2012 Challenge Wrap-up

Why yes, this is a little late. How astute of you.

So I thought we'd take a quick look at the challenges I signed up for last year, and how I got on with them. It seems to be A Thing this time round that hardly anybody completed their challenges and there's a lot of challenge-free-2013 talk going on. Not for me though! I love these things. I don't really mind that I only completed one as it still pushed me to read things that I may not normally have bothered with.

Overall, I challenged myself to read 129 books - simply based on the fact that I read 128 books the year before and I try to up it every year. Yeah, so that didn't go so well. I ended on 103, which is quite obviously nowhere close. Still, I started Law School in September along with an awful lot of related projects, so it was only to be expected.

Still, the books I did read were good ones - I finally got round to Anna Karenina, The Hobbit and The Phantom of the Opera, all of which I've been meaning to read for years. All in all, I'm pretty happy with 2012.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Challenge

Only the best people fail appallingly at their own challenges!

On the bright side, it was unlikely I'd have read any of these books if it weren't for the challenge, so it's a success in that respect. I'm especially glad I got to read The Phantom of the Opera, as I ended up falling completely in love with it.

I read 4 out of 9 books:

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells  

The Mixing it Up Challenge

It's strange - although I read quite a variety of different genres, there are some that I never read. Non-fiction science, for example, or even biographies. I was quite strict with my categories, but even so - it might be something to think about in 2013!

I've only just noticed I used Jonathan Safran Foer twice...


I read 12 out of 16 books:

Classics - Daughters of the Vicar by D.H. Lawrence
Cookery, Food and Wine - Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
History - An Utterly Exasperated History of Modern Britain by John O'Farrell
Modern Fiction - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Graphic Novels - The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore
Crime and Mystery - Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie
Horror - Dracula by Bram Stoker
Romance - Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Science Fiction and Fantasy - Reserved for the Cat by Mercedes Lackey
Journalism and Humour - Moranthology by Caitlin Moran
Children's and Young Adult - Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez
Social Sciences and Philosophy - The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson



The Terry Pratchett Challenge

Ohhh, this one did not go well. I think it's because I use the Discworld books as something to read if I don't really want to read, if that makes any sense.

This year I've had so many great books on my TBR shelves that I never really felt the urge to pick up a Terry Pratchett novel.

I read Good Omens because a friend of mine was reading it at the time and reminded me how amazing it is, but Snuff was just an attempt to knock a book off for the TBR Challenge.

I read 2 out of 7 books:

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Snuff by Terry Pratchett 


The What's in a Name Challenge

This challenge is one of my favourites, not least because I actually managed to complete the damn thing. And yes, I do feel like I deserve a fanfare for that.

It's just a fun challenge, I guess. I like scanning my book titles for words that would fit into a particular category! I've even signed up for the same challenge this year :)  


I read 6 out of 6 books:

A topographical feature - The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan 
Something you'd see in the sky - Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch 
A creepy crawly - Lord of the Flies by William Golding 
A type of house - Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut 
Something you'd find in a handbag - Red Glove by Holly Black 
Something you'd find on a calendar - 11.22.63 by Stephen King 

The Telling Tales Challenge

I could probably have easily finished this challenge if other books hadn't gotten in the way. I had so many ideas for different books I could use, and ones that I actually wanted to read too!

Alas, it was not to be. If I'd had more time, I'd have completed it for sure. However, it was such a great idea that Bex is running it again this year - click here to go join in! 

I read 4 out of 10 books:

Reserved for the Cat by Mercedes Lackey (Puss in Boots)
Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright (Guess.)
The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines
Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon   

The TBR Challenge

This is the challenge I put the most effort into, without a doubt. A simple concept, just to read books bought before 1st January 2012, but harder than you'd think.

I know I didn't complete it, but I considered every single book I picked up and whether it would fit into this challenge. The last book I bought in 2011 was a big leather bound collection of Edgar Allen Poe stories that sticks out quite far off the shelf, so it was easy to use that as a marker - everything to the left of that, I could read.

I ended up at 31, but there's no way I'd have read some of these if it weren't for this challenge. I discovered some great books too - The End of Mr Y, for example, had sat on my shelf for more than a year before I picked it up and I ended up loving it.


I read 32 out of 50 books:

Rivers of London (Peter Grant series #1) by Ben Aaronovitch
Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie 
Daughters of the Vicar by D.H. Lawrence    
The Mozart Conspiracy by Scott Mariani 
Nemesis by Agatha Christie 
Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright 
The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy 
The Auschwitz Violin by Maria Angels Anglada 
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safron Foer
Dracula by Bram Stoker  
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol.2 by Alan Moore 
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells 
Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
Shopaholic & Sister by Sophie Kinsella
The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines 
The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho 
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen 
Delusions of Gender by Cordelia Fine
Midnight Alley (Morganville Vampires series #3) by Rachel Caine 
Feast of Fools (Morganville Vampires series #4) by Rachel Caine 
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender 
White Cat (Curseworkers series #1) by Holly Black 
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard
Bumped by Megan McCafferty 
Unnatural Issue (Elemental Masters series #7) by Mercedes Lackey
Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult 
Lord of Misrule (Morganville Vampires series #5) by Rachel Caine
The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas 
Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon
Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Heroes of Olympus: The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan 

The Project Fill in the Gaps Challenge

This one doesn't really count because it's not over yet, but I wanted to talk about it anyway.

The idea is to read 100 certain books of your choosing over five years - I began this year, so logically I should be at 20 by now. Here's my list.

I read 17 out of 100 books:  

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding 
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen 
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
Dracula by Bram Stoker 
King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard 
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel 
The Lady with the Little Dog by Anton Chekhov
The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy 
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien 
The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho 
The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas   
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer    

How do you feel about 2012? Are you taking on any for 2013?

Top Ten Books I've Read in 2012

A week long event to wrap-up 2012, since we're so very nearly at the end. Click on the banner above to join in.

We start with my favourite list - the top ten books I've read this year. Click here for last year's list. These are in no particular order and weren't necessarily released this year.

1) 11.22.63 by Stephen King

Obviously. I rambled about this enough in my 2012 Book Survey for this to be a given.

Like I said, it's rare to be able to pick one clear winner for the Best Book of 2012 but if I had to, this would be it.

This is the book the word 'amazing' was created for.

2) The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I can't believe it took me so long to get round to reading this book. I liked Lord of the Rings but found it a little heavy at times, which is why I've been putting off this one, I think.

I just couldn't believe how accessible it was. I know it's aimed at a younger audience, but it made a huge difference. I was captivated at every moment and was more than a little disappointed when it ended.

 Long story short - even if you didn't like Lord of the Rings, read The Hobbit.

3) The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas

Part sci-fi, part philosophy, part mind-fuck.

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I picked up The End of Mr Y - I'd heard wonderful things but found Our Tragic Universe to be interesting but basically plotless.

Obviously I ended up loving it (else we wouldn't be sat here talking about it now), but I was unprepared for how much I'd love it. It was so clever, yet so accessible and genuinely interesting to boot.

I pretty much want to read everything Scarlett Thomas has ever written.

4) The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

Another surprise. I read this for my (almost over) League of Extraordinary Gentlemen challenge, and to be honest, it was kind of grudgingly. I felt like I should read at least one more off the list and grabbed this one because I'd never read it before.

It's really good! Completely, completely different to the musical and 2004 film. It's much cleverer and creepier and generally, well, better. 

And now I've read it, it's clear that the cover to the left is much more appropriate than those white mask and rose covered ones. 

5) The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe

Because hey, we were starting to get a little serious there.

I love this series though. Apparently they were created only to amuse the author's girlfriend, but the result is a set of hilarious, light books that I'm more than willing to reread again and again.

The film wasn't brilliant, but half the charm is in the narration so how could it be anywhere near as good?

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The above five books are the ones that jumped into my head when thinking about this list. I didn't have to consult LibraryThing or scan my shelves - I just knew that they were the best of the best. They're the 'Gold' books, shall we say.

The books below still comprise the remainder of my Top Ten - it's just that they didn't stand out quite as much as the above.
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6) Lord of the Flies by William Golding

I'd been warned off this by quite a few people actually. I'd been told it was weird and over-dramatic, but I ended up really liking it. It may just have been my low expectations, but I found the atmosphere thrilling and loved every minute. 

It's doubtful I'd ever watch a theatre or film version, but it's likely I'll be returning the book at some point. I can understand why it's not for everybody, I suppose, as some parts are pretty horrific but for me, that's kind of the point - the atrocities committed by children (and therefore people) in the name of authority and structure.

7) Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

And now for something completely different! You just couldn't get a more opposite book to the above than this one, which is funny considering that I read this right after it.

Once again, I didn't even want to bother. I was sent it as an unsolicited review copy and only read it out of that sense of obligation we all get from time to time.

To my surprise, it was amazing. I can be picky with YA, but I just fell in love with this one, cutesy teenage book though it may be.

8) The Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Another YA book, although with more of a dystopian/horror twist.

This is (very) loosely based on an Edgar Allen Poe story, so it's obviously very dark. Add in plague, creepy masks and unexpected backstabbers and you've got an unbelievably good story.  

I stayed up until past 2am reading this, and then sent it to a friend who did exactly the same thing. I think the next book to this series is my most eagerly anticipated book EVER.

9) Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

I laughed so hard I cried with this book, on more than occasion. I don't normally laugh out loud at books, so the fact that I did so frequently here says a great deal. It's almost beyond funny.

I admit to losing interest once or twice with the more serious matters (hey, I'm fickle) but on the whole it's a hilarious memoir involving ethical taxidermy and clinical depression.

10) The Heroes of Olympus: The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

I wasn't that fond of the book before this in the series, so it took me a while to get round to this one. To my pleasant surprise, I discovered that Percy Jackson himself is back and so are a good number of the other characters.

It's much, much more interesting and nearly as good as the original series. It also ends on such a cliff-hanger that I'm desperate to read the next one!

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Honourable mentions (or Bronze, if you like):

What's Left Of Me by Kat Zhang, White Cat by Holly Black, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, Starters by Lissa Price, Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton.

What are your best books of 2012? Join in the fun here.

2012 Book Survey

I just can't believe it's been a whole year since I did this survey. Looking back at last year's survey, those books seem so long ago!

Now though, we're back with a whole different set of books to choose from! Like last year, I'll be looking at only books that I've read for the first time in 2012.

1) The Best Book of 2012

This is usually ridiculously difficult. This year? Not so much.

11.22.63 by Stephen King is one of the best books I've read ever, never mind in 2012. It's not just a time-travel book - it has romance, mystery, creepiness and a healthy dose of mind-fuck to keep you entertained. It's beyond amazing.

It seems strange to have one clear winner for this category, but there just wasn't a book that could match it this year.

I'm not going to bother with honourable mentions because no doubt I'll be doing a 'Ten Best Books List' soon, and honestly, just go read 11.22.63.

2. Most Disappointing Book/Book You Wish You Loved More Than You Did?


I'll probably be alone on this one, but that's fine. 

Last year How To Be A Woman by Caitlin Moran featured prominently on this list. I loved it and immediately wanted to read it again - possibly out loud and to everybody in the vicinity.

Moranthology though... I was expecting more than a collection of the unrelated essays already published in The Times. She talked a lot about TV shows that I hadn't seen, name-dropped in almost every article and occasionally bordered on outright offensive.

It did have a few redeeming qualities like her moving article of euthanasia, but otherwise I was more than a little disappointed.

Oh, and another book I'll definitely be alone on, The Fault in Our Stars. We really didn't get along.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2012?

Now this one has a few contenders!

I only finished The Hobbit a few days ago and fell completely and utterly in love with it. I liked Lord of the Rings but remembered it as being quite difficult to get through at times. Not so with The Hobbit! The time flew by and I now feel bereft that I never again get the pleasure of reading it for the first time.

Lord of the Flies needs a quick mention here too. I'd been warned off it by a good few people and only picked it up out of some strange sense of duty. I don't really know what I was expecting, but I found a tense, atmospheric story that still haunts me now.

From a lighter genre, Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer was a huge surprise. It arrived as an unsolicited review copy that I wasn't particularly excited about, but it turned out to be so amazing that I trekked to Manchester to get it signed.   

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?

This has to be a tie between 11.22.63 and The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe. 

I know of a few bloggers who finally relented and read the latter due to my incessant prompting and I've been encouraging people to read 11.22.63 ever since I turned the last page.

I've been recommending both to pretty much everybody I know - I even pulled out a copy of Pirates! to show a barrister at a Middle Temple function!


5. Best series you discovered in 2011?

Hmm. Well, The Masque of the Red Death and What's Left Of Me aren't series yet (in that the second books haven't been released), but I'll be first in line when they are.

Then there's The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists series and the Curseworkers books, starting with White Cat.

Oh oh, how could I forget? The best series I discovered this year has to be the Riyria Revelations by Michael Sullivan series - high fantasy, beginning with Theft of Swords.


6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2012? 

Scarlett Thomas! Bex from An Armchair by the Sea has been telling me to read her work for a long time, but I finally relented when I was alone at Lewis' with only Our Tragic Universe to entertain me. I immediately went on to read The End of Mr Y and fell completely in love with it, so Scarlett Thomas is now a firm favourite. 

Stephen King also needs a quick mention, if only because I'm getting withdrawal symptoms for not dropping his name for two questions.

The Gunslinger was the first book of his that I read... and I wasn't impressed. Now that I've read 11.22.63 (I did mention that, right?) though, he seems like a completely different author in my eyes, and I'll definitely be reading more.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

I suppose Anna Karenina was out of my comfort zone - I'm used to reading classics, but not 800 page Russian ones. I was more than a little intimidated when I picked it up, but I ended up really liking it. 

Otherwise, I read most genres so I don't really have a comfort zone as such. 

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?  

*waves at 11.22.63*

9. Book you read in 2012 that you are most likely to re-read next year?

Oh, good one. Hmm. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson made me laugh so hard I cried on more than one occasion, so it's a safe bet I'll be re-reading that one at some point. It has its faults, but it's well worth a reread just for the funny parts.

I might reread Between the Lines if I'm in the mood for something lovely and light. It's one of those instant happy books and I'll keep it in mind for the next time I'm feeling a bit glum. Even thinking about it makes me smile!


10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?

11. Most memorable character in 2012?

It just has to be Bilbo Baggins. I know I said in my review that he annoyed me, but he was somewhat loveable regardless. He always tries to do the right thing and genuinely tries to carry his own weight on adventures, however much he might wish he was safe at home.   

Without getting started on a Hobbit Film Rant (I'm good at those), I concede that Martin Freeman is the absolute perfect choice for Bilbo. I just can't imagine anybody better suited.


12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012? 

I struggled with this one and I tried so, so hard not to choose 11.22.63. But yeah, I'm going to anyway.

Did I mention there is nothing wrong with this book? Even the prose is stunning. It's formal yet accessible and makes the settings and characters come to life in a way I've never seen before. I still feel like I know those characters.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011?     
 
Look, I'm trying I really am.

But there's no getting away from the fact that 11.22.63 broke me. It took my heart, ripped it into tiny little pieces and stamped all over them, while gently stroking my hair as it did so. You know when your long-time boyfriend leaves you and you're devastated, but at the same time you kind of understand that it's for the best?

Yeah, that.  

14. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?  

The Hobbit. *sighs* Why I thought this list would end up as something other than bleating about the same three books again, I don't know.

But, as I said in my review, I loved Lord of the Rings, the books and the movies. They can be fairly heavy at times though, and I just haven't been in the mood for studgy epic fantasy - hence, I avoided The Hobbit.

I just can't believe how much I loved it and how long it took me to get round to reading it!

16. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2012? 

Pfft. I don't really keep track of quotes - I scribble down page numbers in my notes, and occasionally they make it into a review. I don't keep a Master List of Quotes, although I'm beginning to wish I did.

As such, I shall leave you with the following, from Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson: 

It was at this exact moment that the 'dead' rattlesnake suddenly started angrilily striking at Victor's leg. Uncoincidently, it was also the exact same moment that I ducked back into the truck, taking the spotlight with me and leaving Victor in the pitch-black darkness on an abandoned road, as the angry rattlesnake he was holding tried to murder him.
   "BRING BACK THE LIGHT," he screamed.
   "I TOLD YOU NOT TO GO OUT THERE!" I yelled angrily, as I quickly locked the doors (for some reason) and rolled up all the windows. I was worried about him and wanted to help him, but I couldn't help but think that he had brought this on himself.
    "BRING BACK THE LIGHT OR I WILL THROW THIS DAMN SNAKE IN THE CAR WITH YOU," he screamed, which was surprising, both because he sounded very vital for someone dying of snakebite, and also because he'd wrongly assumed that I hadn't automatically locked all the doors. He knows so little about me,  I thought to myself.
...
   After a minute to slow his breathing, Victor's voice was only vaguely controlled. "You left me alone. In the dark. With a live rattlesnake."
   "No. You left me alone. In the car. For a live rattlesnake," I countered. "So I guess that makes us even." There was a long pause as he stared at me. "But I forgive you?" I said.

17. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2012?

Even this requires repeating myself, can you believe it?

The longest was Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and the shortest was Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe. I sped through the latter in not much more than an hour, but it doesn't diminish it's value in the slightest.

 17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

Part of the reason I forced 11.22.63 on so many people was so I finally, finally had somebody to talk about the ending with. Since I finished it, all I've wanted to do is babble frantically about it to anybody who'd listen.

That is the main book that I've most wanted to talk about, but I'd also like to bitch about the ending of Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I didn't like this book that much, but the book has such a wishy-washy, cop-out ending that I'd really like to discuss it with someone and get another opinion, especially with the film coming out so soon.

18. Favourite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2012 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).

I haven't actually got round to reviewing Heroes of Olympus: The Son of Neptune yet, but you'll survive.

So I don't like romance in books, pretty much... ever. 97% of the books I've read could quite easily have done without it, especially when it's shovelled in to appease teenage girls. Percy and Annabeth though... I don't know, I love their relationship. It helps that the series is primarily aimed at boys and so the romance is a tiny, tiny subplot as opposed to the over-arching theme, but I like how subtle it is. It's been building ever so slowly for seven books and it just works perfectly.

19. Favourite Book You Read in 2012 From An Author You Read Previously

Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters books are like coming home for me. The second I see those tiny rows of text and recognise those familiar characters, I feel instantly at peace and ready to read.

Unnatural Issue came out last year, but I've only just got round to reading it. It's not quite as good as the earlier ones but it's a close thing.

Everybody with even the mildest inclination for fantasy should read these books.

20. Best Book You Read That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else

Hi Charlotte.

Remember when you told me about this book, the one about somebody finding Anne Frank living in their attic? Yeeaaaah, I read that book.

You know what it also has? Exploded chipmunks and people sticking their hands inside half-dead deer.   

I accept that you never represented to me that it was a good book especially since you've never actually read it, but I hold you responsible regardless.

Oh well, I love you anyway :) 

Hanna 

Join in the fun with the 3rd Annual End of Year Book Survey!