2016 Reading Challenge

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Alright, so one person said they're trying it, one said they won't but will check into it, and another said they might. Seems like enough for a thread (it can always die later). So, from PopSugar, here's the all new

2016 Reading Challenge

This year's challenge is a bit shorter than 2015 (which featured 49 challenges over 52 titles). This one features 40 challenges over 41 titles (one requires reading two books). As with last year's, it's quite possible to cover two or more challenges with one book.

The pic from the page is rather large, so here's a resized one.

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I think it goes without saying that I did not in any way complete the challenge last year. That was mainly due to my depression and anxiety getting in the way of a lot of things last year. But I'm starting to get help with it. I started seeing my doctor about it around 5 weeks ago, and I'm currently on meds for it, and will hopefully start counselling soon. Since reading has always been quite therapeutic in the past and I have always loved to do so, I will absolutely be taking part in the challenge.

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A book written by a comedian and A New York Times Bestseller and A Book Written by a Celebrity

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler

Quick read. Funny lady.

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BOOKS READ

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler
Comments: Quick read. Funny lady. Will definitely grab more of her books.
Categories Covered: A book written by a comedian and A New York Times Bestseller and A Book Written by a Celebrity

BOOKS BEING READ

Meat Market: Inside the Smash-Mouth World of College Football Recruiting by Bruce Feldman
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

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For those doing this, you may find the following helpful:

#1 New York Times Best Sellers

National Book Awards Winners

Oprah's Book Club Selections

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Books Read
(1) Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling counts for (a) Young Adult Bestseller; (b) a book I can read in a day [though I took two because I started it late]; and (c) a book under 150 pages
(2) 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Haff counts as (d) a book recommended by a family member [my mother]. It would also count for b+c again. I'm penciling it in for (e) a book set in Europe, though I'll probably cover that in a more legitimate way since this is only correspondence between a person in NYC and people in London.

I always read the Bible through the course of the year (for the past decade or more) and if I don't cover the categories separately, that will count as a book over 600 pages; a book translated to English; and a book more than a hundred years older than me.

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BOOKS READ

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler
Comments: Quick read. Funny lady. Will definitely grab more of her books.
Categories Covered: A book written by a comedian and A New York Times Bestseller and A Book Written by a Celebrity

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Comments: Its Hunger Games with superpowers but less kids killing and more romance but poorly developed romance. I called the plot twist a mile away. The sequel comes out this year.
Categories Covered: A Young Adult Bestseller and A dystopian novel

BOOKS BEING READ

Meat Market: Inside the Smash-Mouth World of College Football Recruiting by Bruce Feldman

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Updated

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Updated

Well, you have a strong start.

I'm about to finish Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf?, which I'm counting for a book with a blue cover, a satiric book, and a classic from the 20th century (though I'll probably read a couple of those).

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I'm perusing the Oprah's Book Club list...this is going to be hard.

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Just finished Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon, which I count for a murder mystery and a backup for a 20th century classic.

Currently reading SR Slaymaker II's Five Miles Away: The Story of the Lawrenceville School as a book from the library and a book set in my home state (NJ). It's also retroactively part of the 2015 Challenge as a book set in my hometown (one of only three or so I'm aware of).

On and off I'm also reading The Poems and Prose Poems of Charles Baudelaire as my poetry book and as a translated work.

I'm perusing the Oprah's Book Club list...this is going to be hard.

I see she has three Faulkner books there, one of which I didn't read, so I might go that route.

The hardest one for me I think will be "a book recommended by someone you just met." That has happened a few times in my life, but pretty rarely. To get that accomplished I think I'll have to force it (like maybe if a book store clerk recommends something and I follow by introducing myself, which is hard for introverted me). I mean how many people do you meet and follow up with "can you recommend any good books?"

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In the other thread, you can see that I recently read Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship. I'm counting that for (1) A self-improvement book; and (2) a backup for a book translated to English.

Next up is Peter David's Star Trek: Next Generation novel Imzadi. This is a trifecta, counting for (1) a romance set in the future; (2) a New York Times Bestseller; and (3) a book guaranteed to bring you joy (I generally enjoy all Trek books, but David is my favorite writer and Riker my favorite Next Gen character).

Including the Bible reading I'll be doing throughout the year, when I finish this one I will have covered 21 of the 41 categories.

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BOOKS READ

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler
Comments: Quick read. Funny lady. Will definitely grab more of her books.
Categories Covered: A book written by a comedian and A New York Times Bestseller and A Book Written by a Celebrity

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Comments: Its Hunger Games with superpowers but less kids killing and more romance but poorly developed romance. I called the plot twist a mile away. The sequel comes out this year.
Categories Covered: A Young Adult Bestseller and A dystopian novel

Hard Choices by Hilary Clinton
Comments: I'll likely never read another Political memoir again. A lot of "I did this. I said this. I loved this. We didn't get along BUT..." And I was really upset when this clocked in just under 600 pages.
Categories Covered: A Political Memoir

BOOKS BEING READ

Meat Market: Inside the Smash-Mouth World of College Football Recruiting by Bruce Feldman

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

God's War by Kameron Hurley

Updated! I'm so far behind you its embarrassing. I've been watching too much television.

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Updated! I'm so far behind you its embarrassing. I've been watching too much television.

Well, it certainly helps that I don't watch TV, but probably more so that I don't have a job.

The categories will also slow down as I run out of multiple-category entries.

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BOOKS READ

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler
Comments: Quick read. Funny lady. Will definitely grab more of her books.
Categories Covered: A book written by a comedian and A New York Times Bestseller and A Book Written by a Celebrity

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Comments: Its Hunger Games with superpowers but less kids killing and more romance but poorly developed romance. I called the plot twist a mile away. The sequel comes out this year.
Categories Covered: A Young Adult Bestseller and A dystopian novel

Hard Choices by Hilary Clinton
Comments: I'll likely never read another Political memoir again. A lot of "I did this. I said this. I loved this. We didn't get along BUT..." And I was really upset when this clocked in just under 600 pages.
Categories Covered: A Political Memoir

Meat Market: Inside the Smash-Mouth World of College Football Recruiting by Bruce Feldman
Comments: Such a great read. Its a few years old, so its even better knowing the people discussed turned out to be relevant or irrelevant. A must read for any college football fan.
Categories Covered: A Book from the Library, A Book with a Blue Cover


BOOKS BEING READ

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

God's War by Kameron Hurley

Reaching Higher: Mark Dantonio and the Rise of Michigan State Football

Updated. I finished Meat Market and added Reaching Higher: Mark Dantonio and the Rise of Michigan State Football but it won't be out until April.

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Finished the ST book and am now reading the 1990 Young Adult novel Invitation to the Game by Monica Hughes. Counting this for a book (1) where the protagonist has the same "occupation" as me (namely, unemployed); (2) takes place during the summer (there is one short chapter that summarizes Fall-Winter, but the rest occurs between May and August); and (3) a dystopian novel. It's also a backup sci-fi and library book.

EDIT: finished that and now am about to finish crowd-funded World War Kaiju Book One (by Josh Finny and Patrick McEvoy) as my (1) graphic novel. It's the first gn I've read this year (not counting just oversized comics or trades).