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2013 Individual Challenges
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Caleb's 2013 Challenge Thread
I don't know if I would call it scary as such. It's not that the word terrifying doesn't make sense, but it's not that kind of terrifying. It's not a horror - let's put it that way.Not trying to push you into reading it or anything. You'll have a good idea on what's going to work and what isn't.
Another review posted today. This time it's for Pale Queen's Courtyard.A very good fantasy in a rich setting. Review: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/06/23/pale-queens-courtyard-by-marcin-wrona/
Caleb wrote: "Another review posted today. This time it's for Pale Queen's Courtyard.A very good fantasy in a rich setting. Review: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/06..."
I have a copy of this and I've given it some thought...
Caleb wrote: "I don't know if I would call it scary as such. It's not that the word terrifying doesn't make sense, but it's not that kind of terrifying. It's not a horror - let's put it that way.Not trying to ..."
Yeah, I'm really a wuss. I also hate to see/read people get embarrassed. It's pathetic.
MrsJoseph wrote: "Yeah, I'm really a wuss. I also hate to see/read people get embarrassed. It's pathetic."
I thought I was the only one! I'm referring to the embarrassment thing, not the scary stuff (obviously, based on my reading history). I HATE the kind of slapstick humor that relies on someone making a fool of themselves or being embarrassed by others. When I see someone on a TV show being set up for something like that, I have to walk away or turn the channel. I can't stand it. If it happens in a book, I'll skip pages to get past it sometimes.
I thought I was the only one! I'm referring to the embarrassment thing, not the scary stuff (obviously, based on my reading history). I HATE the kind of slapstick humor that relies on someone making a fool of themselves or being embarrassed by others. When I see someone on a TV show being set up for something like that, I have to walk away or turn the channel. I can't stand it. If it happens in a book, I'll skip pages to get past it sometimes.
Christa wrote: "MrsJoseph wrote: "Yeah, I'm really a wuss. I also hate to see/read people get embarrassed. It's pathetic."I thought I was the only one! I'm referring to the embarrassment thing, not the scary stu..."
:-D
Nope, I'm right there with you! I hate it, hate it, hate it. I totally leave the room (pissing off hubby who says "its only TV). I don't care. I hate it.
And here I am enjoying my several million shades of dark. :)
:-)
OK - the year's half over (that was quick). How are my challenges going?My "Pages" and GoodReads book challenges are going swimmingly with both well over the 50% mark. This is looking very promising for last half of the year. I'm also hoping that my next job involves travelling to work on the train which will gain me even more reading time each day.
My "Indie Read and Review" challenge is going well on the "read" side with 50% of the books completed. However, I'm 5 written reviews behind. I'm pretty confident I can catch up on these so from a challenge perspective I still feel like I'm in a pretty strong position.
My "Book Bonfire" challenge is struggling at only 25% complete. I haven't given up on this one yet but I certainly need to get my skates on if I'm going to get this complete before the end of the year.
My "Classics" challenge has been a sprint to the finishing line. I really only need to read one H G Wells story and I'm done for the year. I think I went a bit classic crazy in the first few months of the year which is not a bad thing.
"Gimme the Prize" is progressing nicely at exactly 50% complete at the halfway point. I'm trying as much as I can to have a scattering of different awards and so far I haven't doubled up. I'm reading another award winner now - so I think this challenge is going pretty well.
"Short-cuts" is a bit of a disaster at the moment at only 19% complete. You'd think 100 short stories would be an easy challenge to fit in, but I'm just not getting to them. I'm not sure I'm going to complete this one, but I'll do what I can.
I've posted a review on my site for Cansville. It was an interesting novel. However, it wasn't enough for a rave review.My review here: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/07/01/cansville-by-alan-flurry/
OK - published another review. This time it's for Bangkok Wet.An explosive action/thriller. It received top marks from me. Read my review for more: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/07/07/bangkok-wet-by-simon-royle/
Hey Caleb! Are you the Janny Wurts fan? We're doing a Q&A/discussion with her about the book Daughter of the Empire.Here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Posted another of my indie reviews. This one is for Game of Souls, the first of an epic fantasy trilogy by Terry C Simpson.Have a read: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/07/19/game-of-souls-by-terry-c-simpson/
Another review posted. This time it's for The Long and the Short Swords, the final book in the Bridge Chronicles.Read the review here: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/07/21/the-long-and-the-short-swords-by-gary-ballard/
Caleb wrote: "Posted another of my indie reviews. This one is for Game of Souls, the first of an epic fantasy trilogy by Terry C Simpson.Have a read: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/07......"
Great review, Caleb! If it wasnt for the "dark & gritty GRRM" comments...you'd have sold me on this one.
I wouldn't take the GRRM comments to heart. It looked a bit more like a nod than a real link and probably a far more superficial one than I may have made out.I possibly wouldn't have even noticed if it were not for the similarities in the title. It draws your attention somewhat.
It is dark in the sense that the ruling classes basically feed on each other in their pursuit of power. It's a remorseless society of shifting alliances where only the strongest survive to rule. This is a concept that is so dominant throughout the story that I can't really call it a light fantasy. :)
Caleb wrote: "I wouldn't take the GRRM comments to heart. It looked a bit more like a nod than a real link and probably a far more superficial one than I may have made out.I possibly wouldn't have even noticed..."
Yeah....no.
I'll pass. Too much of a wuss. :)
If it weren't for the Terry name I might be sold. :)
lol!
Another review posted - for Cold Compass. This effort was less successful than others as the story and characterisation (both quite reasonable) were hampered by poor writing.Here's the review: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/07/29/cold-compass-by-barry-napier/
Great review, Caleb! It looks interesting. I hope the future books smooth out the kinks.
Unfortunately, the second book of the series is already out. So I'm thinking probably not.There were only 5 star reviews on Amazon before mine - so why would you do anything differently? I'm beginning to wonder if I'm a bit of an anachronism.
Woohoo! One of my challenges this year has been complete.For my "Gimme The Prize" challenge, I needed to read 10 award winners and I've managed to cover 10 unique awards:
- British Fantasy Award
- Bram Stoker Award
- Edgar Award
- Mythopoeic Fantasy Award
- Pulitzer Prize
- Locus Award
- Red Adept Award
- Hugo Award
- IPPY Award
- Man Booker Prize
If you're interested in the specifics, here's a link to the post outlining the books and awards: Gimme The Prize
I've put a link at the bottom that takes you to the post with all the details which includes GoodReads links and the year the awards were won.
Nice! I'm getting my ass kicked at work. Not fun.
OK - got another review posted. This time for Thugs Like Us. Great book and a quick read.The review is here: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/08/11/thugs-like-us-by-john-carnell/
I seem to always be at least 5 reviews behind. *sigh*
Another review posted. This one's a bit dark so might not be for everyone.It's Sugar & Spice by Saffina Desforges.
I would definitely have a read of my review before committing to it: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/08/14/sugar-spice-by-saffina-desforges
Someone is definitely making the rest of us look bad when it comes to writing reviews.
I don't write that many really. Because I agonise over them so much when I write them I tend only to produce them for indie books on my site.
Another 700+ page book finished. This time it was The Passage by Justin Cronin. That's the fourth big book this year and I think I'd like a little break from them for a while. :)Oh - the book was good by the way. Almost restored my faith in the vampire novel: nasty, dark and serious. No sparkles!
Homeinmyshoes wrote: "Someone is definitely making the rest of us look bad when it comes to writing reviews."^this
*gives Caleb the eye*
Another yearly challenge complete!This time it's my classics challenge. I did have one cop-out. My Charles Dickens book was actually a novella. But it took me so long to read it, it felt like a novel. :)
I think I still have a couple more classics to go this year so I've certainly exceeded expectation in this area.
I think I'll ditch the classics challenge next year. Three years of conscientiously reading towards and aim has had the desired result of making classics part of my reading again. I'm hoping that this will continue without specific encouragement next year.
And here's a convenient link to the classics list for this year for those who are interested: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/993776-caleb-s-2013-challenge-thread#comment_56259062
Another review up. This time it's for Max Fincher's historical drama, The Pretty Gentleman.I like posting reviews where I can recommend a book to others and this is one of them. Anyway, here's the link: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/08/26/the-pretty-gentleman-by-max-fincher
Phew! Another review posted. This time it's for The Takers by R W Ridley.This one is a dark fantasy for young adults that won an IPPY award in 2006.
Have a read of my review: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/09/04/the-takers-by-r-w-ridley/
First non-fiction book this year! I won't be doing it again any time soon. I'm not really a fan of non-fiction, but if you want the "scandalous" inside story of the famous multiple-personality disorder case, have at it with: Sybil Exposed: The Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality Case.
I've been so lazy.I've finally posted my next review. This time it's for Head of Words by Chris Ward.
It's a bit dark in the second half, but there were some very funny moments in the first half. Anyway, check out the review here: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/09/23/head-of-words-by-chris-ward/
Woohoo! My Page Count challenge is complete 3 months early. I've hit the 18,000+ pages mark.(and there was celebration in the streets)
Anyone vaguely interested in the how can follow this link: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/993776-caleb-s-2013-challenge-thread#comment_56259050
I've still got one more book to go for my Book Bonfire challenge and I'm just under where I should be with my Indie Read and Review challenge. But it's good to pass another milestone.
Congrats. You're really flying through your challenges now.
Yeah, it's amazing how redundancy affects your reading pace. ;)
I'm totally on to that option. I think I can complete three challenges in 23 books. Not that I've already made next year's reading list or anything.23 books, 7,480 pages. :)
I'm leaving lots of space to read more book club selections next year. 44 books wasn't too much for me this year, but it did make me skip a few potential reads from the bookclubs.
Yeah, I've already started looking at what I want to achieve with my reading next year and am wondering how I'm going to fit any damn book club selections in.Sometimes I wish you could inhale a book into you with the force of a vacuum cleaner. ;)
Oliver Jeffers' The Incredible Book Eating Boy. I read it to my son once a week.
Another review complete. My latest review was for a young adult thriller, Snow Burn by Joel Arnold.See what happens when two boys are trapped in a blizzard.
Review: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/10/07/snow-burn-by-joel-arnold/
Another challenge complete! This time it's my Book Bonfire challenge.The point of this challenge was to ensure I continued to make progress on the unread books in my bookshelves. I have quite a collection of books that I've purchased in the past waiting to be read (sometimes for years). Now, there's another 12 that have been read this year. Progress is progress.
I anyone's interested in the list, here's a convenient link: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/993776-caleb-s-2013-challenge-thread#comment_56259056
Another review posted. My second foray into Melbourne crime writer, Vicky Tyley's opus. This time it's Sleight Malice.I had a few issues along the way, but overall, the plot won the day. Read my review here: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/10/14/sleight-malice-by-vicki-tyley/
Another challenge complete! This time it's not one that is in this thread. It's my Goodreads book reading challenge. I usually aim to get 60 books read in the year and I just finished my 60th.It was a novella of only 50 pages so it feels a little like a cheat, but overall the books are definitely balanced out. Actually, it looks like I've averaged about 320 pages per book which is quite satisfactory and I still have plenty of reading time until the end of the year. I'll probably read at least another 6 books or so.
Published my latest review. This time, I've reviewed M. A. Comley's Cruel Justice.Unfortunately, this one really fell flat for me. Have read why: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/10/25/cruel-justice-by-m-a-comley/
OK - another review up on my site. This review is for Bitter Orange, an interesting urban fantasy(?) by Marshall Moore.I didn't fully connect with the intent, with the sum of the parts being more than the whole (in my opinion). But have a read and see what I thought about it: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/10/29/bitter-orange-by-marshall-moore
New review up for sci-fi thriller, Noah's Ark.Have a read of the review here: http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2013/11/13/noahs-ark-by-andrew-j-morgan/
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I can see why it would concern you. But he started out as indie... That makes a good point.
I've wanted to read this but its scary/dytopian. I'm a wuss...