NPF 50 Book Challenge

[Jeneralissimo]

November count:

39. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan ~ Lisa See

40. Rules of Ascension ~ David B. Coe

41. The Graveyard Book ~ Neil Gaiman

42. Second Glance ~ Jodi Picoult

That's a month of good reading right there. Rules of Ascension was a reread from a year or so ago, just as good the second time around. Neil Gaiman is always amazing; I can't believe it took me so long to get to it! Second Glance was my first Jodi Picoult - a little chicy at times, but not nauseatingly so.

Looks like I might not make it to fifty, either! Who would have thunk it!

[RickZarber]

December count and, uh, year-end-total...

18) Iron Dawn, Matthew Woodring Stover

So, I made it past my personal goal of 15, which is good, I guess. Gonna go for 20 this year.

[Solid Snake]

I'm going to do this for 2009, I think.

Do nonfiction books count as well as fictional novels?

[Mike McC]

Yep. Non-fiction is accepted.

[The Argent Lord]

I'll try this. Uh... the book I'm reading now is two books, previously printed separately, in one. I'm counting them separately.

1. Shadow of the Torturer, Gene Wolfe - A fantasy future-history novel written from the perspective of an exiled torturer's apprentice. Unlike most fantasy books, it doesn't make up words, but replaces that convention with obscure and equally incomprehensible actual words.

[Cati]

I ought to do this as well. Somewhere along the line my brain decided fanfiction was a good alternative to books (oh noes!), and although there are a lot of great fanfics out there, there's still enough to make me think that it's lowering my IQ, haha. So my list for this year so far:

1. Against the Day, Thomas Pynchon. I started it during 2008, yes, but I'm counting it anyway since I still haven't quite finished it, even though I'm almost there. Trying to explain the plot of this freaking thousand page book is impossible (I don't think one actually exists), but it takes place between the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 and the end of World War I. Setting? Just about every continent. Characters? Way too many. There's apparently a bunch of historical in-jokes, but I'm too much of an idiot to get them. To be honest, I'm finishing this book out of pure stubbornness, not because I enjoy it. Pynchon is a very good writer, that is obvious, but... this book is too complicated. By the time you think you know what's going on, it switches to a different character, and by the time it goes back to the original character, you can't remember who they were. VERY frustrating.

2. Chat, Nan McCarthy
3. Connect, Nan McCarthy
4. Crash, Nan McCarthy

All part of the author's "Cyberseries." Really not something I would normally read, but I borrowed them from a friend, and the books were short. Managed to read all three in one day. It's about an internet romance, told through email and chat logs. It was... interesting, but it's not really something I'd read again, especially because romance? Totally NOT the sort of thing I like to read. But it was all right. Cruel ending. XD

5. Exegesis, Astro Teller. Also borrowed from my friend, and I liked this one much better. It's also told in emails, but it's about the development of an AI -- emails are between the AI and its creator; things get out of control for the both of them. Much more along the lines of my interests, although the main character annoyed me a bit. Also a quick read (especially because of the email set-up), but it had more substance to it than the Cyberseries. No romance. Thank God.

January 4th, five (well, technically four and 3/4) down. Yay.

[Teal Mage]

Well, I ended up with 26 books this year.

26. Mage Guard of Hamor, L.E Modesitt. Jr

Which was surprisingly time consuming for one of his books, and not that interesting. Really, I would have enjoyed reading another Anne Perry more. I probably will.

Regardless, I've totally lost ground, last year I had 27 books. ^^;

I think I'll keep trying the challenge, even though there's no way I'll manage the 50.

[Jeneralissimo]

Sorry, guys. I would always remember that I hadn't posted when I was at work and didn't have my list. Anyhow, I only read 45 books last year, which might also be why I didn't want to post.

December:

43. Portuguese Irregular Verbs ~ Alexander McCall Smith

Hilarious if you are into academic humor, but it's probably not everyone's cup of tea. This is the same guy who writes the #1 Ladies' Detective Agency books. He has another series as well, but I can't remember the name off the top of my head.

44. The Joy Luck Club ~ Amy Tan

Somehow I reached the tender age of 25 without reading any Amy Tan books. I thought this one was pretty good, although I had to keep checking the front to see who was who. Each chapter was its own story, although some were connected to other chapters. I will probably read any other books by her that we have floating around the house.

45. Veronika Decides To Die ~ Paulo Coelho

This one was a bit weird, and I kinda figured out what was going on. Still good, though.

Already finished two this year, and am now working on Oliver Twist. Eventually I might post my whole 2008 list on my lj. Just don't hold your breath on that.

[Death by Stabbing]

This is still from last year...I have to catch up with my count...

38. Y: the last man: safe word Brian K. Vaughn Ill. Pia Guerra
39. Y: The last man: Ring of Truth same folks as 38
40. Wanted By Mark Millar illus J.G. Jones
41. A History of Violence I can't remember right now who it is by

Well shit looks like I didn't make it...fortunatly I have a ton of half finished ones so hey I might just happen this year!

DBS

[Jeneralissimo]

Alright, it's March, so I guess I better post. This year has been pretty dismal for me in terms of book reading, but only because I seem to be getting more of a life, so I'm not terribly sad. Also, I've been reading Dickens.

January count:

1. God's Joyful Surprise ~ Sue Monk Kidd

I was actually reading this for half of last year, but did not finish it until the beginning of January. It's great if you're looking for spiritual reading, and I hope I get the chance to read it again sometime.

2. Geisha, A Life ~ Mineko Iwasaki

I'm not sure if this came out after Memoirs of a Geisha became popular, but this is an autobiography of an actual geisha. It was really very interesting. I'll get to Memoirs one of these days.

3. Oliver Twist ~ Charles Dickens

Great book, but unfortunately, I was finishing it in time to watch it on Masterpiece, but the Masterpiece sucked so I gave up on it. They better not mess up Little Dorrit, but it's from the same guy that did Bleak House, which is what got me hooked on Dickens in the first place, so it should be awesome.

4. Wish You Were Here ~ Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown

This is one of those cute little cat-lover mysteries, set in a small town. I read it in two days when I had a stomach virus and couldn't really do anything else. It was a nice little escape and I will probably buy at least one more in the series.

I did not read an entire book in the month of February! I cannot even remember the last time that happened. When I was in college I had to read a novel a week sometimes! Do not despair, however, for I am almost done Magician: Apprentice by Raymond Feist.