75 Books...More or Less! discussion
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Charleen's 2015 Challenge
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Congratulations!!! I'm still having a hard time getting to even 50 since my twins were born. They will be 2 in March. Just in November I started exercising and such and gave audio books a try. I tried many times in the past and couldn't stand it! I love reading the actual books. I get so much more out of it. But now that I finally gave audiobooks a fair chance I realized I can actually do it and still get into the book. I almost felt like I was cheating though, but I'm getting over it.I'm the same way with kids books. I'm sure if I added those I would be at 200 or more a year. My 3 little guys love for me to read! I don't count them though, even if I've read the same one 40 times in a month. ha!
Charleen, congratulations, 2015 will be an exciting year for you! My kids are grown and I've seen my reading habits change over the years but the love of reading is always there. I love audiobooks and can't imagine a car trip, walking my dogs, cleaning, cooking, or folding laundry without them. I hope they work for you as well :)
Charleen, Congratulations!!Yes, your reading habits will change with little ones. Do give audio a chance. However, this is the 1st year I have listened to more books than read. As for children's books, maybe you can compromise with 3-5 books to be counted as one book.
I am like Jan, and empty nester as of a year ago. The older the children became the more time I had for reading, except during band season. :-)
This year I have read less due to DS#1 getting married and placing my 87 yo Father in an assistance living facility. Thank goodness for audiobooks. That said some narrators are better than others.
I've tried a few audiobooks over the past year or so, and I have found that narrators can make or break the experience, but even with the good ones I can never manage to get all the way through. I'm too impatient, and I don't have enough time in my day that listening is more convenient than reading. That may change... or it may not. Like I said, I'm no good at multitasking, and I zone out easily. But we'll see.
Charleen, I've tried audiobooks and found that I'm a bit impatient also. I've been guilty of getting halfway through an audiobook and then picking up a physical copy of the book to finish! But when all else fails, I find them better than not reading.Wishing you a wonderful year!
Hi, Charleen! This WILL be a busy year for you. With audio books, I find the narrator makes all the difference. I usually check out 5 or 6 from the library and end up listening to 2 or 3. And then, about the only time I use audios is when I'm in the car. With a 30-minute commute one way, that does add up to a few extra books a year, though.
Mod
I also have a 30-min commute one way and audiobooks are wonderful for the ride!
Congrats! I am due in July with my first and I have no idea when I'm going to find time to read (especially since I haven't been close to my goal the last few years w/o a kiddo, but I just keep trying).I agree - I use to love audiobooks when I was commuting, but now I work from home and haven't found a way to work them into my general routine.
Tiffani wrote: "Congrats! I am due in July with my first and I have no idea when I'm going to find time to read (especially since I haven't been close to my goal the last few years w/o a kiddo, but I just keep trying..."Hey, Tiffani! Congratulations to you, too!
Mod
Tiffani, will this be #4 for you? :)
Okay, time to get this party started...1. Koko, by Peter Straub (1 star)
2. Fortune’s Pawn, by Rachel Bach (4 stars)
3. Honor’s Knight, by Rachel Bach (4 stars)
4. Heaven’s Queen, by Rachel Bach (4 stars)
5. The Virgin Queen’s Daughter, by Ella March Chase (3 stars)
6. Reversion, by Amy Rogers (3 stars)
7. Reconstructing Amelia, by Kimberly McCreight (3 stars)
8. The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath (2 stars)
9. A Study in Scarlet, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (4 stars)
10. Master of the Game, by Sidney Sheldon (3 stars)
11. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley (3 stars)
12. Dracula, by Bram Stoker (3 stars)
Mod
I really liked Reconstructing Amelia up to maybe the last 20% or so of the book... the ending just didn't pack quite as much of a punch as I'd been expecting. Still a good read, though.And it's rare that I give a classic more than 3 stars. I struggle so much with the older style. (Of course, on that same list I give 4 stars to one of the Sherlock Holmes novels, so it's not that I can't enjoy those older books more... but it doesn't happen a lot.) For what it's worth, I'd give Frankenstein a bit of an edge over Dracula. And if nothing else, it was really interesting to realize just how little I knew about the original stories.
February update:13. The Rendezvous, by Evelyn Anthony (4 stars)
14. The Manchurian Candidate, by Richard Condon (2 stars)
15. The Golem and the Jinni, by Helene Wecker (4 stars)
16. Watchers, by Dean Koontz (4 stars)
17. The Kraken Project, by Douglas Preston (3 stars)
18. Congo, by Michael Crichton (3 stars)
19. Captive Queen, by Alison Weir (2 stars)
20. Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Rift, by Gurihiru & Gene Lueng Yang (4 stars)
I'm one month and one day from my due date, so I expect my reading to slow down A LOT in the near future.
Mod
March update:21. Blood Infernal, by James Rollins & Rebecca Cantrell (3 stars)
r1. The Blood Gospel, by James Rollins & Rebecca Cantrell (4 stars)
r2. Innocent Blood, by James Rollins & Rebecca Cantrell (3 stars)
r3. The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern (5 stars)
r4. Attachments, by Rainbow Rowell (4 stars)
r5. I’ve Got Your Number, by Sophie Kinsella (5 stars)
A little bit early, and I may or may not get another book finished in these last few days... but since I'm due next week (!!!) I figured I'd better get this last update in before I forget all about it.
I don't know whether to hope for an April Fool's baby or not. It would totally fit for us (we got married on a Friday the 13th, so why not have our first kid on April Fool's Day?) but then I don't know how they'd like growing up with that birthday.
Mod
Con;gratulations! He is so adorable!!! How much did he weigh?
Oh, congratulations! He looks like a very sweet baby.
Charleen, congratulations! He's a beautiful baby! I hope the 3 of you are doing well.
Mod
Charleen, Congratulations! Your son is beautiful!
April-May-June update:22. My Real Children, by Jo Walton (4 stars)
23. Micro, by Michael Crichton & Richard Preston (2 stars)
24. Revival, by Stephen King (3 stars)
25. Save Yourself, by Kelly Braffet (3 stars)
26. Inside the O'Briens, by Lisa Genova (4 stars)
r6. Still Life with Crows, by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (4 stars)
r7. Black Order, by James Rollins (5 stars)
r8. The Sign, by Raymond Khoury (4 stars)
r9. Before I Go to Sleep, by S.J. Watson (5 stars)
a1. Seriously... I'm Kidding, by Ellen DeGeneres
a2. Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline
Lots of re-reads lately, since it requires a bit less brainpower when I already know the story, and I'm a bit less annoyed when I can only read a few pages at a time. I'm also giving audiobooks more of a chance, but since I'm only half paying attention, I don't want to give them a rating.
July update:27. Dietland, by Sarai Walker (4 stars)
28. The Vanishing, by Wendy Webb (3 stars)
29. Armada, by Ernest Cline (3 stars)
r10. Heart-Shaped Box, by Joe Hill (4 stars)
r11. Horns, by Joe Hill (4 stars)
a3. Yes Please, by Amy Pohler
a4. Bossypants, by Tina Fey
August update:30. Ms. Marvel: No Normal, by G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona (3 stars)
31. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, by Edgar Allan Poe (1 star)
32. Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson (4 stars)
33. Captain Marvel: Higher, Further, Faster, More, by Kelly Sue DeConnick & David Lopez (3 stars)
r12. The Bestseller, by Olivia Goldsmith (5 stars)
a5. Feed, by Mira Grant
a6. A Full Life, by Jimmy Carter
Mod
30. Ms. Marvel: No Normal, by G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona (3 stars)
31. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, by Edgar Allan Poe (1 star)
32. Mistborn, by Brandon ..."
Mistborn and Feed are in my TBR. Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym ughhh. lol
I powered through it, but yeah, not a fan. I think I need to read some shorter Poe, but I'm rarely in the mood for a short story.This was my second time reading Feed (well, first time listening). The whole trilogy is good, but this first book is my favorite. It just does such a great job of setting up this world and introducing the characters. Love it.
September update:34. The Well of Ascension, by Brandon Sanderson (4 stars)
35. The Hero of Ages, by Brandon Sanderson (5 stars)
36. Ms. Marvel: Generation Why, by G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona (3 stars)
37. Ms. Marvel: Crushed, by G. Willow Wilson & Takeshi Miyazawa (4 stars)
38. Finding Audrey, by Sophie Kinsella (2 stars)
39. Ultimate Comics Spider-Man Vol. 1, by Brian Michael Bendis & Sara Pichelli (3 stars)
40. Thor: The Goddess of Thunder, by Jason Aaron & Russell Dauterman (4 stars)
a7. Ms. Marvel: No Normal, by G. Willow Wilson
a8. As You Wish, by Cary Elwes
With three months to go in the year, I've read 40 new books, 12 re-reads, and 8 audiobooks. In the past I've only counted that first category toward my goal, but if I add them all up, I might actually get to 75!
Of course, if I counted all the books I read to my son, I'm well over a hundred... but I decided from the start I wasn't counting those toward my goal.
October update:41. A Dangerous Inheritance, by Alison Weir (2 stars)
42. The Sign of Four, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (3 stars)
43. Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (3 stars)
44. Locke & Key: Head Games, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (4 stars)
45. Locke & Key: Crown of Shadows, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (4 stars)
46. Locke & Key: Keys to the Kingdom, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (4 stars)
47. Locke & Key: Clockworks, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (4 stars)
48. Locke & Key: Alpha & Omega, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (5 stars)
49. Spider-Woman: Origin, by Brian Michael Bendis & Brian Reed (3 stars)
50. The Valley of Fear, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (3 stars)
a9. You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost), by Felicia Day
I've only read the first three Locke & Key books. It looks like I should finish the set!
November update:51. Ms. Marvel: Last Days, by G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona (4 stars)
52. Black Widow: The Finely Woven Thread, by Nathan Edmondson & Phil Noto (2 stars)
53. Black Widow: The Tightly Tangled Web, by Nathan Edmondson & Phil Noto (2 stars)
54. Black Widow: Last Days, by Nathan Edmondson & Phil Noto (3 stars)
55. Career of Evil, by Robert Galbraith (3 stars)
56. Thor: Who Holds the Hammer, by Jason Aaron & Russell Dauterman (4 stars)
57. X-23: Innocence Lost, by Craig Kyle & Billy Tan (3 stars)
58. Crimson Shore, by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (3 stars)
a10. Furiously Happy, by Jenny Lawson
a11. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
I'll keep counting them for this year, just for consistency, but I feel like my recent interest in comics is really inflating my numbers. I'm thinking I'll change the way I track them for next year's challenge.
I think it's safe to say I won't be finishing anything else in these last few hours. Here's my final update:59. The Alloy of Law, by Brandon Sanderson (3 stars)
60. Rat Queens: Sass and Sorcery, by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch (5 stars)
61. Y: The Last Man: Deluxe Edition Book One, by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, and José Marzán, Jr. (4 stars)
62. Rat Queens: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N’rygoth, by Kurtis J. Wiebe, Roc Upchurch, and Stjepan Sejic (4 stars)
63. Captain America and the Mighty Avengers: Last Days, by Al Ewing and Luke Ross (3 stars)
64. A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens (4 stars)
65. Captain Marvel: Stay Fly, by Kelly Sue DeConnick, David Lopez, and Marcio Takara (3 stars)
66. Captain Marvel: Alis Volat Propriis, by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Warren Ellis, and David Lopez (3 stars)
67. After Alice, by Gregory Maguire (1 star)
r13. Parasite, by Mira Grant
a12. The Cuckoo’s Calling, by Robert Galbraith
Wow. Even without counting my 13 re-reads or 12 audiobooks, I did WAY better this year than I figured I would. I didn't think I could come close to 75, and I got within ten. Of course, that number would be a lot smaller without all those comics... but my reading life is such a mishmash now that I'm done nitpicking.
So... final total for this year is 92. That's... insane.
(And then there's the 158 books I read to the little man...)
Mod
So After Alice was terrible? Have you read anything else of his? I love the Wicked series.
Elyse wrote: "Great job, Charleen! See, having a baby ain't that hard. ;) Glad you still got 'me' time! Got yourself a good hubby! So After Alice was terrible? Have you read anything else of his? I love the Wi..."
Ugh. I really like a lot of Gregory Maguire's earlier books. Wicked was great, although I didn't enjoy the rest of the series as much. And Lost, which so many people hated, is one of my favorites. But this... there was just nothing to it. The most I can say for it is that it makes me want to go read the source material.
As most of you know, I'm having a baby in April, so this will be the first year that I have no intention of reading 75 books. I'm still not sure what to set as my challenge number, or if I even should set one. I'm hoping to get to 25 before the baby is born, and then after that...
*shrugs*
One a month? Two a month? I have no idea. I've never been good at multitasking, but I might give audiobooks a try while feeding, as an alternative to watching TV (but when I'm too tired to actually read words on a page). Then there are kids' books, but I don't really want to count those (not because they don't count as books, but because I'm not reading them for myself).
So... we'll see. No goal for now. But it'll be an interesting year.