2016 Reading Challenge: done (or so I say)

[baronessekat]

Ok, I am giving up on my last book of the year. I have been trying to read Frankenstein... Since April. I have spent the last 2 hours trying to force myself to read it and get this book done. But i have only achieved reading 2 paragraphs.

I love gothic horror stories, but I have re-affirmed that I hate gothic writing.

So i am declaring myself done. I did not manage to do a unique book for every category. But the two I did not (romance set in the future and book written more than 100 years before you were born) i can double and use books I read for other categories.

But... I got 39 unique books read. I consider that a success. I might have gotten the last two categories done if I hadn't fallen down the rabbit holes that were "read the first book in a series then have to go read/listen to the rest" that hit me in the middle of the year.

Here's the full list of what I read:

1. A book based on a fairy tale: Blood Red by Mercedes Lacky
2. A National Book Award winner: The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
3. A YA bestseller: Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger
4. A book you haven't read since high school: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
5. A book set in your home state: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
6. A book translated to English: Let me In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Author), Ebba Segerberg (Translator)
7. A romance set in the future: (doubling - Winter by Marissa Meyers)
8. A book set in Europe: Macbeth: a Novel by A.J. Hartley
9. A book that's under 150 pages: Working for Bigfoot by Jim Butcher
10. A New York Times bestseller: I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
11. A book that's becoming a movie this year: The 5th wave by Rick Yancey
12. A book recommended by someone you just met: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
13. A self-improvement book: the life-changing magic of not giving a f*ck: hot to stop spending time you don't have with people you don't like doing things you don't want to do by Sarah Knight
14. A book you can finish in a day: Dragonbreath: Nightmare of the Iguana by Ursula Vernon
15. A book written by a celebrity: The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin
16. A political memoir: A Fighting Chance by Elizabeth Warren
17. A book at least 100 years older than you: (doubling - The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
18. A book that's more than 600 pages: Winter by Marissa Meyers
19. A book from Oprah's Book Club: Open House by Elizabeth Berg
20. A science-fiction novel: Wolf's empire: Gladiator by Claudia Christian
21. A book recommended by a family member: Brief History of Everything by Stephen Hawkings
22. A graphic novel: The Sandman: Overture by Neil Gaiman
23. A book that is published in 2016: Daybreak by Shae Ford
24. A book with a protagonist that has your occupation:Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal
25. A book that takes place during summer: Fantasy in Death by JD Robb
26. A book: Harbinger by Shae Ford
26a. and its prequel: Poison by Shae Ford
27. A murder mystery: The Garden Plot by Marty Wingate
28. A book written by a comedian: Girl with the lower back tattoo by Amy Schumer
29. A dystopian novel: Feed by Mira Grant
30. A book with a blue cover: You're Never Weird on the Internet by Felicia Day
31. A book of poetry: Directions to the Beach of the Dead by Richard Blanco
32. The first book you see in a bookstore: Heartless by Marissa Meyers
33. A classic from the 20th century: something wicked this way comes by Ray Bradbury
34. A book from the library: Dragonbreath: The case of the Toxic Mutants by Ursula Vernon
35. An autobiography: The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner
36. A book about a road trip: The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain by Bill Bryson
37. A book about a culture you're unfamiliar with: I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
38. A satirical book: No way to treat a first lady by Christopher Buckley
39. A book that takes place on an island: The Sculptor by Scott McCloud
40. A book that's guaranteed to bring you joy: The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher

Overall average rating for the books was 3.59

Summary as asked on Goodreads Forum:
Date you finished: 12/29/16
Favorite prompt (did something get you out of your comfort zone in a refreshing way?) Book guaranteed to bring you joy or A dystopian novel
Favorite book (could be different from the prompt) The Aeronaut's Windlass
Least favorite prompt: A book at least 100 years older than you
Least favorite book Open House and Frankenstein
"I hope they bring back this prompt in 2017" anything but Poetry or book at least 100 years older than you



I am now looking forward to next year's challenge

Comments

[sabriel-0405.livejournal.com]

Frankenstein was a slog because it took forever until something happened. I read it about 6 years ago. I remember being most startled by the easy affection shown by the men toward one another. It's disappointing that only gay men are allowed to display that much emotion in contemporary society.

[baronessekat.livejournal.com]

I got as far as the Nanny's trial and just had to accept that I couldn't do it.

I've tried other gothic horror stories where I like the story - Dracula, Jekyle and Hyde, Dorian Gray. I love the actual story but it's the writing that I loathe.