2015 Reading Challenges and General Booktastic Insanity

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I had so much fun with my two reading challenges from 2014, I’ve decided to sign up for four more in 2015, and also host (and participate in) my own reading challenge.

Yup, you’ve read that right—I’ll be taking on five reading challenges in 2015. Thankfully, I’ve been frequenting my local library lately, which means I won’t be amassing too many books here that may need to be donated once/if I leave this part of the world. And if I get super duper desperate, I can always include an academic monographs or fifty. (Actually, no, I won’t. My only self-imposed pre-requisite for these books is that they are to be “funfunfun” and unrelated to my PhD research.)

The five three challenges I’ve decided to take on are:

  • Authors A to Z Reading Challenge
  • Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge
  • Back to the Classics Challenge

(Completed!)

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2015 Authors A to Z Suggestions

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A massive thanks to those who have signed up for the 2015 Authors A to Z Reading Challenge—I hope you’re all as excited as I am to dig into those delicious books!

A few of you have commented on the difficulty of finding Q, X, and Z authors, and I thought I’d compile a list of suggestions. Q and Z were surprisingly easy to find (as evidenced by a browse through my local library and Oxfam bookshop), but X has been quite a tricky one indeed.

Q: Anthony Quinn; Karen Quinn; Julia Quinn; Amanda Quick; Erica Quest; Matthew Quick, Ellery Queen (thanks, Karen!). Also check out Wiki.
X: XU Xi; XUE Xinran; Malcom X (thanks, Lisa!).
Z: Carlos Ruiz Zafón; Paul Zindel; Markus Zusak; Cecily von Ziegesar; Helen Zahavi, Emile Zola; Gabrielle Zevin (thanks, Karen!). Also check out Wiki.

If you know of any other authors, please let me know in a comment and I’ll add it to the list. Hope this helps!

Update (2 June 2015): Since X has been causing a bit of strife, any author with X in their last name (not necessarily as the first letter) qualifies for the challenge. Hope that’ll make things a little more manageable!

2014 Wrap-up Post

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This is certainly been quite a busy book year for me, during which I read a total of 57 “funfunfun” books. Pair this with the kazillion things I have to read for work (a PhD in Shakespeare), and it’s no wonder my eyesight has gone out the window!

My booktastic Christmas tree this year.

I’m also really pleased to have completed both the reading challenges I decided to take up back in March. I’m really glad I decided to take on the challenges, because they motivated me to read some fantastic books I wouldn’t have otherwise come across (though I’ve also had to trawl through some pretty awful stuff). So here are all the non-work books I read in 2014:

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Reviews: A December Assortment

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December was a pretty interesting month (as I’m sure it was for you as well), but I managed to read all the books I’d needed to finish both my 2014 reading challenges. I’ll be putting together a wrap-up posts of sorts in the next few days, but for now, here are the books I read this past month:

53. Robert M. Pirsig – Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values (6 Dec)
54. Arnošt Lustig – Lovely Green Eyes (14 Dec)
55. Marcus Pfister – The Rainbow Fish (15 Dec)
56. Barbara Kyle – The Queen’s Captive (25 Dec)
57. Emily Gillmor Murphy – You & I (26 Dec)

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Waffles in Antwerp (Belgium)

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So I recently went to Antwerp (in Belgium) for a couple of days, during which I ate a couple of waffles. And then a couple more waffles. Mmm, waffles…

But as much fun as it is to eat waffles, it was even more fun to photograph and write about the noms. And so, here we are!

Antwerp has a cathedral. And also waffles.

Antwerp has a cathedral. And also waffles.

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Reviews: November (Xenophobes, Dumas, and more chick lit)

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November was, in short, an insane month on my end. I took the last week off to “catch-up” with “life things” (such as going to Belgium and doing NaNoWriMo and reading), which was when I managed to read these books (few as they are). Anyway, books!

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2015 Authors A to Z Reading Challenge – Sign-up

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After spending the past year working on Escape With Dollycas Into a Good Book’s Alphabet Soup Challenge (for which I’m nearing completion–you can follow my progress here), I had a brainwave and thought I’d like to do something similar next year, but this time for authors instead of book titles. And so, with great pleasure and excitement, I’d like to announce that I will be hosting the 2015 Authors A to Z Reading Challenge!

2015-authors-banner
Here are the details/rules:

– The challenge runs from 1 January to 31 December 2015
– Read a book written by authors with last names from A to Z, and try to collect every letter of the alphabet
– Only last names count, so William Shakespeare would fall under S, not W
– Speaking of Shakespeare, the books you read may fall under any form/genre: prose, poetry, drama; fiction, non-fiction, academic monographs…
– Your books don’t have to be “physical” either–ebooks and audiobooks are more than welcome!
– Crossovers with other challenges and re-reads are also more than welcome!
– You do not need to have a blog or review the books in order to participate–having a list somewhere (such as GoodReads) is fine
– Sign-ups are open till 30 November 2015
Come December 2015, I’ll be making a post for you to submit your completed challenges. Here’s the post! If you manage to finish by 31 Dec 2015, then you’ll be in the running for a booktastic prize draw!

How to join:

– If you’re a blogger, grab the challenge banner and link back to this post to help spread the word and encourage others to join! Fill out the form below, and include a link to your challenge sign-up post (not to your overall blog).
– If you’re a non-blogger, keep track of your authors list any way you wish (I know quite a few people start up a challenge bookshelf on Goodreads), and use the form below to fill out your details (and perhaps a link to your challenge bookshelf, if you’re setting one up).

If you want to follow my blog, I may post special challenge-related announcements throughout the year; alternatively, just check back during December 2015. I have compiled a list of author suggestions for Q, X, and Z, which you can find here. I’ll be participating in the challenge too, and in case you’re interested, here’s my list. If you have any other questions, please feel free to drop me a comment.

And that’s it, really! Happy reading, and all the best with the challenge!

Update (2 June 2015): Since X has been causing a bit of strife, any author with X in their last name (not necessarily as the first letter) qualifies for the challenge. Hope that’ll make things a little more manageable!

Finished the challenge? Submit your completion post here!

Reviews: July to October, with quite a bit of YA (and some “classics”)

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Hihihihiii from Belfast! I know it’s been aaaaaages since I’ve posted, but things have been rather hectic with the move from Sydney back to the UK. In addition, I had quite a few writing projects going on during August (hence no books were read then!), and I’m now back to my PhD, which comes with its own set of eyeball-killing books… Anyway, here’s what I’ve been reading over the last few months–some amazing titles, and some awful ones (unfortunately).

39. Lauren Oliver – Delirium (2 July)
40. Elizabeth Harrower – In Certain Circles (17 July)
41. Alice Munro – Dear Life (31 July)
42. Kim Harrison — Dead Witch Walking (12 September)
43. Natsume Soseki – Kokoro (trans. Meredith McKinney) (14 September)
44. Lois Lowry – Gathering Blue (20 September)
45. Lauren Willig – The Secret History of the Pink Carnation (28 September)
46. Classical Literary Criticism (3 Oct)
47. Cath Crowley – Graffiti Moon (4 Oct)
48. Anne Bishop – Written in Red (10 Oct)
49. Claudia Carroll – A Very Accidental Love Story (25 Oct)

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Reviews: Fall On Your Knees and The Hours

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Happy Australian Financial New Year! On this monumental day, we have reviews of the two books I’ve been enjoying over the last two weeks or so!

37. Ann-Marie MacDonald – Fall On Your Knees (26 June)

I don’t remember when I got my copy, but I think I purchased it after hearing about it on Oprah’s Book Club over a decade ago. Anyway, I finally picked it up, and…wow.

37 - Fall On Your Knees

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