Wayne's 12 + 4 2022 Challenge

[Wayne]

The first three books from my Goodreads TBR shelf for the years 2015 and 2016 and the first two for 2018, 2020 and 2021. I have one listed for 2017, but plan to read it before the end of 2021 and have read all I added during 2019, The four alternates will be the next books on the TBR shelves for 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020. List to follow.

[Wayne]

2015
1. The Shelters of Stone - own copy - Planned
2. The Switch - own copy - Planned
3. Duma Key - own copy - Planned

2016
4. The Rest of the Robots - own copy Planned
5. The Grapes of Paradise: Eight Novellas - own copy - Planned
6. The Middle Passage own copy - Planned

2018
7.Nikola Tesla: Imagination and the Man That Invented the 20th Century - borrow - Planned
8. News From Tartary - borrow - Planned

2020
9. To The Frontier - own copy - Planned
10. Politically incorrect: The Autobiography own copy - Planned

2021
11. Disgrace - borrow - Planned
12. Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter - own copy - Planned

Alternates
2015: Candida
2016: India: A Million Mutinies Now - borrow
2018: I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation borrow
2020: The Story of Burnt Njal - own copy

[Vikki, Moderator]

Good luck with your challenge

[Wayne]

Vikki wrote: "Good luck with your challenge"

Thank you

[Martha]

What an interesting list!! Good luck &, most importantly, enjoy!!

[Wayne]

Martha wrote: "What an interesting list!! Good luck &, most importantly, enjoy!!"
Thank you Martha. Wishing you lots of good reading too.

[Bill, Moderator]

Mostly books and authors with which I'm unfamiliar. I have enjoyed Isaac Asimov's Robot books and so many others of his works. I'm currently enjoying his Mysteries of the Black Widowers. I've read a couple of books by V.S. Naipaul, found him hit or miss. Looking forward to your comments on your selections.

[Wayne]

I am quite lazy when it comes to commenting on books, but has resolved to work on that area. So hopefully the resolve holds.

I enjoyed the Asimov work I have read, last one was the collaboration with Robert Silverberg, Nightfall. I think I will kick off the new year with Duma Key, as part of a challenge in another group. I don't often read horror, so have not read a lot of Steven King, the last was It, which I enjoyed. Actually, I cannot recall anything else, but have seen a couple of movies.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Good luck, and fingers crossed you manage to come back and update us.

[Zora]

Tesla is such an interesting person. I've read a different book about him and a couple others about early electricity which deal with him in part. Have fun reading!

[Wayne]

Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "Good luck, and fingers crossed you manage to come back and update us."

Ooh, I don't want to be the cause of cramped fingers, so maybe I'd better get back to you all. ;,>)

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Yes, cramped fingers tend to get in the way of reading :-)

[Wayne]

Zora wrote: "Tesla is such an interesting person. I've read a different book about him and a couple others about early electricity which deal with him in part. Have fun reading!"

Yes, I have been meaning to read about him for a while now. I did physics and chemistry at university, so know a bit about his contribution to science. Many many years ago I read Linda Goodman's Linda Goodman's Star Signs, and she also referred to him. Strange though, nowadays when I think of Tesla, it is not so much the Tesla coil and AC electricity that crops up, but the Goodman reference. Maybe I should obey the cosmic summons and revisit Star Signs. ;,>)

[Wayne]

Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "Yes, cramped fingers tend to get in the way of reading :-)"

True

[Lea]

I am going to read The Rest of the Robots this year too. Hope we both like it. Your list looks great, enjoy!

[Wayne]

Great, maybe we can exchange some thoughts on our reading. Thus far Mr. Asimov has been great and I am looking forward to more of the same (for both of us). Have you read Nightfall?

After looking at your list, I had a 'When Harry met Sally' moment, and decided to swap my graphic novel in another challenge from Asterix the Gaul (reread) to Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Looks giggling-inducing. Enjoy the rest of 2021's reading.

[Lea]

Wayne wrote: "Great, maybe we can exchange some thoughts on our reading. Thus far Mr. Asimov has been great and I am looking forward to more of the same (for both of us). Have you read Nightfall?

After looking at your list, I had a 'When Harry met Sally' moment, and decided to swap my graphic novel in another challenge from Asterix the Gaul (reread) to Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Looks giggling-inducing. Enjoy the rest of 2021's reading."

Wayne, that definitely sounds like a plan. I read Mr. Asimov many years ago, when I was in high school, and I don't remember much except thinking the books were complicated. Alondra was reading I, Robot earlier this year, and I decided to read it at the same time as she did, and I was surprised how accessible and funny the book was. I want to re-read the Foundation series that I read when I was too young to appreciate it, after I finish the Robot series. I haven't read Nightfall; have you?

I hope you enjoy Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It's silly. My brother and I read as many Asterix the Gaul graphic novels when we were kids and I'd love to get my hands on those again. We also liked the Tintin series: Tintin in the Land of the Soviets was the first one. Have you read those?

[Wayne]

Lea wrote: "Wayne wrote: "Great, maybe we can exchange some thoughts on our reading. Thus far Mr. Asimov has been great and I am looking forward to more of the same (for both of us). Have you read [book:Nightf..."

Hi Lea, I did read Nightfall, and liked it. A clever twist on nyctophobia. I read Tintin, in my first language, Afrikaans, he is known as Kuifie (pronounced ca-fee), after his tuft of hair. That was a while ago ;,>)

[Ioana]

Have you read The Last Days of Night? Tesla's relationship with Edison was interesting, it gives you a different perspective, I really want to read more about his life.

Ohhh, Asterix...I haven't thought of him in so many years, I need to see if I can find one of those books again. Enjoy your 2022 reading!

[Wayne]

Ioana wrote: "Have you read The Last Days of Night? Tesla's relationship with Edison was interesting, it gives you a different perspective, I really want to read more about his life.

Ohhh, Aster..."

Hi Iona, thank you for this suggestion. I don't know either the book or the author. I think I agree that all was not okay between Tesla and Edison, hopefully the biography will shed some more light.

One of the Classic Challenges for 2022 is a Fact/Fiction pairing dealing with same subject, and I think this will make a great pairing. I have already selected my five (5) pairings), all geographically linked, so not as strong as this Tesla pairing. Who knows, I might change my mind, before year's end.

By the way speaking of scientific collaborators/adversaries, here is another one: The Calculus Wars: Newton, Leibniz, and the Greatest Mathematical Clash of All Time. I am not familiar with this particular book, but your suggestion reminded me of this controversy, so I had a quick google, and thunk, the apple landed!

Enjoy your reading.

[Ioana]

Wayne wrote: "By the way speaking of scientific collaborators/adversaries, here is another one: The Calculus Wars: Newton, Leibniz, and the Greatest Mathematical Clash of All Time. I am not familiar with this particular book, but your suggestion reminded me of this controversy, so I had a quick google, and thunk, the apple landed!"

That actually sounds very interesting, thanks for finding it. I like the fiction/non-fiction pairing, it should be fun. I read 2 such books this year: The Queen's Gambit (fiction) and Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall—From America's Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness (non-fiction).
The NF one was by far my favorite, maybe because I read it first?

[Wayne]

I plan to read the Queen's Gambit in 2022, and Bobby Fischeris one of my chess idols.

[Ioana]

Wayne wrote: "I plan to read the Queen's Gambit in 2022, and Bobby Fischeris one of my chess idols."

Enjoy! I think there's a movie too (or a mini-series?) but I haven't watched it.

[Lea]

Wayne wrote: "Hi Lea, I did read Nightfall, and liked it. A clever twist on nyctophobia. I read Tintin, in my first language, Afrikaans, he is known as Kuifie (pronounced ca-fee), after his tuft of hair. That was a while ago ;,>)"

I will definitely add Nightfall to my TBR, it looks very good.

I'm also hoping to read The Queen's Gambit in 2022, so we can compare notes on that one too. As a former chess player, it will be interesting to see how that gets portrayed. Maybe I should read Endgame at the same time, Ioana always has the best ideas.

Wasn't the author of Tintin (Herge) French? So we were both reading translations. Are you from South Africa? My first trip there was in 2019, right before the pandemic. So glad I went. There's so much more of the country that I want to see, if we can ever travel again!!!

[Ioana]

Lea wrote: "Maybe I should read Endgame at the same time, Ioana always has the best ideas."

I don't know if that's a good idea. I read Endgame first, and it was very interesting, I loved it. The chess world, the competitions, the struggle for fundings, the brain work, the study of past games and opponents, it's not glamorous at all. Then I read The Queen's Gambit, and everything seemed so easy....kind of a CSI episode where the clues are resolved with no effort in a blink of an eye. The reality is different...

[Alondra, Moderator Schmoderator]

Loved Duma Key. I really hope you enjoy it. Nothing scary (to me); but some very weird parts.

Good luck and happy reading

[Wayne]

First book done. Will add some notes later

2015
1. The Shelters of Stone - own copy - Planned
2. The Switch - own copy - Planned
3. Duma Key - own copy - Planned

2016
4. The Rest of the Robots - own copy Planned
5. The Grapes of Paradise: Eight Novellas - own copy - Planned
6. The Middle Passage own copy - Planned

2018
7.Nikola Tesla: Imagination and the Man That Invented the 20th Century - borrow - Planned
8. News From Tartary - borrow - Planned

2020
9. To The Frontier - own copy - Planned
10. Politically incorrect: The Autobiography own copy - Planned

2021
11. Disgrace - borrow - Planned
12. Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter*****

Alternates
2015: Candida
2016: India: A Million Mutinies Now - borrow
2018: I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation borrow
2020: The Story of Burnt Njal - own copy

[Vikki, Moderator]

Congrats on finishing your first book

[Wayne]

Wayne wrote: "First book done. Will add some notes later

2015
1. The Shelters of Stone - own copy - Planned
2. The Switch - own copy - Planned
3. Duma Key - own copy - P..."

Thank you Vikki

[Bill, Moderator]

Congrats on finishing your first book, Wayne. The ice is broken.

[Lea]

Starting out with a five star book is a great way to start your list!

[Wayne]

Bill wrote: "Congrats on finishing your first book, Wayne. The ice is broken."

Thanks Bill. yes and hopefully I can kick on a bit more before other responsibilities kick in.

[Wayne]

Lea wrote: "Starting out with a five star book is a great way to start your list!"

Yes, it is Lea. May there be many more, for all of us.

[Ioana]

Wayne wrote: "Yes, it is Lea. May there be many more, for all of us."

And that one sounds very interesting, too.

[Wayne]

Ioana wrote: "Wayne wrote: "Yes, it is Lea. May there be many more, for all of us."

And that one sounds very interesting, too."

Interesting indeed Ioana.

[Kim. E.]

I had not read any Stephen King until I broke down and gave it a go this year, starting by picking a couple that I has gone to the movies to watch as a teenager. Now I of course must read more.

And the discussion here is of course leading me to add another to my tbr, which is always a good sign. Good luck!

[Wayne]

I have a couple of Stephen King's lined up, including Mr. Mercedes. Enjoy your reading.

[Wayne]

Q1 Update: Read 1+1 in my 12+4 Challenge. Overall for the quarter I have read 60 out of a planned 150.

2015
1. The Shelters of Stone - own copy - Planned
2. The Switch - own copy - Planned
3. Duma Key - own copy - Planned

2016
4. The Rest of the Robots - own copy Planned
5. The Grapes of Paradise: Eight Novellas - own copy - Planned
6. The Middle Passage own copy - Planned

2018
7.Nikola Tesla: Imagination and the Man That Invented the 20th Century - borrow - Planned
8. News From Tartary - borrow - Planned

2020
9. To The Frontier - own copy - Planned
10. Politically incorrect: The Autobiography own copy - Planned

2021
11. Disgrace - borrow - Planned
12. Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter*****

Alternates
2015: Candida
2016: India: A Million Mutinies Now - borrow
2018 : I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation*****
2020: The Story of Burnt Njal - own copy

[Bill, Moderator]

You're having an excellent 2022 so far. Good luck in April

[Wayne]

Thanks Bill. yes, it is going great guns. need to hit more of my challenge reads though

[Wayne]

Q2 Update: Read 2+1 in my 12+4 Challenge. Overall for the semester I have read 111 out of a planned 150 books for the year.

2015
1. The Shelters of Stone - own copy - Planned
2. The Switch - own copy - Planned
3. Duma Key*****

2016
4. The Rest of the Robots - own copy Planned
5. The Grapes of Paradise: Eight Novellas - own copy - Planned
6. The Middle Passage own copy - Planned

2018
7.Nikola Tesla: Imagination and the Man That Invented the 20th Century - borrow - Planned
8. News From Tartary - borrow - Planned

2020
9. To The Frontier****
10. Politically incorrect: The Autobiography own copy - Planned

2021
11. Disgrace - borrow - Planned
12. Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter*****

Alternates
2015: Candida
2016: India: A Million Mutinies Now - borrow
2018 : I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation*****
2020: The Story of Burnt Njal - own copy

[Carolien]

It's with great sadness that I am taking farewell of Wayne who will not be completing this challenge. He passed away recently and I will miss our buddy reads and his lovely sense of humour.

This eulogy is a lovely tribute to him: https://www.mosselbayadvertiser.com/N...

[Alondra, Moderator Schmoderator]

Oh my; this is such sad news!

Condolences to his family and to his friends in the group.

Thank you for updating us, Carolien!!

[Bill, Moderator]

Carolien wrote: "It's with great sadness that I am taking farewell of Wayne who will not be completing this challenge. He passed away recently and I will miss our buddy reads and his lovely sense of humour.

This e..."

Thank you for that update, Carolien. (It was indeed a lovely eulogy) That is such tragic news. My condolences to his family,

[Lea]

Wow, I'm so sorry to hear this, Carolien. Thanks for the update, and my thoughts go to all the many people that his life has touched.

[Ioana]

Oh, Carolien, so sorry to hear this. Condolences to all his family and friends.

[Carolien]

Thank you so much everyone.