, edited or translated.
I think I'll read the John Grisham books I haven't read yet. I'll update the list.
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2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
The Activist (other topics)The Broker (other topics)
The Brethren (other topics)
The Partner (other topics)
The Testament (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
John Grisham (other topics)Virginia Lee Burton (other topics)
Brian Selznick (other topics)
Mary Roach (other topics)
Brian Selznick (other topics)
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6/9