The Reading Challenge Group discussion

Crazy how fast this year has gone by! The final month is upon us already. What will you read in these last days of 2014? Will you finish your reading goals? Top off a mini-challenge or two? Save a few for the final Readathon? How shall we enjoy the passing year that is 2014?

Just Three Books before any other book.

-The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd; READ 12/29/14
-The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
-Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian; READ 12/15/14

My in-laws gave me three bin bags of crime books, all like new, only read once, I don't know where to start!

What a wonderful Christmas present! I love a bag full of free books. :)

I'll be def reading The Name of the Wind and prob some ebooks/read for review ebook requests and whatever I don't get to read I'll move it to next year.

I'll be reading:
Wuthering Heights (from November)
Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume I
Ficciones
Pandora
V for Vendetta

My tentative plan for December-

Gone Girl
Of Beast and Beauty
Blue Labyrinth
Ashes to Ashes
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

and then I might follow along with a couple of December's Group Reads as well :)

For December, I'll read the last three books from my initial challenge:

Tender Is the Night by Fitzgerald

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (I liked Everything is Illuminated, and I wondered how JSF did with 9/11)

Geek Love by Katherine Dunn (not about geeks as we commonly understand the term today! this is about carnival freaks)

Also, I'll pick at whatever I didn't finish in November, which I suspect will be:

The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk (Randy Shilts, baby, I did you so ill :()

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban (Egg in my face that I nominated it and couldn't get to it in time :P)

Aaand: To The Lighthouse, Holes, and The Neverending Story if they get picked.

(Lol, there's just no way I'll have time for all this. The first three are a definite yes, everything else is my delusional dreams.)

I hear ya! My December plans are entirely delusional which is why I haven't posted yet. There are so many things I'd like to finish before staring 2015. But there are pesky responsibilities and a career in the way. Pheh! So, I'm trying to pare it down to what I might actually be able to finish.

Exceptt, I just decided that I need a healthy dose of Harry Potter, so apparently it's gonna be a surprise.

I may get Holes anyway. It's YA, so it should be quick to read and I can pass it on to my sisters. Plus, it comes recommended (by you, too). We'll see.

Everybody can use some Harry Potter. :D

Oh man, I've been in a bit of a slump this month XD

If I don't finish it before December, I'll be finishing The Beltheron Pathway.
Then I'll just keep working through my list! Hoping to read:
Raiders' Ransom (/Flood Child)
Wizard's First Rule
13 Treasures (reread because I can't remember much about it!)

So much Harry Potter! My plan for December is to get as far through the HP books as I can; I'm listening to them on audiobook so it should be pretty quick.. Might finish goblet of fire by the end of the year, as well as finishing Othello :)

Aitziber wrote: "I may get Holes anyway. It's YA, so it should be quick to read and I can pass it on to my sisters. Plus, it comes recommended (by you, too). We'll see.

Everybody can use some Harry Potter. :D"

Holes is a great book, and it's a fairly quick read :)

hoping to either get to for finish (depending on when I start) Sons and Lovers. The Classics winner (I have read all the monthly classic group pics so that would be 12/12!!! And anything on my TBR list. So Agatha Christie for a couple and then what I want. Not bad!

Besides group reads, I plan to read Into the Wild and Stardust and whatever else appeals to me. Probably do some audio books, so that I can crochet at the same time.

I need to finish 20 books by the end of the year! AUGH!

Provided I can finish these books by the end of November...

Cousin Bette
Lost in a Good Book
Creating Character: Bringing Your Story to Life (Red Sneaker Writers Books)
Story Structure: The Key to Successful Fiction
Perfecting Plot: Charting the Hero's Journey (Red Sneaker Writers Book Series)
The Serpent's Teeth
Exodus
Vimy

...(hahaha, yeah right), these are the books I will need to complete in December -

Dodger
A Christmas Story
Classic Ghost Stories
Drood
84, Charing Cross Road
She
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride
Perelandra
That Hideous Strength
Classic Mystery Stories
Great English Short Stories
A Christmas Carol

Do you think I could get an extension on 2014 if I celebrate Chinese New Year?

Whahaha! You crack me up, Faye!

December already?

I really really want to finish A Storm of Swords before then end of the year.

The journey through Oz continues. Currently reading the fourth book Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz which I anticipate reading into December.

leaning towards Twenty Years After for adventure but not positive and if there is anytime left over it is all going to be fluffy chic lit to the end in anticipation of starting War and Peace on January 1st

Well, I'm undecided on this one but tentatively:


One book that's on hold from the library currently will probably become available: Beloved

A read for Christmas: A Christmas Carol

An adventure book for our genre challenge: Life of Pi

A book for another group read, and also because I've been looking forward to this one for awhile: The Miniaturist

My December reading list,

A buddy read in another group - The Hunter read 20th December

Library book on loan -We Have Always Lived in the Castle read 6th December

Purchase from Amazon -Between Shades of Gray
read 8th December

Genre Group Read (Adventure: December 2014) -The Neverending Story read 15th December

Cristal wrote: "My December reading list,

A buddy read in another group - The Hunter

Library book on loan -We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Purchase from Amazon -Between Sha..."</i>

Cristal, Between Shades of Gray was a nice surprise and now I'm reading Ruta Sepetys' new book [book:Out of the Easy and I am liking this one as well. Hope you enjoy!

Cristal wrote: "My December reading list,

A buddy read in another group - The Hunter

Library book on loan -We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Purchase from Amazon -[book:Between Sha..."

We Have Always Lived the the Castle is a good one!

I only have a couple planned for this month. No doubt a trip to go Christmas shopping will end up with me in Waterstones but here is what I have planned.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (Currently Reading)
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erickson
A Clash of Kings by George R R Martin
Chavs by Owen Jones

I would post links but I can't on my phone

I only have a couple planned for this month. No doubt a trip to go Christmas shopping will end up with me in Waterstones but here is what I have planned.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (Currently Reading)
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erickson
A Clash of Kings by George R R Martin
Chavs by Owen Jones

I would post links but I can't on my phone

For University:
Reservation Blues, by Sherman Alexie
The Book of Illusions, by Paul Auster

For Fun:
To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf
The Iliad, by Homer
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
84, Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff
Some Shakespeares

I plan to read the books I am currently reading and hopefully a couple more..
The currently reading ones are:
The Lightning Thief, The Scorch Trials, The Drawing of the Three and City of Ashes. I've also got Dracula ongoing on my kobo, and then I plan to read In the Light of the Moon on my kobo.

The ones I plan to read after the current paperbacks are City of Glass, The Death Cure, The Sea of Monsters and The Waste Lands.

It's a rather ambitious list for the busiest month of the year, but a girl can hope!

I'm currently half way through HP and the Goblet of Fire; finishing it should take me another 3/4 days, and then ill be moving on to the Order of the Phoenix. Apart from those two, I'll be reading to the lighthouse for the group read and Othello, because I've been ignoring it recently...:)

I need to finish:
-The Charioteer by Mary Renault (This Week); READ 12/2/14

Adventures:
-Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian; READ 12/15/14
-The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
-Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Group Reads:
-Holes by Louis Sachar; READ 12/29/14
-84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (Reread and a rewatch of the movie); READ 12/3/14 Love this one!!!
-To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf; READ 12/30/14
-The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

Others:
-The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd; READ 12/29/14
-Heartburn by Nora Ephron; READ 12/9/14

Christmas Related:
-Joy to the World: The Stories Behind Your Favorite Christmas Carols by Kenneth W. Osbeck; READ 12/12/14

Plays:
-Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare; READ 12/8/14

Poems:
-The Lady of Shalott by Lord Alfred Tennyson; READ 12/12/14

Currently reading: Angel

Reading Next: Cress

And other books I'm not sure of yet!

I'm reading The Name of the Wind which is pretty good so far and next is either Pennyroyal academy or some ebooks. we'll see what happens.

Hi! I'm new to this group :) at the moment I am reading- How to Build a Girl and after that I shall be beginning The French Lieutenant's Woman

I want to clear my currently reading books and fit in a couple of other quick reads, and the group reads. Need 13 this month to get to my revised goal of 125.

1)Essays of E.B. White Currently reading
2)Eats, Shoots and Leaves 2007 READ 12/6
3) The Devil's Arithmetic READ 12/5
4)The Walls Around Us READ 12/12
5)Shadow Spell READ 12/6
6) Jackaby
7) The Zodiac Legacy: Convergence
8)84, Charing Cross Road READ 12/7
9)The Neverending Story
10)To the Lighthouse
11)The Scarlet Pimpernel
12)My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Storiescurrently reading
13)

Cheryl wrote: "I want to clear my currently reading books and fit in a couple of other quick reads, and the group reads. Need 13 this month to get to my revised goal of 125.

1)Essays of E.B. White..."

I'm thinking of stopping my current read, which has a writing style that's just not working for me, so I can get to The Neverending Story :) I picked up my library copy yesterday and the cover art makes me want to start it right away! It's an unusual size too, and the whole thing screams 'read me, right now, I'm awesome!' :D

ok....revising my original December TBR list lol.

Updated list-
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry DONE (loved it!)
The Neverending Story (starting tonight)
The Detective
Blue Labyrinth (impatiently waiting for this one, but the library hold list is long)
The Science of Discworld

Decided to not complete Of Beast and Beauty, pushing Ashes to Ashes to next year (unless I get through my new revised list, and still have time in the month), and then I picked up my library hold of Gone Girl from the library, realized how big it is and then returned it the next day :p I don't usually like reading books over 400ish pages, especially if it's a genre that I'm not really into (like Gone Girl is).

S.J. wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "I want to clear my currently reading books and fit in a couple of other quick reads, and the group reads. Need 13 this month to get to my revised goal of 125.

1)[book:Essays of E.B..."

The Neverending Story IS an awesome book. I remember being a kid and setting out to read it every summer. I failed for at least a summer or two before I finished it. Of course I had to restart it every year, so everything would be fresh. That was one of the first books where I has a very strong sense of achievement upon finishing.

What edition do you have? What's on the cover? Is the font green and red? :D?

Aitziber wrote: "S.J. wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "I want to clear my currently reading books and fit in a couple of other quick reads, and the group reads. Need 13 this month to get to my revised goal of 125.

It's this one-

Melissa-
You have some amazing reading planned for December. :)

In fact I see lots of fabulous reading planned for this month on everyone's list. What a great way tinned the year!

S.J. wrote: "Aitziber wrote: "S.J. wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "I want to clear my currently reading books and fit in a couple of other quick reads, and the group reads. Need 13 this month to get to my revised goal o..."

That is the same one I have :)

Thanks Renee! It sounds like you will be looking forward to Christmas break. Hopefully your crazy schedule will relax. :)

So many good reads :O
I decided to keep it simple and after a month without much reading and an upcoming exam settled for finishing what I'm currently reading. So my list for December is:
Naked in Death READ: 06.12.
The Book Thief
Percy Jackson's Greek Gods READ: 21.12.

Cheryl wrote: "I want to clear my currently reading books and fit in a couple of other quick reads, and the group reads. Need 13 this month to get to my revised goal of 125.

1)Essays of E.B. White..."

Only 4 completed and it's already the 11th. I've got to pick up the pace if I want to get to 125! How is everyone else doing with their December plans?

I'm almost done with The Island of Dr. Moreau and The Name of the Wind. Got a ways to go before I finish Nightmares by Jason Segel and then got Pennyroyal academy and other reads to go after them.

I'm proceeding VERY slowly this month. Haven't finished many books.

My reading has changed a little this month, I've finished Dark Places and Gardens of the Moon and now moving onto Magicians Guild by Trudi Canavan and then Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

My reading has changed a little this month, I've finished Dark Places and Gardens of the Moon and now moving onto Magicians Guild by Trudi Canavan and then Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Amber, are you enjoying Nightmares? I read it last month and really struggled with it.

It's good so far Kassandra but am reading it with the other two at the same time as it is a library book that is due back on the 21st so hope to finish it soon but the artwork is great though. I think I'll be done with The Island of Dr. Moreau and the Name of the Wind first then I can get back to Nightmares.

I'm glad you're enjoying it Amber!

I'm currently in The Selection series by Kiera Cass but after this series I might start reading The Maze Runner series.

Ive actually stuck rather well to my list this month! Which I never do!

Getting home from Uni has altered my reading significantly. Dad has loads of great fantasy series on the bookshelves that I haven't ever read so I'm getting started with those