Week 1: Introduction

[Jessica]

Week 1: A book with more than 500 pages
January 1-7, 2015


This challenge does not start officially until January 1, 2015. However, the holidays are among us, so a little head start can't hurt anyone. The first week of our reading challenge is to pick a book with more than 500 pages. Don't let the large number scare you. There are seven days in a week-that's only 70 to 100 pages a day! You can easily knock that out on your lunch break. I believe in you!


How to Create a Topic:
1. Choose your book and create a topic in the appropriate folder using your book's author and title.

2. In the body of your post, comment about why you chose this book. Have you read it before? What are your expectations?

3. Feel free to use the thread as a way to update the group on your progress. Also, when you are finished reading, add a small review and your thoughts about the week's challenge.

4. Comment on everyone else's posts as well! Participation and group involvement will make this challenge so much fun!

**If you chose the same book as another group member, do not create a duplicate thread.**



Week 1 Recommendations:
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Harry Potter (series) by JK Rowling
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
More books over 500 pages on Goodreads

[Empressa]

So excited. Haven't made a definite decision yet but I think I will read Little Women. I don't recall if I did finish it when I picked it up in 4th or 5th grade but I do know it's worth a re-read either way.
Other possibilities:
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
Cold Magic (Spiritwalker, #1) by Kate Elliott
Princess Bride by William Goldman

[Jessica]

Empress: that Cold Magic sounds very interesting!! Thank you for the rec. I may check it out :))

[misplacedselchie]

I'm down for Elantris by Brandon Sanderson :D

Also...I'm not sure which copy of The Princess Bride you have, but when I was thumbing through it it wasn't 500 pages o.O

[Bailey]

Super excited to start the reading challenge!

I am almost finished with Lena Dunham's "Not That Kind of Girl," and I plan to read "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" for my book over 500 pages. I'm sure most people have already read that one.. I'm late in the game!

[Empressa]

I was going to borrow it from the library. It was on here on an over 500 pages list but I'll take your word instead lol. Been keen on the idea of Little Women for some winter reading, so I will likely go with that.

I have not read Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I think it looked too dark for me...well, not dark, but triggery for my ptsd. Which doesn't mean I won't read a book, just gotta be really wanting to read it and keep myself grounded so to speak.

[Jessica]

Lora wrote: "I'm down for Elantris by Brandon Sanderson :D

Also...I'm not sure which copy of The Princess Bride you have, but when I was thumbing through it it wasn't 500 pages o.O"
For real? It may be a certain edition! I was going by Goodreads description. I know hardcover and paperback editions can vary by up to like 50 pages. I hope people double check!!

[misplacedselchie]

Hmm...well I retract my first statement about The Princess Bride. I just double checked and it is 512 pages. I'm sorry for any confusion I may have cause! I SWEAR it was only like 490 pages when I looked, but I apparently was wrong lol

[Adriana]

I was thinking of reading Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, however my edition (Wordsworth Classics, the font is pretty small) is about 480 pages or so. Is it okay anyway? According to Goodreads Penguin's edition is 545 pages long!

[Taylor]

@Adriana that is perfectly fine!

[Britteny - , Mod Assistant]

So I've been a member of Goodread for years now but barely use it. Well, I'm attempting to change that now. This was a group I just fell across and sounded interesting so I joined. :-)
I had problems finding a book that was 500 pages on my bookshelf. I found two, and seeing as one was #3 in a series (I think I picked that one up for $.75 at a past library sale lol) I had to go with the other: THE DISTANT HOURS by Kate Morton.

[Michelle]

I love a good reading challenge. I can't decide if I want to plot a course now or decide week by week what to read.

[Britteny - , Mod Assistant]

My book ended up changing shortly after my last post. Lol! Found another book over 500 pgs and decided on it instead. Posted my post about that one. :-)

[Jessica]

Michelle! I keep changing mine in my head constantly. Plotting it out is great so you can purchase the book if need though.

[Michelle, Mod Assistant]

Couldn't remember my Goodreads password. Then I couldn't log in from work since it was linked to Facebook which is blocked by our web filter. Somehow, I think I've managed to sign up for the group 3x under 3 different e-mails. I will have to sign back in on the other accounts and try to delete them. Anyway, I've started doing a bit of plotting (with a little wiggle room) and I think I'm going to start with Life After Life by Kate Atkinson first.

[misplacedselchie]

I'm plotting mine out, especially for November because I'll be busy with NaNoWriMo, lol. I have all the challenges written down and the corresponding week so I can plan better. I think this is the closest to any semblance of organisation/planning I have ever done, ever. xD

[Jessica]

Haha Lora! I have the weeks written down in my planner!

[misplacedselchie]

Oh man..I never thought of a planner! Wow, that would have saved me time and trouble lol. I may go get one now though... that's be easier to keep track of

[Michelle, Mod Assistant]

Genius idea, Jessica! I need to pick up a new planner for next year and that'll be a great way to keep track. I also created a special 2015 Reading Challenge GoodReads shelf for the books I'm planning to read during the challenge to help keep me organized.

[Staci]

So I wanted to read City of Bones by Cassandra Clare and it is on the "More Books over 500 pages" on Goodreads, but my paperback at home is 485, but all the rest are 500 pages!!! Just my luck!!

[Jessica]

Staci! The hardcover edition is 496 and the Kindle version is 503 pages. ;) You should read it anyway!

[Staci]

OMG you are awesome!!! Thank you!! I had my heart set on it, YAY!!

[Jessica]

No problem Staci. :) Go ahead and create your topic under Week 1 and start reading! I can't wait to hear about it!! :)

[Michelle]

Hello! My name is Michelle. I am stoked to attempt this reading challenge. I have chosen to read "Dreams of Gods and Monsters" by Laini Taylor. It's 613 pages :)

[Johanna]

For week one I'm reading "A Voice in the Wind" by Francine Rivers. It's a favorite I haven't read in years. I think I'll plot out a month or two in advance. I'll also be documenting my progress weekly on my blog (htttp://www.ourjoyfulhome.com) :)

[misplacedselchie]

Ooh that's a good idea Joey! I need to be doing stuff on my blog since it's been very...*ahem* dead. Totally stealing your idea ;)

[Frits]

okay my over 500 pages book is going to be one of a series.
i am going with Robert Jordan Wheel of time book 2
which may cause trouble for everything else to come as i have 10 volumes after this waiting to be read (again for some of them) Everybody enjoy your reading whatever you pick.

[Lynda]

I'm going with a book I purchased a couple of months agoa and haven't read. I'm going with Jon Meacham's Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power. It's 502 pages.I'm not normally interested in biographies.

[Taylor]

Frits, how did you like the first book? This series has been recommended to me multiple times and I wanna check it out.

[misplacedselchie]

Taylor, (putting in my two cents here lol) Eye Of The World is awesome. That whole series is really good, even where Brandon Sanderson takes over and finishes it off.

[Jessica]

I've heard great things about that series, too!! Taylor, I guess we need to check it out. :)

[Abhishek]

Jessica, are you sure Dracula has 500 pages? The Goodreads page says that it has 488, and the Kindle version on Amazon says that it has 408 pages. I would pick this book as my first one, but I don't want to break any rules right at the start!

[Jessica]

Abhishek, hmm you're right. Dracula was listed in a few Goodreads' lists for books over 500 pages. It must have been a different edition because Amazon is listing Dracula as 300-450 pages. I'll leave that one up to you!

[Krista]

Hi, I'm new to posting etc, I tried adding my book to week one but it came up in discussions on the front, sorry must have done something wrong there. Anyway, good thread and I'm looking forward to the challenge.

[Jessica]

I'll fix it for you Krista :)

[Tricia]

I will be reading Middlesex for week 1. Thanks for doing such great work putting this group together.

[Jessica]

Thank you Tricia :) Welcome to the group!

[Sarah]

Hello, I am thinking that for week one I will be reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It is one that I had on my too read list so this seems like the perfect time to start it!

[Taylor]

Sarah I just finished that book recently and it was amazing.

[Sarah]

I don't think that I can get it out from the library in time so to be safe I am going to change my choice for week one to The Night Circus by Erin Morgensteen.

[Ellen]

Week 1- Wool by Hugh Howey, 508 pages. So far so good!

[[deleted user]]

Michelle wrote: "Couldn't remember my Goodreads password. Then I couldn't log in from work since it was linked to Facebook which is blocked by our web filter. Somehow, I think I've managed to sign up for the group ..."

"Life After Life" will be my book for week one as well! I've seen the title in various bookstores this year, but to be honest the reason I chose it is because I was looking for a book over 500 pages that was written/published in the last 5-10 years! I'm excited because I don't really know what to expect, which is a bit new for me as a reader. I'll be interested to hear what you think about it, as well!

[Cristina]

My choice for week 1:Digital Fortress by Dan Brown! Hope it's as good as the Robert Langdon series. :)

[Cait]

Hi,

I've spent best part of the afternoon trying to finish reading The Silmarillion so I can start the New Year with a new book. Right now I'm leaning toward Emma because I have a free copy on my Kindle though I've been distracted by all of the other free classics on Amazon.

At least I've still got a few hours to decide for definite which one I want to go for. ;-)

[Stormie ~ Book Dragon ~]

For the 1st week, I will do The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I borrowed from the library, but haven't started it yet. So why not use it for this. :)

~Stormie

[Cait]

Stormie wrote: "For the 1st week, I will do The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I borrowed from the library, but haven't started it yet. So why not use it for this. :)

~Stormie"

I'm using this challenge as an excuse to read some of the books I've had on my Kindle for ages but have never gotten around to, or to reread some that I've been holding off reading.

[Michelle, Mod Assistant]

Stormie, The Book Thief is a popular choice for Week 1. You'll be in good company! It wasn't my first choice, but after getting 40% of the way through that book and deciding it wasn't at all for me, I had to come up with a back-up plan. The Book Thief was the only thing on my Kindle over 500 pages that I hadn't already planned to read for a different task. I hope to see you in the discussion thread sharing your thoughts when you've finished. So far, I'm liking it. I hope you will too!

Cait I'm hoping to take a decent chunk out my Kindle library with this challenge too. Having so many unread books on there is driving me mad!

[Cait]

Michelle - When I got my Kindle I went crazy downloading all the free classics and I've been very slowly working through them so I know what you mean, hehe.

I've also got a fair few rereads I'm planning on doing because as they're rereads they're sat at the end of my to-read shelves (I don't have a list, in my house I have a whole bookcase, hehe) so this'll be my excuse to bump them up the list. ;-)

[Thraa]

This looks like a fun group.. am so excited about the challenge!!

[Michelle, Mod Assistant]

Cait, you could squeeze one of those re-reads in for Week 20 (a book at the bottom of your to read list) for sure! Do you have any rules about re-reads? I know, for example, one of my best friends has a five year rule. She won't re-read anything till five years has passed since she last read it.