2015 - Challenges

Copy and Pasted from the "Challenges" tab.

Page Count

Currently at: 26,905
Goal: 25, 000 - Keep going :)
Achieved: November 29, 2015
Updated: Jan 1, 2016

Book Count

Currently at:78
Goal: 60 - Keep going :)
Achieved: August 12, 2015
Updated: Jan 1, 2016


Bout of Books 12.0

THE ULTIMATE READING CHALLENGE

Popsugar posted a pretty cool "Ultimate Reading Challenge" that I would like to attempt. For the most part, each challenge must be completed by one book (50 in all). Some books might qualify for two, I will tweak the achievements as I go along.










Categorized and Reorganized (those with * have been changed):

Titles:
• a book with a number in the title - Thirst, No. 1 (Christopher Pike)
• a book with a one-word title - Lythande (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
• a book with antonyms in the title -War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
• a book with a colour in the title - Iron Hearted Violet (Kelly Barnhill)

Genre:
• a classic* - Far from the Madding Crowd (Thomas Hardy)
• a funny book - Resenting the Hero (Moira J. Moore)
• a mystery or thriller - Fool Moon (Jim Butcher)
• a book of short stories -
• a non-fiction book -
• a book based on a true story -
• a book that scares you - Through the Woods (Emily Carroll)
• a book based on a fairy tale* - A Court of Thorns and Roses (Sarah J Maas)
• a memoir - On Writing (Stephen King)
• a graphic novel - Ms. Marvel: No Normal (G Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona)


Author:
• a book written by someone under 30 - The Lies of Locke Lamora (Scott Lynch)
• a book written by a female author - Song in the Silence (Elizabeth Kerner)
• a popular author's first book - The Book of Three (Lloyd Alexander)
• a book by an author you love but haven't read yet - Bitterblue (Kristin Cashore)
• a book by an author you've never read before - Foundation (Isaac Asimov)
• a book written by an author with your same initials -
• a book written by a Canadian author*  - The Red Knight (Miles Cameron)


Content:
• a book with more than 500 pages -Kushiel's Dart (Jacqueline Carey)
• a book you can finish in a day - Skraelings (R/S Qitsualik-Tinsley)
• a book with a love triangle - Vanish (Sophie Jordan)
• a book that made you cry - The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavendar (Leslye Walton)
• a book with magic - Clariel (Garth Nix)
• a book with nonhuman characters - Shada (Douglas Adams/Gareth Roberts)
• a book with a dragon* - The Smoke Thief (Shana Abe)
• a book that was originally written in a different language - The Path of Anger (Antoine Rouaud)


Setting:
• a book set in a different country (on Earth?) - Afterworlds (Scott Westerfeld)
• a book set in a place you've always wanted to visit - The Winter Crown (Elizabeth Chadwick)
• a book set in the future - World After (Susan Ee)
• a book set in high-school - Earth & Sky (Megan Crewe)
• a book set during Christmas - Entwined (Heather Dixon)


Current Relevance:
• a book that became a movie - The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch (Joseph Delaney)
• a book published this year -Dream a Little Dream (Kerstin Gier)
• a book based on or turned into a tv show - The Day of the Triffids (John Wyndham)



TBR Related:
• a book at the bottom of your to-read list - Here, There Be Dragons (James A. Owen)
• a trilogy -  Summer Trilogy (Janny Han)
• finish a series*- The Last Hunt (Bruce Coville)
• a book you own but have never read - Knight Errant (R. Garcia Y Robertson)
• a book you started but never finished -



Published:
• a book more than 100-years old - Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll) my edition is 1914, 100 years old!
• a book that came out the year you were born - Swordspoint (Ellen Kushner)


Covers:
• a book based entirely on its cover - Summer & Bird (Katherine Catmull)


Other:
• a book a friend recommended - Out of the Silent Planet (C.S. Lewis)


• a book your mom loves - And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie)
• a prize wining book*  - 172 Hours on the Moon (Johan Harstad) 2008 Brageprisen
• a book with under 100 reviews on Goodreads* - The Border Vixen (Bernice Small)
• a book from your childhood - Into the Land of the Unicorns (Bruce Coville)




*achievements replaced:
- a classic romance
- a Pulitzer prize-winner
- a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't
- a book with bad reviews
- a book set in your hometown
- a play
- a banned book

Project TBR - Week-Read-a-Thon
Day 1 -- Day 2 -- Day 3 -- Day 4 -- Day 5 -- Day 6 -- Day 7 
Wrap Up

BookTube-a-Thon
Intro -- Day 1 -- Day 2 -- Day 3 -- Day 4 -- Day 5 -- Day 6 -- Day 7

2015 - Reading List

Copy and pasted from the "Books To Read: 2015" tab. 

Wizard of Earthsea ~ Ursula K Le Guin
The False Prince ~ Jennifer A. Nielsen
Iron Hearted Violet ~ Kelly Regan Barnhill
Summer and Bird ~ Katerine Catmull
Half a King ~ Joe Abercrombie
*The Iron Thorn ~ Caitlin Kittregde
The Summer Prince ~ Alaya Dawn Johnson
172 Hours on the Moon ~ Johan Harstad
Earth & Sky ~ Megan Crewe
End of Eternity ~ Isaac Asimov 
2312 ~ Kim Stanley Robinson
Bitter Greens ~ Kate Forsythe
The Lies of Locke Lamora ~ Scott Lynch
Prince of Thorns ~ Mark Lawrence
The Magicians ~ Lev Grossman
Vanish ~ Sophie Jordan
Afterworlds ~ Scott Westerfeld
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender ~ Leslye J. Walton
*The Archived ~ Victoria Schwab
Burial Rites ~ Hannah Kent
Evelina ~ Fanny Burney
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore ~ Robin Sloan
On Writing ~ Stephen King
The Gargoyle ~ Andrew Davidson
Lythande ~ Marion Zimmer Bradley 
Song in the Silence ~ Elizabeth Kerner
The Border Vixen ~ Bertrice Small
Knight Errant ~ R. Garcia y Robertson  
The Ladies of Mandrigyn ~ Barbara Hambly
The Thinking Woman's Guide to Magic ~ Emily Croy Barker
Fool Moon ~ Jim Butcher
Resenting the Hero ~ Moira J. Moore 
Swordspoint ~ Ellen Kushner
Sheepfarmer's Daughter ~ Elizabeth Moon 
Here, There Be Dragons ~ James A. Owen
Entwined ~ Heather Dixon
Code Name Verity ~ Elizabeth E. Wein
Shada ~ Gareth Roberts
Far from the Madding Crowd ~ Thomas Hardy
The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch ~ Joseph Delaney
Kushiel's Dart ~ Jacqueline Carey
The Smoke Thief ~ Shana Abe
The Path of Anger ~ Antoine Rouaud
Thirst, No. 1 ~ Christopher Pike 
Dream a Little Dream ~ Kerstin Gier 
The Martian ~ Andy Weir
A Court of Thorns and Roses (I) ~ Sarah J. Maas
The Revenant of Thraxton Hall ~ Vaughn Entwistle
Summers at Castle Auburn ~ Sharon Shinn 


Series:
Rebel Spring (II) ~ Morgan Rhodes
Clariel (IV?) ~ Garth Nix
Bitterblue (III) ~ Kristin Cashore
Ruin and Rising (III) ~ Leigh Bardugo
Never Fade (II) ~ Alexandra Bracken
The Mime Order (II) ~ Samantha Shannon
The Wise Man's Fear (II) ~ Patrick Rothfuss
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (I) ~ N.K. Jemisin 
The Book of Three (I) ~ Lloyd Alexander
The Castle of Llyr (III) ~ Lloyd Alexander
The Riddle-Master of Hed (I) ~ Patricia A. McKillip
Of Triton (II) ~ Anna Banks
Of Neptune (III) ~ Anna Banks
Scarlet (II) ~ Marissa Meyer
The Summer I Turned Pretty (I) ~ Jenny Han
It's No Summer Without You (II) ~ Jenny Han
We'll Always Have Summer (III) ~ Jenny Han
The Winter Crown (II) ~ Elizabeth Chadwick
World After (II) ~ Susan Ee
*Dreams of Gods and Monsters (III) ~ Laini Taylor
Into the Land of the Unicorns (I) ~ Bruce Coville
Song of the Wanderer (II) ~ Bruce Coville
Dark Whispers (III) ~ Bruce Coville
The Last Hunt (IV) ~ Bruce Coville 


Book Club:
The Red Knight ~ Miles Cameron
Foundation ~ Isaac Asimov
War and Peace ~ Leo Tolstoy
Out of the Silent Planet ~ C.S.Lewis
Alice in Wonderland ~ Lewis Carroll 
And Then There Were None ~ Agatha Christie
The Day of the Triffids ~ John Wyndham
The Bad Beginning (I) ~ Lemony Snicket  
The Reptile Room (II) ~ Lemony Snicket
The Wide Window (III) ~ Lemony Snicket
All Hallows' Eve ~ Charles Williams


Graphic Novels: 
*Y: The Last Man, Vol 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ~ Brian K. Vaughn, Pia Guerra, Jose Marzan Jr
Saga: Vol 4 ~Fiona Staples and Brian K Vaughn  
Ms. Marvel: No Normal ~ G Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona
Black Science: Vol 1 ~ Rick Remender, Matteo Scalera, Dean White
Fables: Vol 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 ... ~ Willingham and many many others


*Carried over from last year's list.

Top 5 of 2015

 Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists, 

The last day of 2015. What a weird, yet wonderful year. Many ups and downs for me. Many new friends. Many new favourite books. As before, I have narrowed down my top rated books from Goodreads to my Top 5 of the year. 

1. The Red Knight by Miles Cameron

Perhaps one of the best fantasies I’ve read in a long time. Cameron’s background in medieval history certainly solidifies his world. His characters are all sorts of grey, never good nor bad, something in betwk-Sniffers and Librocubicularists, 

2. Song in the Silence by Elizabeth Kerner

I searched high and low for a decent book about dragons. None of these kookey creatures, quirky and goofy. These are believably solid, ancient creatures with a long history. A delightful journey and a relateable main character. The romance in this story is unusual. Book 2 in 2016 for sure.

3. Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

Elegant. Beautiful. Exquisite. The story leaves you thinking, pondering, and wondering. Magic is sprinked in so delicately that it seems plausible. A joy to read. A book that reminds you how remarkable writing can be.

Review here. 

4. Here, There be Dragons by James A. Owen

A surprise! Has you wanting to curl up next to a cozy fire or pitch a chair at the beach. All the warm fuzzies about your most favourite literary characters. Book 2 for the bookclub in 2016.

Review here.

5. The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson

One of the best future society YA novels out there. Testing the limits, combining the heart of artistic expression and the  advances of human kind’s technology. I wanted to know more about this world only hinted at.  A high recommend for those itching for a new dystopian society.

Review here. 

Honourable Mention:

Unicorn Chronicles by Bruce Coville

I reread the first two: Into the Land of the Unicorns and Song of the Wanderer. The last two of the series were new to me: Dark Whispers and The Last Hunt. Finally completing a series that got me into fantasy, into reading, and an life-long obsession with magical creatures. Why not mention this fantastic series?

Coville can create some of the most remarkable characters, all unique and lovely. I hated to see them go. What a wonderful 20 year journey.

Merry Christmas!

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

What an odd end to this year. This seems a trend for my reading every year. Begin strong, peak in the summer months, and peter out into bare reading in November/December.

Now on holidays, I can start planning my potential reading for next year. I've been brainstorming some attack methods. Things that didn't work this year, things that did. My goals worked, the Popsugar 2015 Challenge was fantastic, and many MANY books were crossed off the reading list.

As the end of the year approaches I look at the stack of new books that I pushed aside because I had all of these other ones I wanted to read. This approach will change, though I'm not sure just yet how I will do it. I've been reading other people's blogs to see what they do, to be inspired potentially.

My bookclub with my best friend will continue. We've already got ten or so books lined up as priorities. Another bookclub invited me in. Thankfully, we're all understanding of our busy schedules, so the reading demand will be much less.

Right now, I'm hoping to end the year with one or two strong books - great characters, great story, and great fun. Three that I have in my queue are: Irenicon by Aidan Harte, Nod by Adrian Barnes, and Smiler's Fair by Rebecca Levene.

Between now and the first weekend of the New Year will be filled with resolutions and new lists. Very excited.

A very merry Christmas to you!

Reading Real Talk

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

It's been a wonderful, busy couple of months. I'm happy working and doing the thing I love. That means more time spent doing the work rather than doing the reading.

I got to a point last month where I was becoming stressed over all the books I was feeling that I had to read. My best friend sat me down and gave me a talk. Read only what I love. Read in the moment. The list is the guide, not the rule by which to follow.

Miscellaneous updates:

Patrick Rothfuss's "Wise Man's Fear" is ridiculously long. I'm 500 pages in... it's 1000 pages. At this point, I've put it down so I can feel accomplished by reading something shorter.

Blind date: My best friend got the idea that we go to a used book store and pick out a book for each other. I added that we should wrap the cover so we can't see what it looks like. Of course, it doesn't hide the title, but it certainly hides possibly AWFUL covers. And believe me, browsing through that store, there's some pretty hilarious and cringy artwork. Makes you wonder what the actual story is about.
My book that she got me is actually quite good so far. Just past the first 30 pages and it's perfect for me! Woman on an adventure. Done. I'm sold.

NaNoWriMo: The month of writing 50,000 words of your own story... yup, participating in that this year. Why? Why not! I'm clearly just making more work for myself. December will feel like a breeze when this month is done. (famous last words?)

Thank you for stopping by. Perhaps late December I'll be able to write a few reviews.

~ Happy Winter Reading ~

October is Here!

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

At this point, managing work and reading has been an ordeal. I managed to read four books in September. Two adult, one young adult, and one reread children's.

My best friend and I are reading Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, one per month. This month is "The Wide Window". I forgot how wonderfully delightful they are. Hilarious with their side narrator tangents, ridiculous bit of information, and the terrible things that keep happening.

"Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein is ...  incredible. I shall try and form words together for a review.

The realization has dawned on me that I cannot, in no way, at this point in time, complete my reading wish list for this year. So now, is knocking off those that I can find time for. It'll be a struggle. I'll do it!

~Happy Autumn Reading~

September Update

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

Having received excellent news of a new job, my September suddenly looks full and my reading opportunities lessening. I've a series of adult books that need reading. The most recent YA I read was more than disappointing and I need that break.

Never fear though. I shall return in form, probably sooner than I thought.

~ Happy reading! ~