2015 Reading Challenge [Closed] discussion

12/21/15 edit:
This challenge made me read more than I thought I could, and at the same time it made me see that I have read so little.

This reminded me that there are so many books that I still wish to read! And as much as 52 books in a year is, it is still only a tiny drop in the world's library. But drop by drop, year by year, I am willing to keep on reading.

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I'd be happy if I finish 25 of these books. I'm also changing this list every now and then.

In addition to reading as much of this as I can, I'd like to challenge myself to write a proper review for all the books I read this year, too. Wish me luck!

WEEKS & TOPICS:

1. a book with more than 500 pages
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides ★★★★★

2. a romance
classic: Persuasion by Jane Austen ★★★☆☆
not classic: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell ★★★☆☆

3. a book that became a movie
City of Bones by Cassandra Claire: ★★☆☆☆

4. a book published this year
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart: ★★★★★
published May 2014

5. a book with a number in the title
The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey: ★★★★☆

6. a book written by someone under 30
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon ★★★★★

7. a book with nonhuman characters
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith ★★★★☆
The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov ★★★★☆

8. a funny book
The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling ★★★★☆

9. a book by a female author
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou ★★★☆☆

10. a mystery or thriller
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie ★★★★☆

11. a book with a one-word title
Mythology by Edith Hamilton ★★★☆☆

12. a book of short stories
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury ★★★★★

13. a book set in a different country
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami ★★★★★
--Japan

14. a nonfiction book
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie ★★★☆☆

15. a popular author's first book
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald ★★★☆☆

16. a book from your favorite author that you haven't read yet
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl ★★☆☆☆

17. a book a friend recommended
The Young Elites by Marie Lu ★★★★★
-- recommended by my friend/student, Gabby.

18. a Pulitzer-prize winning book
Beloved by Toni Morrison ★★★★☆

19. a book based on a true story
Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah ★★★★☆

20. a book at the bottom of your to read list
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath ★★★★☆
-- This is the very first book I added as "to-read" when I joined this site in 2011.

21. a book your dad loves
What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell ★★★★☆

22. a book that scares you
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy ★★★☆☆

23. a book more than 100 years old
Treasure Island by by Robert Louis Stevenson ★★☆☆☆
-- first published in 1883 (132 years old)

24. a book based entirely on its cover
Roverandom by J.R.R. Tolkien ★★★☆☆

-- beautiful in its simplicity

25. a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley ★★★☆☆

26. a memoir
You're Never Weird on the Internet by Felicia Day (audiobook) ★★★☆☆

27. a book you can finish in a day
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume ★★★☆☆

28. a book with antonyms in the title
Fish , Catch The Energy & Release the Potential by Stephen C. Lundin ★★★☆☆
-- catch/release

29. a book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco ★★★★☆
-- Italy

30. a book that came out the year you were born
Wayside School Is Falling Down by Louis Sachar ★★★★☆
-- 1989

31. a book with bad reviews
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak ★★★★☆


32. a trilogy (the first)
Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise, Part 1 ★★★★☆

33. a trilogy (the second)
Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise, Part 2 ★★★☆☆

34. a trilogy (the third)
Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise, Part 3 ★★★★☆

35. a book from your childhood
Mallory and the Mystery Diary by Ann M. Martin ★★★★☆

36. a book with a love triangle
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi ★★★☆☆

37. a book set in the future
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells ★★★★☆

38. a book set in high school
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell ★★★★★

39. a book with a color in the title
The White Boy Shuffle by Paul Beatty ★★★★☆

40. a book that made/makes you cry
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini ★★★★★

41. a book with magic
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss ★★★★★
and
The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss ★★★★☆

42. a graphic novel
Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Search, Part 1 ★★★☆☆

43. a book by an author you've never read before
The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger ★★★☆☆

44. a book you own but have never read
The Stand by Stephen King ★★★★★

45. a book that takes place in your hometown
The Woman Who Had Two Navels by Nick Joaquin ★★★★☆
-- Philippines. I just chose a setting in my country 'cause it'd be too hard to find one for my city, unless it's a guide book or something.

46. a book that was originally written in another language
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson ★★★★★
-- originally Swedish

47. a book set during Christmas (or similar holiday)
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens ★★★★☆

48. a book written by an author with your same initials
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga ★★★★★

49. a play
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare ★★★☆☆

50. a banned book (or challenged)
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan ★★★☆☆ (Well, 3.5)

51. a book based on OR turned into a tv show
Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Search, Part 2 by Gene Luen Yang ★★★★☆
Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Search, Part 3 by Gene Luen Yang ★★★★★
Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Lost Adventures by Bryan Konietzko ★★★☆☆

52. a book you started but never finished
Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn ★★★☆☆

Good luck with your list.

You've got the same Week 2 and trilogy on your list as me. We'll have to compare notes. ;-)

Same book for the "play week" for the moment, but maybe I'll changed my mind.
Nice choice for the comic book, it's a must have about Batman :)

Why, thank you, both. :)

Love The Lightning Thief - and the whole Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series!
You might end up reading 10 books (both series) instead of just one... :D

Anja -- I hope I can resist reading the whole series to finish this challenge first. :)

'Where the wild things are' has bad reviews? I liked it as a child and find it ok as an adult. Maybe it's the weird side which is difficult for some people :)
Anyway good idea to read a picture book for this one, it will be short :D

Good look with trying to resist - I had a look at your favourite books and I think that the Percy Jackson books could be just perfect for you ;D

Zaz -- I kind of cheated and made sure I got a good book by googling "good books with bad reviews". Life's too short to read a bad book.

Anja -- Nice! I'm glad I put that in the list, then.

And done! Woohoo!

Yey! Congrats :)

Norwegian Wood and The Stand are on my 2016 TBR, it's nice to see 5 stars.

I see that you had fun with all the Avatar graphic novels! I preferred the animation series, but the comics were nice too! At some point I need to watch The Legend of Korra :)

Thank you. Yeah, I stuck all the Avatar in there when I was panicking that I was a few books behind. But I rearranged them to accommodate the books that I've read since.

I hope you'll like Norwegian Wood. It's truly one of the gems that I found because of this challenge.