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Personal Challenges - 2015
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Kassandra's Quest for 110 in 2015
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Kassandra
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Dec 01, 2014 07:06PM
2015 is going to be a banner year - this is my space to get organized!
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Overall reading goal for 2015: 110 booksYearly Progress: 92/110
January
1. Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board
2. The Longest Ride
3. Gray Mountain
4. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
5. I Work at a Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks
6. Love and Other Near-Death Experiences
7. The Time Traveler's Wife
8. We Bought a Zoo
February
1.What Alice Forgot
2. A Bend in the Road
3. Flesh and Blood
4. Dear John
5. The Rosie Effect
6. Safe Haven
7. The Notebook
8. The Woman Who Stole My Life
9. Message in a Bottle
10. The Lucky One
March
1. The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books (and Two Not-So-Great Ones) Saved My Life
2. Redefining Success
3. Bubbles, Bankers and Bailouts
4. The Hypnotist's Love Story
5. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
April
1. Blue Labyrinth
2. A Darkness More Than Night
3. You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation
4. Blood Red Road
5. I Hunt Killers
6. Game
May
1. Brown Girl Dreaming
2. Darkly Dreaming Dexter
3. Less Than Hero
4. Orange Is the New Black
5. Dearly Devoted Dexter
6. Rebel Heart
7. Asylum
8. The Hound of the Baskervilles
9. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
10. Before I Go To Sleep
11. Jack the Giant Killer
12. Child of the Ghosts
13. Blood of My Blood
June
1. Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul
2. The Truth About Alice
3. Dexter in the Dark
4. Dexter By Design
5. Dexter Is Delicious
6. How to Talk to a Widower
7. One Last Thing Before I Go
8. Big Little Lies
9. The Last Anniversary
July
1. Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers
2. The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend
3. The Great Gatsby
4. The Rumor
5. Me Before You
6. Thy Neighbor: A Novel
7. The Girl You Left Behind
8. Honeymoon in Paris
9. Everything Changes
August
1. One Plus One
2. Double Dexter
3. Dexter's Final Cut
4. After the Red Rain
5. Secondhand Souls
September (personal best so far this year!)
1. Normal
2. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
3. Sanctum
4. I Don't Know What You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star
5. Nerd Do Well
6. A Little Less Noise
7. Heidi
8. Tiny Goes Back to School
9. Hero-Type
10. Oh, The Places You'll Go!
11. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
12. Pyjama Day!
13. We Share Everything!
14. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
15. Just Checking: Scenes From the Life of an Obsessive-Compulsive
October
1. The Martian
2. The Girl on the Train
3. The Burning Room
4. See Me
5. A Wicked Woman
6. Politics and the English Language
7. Landline
November
1. Night Music
2. Winter Street
3. The Crossing
4. I'm having so much fun here without you
5. Z-Minus 1
December
1. Nowhere But Home
TBR Clean Up Challenge Timeline: January 1 - December 31st
My physical TBR bookshelf is out of control (especially after receiving so many books for Christmas!) so my commitment for 2015 is to get through the list below. I've created a bookshelf specifically for these (to-read-in-2015) and will pull my selections from there. In the event that I make quick progress of this list, I'll keep pulling from my bookshelf to continue to whittle it down.
Currently planning the following:
1. Fortune Cookie
3. The Ladies' Lending Library
5. Last Night at the Viper Room: River Phoenix and the Hollywood He Left Behind
14. Love Anthony
15. No Relation
16. Cutting for Stone
19. Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune
20. The Light Between Oceans
Points Challenge - currently my favourite challenge! Timeline: January 1st to December 31st
Points System:
General book (1 point per book)
Shorties (0.5 per poem/play/short story)
Group read book (5 points per book)
Buddy read book (5 points per book)
Genre challenge book (3 points per book)
Mini-challenge (3 points per book)
Multi-book mini-challenge (3 points per book/10 points for completion)
Bonus points (varies each month)
Final Tally by Month
January - 28
February - 62
March - 15
April - 34
May - 57
June - 122
July - 101
August - 21
September - 131
October -
November -
December -
Original Bingo (thanks Karen!) - May to AugustChallenge completed July 11th
Halloween Readathon ProgressReadathon runs from October 25th - 31st
October 25th
-The Burning Room 138 pages
-See Me 221 pages
October 26th
-See Me 117 pages
October 27th - none
October 28th
-See Me - 150 pages
-A Wicked Woman - 30 pages
-Politics and the English Language - 20 pages
October 29th - none
October 30th
-Landline - 150 pages
October 31st
-Landline - 170 pages
Total pages: 996
Genre Challenges and Non-Fiction for 2015 Timeline: January 1st to December 31st
January - Historical Fiction and History
- Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
February - Romance/Chick Lit
-What Alice Forgot
-A Bend in the Road
-Dear John
-The Rosie Effect
-Safe Haven
-The Notebook
-The Woman Who Stole My Life
-Message in a Bottle
-The Lucky One
March - Contemporary & Autobiography/Memoir
-The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books (and Two Not-So-Great Ones) Saved My Life
-Redefining Success
April -
May - Fantasy
-Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
-Jack the Giant Killer
-Child of the Ghosts
June - Biography
-Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul
July - Humour
-Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers
-Everything Changes
August - Mysteries & True Crime
-Double Dexter
-Dexter's Final Cut
September - Science Fiction
The Martian
October - Horror/Thriller
-The Girl on the Train
-The Burning Room
-See Me
November - Adventure
December - Children's Lit
Haunted by the Unread 2015 Timeline: January 1st to December 31st
There are lots of books that I was hoping to get to in 2014 that I didn't, but these 16 were actually planned for the year and fell off the map because of my wildly out of control squirrel syndrome. Hopefully I will get through all these in 2015 without creating the same situation for 2016!
Total 4/16
Love Anthony
No Relation
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
All That Is Bitter and Sweet: A Memoir
Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune
The Light Between Oceans
Cutting for Stone
Water for Elephants
The Kite Runner
Beautiful Ruins
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag: A Memoir of a Life Through Events--the Ones You Plan and the Ones You Don't
Cassie's Pinterest Challenge for 2015 (a.k.a. 50 Books Challenge)Timeline: January 1st to December 31st
I'm aiming to complete all of the ones marked with an * instead of the whole 50, but let's see where the year takes me!
Total 25/25 FINISHED CHALLENGE APRIL 10th
[] A book published this year
[] A book with a number in the title
[] A book by someone under 30
[] A book with a one-word title
[] A book of short stories
[] A Pulitzer Prize winning book
[] A book based on a true story
[] A book more than 100 years old
[] A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't
[] A book with antonyms in the title
[] A book that came out the year you were born
[] A trilogy
[] A book from your childhood
[] A book set in the future
[] A book set in high school
[] A book that made you cry
[] A book with magic
[] A graphic novel
[] A book that takes place in your hometown
[] A book that was originally written in a different language
[] A book set during Christmas
[] A book written by an author with your same initials
[] A play
[] A banned book
[] A book based on or turned into a tv show
New Year/New Author Challenge (January - one book mini-challenge)Completed this challenge on January 2nd by reading Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board.
Kassandra's Soup RecipeA- A Bend in the Road
B- Blood Red Road
C- Child of the Ghosts
D- Dear John
E- Everything Changes
F- Flesh and Blood
G- Gray Mountain
H- The Hypnotist's Love Story
I- I Work at a Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks
J- Jack the Giant Killer
K-
L- The Longest Ride
M - Message in a Bottle
N- The Notebook
O- Orange Is the New Black
P- Pyjama Day!
Q-
R- The Rosie Effect
S- Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board
T- The Time Traveler's Wife
U- Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
V-
W- We Bought a Zoo
X-
Y- The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books (and Two Not-So-Great Ones) Saved My Life
Z- Z-Minus 1
Personal Challenge: Read 33,000 pagesTimeline: January 1st - December 31st, 2015
Progress as of Feb 28th - 6,753 (20%)
Progress as of April 26th - 10,442 (32%)
Progress as of May 31st - 14,718 (45%)
Progress as of July 12th - 19,036 (58%)
Progress as of September 10th - (74%)
Progress as of November 12th - 28,686 (87%)
Summer Reading List I'm making a list for my summer reading in an attempt to keep myself on track. In all likelihood, I'll get distracted by bright and shiny new titles, but it's a start :)
In no particular order:
2. The Martian
3. The Girl on the Train
4. Glory O'Brien's History of the Future
7. Rebecca
8. The Ladies' Lending Library
9. The Rule of Three
10. Raging Star
11. The Burning Room
I'd Like to Buy a Vowel (2015 Edition)No As - One Plus One
No Es - Normal
No Is - Double Dexter
No Os - Dexter's Final Cut
No Us - After the Red Rain
No Ys - Secondhand Souls
2nd Round:
No A's: Nerd Do Well
No E's: Sanctum
No I's: Hero-Type
No O's: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
No U's: Check
No Y's: Heidi
3rd Round:
No A's - Just Checking: Scenes From the Life of an Obsessive-Compulsive
No E's - Diary of a Wimpy Kid
No I's - Oh, The Places You'll Go!
No O's - Pyjama Day!
No U's - We Share Everything!
No Y's - Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
4th Round:
No A's - The Burning Room
No E's - A Wicked Woman
No I's - See Me
No O's - Landline
No U's - The Martian
No Y's - The Girl on the Train
5th Round
No A's - Night Music
No E's -
No I's - Nowhere But Home
No O's - Winter Street
No U's - The Crossing
No Y's -Z-Minus 1
The Last Readathon of 2015 Progress
Reserved
Your 2015 Quest is very well set up. Happy Reading and Good Luck, Girlie!
Good luck with your challenges Kassandra, already 1 book under your belt!
...and now I can add #2 Kiwi! Thanks for the message.
oohhh, I'd better speed up my reading then ... {puts audiobook on x1.2} LOL
I'm trying to make the most of my reading time before work starts on Monday!
Finished off book 3 so far this year - John Grisham continues to be one of my reliable favourites.
I finished Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption today and loved it. My grandfather is also a survivor of WWII and has his own memories of the brutality shown by the Japanese to POW's. This book has shown me very clearly that it is likely my grandfather's spirit and faith that allowed him to survive. The human spirit is a truly remarkable thing.
Thanks for sharing, it is such a blessing to know the generations before us. So much to learn from them. I'm starting this book in two days and have heard so many great remarks. Looking forward!
I really hope you enjoy it Melissa and would love to hear your thoughts on it!
110 books that's amazing. I physically don't have the time to do that, even though I wish I did.
Kassandra wrote: "I really hope you enjoy it Melissa and would love to hear your thoughts on it!"I'll get back to you Kassandra!
Looking forward to it, Melissa!I readI Work at a Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks and thought it was quite cute. Some of the stories were actually very surprising (read...creepy and/or disgusting), and some were lovely and touching! If you're looking for a quick (read it in under an hour) and light read, this is a good pick!
National Readathon Day (January 25) ProgressThe Time Traveler's Wife - 218 pages
Flesh and Blood - 124 pages
Total so far: 342 pages
Wow, you've read quite a bit so far! I'm impressed!
Thanks Melissa! I'm not sure how much else I will get done today so I wanted to make the most of it when I had the chance.
You did a great job! Now if I can keep my teens from disturbing me, maybe I can get more that 45 pages in today. :)
I don't know why I do this to myself, but I'm going to try to make a plan for my Feb reads. I'm really trying to stick with our genre for Feb in my reads as there are other months that I likely won't be participating so I'm trying to wrack up the points now. Here we go again!
I'm hoping that I can get into some fun chick lit this month to help me out with my goal for the year, I've already fallen behind!
Yay, I actually read a book that I had planned to read this month! Progress!
Go Kassandra! I enjoyed the Rosie effect and the Notebook is a short read too, just saying ...
Thanks Kiwi! I'm going to dive into both of them this month and can't wait.
Yay, I finished the 2nd book I had planned to read this month. That's surprising for me but I want to get as many in for the genre as I can.
Finished The Rosie Effect today and managed to cross off my 3rd planned book of the month! I love Feb!
Kassandra wrote: "Finished The Rosie Effect today and managed to cross off my 3rd planned book of the month! I love Feb!"So glad you are enjoying your month and for your reading success!
It's getting harder and harder to fill in some of these challenges, including alphabet soup!
I gave up on the Alphabet Soup last year. It seems all the books I read start with the same letters!!
Lol I'm finding the same thing Camille!
Mod
I've decided that when I retire I'm going to write novels with titles that all start with XYZ. :D
If only I could take liberties with the rules Renee and use titles that simply have X, Y and Z somewhere in the title!
Listening to the outlander now. Do audiobooks count
Kassandra, don't fret! As the year progresses, you will be able to rummage through other's challenges for ideas. We are here to offer suggestions. You are not doing this challenge alone! Stay strong! :D
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