Challenge: 50 Books discussion
Finish Line 2022
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Alex's 52 for 2022
4. The Recovery Agent (3/5)Evanovich has said she wanted to write Indiana Jones and now she's done it. Straight-up adventure without the jokes or sex of her other books. I enjoyed it about as much as the first Stephanie Plum; we'll have to wait to see if the series grows the way the Plum series did.
Thanks to Atria Books for the advance readers' copy.
6. Cry Wolf (4/5)In Finland, a drug deal goes fatally wrong. In Sweden, a dead wolf has human flesh in her stomach. Meanwhile, some dangerous people have lost a lot of money and will kill to get it back. Detective Hannah Wester has never seen a case list.
My favorite recent mystery. B&N's mystery pick of the month for January 2022.
9. Other People's Clothes (4/5)B&N's debut novel of the month (for February 2022) and I get why. I like that I spent a lot of the book trying to work out if it was a mystery or a novel about a woman having a breakdown. I found the setting alternately engaging and upsetting. Be prepared for lots and lots of Amanda Knox references.
10. Bone, Vol. 1: Out from Boneville (4/5)People say it's an exciting fantasy adventure, but the Bones look like the comic strip character Pogo. What's going on here?
4 stars based on the assumption that the series continues as strong as the beginning.
11. Bone, Vol. 2: The Great Cow Race (4/5)Silly and sillier.
4 stars based on the assumption the series continues this strong.
12. Bone, Vol. 3: Eyes of the Storm (4/5)Things are getting serious. The series is going strong. I wish I'd bought the omnibus edition—I know I'm going to end up buying all nine, and I could have saved some money.
13. Wingbearer (2/5)I liked the writing, but didn't love it. I didn't care for the illustration style. I'll probably buy volume 2 when it comes out.
I dropped this from 3 stars to 2 because the packaging is deceptive. It looks as though it's a standalone graphic novel, but actually it's book 1 of a series. It really should say that somewhere on the cover or the back cover or the spine or the title page or the copyright page or somewhere.
Mod
I was surprised to s..."
Welcome to the group! You're obviously well on your way to your goal of 52; nice job! Good luck on the rest of the year!
14. Bone, Vol. 4: The Dragonslayer (4/5)Some people are very gullible.
It feels a bit like cheating to count Bone as 9 of my 52 books.
15. Bone, Vol. 5: Rock Jaw Master of the Eastern Border (3/5)I feel like the series is dragging a bit, or maybe it's just me.
19. Bone, Vol. 9: Crown of Horns (5/5)Excellent finale to a very enjoyable series. I want to go back and re-read the whole thing from the start.
Is it fair that I'm counting each volume separately towards my 52 book reading goal for the year?
One problem with counting books read: I gave up on Making Numbers Count: The Art and Science of Communicating Numbers partway through.
20. The Constant Rabbit (5/5)Come for the wacky alternate universe and brilliant wordsmithery. Stay for the exciting story and the characters you'll care about.
I would have read it in one sitting but I got too tired around 2:30 am. More transparently political than Fforde's usual work. Less silly, especially in the second half, than usual. Standalone. Unusually for Fforde, the narrator isn't a detective.
21. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald: The Original Screenplay (4/5)I probably had a very different experience from most readers, as I haven't seen any of the Fantastic Beasts movies, nor most of the Harry Potter movies. I read the screenplays a bit like weirdly formatted novellas, with my imagination filling in the pictures and the voices.
I enjoyed this outing a great deal, and much more than Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay. Perhaps that was because there was more time spent on human characters and less on fantastic beasts.
I'm still struggling with the timeline—this book establishes that Albus Dumbledore was roughly 110 years old in Sorcerer's Stone.
Mod
... I read the screenplays a bit like weirdly formatted novellas, with my imagination filling in the pictures and the voices. ..."
That was one of the bad things about the movies coming out before the book series was done - after I watched the first movie, when I read the books "Harry" (and the rest) was no longer the image I'd had of Harry for so long but instead turned into Daniel Radcliffe. I missed my version of Harry :(
Tiffany wrote: "Alex wrote: "21. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald: The Original Screenplay (4/5)... I read the screenplays a bit like weirdly formatted novellas, with my imagination fi..."
One of several reasons I generally avoid movies and TV shows based on books I like, including Lord of the Rings and Dune.
23. Portrait of a Thief (5/5)My plan to spend less time on Facebook and videogames and more time reading this year has been only partially successful.
Mod
It's hard to break habits! The fact that you've been even partially successful is something to be proud of! And as Duolingo reminds me, it's not about perfection, it's about progress :)
Tiffany wrote: "Alex wrote: "... My plan to spend less time on Facebook and videogames and more time reading this year has been only partially successful."It's hard to break habits! The fact that you've been eve..."
Thanks.
I had three bookcases full of unread books. One of them was falling apart, so I consolidated down to two. I've picked out some books that I know I'll get today and I'm donating those. Still too many books, especially since I keep buying more.
Mod
:)
25. Ms. Marvel: Stretched Thin (4/5)By the standards of adult comics, this is enjoyable. By the standards of kids' comics, this is excellent.
27. Fullmetal Alchemist (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 2 (4/5)Re-read. I bought volumes 3 and 4 and decided to go back to the start before reading them.
28. Fullmetal Alchemist (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 3 (4/5)First time reading this one. Story going strong.
29. Fullmetal Alchemist (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 4 (5/5)Story still going strong. I ordered volume 5 from work. Impatient.
I added Boynton's Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs!: A Book of Opposites to my Read shelf, but I'm not counting it towards my 52.
30. Fullmetal Alchemist (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 5 (3/5)I don't know if the problem is with the story or my mood. I felt less engaged this time.
More kids' picture books added to my Read shelf but not counting towards my 52: Papillon Goes to the Vet and The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch.
2022 so far: I've been reading a lot more graphic novels than I expected when I set my goals. Also, spending lots of reading time on Wikipedia."Real" books:
1. Walt's Disneyland: A Walk in the Park with Walt Disney
2. D: A Tale of Two Worlds
3. Cry Wolf: A Novel
4. The Recovery Agent (Gabriela Rose, #1)
5. Other People's Clothes
6. The Constant Rabbit
7. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay
8. Space Vampires from Outer Space
9. Portrait of a Thief
Graphic novels:
1. Captain Britain: Dipped in Magic, Clothed in Science
2. Runaways: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1
3. Spider-Man: Spider-Verse - Spider-Ham
4. Bone, Vol. 1: Out from Boneville
5. Bone, Vol. 2: The Great Cow Race
6. Bone, Vol. 3: Eyes of the Storm
7. Bone, Vol. 4: The Dragonslayer
8. Bone, Vol. 5: Rock Jaw Master of the Eastern Border
9. Bone, Vol. 6: Old Man's Cave
10. Bone, Vol. 7: Ghost Circles
11. Bone, Vol. 8: Treasure Hunters
12. Bone, Vol. 9: Crown of Horns
13. Wingbearer
14. Batman: Hush
15. Ms. Marvel: Stretched Thin
16. Gwenpool, the Unbelievable, Vol. 1: Believe It
17. Fullmetal Alchemist (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 1
18. Fullmetal Alchemist (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 2
19. Fullmetal Alchemist (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 4
20. Fullmetal Alchemist (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 5
21. Fullmetal Alchemist (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 6
Photo books:
1. Lost Amusement Parks of Southern California: The Postwar Years
2. Location Filming in Los Angeles
3. LIFE Mash
Children's picture books:
1. The X-Files: Earth Children Are Weird
2. Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs!: A Book of Opposites
3. Papillon Goes to the Vet
4. The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch
Abandoned:
1. Making Numbers Count: How to Translate Data into Stories That Stick
I've spent a lot of my July reading time diving down rabbit holes in Wikipedia and listening to podcasts.33. Penguin Gentlemen (3/5)
34. Flashpoint (4/5)
Children's picture books I'm not counting towards my 52:
- That's Not Normal! (2/5)
- The Giant Jumperee (2/5)
- Animal Supermarket (1/5)
- Duck & Goose Honk! Quack! Boo! (3/5)
- Little Excavator (2/5)
- The Yes (4/5)
- A Kiss Goodnight (4/5)
I've got a ton of graphic novels on my TBR shelves and I keep buying more. Are they really books? Most of them are 100+ pages of words and illustrations, so I'm counting them.36. The Joker War Saga (4/5)
*Well, not literally a ton, but quite a few pounds.
Challenge: 50 Books
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I was surprised to see that some people have lists of books they want to read this year. I read whatever grabs my attention. Since I work in a bookstore, I'm even more easily distracted by new books than I would be otherwise.
Anyway, goal is one book a week, including one "serious" book a month, plus some light fiction, some kids' books, and some graphic novels. I mostly read paper books, though I also have Kindle and Nook books. I also listen to audiobooks, but I don't count them as part of my challenge.