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2022 Annual Reading Challenge
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Lea's 1st Annual Reading Challenge - 2nd List Complete...There will be no 3rd List! :-)
Kristine wrote: "Lea, glad you liked 
, I thought that was a really good book. Also, love the cover. I read about it after I finished the book and was done by an indigenous artist and explains all the symbolism that was in the book."Kristine, I had to look up the cover art after you mentioned it, and I love it. It's very subtle. All along, I thought it was beautiful, but I didn't see the ravens or the bear at first. I was originally bothered by the word Firekeeper's being split into Fire Keeper's, but I don't know how we could put the word together and have it be a reasonable font. Maybe on the diagonal. Anyway, thanks for mentioning that! It sent me on a very interesting hunt.
Ioana wrote: "It's on my TBR, and I'm glad to hear it's a good one. I agree with Kristine, beautiful cover with an interesting story."I hope you enjoy it whenever you get to it, Ioana. It might be a little outside your comfort genres, but it isn't too much outside. It's worth a try, but definitely don't feel badly if it isn't for you. It does start a bit slow, so maybe consider giving it about 25% before making any decisions about abandonment. :-)
List 21.
2.
3.
4.
5. The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
6.
7.
8. The Switch by Sandra Brown
9.
10. Flirting with Disaster: Why Accidents Are Rarely Accidental by Marc S. Gerstein
11. Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
12.
Alternates:
13. Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
14. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
15. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
16. The Mountain Shadow by Gregory David Roberts
Dear Ms. Ford,
I finished reading Somebody's Daughter today, and I'm not sure what I think or how I feel about it. I had thought the book would be more about the relationship with your dad, so this was a little different from expectations. On the one hand, it must have been both challenging and cathartic to write. I can see that you have done a lot of work to move through some of the traumatic things that happened in your life and I respect that. At the end of the book, there was an interview with you, and one of the things you said was that you didn't want this book to make a person to think, you wanted this book to make a person feel. I am not sure I got there. My life experiences were just so much different than yours. But, I think there are lots of people out there who need this book. I think you succeeded in writing about awful traumatic things that happened with grace and love and I like that very few people in the book are all good or all bad. We're just all human, and I think you captured that.
With great respect,
Lea
List 21.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8. The Switch by Sandra Brown
9.
10. Flirting with Disaster: Why Accidents Are Rarely Accidental by Marc S. Gerstein
11. Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
12.
Alternates:
13. Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
14. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
15. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
16. The Mountain Shadow by Gregory David Roberts
Dear Mr. Hendrix,
I was entertained by The Final Girl Support Group but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had known more about the plots and characters of the 1980s slasher films. It was still very fun and I would definitely pick up another book by you.
Regards,
Lea
Mod
Alondra wrote: "Okayyy, I see you, Lea!! Great job on tackling this second list. Woot!"Thanks, Alondra. It seems to go easier when the books aren't all the same series. Apparently, I need some variety in my life. :-)
List 21.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. Flirting with Disaster: Why Accidents Are Rarely Accidental by Marc S. Gerstein
11. Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
12.
Alternates:
13. Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
14. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
15. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
16. The Mountain Shadow by Gregory David Roberts
Dear Ms. Brown,
I was entertained by reading The Switch. I guessed a lot of the plot twists, even though some of them didn't make a lot of sense (view spoiler) I liked the book, but I preferred Lethal out of the three books I've read by you. I'm sure I'll read more in the future.
Regards,
Lea
List 21.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. Flirting with Disaster: Why Accidents Are Rarely Accidental by Marc S. Gerstein
11.
12.
Alternates:
13. Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
14. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
15. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
16. The Mountain Shadow by Gregory David Roberts
Dear Mr. McCarthy,
I really enjoyed reading your entire Border trilogy, including the last book in the series Cities of the Plain. What a beautiful, yet bleak end to the series. I enjoyed it very much. The only quibble I have is the personality change of Billy. He seemed to have taken on the personality of Lacey from All the Pretty Horses instead of being the person I remember from The Crossing. Such beautiful language, though and such a great story.
I'll be reading more of your books,
Lea
Wow! I can't believe how quickly you're reading through your second list. Only 5 more left? I see that you have a couple of big books left. Looking forward to seeing what you think of The Mountain Shadow. Read his first book, Shantaram, a decade ago and I still remember it vividly.
Lillie wrote: "Wow! I can't believe how quickly you're reading through your second list. Only 5 more left? I see that you have a couple of big books left. Looking forward to seeing what you think of The Mountain Shadow. Read his first book, Shantaram, a decade ago and I still remember it vividly."It helps me when the books aren't all in the same series. :-) I like a lot of variety in my books, so reading through a series is really a true challenge for me. I'm looking forward to Mountain Shadow also - it's super long so that's why it's #16!
Lea wrote: "it's super long so that's why it's #16! "Are you reading your books in order of how you’ve listed them?
Lillie wrote: "Lea wrote: "it's super long so that's why it's #16! "Are you reading your books in order of how you’ve listed them?"
I wrote them down in the order I thought I might read them, but I'm not going down the list in perfect order. I'm currently reading #10 and #14. And some other books off the list that I just had to squeeze in!
List 2 - Technically Complete!!!!!1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. Flirting with Disaster: Why Accidents Are Rarely Accidental by Marc S. Gerstein
11.
12.
Alternates:
13. Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
14.
15. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
16. The Mountain Shadow by Gregory David Roberts
Dear Ms. Tartt,
I had heard so many great things about The Secret History that I was nervous to pick it up. I've been staring at the book for years. I just wasn't sure that the plot was going to be something that I would enjoy.
It became worse after The Goldfinch came out, because many people I respect were telling me how much better that book was. The plot seemed more interesting to me, so I picked up The Goldfinch first. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy that one as much as I hoped. I didn't like the characters and I felt like I should like the characters. I decided I'd eventually read The Secret History, but not to bother with The Little Friend.
When I finally got around to reading your earlier, work, The Secret History, I didn't like any of the characters in it at all...but I didn't feel like I was supposed to like them either. They were all terrible people. I ended up enjoying where the plot went more than I enjoyed the journey of The Goldfinch and it made me want to read The Little Friend. It will be a future buddy read with my GR friend Alissa, who is a huge fan of The Secret History and of your writing. As for me, I'm on board now. I understand why people enjoy your writing. The Secret History was very well written and made me want to keep on reading the whole thing.
It's been about 10 years since your last book...here's hoping that your next book is coming out soon.
Impatiently waiting,
Lea
Woo hoo!!!! Feels great to have List #2 complete. Yes, I'm hoping to finish out the final four. It seems do-able, but one of them is 915 pages, so we'll see.
Mod
Wow you are killing list number 2! I feel like such a slacker.
Bill wrote: "Congratulations! You're doing great. Are you going to try Perfume?"I am going to try it...again. I keep starting the book, but not getting hooked into it and then the book has to be returned....rinse, repeat. I haven't reached the point of no return with this book, I do want to know what all the fuss is about, but I'm not going to force myself to read something that I don't find interesting either.
Michelle wrote: "Wow you are killing list number 2! I feel like such a slacker."It's not slacking, it's waiting to be in the right mood to read a book. :-)
What I've learned is essentially, if I want to complete my list quickly, I have to ignore all pressures and post my list on January 1st. Then it will include a lot of books I'm in the mood to read at that moment, not two months before.
I'll never be able to do it. Part of the fun for me is to post early and see what everyone else is going to read. I always SAY that I COULD change my books, but I never do. Sometimes I have to wait all year (or even longer) before I'm in the mood for those books again.
Mod
I am going to try it...again. I keep starting the book, but not getting hooked into it and then the book has to be ..."
I'll be interested in your thoughts. I was very disappointed as I recall
Mod
Yessssssssssssssss amazing!!!!!!!!!And I'm so glad you liked The Secret History and looking forward to reading The Little Friend!!
You are on a tear! Congrats on finishing another challenge list! Will you read the rest? I’m especially interested in your thoughts on The Mountain Shadow before I possibly tackle next year.
Wow, well done on a second list complete!
Where do I start? Congrats for the 2nd completed list! I think if you hurry, you can do another oner, or at least a half list 😉I tried The Secret History some time ago, and it did not work for me. But I loved The Goldfinch, so maybe I should try it again?
Well, congrats! (As most of us struggle to finish & stick with one list!) I enjoyed both The Secret History & The Goldfinch though they are quite different, so I can see why some might like one or the other. I (mostly) listened to The Goldfinch on audio & though there were a couple of times, I thought I would toss it, I stuck with it & loved it in the end. In fact, I would like to read it again! I have The Little Friend on my shelf, so maybe someday!
Congrats, Lea! Two lists, that's great. I agree with you about Secret History...it was like watching something horrible unfold and not being able to look away. I haven't heard of Little Friend, I'll have to check it out.
Patricia wrote: "Well, congrats! (As most of us struggle to finish & stick with one list!) I enjoyed both The Secret History & The Goldfinch though they are quite different, so I can see why some might like one or the other. I (mostly) listened to The Goldfinch on audio & though there were a couple of times, I thought I would toss it, I stuck with it & loved it in the end. In fact, I would like to read it again! I have The Little Friend on my shelf, so maybe someday!"I think I'm one of the few people who DNF The Secret History and really enjoyed The Goldfinch. I could not continue to read TSH due to my loathing of the main characters although I figured that was the point. It could be that I was more interested in TG because of my art history background. Can't say I loved it but I did enjoy a majority of it.
Bill wrote: "I'll be interested in your thoughts. I was very disappointed as I recall"That must be why I keep putting it off. I have started the book a bunch of times, but there's no hook, so I keep setting it aside. We'll see what happens.
Alissa wrote: "Yessssssssssssssss amazing!!!!!!!!!And I'm so glad you liked The Secret History and looking forward to reading The Little Friend!!"
I'm looking forward to it too. I'm glad you encouraged me to give The Secret History a go, I am glad I read it.
Lillie wrote: "You are on a tear! Congrats on finishing another challenge list! Will you read the rest? I’m especially interested in your thoughts on The Mountain Shadow before I possibly tackle next year."I am going to read the rest, but I'm not sure about this year. I am nervous about The Mountain Shadow just because it is over 900 pages long. I plan to start it this month, but I had a very slow October, so I'm not sure how long it will take me to get that book read.
Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "Wow, well done on a second list complete!"Thank you, Desley. It will probably take me the rest of the year to get the rest of the list read. :-)
Ioana wrote: "Where do I start? Congrats for the 2nd completed list! I think if you hurry, you can do another oner, or at least a half list 😉I tried The Secret History some time ago, and it did not work for me. But I loved The Goldfinch, so maybe I should try it again?"
I am totally thinking the same thing (or the reverse)...maybe I should try The Goldfinch again. But I'm not sure we should try to read the book we didn't care for the first time again, just because it seems an unusually high percentage of readers tend to like one without liking the other. I mean there are still people who love both, of course, but there are a lot of people (on this thread even) that liked one of her books and didn't like the other. Let me try to talk you into reading The Little Friend with Alissa and me instead and it can be the tie breaker for all of us that aren't sure about Tartt. :-)
Patricia wrote: "Well, congrats! (As most of us struggle to finish & stick with one list!) I enjoyed both The Secret History & The Goldfinch though they are quite different, so I can see why some might like one or the other. I (mostly) listened to The Goldfinch on audio & though there were a couple of times, I thought I would toss it, I stuck with it & loved it in the end. In fact, I would like to read it again! I have The Little Friend on my shelf, so maybe someday!"I keep thinking about trying The Goldfinch again without feeling "obligated" to try and like Theo. I just loathed him. I know, I know, I should feel more compassionate towards him. But I didn't. I felt guilty about my lack of compassion, wished I was a nicer person, and I think it affected my enjoyment of the book.
Alissa and I are considering reading The Little Friend sometime next year, so if you still haven't read the book, you are welcome to join us. :-)
Linette wrote: "Congrats, Lea! Two lists, that's great. I agree with you about Secret History...it was like watching something horrible unfold and not being able to look away. I haven't heard of Little Friend, I'll have to check it out."You're absolutely right about The Secret History!
Donna Tartt seems to write one book like every 10 years, so she's due for another one. The only one I now haven't read is The Little Friend, so Alissa and I are going to try and read it next year sometime. We'd love to have you join us too, the more the merrier. :-)
Lillie wrote: "I think I'm one of the few people who DNF The Secret History and really enjoyed The Goldfinch. I could not continue to read TSH due to my loathing of the main characters although I figured that was the point. It could be that I was more interested in TG because of my art history background. Can't say I loved it but I did enjoy a majority of it."Lillie, I think you are in more company than you know. There are quite a few people who couldn't stomach The Secret History but enjoyed The Goldfinch. A lot of other people liked both books. And there are a few of us who have it reversed/wrong and didn't like The Goldfinch as much. Your art history background could have been the difference, but I also think that I just felt too guilty because I couldn't feel any sympathy for Theo.
Lea wrote: "I am totally thinking the same thing (or the reverse)...maybe I should try The Goldfinch again. But I'm not sure we should try to read the book we didn't care for the first time again, just because it seems an unusually high percentage of readers tend to like one without liking the other. I mean there are still people who love both, of course, but there are a lot of people (on this thread even) that liked one of her books and didn't like the other. Let me try to talk you into reading The Little Friend with Alissa and me instead and it can be the tie breaker for all of us that aren't sure about Tartt. :-)."As always, you have a point here, and I haven't thought of this before. Maybe I should just accept that The Secret History was not for me.
I'm not sure about The Little Friend, it's over 600 pages and not even on my TBR... As of now, I'm 4 books behind my 2022 schedule and any thought of a 600 pages book makes me shiver. Let's talk again next year about this 🤣
Lea wrote: "Your art history background could have been the difference, but I also think that I just felt too guilty because I couldn't feel any sympathy for Theo."I don't know...I did not like Theo at all, and still liked the book.
Ioana wrote: "As always, you have a point here, and I haven't thought of this before. Maybe I should just accept that The Secret History was not for me.I'm not sure about The Little Friend, it's over 600 pages and not even on my TBR... As of now, I'm 4 books behind my 2022 schedule and any thought of a 600 pages book makes me shiver. Let's talk again next year about this 🤣"
Oh goodness. We are *not* reading it this year. We will discuss reading it next year. Not early in the year either.
Between my reading The Secret History in October, and hoping to read The Mountain Shadow and Wanderers before the end of this year, I'm not going to want to read another 600 page book either. I'm getting twitchy just thinking about it. If I finish those next two books, I may just read children's books in January. :-)
Ioana wrote: "I don't know...I did not like Theo at all, and still liked the book."Hmmm...I felt like such an awful person for not liking him. I wonder why? Maybe I should re-read knowing that it's OK not to like him...
LOL, ok...we can discuss about reading it next year. Shantaram was another DNF, so no interest in The Mountain Shadow.
Wanderers is on my TBR and I'm tempted, but I know it will take me forever to read it. My library only has it in "read" format, not audio, and because I only read a couple pages before I go to sleep, you can imagine how long it will take me, probably the entire next year. Don't judge me, but my current "read" is only about 450 pages, I started it in July and I'm only about 55% into it...
Ioana wrote: "LOL, ok...we can discuss about reading it next year. Shantaram was another DNF, so no interest in The Mountain Shadow.
Wanderers is on my TBR and I'm tempted, but I know it will take me forever to read it. My library only has it in "read" format, not audio, and because I only read a couple pages before I go to sleep, you can imagine how long it will take me, probably the entire next year. Don't judge me, but my current "read" is only about 450 pages, I started it in July and I'm only about 55% into it..."
No judgment here, I am also struggling to get some of my paper books read. There is a lot of time I can listen to audio that I cannot read (driving, walking, etc.) so my read/listen ratio is like 1 out of every five books. I am also not really in the mood for my current paper book, so that isn't helping matters either. I'm glad I can listen to Wanderers even though it will take 32 hours of my life to listen to the whole thing. My libraries don't have The Mountain Shadow on audio, so I'm gearing up for a very long read with that one. I might finish it before the end of 2023. :-)
Lea wrote: "I might finish it before the end of 2023. :-)"LOL, that's how I feel about Wanderers, still torn if to do it or not.
List 2 - Technically Complete!!!!!1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. Flirting with Disaster: Why Accidents Are Rarely Accidental by Marc S. Gerstein
11.
12.
Alternates:
13.
14.
15. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
16. The Mountain Shadow by Gregory David Roberts
Dear Mr. Sager,
I recently finished Home Before Dark, which was deliciously spooky and perfect for this season. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't in the mood for reading something spooky, so it took me a long time to get through this book. I did end up enjoying it and there are some truly unforgettable scenes such as the coffee one. But, I feel like it could have been much more. For a group of people that allegedly were eager to ferret out facts, there were a lot of assumptions and unchallenged misconceptions to make the plot flow and it just didn't feel genuine to me. I enjoyed this one more than Final Girls and would definitely read another one of your books.
All the best,
Lea
Lea wrote: "Patricia wrote: "Well, congrats! (As most of us struggle to finish & stick with one list!) I enjoyed both The Secret History & The Goldfinch though they are quite different, so I ca..."I'm trying to remember if I liked Theo & I guess I did. I didn't really feel sorry for him or anything, but I think he grew as a character & I appreciated that. But, I can see if you "loathed" him how that would affect your enjoyment of the book! I liked several of the other characters as well, though not the girl (can't remember her name). ---Yes, I would love to join in reading The Little Friend with you next year!
Ioana wrote: "Lea wrote: "I might finish it before the end of 2023. :-)"LOL, that's how I feel about Wanderers, still torn if to do it or not."
Well, Alissa and I are reading it for December and beyond...so you'll have two opinions on the topic in a month or two or ten. :-) :-) :-)
Patricia wrote: "Lea wrote: "Patricia wrote: "Well, congrats! (As most of us struggle to finish & stick with one list!) I enjoyed both The Secret History & The Goldfinch though they are quite different, so I ca..."I'm trying to remember if I liked Theo & I guess I did. I didn't really feel sorry for him or anything, but I think he grew as a character & I appreciated that. But, I can see if you "loathed" him how that would affect your enjoyment of the book! I liked several of the other characters as well, though not the girl (can't remember her name). ---Yes, I would love to join in reading The Little Friend with you next year!"
Yay, we will talk more about reading The Little Friend next year for sure!
I don't usually mind it when characters are unlikeable (obviously, since I just enjoyed The Secret History), but it did bother me in The Goldfinch. I'm trying to understand why. Maybe I felt like the author was trying to excuse some of his behavior because of his upbringing and also show his character growth and development in a positive light. Maybe I was projecting and that wasn't the author's intent at all, but that's how it felt to me, and I felt like I should like the character, but couldn't do it. :-)
Really loving this discussion of The Secret History vs The Goldfinch and how most of us either liked one or the other. If I feel up to giving Donna Tartt another chance, at 600 pages - not sure I have it in me, I’d love to join your discussion about The Little Friend. I’ll keep an eye out for when you all start that.
On another note, congrats on finishing the second list!
Lillie wrote: "Really loving this discussion of The Secret History vs The Goldfinch and how most of us either liked one or the other. If I feel up to giving Donna Tartt another chance, at 600 pages - not sure I have it in me, I’d love to join your discussion about The Little Friend. I’ll keep an eye out for when you all start that.
On another note, congrats on finishing the second list!"
I'm loving this discussion too. It's such much fun to talk books with all of you. It forces me to think and rethink about what I like.
Yay, it would be great if you were able to join us. Hopefully we are all in the mood to read it whenever we can all agree on a time. :-) But, if it doesn't work out, no worries, I know just what you mean about not being sure you have it in you...I feel the same way about Tartt!
Thanks, it feels good to finish the second list. The last three books are going to take time. I'm in the middle of one of them and it is slow going. One is super large. The other one I've started many times and can't seem to get read. Fingers and toes crossed.
Don't worry guys I have a feeling The Little Friend will most likely be a mid-year read , like April or May lol Congrats on List #2 completion!
Alissa wrote: "Don't worry guys I have a feeling The Little Friend will most likely be a mid-year read , like April or May lol Congrats on List #2 completion!"
Thank you! Is it too early to make our January - May 2023 buddy read selections? We may as well, because we already determined which books we are replacing them with. I'll message you my choices for February and April. I know what you want for January, so let me know what you want for March and May. :-)
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Thanks, Faouzia! Sometimes I feel like we should all just switch books. It looks like you enjoyed I Capture the Castle which I've wanted to read but keeps getting bumped off for other books. Maybe next year? :-)