Chapter 2015: In which 50 books will be read (by Cami)

[Cami]

Hi, I'm Cami and my challenge for 2015 is 50 books. It's not much for me in general, but I have a feeling I'll be busier than usual and this year I also want to read heavier books than is normal for me. We'll see if I can cough up the time to read more than that!

My subgoals/rules:
1. Read 10 books I own, but haven't yet read (I'll hate myself for this later; there's always a reason I've not read them all...) 2/10
2. Finish(/start over) at least 10 books out of currently-reading. 2/10
3. Read at least 15000 pages, preferably 20000+
4. Read 10 books out of BBC Big Read (and possibly try for the 23 average of Goodreads... Which means 10+5 books.) 1/10
5. Only 10 out of 50 may be YA books. And no middle-graders for Aradia's sake!
6. Graphic novels/comics don't count...but I'll list those anyways: 2
7. Read a book in Japanese! Seriously, do this and stop putting it off!

Wish us all good reads!

Books read:
12/50

1. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card ★★★★★, Subgoals: #1, #2
2. Animal Farm by George Orwell ★★★★☆ , Subgoals: #1, #2, #4
+ Amarillo by Juan Díaz Canales ★★★★★, Subgoals: #6
+ The Escapists by Brian K. Vaughan ★★★★★, Subgoals: #6
3. The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare ★★★★☆

[Cami]

CHALLENGES


Let's Turn Pages -challenge

815/20,000

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BBC Big Read -challenge

9/23/100
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As long as my subgoals/rules will be fulfilled, I'll also try for the I Spy -challenge!

1. Color - Markkinoinnin musta kirja by Teemu Takala, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton, A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
2. Number - The Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare, 1984 by George Orwell, The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
3. Things That Grow - The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
✔4. Seasons - The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare
5. First Name - Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
6. Places - Nation by Terry Pratchett
7. Body Part - The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
8. Weapon - The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
9. Body of Water - The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
10. Form of Water - Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett
11. Product of Fire - The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
12. Celestial Body - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Stardust by Neil Gaiman
13. Architecture - The Maze Runner by James Dashner
14. Senses - Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card, Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
15. Royal Title - Empress by Karen Miller, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Dark Lady's Chosen by Gail Z. Martin
16. Family Member - The Professor's Daughter by Joann Sfar
17. Elements - Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones, Watership Down by Richard Adams
18. Time of Day - A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
19. Metal - Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson, The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
20. Emotion/Feeling - Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare
✔21. Animal/Insect - Animal Farm by George Orwell (The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
22. Something to Read - The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
23. Gender Identifier - The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
24. Paranormal Being - Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
✔25. Occupation - Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

[Jodi]

I really like your Subgoals/Rules. I own many books, some I have had for years and just never gotten to them. I also like limiting yourself to 10/50 YA books. I tend to read quite a few YA books and often find myself disappointed in them because they will be too "young" for me.

What have you started with so far?

[Cami]

Hi Jodi! I have the same problems concerning both the YA books and the books I own. My bookshelf is filled with books that are just collecting dust. I tend to leave the harder to read ones for a "later" that never comes... And nowadays the themes in YA books mostly make me roll my eyes, which is kind of sad since YA fantasy used to be my favourite genre.

So far I've read Speaker for the Dead. I really liked it, and it also complies with subgoals #1 and #2, so I'm one down on both. Is it cheating if I substract from both with one book, though? I don't know. I'll have to think on this. Today I started Animal Farm. I've got 20 pages to go, so I'll finish it tomorrow. That also follows 1st and 2nd subgoal...

[Jodi]

I started the Ender's Game series last year, I think. I have a few book left in the series. It was the book that first got me interested in Science Fiction. I read Animal Farm many years ago. I remember really liking it. I feel like it is a book I need to re-read at some point because I really don't remember what it is about.

[Cami]

Ender's Game was what first got me into Sci-fi too. I think I read it in fifth grade or so for the first time. I've only now started reading the rest because only Ender's Game has a Finnish translation (and obviously I couldn't read English back then). I also own Xenocide and Ender in Exile, so in all likelyhood I'll read those this year too. Have you read them? If so, what did you think of them? I have a bad feeling about Ender in Exile...
I'm also liking Animal Farm. To jog your memory, it's a pretty simply written book about politics, corruption and how Communism worked out (or didn't) played out by animals. I think it would be even better if I knew more about the subject matter. Probably I'll be reading it again after getting more information about Communism.

[Jodi]

I read Xenocide. It wasn't my favourite. I plan to finish the series hopefully this year. I still have to read Children of the Mind and Ender in Exile

Oh Thanks for the memory jogger about Animal Farm. Now I for sure want to re-read it.