Challenge: 50 Books discussion

Actually, it's even a little after the second quarter, since it's almost July. How's the reading going? What are the best ones you've read this year?

42 books so far (out of a goal of 70)!

The best books of the year so far are probably:
Ready Player One
Locke and Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft (and the rest of the series)
The Art of Fielding
A Storm of Swords
The Fault in Our Stars
Moon Over Manifest

35 / 50 books so far!

Of the books I've read for the first time this year, without a doubt the best two books have been The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes and Shame: A Novel by Salman Rushdie.

dont laugh... im reading book 5 and 6. at least im finishing some!

Kate wrote: "42 books so far (out of a goal of 70)!

The best books of the year so far are probably:
Ready Player One
Locke and Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft (and the rest of the series)
The Art of Fieldin..."

I'm so glad you liked Ready Player One. My all time fave, even being pretty recent.

Alison wrote: "dont laugh... im reading book 5 and 6. at least im finishing some!"

Well it is supposed to be a Challenge :) Maybe you'll go fiscal year?

my favorites so far this year:
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood in a group read on this list

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

interesting that most of them are classics, although i read plenty of contemporary fiction.

i also got a lot out of Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the Bombing that Divided Gilded Age America by James R. Green. i learned so much from this history and it has set me off in a tangent of reading more about the labor movement in the US

i really started in may though. so if i go May-May, i should be ok.

Hi Everyone!

I'm coming up on 50 and I think for that one I'm going to read The Pillars of the Earth just because I want to read something really long for some reason. For now though I'm going to get started on Ready Player One later tonight.

As to my favorites that I've read this year:
The Art of Fielding
The Evangeline Heresy
The Beach
To Kill a Mockingbird

Very slow going - only 19/50. Favourites would include The Silence of the Lambs
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
I intend to pick the pace up for the second half of the year - just have to finish Lolita but it's like pulling teeth!

I'm at 42/50 this year, after only making it to 11 last year, haha. On a much better path!

The best books I've read so far are:

Animal Dreams
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Jesus Land
The Bean Trees
The Time Machine


=)

34/50 thus far. A decent pace.

Best books, or rather ones worthy of five stars, include:

The Long Goodbye
Island
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
The Book of Disquiet
Pride and Prejudice
Never Let Me Go
The Golden Compass
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope
Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter

Quite a few there, and Pride and Prejudice and The Golden Compass were rereads, but they are all of rare quality.

Arielle wrote: "Naomi wrote: "my favorites so far this year:
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier..."

Oo...this one is on my to-read list! Maybe I should pull this out next!"

i really enjoyed it. i'm sure that it's a book i'll read again. i hope you like it

Aubrey wrote: "34/50 thus far. A decent pace.

Best books, or rather ones worthy of five stars, include:

The Long Goodbye
Island
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
The Book of Disquiet
Pride and Prejudice
Never L..."

Hi Aubrey,
I just finished reading The Lady in the Lake by Chandler. Have you read the whole Marlowe series and if so do you think The Long Goodbye is the best one? Just curious.

lisa wrote: "Hi Aubrey,
I just finished reading The Lady in the Lake by Chandler. Have you read the whole Marlowe series and if so do you think The Long Goodbye is the best one? Just curious. "

Unfortunately, The Long Goodbye is the only one that I've read so far, so I'm not able to judge relative merits at all. I have to say though, if that one wasn't his best, I am very much looking forward to the one that is.

I've read 31 books so far this year. My favorites have been:

Homer and Langley - E.L. Doctorow
Marcelo in the Real World - Francisco X. Stork
84 Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff
True Colors - Kristin Hannah
Little Bee - Chris Cleeve
Tomb of the Golden Bird - Elizabeth Peters

Also enjoyed the Vicky Bliss series by Elizabeth Peters and the Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley. I read he's got a couple new books coming out soon. I can't wait!

Juli

I have read 25 books so far for my goal of 50. My favorites are:

TO BE SUNG UNDERWATER by Tom McNeal
STATE OF WONDER by Ann Patchett
HEADING OUT TO WONDERFUL by Robert Goolrick

50 books for the year should be no problem for me; making the 39-books-I-already-owned goal might be a little tougher (Darn that public library! It calls out to me! It sings, "Tiiiffanyyyyy, come visit meeeee. Come insiiiiiiiide.").

I've read a lot of good books this year -- Fahrenheit 451, This Is a Call: The Life and Times of Dave Grohl, The Beekeeper's Apprentice, The Thin Man, I Am a Pole (Yes, I'm a Colbert fan-girl. What can I say?), Cigarettes ... and now I'm reading the fifth Maisie Dobbs book. Geez, it's been a pretty good year. If I had to pick just two or three of "the best" so far (which we all know can highly depend on your mood when you're asked the question), though, I'd go for Fahrenheit 451, The Thin Man, Cigarettes (all books from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list -- coincidence?), and The Beekeeper's Apprentice (not a 1001 Books book, but a nice, charming, cozy read).

Tiffany wrote: "50 books for the year should be no problem for me; making the 39-books-I-already-owned goal might be a little tougher (Darn that public library! It calls out to me! It sings, "Tiiiffanyyyyy, come visit meee..."

at least it's the library calling you! for me, it's the local independent bookstore.

So far 33 out of 55 books, a head of where I thought I would be, but find I am getting too busy to read with the sunshine outside.

Naomi wrote: "at least it's the library calling you! for me, it's the local independent bookstore."

hehe. I'm *trying* to be good and stay away from bookstores. I'm trying to take the attitude that if I *really* have an urge to read a book that I don't own, to get it from the library rather than the bookstore or Bookmooch. (But cheap books! Used books! To keep! Forever!) :)

Right now I'm at 33 books and about to finish my 34th of the year. My goal is 60 for the year and I might make it, depending how many long books I decide to tackle before year's end.
Much like some of you, my original goal was to read more books from my personal library and fewer from the public library, but THAT didn't happen!
I'm also blogging about it as I go along. If you're interested, check out my blog:
http://maphead.wordpress.com/

I'm ahead! For the first time! I'm at about 36/37. And I'm going to keep up at this pace because I have to keep reading for my podcast. Yay!

I just joined, so I'm splitting the yearly goal in half to keep up with 2012. So far my best read are " The Kane Chronicles" all three books. I read them last week and they blew my mind away!

Earlier this week, I hit my goal of 50! Wooohoooo! Raised it to 75 and haven't read a book since haha.

Tiffani wrote: "Earlier this week, I hit my goal of 50! Wooohoooo! Raised it to 75 and haven't read a book since haha."

Congratulations!!

Tiffani wrote: "Earlier this week, I hit my goal of 50! Wooohoooo! Raised it to 75 and haven't read a book since haha."

Oh, Tiffani. That's kind of hilarious. Congratulations and good luck.

Faye wrote: "Tiffani wrote: "Earlier this week, I hit my goal of 50! Wooohoooo! Raised it to 75 and haven't read a book since haha."

Oh, Tiffani. That's kind of hilarious. Congratulations and good luck."

That is awesome !!! Congrats

Oh thank you, thank you Faye and Punkitaz!! I made up for my dry spell by reading 4 books in 2 days, haha >.<

I hope you ladies are doing well on your goals so far this year :)

Tiffani wrote: "Oh thank you, thank you Faye and Punkitaz!! I made up for my dry spell by reading 4 books in 2 days, haha >.<

I hope you ladies are doing well on your goals so far this year :)"

4 books in 2 days is just out of this world! You are my hero. So far I'm in book no 6 for my 25's half year challenge. (=^.^=)

I think I'm on 47 of 60. I'll have to go review to find the faves

Faves: journals of Joyce carol Oates, state of wonder and father of the rain