Ioana's 2023 Independent Challenge

[Ioana]

Hi, my name is Ioana and I am a moody reader.

This is how I should've started this challenge every year, because I never learn. Yes, I can make a list (I have lots of lists). No, I can't stick to any of them. I've tried several approaches, and none worked, so I'll do what comes naturally to me, pick a book, read it if I like it, abandon it if I don't and not feel bad about it.

I want to read more series, complete as many as I can and read some of the big tomes on my TBR shelves. Other than that, no plan, no rules.

Off topic: How do you all keep track of series? How do you know when a new books is added to a series? There used to be a good web site for that, but not any more and I've never found a good replacement.

[Ioana]

Stand alone books:
1. Liar's Poker 3*
2. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things 3*
3. The Distant Land of My Father 4*
4. Demon Copperhead 4*
5. Run 3*
6. American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century 4*
7. An Untamed State 3.5*
8. All the President's Men 3.5*
9. Fairy Tale 3.5*
10. Black Like Me 2.5*
11. Cemetery Road 4*
12. An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back 5*
13. I Who Have Never Known Men 4*
14. Tell No One 3*
15. Pineapple Street 2*
16. Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon 4*
17. The People We Keep 3*
18. Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters 3*
19. Ask Again, Yes 2.5*
20. Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man 4*
21. Remarkably Bright Creatures 2*
22. Hang the Moon 3*
23. Matilda 4*
24. Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors 3*
25. Beneath the Tamarind Tree: A Story of Courage, Family, and the Lost Schoolgirls of Boko Haram 3*
26. Operation Pangolin: Saving the World's Only Scaled Mammal 4*
27. Christine 3*
28. Babel: An Arcane History 4*
29. Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt's Ancient Temples from Destruction 3.5*
30. Wrong Place Wrong Time 4*
31. Paula 4*
32. Collision Course: The Classic Story of the Collision of the Andrea Doria and the Stockholm 3.5*
33. Lightning Down: A World War II Story of Survival 3*
34. Lady Tan's Circle of Women 3.5*
35. $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America 3*
36. Ghosts Of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 3*
37. Go Tell It on the Mountain 3*
38. Falling 3.5*
39. Mad Honey 3.5*
40. The Hero Two Doors Down: Based on the True Story of Friendship between a Boy and a Baseball Legend 3*
41. Ghost Boy: My Miraculous Escape from a Life Locked Inside My Own Body 4*
42. The Haunting of Hill House 3.5*
43. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City 4*
44. Five Little Indians 3.5*
45. The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World 4*
46. Bastard Out of Carolina 4.5*
47. Get Well Soon: History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them 4.5*
48. Hello Beautiful 2.5*
49. Hidden Pictures 2.5*
50. Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford 4.5*
51. Atomic Accidents: A History of Nuclear Meltdowns and Disasters: From the Ozark Mountains to Fukushima 3*
52. Lessons in Chemistry 1.5*
53. On the Beach 4*
54. Fledgling 2*
55. Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI 2.5*
56. The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey 4*
57. No Beast So Fierce: The Terrifying True Story of the Champawat Tiger, the Deadliest Man-Eater in History 3*
58. Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World 3*
59. Who Will Take Care of Me When I'm Old? 2*

Series:
Asian Saga
#3. Gai-Jin 3*
#4. King Rat 4*

Cork O'Connor - Will not continue
#1. Iron Lake 3*

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek - Complete
#2. The Book Woman's Daughter 3*

Saga
#1. Saga, Volume 1 4*
#2. Saga, Volume 2 4*
#3. Saga, Volume 3 3*
#4. Saga, Volume 4 4*
#5. Saga, Volume 5 3*
#6. Saga, Volume 6 4*
#7. Saga, Volume 7 4*
#8. Saga, Volume 8 4.5*
#9. Saga, Volume 9 4*
10. Saga, Volume 10 3*

Beartown - Completed
#3. The Winners 5*

Rosemary's Baby - Completed
#1. Rosemary's Baby 4*
#2. Son of Rosemary 2*

The Space Between Worlds - Up to date
#1. The Space Between Worlds 3.5*

Orphan X - Completed
#8. The Last Orphan 3.5*

Cannery Row - Completed
#2. Sweet Thursday 2.5*

Jake Brigance - Completed
#4. Sparring Partners 3.5*

Chocolat
#2. The Girl with No Shadow 2.5*

Henry Kimball/Lily Kintner - Completed
#2. The Kind Worth Saving 4*

Harry Bosch
#1. The Black Echo 4*
#20. Two Kinds of Truth 3.5*

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - Completed
#2. All the Broken Places: A Novel 3.5*

Jackaby - Will not continue
#1. Jackaby 2.5*

The Seven Sisters - Will not continue
#1. The Seven Sisters 2*

The Patrick Bowers Files
#1. The Pawn 4*

The Family Upstairs
#1. The Family Upstairs 3*

Dave Gurney
#1. Think of a Number 3.5*

Conqueror - Completed
#5. Conqueror 4*

Peter Ash
#1. The Drifter 3.5*

The Neapolitan Novels - Completed
#1. My Brilliant Friend 4*
#2. The Story of a New Name 4*
#3. Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay 4*
#4. The Story of the Lost Child 5*

The Radiant Emperor - Will not continue
#1. She Who Became the Sun 3*

The China Thrillers 
#1. The Firemaker 4*

Grant County 
#1. Blindsighted 4*

Deathless - Will not continue
#1. The Gilded Ones 2.5*

The Night Trilogy 
#2. Dawn 4*

Charlie Bucket 
#1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 4*

Kingsbridge - Completed
#4. The Armour of Light 3*

Detective Max Rupert - Completed
#6. Forsaken Country 4*

[Ioana]

Counts by genre:

Fiction: 8
Historical Fiction: 3
Non-Fiction: 2
Science Fiction: 6
Mystery/Thriller: 2
Fantasy:

[Bill, Moderator]

Ioana wrote: "Hi, my name is Ioana and I am a moody reader.

This is how I should've started this challenge every year, because I never learn. Yes, I can make a list (I have lots of lists). No, I can't stick to..."

I have a spreadsheet where I track my series mainly. Fantatic Fiction is reasonably reliable when it comes to updating series.

[Ioana]

Bill wrote: "I have a spreadsheet where I track my series mainly. Fantatic Fiction is reasonably reliable when it comes to updating series."

Thanks, Bill. But unless I don't see it, you need to go into every series and check. You can't just add/follow a series and have them email you when a new book is added to it, right?

[Lea]

I have a spreadsheet with all of my series, of course!

But, to figure out what is new, I do it from Goodreads! I click on Browse, New Releases. There are a couple of options on that page, one is My Authors. I then scroll down. Sometimes I do have to click on a book to see if it is part of a series or not. At the bottom of the page, you can click forward or backwards to see books that were released the previous month and will be released the next month. Sometimes you'll see a book more than once because the hardcover is released one month, the paperback another month and the Kindle version another month. But that's how I keep track. I hope you find something that helps! I'm going to have to look at the site Bill suggested.

[Ioana]

Thank you, I think I like your suggestion better than the Fantastic Fiction site. I tried adding a few books in a series, but when I click on the "next in series" link, nothing comes up. I don't understand how you can find what the next one is...
I have my spreadsheet too, with multiple tabs, but I'm trying to find a better way. Until then, I think the spreadsheet and GR will have to do.

[Alondra, Moderator Schmoderator]

Ioana wrote: "Off topic: How do you all keep track of series? How do you know when a new books is added to a series? There used to be a good web site for that, but not any more and I've never found a good replacement...."

I have no idea how to track for new books, except for following the author on socials, including here.

As far as keeping track; I am not as advanced as the Excel Sheet Folk; but I simply keep them listed on this individual list, which has evolved some over the past 10+ years on GR. Copy?paste is a great thing.

[Ioana]

There used to be a web site that Bill discovered that only kept track of series. You could mark the books in a series that you read, you could easily identify the ones you haven't read yet, and best of all, it would email you when a new book in a series you were following was out. Sadly, that site is gone.
But between my spreadsheets and the "new releases" on GR (Lea's suggestion), I think I can manage now.

[Martha]

I'm old school ... I have a binder with a page or more for each author. I add to the list periodically, mark when I own one of the books and again when I read it. I can take this binder with me when I visit UBSs or just make a list of several that I would like to have. It's not ideal, but works for me.

[Lea]

Martha wrote: "I'm old school ... I have a binder with a page or more for each author. I add to the list periodically, mark when I own one of the books and again when I read it. I can take this binder with me when I visit UBSs or just make a list of several that I would like to have. It's not ideal, but works for me."

I'm not so secretly obsessed with pretty pens and pretty paper, and I'd love to have a beautiful binder filled with names of books I want to read...that's much more aesthetically appealing than my spreadsheets...

[Ioana]

It does sound pretty, right?
I took the easy (even if not pretty) way out: I put the spreadsheet on my google drive, so it's accessible from anywhere.
How did people function before the internet???

[Lea]

Ioana wrote: "It does sound pretty, right?
I took the easy (even if not pretty) way out: I put the spreadsheet on my google drive, so it's accessible from anywhere.
How did people function before the internet???"

No idea, how we did things before the Internet. And phones!! Maybe we need to prettify our spreadsheets, Ioana. But that just doesn't sound fun. Nope. I think I'd much rather read.

[Ioana]

Lea wrote: "No idea, how we did things before the Internet. And phones!!"

You can add GPS to that list.

[Martha]

Oh so true!! I use google drive for reports, etc. why pay for Word?

[Alissa]

I usually find out a new book is out in a series months after everyone so I'm no help! ;-)

I'm also notebook/old school over here!

[Ioana]

Alissa wrote: "I usually find out a new book is out in a series months after everyone so I'm no help! ;-)"

You might find out later, but you are a bad influence for my TBR. Please don't play innocent 🤣🤣🤣

[Ioana]

I wasn't planning to start the new year with a NF book, but it just happened 😇
Liar's Poker was good, but not as good as The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. After reading it, all I can say is that bonds trading is really complicated (I had no idea) and people doing this at Salomon Brothers were inventive and greedy. We all know how the story ends...

[Alondra, Moderator Schmoderator]

Sweet! 1 book down already!! Woot!

[Alissa]

Great job Ioana!!

[Ioana]

My plan for 2023 is to not care (or not care too much) about the # of books, and allow myself to attack some big ones. My current audiobook is one of them...Gai-Jin. Over 50 hrs, but I'm enjoying it so far.

[Lea]

I very reluctantly removed Liar's Poker from my 100 List, I had totally ran out of space. But I've got my 2024 list running and I'm hoping it and The Big Short can stay on it. I've also wanted to add the Shogun series. I love long sweeping sagas like these, so enjoy!

[Ioana]

Lea wrote: "I very reluctantly removed Liar's Poker from my 100 List, I had totally ran out of space. But I've got my 2024 list running and I'm hoping it and The Big Short can stay on it. I've also wanted to a..."

If you only have room/time for one, keep The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, ditch the other one.

The Shogun series is really good. I've read a few many, many years ago Shōgun, Tai-Pan and Noble House and I think it's the time to read the rest.

[Martha]

Great job! I have several going as usual, but am enjoying all of them. I still have some bricks on my bookcase so hopefully, I'll get at least 2 more read this year.

[Lea]

Ioana wrote: "If you only have room/time for one, keep The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, ditch the other one.

I've read two books by Michael Lewis and liked them both, so I do hope them all. If I can't squeeze them both in, I'll definitely take you up on your recommendation. I've got both on my 2024 list right now. Hope they stay there, or if they move, it is because I read them this year!

The Shogun series is really good. I've read a few many, many years ago Shōgun, Tai-Pan and Noble House and I think it's the time to read the rest."

Yes, I have heard amazing things about the series and I'm excited to read it all also. I'm so glad you are getting back to it and hope the rest of the series holds up to the books you've already read. But only when you're in the mood. :-)

[Ioana]

Lea wrote: "I've got both on my 2024 list right now."

I can't believe you're already thinking of 2024...I can't tell you what my next book will be, but we can discuss travel plans for 2024 or 2025 🤣

Lea wrote: "But only when you're in the mood. :-)" LOL. Per my spreadsheet I tried Gai-Jin back in 2015 and put it aside. This time, I'm really enjoying it.

[Patricia]

I read one of Clavell's books years ago. I enjoyed it but never read any more. My sister loved them. One of these days.
I'm also listening to a long book on audio--The Eighth Life. I bought it on Chirp, so I can take my time with it & put it aside when Libby holds come in.

And, I will add concerning spreadsheets for anyone who is listening: Book Riot made one you can download and make a copy for tracking your books in 2023. That's for us who like to make lists but are pathetic at making their own spreadsheets.

Happy Reading!

[Alissa]

Lea wrote: "I very reluctantly removed Liar's Poker from my 100 List, I had totally ran out of space. But I've got my 2024 list running and I'm hoping it and The Big Short can stay on it. I've also wanted to a..."

Damn. I don't even have a 2024 list yet lol
**runs to grab a pen**

[Lea]

Alissa wrote: "Damn. I don't even have a 2024 list yet lol
**runs to grab a pen**"

I always have a list going for the following year, although I change it often, moving books around, or just reading them so they don't have to be on next year's list. I feel as though I need a list at all times. I'm not sure why, maybe in case I run out of time at the end of the year (which has never happened.) I started that many years ago after I had too many options for my 100 List and it has stuck.

[Ioana]

Patricia wrote: "I'm also listening to a long book on audio--The Eighth Life. I bought it on Chirp, so I can take my time with it & put it aside when Libby holds come in."

I really did not need another huge book on my TBR, but this sounds interesting, so...why not?

[Ioana]

Alissa wrote: "Damn. I don't even have a 2024 list yet lol
**runs to grab a pen**"

You don't??!??
What's taking you so long?

[Ioana]

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. This was a difficult book to read, and it's now difficult to review. It's a page turner with a hard to stomach subject, laced with meth, abuse, neglect and half a dozen other topics.
I know some might consider it a love story, I don't. Or maybe in a twisted way, it is. I don't know...
But to me, there is no world in which the relationship between Wavey and Kellen would be right, there is a line I cannot cross, no matter how others might justify it. I liked parts of the book and hated others, so I thought maybe a middle of the road 3 stars would be fair.
But thinking more about it, I guess I'll take away another star for the ending. It was a "happy" one, and not realistic and to me, not satisfying.
This would make a good book club read, I'm sure it would spark lots of discussions.

[Jackie]

Alissa wrote: "Lea wrote: "I very reluctantly removed Liar's Poker from my 100 List, I had totally ran out of space. But I've got my 2024 list running and I'm hoping it and The Big Short can stay on it. I've also..."

I have SO many sheets for 2023 but I like the idea of 2024. If no other reason than to see how many I want to read from the list when 2024 planning actually begins! Thanks, Alissa.

[Alondra, Moderator Schmoderator]

Ioana wrote: "All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. This was a difficult book to read, and it's now difficult to review. It's a page turner with a hard to stomach subject, laced with meth, abuse, ne..."

Glad you read this and thanks for this review. So many readers felt like you and were struggling with ratings. I have it on my tbr.

[Ioana]

Alondra wrote: "Glad you read this and thanks for this review. So many readers felt like you and were struggling with ratings. I have it on my tbr."

I'll be very interested to hear your thoughts after you read it. Do you rate the writing? The story? The characters? The impact it has on you? These are all over the map...

[Ioana]

Still here, but with no real updates. Slowly reading 2 big books, and it will be a while until I start anything new.
Gai-Jin - audio, on part 18 of 53; set in Japan in the early 1860s
The Distant Land of My Father - about 17% into it; set in pre-WW2 China

I'm enjoying them both.

[Lea]

What a great trip you're taking in Asia! Take your time and enjoy the journey! :-)

[Ioana]

They are both really interesting, fascinating history in both places. History that I don't know much of...

[Michelle]

Lea wrote: "Ioana wrote: "If you only have room/time for one, keep The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, ditch the other one.

I've read two books by Michael Lewis and liked them both, so I do hope them ..."


2024 LIST?!?!?!?!?!? Have mercy Lea!

[Alissa]

I started my 2024 list. lol

And I felt the same about All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. I just personally couldn't rate it higher than a 2 even though I felt it was well written. It didn't make me feel good lol

[Michelle]

So you pose the question how do you keep up with all the series that you read. My method is very simple, although it will not please perfectionists because there isn't always completion involved. I read a series for as long as I am interested and can keep up with what I have read and not read. When I reach a point where I cannot remember which books I have read or worse yet begin a book and realize I have already read it. At that point I know I'm done with the series. I may go back sometimes and read another book but I don't feel obligated. With this method you may not actually finish every book in the series but you don't have to have complicated spreadsheets. If you can't remember you are done. This actually happened to me with the The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. I so loved those books but at some point I couldn't remember which book I was on and actually read half of a book before I realized I had read it before. At that point I knew I was done. I may read another one sometime but I decided not to stress about it. I like the series but I was clearly over it.

[Michelle]

Alissa wrote: "I started my 2024 list. lol

And I felt the same about All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. I just personally couldn't rate it higher than a 2 even though I felt it was well written. ..."

No way Alissa! I just want to form a protest. Can you have a sit in on Goodreads to protest obscenely early list makers? How about a boycott? Sign a petition?

[Ioana]

Alissa wrote: "And I felt the same about All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. I just personally couldn't rate it higher than a 2 even though I felt it was well written. It didn't make me feel good"

I agree. Although, for some reason, not as bad as My Dark Vanessa. Maybe that's why the additional 1/2 star...

[Alissa]

Michelle wrote: "Alissa wrote: "I started my 2024 list. lol

And I felt the same about All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. I just personally couldn't rate it higher than a 2 even though I felt it was..."

its tech just in my Notes app on my phone. whenever im like "oooh" i want to read it ill mark it. I prob won't start writing it down in my notebook until like June/July

[Ioana]

Michelle wrote: "So you pose the question how do you keep up with all the series that you read. My method is very simple, although it will not please perfectionists because there isn't always completion involved. I..."

Hmmm, you're right Michelle, your approach might not work for me. I try to read series in order, so I need to know the order, need to know when a new book is released in a series that I considered "done", so for now, my spreadsheet is the best thing I found. It's a lot of manual work though and I was hoping for an easier solution. An email to say "hey, book #17 in series ABC is being released next month". Wouldn't that be nice?

And maybe something like "hey, GRMM gave up on the A Song of Ice and Fire series, get over it and go on with your life". Although, in that particular case, I don't think I'd be interested anymore anyway...

[Alondra, Moderator Schmoderator]

Ioana wrote: "Alondra wrote: "Glad you read this and thanks for this review. So many readers felt like you and were struggling with ratings. I have it on my tbr."

I'll be very interested to hear your thoughts a..."

I rate all of those in some form or fashion; but mostly on how I feel reading it and if it "makes sense".... :/

[Ioana]

Alondra wrote: "I rate all of those in some form or fashion; but mostly on how I feel reading it and if it "makes sense".... :/"

Yes, makes sense to me, because I rate books the same way. That's why this one was hard to rate: it's well written, I cared about the characters, it made me feel, but I dit not like the feeling...

[Ioana]

Still enjoying both of these:
Gai-Jin - audio, on part 29 of 53; set in Japan in the early 1860s
The Distant Land of My Father - about 35% into it; set in pre-WW2 China

If you like long epic sagas, I strongly recommend the Asian Saga. It has everything, a good story, strong characters, politics, intrigue, manipulation of all kinds, making and losing money, opium and guns trade, trust and mistrust, spies, geishas and samurais, and...excitement when the British men In Japan receive periodically from home new chapters recently released from The Great Expectations.
Yes, and a beautiful French woman...
So far, my favorite remains the first, Shōgun, then Tai-Pan and Noble House a close second, but this one is worth reading too. Still about 1/2 to go through...

[Ioana]

Gai-Jin is the 3rd in the Asian Saga series, although I feel like this is based on story's continuity point of view, not the release order. I'm not sure, I'll have to check.
I found this one the weakest so far, and a solid 3, maybe 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it, but my major complaint: too many characters and none that really stands out as the main one. Even though the story is interesting and it keeps moving at a fast pace, I could not get attached to any of them.
I still have 2 more in this series, and I plan to read them both. But not this year ...I'm sure I have other monster books that are competing for my attention 🤣

[Ioana]

Iron Lake is the 1st in a very long series by William Kent Krueger. I loved his stand-alones This Tender Land and Ordinary Grace but this one was just ok, not special. I will read the 2nd one and see how it goes, but if does not get better I will not bother with all 18 books.