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

Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor

Title: Star of the Sea

Author: Joseph O'Connor

Publisher: Harcourt 2002

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 401

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Read Your Book Shelf; Popsugar -- About an Immigrant

In the bitter winter of 1847, from an Ireland torn by famine and injustice, the Star of the Sea sets sail for NewYork. On board are hundreds of refugees, some optimistic, many more desperate. Among them are a maid with a devastating secret, the bankrupt Lord Merridith, his wife and children, and a killer stalking the decks, hungry for the vengeance that will bring absolution. 

This journey will see many lives end, others begin anew. Passionate loves are tenderly recalled, shirked responsibilities regretted too late, and profound relationships shockingly revealed. In this spellbinding tale of tragedy and mercy, love and healing, the farther the ship sails toward the Promised Land, the more her passengers seem moored to a past that will never let them go. 

Another one of those "It's been on my shelf way too long" books. I really don't have much to say about this book. It was interesting, but it felt like I was reading this one for forever. I just wasn't super engaged in the storyline or the characters. I kept reading to find out what happened, but I wasn't super excited. I'm sure there are many people who would love this book. I'm just not one of those people.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Title: The Turn of the Screw

Author: Henry James

Publisher: 1898

Genre: Classics

Pages: 327

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Read Your Book Shelf; Classic - Horror

A young governess is sent to a great country house to care for two orphaned children. To begin with Flora and Miles seem to be model pupils but gradually the governess starts to suspect that something is very wrong with them. As she sets out to uncover the corrupt secrets of the house she becomes more and more convinced that something evil is watching her.

A random classic from my bookshelves. Somehow I have never gotten around to reading this one. I dove in and am so glad I did. This is a fascinating novella of potential supernatural events. I loved the ambiguity in James' writing. The characters are interesting and the house as a character is fascinating. I especially loved the critical essays presented after the novella in my edition. It was nice to read some more academic reviews of this story. 

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

Title: Dearly, Departed

Author: Lia Habel

Publisher: Del Rey 2011

Genre: YA - Horror

Pages: 470

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Read Your Book Shelf; New Author

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the mores of an antique era. Sixteen-year-old Nora Dearly is far more interested in her country’s political unrest than in silly debutante balls. But the death of her beloved parents leaves Nora at the mercy of a social-climbing aunt who plans to marry off her niece for money. To Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses. Now she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting a fatal virus that raises the dead. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and thoroughly deceased. But like the rest of his special undead unit, Bram has been enabled by luck and modern science to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.

One of those books that's been on my shelf for way too long! I finally picked it up and was glad I did. I love a good zombie book and this one had some good twists on the mythos. We get good zombies and bad zombies. We get a future dystopian world (at least for the New Victorians). We get a good adventure story. I will admit that it took me about 100 pages to really get into it, but once I did, I sped through it.  There's a companion novel that I had to put a hold on at the library. 

Gone with the Respiration:

• #1 Dearly, Departed
• #2 Dearly, Beloved

Next up on the TBR pile:

Tuscany for Beginners by Imogen Edwards-Jones

Title: Tuscany for Beginners

Author: Imogen Edwards-Jones

Publisher: Ballantine Books 2005

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 313

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Read Your Book Shelf; New to Me

Belinda Smith has found her very ownTuscanvalley in the sun, having abandoned a dreary cheating husband and an even drearier English town. Running Casa Mia, her own too, too divine bed and breakfast, everything is coming up sunflowers and olive groves for La Contessaof the Valley. Life couldn’t be more perfecto!

Until, that is, the arrival of Lauren–a beautiful, feisty Wall Street ball-breaker who has the gall to announce her plans to open a new B&B. A place just like Belinda’s–only much more glamorous. Even worse, Lauren, whose charmingly calculated smile Belinda recognizes as quite like her own, threatens Belinda’s existence as the epicenter of all things ex-patriot in the valley.

A Under the Tuscan Sun knock-off that was a complete disappointment. I get that Belinda's supposed to be a deluded character in the beginning and then grow after Lauren's arrival, but I didn't care and never grew to like Belinda. I couldn't get over her ridiculous nonsense in the beginning of the book. And the way she treated her daughter? Do not get me started on the wrongness of it all. I just couldn't seem to care about Belinda. The writing wasn't the best and I kept getting distracted by the odd sentence structures. An utter disappointment.

The Golden Prince by Rebecca Dean

Title: The Golden Prince

Author: Rebeca Dean

Publisher: Broadway Books 2010

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 400

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Read Your Shelf

It’s 1912, and seventeen-year-old Prince Edward, England’s Golden Prince of Wales, is feeling the burden of his position. As heir to the greatest throne in the world, he hates the constrictions and superficial demands of his royal life. His father, King George, is a harsh disciplinarian, and his mother, Queen Mary, is reserved and cold. Other than his siblings, he has no friends and despairs at his isolation and loneliness.

However, when unexpected circumstances bring him to Snowberry Manor, home of the four Houghton sisters, his life suddenly seems more interesting. As he secretly spends more time with Lily, the youngest of the girls, he finds himself falling hopelessly in love.

Ugh. So my overwhelming emotion while reading this book was boredom. I was completely bored. I didn't care about any of the characters or the storyline. The constant switching between narrators annoyed me. David annoyed me. All the Houghton sisters annoyed me. I was just annoyed and bored throughout the entire book.

Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier

Title: Bruning Bright

Author: Tracy Chevalier

Publisher: Plume 2008

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 327

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Read Your Book Shelf; Popsugar - Used Book Sale

In the waning days of eighteenth-century London, poet, artist, and printer William Blake works in obscurity as England is rocked by the shock waves of the French Revolution. Next door, the Kellaway family has just moved in, and country boy Jem Kellaway strikes up a tentative friendship with street-savvy Maggie Butterfield. As their stories intertwine with Blake's, the two children navigate the confusing and exhilarating path to adolescence, and inspire the poet to create the work that enshrined his genius.

I have enjoyed some of Chevalier's other books, but this one ultimately fell flat. I didn't find the characters all that interesting. The plot seemed to be nonexistent. The story just didn't go anywhere and I was bored for most of the pages. The other real redeeming portion of the book were the sections depicting London in 1792. I found myself drawn into the city at a time of great upheaval. The writing comes alive in those passages. Otherwise I was just bored.

A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron

Title: A Flaw in the Blood

Author: Stephanie Barron

Publisher: Bantam 2008

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 289

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Read Your Book Shelf; Popsugar -- On my TBR for too long

The acclaimed author of the bestselling Jane Austen mysteries brings rich historical immediacy to an enthralling new suspense novel centered around Queen Victoria’s troubled court…and a secret so dangerous, it could topple thrones.

Totally struck out with this one. My first sign of trouble was that a blurb from Booklist compared it to Carlos Ruiz Zafon. His writing is gorgeous. This writing is mediocre. I didn't get the same feel for a world as I do in Zafon's novels. Beyond that, I hated the switching from 3rd person narration from Fitzgerald to 1st person narration from Victoria. The transitions were abrupt and very annoying. The storyline wasn't very interesting or intriguing. I was bored with the novel. Definitely not worth my time.

2017 Read Your (Book) Shelf Reading Challenge

From Gather Together and Read:

Taking the lead from the awesome book bloggers/booktubers who created the #RYBSAT (Read-your-bookshelf-a-thon), I've decided to start this new challenge starting January 1, 2017!

Here's what you do:

• Go to your bookshelves. Pick out a book that you've been wanting to read on a particular shelf.
• Now continue down that line of books on the shelf (in order) until you have 12 books.
• You will then read your 12 books over the next twelve months, one book each month. You can read them in order (forward or reverse), or you can plug 1 - 12 into a randomizer each month to pick your title for the month. The point is that you're not specifically choosing the book each month. It's chosen for you, either by ordered reading, or random choice.
• If you find that one of the books is part of a series and you've already read it, I will allow a substitution of another book from the series. However, if you find this happening (a whole series, several by the same author, etc) in the stack/shelf you chose, and you don't like it, I would suggest picking a different stack/shelf.
• What an awesome way to tackle books gathering dust on your bookshelves. Right?
• Challenge runs January through December of 2017
• You can cross over books from your 12 books with other challenges.
• Just remember to stick to the guidelines above.
• Easy peasy!

I need a bit of a kick in the pants to clear out my unread shelves.