Re: 50 Book Challenge!!!

[Kathryn Lacey]

Congrats, Lara. I also finished my third book today, and I'm now starting a trilogy.

I read the first book in the trilogy when I was eleven, and I liked it a lot then, but I was never able to get my hands on the other two books. So far, it's not as great as I expected, but it has been a decade, and maybe it'll surprise me.

I hope you'll be able to acquire the other books in your series. If not, there are libraries, and I've never heard of a library that won't borrow from other libraries to get the book you need. I've done the interlibrary loan thing twice at my library. The first time was for Phantom by Susan Kay, and I did it for the trilogy I'm currently reading.

[Lara]

True enough, I've been borrowing books from my library all my life... I just like owning the entire series when I already have part of it. XD Which means Amazon.com or my local bookstore is about to become my best friend next time I go home, haha.

What series are you reading?

[Kathryn Lacey]

It's called the Water Trilogy by Kara Dalkey. As I said, I read it when I was eleven, and I'm pretty sure it's geared more toward that age group, buuuuut I've read books in the past that aged and matured the writing along with the characters throughout the series ((Chronicles of Prydain, anyone?)), so I'm hoping for the same kind of thing here. Even if it's not, even now, I can still appreciate the world the author created and the idea she used.

[Sunwolf007]

Haven't gotten around to updating my list but here it is. I got my 2 for the month done already.

1. Mythology by Edith Hamilton 1/9/11
2. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli 1/24/11
3. Scattered Suns by Kevin J. Anderson 1/31/11
4. The Burgermeister's Daughter by Steven Oxment 2/17/11
5. The Art of War by Sun Tzu translated by Sawyer2/18/11
6. Gods and Heroes of Ancient Greece by Gustav Schqab 5/15/11
7. Timeline by Michael Crichton 5/26/11
8. Of Fire and Night by Kevin J. Anderson 7/24/11
9. Metal Swarm by Kevin J. Anderson 9/26/11
10. The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan 10/14/11
11. The Presidency of George Washington by Forrest McDonald
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

Key
Bold means I’m currently reading a book.
If it has a slash through it, I’ve completed it.
* means I am rereading a book.


Benchmarks
- I have read 10 out of 25 books so far.
- Began: Jan 1st, 2011
- Reached 5 books: 2/18/11
- Reached 10 books: 10/14/11
- Reached 15 books:
- Reached 20 books:
- Reached 25 books:

[Kathryn Lacey]

You've been added to the list, Sunwolf. You may want to fix the code in your post, though. I think you bolded more than you intended. =3

[Sunwolf007]

Nope just got the tags wrong. I am actually reading a lot more than that for class but I don't think I will read most of them cover to cover. Anyway I am off to edit a paper. Thanks for pointing out my tag error!

[Kathryn Lacey]

That's... what I meant... I meant that you messed up the tags, thus bolding more than intended... Bolding things isn't a tag, btw. It's considered simple coding.

[Sunwolf007]

Well, regardless of its a tag or a code I am reading both books currently. Sorry I didn't make that clear in my last post but my mind was somewhat fried by creating a paper in a day and then editing it. Anyway I am close to finishing both so hopefully I will be ahead of schedule (as I plan on reading 2 books a month and somehow getting in that last one).

[Psychotic Flesh]

Starting afresh.
^^

I only read 21 books in my year, how pathetic is that?


1. The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman 560 pages
2. Silver Brumby's Daughter by Elyne Mitchell 157 pages
3. Cash: The Autobiography by Johnny Cash
4. Shade's Children by Garth Nix
5. Life and Laughing: My Story by Michael McIntyre
6. Digital Fortress by Dan Brown
7. Last of the Wilds by Trudi Canavan
8. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
9. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
10. Poor Little Bitch Girl by Jackie Collins
11. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
12. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
13. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
14. Supernatural: Bone Key by Keith R.A. Decandido
15. Castle by Garth Nix
16. The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
17. The Awakening by L.J Smith
18. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
19. Sir Thursday by Garth Nix
20. The Abortionist's Daughter by Elisabeth Hyde
21. The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory
22. City Lives by Patricia Scanlan
23. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
24. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
25. Silver Brumbies of the South by Elyne Mitchell
26. The Magician's Apprentice by Trudi Canavan
27. Coming Home for Christmas by Patricia Scanlan
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.

Key
Bold means I’m currently reading a book.
If it has a slash through it, I’ve completed it.
* means I am rereading a book.

Benchmarks
- I have read four out of fifty books so far.
- Began: Wednesday February 9th 2011
- Reached 5 Books:
- Reached 10 books:
- Reached 25 books:
- Reached 35 books:
- Reached 50 books:
- Pages Read: 1,361

[Kathryn Lacey]

The new link and start date have been updated, Flesh.

I don't think it's pathetic at all. Some people just don't have time to read fifty books in a year. Besides, the fact that you read during that year at all is awesome. =3

[Sunwolf007]

Finished book 4 on the list. Now I need my other one for the month.

Edit: found my copy of Art of War I had been reading last year and finished it. That counts right?

[Heyseuss]

Right, so I'll just start the list. I tend to drop books and pick them up later, after reading halfway through, so this means that some books will be done out of order. This is a good thing though, I needed a motivation to read more books recently. I've been slackin'.

1. "The Anatomy of Fascism" by Robert Walker
2. "Fever Pitch" by Nick Hornby
3. "Witch and Wizard" by James Patterson
4. "The Gift" by James Patterson
5. "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" by Edward Gibbon
6. "The Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith
7. "Democracy in America" by Alexis de Tocqueville
8. "Eichmann in Jerusalem and the Banality of Evil" - Hannah Arendt*
9. "King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa" - Adam Hochschild
10. "The Best and the Brightest" - David Halberstam
11. "Blood and Chocolate" -- Annette Curtis Klause
12. "It" - Stephen King*
13. "The Pillars of the Earth" - Ken Follett
14. "The Last Don" - Mario Puzo*
15. "The Color of Magic" - Terry Pratchett
16. "Mila 18" - Leon Uris
17. TBD

I'll figure it out after that.

Key
If it has a slash through it, I’ve completed it.
* means I am rereading a book.
An underline number means I am currently reading that book.


Benchmarks
- I have read Eight out of fifty books so far.
- Began: Friday, February 18th, 2011
- Reached 10 books:
- Reached 20 books:
- Reached 35 books:
- Reached 50 books:
- Pages Read: 0 I'll figure this out when I am in the mood for it.

[Kathryn Lacey]

Heyseuss, your list has been added to the first post. Welcome to the challenge.

[Kalon Ordona II]

I've already updated my first post, so no need to change the link on the first page. ^^

[updated: 2-20-2011]

3/24 complete!

1. The First Escape, by G.P. Taylor (The Dopple Ganger Chronicles, book 1)
—^{280 pages, published by Tyndale House, 2008}—
2. The Secret of Indigo Moon, by G.P. Taylor (The Dopple Ganger Chronicles, book 2)
—^{291 pages, published by Tyndale House, 2009}—
3. Empress of Eternity, by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
—^{352 pages, published by Tor, 2010}—
4. The Tale of Krispos, book 3, Krispos the Emperor, by Harry Turtledove
5. Crossroads, book 1, Spirit Gate, by Kate Elliott
6. Crossroads, book 2
7. Crossroads, book 3
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.


Key
Bold means I’m currently reading a book.
If it has a slash through it, I’ve completed it.
* means I am rereading a book.

Benchmarks
- I have read three out of twenty-four books so far.
- Began: January 3rd, 2011
- Reached 4 Books:
- Reached 8 Books:
- Reached 12 Books:
- Reached 16 Books:
- Reached 20 Books:
- Reached 24 Books:
- Pages Read: 953+

[Psychotic Flesh]

The new link and start date have been updated, Flesh.

I don't think it's pathetic at all. Some people just don't have time to read fifty books in a year. Besides, the fact that you read during that year at all is awesome. =3

I suppose it is; I definitely wouldn't have read even half that amount if it weren't for this challenge. It has certainly inspired me to read more often.

That said, I'm off to a good start! Two books down already, so hopefully I'll get closer to completing the challenge this time.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Does non-fiction count? I'm fine either way.

[Kathryn Lacey]

Kalon, there's really no need to re-post your list every time you update it even if you edit the original along with posting the updated version of it in a new post. It would probably be better to either stick it in a spoiler or to just link to it yourself if you really want to show your progress each time.

Non-fiction definitely counts. This is about reading books whether they're factual or fictional. The only things I really don't count are comic books, manga, poetry, and short stories ((unless those short stories are complied into a book and someone isn't trying to say that they read a whole book after reading one short story)).


Flesh, I'm really glad that this challenge has helped you read more. I saw this challenge on another site, and I thought it would inspire me to read more which it has. I thought if it could be fun for me, I should share it with everyone on FoG, too, because I thought you guys could enjoy it. I'm glad I was right. ^^_^^

[Heyseuss]

I haven't been around here much, but I did update my reading list to reflect my current status.

I kinda expect to be given shit for "Blood and Chocolate" but I refuse to be constrained by conventionality when it comes to book choices, so nyah.

On the other hand, I'm going to find a Leon Uris book of some sort to try out, and maybe look for something on the Warsaw Uprisings in non-fiction. I like to keep a balance of interesting history stuff, some philosophy and a mish-mash of historical, science fiction and fantasy novels. I'll probably stick some Heinlein or John Scalzi here after a while, and I've been warming up to the idea of reading Tolkien again.

I was discussing "Reminisces of the Cuban Revolutionary War" with someone from another forum the other day, and that made me perhaps want to read it again, because it was an interesting read -- Guevara has his reasons, even I most emphatically do not approve of his methods or conclusions.

After "Blood and Chocolate" of course. If someone makes fun of me for reading that, I'll just beat them to death...with the book.

[Kathryn Lacey]

No one should ever make fun of another person for reading something, even if that person thinks the book is horrible. Everyone has different tastes, and liking or disliking something doesn't make it factually bad or good. It's all just a matter of opinion.

I read Blood and Chocolate when I was in high school, and I liked it then. My friend read it more recently, and she said that in high school, she liked it, but on the second read-through, she hated it. Tastes change, too.

I hope that you enjoy the book, personally.


I've updated the first post. It's so wonderful to see that so many people have been reading. ^^_^^

[Blackrock]

As my father once told me, there isn't a bad book - only ones you like and ones you don't. No book can be considered "horrible", because each and everyone is precious in its own way. Each one is a door into another world - the world of the author, because by sharing their thoughts and ideas with you, the reader, they also share their view on life. That's one of the most precious things on this world, if you ask me.

Anyhow, enough rambling from me. I'm off to go work on the challenge

[Lara]

Phew, finally finished book 4!

On to book 5: Wolf Captured, book four in the Wolf series, which I've been slowly and enthusiastically progressing through. =) Soon I'll have to scout out books 5 and 6 and order them from somewhere.

[Psychotic Flesh]

I've fallen behind on my 'one book a week' target already.

Ah well, I'm just hoping to read more books this year than my last one, even if it's just one more. I've got quite a few long books coming up, so we'll see.

[Kalon Ordona II]

I'm still on schedule! xD
This month's two books were Mass Effect: Revelation by Drew Karpyshyn (lead writer for the games), and The Diamond Throne, book 1 of The Elenium, by David Eddings. ^_^
Also, we FINALLY finished Sword of Truth #6, The Pillars of Creation, by Terry Goodkind. (woot)

[Kathryn Lacey]

I updated the list last night with everyone's progress. I'll do it again in a week or so.

Dude! I loved the first book in the Sword of Truth series! I'm so excited to be able to read the rest of them when I move in with my love because he own them all!

[Heyseuss]

I'm starting "Mila 18" by Leon Uris. It's about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, where Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, fought tooth and nail against the Germans with improvised/homemade weaponry, pretty much down to the last man and woman.

I finally got through that book on fascism, which was a bit of a slog.

I seem to be right at a book a week, but that's not really the rate I do it at. Some books go fast, some I move slowly through, usually the ones that involve nonfiction topics.

[Lara]

Note to self: when deciding what books to bring up to college to read, bring all of the series. After putting Wolf on hold, I also got through and put on hold the Glasswright series because I left the rest of those home, too. I also finished the latest Bloody Jack book.

Which leaves me... with a few options, but I dunno what to read. I have about a week and a half left till the semester is over. I could read one of many Star Wars books in my room (which, honestly, I'm in the mood for fantasy...), or a suspense thriller...Hmm, I guess maybe I have one more fantasy book left...

[Kalon Ordona II]

Finished The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel, and Nightlight, a Twilight parody by some group called The Harvard Lampoon.

[Heyseuss]

Finished "Eichmann in Jerusalem" by Hannah Arendt. Nonfiction, account of the what I'd call the real trial of the 20th century, besides Nuremberg, anyway.

[Lara]

On an Iris Johansen kick at the moment. It's gonna be a good run 'cause I have a ton of her books that I don't think I've read yet/lately.

Knowing my traditions, I'll probably head on back to Sue Henry when I'm bored of Johansen. Depends on whether I've started my internship or not, 'cause I plan to bring along the rest of the series I had started if that's the case.

[Kathryn Lacey]

Jeeze... I finally updated the first post with everyone's progress! Keep on reading!

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