DL trying again in 2011

With 2010 being a year of profound change in my life, I wasn't able to do my reading challenges justice. In 2011 I'm going to try and incorporate as many of the sad, neglected books from my unfinished past challenges as I can along with looking forward to at least one catagory of 2011 new releases.

My first catagory is "11 from 10", meaning 11 books from my 2010 YouTube inspired challenge. I've picked one book from each catagory with the exception of my "horse" group, from which I picked 2 books, since I didn't manage to read any books at all from there:

1. Brightly Burning by Mercedes Lackey (horse)
2. Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop (horse)
3. Immortal Bonds by Dawn Scovill (vampire)
4. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (recommendations)
5. The Trouble with Harry by Katie MacAlister (names)
6. The Iron Dragons Daughter by Michael Swanwick (dragons)
7. Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brien (water)
8. The Snow Garden by Christopher Rice (let it snow)
9. Shadow Magic by Jaida Jones ?(sequels)
10. The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin (fantasy and sci-fi)
11. Make it So: Leadership Lessons from Star Trek by Wess Roberts (I want it all)

My second catagory will be "10 going backwards" which are the last 10 books from my 2010 Alphabet Challenge:

12. Zero at the Bone by Jane Seville
13. Yours Until Dawn by Teresa Medeiros
14. X-Men 2 movie novelization
15. Wolf Tower by Tanith Lee
16. Vampire Interrupted by Lyndsay Sands
17. Unshapely Things by Mark Del Franco
18. Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
19. Storm Warning by Mercedes Lackey
20. Return to Me by Julia Templeton
21. Quentaris in Flames by Michael Pryor

Number 3 for my challenge lists is "9 TBRs" which are 9 books from my primary and alternate TBR Challenge lists:

22. Pride and Prejudice byaustenjaneaustenjane::Jane Austen
23. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
24. Six Good Innings by Mark Kreidler
25. Buck Rogers in the Twenty Fifth Century by Addison E. Steele
26. Your Movie Sucks by Roger Ebert
27. A Wicked Way to Burn by Margaret Miles
28. Charmed Destinies by Catherine Asaro
29. Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
30. Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster

My fourth catagory will be 8 paranormals from my "Paranormal 1010 Challenge" list:

31. Heart of Stone by C.E. Murphy
32. Lightning by Dean Koontz
33. Mona Lisa Craving by Sunny
34. Ecstasy by Jacquline Frank
35. The Companion by Susan Squires
36. Dead After Dark an anthology
37. Ghost of a Chance by Kate Marsh
38. The Selkie by Melanie Jackson

Number 5 will be my "2011 New Releases" Catagory which are my (presently known) 7 most anticipated upcoming releases:

39. Angel: Maximum Ride by James Patterson (2/14/2011)
40. Ghost Story by Jim Butcher (4/5/2011)
41. Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward (3/29/2011)
42. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (4/5/2011)
43. Wildcat Fireflies by Amber Kizer
44. Heat Rises Nikki Heat #3 by Richard Castle 9/2011
45. Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews (5/31/2011)

Alternate: Wildcat Fireflies by Amber Kiser

9/25/2011 update - Looks like Flewelling's new Nightrunner release (which will actually be titled Casket of Souls and not The summer Players) has been put back to 2012...so my alternate Wildcat Fireflies it will be for this year (hopefully).

Number 6 is a new catagory for me I'll call "Too Many Romances TBR". I have a ton of romances to read so I'm listing 6 of them here:

46. Fallen from Grace by Laura Leone
47. The Darkest Pleasure by Gena Showalter
48. If I had You by Lynn Kurland
49. A Colby Christmas by Debra Webb
50. Kiss and Dwell by Kelley St. John Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. Liu.
51. Moongazer by Marianne Mancusi

As a personal rule I usually try not to switch up my lists after the challenge has already started. However, Kiss and Dwell was so moronic that I couldn't stand reading it after the third chapter or so, so I'm switching this to Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. Liu which is actually a romance I've listed on my challenge lists more than once in the past years and have never gotten to.

Number 7 is my "freebie" entry. I'll just be listing five random books that don't appear anywhere else as I go along. I'm never good at rigid structure...expect this to get finished up first!

52. Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead
53. Dark Mirror by M.J. Putney
54. Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
55. Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning
56. Dragon Soul by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett

Number 8 will be four of my "alternative fantasy tbrs":

57. Orphan's Quest by Pat Nelson Childs
58. Shadowdance by Robin Wayne Bailey
59. Door Into Fire by Diane Duane
60. A Business of Ferrets by Beth Hilgartner

Number 9 comprises three of my "non-fiction" tbrs -

61. Book-worm Droppings by Shaun Tyas
62. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sederis
63. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Frederick Stonehouse

Catagory number 10 are two sadly unread classics which were also listed on prior 1010 challenges:

64. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
65. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

And last but not least for catagory number 11 I hope to get at least one Early Reviewer book in 2011. I've been fairly lucky in the past six months so I'm thinking it could happen.

update! I received notice that I'll be getting Ghost Country by Patrick Lee from the November batch. I know I won't be reading it in December so I'll try to get it in for January, if it comes in by then.

66. Ghost Country by Patrick Lee

66 books doesn't sound as overwhelming as 100 last year.

I am reading Nikki Heat#2 for my 2011 challenge. I am excited to see #3 on your list! Do you know who ghost-writes them?

I think it is James Patterson. He's the one who I've seen most mentioned as the mystery writer. He's also been in a couple of the Castle eps.

I'm just going under the assumption that there will be another in 2011. It could turn out to be wishful thinking on my part LOL! I'm reading Naked Heat now and am enjoying it.

Really? Hmmm... I liked the Castle books better than I normally do James Patterson. I noticed you have the Maximum Ride book on your list. Did you read the originals When the Wind Blows and The Lake House? I liked them better than the YA adaptation. Would love to hear your thoughts...

I'm currently waiting anxiously for Angel's Maximum Ride entry :-) I do like like that series.

I haven't read any other books by him yet. I'll have to check out the two you've mentioned. Are they like adult Maximum Ride novels?

Yes, that's exactly what they are. They came first so they are different. I don't know if that means you'll enjoy them less or more but I found it interesting to see his idea evolve.

I will definitely have to check those out!!

I've updated my 2011 release list and added in an alternate. Just in case something I'm expecting to come out doesn't make an appearance for one reason or another.

I've finished the last challenge book on my list as my first book of 2011, my Early Reviewer book, Ghost Country by Patrick Lee.

Next up is an entry from my "Too Many Romances" catagory, Moongazer by Marianne Mancusi. I guess I'm on a post-apocalyptic kick as it is the theme behind both my picks so far.

Moongazer went fast despite the fact I didn't find it overly impressive.

I'm not sure what I'll try out tonight. I might just finish the manga I'm currently reading instead of picking my next challenge book.

I have a few in mind for my next challenge book, either Zero at the Bone, The Hounds of the Baskervilles or Bone Gods (which will wind up in my freebie catagory). Decisions, decisions....

I finished off the aforementioned manga (Two Flowers for the Dragon Volume 5 for anyone interested) along with the most recent volume of xxxholic (15? I can't remember) over the weekend and then moved on to start both The Hound of the Baskervilles and Zero at the Bone and have been switching back and forth between the two.

I rarely read two books at once, but since they are very different books with very different writing styles it makes it easier to keep the stories straight.

Last night I finished off both The Hound of the Baskervilles and Zero at the Bone. Starting off I'm already behind as I would need to read slightly over 6 books per month to meet my challenge total and this month I've managed only 4 books...but I guess I have time to try and catch up.

Up next is one for my freebie catagory, Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead which I have out from the library. I'm looking forward to seeing how this series ends.

I finished Last Sacrifice which was an enjoyable end to that story thread, although, I guess, not an end to the series. I am certainly willing to give the next story set in this world a shot when it comes out.

Last night I started Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase which is listed on this challenge and am also working bit by bit through one of my ER books, with another ER book waiting on the sidelines.

I did wind up concentraing mainly on one of my ER books which I finished last night; Dark Mirror by M.J. Putney. It was an enjoyable ya book. I'll have to read a bit more on my previous ER book along with my regularly scheduled romance novel.

I'm moving right along on my freebie entry, something I knew was inevitable. I finished off Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick yesterday and plan to start Shadow Magic tonight along with doing some catching up on my ER book, The Better Bladder Book and a couple manga I'm also currently reading.

However, for right now (or at least in a few minutes) I'm off to watch the ep of Castle I missed Monday night on the ABC website.

Just saw on Amazon that the new Nikki Heat story is coming out September, 2011 :-)

Although I did start Shadow Magic, my requested copy of Shadowfever came in at the library and was waaayyy longer than I originally expected, so I'm working on that in order to have it done by the return date. With it being a new and pretty popular release the odds of me being able to renew it are minimal.

Another off my list, this time a 2011 New Release, Angel by James Patterson (can't seem to find the right link again). Pretty much as enjoyable as the rest of the series, but it probably isn't a bad thing that there is only one more book to go for this storyline.

Now I'll be going back to Shadow Magic which I seem to keep putting down.

In a couple weeks I will be having surgery and will be laid up for a while. I'm hoping to catch up on a little reading during this time to get me back on track for the challenge.

Finally finished Shadow Magic which took a while, but was a very pleasant buddy story/fantasy/journey novel.

Up next is Yours Until Dawn by Teresa Medeiros.

Although I didn't participate in the "do nothing but read" day (it would have been impossible) I did read much more yesterday than I've read in one day in a year. Last night I finished Yours Until Dawn, it is the first time I've read an entire book in one day in over a year.

In honor of Easter today I am starting The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse which I picked up solely based on the title when I saw it on here a year or so ago.

I finished off The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse and liked it much better than I ever expected. Although...I did get a funny look from the anesthesiologist (sp) when I went in for my surgery on Tuesday when he asked what the name of the book I was reading was :-)

I tried reading Kiss and Dwell and just couldn't....it was just that horrible, so I've switched it for Tiger Eye, which has been on my TBR list before I even joined LT (so, a very long time).

For my next book I'll be starting Book Worm Droppings from my non-fiction catagory and Lover Unleashed which I just got in from the library.

I finished my most recent 11 catagory book, The Iron Dragon's Daughter and wasn't really thrilled with it. Now I'm reading my subsitute (as posted above), Tiger Eye, and am happily enjoying it much more.

I finished up Tiger Eye and think I'll read Tales of Beedle the Bard next. I'm in the mood for something quick and fun. Then I have a book out from the library that will probably end up on my freebie list.

So now that it is about halfway through the year I've checked and have discovered I'm way far behind...not even close to halfway through my challenge *sigh*

Anyway, I'm still moving on and we'll see how it all works out. I've started Dragon Soul (not on my list, but will be my last "freebie") in anticipation of reading my Early Review book.

Well, I did finish up my freebie entry *sigh* which means guilty feelings all around for reading anything not already listed on my challenge. Right now I'm in the midst of three books, although not very far into any one of them. I'm reading both Make it So and Fallen from Grace from my challenge lists along with Steelhands which is an ER book which I am also obligated to read.

Unless something really strikes me in the upcoming months, I will probably refrain from requesting any further ER books so I can concentrate on getting through this challenge.

Haven't yet finished Make it So although I plan to work on it this weekend along with an ER book from the spring which finally showed up in my mail a couple weeks ago.

Next up from this challenge will probably be A Business of Ferrets as my "alternative fantasy" catagory is the only one I haven't read at least one book from yet.

I'm having trouble locating A Business of Ferrets so that one will have to go on the back burner.

I did get a few pages each into Orphan's Quest and Me Talk Pretty One Day, along with getting a bit further along in Make it So this past weekend.

I made the most progress on Seduce me in Dreams (unfortunately not listed in this challenge) which is an ER book I received rather late, but wanted to read and review asap anyway.

I finished off Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris which was enjoyable. Haven't yet made it past the first chapter of Orphan's Quest and plan to start Wildcat Fireflies tonight if I can force myself to leave the Sherlock fanfiction stories alone.

I'm still working through Orphan's Quest which is going along pretty well now. It may or may not make it as my last book for this challenge as I don't believe I'll get to any others.

Ended off with 26 from this challenge for the year. *sigh* Don't think I'll be doing a challenge for 2012...

Looks like you had some good reading over the year, even if you didn't complete your challenge. Besides, it is all about the reading. ;-)

>43 lkernagh: Thanks for the encouragement :-) I'm still reading Orphan's Quest that I started back November. I actually got another chapter done last night. Slowly but surely...