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reading - part 1

I  am an avid reader. Last Jan. when I came across a proposed reading challenge on FB (thanks Tracey Fletcher King!), I enlisted a couple of friends to join me and we tackled the list of 50 reading categories. I finished all 50 categories ...... the last book wrapped up about when the ball dropped on new year's eve.  :)

I posted progress fairly regularly on FB, but for those of you out there who are also readers, here's what I read last year....the 50 categories plus another 26 books for a total of 76 books!  You can see my reviews on Goodreads (tpurk13). By the way, if you're on Goodreads, message/friend me - I'd love to follow along with what you're enjoying.

Tigerman  JANUARY
Bk with a 1-word title:   Innocence, Dean Koontz   (B) - supernatural thriller
Bk by new-to-you author:   Tigerman, Nick Harkaway  (B)   recommend  something different
Pulitzer prize winner:   Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout  (B)    relationships in a small town
A funny book:   Gone to the Dogs, Mary Guterson  (C) (not very funny)
no category:   Alarm Girl, Hannah Vincent   (B)   family issues set in Africa

The Farm    FEBRUARY
Bk set in a different country (Sweden): The Farm, Tom Rob Smith  (A)  recommend (thanks Karen!)
Bk about or w/ animal as main character:  The Sound & the Furry, Spencer Quinn  (B-)
Bk written by author w/ your initials:  Little Saigon, T Jefferson Parker (tp)  (C)  mystery
Bk based on a true story:  Driving over Lemons, Chris Sewart  (B+)  recommend  buying a farm in Spain and starting over
no category:   Daddy's Girl, Lisa Scottoline   (B)   mystery

Epitaph  MARCH
Bk published this year:   Epitaph, Mary Doria Russell (A) highly recommend  life of Wyatt Earp brothers - very well researched & new perspectives
Bk that made you cry:   The Lobster Kings, Alexi Zentner  (B+)  recommend   family relationships
Bk by a female author:  Eden Close, Anita Shreve  (C)
Bk w/ color in the title:   White Nights, Ann Cleeves  (C)    mystery
Bk w/ more than 500 pgs:   All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr   (B+) recommend  unique perspectives on WWII

The Paris Wife   APRIL
Bk recommended by a friend:   The Paris Wife, Paula McLain  (B+) (thanks Debbie F)  recommend  Hemingway's life told from wife's perspective, based on letters & extensive research
Bk started but not finished:   The Serpent of Venice, Christopher Moore   (F)
Bk from author you love but haven't read:  Divine Justice, David Baldacci  (B)  mystery
Bk with a love triangle:   The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway  (D)   classic
Mystery / thriller:   A Tap on the Window, Linwood Barclay  (A)   recommend    mystery
A trilogy:   The Magician King, Lev Grossman  (B)   magic along lines of Harry Potter but different
A trilogy:   The Magicians, Lev Grossman  (B-)

Case Histories (Jackson Brodie, #1)   MAY
A trilogy:  The Magician's Land, Lev Grossman  (B+)
no category:  Case Histories, Kate Atkinson   (B+)   recommend   mysteries
A memoir:   Up Till Now, William Shatner   (C-)
Bk you own but haven't read:   Memory Thief, Emily Colin  (B)   love & loss
Bk w/ number in title:   The Nine Lessons, Kevin Alan Milne   (C+)  using golf, father teaches adult son life lessons

The Martian    JUNE
Bk set in the future:   The Martian, Andy Weir   (C)   movie better than book
Bk set somewhere you want to visit:   The Most Beautiful Walk in the World, John Baxter  (C+)
Bk published year you were born:   The Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison   (D)  classic
no category:   The Racketeer, John Grisham  (B-)
no category:   The Gathering, Anne Enright   (F)  didn't finish
no category:  You can Draw in 30 Days, Mark Kistler   (B)   helpful sketching exercises
no category:   No Time for Goodbye, Linwood Barclay  (B)  mystery


This takes you through the first half of the year......stay tuned for part 2!


3 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:29 AM

    Glad to see you back in blog - land. Read the farm, kind of creepy and weird but good. Not most of the rest funnily enough, been reading mostly Scandinavian mysteries. Hemingway yes, Doerr in my pile. I did sign up for good reads, will find you, haven't done much with it. Welcome back. xox

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  2. Oh my....when do you get the time? No wonder you haven't been doing a lot of art.

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  3. I just friended you on goodreads. I will check out some of your recommendations! You're just like me: you read a ton, but don't love very many!

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