2025 Reading Challenge discussion

I just edited my list to include my 7th finish for this challenge,
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo 1/18/14

1. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

I found the story about the serial killer using the name "Holms" to be the most interesting part of this book - my next pick will likely be about profiling serial killers.

I finished book #4 for this challenge:

1) Quesadillas: a book with a 13 year old Mexican protagonist
2) Het gym: a book with a 13 year old Surinamian/Dutch protagonist.
3) Oeroeg: Continuing the theme of Dutch colonisation, this time in Indonesia. This book also has two children as protagonists. Near the end, Japanese occupation of the territory is mentioned.
4) Bezonken rood: a book in which the author describes his experiences as a small child in a Japanese PoW camp in Indonesia, where he was a prisoner with his mother, grandmother and sister, and the effects this had in his later life.

How do I set my goal?

*UPDATE*:

1. = This book was about three troubled teenagers who attempt suicide, wind up in a psychiatric hospital, and befriend eachother. It's a bittersweet novel-in-verse that explores all three of their pasts, their mental illnesses, how they try to cope, and their attempted journey to find a way to heal & change. It's kind of a heavy book & not exactly one for those of you who are very easily triggered, but I do highly recommend it. :)
I've decided that my next book will be about Psychiatric Hospitals.

Progress: 1/5

I just edited my list to add my 8th finish,
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner. 1/19/14

Fatima wrote: "How do I set my goal?"

Just pick a number and I'll add your name to the list (:

I've finished my first book in this challenge, Crystal Ships by Robert Sharp.

Next up: Bird with the Heart of a Mountain by Barbara Mariconda.

Great job Claire!

I would like to do 6 starting with The Catcher In The Rye.

Just updated Comment #151 with my latest finish....Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. Next up is Carousel. 4 of 12 for challenge.

I've finished my first of seven books, The Goldfinch. Not sure what's next yet!

Welcome Cosmic!

Fantastic job Lynn and Annika.

I finished my first book for the challenge Les Misérables. There are many mentions in it of the Reign of Terror period and also many comparisons between England and France during that time, so I've decided to read A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens which is set both in London and Paris during the Reign of Terror.

1/12

Just edited message 8 to add my 9th finish,
Empress Orchid by Anchee Min

You are going for the big ones Alessia!

No problem Kay. You can add the books once you read them on here. You need to tell me what you read next or I won't be able to update you. Good luck!

Adriana wrote: "You are going for the big ones Alessia!"


Haha! Yes, it's true. In fact I don't think I'm going to start A tale of two cities straight away. I'll probably read a couple of easy and short books in between ;)

Just edited message #8 to add 2 more finishes,
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami 1/25/14 and
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 1/25/14

You're good with that book Kay (:

I've finished my second book, I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman, connected to The Goldfinch through large portions of both books taking place in New York. Next up, a book that Ms. Ephron describes as "rapture-inducing", The Woman in White. :)

I edited #8 to add my latest finish, My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier 1/26/14

Completed 3/15

1. Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres Completed 1/5 ****

The main character (and her adopted brother) both are incarcerated at several points in the memoir. This made me interested in:

2. Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman Completed 1/12 ****

Piper wants nothing more than to be at home. This next author wrote a book about the things in his home, room by room:

3. At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson Completed 1/25 ***

Bill Bryson discusses the history of the items in the kitchen, so I found a book about the kitchen help in the early 19th century American south:

4.The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

Nicole wrote: "
*UPDATE*:


1. = This book was about three troubled teenagers who attempt suicide, wind up in a psychiatric hospital, and befriend eachother. It's a bittersweet novel-..."

You could read

I have worked at at psychiatric hospital for 21+ years and found it depicts what goes on in a psychiatric hospital realistically for the time (a lot has improved in the treatment of mentally ill since then)

Fantastic job everyone!

It looks like you are almost done Theresa. Would you like to up your goal?

Love the books you have been picking for this challenge Sharon. Do you still work at a psychiatric hospital?

Adriana wrote: "Fantastic job everyone!

It looks like you are almost done Theresa. Would you like to up your goal?

Love the books you have been picking for this challenge Sharon. Do you still work at a psychiatr..."

Yes, I still work at a psychiatric hospital, don't work directly with the patients anymore. I've worked in the Business Office for 11 years now. I started here after getting my Bachelor's in Psychology, to get experience and maybe go on to grad school but work has seemed to get in the way :)

The two books listed aren't the books I'm reading for this challenge. One book was read by Nicole and the 2nd book was my suggestion to her.

I'll post my progress/books in the next post.

THE STRING THEORY CHALLENGE
Duration: January 1 - December 31, 2014
try for 6
At some point in our lives, most of us have read something in a book we wanted to know more about—be it a time in history, a location, or even a hobby one of the characters has. The point of this challenge is to broaden your horizons, to learn more about the things that interest you.

Pick a book, any book, and note the things you find interesting in the story. After that first book is read, you'll select another book that links with something from the first book.

Example: Let's say you started reading The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is a dystopian book, the main character has a great bond with her sister, children fight each other to the death, and Katniss enjoys hunting and archery. So let's say you are really interested in books about archery. Then you can decide to read something like The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. Maybe you think "What a great classic book! I want to read more." You continue on this same route until you've reached your goal.

First book was about aliens here on earth

this lead to the second book about earthlings in space traveling to a new planet - where they will be aliens!

now where will the third book take me? ...

Sharon wrote: "Adriana wrote: "Fantastic job everyone!

It looks like you are almost done Theresa. Would you like to up your goal?

Love the books you have been picking for this challenge Sharon. Do you still wor..."

I hope work got in the way in the good sense. I'm going for my Bachelor's and I'm hoping to find myself in a good line of work that will help others.

I'd like to try this one. Put me down for 6 please.

Good luck Barbara!

I decided on my first book (which I have finished) and the next five books that will follow. I will figure out the rest at a later date.

1. A Hidden Fire - 1/30: Some of the main characters are vampires set in the 21st century
2. Changeless - TBR: Some of the main creatures are vampires set in 19th century London
3. The Strange Case of the Broad Street Pump: John Snow and the Mystery of Cholera - TBR: True story about John Snow, a doctor in 19th century London figured out how cholera was was being spread
4. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies - TBR: How germs have affected human development
5. When True Night Falls - TBR: The human race has traveled in space to another planet and their presence affects the evolution of the native species development
6. Old Man's War - TBR: TBD

Great job Natalie!

I thought I wrote here to update but apparently I didn't. I finished Panic, which is my second book completed for this challenge.

Will update you now Alison ^__^

I've just edited message 8 with my book list. I've now finished 18 books for this challenge and am reading #19 now.

Whoa! Excellent job Theresa (:
Should I change you goal?

Adriana wrote: "Whoa! Excellent job Theresa (:
Should I change you goal?"

Since we've got a whole year on this one, let's bump my goal to 36 for now.

Okay Theresa! Have fun :D

Just updated Message 151 with my two latest books.....I am 6 of 12 for the challenge.

Carousel is set in German-occupied Paris during WWII. A series of murders is solved by a French police detective and a Gestapo officer. Finished 02/10/14.

Dirty Snow is a noir thriller set in German-occupied Brussels during WWII. Finished 02/12/14.

Just updated Message 151 with two more books. Finished The Postman Always Rings Twice and The Stranger. I am currently 8 of 12 for the challenge.

I finished book #5 for this challenge:

1) Quesadillas: a book with a 13 year old Mexican protagonist
2) Het gym: a book with a 13 year old Surinamian/Dutch protagonist.
3) The Black Lake: continuing the theme of Dutch colonisation, this time in Indonesia. This book also has two children as protagonists. Near the end, Japanese occupation of the territory is mentioned.
4) Bezonken rood: a book in which the author describes his experiences as a small child in a Japanese PoW camp in Indonesia, where he was a prisoner with his mother, grandmother and sister, and the effects this had in his later life.
5) The Panopticon: continuing the theme of imprisonment.

Awesome jobs Lynn and An!

I've been busy reading and just edited
message #8 to show 26 books read for this task. I'll catch up with more later.

I've updated you Theresa (:

Just updated Message 151 with another book. I tried to read Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs......but I hated it and decided to toss it against the wall and read something else (anything else!). I decided to count another book often banned.....One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which I finished on March 9th. I am currently 9 of 12 for the challenge.

Sorry that Naked Lunch wasn't good for you Lynn. Happy you were able to enjoy another book instead (:

I've now finished my first and third book, I'm still working on the second as it's quite hard going and I'm limited on reading time at the moment!

Just updated Message 151 with my latest read. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was a great YA novel. I selected it to follow One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest because I was following a theme of banned books. I can understand how some school librarians might be uncomfortable with this book, but it was in no way obscene. It covered a year in the life of a 14-year-old aspiring cartoonist who lives on a Spokane Reservation. I'm inspired to read more about the history of Native Americans so my next book in the string will be Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West. I am currently 10 of 12 for the challenge.

2/12

1. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

(String: Serial killer)

2. Mindhunter

Updated everyone (: