2026 Reading Challenge discussion

52 books for the year, representing a book a week (but not necessarily logistically so).

1. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
Started: Jan. 13 Completed: Feb 13 Rating: 4/5

2. Valentine Murder by Leslie Meier
Started: Feb. 14 Completed: Feb 14 Rating: 3/5

3. Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Started: Feb 15. Finished: Feb 18. Rating: 4/5

4. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
Started: Feb 18. Finished: Feb 20. Rating: 5/5

5. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Started: Feb 21. Finished: Feb 21. Rating: 5/5

6. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Started: Feb 23. Finished: March 7. Rating: 4/5

7. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Started: March 10. Completed: March 18. Rating: 3/5

8. Proverbs: God's Guide for Life's Choices by Woodrow Kroll
Don't recall start/finish dates. Rating: 3/5

9. The Book Thief...

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You do it however you like. Your member's corner folder is for you to keep track of challenges, make notes to yourself, anything you want really.

Thanks! I went and looked at both of your threads to get a better idea of what everyone is doing. Think I'll follow your example! :)

Thanks! I pointed that out in several places, that I thought starting a new year with Tolkien was a *fantastic* idea and glad I thought of it. No one seemed impressed, so I'm tickled pink you called me out on it. LOL It's a little hard to get into, but having read the others I'm enjoying it anyway... a little tiny bit at a time. HA!

The Silmarillion

FINALLY done! I thought I'd never finish! Maybe 52 books for this year is a bit lofty, with my twin toddlers, but I'll keep at it and see how far I get.

Then, maybe my view is just skewed since I started with Tolkien. Following up with some YA, some cozy mysteries, and then delving into some classics!


Started: Jan. 13 Completed: Feb 13 Rating: 4/5

Review: I enjoyed this book the further in to it I read. It was hard to get into, and dense as Tolkien tends to be. I enjoyed the music theme of the creation stories in the beginning, but then I'm a musician and tend towards that sort of thing. There were a few sections I wish I'd had mind to skip, but towards the end I found myself rooting for characters once again and excited to know parts of the story which I'd missed previously. I'm excited to re-read the original books at the end of this year and next year after reading this. Gandalf is still the greatest!

Yay! Congratulations on finishing it :) I bet you will make up for some of the lost time with easier reads. Even if you don't, twin toddlers is an excellent reason not to read as much as you might like!

You have lots of time to reach your goal. As long as you are enjoying yourself that is all that matters!!!

Thank you all! Wow, I didn't really expect responses! LOL

Updated the top with my next few reads. Hoping to blast through some stuff! V-Day Murder hopefully will be a "today only" read. We shall see....

Dalynn...now I want to read that book. Just the thought makes me want to buy it. Let me know how good it is.

Sure Anna! Which one, the V-Day Murder one?

Well, i DID read it all in one day! *applause*

Valentine Murderby Leslie Meier

To be honest, I wasn't all that impressed. I usually like cozy mysteries, but it's been a few years since I've actually read one. Not sure if I've fallen out of love or if this one just didn't do it for me. Going to edit above and add my review - it wasn't Valentine-y at all! :/

ETA: links, and the fact that I might shorten my above review after I've more up there. I don't like to read long reviews but have a hard time writing short ones. Thought I'd leave up the long version for a bit for Anna and anyone else.


Started: Feb. 14 Completed: Feb 14 Rating: 3/5

Review: Honestly, I was quite disappointed in this book. This is the 5th book in a series, but the first I've read from this author.

Firstly, it wasn't Valentine-y at all except in that it occurs in February, and at one point some Valentine cookies and cupcakes are baked, but that's it. And don't be fooled by the cover.

Lucy Stone, the main character, is borderline neglectful of her children at times - allowing her teenage son and daughter to talk dirty online, and even leaving her 4 year old daughter in the car alone, more than once.

There is unnecessary use of expletives (only 2 or 3). I think that the husband's only purpose in appearing in the books is for the occasional romantic/inappropriate banter. (Direct quote: "Really. Now, where's my supper, woman?") The characters were largely undeveloped, even the main ones. The writing was near what you'd expect from a cozy mystery - I read the entire book in a single day.

I only gave the book 3 stars instead of 2 because I did enjoy the story line itself. I hadn't a clue who did the murder (usually I guess wrong, but the perp was usually in my list of suspects at some point). I think she has a great start for a much better book here, but was extremely disappointed by not only the writings but some of the themes and the incredible shallowness of all involved characters.

I have two more books by this author on my shelf. As OCD as I normally am, I'll have a hard time NOT reading them, but I'm absolutely thinking about it and I likely won't look forward to reading any more from her. I won't be pursuing the series beyond what I have in my possession already, for sure!

Another one down! Gonna catch up by the end of the year, I'm determined!

Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Started: Feb 15. Finished: Feb 18. Rating: 4/5

Review:
An enjoyable read and a decent depth for being considered YA, Eragon propelled me to a fantasy world which was familiar enough to be comfortable but not so imitating as to be insulting to the masters of the genre. In fact, I was thrilled that Paolini did not try to alter the epic definitions of the high elves, or of the dwarves, and - this being one of my first dragon reads - feel that his incorporation of dragons as a rare and revered species into the previously accepted fantasy standards is fitting and welcomed.

Obviously a first novel, I sometimes felt that loose strings were tied-off too abruptly. The answers and 'secrets' eventually revealed never were hidden terribly well in the first place, but at their final revelation I felt a slight sense of letdown because of the abruptness and rushed-through feeling left. I'm used to cheering on the characters as they finally reveal their secrets, and while I was only slightly disappointed by feeling like the secrets weren't all that secret (it IS a YA novel, after all), Paolini - in this being his debut work - has not yet mastered the art of climax.

But we can't all be Tolkien, now can we?


Very enjoyable and looking forward to the rest of the series. 4 stars, considering the YA status.

Wow Dalynn, that's an awfully big book to have read in 3 days, I'm impressed! :)

Well... it's 4 days actually, counting some reading having been done today as well. I did quite a bit of reading yesterday but averaged about 100pgs a day. It was quite the easy read, and I guess it kept me more engrossed than I'd realized.

And it might explain why hubby was banging things around and washing pots by hand in the kitchen earlier. ;)

But thanks! Counts for the title search too, though I'm trying to remember where I'm keeping track of that. I know I put it somewhere.

Next up is H.G. Wells The Invisible Man which I'm looking forward to as a super short read. :)

So want to read The Invisible Man! Will have to read it soon. Hope it's good (:

It IS good, Adriana! Done and done! ;)

The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
Started: Feb 18. Finished: Feb 20. Rating: 5/5

Review: This was quite the enjoyable read, keeping me engaged from the very beginning. Parts were funny, some were scary, some were sad, but as a whole story quite good.

I was saddened by the inevitable ending. I really wish someone early in his life would have helped him, understood him, stood by him - before he was drawn to make the decisions he did. Alas, there was no other way to end it.

Very happy to find the explanation of how he became invisible, and WHY. I think Wells did excellently not starting with this information and enjoyed the mystery-feel of the first several chapters. One for information, I was quite pleased that he did explain himself towards the end.

Short read, but one of the best. Loved it!

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Started: Feb 21. Finished: Feb 21. Rating: 5/5

Review: From the beginning, this one had me glued to the page. Of course, we all know the story and I do wonder how it would be if I hadn't known from the beginning the identity of Hyde. I had been worried that the story was scary, or would at least unnerve me; instead, I found the story highly allegorical and was thrilled to find the parallels to Paul's writings in Romans:

"For I know that in me dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would do I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me."

Excellent story, excellent example. Fantastic read, and short to boot!

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Started: Feb 23. Finished: March 7. Rating: 4/5

Review: I enjoyed this classic sci-fi piece immensely! I'm fairly picky about my sci-fi, and this one really fit the bill. I didn't know the story at all; just knew that there was some futuristic (for the time) underwater ship and that they spent a lot of time in the ocean. I hadn't even realized that the 20,000 leagues was the length of the trip! I thought it was that far down; so I was a little disappointed there I suppose, but that's my own ignorance and the other makes much more sense of course.

There was quite a bit of descriptions concerning shells and fish which I found myself glazing and skimming right past, and didn't feel like skimming those passages took away from the story at all.

I was also a little disappointed in the ending, which is probably why I couldn't rank that last star. I was disappointed to not ever receive any more information about Captain Nemo. There are a couple of hints there at the end that, remembering some of the scenes from earlier, I could guess a thing or two; but it was too much guesswork with no assurances of my guesses being correct, and still way too much left to the mystery for my liking. I like all the loose ends tied off by the end of the book!

Great story though, and quite the adventure! Glad I finally read this one!

Finally got this one done! Spring fever has hit me and my house pretty hard. LOL

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Started: March 10. Completed: March 18. Rating: 3/5

Review: I have to admit a little disappointment in these short stories. They were, at times, darker than I'd anticipated, and contained elements of controversial morality that I don't feel necessary to enjoy a story. I usually avoid those stories, but made an exception for such a classic of literature.

Sherlock is (view spoiler)[a cocaine addict (hide spoiler)] which I hadn't realized. It doesn't play into the stories at all, and isn't mentioned terribly often; just isn't something I enjoy reading about a character, and I don't feel that it added anything to either the stories or to the character of Sherlock Holmes. Whatever.

I also didn't find much enjoyment in the finding of the ending. I felt that I had absolutely no chance to solve the crimes, except maybe in a single story. Don't get me wrong, I'm not usually correct when I guess the end of a mystery; but I do enjoy having the opportunity to make a guess. Without Holmes' foreknowledge, let alone the sight which the written word excludes, the reader has little to NO chance of solving these crimes on his own.

The stories themselves were engaging and well-written, but I found the book more and more difficult to pick up and read. It just didn't hold my interest the way I'd hoped and assumed it would (being a lover of mysteries). I'm glad I read it and will likely continue through the collections I own, but mostly for the academic benefits and with much less enthusiasm than previously.

Are you planning to read all the GOOD classics because so far you are (:

How did you read that book! Is that volume 1 or...?

Just checking in here! I haven't had time to read in quite a while! Not sure I'll be making my goal, but maybe I'll get some good down time later in the year. My sister got married this past weekend, so hopefully that will help some with free time!

Yes Adriana, in case this notifies you that I've replied, I do plan on reading quite a few classics this year. I had it marked as one per month but I ended up kind of focusing there for a bit. :P We'll see how it works out! I have quite the classics tbr for sure! Not sure what you mean by asking how I read that book.... It is the first short story collection, I believe. There is a novel, maybe two, before it.

Sarajayne - thanks for asking! I hope to jump back in here pretty quickly. I have a friend reading the Left Behind series which is on my list as a re-read (the first 9 are re-reads, anyway), so I plan to pick up that this weekend or this next week sometime! Hopefully!


Plugging along with our homeschooling and will be posting some of those reads soon as well. :)

Haven't been getting in much reading time!

Added a non-fic book I finished a while back. It was decent but not impressive; wasn't what I expected it to be. I expected it to be, from the title, a study on the Biblical book of Proverbs. Instead, it was a topical study of "wisdom" and didn't bring me any huge, new revelation of God's Word. It may for some, so I'm not NOT recommending it, but I was just underwhelmed to say the least.

Currently reading The Book Thief as well as a couple of non-fics, and have several eBooks for review lined up as well. Expanding my blog to include book and product reviews, so hopefully I'll pop in here more often!

We'd love to have you visit us more often! I completely adored The Book Thief and would love to hear what you thought of it.

Enjoy The Book Thief, Dalynn! I also loved it.