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Personal Challenges - 2015
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Mon's 2015 Reading Challenge (will I succeed this time)?
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Mon's reading challenge 2015. My books read so far...1. La Prisonniere 20 years in a desert gaol by Malika Oufkir
2. Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie
3. Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie
4. Drink with the Devil by Jack Higgins
5. Last Rituals by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
6. The Deep by Peter Benchley
7. Dracula by Bram Stoker
8. The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe
9. Death Comes As the End by Agatha Christie
10. Carmilla by Lefanu
11. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
12. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
13. The Rose of Tibet by Lionel Davidson
14. Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo
15. The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie
16. Mind Over Matter: The Epic Crossing Of The Antarctic Continent by Sir Ranulph Fiennes
17. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
18. Salmon Fishing In The Yemen by Paul Torday
19. Edgar Allan Poe's Complete Poetical Works
20. Greenmantle by John Buchan
Challenge Complete
21. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
22. Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey
23. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
24. Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
25. The Fifth Child by Dorris Lessing
26. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Aiming to read more classics this year I think!
1.
by Malika OufkirLa Prisionniere was gripping, knowing that it actually happened to a whole family where the youngest was only three was horrific. After being imprisoned for twenty years in appalling conditions it's any wonder the author can string three words together let alone remember details from the palace and everything since. Recommended. (I've put it on RISI if anyones interested)
2. Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie is really good. It's my first Agatha and I haven't been disappointed.
3. Murder in Mesopotamia by agatha Christie my third of 20 books started.
4. Drink with the Devil by Jack Higgins set in UK and Nth Ireland, pretty good so far. My first Higgins book. This was an easy read and with an ending that I didn't expect which was quite quick and rushed in my opinion. Not in any hurry to pick up another of his books unless its one without Sean Dillon in it.
5.
by Yrsa SigurðardóttirThis one based in Iceland, pretty gritty and gruesome according to the blurb. A German student has been murdered in the University of Iceland and his well-to-do parents have hired a local lawyer to conduct her own investigation as they're not happy with the local police's. Storyline was good with a good mix of characters. Recommended.
Last Rituals
Good luck with your challenge Monique, you are doing very well this year!
Kiwi wrote: "Good luck with your challenge Monique, you are doing very well this year!"Thanks Kiwi I'm determined to reach my goal this year :)
Iasa wrote: "You're off to a good start! I've got Last Rituals on my TBR, what did you think of it?"Really good... it's a bit gruesome but if you can get over that small part seeing as it's not on TV it's better not being able to see it. I enjoyed it.
The Deep by Peter Benchley was very good, some changes to the film but just as good if not better. Dated now but still a very good read would recommend it. Now onto number 7. Can't make a decision about what to read next?
No. 7 - Dracula by Bram StokerIn keeping with my pledge to read more classics I've decided to start Dracula by Bram Stoker, a book ive always intended to read but somehow never did.
Just finished this and enjoyed it immensely. It wasn't tedious or hard going and I felt very close to the characters at the end, not stiff and cold like some 19th century ones. Highly recommended.
No. 8 - The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe
Short story by one of the most celebrated in the horror genre. My mum first gave me this to listen to as a teenager, and had long ago forgotten the impact this had upon me. As I read it today the full horror of this story has returned to me and I was a little disturbed to say the least. Highly recommended for those who like a bit of shock treatment and for when it was written I think it was ahead of its time, or rather the Victorians may have done this sort of thing miles better than modern horror genre authors.
Mod
Monique,Agatha Christie made me a mystery lover for life. I still read a ton of mysteries every year. I'd highly recommend Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. (But don't click on the link or read anything about this book. Quite a few places have spoilers. That's why I think you should read it next- before the book gets ruined for you.)
Bella, have got Death Comes as the End next to read. Wanted to read it as I love Egypt and it's set alongside the ancient Egyptians, I do have The Murder of Roger Ackroyd to read as well, I've got a whole box of books of hers I picked up in a farm sale years ago and they were in the loft, just dusted them off and had a proper look at the ones I've got. Funnily enough Styles in Sunningdale is about two miles from where we are living but I've never seen it, I'll have to check it out sometime.
No. 9 - Death Comes As the End by Agatha Christie
Well, what can I say, what a great little book. I was a bit umming and erring over this because it wasn't your usual Christie type book, but I was totally wrong...
It packed a great plot into a short amount of pages, fast paced and unless your a Marple or Hercule by nature unlike me; you'll be guessing til the end at who was behind all the misdeeds. Highly recommend this standalone Christie.
Iasa wrote: "great, a christie i haven't read, i don't even remember ever hearing about this one. i will have to add it my list to read for sure!"I think Death on the Nile kind of overshadows this one quite a bit as well as the fact it's not a Marple or Hercule novel, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I have just finished...No. 10 - Carmilla by J S Lefanu, a true gothic horror based in Austria. Creepy, tinged with lesbianism. Perhaps Victorian ladies often expressed their friendship in this way, I don't know...
A good read albeit short.
I have just finished No. 11 - The Hound of the Baskervilles,
by Conan Doyle. I enjoyed this for the storyline. I can't say I liked Holmes as a character, so won't be in a hurry to pick up another.Now on to my next book which is......No 12, The Woman in White
by Wilkie Collins.
Mod
Faye wrote: "You're reading some awesome books this year, Monique!"I know, I can't believe it, I should have done this ages ago, I'd completely forgotten that the classics are totally the best....I'd been reading mostly modern ones til about 4-5 months ago.
Completely enjoying WiW so many changes in story line and the mystery still deepens. Hopefully can get it finished over the next couple of days.
Finally....finished WiW and am now reading No. 13, The Rose of Tibet by Lionel Davidson which will go towards both my rainbow and decade challenge and get me Tibet for my round the world challenge which I'm doing in another group. I found The Rose of Tibet really good, it was a good storyline, well written with lots of action, love and heartbreak. I got quite unsettled towards the end, and it didn't end how I expected it to. Recommended.
Just finished No 14 - Kensukes Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo which I've just finished with my daughter, a great children's read and can totally understand why Morpurgo is one of the best selling authors for children at the moment.
No 15 - The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie. I enjoyed the storyline but it's in the same vein as many of her other books, so if your easily bored or looking for something different from her other books don't bother. I love this era, everyone seemed polite. As always a fan of Agatha; I liked it.
No. 16 - Mind Over Matter by Sir Ranulph Fiennes about his unsupported trek over Antartica. Travelled 1,400 ish km over 90 days in unbearable conditions, gives us a glimpse of what this continent is like and what the human body can endure both physically and emotionally. Recommended.
Finished No. 17) The Moonstone - enjoyed this book, the storyline was good. Some of the characters were a bit stiff but added to the spice of it i suppose. The narratives - which Collins used in The Woman in White as well - worked again really well in this book, giving a really in depth view of each characters perspectives. Not as good as WiW IMO but a good read nonetheless.
No. 18 Finished. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Storyline was good and so were the characters. A real pageturner, quick read. 
No. 19 Edgar Allan Poe's Complete Poetical Works, good but although out of the standout poems like the Raven, Annabel Lee, etc. for me one poem is very much like another unless it has a strong storyline attached to it. 
No. 20 - Greenmantle by John Buchan. Set in WW1 the story starts in London and makes its way through Germany to what was Constantinople, now modern day Turkey. Agent recruited, adventure begins, lots of daredevil antics and near misses, a spy story in the vein of an early James Bond (without gizmos). Enjoyable. Characters likeable.
CHALLENGE COMPLETED. I'm going to continue listing the books I'm reading as its a good easy visual record for me to see all at once.
Thanks to all those that have encouraged, recommended and discussed all things books (and beyond) with me, over the past six months.
No. 21 - Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi. This was set in Nigeria in the 60s. It tells the story of how two well-to-do sisters coped during the Biafran war. Moving, shocking, well written and fast paced without leaving out detail, I would highly recommend it.
No 22 - Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey. I found this book a bit difficult to get my head around at first, it was darting between two times, but about half way through the book it kinda fit together for me, and pieces started falling into place. The ending was a bit predictable for me and I'd guessed what was going to happen. A different type of story which I enjoyed in the end and I'm glad I stuck with it.
No 23 - The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Read for the Halloween Readathon. It was the latest in my Gothic Horror journey. A short read, with a type of Victorian script that beats around the bush a bit, and although the storyline was good, it left me a bit frustrated because it posed more questions than gave me answers at the end. 
No 24. Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson. A great Y A read, with an excellent storyline, I was totally transported to the Amazon. great read.
No. 25 The Fifth Child by Dorris Lessing. A very good story, although incredibly short it could have been double the length. Quite disturbing really, but how far away from reality was this with regard to the state of mental health care back in the sixties/seventies?
No. 26 A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Probably my last book of 2015. The language is a bit difficult to grasp, it needs a glossary at the front. Good so far. Have a good holiday guys.
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Journey to the River Sea (other topics)
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I hope to read 20 books in 2015 which is 5 more than last year (I didn't even manage to make 15 which was my challenge, I only managed 11), by being just a little bit more active on here, I hope to make my target.