2025 Reading Challenge discussion

ANNUAL CHALLENGES
January - December 2015

2015 Reading Challenge -- 205/200 books
Let's Turn Pages Challenge -- 50,000 pages (50,058 on 09/13/15)(67,003/year)
I Spy Challenge -- 25 (complete 08/02/15)


Quarterly Challenges

Monthly Challenges
May -- Classics Challenge -- 5 (complete 05/18/15)
August -- The Travel Challenge -- 80,000 miles -- 139,408.4 miles (complete 08/31/15)
October -- Fall Back Challenge -- 5 (complete 10/16/15)
November -- Remembrance Challenge -- 5 (complete 11/29/15)

Edited 12/31/15

Let's Turn Pages Challenge
January - December 2015
Progress / Goal = 67,003 / 50,000 ***CHALLENGE COMPLETE!***


November 2015
(view spoiler)[
11/3 -- Near Enemy -- 306 pages
11/5 -- Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife -- 311 pages
11/8 -- The Chessmen -- 383 pages
11/8 -- The Daylight Gate -- 224 pages
11/10 -- Devoted in Death -- 400 pages
11/14 -- The Lowland -- 352 pages
11/21 -- Let the Old Dreams Die -- 400 pages
11/22 -- Matilda -- 240 pages
11/24 -- Gone Missing -- 276 pages
11/28 -- The Zig Zag Girl -- 336 pages
11/29 -- The Care and Management of Lies -- 352 pages
(hide spoiler)]
Running Total -- Books = 11/ Pages = 3580

October 2015
(view spoiler)[
10/1 -- The Dying Hours -- 400 pages
10/3 -- We All Fall Down -- 208 pages
10/4 -- They Shoot Horses, Don't They? -- 122 pages
10/5 -- Thieves Like Us -- 205 pages
10/7 -- Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things -- 329 pages
10/9 -- Nightmare Alley -- 275 pages
10/10 -- I Married a Dead Man -- 360 pages
10/12 -- Dawn -- 290 pages
10/14 -- Above the Waterfall -- 272 pages
10/16 -- This House is Haunted -- 291 pages
10/18 -- A Hanging at Cinder Bottom -- 400 pages
10/23 -- Dead Scared -- 384 pages
10/24 -- If Snow Hadn't Fallen -- 89 pages
10/24 -- Small Wars -- 44 pages
10/26 -- Adulthood Rites -- 304 pages
10/27 -- Imago -- 224 pages
10/29 -- Devil Red -- 205 pages
10/31 -- Undermajordomo Minor -- 352 pages
(hide spoiler)]
Running Total -- Books = 18 / Pages = 4,754

September 2015
(view spoiler)[
9/1 -- Rubbernecker -- 320 pages
9/4 -- Dante's Dilemma -- 290 pages
9/5 -- Best Horror of the Year Volume Seven -- 400 pages
9/6 -- November Mourns -- 281 pages (post)
9/9 -- The Nature of the Beast -- 384 pages
9/11 -- Uprooted -- 438 pages
9/13 -- The Precipice: A Novel -- 336 pages
9/13 -- Bones on Ice -- 104 pages (post)
9/16 -- The Girl in the Spider's Web -- 400 pages
9/20 -- Desperation -- 690 pages
9/21 -- Back When We Were Grownups -- 336 pages
9/24 -- Little Black Lies -- 368 pages
9/27 -- Make Me -- 402 pages
9/28 -- The End of Everything -- 246 pages
(hide spoiler)]
September Running Total -- Books = 14 / Pages = 4995

August 2015
(view spoiler)[
8/2 -- The Ghost Fields -- 384 pages
8/3 -- My Year of Meats -- 366 pages
8/5 -- Talking to the Dead -- 337 pages
8/6 -- Fifty-to-One -- 333 pages
8/6 -- Everything I Never Told You -- 304 pages
8/8 -- July's People -- 160 pages
8/9 -- The Job: True Tales from the Life of a New York City Cop -- 272 pages (post)
8/10 -- The Miniaturist -- 427 pages
8/12 -- Murder on Amsterdam Avenue -- 304 pages
8/12 -- I Travel by Night -- 152 pages
8/13 -- A Stab in the Dark -- 304 pages
8/14 -- Dry Bones -- 320 pages
8/16 -- The Dinner -- 306 pages (post)
8/18 -- Critical Conditions -- 420 pages
8/23 -- A Little Life -- 736 pages (post)
8/24 -- Orphan Train -- 278 pages
8/26 -- Nightmare in Pink -- 287 pages
8/27 -- Speaking in Bones -- 336 pages
8/30 -- Goodbye to All That -- 347 pages
8/31 -- The Death of Sweet Mister -- 208 pages (post)
(hide spoiler)]
August Running Total -- Books = 20 / Pages = 6,581

July 2015
(view spoiler)[
7/2 -- Obsession in Death -- 404 pages
7/13 -- Madame Bovary --311 pages
7/15 -- Winter at the Door -- 272 pages
7/17 -- Revival -- 416 pages
7/18 -- The Fifth Witness -- 433 pages (post)
7/20 -- Fool Moon -- 369 pages
7/21 -- In the Dark -- 384 pages
7/22 -- The End of the Night -- 224 pages
7/23 -- Night of the White Buffalo -- 304 pages
7/25 -- A Dangerous Place -- 352 pages
7/26 -- Hauntings - 433 pages (post)
7/27 -- The Thicket -- 352 pages
7/28 -- Chess Story -- 98 pages
7/30 -- The Demands -- 416 pages
7/31 -- A Choir of Ill Children -- 238 pages (post)
(hide spoiler)]
July Running Total -- Books = 15 / Pages = 5,006

June 2015
(view spoiler)[6/2 -- The Homesman -- 256 pages
6/14 -- Weirdo -- 416 pages
6/26 -- Kitchen Confidential -- 320 pages
(hide spoiler)]
June Running Total -- Books = 3 / Pages = 983

May 2015
(view spoiler)[5/3 -- Now You See Me -- 400 pages (post)
5/5 -- The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings -- 400 pages
5/6 -- Last Night at the Lobster -- 160 pages
5/7 -- Christine Falls -- 340 pages
5/7 -- The Getaway -- 224 pages
5/8 -- Reykjavik Nights: An Inspector Erlendur Novel -- 336 pages (post)
5/11 -- The Crow Road -- 501 pages
5/12 -- Ill Will -- 264 pages
5/13 -- Persuasion -- 249 pages
5/15 -- Where All Light Tends to Go -- 260 pages
5/16 -- Blood on Snow -- 224 pages (post)
5/17 -- A Death in the Family -- 320 pages
5/18 -- True Grit -- 235 pages
5/20 -- Broken Monsters -- 442 pages
5/23 -- Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules -- 352 pages
5/24 -- Smonk -- 272 pages (post)
5/25 -- The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry -- 272 pages
5/27 -- The Never-Open Desert Diner -- 288 pages
5/28 -- The Humans -- 285 pages
5/29 -- The Magic Wagon -- 182 pages
5/31 -- Hell and Gone -- 282 pages (post)
(hide spoiler)]
May Running Total -- Books = 21 / Pages = 6,306

April 2015
(view spoiler)[4/1 -- The Girl Next Door -- 288 pages
4/3 -- The Ploughmen -- 256 pages
4/5 -- Dreaming Spies -- 352 pages (post)
4/6 -- The Snow Queen -- 248 pages
4/6 -- A Good Marriage -- 253 pages
4/8 -- A Pleasure and a Calling: A Novel -- 288 pages
4/11 -- The Dog of the South -- 272 pages
4/11 -- The Drop -- 388 pages (post)
4/13 -- White Nights -- 392 pages
4/14 -- The Murder of Harriet Krohn -- 242 pages
4/15 -- A Stir of Echoes -- 224 pages
4/16 -- Running the Books -- 399 pages
4/17 -- Empty Ever After -- 259 pages
4/19 -- Preparation for the Next Life -- 417 pages (post)
4/23 -- The Fellowship of the Ring -- 570 pages
4/24 -- Let's Pretend This Never Happened -- 370 pages
4/25 -- In the Midst of Death -- 244 pages
4/26 -- Weekends in Carolina -- 384 pages (post)
4/28 -- The Secret Place -- 519 pages
4/30 -- The Master Butchers Singing Club -- 416 pages
(hide spoiler)]
April Running Total -- Books = 20 / Pages = 6,791

March 2015
(view spoiler)[3/3 -- The Son -- 407 pages
3/4 -- A Great Deliverance -- 413 pages
3/5 -- Miami Blues -- 191 pages
3/8 -- Vanessa and Her Sister -- 368 pages (post)
3/9 -- Fun & Games -- 286 pages
3/11 -- Irène -- 464 pages
3/12 -- Broken Homes -- 357 pages
3/14 -- The Siege Winter -- 352 pages
3/15 -- Vanilla Ride -- 256 pages (post)
3/18 -- The Berlin Stories: The Last of Mr Norris/Goodbye to Berlin -- 401 pages
3/18 -- Shovel Ready -- 256 pages
3/19 -- Laidlaw -- 280 pages
3/20 -- The Song is You -- 242 pages
3/22 -- The Bone People -- 576 pages (post)
3/23 -- Still Life with Bread Crumbs -- 272 pages
3/26 -- Joe Victim -- 496 pages
3/28 -- Greasy Lake & Other Stories -- 240 pages
3/28 -- The Hobbit -- 366 pages
3/29 -- The Deep Blue Good-By -- 310 pages (post)
3/31 -- The Last Days of Dogtown -- 263 pages
(hide spoiler)]
March Running Total -- Books = 20 / Pages = 6,796

February 2015
(view spoiler)[2/2 -- Time to Murder and Create -- 185 pages
2/3 -- The Cry of the Owl -- 272 pages
2/4 -- Among Others -- 302 pages
2/6 -- A Hell of a Woman -- 186 pages
2/9 -- Hild: A Novel -- 560 pages (post)
2/10 -- Roseanna -- 224 pages
2/11 -- Giovanni’s Room -- 248 pages
2/13 -- Festive in Death -- 389 pages
2/14 -- The Bookseller -- 300 pages
2/15 -- The Complete Drive-In -- 376 pages (post)
2/17 -- The Unquiet Dead: A Novel -- 352 pages
2/19 -- The Casual Vacancy -- 505 pages
2/20 -- Hornet Flight -- 518 pages
2/21 -- Blessed Are the Dead -- 336 pages
2/22 -- The Man in the High Castle -- 274 pages (post)
2/24 -- The Business of Dying -- 464 pages
2/24 -- Angle of Investigation -- 98 pages
2/25 -- Storm Front -- 352 pages
2/27 -- Half of a Yellow Sun -- 560 pages
2/28 -- Five: A Novel -- 336 pages (post)
(hide spoiler)]
February Running Total -- Books = 20 / Pages = 6,837

January 2015
(view spoiler)[1/1 -- Captains Outrageous -- 336 pages
1/2 -- The Chinese Gold Murders: A Judge Dee Mystery -- 214 pages
1/3 -- The Long Way Home -- 384 pages
1/4 -- Son of a Gun: A Sydney Sloane Mystery -- 288 pages
1/5 -- Boundary Waters -- 416 pages
1/7 -- Rose Under Fire -- 368 pages
1/9 -- Whispers Under Ground -- 303 pages
1/10 -- Every Shallow Cut -- 162 pages
1/11 -- Die a Little -- 256 pages
1/14 -- The Forgotten Garden -- 648 pages
1/14 -- The Wheelman -- 240 pages
1/15 -- Ashes to Dust -- 360 pages
1/16 -- The Man Who Fell to Earth -- 224 pages
1/18 -- The Paying Guests -- 576 pages
1/20 -- The Silkworm -- 464 pages
1/21 -- Out Stealing Horses -- 258 pages
1/23 -- The Red Road -- 304 pages
1/24 -- A Hustler's Wife -- 288 pages
1/25 -- The Sins of the Fathers -- 304 pages
1/26 -- The Soul of Discretion -- 336 pages
1/27 -- A Man Called Ove -- 352 pages
1/28 -- Pick-Up -- 191 pages
1/29 -- Blackbirds -- 381 pages
1/30 -- Shoot the Piano Player -- 196 pages
1/31 -- Crashed -- 356 pages
(hide spoiler)]
January Running Total -- Books = 25 / Pages = 8,205
--------------

Edited 12/31/15

I Spy Challenge
January - December 2015
Progress / Goal = 25 / 25 -- COMPLETE 08/02/15

✔1. Color - The Red Road -- 01/23/15
✔2. Number - Five: A Novel -- 02/28/15
✔3. Things That Grow - The Forgotten Garden -- 01/14/15
✔4. Seasons - The Siege Winter -- 03/14/15
✔5. First Name - Giovanni's Room -- 02/11/15
✔6. Places - The Secret Place -- 04/28/15
✔7. Body Part - The Bone People -- 03/22/15
✔8. Weapon - Son of a Gun: A Sydney Sloane Mystery -- 01/04/15
✔9. Body of Water - Greasy Lake & Other Stories -- 03/28/15
✔10. Form of Water - Blood on Snow -- 05/16/15
✔11. Product of Fire - Ashes to Dust -- 01/15/15
✔12. Celestial Body - Half of a Yellow Sun -- 02/27/15
✔13. Architecture - The Man in the High Castle -- 02/22/15
✔14. Senses - Now You See Me -- 05/03/15
✔15. Royal Title - The Snow Queen -- 04/06/15
✔16. Family Member - The Son -- 03/03/15
✔17. Elements - Rose Under Fire -- 01/07/15
✔18. Time of Day - White Nights -- 04/13/15
✔19. Metal - The Chinese Gold Murders: A Judge Dee Mystery -- 01/02/15
✔20. Emotion/Feeling - The Cry of the Owl -- 02/03/15
✔21. Animal/Insect - The Silkworm -- 01/20/15
✔22. Something to Read - Running the Books -- 04/16/15
✔23. Gender Identifier - The Man Who Fell to Earth -- 01/16/15
✔24. Paranormal Being - The Ghost Fields -- 08/02/15
✔25. Occupation - The Bookseller -- 02/14/15
-----------
Edited 08/02/15

Classics Challenge
May 1-31, 2015
Progress / Goal = 5 / 5 Complete!


✔True Grit by Charles Portis -- 05/18/15
✔The Getaway by Jim Thompson -- 05/07/15
✔A Death in the Family by James Agee -- 05/17/15
✔The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien -- 05/05/15
✔Persuasion by Jane Austen -- 05/13/15


05/18/15

The Travel Challenge
August 1-31, 2015
Goal: 30,000 80,000 miles........Miles Traveled: 139,408.4 -- Challenge Met
(view spoiler)[
Starting Point: Durham, NC, U.S.

1st Book: The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths -- Read 8/2
• King's Lynn, Norfolk, UK ⇢ 3914.2 miles

2nd Book: My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki -- Read 8/3
• NYC, NY, U.S. ⇢ 3498.3 miles
• Tokyo, Japan ⇢ 6746.8 miles
• Bald Knob, AR, U.S. ⇢ 6529.4 miles
• Taos, NM, U.S. ⇢ 788.1 miles
• Austin, TXU.S. ⇢ 620.1 miles
• Gnaw Bone, IN, U.S. ⇢ 899.8 miles
• Bloom, KS, U.S. ⇢ 752.1 miles
• Lubbock, TX, U.S. ⇢ 292.0 miles
• Askew, LA, U.S. ⇢ 623.3 miles
• Green River, WY, U.S. ⇢ 1186.5 miles
• Fly, OR, U.S. ⇢ 718.4 miles
• Harmony, MS, U.S. ⇢ 1976.4 miles
• Memphis, TN, U.S. ⇢ 171.7 miles
• Magnolia Springs, AL, U.S. ⇢ 354.1 miles
• Hope, IN, U.S. ⇢ 626.3 miles
• Quamba, MN, U.S. ⇢ 592.0 miles
• Kyoto, Japan ⇢ 6075.3 miles
• Northampton, MA, U.S. ⇢ 6807.3 miles
• Peerless, MT, U.S. ⇢ 1653.9 miles
• Chicago, IL, U.S. ⇢ 1002.1 miles
• Normal, IL, U.S. ⇢ 118.0 miles
• Denver, CO, U.S. ⇢ 846.7 miles
Subtotal: 42,878.6 miles

3rd Book: Talking to the Dead by Harry Bingham -- read 8/5
• Cardiff, Wales, UK ⇢ 4585.0 miles

4th Book: Fifty-to-One by Charles Ardai -- read 8/6
• NYC, NY, U.S. ⇢ 3340.1 miles

5th Book: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng -- read 8/6
• Bowling Green, OH, U.S. ⇢ 505.0 miles
• Cambridge, MA, U.S. ⇢ 649.0 miles
Subtotal: 1154.0 miles

6th Book: July's People by Nadine Gordimer -- read 8/8
• Johannesburg, South Africa ⇢ 7869.6 miles

7th Book: The Job: True Tales from the Life of a New York City Cop by Steve Osborne -- read 8/9
• New York City, NY, U.S. ⇢ 7987.1 miles

8th Book: The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton -- read 8/10
• Amsterdam, The Netherlands ⇢ 3646.6 miles

9th Book: Murder on Amsterdam Avenue by Victoria Thompson -- read 8/12
• New York City, NY, U.S. ⇢ 3646.6 miles

10th Book: I Travel by Night by Robert McCammon -- read 8/12
• New Orleans, LA, U.S. ⇢ 1169.7 miles

11th Book: A Stab in the Dark by Lawrence Block -- read 8/13
• New York City, NY, U.S. ⇢ 1169.7 miles

12th Book: Dry Bones by Craig Johnson -- read 8/14
• Sheridan, WY, U.S. ⇢ 1685.3 miles

13th Book: The Dinner by Herman Koch -- read 8/16
• Amsterdam, The Netherlands ⇢ 4605.1 miles

14th Book: Critical Conditions by Stephen White -- read 8/18
• Boulder, CO, U.S. ⇢ 4816.3 miles
• Denver, CO, U.S. ⇢ 24.2 miles
Subtotal: 4840.5 miles

15th Book: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara -- read 8/23
• New York City, NY, U.S. ⇢ 1639.8 miles
• Boston, MA, U.S. ⇢ 190.0 miles
• Truro, MA, U.S. ⇢ 60.0 miles
• Garrison, NY, U.S. ⇢ 205.6 miles
• London, UK ⇢ 3433.9 miles
• Paris, France ⇢ 213.2 miles
• Granada, Spain ⇢ 861.4 miles
• Istanbul, Turkey ⇢ 1758.7 miles
• Paro, Bhutan ⇢ 3559.7 miles
• Colombo, Sri Lanka ⇢ 1583.9 miles
• Hanoi, Vietnam ⇢ 1992.7 miles
• Tokyo, Japan ⇢ 2287.4 miles
Subtotal: 4840.5 miles

16th Book: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline -- read 8/24
• Galway, Ireland ⇢ 6021.2 miles
• NYC, NY, U.S. ⇢ 3069.3 miles
• Minneapolis, MN, U.S. ⇢ 1017.5 miles
• Mount Desert Island, ME, U.S. ⇢ 1223.4 miles
Subtotal: 11,331.4 miles

17th Book: Nightmare in Pink by John D. MacDonald -- read 8/26
• NYC, NY, U.S. ⇢ 386.2 miles
• Ft. Lauderdale, FL, U.S. ⇢ 1068.8 miles
• Key West, FL, U.S. ⇢ 149.3 miles
Subtotal: 1604.3 miles

18th Book: Speaking in Bones by Kathy Reichs -- read 8/27
• Charlotte, NC U.S. ⇢ 740.3 miles
• Avery County, NC, U.S. ⇢ 86.1 miles
• Marion, NC, U.S. ⇢ 30.7 miles
• Montreal, Quebec, Canada ⇢ 810.4 miles
Subtotal: 1667.5 miles

19th Book: Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves -- read 8/30
• Wimbledon, UK ⇢ 3248.0 miles
• Bavaria, Germany ⇢ 572.7 miles
• Harlech, Wales ⇢ 761.7 miles
• LeHavre, France ⇢ 295.9 miles
• Béthune, France ⇢ 133.5 miles
• Somme, France ⇢ 45.7 miles
• Oxford, UK ⇢ 199.8 miles
• Cairo, Egypt ⇢ 2233.7 miles
• Málaga, Spain ⇢ 2097.0 miles
Subtotal: 9588.0 miles

20th Book: The Death of Sweet Mister by Daniel Woodrell -- read 8/31
• Hot Springs, AR, U.S. ⇢ 4789.5 miles
• West Table, MO, U.S. ⇢ 148.3 miles
Subtotal: 4937.8 miles

Miles Traveled -- 139,408.4

Edited 08/31/15

(hide spoiler)]

FALL BACK CHALLENGE
Duration: October 1 - October 31, 2015
Progress / Goal: 5 / 5 ⇨ COMPLETE!

1. Fall Back in Time – Read a book about travelling back in time, a historical fiction novel or a non-fiction history book.
⇨ This House is Haunted by John Boyne -- Great little ghost story that pays homage to Jane Eyre and The Turn of the Screw. Set in 1867 ..... lots of fun to read. Read 10/16.

3. Fall Back in Love – Read a love story where the characters are taking a second chance on love – successfully or unsuccessfully!
⇨ I Married a Dead Man by Cornell Woolrich -- Great 30s noir melodrama. -- Read 10/10

6. Fall Back on Strength – Read a book where the main character finds the strength (internal or external) to overcome difficulties they face.
⇨ Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson writes about her struggle with mental illness in a very funny book. -- Read 10/7

7. Fall Back – Read a book where the character(s) must go back before they can move forward.
⇨ The Dying Hours by Mark Billingham -- Read 10/2
Tom Thorne is demoted back to uniform but solves a series of murders on his own time to get back in his old position.

10. Fall Back, Spring Ahead – Read a book about time travel, that takes place in the fall or spring, or that has fall or spring in the title.
⇨ We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier -- Read 10/3

Edited 10/16/15

REMEMBRANCE CHALLENGE
Duration: November 1-30, 2015
Progress / Goal = 5 / 5 Complete

✔ 4. Holocaust Remembrance Day: Read a book about the Holocaust, or which features World War II.
➤ The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths is set in Brighton in 1950 but reveals the activities of a group of special forces soldiers in WWII. (Read 11/28/15)

✔ 9. India Independence Day: Read a book set in India, or read a book about a country achieving independence.
➤ The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri is set in Calcutta and the U.S. (Read 11/14/15)

✔ 10. September 11th Anniversary: Read a book involving a terrorist plot, or a book set during the collapse of the Twin Towers.
➤ Near Enemy by Adam Sternbergh features a former garbageman battling a terrorist plot set in NYC in the near future. (Read 11/03/15)

✔ 11. Day of the Dead: Read a book about a spiritual journey, or a book which celebrates the deceased.
➤ Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach looks for scientific proof of life after death....not exactly a celebration, but 300 pages examining the moment of death is close enough for me. (Read 11/05/15)

✔ 12. Armistice Day: Read a book set during the First World War, or a book which features the fall of an empire.
➤ The Care and Management of Lies: A Novel of the Great War by Jacqueline Winspear. Beautifully written novel of Kentish soldiers, support personnel and the people back home in the first year of WWI. (Read 11/29/15)

Edited: 11/29/15