Sunday, December 11, 2016

2016 Reading Challenge - DONE!

I'm happy to report I have finished the 2016 reading challenge!  I finished up The Handmaid's Tale last week and that was my final category book for the year.  If you haven't read this one, while I won't say it's a book I "liked", it's definitely one that will stick with me.  Lots of food for thought, and well-written (I like Barbara Atwood in general), but it's creepy and unsettling.  (Note to self, the holiday season is not necessarily the best time to tackle a book on a dystopia.  Plan ahead for that next time.)

My top 3 books for the year:

  • The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.
  • Career of Evil/The Silkworm/The Cuckoo's Calling series by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling).
  • River of Doubt by Candice Millard.
All of which were surprises, and I think that's why I like this yearly challenge.  Books that I wouldn't have necessarily picked up wind up being ones I really enjoyed.  (And I like that the challenge gets me out of my mind-candy rut which I tend to drift into when not motivated otherwise.)

I have been waffling around about continuing with the challenge for 2017.  I had thought maybe I'd take a year to just read fluff, but to be honest, I've read a couple of week's worth of fluff already over the last 2 weeks, and I think I'm ready to get back into a more expanded reading list.  So..... I think I'm in for 2017!  I'll put up a post with the next year's topics, but you can also find them on Goodreads in the Around the Year in 52 Books group, if you're interested.


The 2016 List
1. A book you meant to read in 2015, but didn't.  Entwined by Heather Dixon - DONE.
2. A book set in a different continent: Circling the Sun by Paula McLain - DONE.
3. A book from the Goodreads Choice Awards 2015 (winner or nominated) - The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (audio) - DONE.
4. A book by an author you discovered in 2015: Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr - DONE.
5. A book with a title beginning with the 1st letter of your name:  Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose - DONE.
6. The highest rated on your TBR: The Clockmaster by Betsy Tobin - DONE.
7. A book about books - Gutenberg's Apprentice - Alix Christie - DONE.
8. A classic book with less than 200 pages:  Edith Wharton's Age of Innocence - DONE
9. A book that was mentioned in another book:  West with the Night - Beryl Markham - DONE
10. A book by an author you feel you should have read by now: Thud - Terry Pratchett - DONE.
11. A book from the Rory Gilmore challenge - The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - DONE.
12. A childhood classic:  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling - DONE.
13. Reader’s Choice:  Vienna Nocturne by Vivien Shotwell - DONE.
14. A book with one of the five W’s -or H in the title (Who/What/Where/When/Why/How) What She Left - T.R. Richmond - DONE.
15. A book set in the past (more than 100 years ago):  Cervantes Street by Jamie Manrique - DONE.
16. A book from the top 100 mystery novels:  The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman - DONE.
17. A book with a beautiful cover: Bluebeard's Egg by Margaret Atwood
18. A book on a summer/beach reading list: Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith - DONE.
19. A non-fiction book - Lives in Ruins by Marilyn Johnson - DONE.
20. A book with a first name in the title: Jane and the Still-Room Maid by Stephanie Barron.  DONE.
21. A book from the Goodreads Recommendations page - The Drawing of the Dark by Tim Powers.
22. The first book in a new to you series: The Lazarus Gate by Mark Latham - DONE.
23. The next book in a series you are reading: The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith - DONE.
24. A "between the numbers" book of a series (0.5, 1,5, 2.5, etc.):  The Three Monarchs by Anthony Horowitz - DONE.
25. A book whose main character is in a profession that interests you: Mind of the Raven by Bernd Henrich - DONE.
26. A book everyone is talking about - Knitlandia by Clara Parkes - DONE.
27. A book with a beautiful title (in your own opinion): Belle Cora - Richard Margulies - DONE.
28. A biography, autobiography, or memoir: Jack London: An American Life by Earle Labor - DONE.
29. A book by an author who writes under more than one name:  The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling) - DONE.
30. A fairytale from a culture other than your own: The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley - DONE.
31. A work of young adult fiction:  The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge. DONE.
32. A historical fiction book: The Scribe by Matthew Guin - DONE.
33. The 16th book on your TBR:  The Dark Lantern by Gerri Brightwell - DONE.
34. A book about mental illness: Adeline by Norah Vincent - DONE
35. An award winning book: River of Doubt by Candice Millard - DONE.
36. An identity book - a book about a different culture, religion or sexual orientation:  Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides - DONE.
37. A book that you've seen the movie of but haven't read - The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje - DONE.
38. A book about an anti hero:  Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace - DONE.
39. A previous suggestion that did not make it into the list: Secrecy by Rupert Thomas - DONE.
40. A novella from your favorite genre: The Princess and the Queen or The Blacks and the Greens by George RR Martin - DONE.
41. A book about a major world event (fiction or non-fiction): The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure - DONE.
42. A top 100 fantasy novel:  The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - DONE.
43. A book about a thing that goes bump in the night:  The Edinburgh Dead by Brian Ruckley - DONE.
44. A book you're embarrassed to read in public: A Stolen Rose by Amy Corwin - DONE.
45. A book related to a hobby or passion you have: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova - DONE.
46. A crime story:  The Cutting Season by Attica Locke - DONE.
47. A book with a type of food/drink in the title - Blood Orange by Karen Keskinen - DONE.
48. A dystopia: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - DONE.
49. A book with a great opening line: Paris Red by Maureen Gibbon - DONE.
50. A book originally written in a language other than English:  Tove Jansson's The Summer Book - DONE.
51. A short story from a well-known author: A Queen in Exile by Sharon Kay Penman - DONE.
52. A book published in 2016 - The Dark Lady's Mask by Mary Sharratt - DONE.

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