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Kathryn's 2015 Mixed Bag Challenge
1. 12 Christian fiction1)
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2. At least 6 non-fiction1) The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus by Richard Preston
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3) Miniskirts, Mothers & Muslims: A Christian Woman in a Muslim Land by Christine A. Mallouhi
4) Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Mark Twain
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3. At least 12 Australian authors:1)
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6) Elliot Perlman –
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9) Peter Yeldham – The Currency Lads
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4. 10 books from Listopia listsCompleted 10/10
Best Historical Fiction of the 21st Century
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Have Passport Will Travel
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Australian Christian Authors
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5. 12 books from series I’m in the middle ofPhryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood
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Mistress of the Art of Death Series by Ariana Franklin
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The Clifton Chronicles by Jeffrey Archer
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The Irish Country series by Patrick Taylor
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The Railway Detective - Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck series by Edward Marston
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The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith
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The Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte series by Arthur W. Upfield
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The Detective Ella Marconi series by Katherine Howell
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6. 6 books from my second-choice shelf1)
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7. Aussie Readers’ Top Reads from 2014:Completed 12/13
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11) Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel – recommended by Andrea
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8. 4 fantasy/sci-fi/dystopian:1) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
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9. 15 books written by authors from or about particular countries/continents/regions:1) Switzerland –
2) Mountains of Africa –
3) West Africa –
4) Other Africa –
5) Antarctica -
6) France -
7) Uzbekistan -
8) Tibet - Running a Hotel on the Roof of the World: Five Years in Tibet by Alec Le Sueur
9) North Korea -
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10. 4 books from my ABC book club shelf1)
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Mod
I'll be watching this with interest...
Brenda wrote: "Oh my goodness Kathryn! That is a HUGE challenge! Good luck with it, and what an awesome lot of books you have on your lists:)I'll be watching this with interest..."
Thanks, Brenda! If I need to, I'll carry it over into 2016, but I'll see how I go. Hopefully I don't get too confused keeping track of it!!
Mod
Brenda wrote: "Laying it out like you have makes it much easier I would think. Will you cross them off as you read them? You must have been thinking about this for awhile!"Yes, I have been thinking about it for a bit - I've been seeing things this year that I'd like to do, or some of my shelves that I'd like to tackle and make some in-roads in and so I've been making notes throughout the year to remind me of what I'd like to achieve next year.
I set out all my challenges for this year in a similar fashion to this in a thread in another group and found it quite handy for keeping track, so I think this should work well (fingers crossed!). And I think I will cross books off as I do them and add to my original posts, but I might post links to my reviews as I go in new posts (assuming I write reviews for all).
Mod
Brenda wrote: "Crossing them off as you read them will make it much easier to keep track. The reviews you do write would be better in new posts though as they won't be seen when you just edit your original posts:..."That was my thinking too, on both counts!
WOW!! What a fantastic challenge, Kathryn. That's one mighty big mixed bag of reading you have ahead of you. Good luck and have fun :)
Mammoth challenge Kathryn! You have certainly set yourself a big one.Good Luck with it, I'm sure we will all be cheering you on :)
Have read 2,3 & 9 of your Aussie Authors and really liked them ;)
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Brenda wrote: "I've read 1,2,5,8 and 9 and loved 9. It was #1 in my top books for the whole year!!"I agree Brenda, Ronan's Echo definately a top pick.
Wow - fantastic challenges there - and you've left yourself room for spontaneous reading too - well thought out - will be keeping an I on your list :)
Good luck with your challenge Kathryn! I just created my 2015 TBR list as well, based on books I already own or can borrow via the library or a friend.
I've got 100 books on there, which should pretty much take care of 2015 for me ...and I'm trying not to panic about all the new releases that I won't have room for!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
Patricia wrote: "Good luck with your challenge Kathryn! I just created my 2015 TBR list as well, based on books I already own or can borrow via the library or a friend.
I've got 100 books on there, which should p..."
That's the hardest part Patricia...trying to ignore all the new releases screaming out to be read! :)
Thanks Sharon, Julie, Sally and Patricia!! Here's to a good year of reading!I've read 3 of my list of Australian authors before Colleen McCullough, Elliot Perlman and Kate Forsyth, but wanted to read more of them!
And like you, Patricia, I don't worry too much about new releases - since I get most of my books from the library, I'm mostly happy to let the hype for the new releases die down before I try to get my hands on a copy! However, it does mean that when the GR choice awards come around, I've generally read very few books from that year!
Fantastic challenge Kathryn. Will be following your reviews.
RitaSkeeter wrote: "I really like the way you've laid out your challenge. I might edit mine to use some of the elements you have! :)"Thanks, RitaSkeeter. I did something similar in another group last year, and it seemed to work well. Go right ahead using anything if it appeals to you!!
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Brenda wrote: "Looking at your thread in the other group where you have laid out ALL your challenges for 2015 Kathryn! Oh my goodness, you are so organised! Well done...I'll definitely be watching with interest:)"Organised in some areas, Brenda!! Not so much in others :-P And let's see if I can remain organised through 2015!
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That is amazing Kathryn. I cannot imagine being that organised but i am so impressed. I'm intrigued by the idea of a second choice shelf. Can you tell me more about that?
Mary wrote: "That is amazing Kathryn. I cannot imagine being that organised but i am so impressed. I'm intrigued by the idea of a second choice shelf. Can you tell me more about that?"Thanks, Mary! My second-choice shelf is kind of a cheat's TBR shelf! It's like the spare room in your house when you don't often have guests who need to use it! I put things on it that other people have suggested but that I'm not convinced I'll like. Or books that intrigue me, but are not things I would normally think I'd be interested in. Or when I'm (infrequently) tidying up my TBR shelf, I'll move stuff to it if I realise that I can't easily obtain a copy at my libraries. Then once these have been on there for a while, I may end up deleting them entirely if I decide they're still too hard to get or I really am not keen enough to read them.
The ones I will be looking at reading for this challenge will obviously be more of the ones where a friend has recommended them or the unusual ones that have taken my fancy but that I am still able to access at the library. Or sometimes ones that were previously unavailable at the library become available.
I do try not to use it as a cop-out/overflow TBR!!
Brenda wrote: "I'm sure you will! Starting with a long-awaited for cruise!! Woohoo, not long now:)"I know! Can't wait!
Great Challenge Kathryn! Good luck with it!
Carolyn wrote: "Great Challenge Kathryn! Good luck with it!"Thanks, Carolyn! Looks like I'm starting with Victim of the Aurora by Thomas Keneally as an audiobook, and probably I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban as an e-book in a day or so.
I love your challenge Kathryn and I can see you achieving it. You outdid yourself this year, reading way more books than were on your challenge. I'm very excited about some of the books you'll be reading and can't wait to see what you think of them!!! Namely Outlander, Wolf Hall and a few others. Happy Reading. :)
Thanks, Elaine! I'm a little daunted by both of those because of their size, but am still keen to see what they're like!!
I have finished my first for this challenge - one of the top 5 reads in 2014 from Aussie Readers - Ronan's Echo by Joanne van Os. A 4 star read for me, although I'm still tossing up between 4 and 4.5... Thanks to Sally, Janine, Veronica, Deb and Brenda for the suggestion!My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
It's the last day of January, and I think an update for my challenge might be in order, since I haven't done one for the whole month!I have edited my tasks above to reflect what I have read. And links to my reviews are below:
My review for The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty - 4 stars
My review for I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai - 3.5 stars
My review for Death by Water by Kerry Greenwood - 3.5 stars
My review for Helena by Jo-Anne Berthelsen - 3 stars
My review for Shall We Tell the President? by Jeffrey Archer - 3 stars
My review for Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson - 3 stars
Mod
Thanks, Brenda and RitaSkeeter!And RitaSkeeter - The Golem and the Jinni is on my radar for next month and I see it was one of your top 5's from last year! I'm looking forward to it, even though it's not my usual genre.
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Will post a link to my review here when done. Watch this space...!
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Thanks, Carolyn.And now the pressure's on for The Golem and the Jinni!! Hope I have good things to report... :-)
Aussie Readers
Books mentioned in this topic
A Lancaster County Christmas (other topics)Pattern Recognition (other topics)
The Currency Lads (other topics)
The Spare Room (other topics)
The Assassin's Prayer (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Dian Fossey (other topics)Peter Yeldham (other topics)
Suzanne Woods Fisher (other topics)
Ariana Franklin (other topics)
Helen Garner (other topics)
More...
As always, all books subject to change throughout the course of the year depending on availability and mood.
Throughout this year, I'm hoping to read:
1. 12 Christian fiction
2. 6 non-fiction
3. 12 Australian authors
4. 10 books from Listopia lists
5. 12 books from series I’m in the middle of
6. 6 books from my second-choice shelf
7. Aussie Readers’ Top Reads from 2014
8. 4 fantasy/sci-fi/dystopian
9. 15 books written by authors from or about particular countries/continents/regions
10. 4 books from my ABC book club shelf