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2017 Reading Self-Challenge


Plessiez

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On Saturday, January 28, 2017 at 2:08 PM, HelenaExMachina said:

1) Ship of Magic - Robin Hobb (re-read)

2) Measure for Measure - William Shakespeare

3) The Mad Ship - Robin Hobb (re-read)

4) The Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare (re-read)

5) Ship of Destiny - Robin Hobb

6) The Taming of the Shrew - William Shakespeare

7) Fool's Errand - Robin Hobb

8) Golden Fool - Robin Hobb

9) Othello - William Shakespeare

10) Julius Caesar - William Shakespeare

11) Fool's Fate - Robin Hobb

Yes i have only read works by 2 authors this year. Hobb will continue until May. Shakespeare i enjoy reading on my journey to and from uni.

Also reading Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology. Will finish that up then start Dragon Keeper and my next Shakespeare

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I'm now 25% of the way to my target, a couple of weeks ahead of schedule.  Since my last update:

9) Blood of the Mantis (Adrian Tchaikovsky)

10) Collected Stories (Cynthia Ozick)

11) The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (David Mitchell)

12) Stone Mattress (Margaret Atwood)

13) Always Coming Home (Ursula le Guin)

14) Salute The Dark (Adrian Tchaikovsky)

15) Empire Games (Charlie Stross)

16) Ninefox Gambit (Yoon Ha Le)

17) The Sea, The Sea (Iris Murdoch)

18) Too Like The Lightning (Ada Palmer)

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I forgot to update this the other day

2/20

Finished Reading 'So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish', by Douglas Adams. I thought it was good but not as good as the ones before it.  

My sub goals will be :

1- read from the books I currently own first, then any new ones I buy (unless Winds of Winter comes out)

- 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'So Long, And Thanks for all the Fish' 

2- I want to read 10 books written by women

3- I want to read 5 non fiction books (finish the ones I'm reading first)

4- I want to read 5 anthologies and short story collections

5- I want to read at least 5 Children's books (not Picture Story books)

6- I want to read at least 10 novels from any genre

2/10 - 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'So Long, And Thanks for all the Fish'

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3/20

Finished Reading The Ice Dragon by GRRM  

Not doing so well on some of my sub goals. Hopefully they will pick up soon.  

My sub goals will be :

1- read from the books I currently own first, then any new ones I buy (unless Winds of Winter comes out)

- 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'So Long, And Thanks for all the Fish', 'The Ice Dragon', 

2- I want to read 10 books written by women

3- I want to read 5 non fiction books (finish the ones I'm reading first)

4- I want to read 5 anthologies and short story collections

5- I want to read at least 5 Children's books (not Picture Story books)

1/5 - 'The Ice Dragon' by GRRM,

6- I want to read at least 10 novels from any genre

2/10 - 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'So Long, And Thanks for all the Fish'

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  • 3 weeks later...

My 2017 40 Book Challenge (January Update)

  1. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
  2. The Acts of the Apostles by Ellen G. White
  3. Centuries of Changes by Ian Mortimer
  4. Dangerous Women 1 edited George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois
  5. The Great Controversy by Ellen G. White
  6. In Search of the Golden Rainbow by Charles Armistead
  7. Lighter of Gospel Fires by Ella M. Robinson
  8. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 2 by Edward Gibbon
  9. A Bold One for God by Charles G. Edwards
  10. Scars of Independence by Holger Hoock
  11. Blood Stain (Volume Two) by Linda Sejic
  12. Herald of the Midnight Cry by Paul A. Gordon
  13. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  14. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett
  15. Home to Our Valleys! by Walter Utt
  16. Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea by Thomas Cahill (reread)

This past month I read the most books I've ever read, of course it helps when half the books are less than 200 pages.  Anyway to the statistics: 16/40 overall and 15/30 first time reads.

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16/70 books completed -and this is actually the first time in years that I'm behind my "target". lol. I'm still not in the proper state of mind for reading like I used to. It will get better. or not.

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1) Ship of Magic - Robin Hobb (re-read)

2) Measure for Measure - William Shakespeare

3) The Mad Ship - Robin Hobb (re-read)

4) The Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare (re-read)

5) Ship of Destiny - Robin Hobb

6) The Taming of the Shrew - William Shakespeare

7) Fool's Errand - Robin Hobb

8) Golden Fool - Robin Hobb

9) Othello - William Shakespeare

10) Julius Caesar - William Shakespeare

11) Fool's Fate - Robin Hobb

12) Dragon Keeper - Robin Hobb

13) Richard II - William Shakespeare

14) Norse Mythology - Neil Gaiman

15) Dragon Haven - Robin Hobb

16) Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare

 

Ongoing; 

Orlando - Virginia Woolf

City of Dragons - Robin Hobb

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4/20

Finished reading The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty 

Not doing so well on some of my sub goals. Hopefully they will pick up soon.  

My sub goals will be :

1- read from the books I currently own first, then any new ones I buy (unless Winds of Winter comes out)

- 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'So Long, And Thanks for all the Fish', 'The Ice Dragon', 'The Exorcist', 

2- I want to read 10 books written by women

3- I want to read 5 non fiction books (finish the ones I'm reading first)

4- I want to read 5 anthologies and short story collections

5- I want to read at least 5 Children's books (not Picture Story books)

1/5 - 'The Ice Dragon' by GRRM,

6- I want to read at least 10 novels from any genre

3/10 - 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'So Long, And Thanks for all the Fish', 'The Exorcist' 

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I'm a bit behind so far this year. Not entirely sure why but I guess Robin Hobb's "ship of magic" is quite long. I'll probably make some progress over Easter as I have a fair amount of solo travelling to do on trains and planes.

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  • 2 weeks later...
2017 goals
 
I think I made some silly goal last year and never looked at it again. This will probably turn out to be the same, but I have more time this year to try.
 
Read 50 books total - I think I will easily achieve this, especially if I backdate to January by checking my Kindle purchases. The thing is, for the last few years I have been reading rubbish, pretty exclusively. So, my subgoals are more important to me than the total. I tried to keep my goals conservative so I wouldn't give up immediately:
 
read at least 10 novels that I consider more like quality literary fiction with a serious purpose than what I usually read
read at least 10 memoirs, travel books, or similar.
a bit off the reading track but - see at least three plays
read at least 10 other non-fiction books.
 
Lets see how I go.
 
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  • 2 weeks later...

My 2017 40 Book Challenge (April Update)

  1. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
  2. The Acts of the Apostles by Ellen G. White
  3. Centuries of Changes by Ian Mortimer
  4. Dangerous Women 1 edited George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois
  5. The Great Controversy by Ellen G. White
  6. In Search of the Golden Rainbow by Charles Armistead
  7. Lighter of Gospel Fires by Ella M. Robinson
  8. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 2 by Edward Gibbon
  9. A Bold One for God by Charles G. Edwards
  10. Scars of Independence by Holger Hoock
  11. Blood Stain (Volume Two) by Linda Sejic
  12. Herald of the Midnight Cry by Paul A. Gordon
  13. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  14. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett
  15. Home to Our Valleys! by Walter Utt
  16. Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea by Thomas Cahill (reread)
  17. Prairie Boy by Harry Baerg
  18. Blood Brothers by Philip Samaan
  19. The Millennium Bug by Jon Paulien (reread)
  20. The Collected Works of Emily Dickinson
  21. National Sunday Law by A. Jan Marcussen
  22. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 3 by Edward Gibbon
  23. The New World Order by Russell Burrill

This past month I read just seven books, which is sadly down from my record 10 last month because most of the month I read Gibbon Anyway to the statistics: 23/40 overall and 21/30 first time reads.

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I'd like to set my own challenge, if it's not too late. I want to read 30 books this year. So far I've read:

Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende. Took a long time to read but I'm glad I did.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Can't say I was blown away but it is a good book and I always love Bradbury's writing.
The King's Blood by Daniel Abraham. Love this series, and it grows with this second installment.
Snow White Must Die by Nele Neuhaus. Meh, just meh.

4/30, a bit behind schedule but I usually read a lot more in summer so I think I'll catch up.

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5/20

Finished reading First The Killed My Father by Loung Ung

Not nearly as farr enough as I'd thought I'd be by now.   

My sub goals will be :

1- read from the books I currently own first, then any new ones I buy (unless Winds of Winter comes out)

- 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'So Long, And Thanks for all the Fish', 'The Ice Dragon', 'The Exorcist', 'First They Killed My Father'

2- I want to read 10 books written by women

1/10 - 'First They Killed My Father', Loung Ung

3- I want to read 5 non fiction books (finish the ones I'm reading first)

1/5 - 'First They Killed My Father', Loung Ung, 

4- I want to read 5 anthologies and short story collections

5- I want to read at least 5 Children's books (not Picture Story books)

1/5 - 'The Ice Dragon' by GRRM,

6- I want to read at least 10 novels from any genre

3/10 - 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'So Long, And Thanks for all the Fish', 'The Exorcist' 

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My pace has slowed down a bit since the first two months of the year, but I think I'm still on track to meet my target.  So far I've read 30 books (by 25 different authors, 13 of whom I'd not read anything by before).

Since my last update:

19) All The Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr)

20) The Stars Are Legion (Kameron Hurley)

21) All The Birds In The Sky (Charlie Jane Anders)

22) A Cavern Of Black Ice (J. V. Jones)

23) Seven Surrenders (Ada Palmer)

24) Selected Stories (Alice Munro)

25) Three Parts Dead (Max Gladstone)

26) Tail Of The Blue Bird (Nii Ayikwei Parkes)

27) Two Serpents Rise (Max Gladstone)

28) The First Fifteen Lives Of Harry August (Claire North)

29) Possession (A. S. Byatt)

30) Into Everywhere (Paul McAuley)

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  • 2 weeks later...

6/20

Finished reading Rogues by GRRM and Gardner Dozois

Not nearly as farr enough as I'd thought I'd be by now.   

My sub goals are:

1- read from the books I currently own first, then any new ones I buy (unless Winds of Winter comes out)

- 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'So Long, And Thanks for all the Fish', 'The Ice Dragon', 'The Exorcist', 'First They Killed My Father', 'Rogues', 

2- I want to read 10 books written by women

1/10 - 'First They Killed My Father', Loung Ung

3- I want to read 5 non fiction books (finish the ones I'm reading first)

1/5 - 'First They Killed My Father', Loung Ung, 

4- I want to read 5 anthologies and short story collections

1/5 - 'Rogues', by GRRM and Gardner Dozois 

5- I want to read at least 5 Children's books (not Picture Story books)

1/5 - 'The Ice Dragon' by GRRM,

6- I want to read at least 10 novels from any genre

3/10 - 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'So Long, And Thanks for all the Fish', 'The Exorcist' 

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8/20

Finished reading The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King and George's Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl

Starting to get back on track. Hopefully I can keep up this pace.  

My sub goals are:

1- read from the books I currently own first, then any new ones I buy (unless Winds of Winter comes out)

- 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'So Long, And Thanks for all the Fish', 'The Ice Dragon', 'The Exorcist', 'First They Killed My Father', 'Rogues', 'The Bazaar of Bad Dreams', 'George's Marvellous Medicine', 

2- I want to read 10 books written by women

1/10 - 'First They Killed My Father', Loung Ung

3- I want to read 5 non fiction books (finish the ones I'm reading first)

1/5 - 'First They Killed My Father', Loung Ung, 

4- I want to read 5 anthologies and short story collections

2/5 - 'Rogues', by GRRM and Gardner Dozois, 'The Bazaar of Bad Dreams', by Stephen King 

5- I want to read at least 5 Children's books (not Picture Story books)

2/5 - 'The Ice Dragon' by GRRM, 'George's Marvellous Medicine', by Roald Dahl

6- I want to read at least 10 novels from any genre

3/10 - 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'So Long, And Thanks for all the Fish', 'The Exorcist

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  • 2 weeks later...

9/20

Finished reading Reading Magic by Mem Fox

This one wasn't on my book list, i was given it.

My sub goals are:

1- read from the books I currently own first, then any new ones I buy (unless Winds of Winter comes out)

- 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'So Long, And Thanks for all the Fish', 'The Ice Dragon', 'The Exorcist', 'First They Killed My Father', 'Rogues', 'The Bazaar of Bad Dreams', 'George's Marvellous Medicine', 

2- I want to read 10 books written by women

2/10 - 'First They Killed My Father', Loung Ung, 'Reading Magic', Mem Fox

3- I want to read 5 non fiction books (finish the ones I'm reading first)

2/5 - 'First They Killed My Father', Loung Ung, 'Reading Magic', Mem Fox 

4- I want to read 5 anthologies and short story collections

2/5 - 'Rogues', by GRRM and Gardner Dozois, 'The Bazaar of Bad Dreams', by Stephen King 

5- I want to read at least 5 Children's books (not Picture Story books)

2/5 - 'The Ice Dragon' by GRRM, 'George's Marvellous Medicine', by Roald Dahl

6- I want to read at least 10 novels from any genre

3/10 - 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'So Long, And Thanks for all the Fish', 'The Exorcist

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My 2017 40 Book Challenge (May Update)

  1. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
  2. The Acts of the Apostles by Ellen G. White
  3. Centuries of Changes by Ian Mortimer
  4. Dangerous Women 1 edited George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois
  5. The Great Controversy by Ellen G. White
  6. In Search of the Golden Rainbow by Charles Armistead
  7. Lighter of Gospel Fires by Ella M. Robinson
  8. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 2 by Edward Gibbon
  9. A Bold One for God by Charles G. Edwards
  10. Scars of Independence by Holger Hoock
  11. Blood Stain (Volume Two) by Linda Sejic
  12. Herald of the Midnight Cry by Paul A. Gordon
  13. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  14. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett
  15. Home to Our Valleys! by Walter Utt
  16. Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea by Thomas Cahill (reread)
  17. Prairie Boy by Harry Baerg
  18. Blood Brothers by Philip Samaan
  19. The Millennium Bug by Jon Paulien (reread)
  20. The Collected Works of Emily Dickinson
  21. National Sunday Law by A. Jan Marcussen
  22. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 3 by Edward Gibbon
  23. The New World Order by Russell Burrill
  24. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
  25. Sabbath Roots by Charles E. Bradford (reread)
  26. Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
  27. The Antichrist and the New World Order by Marvin Moore

This past month I read just four books, which after my huge months of March (10) and April (7) is actually back to my norm. Anyway to the statistics: 27/40 overall and 24/30 first time reads.

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1) The Black Prism (Lightbringer #1) from Brent Weeks 3/5
2) The Blinding Knife (Lightbringer #2) from Brent Weeks 3/5
3) The Broken Eye (Lightbringer #3) from Brent Weeks 2/5
4) The Last Wish (The Witcher #1) from Andrszej Sapkowski 3/5
5) Sword of Destiny (The Witcher #2) from Andrszej Sapkowski 3/5
6) Blood of Elves (The Witcher #3) from Andrszej Sapkowski 3/5
7) The White-Luck Warrior (Second Apocalypse #5) from R. Scott Bakker 3/5
8) Time of Contempt (The Witcher #4) from Andrszej Sapkowski 4/5
9) Baptism of Fire (The Witcher #5) from Andrszej Sapkowski 3/5
10) The Tower of Swallows (The Witcher #6) from Andrszej Sapkowski 2/5
11) Lady of the Lake (The Witcher #7) from Andrszej Sapkowski 3/5
12) Thrawn from Timothy Zahn 3/5
13) The Great Ordeal (Second Apocalypse #6) from R. Scott Bakker 2/5
14) Assassin's Fate (Realm of the Elderlings #16) from Robin Hobb 4/5

14/26 so far, I think that I need to increase the challenge to 36.

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10/20

Yay! Halfway there!

I actually think I have a shot at completing my challenge this year....Maybe not all my sub goals but the overall challenge.

Finished reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney

My sub goals are:

1- read from the books I currently own first, then any new ones I buy (unless Winds of Winter comes out)

- 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'So Long, And Thanks for all the Fish', 'The Ice Dragon', 'The Exorcist', 'First They Killed My Father', 'Rogues', 'The Bazaar of Bad Dreams', 'George's Marvellous Medicine', 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw',

2- I want to read 10 books written by women

2/10 - 'First They Killed My Father', Loung Ung, 'Reading Magic', Mem Fox

3- I want to read 5 non fiction books (finish the ones I'm reading first)

2/5 - 'First They Killed My Father', Loung Ung, 'Reading Magic', Mem Fox 

4- I want to read 5 anthologies and short story collections

2/5 - 'Rogues', by GRRM and Gardner Dozois, 'The Bazaar of Bad Dreams', by Stephen King 

5- I want to read at least 5 Children's books (not Picture Story books)

3/5 - 'The Ice Dragon' by GRRM, 'George's Marvellous Medicine', by Roald Dahl, 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw', by Jeff Kinney

6- I want to read at least 10 novels from any genre

3/10 - 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'So Long, And Thanks for all the Fish', 'The Exorcist

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