Lisa's 5 in 15 Challenge

I'm back! Having taken a little break from category challenges, and challenges in general, it's time to jump in again.

I was talking to my book-addict friend from across the pond yesterday (who's not currently on LT). I noted that I will have read the fewest books in the last 5 years this year and I really need to read more (work and life got in the way this year). She mentioned that she had read the most books in the last 5 years in 2009 when we did the 9 in 9 challenge together - I told her about it from LT. She suggested we do another category challenge, and we came up with 5 in 15.

So, 15 categories and a lofty goal of 5 in each.

Here's to 2015!

Welcome back!

Welcome and here's to a great reading year!

2, 3> Thanks! Now to come up with some categories...
My categories will be pretty utilitarian - I'm not good at coming up with creative categories, but as long as they help me to read more broadly, they'll do.

Here's what I'm thinking about for categories:
1. Books from Lisa (my inspiration for the 2015 challenge)
2. Virago Secret Santa
3. Gifts
4. Non-fiction
5. Series
6. Sci-Fi
7. Fantasy
8. Mystery/Crime
9. Graphic Novel
10. Authors New to Me
11. Books obtained 2008 or earlier
12. 1001 Books
13. Easton Press/Franklin Library
14. Virago Modern Classics
15. Misc/Overflow

I've never read 75 books in a year and I don't think I will in 2015 with my work schedule and everything I have to read for work. I'm going to allow overlaps, but I'm not going to use them until the end of the year just to see what it ends up looking like.

Ideas for Category 1: Books from Lisa
I met Lisa in 2007 and we started giving each other books as birthday and Christmas presents - we got pretty out of control at times (12 books at a time) - and so I have a lot of TBRs from her. She's introduced me to Jon Ronson, Jo Nesbo, the non-sci-fi of Iain Banks, among others. I just checked and it looks I'll have 53 books to choose from this year! (And that's actually before I just entered 12 more books from Lisa...!) I'll include a few touchstones of high potentials shortly.
Bliss by Peter Carey
The Haunted House by Charles Dickens
Girl Reading by Kate Ward
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence

Ideas for Category 2: Virago Secret Santa
I have about 9 TBR in this pile, although most of them are Virago Modern Classics, for which I have another category. Here are 4 that aren't VMCs:
Reuben Sachs by Amy Levy
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
The Virago Book of the Joy of Shopping edited by Jill Foulston

Ideas for Category 3: Gifts
OK, so the first two categories are already gifts, but still I have a lot of these on my TBR pile...
A few ideas:
Top Secret: Shady Tales of Spies and Spying by DK Publishing
The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer
And something by David Baldacci - Stone Cold

Ideas for Category 4: Non-fiction
I obviously don't read too much non-fiction, as this is a huge category for only five books - oh well!
I'd like to read at least one biography of a US president, Martin van Buren is next on my list - I feel like browsing in a bookstore for something. I'm currently reading Spillover, which I'm really enjoying, but not 100% sure I'll finish by the end of the month, so it might count. A few other ideas:
Secret Lives of the US Presidents by Cormac O'Brien
More Book Lust by Nancy Pearl
The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived by Dan Karlan

I also think I may get back to reading The Guiness Book of the 20th Century - it covers every year in 2-4 pages, with pictures, I put it away somewhere and I need to dig it back up!

Ideas for Category 5: Series
I'm thinking of reading His Dark Materials. I also need to start over with the Wheel of Time and finish the series, now that it's finally over. There's also the Thomas Covenant series to re-read and finish off, The Books of Ember, Orson Scott Card's Ender books... hmm, what to do, what to do? I'm also thinking about Wool.

Ideas for Category 6: Science Fiction
Lots to choose from, I'll need to browse my library and come back with some ideas. And here they are:
Excession by Iain M. Banks
Starters by Lissa Price
Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
Things We Didn't See Coming by Steven Amsterdam
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin
Daemon by Daniel Suarez
Earthfall by Stephen Knight

Ideas for Category 7: Fantasy
Same as above, lots to choose from! I'll be back.
Imajica by Clive Barker
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin - or maybe include in Series...
Bite Me: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris - I have an omnibus version, Dead in Dixie, so I might be reading the first three.
Practical Demonkeeping: A Comedy of Horrors by Christopher Moore

Ideas for Category 8: Mystery/Crime
Something by Jo Nesbo, something by Sue Grafton...I'll browse and come up with some other ideas.
The Bat by Jo Nesbo - the first Detective Harry Hole book
A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton - I have an omnibus with her first three alphabet mysteries, so I may read all three.

Ideas for Category 9: Graphic Novels
I think I'll start with The Sandman: Vol 2 and I'd like to get Volume 2 of The Fables, Animal Farm. Not sure what else.
Locke and Key - got the idea from mamzel

Ideas for Category 10: Authors New to Me
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - idea from mamzel

Ideas for Category 11: Books obtained 2008 or earlier
TBD

Ideas for Category 12: Books from the 1001 list(s)
Vathek by William Beckford
The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
Cat's Eye and/or Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
The Immoralist by Andre Gide

Ideas for Category 13: Easton Press/The Franklin Library - I'm sure I've read some of these before (or parts of some of these before). It'll be good to read them as an adult. I think these all can overlap with 1001 as well.
Arabian Nights
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
The Life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Stern
Ivanhoe by Walter Scott
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
The Brothers Karamazov and/or Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky
War and Peace and/or Anna Kareninaby Leo Tolstoy

Ideas for Category 14: Virago Modern Classics - all or most of these overlap with the 1001 category as well.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall
The Passion of New Eve by Angela Carter
The Birds Fall Down by Rebecca West

Sounds like you have lots of good reading ahead. Why don't you include a category for books you read for work?

Thanks mamzel, I do a lot of reading for work, but it's not books, it's workpapers and reports...it might be interesting though to see how many pages of documents I have to review for work - I could keep track of pages read for pleasure and pages read/reviewed for work.

I looking forward to seeing what you read to fill out your categories!

Looks like a great setup! Enjoy your challenge.

BingoDOG!
This looks pretty fun, haven't done it before. Like many here, I'm not going to focus on it, but after reading a book, I will see if it fits anywhere here.

A wonderful Pirates card compliments of PawsforThought and LShelby:


9: With a Protagonist of the Opposite Gender: Things We Didn't See Coming
21: Translated From a Language You Don't Speak: The Bat
17: With Correspondence or Letters: The Universe Versus Alex Woods
23: With an LGBTQ Main Character: Affinity
12: Where Prophecies or Portents are Part of the Plot: The Oresteia
7: With a natural disaster: Their Eyes Were Watching God
4: You've Owned for More than a Year: The Left Hand of Darkness
13: Read a CAT: Gone Girl
14: Set in a country other than your own: Imajica
22: With scientists: Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic
5: With a mythical creature: Eyes of the Dragon First Bingo
16: Based on a fairy tale of myth: Fables, Vol. 2: Animal Farm
10: Published in 1915: Herland
24: That reminds you of your childhood: A Wrinkle in Time
2: Where an animal is of importance: The Wind in the Willows Second Bingo
6: That is a genre bender: How to be Both
8: Chosen by someone else: Pawn of Prophecy Third Bingo
18: Whose author shares an ancestor's name: Storm Front
15: By an LT author: Station Eleven
19: Inspired by another piece of fiction (1984): Little Brother Fourth Bingo
25: About autism: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Fifth Bingo
20: Centred around a major historical event: The Plague Sixth and Seventh Bingos
3: That is Completely Outside of My Comfort Zone: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten Eight Bingo

Have fun! Looks like a lot of interesting potential reads.

Love the pirate theme for your bingo card!

Thanks LittleTaiko and mamzel.

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I guess an overarching theme for my reading this year is that my plan is for it to be 99% books that I already own. I did kinda cheat and ordered the first five Detective Harry Hole books by Jo Nesbo and received them on Tuesday (I read the 7th one first and picked up the 6th, 8th and 9th earlier this year), but I guess that still makes them books I owned prior to 2015.

99% leaves space for the last book of the The Passage trilogy by Justin Cronin, much delayed but supposed to be out October of this year, and any gifts from Lisa that I can't resist.

What I'm reading in January:

The Bat by Jo Nesbo
The Oresteia by Aischylos - I finished Agamemnon on Wednesday
Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen

I just noticed March is the month for Q - now that I know that, it might affect the speed of my reading...I know, that sounds bad!

I'm less than halfway through it and it's quite dense. I am enjoying it - it is super interesting, but I just can't read it constantly, I have to put it down regularly. So, if it just happens to take me until March to finish, hopefully that's OK (guiltily looking around...).

>28 LisaMorr: - Hehe, I did something similar towards the end of 2014 too. Ordered some books so that I could consider them technically owned prior to 2015 which will help my ROOT challenge.

Welcome back! I'm interested in quite a lot of your categories. I'll be following along :)

Looks like you have a good reading plan!

>31 paruline:,>32 hailelib: - Thank you!

Books read for Category 1: Books from Lisa
1. The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence
2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
3. Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling
4. How to be Both by Ali Smith
5.

Books read for Category 2: Virago Secret Santa
1. Serenity: Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews and Will Conrad
2. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
3.
4.
5.

Books read for Category 3: Gifts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Books read for Category 4: Non-fiction
1. Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen
2. Them: Adventures with Extremists by Jon Ronson
3. Infographica by Martin Toseland
4. Uppity Women of Medieval Times by Vicki Leon
5. Indonesia, Etc.: Exploring the Improbable Nation

Books read for Category 5: Series
1. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
2. Castle of Wizardry by David Eddings
3. Enchanter's End Game by David Eddings
4.
5.

Books read for Category 6: Sci-Fi
1. Things We Didn't See Coming by Steven Amsterdam
2. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
3. Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
4. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
5. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Books read for Category 7: Fantasy
1. Affinity by Sarah Waters
2. Imajica by Clive Barker
3. Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings
4. Magician's Gambit by David Eddings
5.

Books read for Category 8: Mystery/Crime
1. The Bat by Jo Nesbo
2. The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
3. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
4. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
5.

Books read for Category 9: Graphic Novel
1. Fables, Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham
2.
3.
4.
5.

Books read for Category 10: Authors New to Me
1. Disposable People by Marshall Goldberg, M.D. and Kenneth Kay
2. Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
3. Storm Front by Jim Butcher
4. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
5. All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergaten by Robert Fulghum

Books read for Category 11: Books obtained 2008 or earlier
1. The Oresteia by Aeschylus
2. Eternity Road by Jack McDevitt
3. Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King
4. The Pride of Chanur by C. J. Cherryh
5. The Plague by Albert Camus

Books read for Category 12: Books from 1001 Lists
1. 1984 by George Orwell
2. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
3.
4.
5.

Books read for Category 13: Easton Press/Franklin Library
1. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
2.
3.
4.
5.

Books read for Category 14: Virago Modern Classics
1. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
2. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
3. Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood
4.
5.

Books read for Category 15: Misc/Overflow
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

And because I have to read/review/edit so many pages for work, I'll give myself some credit for that...

Lisa I love your categories and how cool is it that two Lisa's love books and gift each other.

I started the Harry Hole series last year as shared reads with one of the 75ers, Ellen. We are currently reading the 4th Nemesis. Harry is so out of control but brilliant.

>50 luvamystery65:: Thank you! It has become more and more of a challenge to get our books to each other in an economic way - we work for the same company but not in the same group anymore and it's less likely that we see each when we are traveling. So, we are now resorting to book mules... there is a guy who lives pretty close to Lisa in England who is still working in the same group as me, so I just need to figure who I can meet up with who will be working on a project at the same time/location as him, and meet up with that person and we do the exchange.

It was neat to read The Bat and learn a little bit more about why Harry is the way he is.

A few comments on my first two books of the year.

1. The Bat by Jo Nesbo
Category 8: Mystery/Crime
I liked this first novel of Jo Nesbo's Detective Harry Hole series. Harry is sent to Australia to assist in the murder of a B list Norwegian actress; he's really not meant to do much and the Australian police aren't that interested in having him there. He does end up helping them discover that this murder is actually part of long list of serial rape/murders. We learn a bit about Harry's history and his struggles with alcoholism.

2. Things We Didn't See Coming by Steven Amsterdam
Category 6: Sci-Fi
A slim book, I raced through it pretty quickly. I guess I'd call this an alternate history/post-apocalyptic/dystopia... The alternate history part is what would've happened if Y2K actually resulted in everything going haywire. This is written as a series of connected short stories - the connection being the narrator who we follow starting as a kid, when the Y2K incident occurs, through a variety of situations he goes through as an adult. There is time between the stories where you don't know exactly what has happened, exactly where he is in the US, and what the situation is. You don't get a lot of detail of exactly what happened during Y2K or why people are living the way they are, how the government has organized things after the crisis. I eat up apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic books and love the detail - I still really enjoyed this even without knowing actually what was going on and why. I recommend this.

3. The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence
Category 1: Books from Lisa
Alex Woods gets stopped at Dover border control with a bunch of pot in the glove compartment and his friend Mr. Peterson in an urn on the passenger seat. Then the novel proceeds to tell us about Alex getting hit in the head with a meteorite and everything that happens after. It's about astronomy, physics, psychics, neurology, atheism, assisted suicide, bullying, tarot cards and Kurt Vonnegut.

Seriously, this book has everything. The hard part will be where to put it on the BingoDog card - it has correspondence, scientists and is set in a country other than my own. It also refers to mythical creatures and seems to be inspired by the works of Kurt Vonnegut.

I do recommend it.

Oh wow, that really does cover everything. Sounds like something that could go horribly wrong if not done right. Sounds like it worked. Might have to give this a shot n

>54 LittleTaiko:: It's a great, fast read!

4. Affinity by Sarah Waters
Category 7: Fantasy
I hadn't planned to read this; in looking for something for the January SFFCat saw this at the bottom of the list of potential reads and I thought I had it around here somewhere.
Set in the late 1800's, this book is about Margaret Prior who will be turning 30 soon and is still unmarried. Her father died not long ago and she is still in mourning; mourning for her father and also for what she thought her life would be like. On the advice of one of her late father's friends, she decides to become a 'Lady Visitor' to Millbank prison. In the prison, she meets Selina Dawes, a medium in prison for assault and fraud. The book goes back and forth between the developing relationship between Margaret and Selina and a first person account from Selina that describes events leading up to her imprisonment. I did not expect the ending; it has you considering what was real and what was fake. Well done.

5. The Oresteia by Aeschylus
Category 11: Books obtained 2008 or earlier
Three Greek dramas by Aeschylus, Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers and The Furies make for an interesting trilogy. An understanding of what went on before the Agamemnon was important; I got a lot out of the Introduction and Notes. I know a lot of people understand the background of these stories, but just in case I will use the spoiler alert feature for my next comments (as soon as I figure out how to use it...be right back...).

Agamemnon returns victorious from the Trojan War and meets a tragic fate. His wife Clytemnestra greets him falsely and then murders him, ostensibly because he killed their daughter prior to leaving for the war (on advice from an oracle who said it would provide for smooth sailing).

In the second drama, Orestes, Agamemnon's son, returns to avenge his father's murder (Apollo told him to...).

The conclusion of the trilogy is the trial of Orestes, presided over by Athena, with Apollo as a witness for the defense and the Furies for the prosecution and 12 citizens of Athens are the jury.

This has been on the shelf for a long time - specifically on the shelf with the rest of my Easton Press/Franklin Library classics. Shelved alphabetically by author's last name, it was the first on the top shelf and I think that's why I grabbed it - it's a feeling that I need to read these classics, these books that I've had for a long time.

I'm not sure I can say I enjoyed these dramas. I did find them interesting - to see the murder of a husband compared to the murder of a mother, to see Apollo argue that the true parent is the father not the mother, as the mother only 'hoards the germ of life' (WOW!) and makes a comparison to Athena, who did not come from a mother's womb. Also, I found it very interesting to see a newer god (Athena) arguing with older gods (the Furies) and essentially assuage them through bribery...

January Review:
I've read 5 books this month, 1970 pages, and I'm actually really pleased with that. If I keep it up, I'll actually have a chance to read more this year than ever before, at least since I've been keeping track (which is since 2009, just after joining LT in 2008). I'm also happy that these were all books already existing in my library.

So, 5 books in 5 different categories:
The Bat (Mystery/Crime)
Things We Didn't See Coming (Sci-Fi)
The Universe Versus Alex Woods (Books from Lisa)
Affinity (Fantasy)
The Oresteia (Books Obained 2008 or Earlier)

I would say the best book of the bunch was The Universe Versus Alex Woods. The most underwhelming was The Oresteia.

Number of book bullets received: 8 (probably would've been a lot higher if I could've managed to read more threads here, is that a good thing or a bad thing?)

Books on the docket for February:

Their Eyes Were Watching God - Virago Modern Classics
Gone Girl - Books from Lisa, also fits RandomCAT
The Left Hand of Darkness - Sci-Fi, also fits SFFFCat

Need to think about the AlphaKit for February.

Gone Girl has been sitting on my shelf practically since the day it came out, I never seem to quite get to it. Looking forward to your comments on it, maybe they'll give me that little push that I need!

>60 DeltaQueen50: - Go for it! Just finished Gone Girl this morning - very good, very twisted.

Oh this is a wonderful challenge - I really need to be focusing more on reading the books I own! It's great that you get so many books as gifts, I find that I am always the one giving books but I rarely receive them. There are a lot of interesting-looking books here, I'll have to spend some time perusing :)

>62 SleepySheep: - Thank you! I guess people always know I'll enjoy getting a book, and I guess that makes it easier to shop for me.

Found a little time this weekend to read Their Eyes Were Watching God. I really enjoyed it.

I'd like to get through Imajica and The Left Hand of Darkness this week. My stretch goal is Ivanhoe, but I'm not sure I'll find the time. I'm traveling this week, and I get a lot of reading done on airplanes, so wish me luck!

I managed to finish The Left Hand of Darkness on 28 Feb - awesome book! I'm continuing to make my way through Imajica, and I'm finding that Clive Barker must have gotten some inspiration from Le Guin because I found some interesting similarities between the people of Winter and the mystif character in Imajica.

I'll come back on the weekend to summarize the books I finished in February and tie a bow on the month.

One really cool thing - I visited Kaboom, a used book store in Houston while I was there last week and I found 30 Virago Modern Classics to add to my collection, along with a few other cool finds, and a bunch of duplicates that I'll trade or give away to those in need. My day had started out with a flat tire in the hotel parking lot, and I felt much, much better at the end of the day after that haul.

>65 LisaMorr: What an awesome haul for you Lisa! I have never been to Kaboom. Must look it up.

>65 LisaMorr: Wow 30 Viragos!! That's exciting :)

>66 luvamystery65:: I have you to thank for the discovery...at least partially! I was planning on visiting Murder by the Book after learning about it on your thread, and I didn't think I would make it there by closing, so I searched for some other used book stores in the area and found that Kaboom was open until 8pm. The owner is very knowledgeable, he knew a lot about the books I was finding and piling up on the counter, and had others to recommend.

I did want to ask, how varied are the books at Murder by the Book, i.e., is it just mystery?

>67 SleepySheep:: Yes! I feel so lucky!

6. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Category 1: Books from Lisa

What can I say that hasn't already been said and that won't give anything away to the uninitiated? This has been on my list for a while; when my friend Lisa found out I didn't have it, it arrived from across the pond as an extra Christmas present. When I started seeing the commercials on TV for the movie, it looked so intriguing I knew I had to start it soon before I heard or saw too much.

The story starts with the disapperance of Amy, Nick's wife, and the suspicion that surrounds Nick. Very well written - I was definitely pulled in and felt like I was there in North Carthage, Missouri.

Let me just say that I am so thankful for the marriage I have. This is the most twisted relationship I could ever imagine.

7. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Category 14: Virago Modern Classics

A beautiful book, with joy and tragedy. This is the story of Janie, who grew up with her grandmother, who lived in the backyard of the white family she served, and who didn't know she was black until she saw a picture of herself as a little girl. Her grandmother only wanted the best for her, and so she arranged a marriage for Janie with an older man who had a farm - stability for Janie. When her husband was going to have Janie plow the fields, she ran off and married Jody - a man who was going to make a name for himself - and Janie again found herself unhappy, this time the wife of the mayor of a successful community in Florida. The third time was the charm, when Janie met and married Tea Cake, a simple man that would give Janie a happy, simple life. The book is filled with rich and luxuriant imagery.

8. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Category 6: Sci-Fi

So, what would a world be like if men could have babies? That's not quite the premise of this wonderful novel by Ursula K. Le Guin, but she does explore some interesting questions about gender and gender roles.

Genly Ai comes to the planet Gethen, known as Winter to him because it's always so cold, to convince the inhabitants to join the rest of the intelligent races in a collective known as the Ekumen. The people of Gethen are androgynous most of the time except when they are in their mating or fertile time, when they can exhibit either male or female traits - during different mating periods they can impregnate or be impregnated.

The book explores the biases we have in terms of how we treat someone if we know them as a male or a female - the ambassador of the Ekumen, Genly Ai, has to constantly remind himself he's not talking to a female or a male, and it affects his behavior to the people of Winter.

Is the reason why Winter has never experienced war because of the fact that every person on Winter can be a mother and a father?

February Summary

Only 3 books in February, which is a bit disappointing. Pages read = 1026. A lot of reading for work = 596 pages, so maybe I would've gotten 1 or 2 more books in without that!

3 books, 3 categories in Feb: Books from Lisa (Gone Girl), Virago Modern Classics (Their Eyes Were Watching God) and Sci-Fi (The Left Hand of Darkness).

Category Update:
1: Books from Lisa 2
2: Virago Secret Santa 0
3: Gifts 0
4: Non-fiction 0
5: Series 0
6: Sci-Fi 2
7: Fantasy 1
8: Mystery/Crime 1
9: Graphic Novel 0
10: Authors New to Me 0
11: Books Obtained 2008 or earlier 1
12: Books from 1001 Lists 0
13: Easton Press/Franklin Library 0
14: Virago Modern Classics 1
15: Misc/Overflow 0

All 3 books read in February were great; I'll pick The Left Hand of Darkness as the best of the lot.

Gone Girl and Their Eyes Were Watching God fit the Random Cat this month and The Left Hand of Darkness fit the SSSF Cat. And all 3 filled Bingo Dog squares.

In March, I'll see if I can change any of those zeros to ones - I will finish Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic for a non-fiction book and I just noticed that I had Serenity: Those Left Behind in my briefcase, a Virago Secret Santa gift from 2013 that I will breeze right through for an entry into that category.

My favorite category is Sci-Fi, and with the SSSF Cat this month, I have 3 books picked out - Eternity Road and Disposable People which can also go into the Books Obtained 2008 or Earlier category and also 1984 which can go into the Books from 1001 Lists.

And I'll finish up Imajica, which will probably end up in the Fantasy category.

>68 LisaMorr: Lisa I told my friend that went with me to MBTB on Saturday about Kaboom and we are planning an outing there.

Yes MBTB is primarily mystery. They have several genres of mystery including urban fantasy, espionage, police procedural, noir etc.. They have most of the shop divided up by Country/Category and there is a large shelf of Used books in the back that are strictly by alphabetical order (author). It's a fun quirky shop. I'd encourage a visit and half a block away is Brazos Bookstore which is a small independent bookstore with a nice helpful staff. Both stores have regular events so check your calendar when you are in town.

If you are interested in a meet up let me know. There are several places to eat or snack and have a coffee.

>73 luvamystery65:: Roberta that sounds like fun - MBTB is definitely worth a visit. I'm not 100% when my next trip to Houston is, but I will definitely be spending a lot of time there this year. I'll let you know and we can arrange something.

9: Imajica by Clive Barker
Category 7: Fantasy
845 pages
I picked this book for last month's AlphaCat and just wasn't able to finish it in time. I wanted to like this more than I did - I remember enjoying Clive Barker previously and this book just didn't do the trick for me. I kept thinking to myself - get with on with it already!

The premise of the book is that there are five Dominions within the Imajica, with Earth being one of them. Earth has been separated from the other four (and no one seems to visit the first Dominion, where Hapexamendios, the god of all, has his city). Two hundred years ago a Maestro tried to reconcile the five Dominions but failed miserably, resulting in much death and destruction. A group called the Tabula Rasa was formed to clear all forms of magic from Earth to prevent this from happening again. As the two hundredth anniversary approaches, it's time for another attempt at the Reconciliation.

It was probably about 200 pages longer than it needed to be, and I found the ending anti-climactic. Still, I was interested and I wanted to know what was going to happen next.

Lisa I went to drop off a rescue dog today in the Woodland Heights and since Kaboom was five minutes away from the address I went by. I only stayed briefly as I was with my friend and her 3 year old. I loved the place and I will go back soon and spend a long time there.

That's so cool Roberta!

10: Serenity: Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews and Will Conrad
Category 2: Virago Secret Santa
80 pages
I'm a huge fan of Firefly and Serenity so it was very nice to receive this short graphic novel as an addition to my 2013 Secret Santa Gift. I slipped it into my briefcase and started reading it on a plane somewhere and then forgot all about it. As I was cleaning out my briefcase I saw it and thought, perfect, something for my Virago Secret Santa category.
There's a wonderful introduction by Nathan Fillion and some gorgeous full page illustrations of each of the main characters scattered throughout. The story is a prequel to the movie Serenity. I like graphic novels and even though this is FIREFLY!!! I was disappointed. I could not follow along with exactly what was happening in the story - the illustrations were not clear enough to explain and the writing didn't fill in the blanks. I get what happened and why, but even with going back and looking very carefully at the illustrations, I definitely missed some details. I have not had this experience previously with graphic novels, so perhaps this is a one-off. So, I'll most likely give the next one in the series a try.

Last night I watched The Avengers which was directed and written by Joss Whedon. I'm not completely up on all of the Marvel comics movies and don't know if he was involved with any of the others. This one was fun, of course.

>75 LisaMorr:
I want to reread all of my Barker books, but I don't want to lose the love I had for them when I first read them so I'm wary. I do hope I'm not disappointed.

>79 mamzel:: I didn't know he had written and directed that one - I'll have to see it.
>80 -Eva-:: I'm keeping the faith that I will enjoy re-reading The Great and Secret Show and anything else I've got by him that I haven't read yet - hoping that this one was just a one-off.

11: Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen
Category 4: Non-fiction
520 pages
I picked this book up a couple of years ago and started to read it after we had our Ebola scare here in the US. Excellent book - he tackles Ebola, HIV, influenza, malaria and a bunch of diseases I hadn't heard of before and won't forget now. He covers each disease like a mini-mystery - I really found the book interesting. Highly recommended.

12: Disposable People by Marshall Goldberg, M.D. and Kenneth Kay
Category 10: Authors New to Me
316 pages
I'm still cataloging lots of my paperbacks and when I ran across this one I knew I wanted to read it sooner than later. Blazed through this tale of a pandemic that started in the US southwest and spread around the country like wildfire while the medical and scientific commmunities searched for the cause, the carrier and a cure. The virus kills 20% of the people it infects and the race is on to try to find a cure before the worst can happen - the collapse of the US as we know it, or being bombed by the rest of the world (our allies even) because they believe they can contain it if they just bomb us all into oblivion. A vaccine is discovered, but it kills 10% of the people and nobody wants to get vaccinated. They need to study the effects of the vaccine to try to make it safer, but with no one wanting to get vaccinated, some interesting questions arise. Written in 1980, it was a bit dated with a lot of sexism, but still good.

Interesting. Your comments reminded me of that US politician who suggested just last year that we should bomb Africa in order to contain ebola.

>84 RidgewayGirl:: That's right, I forgot all about that...so not so dated in some respects!

13: Eternity Road by Jack McDevitt
Category 11: Books Obtained 2008 or Earlier
338 pages
Eternity Road is a good post-apocalyptic novel, without being very dystopian. Some kind of plague practically wiped out the human race around 2079; this novel is set at least 200 years later. There are pockets of civilization, some that have been able to harness some of humankind's technology. But mostly the debris of human civilization lies around mis-understood. There is a rumor that in a place called Haven, surviviors of the plague stored as much as knowledge as they could. This book is about the second expedition to find Haven and what is stored there.

14: 1984 by George Orwell
Category 12: Books from 1001 Lists
328 pages
I thought I had read this in high school, but once I got into it, I realized that I hadn't. The whole idea of Big Brother is a cultural reference that I felt very familiar with, along with the Thought Police. The novel takes place in Airstrip One, which used to be known as London, in the megastate of Oceania. A very dark, disturbing vision of the future - all members of the Party have a telescreen in their homes, which both broadcasts Party announcements continuously and also monitors the occupants - Big Brother is Watching You, scream posters all over the city. If you are not caught in a 'thoughtcrime' by the telescreens, your children might turn you in. And when the Thought Police catch you, what seems like endless torture ensues.

This is an important classic novel that everyone should read. I do have to say that the second half of the book dragged for me, however I still highly recommend it.

March Summary

Six books read in March, 2427 pages, and in six different categories.

Imajica - Fantasy
Serenity: Those Left Behind - Virago Secret Santa
Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic - Non-fiction
Disposable People - Authors New to Me
Eternity Road - Books Obtained 2008 or Earlier
1984 - Books from 1001 Lists

It's getting harder to make progress on my BingoDog card - only two spots covered in March.

Category Update:
1. Books from Lisa 2
2. Virago Secret Santa 1
3. Gifts 0
4. Non-Fiction 1
5. Series 0
6. Sci-Fi 1
7. Fantasy 2
8. Mystery/Crime 1
9. Graphic Novel 0
10. Authors New to Me 1
11. Books Obtained 2008 or Earlier 2
12. Books from 1001 Lists 1
13. Easton Press/Franklin Library 0
14. Virago Modern Classics 1
15. Misc/Overflow 0

Five of the six books I read this month were in categories I hadn't yet ticked off, so I'm making good progress.

The best book of the month was Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic. Probably a tie for weakest - Imajica and Serenity: Those Left Behind - neither were terrible, I just had higher expectations for them. A good reading month!

April reading plans - I'm on vacation for three weeks and have brought a bunch of books with me!
Currently reading Them. Then Enchanted April.
Tales of Beetle the Bard
Lady Oracle
Eyes of the Dragon
Fables: Animal Farm
Uppity Women of Medieval Times
The Unconsoled
The Immoralist
Undeniable
Rebecca
Vathek

Are you reading them in an interesting place like on a beach or a patio overlooking a lovely valley somewhere?

>90 mamzel: On a Panama Canal cruise!

>91 LisaMorr:
Nice!

Enjoy your cruise!

Thanks!

Panama Canal is soooooo cool!!!

Hope you're enjoying your cruise! My BF's parents did a Panama Canal cruise a few years ago and really liked it. :)

Panama Canal cruise sounds amazing Lisa!

Enjoy your cruise, what a great sounding vacation!

Thanks - so far it is amazing! We've stopped in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua so far. Tomorrow morning we enter the Panama Canal.

So far on this trip I've read Them: Adventures with Extremists, Enchanted April (for the April RandomCAT), Tales of Beedle the Bard, Eyes of the Dragon and Fables, Vol. 2: Animal Farm (the last three for the April SFFFCat). I'm currently reading Uppity Women of Medieval Times (for the HistoryCat) and Lady Oracle (for the RandomCAT) and have just started The Path Between the Seas (for obvious reasons!).

I brought 10 books with me and having read 5 already in the first week of vacation, I was getting a little anxious. Luckily, they had a $5 sale at the ship's bookstore and I picked up 5 books, and then later returned to pick up McCullough's The Path Between the Seas, quite the tome, so I'm sure I won't run out of books to read now...

I liked The Path between the Seas when I read it a while back. Sounds like a fun cruise.

I can fully relate to that anxious feeling of running out of books to read while on vacation. It causes me to overpack. Luckily, I'm good at not packing too much of anything else, so it evens out.

>100 LisaMorr: I can only think of one vacation where I ran out of reading material. It was pre-Kindle. I had packed only what I thought I'd get to on the cruise/flight. I had to purchase something at the airport in Fort Lauderdale when the ship docked. The selection was limited, but I settled on one book. It was a spiritual memoir that had been raved about, but I personally found it a bit sad.

>101 hailelib:: The cruise was awesome! Wonderful time. I had barely started The Path Between the Seas when my husband picked it up, so I ended up digging into my other books and will get to that one later!

>102 RidgewayGirl: I won't tell you how many suitcases we brought with us, but one of my carry-ons was filled with books...

>103 thornton37814: That's interesting that you still remember that one book you picked up after the cruise!

Well, the last part of the cruise was really hectic with lots of port days and then after returning from a 3 week vacation on a Sunday, Monday back at work was brutal. It's almost 3 weeks I've been back and I am crazy busy at work and haven't read anything but stuff for work.

But a least I read 8 books on the cruise, so April was all right. I read pretty broadly too.

April Summary

8 books read, 2046 pages, in 5 different categories, and the first book read in 1 new category (Graphic Novels)

Two spots covered on my Bingo card, and finally a Bingo!

Category Update:
1. Books from Lisa 3 (+1)
2. Virago Secret Santa 1
3. Gifts 0
4. Non-fiction 4 (+3)
5. Series 0
6. Sci-Fi 1
7. Fantasy 2
8. Mystery/Crime 1
9. Graphic Novels 1 (+1)
10. Authors New to Me 1
11. Books obtained 2008 or earlier 3 (+1)
12. 1001 lists 1
13. Easton/Franklin Press 0
14. Virago Modern Classics 3 (+2)
15. Misc/Overflow 0

Favorite book: tie between The Enchanted April and The Eyes of the Dragon.
Least favorite: Lady Oracle - I have really loved some Margaret Atwood novels, but there are a few that didn't thrill me and this was one of them.

May reading plans

I'm traveling right now for work (again...) and have brought with me Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier which will fit in my 1001 category and also for the AlphaCAT; Herland which will fit my Sci-Fi category and the Random and SFFF Cats and my Bingo card; The Pride of Chanur which I think I will put in Authors New to Me and will fit the SFFFCat; and Vathek which will fit my 1001 category. I'm getting a late start and have a busy couple of weeks ahead of me with tons of work, but we'll see!

May Summary

4 books read, 1013 pages, in 4 different categories, and the first book read in 1 new category (Series)

Two spots covered on my Bingo card.

Category Update:
1. Books from Lisa 3
2. Virago Secret Santa 1
3. Gifts 0
4. Non-fiction 4
5. Series 1 (+1)
6. Sci-Fi 3 (+1)
7. Fantasy 2
8. Mystery/Crime 1
9. Graphic Novels 1
10. Authors New to Me 1
11. Books obtained 2008 or earlier 4 (+1)
12. 1001 lists 2 (+1)
13. Easton/Franklin Press 0
14. Virago Modern Classics 3
15. Misc/Overflow 0

Favorite book: tie between Rebecca and The Pride of Chanur.
Least favorite: Maybe it's better to say most disappointing? Although I wasn't terribly disappointed, I didn't love A Wrinkle in Time as much as I did when I read it way back when. And that's probably totally understandable given it's a YA book and I first read it as a YA.

June reading plans: Doomsday Book for the SFFFCat and the AlphaKit and will go into my SciFi category, The Wind in the Willows for the RandomCat and will fit my Virago Secret Santa category, Stone Cold by David Baldacci will fit the AlphaKit and my Gifts category, Hotel Transylvania by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro will fit the AlphaKit and my Books obtained 2008 or earlier category and How to Be Both for the HistoryCat and will fit in my Books from Lisa category.

I read Lady Oracle at too young an age (it's not really a book for tenth graders) but I remember finding it odd. I'll have to reread it at some point, once I've read all her others.

Will be interested to hear your thoughts on The Wind in the Willows!

Popping in to say howdy.

Bumping up your thread Lisa. Can't wait to meet up!

It was great to meet you Roberta! And I'm looking forward to the Jim Butcher book signing this weekend.

>112 rabbitprincess: I'm wondering if I should not have read the extensive notes in my Oxford World Classics edition of The Wind in the Willows before reading the book. All the talk about it not being a children's book and what the characters were meant to represent, the whole allegorical nature of it, I wonder if I would've enjoyed it more?

In any case, I'm glad I read it.

So, I've been pretty much consumed with work for the last few months. I've read a bit, but not nearly as much as I would've liked.

I'll need to think about my bingo card a bit - I think I will have covered a few more spots.

In June I read The Wind in the Willows and Doomsday Book. I really enjoyed Doomsday Book.

In July I read How to Be Both and a book recommended by my boss' boss (!), the first book of the Belgariad series, Pawn of Prophecy. I really enjoyed them both, and went on to blow through the remaining 4 books of the Belgariad.

In August, that would mean I read Queen of Sorcery, Magician's Gambit, Castle of Wizardry and Enchanter's End Game.

In September, I've read The Double Bind - very good!

Next on the docket is Station Eleven.

>116 LisaMorr: Hm, now I might have to track down an Oxford World's Classics edition to read those notes! Had no idea of the allegorical aspect of it -- although I did sometimes wonder about how the animals appeared to humans when interacting with them (would they be their normal size or human size, and could they shape-shift?).

>116 LisaMorr: & >118 rabbitprincess:
I want to read that version too now, but did read The Wind in the Willows as a child, so at least I still have that memory of it. :)

>118 rabbitprincess: and >119 -Eva-:: There are comments about the animals acting like humans, wearing clothes, etc., in the notes - and the fact that Mr. Toad has hair on his head, which doesn't quite make sense because he's a toad...
I did learn a lot from reading the notes - I'm still wondering though, should I have read them before or after...or read the book first, then the notes, then the book again... hmmm

>120 LisaMorr: One imagines a Trump-like hair topping rather than regular hair.

>121 RidgewayGirl: Yes, perfect image!

Summer Summary (June - September)

9 books read, TBD pages, in 7 different categories

Three spots covered on my bingo card, and two more bingos. I'll really have to focus if I want to complete the card...hmmm, time to browse my library with the bingo card in hand.

Category Update:
1. Books from Lisa 4 (+1)
2. Virago Secret Santa 2 (+1)
3. Gifts 0
4. Non-fiction 4
5. Series 3 (+2)
6. Sci-Fi 4 (+1)
7. Fantasy 4 (+2)
8. Mystery/Crime 2 (+1)
9. Graphic Novels 1
10. Authors New to Me 2 (+1)
11. Books obtained 2008 or earlier 4
12. 1001 lists 2
13. Easton/Franklin Press 0
14. Virago Modern Classics 3
15. Misc/Overflow 0

Favorite book: How to be Both, and close behind it The Double Bind

Looks like I need to pick out a gift that wasn't from Lisa or from a Virago Secret Santa and I need to pull an Easton/Franklin Press tome off the shelf.

Even though I had a bit of a slowdown over the summer, I'm still pleased with my progress and it's likely I'll exceed my books read per year since I've been tracking that number.

In October so far I've read Station Eleven and the first two Harry Dresden books, Storm Front and Fool Moon. Enjoyed them all and I'm now a Jim Butcher fan (it was super seeing him at a book signing event at Murder by the Book with Roberta/luvamystery!).

I'm going to Indonesia at the end of the month for the first time, so I plan on starting Indonesia Etc.: Exploring the Improbable Nation shortly and also Stone Cold for an entry in my gift category. I also need to peruse my Easton/Franklin Press bookshelf and take one with me on the long trip.

Enjoy your trip! Which islands will you be visiting in Indonesia?

>125 lkernagh: Thanks - I'll be going to Jakarta first for a few days, and then will take two flights and a boat to visit a facility in Tangguh, on the island of New Guinea. After 6 days there, I'll be heading back to Jakarta for a few days and then home. Should be a very interesting trip!

Oh, exciting trip!! Envy-fest over here!

Enjoy your trip! Will you tell us about it when you get back? Preferably with pictures?

>128 RidgewayGirl: Thanks, I hope to! Not looking forward to the anti-malarial medicine however...
I will report back - hopefully I'll have an interesting picture or two to share!

>127 -Eva-: I'm definitely looking forward to it, but as it is a work trip, it won't be as cool as if it were vacation...

Indonesia must be exciting, enjoy your trip!

>126 LisaMorr: - I don't know much about the islands you will be visiting. I spent part of my childhood years on Sumatra, which is why I was curious as to which islands you would be visiting. As for the anti-malarial medicine, it is greatly improved from what I remember, but they still have that horrid after-taste.

Made it to Jakarta, and just finished Indonesia, Etc. - a really good book on Indonesia. The author, Elizabeth Pisani worked in Indonesia as a reporter for Reuters in the Suharto years and then returned to Indonesia working as an epidemiologist specializing in HIV in 2001. Then she returned again in 2011 to travel all over Indonesia and write a book.

Before reading this book, my impressions of Indonesia were from watching the movie, The Year of Living Dangerously, with Sigourney Weaver, Mel Gibson and Linda Hunt (the movie is referenced as a resource in the back of the book, so I guess it wasn't too far off). I know a lot more about the diversity of Indonesia now and it was an enjoyable read, describing her year+ travels all over Indonesia.

October Summary

4 books read, X pages, 3 categories, closed out my first category - Non-fiction, and covered 2 more bingo squares (without even trying!)

Storm Front, Fool Moon, Station Eleven and Indonesia, Etc.

Category Update:
1. Books from Lisa 4
2. Virago Secret Santa 2
3. Gifts 0
4. Non-fiction 5 (+1) COMPLETE
5. Series 3
6. Sci-Fi 4
7. Fantasy 4
8. Mystery/Crime 3 (+1)
9. Graphic Novels 1
10. Authors New to Me 4 (+2)
11. Books obtained 2008 or earlier 4
12. 1001 lists 2
13. Easton/Franklin Press 0
14. Virago Modern Classics 3
15. Misc/Overflow 0

Favorites - Station Eleven was awesome and I'm so excited to have discovered Harry Dresden. Really all the books this month were good.

November reading plans - I pulled Vanity Fair of the shelf to tick one off for my Easton/Franklin Press category and also Stone Cold, one for my gift category. I also threw Lonesome Dove into my suitcase on this Indonesia trip.

November summary - no books completed! Ugh

Was a really busy month of work and travel. I did take Vanity Fair with me to Indonesia and read it on the long flights over and back (and intra-country) and still haven't quite finished it.

I will post some pictures and some comments on my trip - very interesting, but exhausting - but very glad I went and made the journey out to the jungle!

In December I will read at least 11 books because that's what I need to beat my most books read in a year (since I've been tracking this - since 2008). I'm going on vacation on 20 December, on a 12 day cruise to the Caribbean, so that's the plan!

Now need to figure out how to post pictures...

Welcome back! Glad to hear you had a great trip.

>136 LisaMorr: Will St. Thomas be one of your stops? Wave at the hills behind the town and my dad for me. You should have gorgeous weather!

>138 mamzel: Yes - first stop! We'll be waving! Looking out the window right now and considering the rain and show showers we'll be having tomorrow is making me sure look forward to the warmth, blue sky and sun we'll be seeing!

Traffic in Jakarta

Traffic in Jakarta

I don't actually know how we managed to get around without seeing or being part of any accidents. It would take anywhere between 30 minutes and 2 hours to get from the office to the hotel.

It looks like even the scooters are stopped.

I was recently in Naples, Italy and found the traffic fascinating.

After traveling for ~25 hours to get to Jakarta, spent 4 days before heading to West Papua on the island of New Guinea. It was necessary to spend the time in Jakarta to be able to get a permit from the government to travel to West Papua. So, on Thursday night, I boarded a 737 for a 3.5 hour flight to Ambon on the island of Maluku. We arrived in the middle of the night and waited a couple of hours before boarding a Dash 8 to fly to Babo in West Papua, a 1.5 hr flight. That was the first flight I've been on that had a 'jungle survival kit' as part of the safety equipment.

When the runway at Babo was extended to accommodate the Dash 8 airplane, about 100 bombs were discovered that were there from WWII, when both the Allies and the Japanese used the facility.

We took a bus down to the dock and then got on a boat for a 1 hr and 15 minute boat, finally arriving at our destination in the middle of the jungle.

>143 mamzel: Yes - there were so many of them that it was hard for them to get through sometimes also. It was interesting to see mom, dad, child and infant on the scooters, all wearing flip flops, and mom and dad with helmets on - oh and they would also be carrying everything, sometimes including the kitchen sink.

>144 RidgewayGirl: I remember the traffic in Naples - you had to be assertive, have initiative and great courage to drive there! On my last trip there, a guy from Milan was with us and had offered to drive - but even he couldn't handle the traffic in Naples!

>145 LisaMorr: Boy, I hope it was worth all that travel time! I can hardly stand the 14 hours it takes to get to my dad's every summer.

>147 mamzel: I guess I'm a pretty sturdy traveler - I make long haul trips several times a year.

I really like the uninterrupted time to read!

View of the jungle from my dorm room at the plant.

Saturday night is Karaoke and BBQ night.

Electric slide on BBQ night

Me teaching Betty the cha-cha.

A big herd of rusa deer wandering in the plant.

We didn't see any of these...

I finished Vanity Fair finally, and now the big push to see what I can get read by the end of the year. I'm heading off tomorrow to NYC and will be cruising down to the Caribbean.

The books I'm planning on bringing are focused on completing my Bingo card and then to see if I can finish 10 more books by the end of the year. I started Little Brother today and I've only got 200 pages left, and that will fit 'inspired by another piece of fiction'.

For 'about autism', I have The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. For 'centered around a major historical event', I have The Plague by Albert Camus.

For 'that is completely outside of your comfort zone' I have All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. For 'on a subject you're unfamiliar with', I have A Train of Powder by Rebecca West which includes three articles on the Nuremberg Trials, which I really don't know much about.

And finally for 'about language' I'm planning on reading Casual Lex.

So, that's six.

I haven't read any for my 'gifts' category (I had two other gifts categories - books from Lisa and Virago Secret Santa, just hadn't logged any other gifts!). So, I've pulled out David Baldacci's Stone Cold.

I have a graphic novels category, and have only read one this year, so I'm bringing Saga, Volume 1 and Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft.

I just received Angela Thirkell's Pomfret Towers today so I think I might go with that for the 10th one.

And those are the ones I want to finish by 31 Jan!

I'll throw a few more in my suitcase for the start of 2016. I haven't really properly set up my 2016 challenge yet, so I'll be doing that when I get back in January.

I hope everyone enjoys the end of the year!

Thanks for sharing your pictures!

Great photos! BBQ night looks like a lot of fun :)

>156 RidgewayGirl: You're welcome - and I learned a bit more about posting pictures!
>157 rabbitprincess: Thanks - it was a nice end to a long day!

I finished Little Brother yesterday - I enjoyed it. I didn't understand every detail about hacking that was described, but I have been noticing all the security cameras walking the streets of New York - smile, you're under surveillance! Fourth bingo!

I started The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time yesterday and it is a very good read.

Finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time last night and enjoyed it. We went to a play last night and I noticed that there is a play of this book currently on Broadway - how 'bout that!

Started The Plague this morning.

Bon voyage this afternoon with 3 sea days ahead, looking forward to lots of reading time during the day and ballroom dancing in the evenings.

Hope the weather is wonderful and you enjoy spectacular sun sets.

Lisa I know you are enjoying your cruise! Woohoo! Merry Christmas my friend.

Great pictures of your trip to Indonesia! Good to know traffic there hasn't changed much in the past 20 years. ;-) Thank you for sharing the pictures here. Wishing you safe travels and a wonderful holiday cruise!

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a merry Christmas and all the best in 2016!

>163 lkernagh:, >164 luvamystery65:, >165 lkernagh:, >166 rabbitprincess:
Thank you and I hope you all had a lovely Christmas as well!

Just arrived in St. Thomas and we're going to head over to St. John.

Finished The Plague and All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten and I've started A Train of Powder and I'm also dipping into Casual Lex.

Looks like you had a great trip - I'm not even a little but envious. Not at all. :)

>167 LisaMorr: we're going to head over to St. John
Good decision!
My dad told me they have been having excellent rain fall and that the islands are greener than they've been in a while. Hope that's true for the rest of your stops.

>167 LisaMorr: Hope you are enjoying your Caribbean trip! My brother and his wife are actually in St. Thomas right now as well -- maybe you'll run into them! :)

>169 -Eva-: Thanks Eva, arrived home yesterday and definitely enjoyed the trip!

>170 mamzel: Really enjoyed St. John - beautiful, relatively undeveloped, lush, great beaches.

>171 christina_reads: The cruise was very nice! I hope your brother and his wife enjoyed St. Thomas!

End Of Year Summary

I read 4 books in December (Little Brother, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, The Plague and All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten), bringing my 2015 total to 44 books, the most books I've read since 2008, when I read 47. I almost covered my bingo card, leaving only 2 squares un-covered (lesson learned - don't leave 6 squares left in December!).

Category Update:
1. Books from Lisa 4
2. Virago Secret Santa 2
3. Gifts 0
4. Non-fiction 5 (+1) COMPLETE
5. Series 3
6. Sci-Fi 5 (+1) COMPLETE
7. Fantasy 4
8. Mystery/Crime 4 (+1)
9. Graphic Novels 1
10. Authors New to Me 5 (+1) COMPLETE
11. Books obtained 2008 or earlier 5 (+1) COMPLETE
12. 1001 lists 2
13. Easton/Franklin Press 1 (+1)
14. Virago Modern Classics 3
15. Misc/Overflow 0

36% of the books I read were by women authors, a number I intend to bump up a bit in 2016.

Very happy with my category challenge this year and I'm going to adjust what I was originally going to do next year to make it similar to this year hopefully leading to even more books read in 2016.

End of Year Book Meme (from Lori - lkernagh)

Describe yourself: Gone Girl
Describe how you feel: How to Be Both
Describe where you currently live: Eternity Road
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Imajica
Your favorite form of transportation: A Wrinkle in Time
Your best friend is: Rebecca
You and your friends are: Uppity Women of Medieval Times
What’s the weather like: Storm Front
You fear: Them: Adventures with Extremists
What is the best advice you have to give: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
Thought for the day: Their Eyes Were Watching God
How I would like to die: Things We Didn't See Coming
My soul’s present condition: Serenity