2017 Reading Challenge Round-up -- Failed Edition

Goal: 56/60   93.3%

1. The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling (1/11/17)
2. Buffering by Hannah Hart (1/20/17)
3. The Bargain by Jane Ashford (1/21/17)
4. A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron (1/22/17)
5. The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett (2/6/17)
6. The Very First Damned Thing by Jodi Taylor (2/18/17)
7. Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier (2/19/17)
8. The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell (3/24/17)
9. The Golden Prince by Rebecca Dean (3/24/17)
10. When a Child is Born by Jodi Taylor (3/27/17)
11. So Wild a Heart by Candace Camp (4/3/17)
12. Tuscany for Beginners by Imogen Edwards-Jones (4/7/17)
13. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (4/12/17)
14. The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order (4/12/17)
15. A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor (4/13/17)
16. You're Doing a Great Job by Biz Ellis and Theresa Thorn (4/28/17)
17. Anno Dracula by Kim Newman (5/14/17)
18. The Hidden Heart by Candace Camp (5/15/17)
19. The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto (5/26/17)
20. Roman Holiday by Jodi Taylor (6/3/17)
21. Secrets of the Heart by Candace Camp (6/3/17)
22. Dorothy Must Die Stories Vol.2 by Danielle Paige (6/9/17)
23. A Trail Through Time by Jodi Taylor (6/24/17)
24. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (7/8/17)
25. Christmas Present by Jodi Taylor (7/12/17)
26. Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel (7/29/17)
27. Simply Unforgettable by Mary Balogh (8/4/17)
28. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (8/9/17)
29. Simply Love by Mary Balogh (8/22/17)
30. Simply Magic by Mary Balogh (8/25/17)
31. Simply Perfect by Mary Balogh (8/27/17)
32. One Night for Love by Mary Balogh (9/4/17)
33. Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff (9/15/17)
34. Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine (9/16/17)
35. Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine (9/29/17)
36. 8.4 by Peter Hernon (10/6/17)
37. Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell (10/8/17)
38. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly (10/20/17)
39. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (10/20/17)
40. Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff (10/24/17)
41. Reading People by Anne Bogel (10/25/17)
42. The Gates by John Connolly (10/27/17)
43. A Cast Off Coven by Juliet Blackwell (10/30/17)
44. Hexes and Hemlines by Juliet Blackwell (11/2/17)
45. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (11/7/17)
46. In a Witch's Wardrobe by Juliet Blackwell (11/14/17)
47. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman by Carol Karlsen (11/22/17)
48. The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark (11/28/17)
49. A Vision in Velvet by Juliet Blackwell (12/1/17)
50. Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor (12/6/17)
51. Bonk by Mary Roach (12/12/17)
52. The Water Witch by Juliet Dark (12/13/17)
53. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon (12/16/17)
54. Christmas Magic by Ginny Baird (12/19/17)
55. The Sometime Bride by Ginny Baird (12/20/17)
56. A Christmas to Remember by Lisa Kleypas, et al (12/22/17)

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Goal: 7/10   70%

1. A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron (1/22/17)
2. Burning Bright by Tracey Chevalier (2/19/17)
3. The Golden Prince by Rebecca Dean (3/24/17)
4. Tuscany for Beginners by Imogen Edwards-Jones (4/7/17)
5. The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Flaming
6. Dearly Departed by Lia Habel (7/29/17)
7. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (8/9/17)
8. The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (DNF)
9. An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
10. Star of the Sea by Joseph O’Connor (12/6/17)
11. The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl
12. Moonlight and Oranges by Elise Stephens (DNF)

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Goal: 39/40  97.5%

1. Recommended by a librarian — Buffering by Hannah Hart (1/20/17)
2. On my TBR for too long — A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron (1/22/17)
3. Book of Letters —
4. Audiobook — Tarnished and Torn by Juliet Blackwell (11/27/17)
5. Book by a person of color — Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (6/23/17)
6. One of the four seasons in title —
7. Story within a story — Haunted Castles by Ray Russell (10/25/17)
8. Multiple Authors — The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, John Tiffany (1/11/17)
9. Espionage thriller —
10. Cat on the cover — We are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby (8/11/17)
11. Author who uses a pseudonym — The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey (3/9/17)
12. Bestseller from a genre i don’t normally read — And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (4/12/17)
13. By or about a person who has a disability —
14. Involving travel — A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor (2/28/17)
15. With a subtitle — Unmentionable by Therese Oneill (3/29/17)
16. Published in 2017 — Zombies: A Brief History of Decay (6/20/17)
17. Involving a mythical creature — Atlanrtia by Ally Condie (4/13/17)
18. Makes me smile — A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor (4/13/17)
19. About food — Voracious by Cara Nicoletti (10/4/17)
20. Career advice — Reading People by Anne Bogel (10/25/17)
21. Nonhuman perspective — Anno Dracula by Kim Newman (5/14/17)
22. Steampunk novel — Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine (8/21/17)
23. Red spine — Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine (9/29/17)
24. Set in the wilderness —The Lost City of Z by David Grann (9/23/17)
25. Loved as a child —
26. Author from a country I’ve never visited — Simply Unforgettable by Mary Balogh (8/4/17)
27. Title with a character’s name -- Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige (5/27/17)
28. Set during wartime — Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine (9/16/17)
29. Unreliable narrator — Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff (9/15/17)
30. With pictures — Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs (2/19/17)
31. Main character with an ethnicity different than me —
32. About an interesting woman — Dead Feminists by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring (7/27/17)
33. Set in two different time periods — Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor (1/30/17)
34. Month or day in title —
35. Set in a hotel — A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner (11/18/17)
36. Written by someone I admire — The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (11/7/17)
37. Becoming a movie in 2017 — Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (7/19/17)
38. Set around a holiday (not Christmas) —
39. First in a series — A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas (2/10/17)
40. Book bought on a trip — The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto (5/26/17)

Advanced

1. Recommended by an author I love —
2. Bestseller from 2016 — Hamilton The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter (3/21/17)
3. Family member term in title —
4. Takes place over a characters life span — The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton (11/25/17)
5. About an immigrant or refugee — Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor (12/6/17)
6. Genre/Subgenre I’ve never heard of —
7. Eccentric character — The Mummy by Anne Rice (10/18/17)
8. More than 800 pages — Voyager by Diana Gabaldon (12/16/17)
9. Got from a used book sale — Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier (2/19/17)
10. Mentioned in another book —
11. About a difficult topic —
12. Based on mythology — The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark (11/28/17)

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Goal: 3/6   50%

1. A number in numbers – 50 Great American Places by Brent D Glass (7/19/17)
2. A building  –
3. A title which has an ‘X’ somewhere in it – Hexes and Hemlines by Juliet Blackwell (11/2/17)
4. A compass direction –
5. An item/items of cutlery –
6. A title in which at least two words share the same first letter – alliteration! – Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell (10/8/17)

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Goal: 1/12  8.3%

1. The Colour of Magic (Rincewind) (2/6/17)
2. The Light Fantastic (Rincewind)
3. Equal Rites (The Witches, The Wizards)
4. Mort (Death)
5. Sourcery (Rincewind, The Wizards)
6. Wyrd Sisters (The Witches)
7. Pyramids (Discworld Cultures – Dielibeybi)
8. Guards! Guards! (The City Watch)
9. Eric (Rincewind)
10. Moving Pictures (Misc. – Holy Wood; The Wizards)
11. Reaper Man (Death, The Wizards)
12. Witches Abroad (The Witches)

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Goal: 4/6 books. 66.7%

1. A 19th Century Classic –
2. A 20th Century Classic – The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (10/20/17)
3. A classic by a woman author – And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (4/12/17)
4. A classic in translation –
5. A classic published before 1800 –
6. An romance classic – The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton (11/25/17)
7. A Gothic or horror classic – The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (8/9/17)
8. A classic with a number in the title –
9. A classic about an animal or which includes the name of an animal in the title –
10. A classic set in a place you’d like to visit –
11. An award-winning classic –
12. A Russian Classic – 

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Wired into Scifi

Goal: 0/10   0%

1. Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
2. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
3. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
4. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
5. Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
6. Tau Zero by Poul Anderson
7. 1984 by George Orwell
8. Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
9. Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement
10. Ring Around the Sun by Cliffard D. Simak
11. The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
12. The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett
13. When Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie
14. The Death of Grass by John Christopher
15. The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
16. The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard
17. Make Room! Make Room! by Henry Harrison
18. Logan’s Run by William F. Nolan
19. The Female Man by Joanna Russ
20. Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
21. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
22. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
23. Life by Gwyneth Jones

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett

Title: The Colour of Magic (Discworld #1)

Author: Terry Pratchett

Publisher: 1983

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 288

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (The Fantasy Project; Discworld); Discworld; Mount TBR

The beginning of the hilarious and irreverent series that has more than 80 million copies worldwide, The Color of Magic is where we meet tourist Twoflower and wizard guide Ricewind, and follow them on their always-bizarre journeys.

I finally finally finally started the Discworld series. J has been bugging me to start this for years now. And so, I read the first novel that published. I've decided to read the series in chronological order as opposed to subseries order. I really enjoyed The Colour of Magic. Rincewind is such a great character. I loved following him through parts of the Discworld encountering random side characters and going on adventures. My favorite side character is of course Death. And in my head Death sounds like Christopher Lee because Christopher Lee is Death. That simple. Beyond Rincewind, this book is really about world building. We see Pratchett give the reader hints as to other places, characters, and stories on the Discworld. I imagine some of those side characters will appear in books down the road. A very successful start to hopefully a great series.

2017 Discworld Reading Challenge

From An Armchair by the Sea:

You guys know how I like to take words, add 'athon' and turn them into hashtags right? Welcome to #discworldathon 2017! The details for this are by no means finalised yet, but my general idea is that I want to read a lot of Terry Pratchett's books in 2017. I've really enjoyed our Little House Read-Along this year and I want to stick with the theme of reading a series.

However, as you're probably aware if you're at all familiar with Terry Pratchett, giving this event structure is a bit of a tall order as there are fourty one Discworld books, and so I've decided to just...not. Well, not really.

Basically I'd like the event to just be a year long celebration of the genius of Terry Pratchett. I want to read lots of his excellent, hilarious books, talk to lots of other people who love his work, probably watch and listen to lots of adaptations of his work (maybe as a group via twitter or something) and give away lots of great and gorgeous Discworld related stuff. I don't want people to get caught up in rules and regulations, so pretty much sign up if you want to read lots of Pratchett and talk about it with people!

That said, for those who like the rules and challenges, I will probably be coming up with different levels you can complete and/or themed months and such over the next couple of months so watch this space! This post is really just general thoughts and a place to register your interest! If you'd like to be involved with organisation (such as it is) or hosting giveaways etc please let me know in the comments or get in touch on twitter!

Whether you blog, tweet, vlog, instagram, loiter round the internet, whatever, whether you've read everything Terry Pratchett ever wrote, never read any of it, or tried one once and gave up, you're welcome to join! Just link up to some kind of place we can find you in the linky below so we can all say hi and chat.

J has been wanting me to dive in Pratchett for years now. Seems like 2017 is a good a time as any to dive in. My only issue will be in what order to read the books. There are multiple paths as evidenced by the graphic below. I may just start with The Colour of Magic...