Saturday, December 19, 2015


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Thursday, January 3, 2013

100+ Books in 2013

I am joining the 100+ Book Challenge at Goodreads. Go HERE to learn more about this challenge or click on the button above.

January
1. Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child
2. Cold Days by Jim Butcher
3. Last Man Standing by David Balducci
4. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
5. White Death by Clive Cussler
6. Two Graves by Preston and Child
7. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
8. Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
9. The voyage of the Dawn Treader
10. Zoo by James Patterson
11. Pegasus by Robin McKinley

2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

I bought way too many books last year even though I joined the TBR Challenge. This year I hope to make a better show of it and read more of my own books. To read the guidelines go visit Evie's Bookish Blog here. I plan to join at the Friendly Hug level and read 11-20 of my own books printed in 2012 or earlier.

1. Cold Days by Jim Butcher
2. Two Graves by Preston & Child

5x4 Personal Challenge 2013

I didn't do so well on this one last year but hope to do much better this year. I have cosen genres that I tend to skip over so it will actually be a challenge to me. My 5 categories are:

Prize Winners
1.
2.
3.
4.

Non-Fiction
1.
2.
3.
4.

Harold Bell Wright
1.
2.
3.
4.

Short Story Collections
1.
2.
3.
4.

YA
1. Pegasus by Robin McKinley
2.
3.
4.




What's In a Name 6

I am going to join this challenge for the sixth time! I'm looking forward to it! To find the rules and/or sign up go here.

Between January 1 and December 31, 2013, read one book in each of the following categories:

1.A book with up or down (or equivalent) in the title:
  Two Graves by Preston & Child
2.A book with something you'd find in your kitchen in the title:
  Last Man Standing by David Baldacci
3.A book with a party or celebration in the title:
4.A book with fire (or equivalent) in the title:
5.A book with an emotion in the title:
6.A book with lost or found (or equivalent) in the title:


Chunkster Challenge 2013




To read the rules for this challenge click on the button above or here.
I plan to go for the Plump Primer and read at least 6 chunksters this year.

1. Cold Days by Jim Butcher (515pgs.)
2. Two Graves by Preston & Child (448 pgs.)

Monday, January 2, 2012

Challenges in 2012

This year I have chosen to pare back my number of reading challenges. Last year I participated in 16 and managed to complete most of them. This year i am starting out with only 8. They are:

*Books Read in 2012 (78/100)

*2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge (5/30)

*Chunkster Reading Challenge 2012 (8/8)

*Why buy the Cow Reading Challenge

*2012 E-Book Reading Challenge (30/30)

*What's In a Name 5 (5/5)

*Men in Uniform Reading Challenge

* 5x4 Personal Reading Challenge 2012 (6/20)

*Cruisin' Through the Cozies 2012 (2/7)

*Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge 2012 (2/8)

My wrap-up for 2011 is here:
2011 Wrap-up

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Books Read in 2012 (100+ Personal Challenge)

Books Read in 2012
100+ Personal Challenge



I will keep track of all the books I read this year here be they fiction or non-fiction. My personal goal is 100+. I wanted to join a group but found the ones I looked at didn't allow audio books, or only allowed fiction. I will be reading a mixture of books and wish to count them all.

January
1. The Big Four by Agatha Christie
2. The Brave by Nicholas Evans
3. 77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz
4. Quinn by Iris Johansen
5. Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler
6. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
7. Killing Lincoln by O'Rilley and Dugard
8. Legacies by F. Paul Wilson
9. Snuff by Terry Pratchett
10. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
11. John Adams by David McCullough
12. A Hard Day's Fright by Casey Daniels

February
14. Room by Emma Donoghue
15. Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse
16. The Bride Wore Black Leather by Simon R. Green
17. Bonnie by Iris Johansen
18. Worth Dying For by Lee Child
19. 61 Hours by Lee Child

March - December
Well, this has been a very interesting year for us. The kids lived with us for 8 months, which was quite a life changing event but one I wouldn't change for anything. My husband and I have both had medical issues this year as well which slowed me down. And now my 87 year old father is in need of care for a broken arm. But God is good and he is seeing us through. God willing dad will gain his strength back and achieve his goal of returning home.


Even with all this I managed to read 81 books this year, quite a few short of my goal of 100 but many more than I thought I'd get to.

I did not post them here and I won't go back and try to put them in. However I kept track of them at Goodreads on my 2012 shelf. If you would like to view the list this is the link:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/668747-sharon?format=html&shelf=2012

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge

.
Once again My Reader's Block is sponsoring the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge. This year it's all about the themes--for full details go to the info post (link above). You can sign up for as  many themes as you would like so check it out. I'm signing up for Cherchez le Homme in which you read 8 books by male authors OR 8 books with male detectives.

Progress site

1. The Big Four by Agatha Christie (1927)
2. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming (1953)
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Cruisin' Through the Cozies 2012

I love cozy mysteries and didn't read nearly as many as I would have liked to last year. I have SEVERAL in my TBR pile already. When I saw this challenge at Socrates' Book Reviews I decided to join. Click on the link or the button above to go to Socrates' for all the info on this challenge.

I'm joining at Level 2 - Investigator - and plan to read 7 to 12 Cozies in 2012.

1. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
2. A hard Day's Fright by Casey Daniels
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Chunkster Reading Challenge

I have decided to join the Chunkster Challenge again this year. There are a lot of great books that are 450 or more pages long so this challenge is quite an encouragement to me. I have decided to join at the Plump Primer level and read 6 chunksters this year.If you are interested in joining or finding out more about the Chunkster Challenge plese click on the link or on the picture above.

Below is some info from the Chunkster Challenge page:

Below are the details and sign-ups for 2012. Wendy and I have made a few changes to the rules including the date. Next year’s challenge starts the first day of the year instead of in February as it usually did. That way participants who didn’t sign up for the 2011 challenge or those who’ve already finished, can start reading their chunksters in January and count them for this challenge.

Definition of a chunkster:

A chunkster is 450 pages or more of ADULT literature, whether non-fiction or fiction. A chunkster should be a challenge.

If you read books in large print, your books will need to be 525 pages or more. The average large type book is 10-15% larger or more so it’s a fair estimate.

The rules:
  • No audio books. (There are exceptions to this rule.)
  • No e-books allowed. This was discussed in much detail in the 2011 challenge. The short version: a chunkster isn’t a challenge if you’re reading it on an e-reader. (There are exceptions to this rule.)
  • This year for the first time, essay, poetry, and short story collections will be allowed. Collections have to be read in their entirety to count. If you’ve needed a reason to finally pick up your copy of The Collected Works Of ____ now is the time.
  • Books may crossover with other challenges.
  • Anyone may join. (If you don’t have a blog, just leave a comment on this post with your challenge level and your progress throughout the challenge.)
  • You don’t need to list your books ahead of time.
  • Once you’ve picked a level, that’s it. You’re committed to it!
Post reviews here.
My Chunksters for 2012
1. 77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz (451 pages)
2. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson
3. John Adams byMcCullough, David
4. Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
5. The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo
6. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
7. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Murakami, Haruki
8. Kraken by Miéville, China

Monday, December 5, 2011

5x4 Reading Challenge 2012

I'm hoping that this personal challenge will help me be a more well rounded reader. I've changed some of my categories from last year, but will keep the Classics, Short Story Collection and Pulitzer Prize categories. The two others will be Harold Bell Wright and Presidents. Past categories included Oprah Book Club Picks & Non-Fiction.

Classics
1. A Tale of Two cities
2.
Prize Winners
1. Middlesex

Presidents
1. River of Doubt
2. John Adams by David McCullough
3. Killing Linclon by Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard

Harold Bell Wright


Short Story Collections
1.Discount Noir
2.
3.
4.