Book Challenge 2018

[jexxica]

New Year, New Challenge!

How many books do you wanna read this year? I'm gonna be a little bit ambitious and I'll pick 40. Last year my challenge was 35 and I read 36, so I'm feeling optimistic about this year.


My list so far:

1. Chicas muertas by Selva Almada (current read)

 

[MON]

I plan on reading 50!

Although, I haven't started yet. However, here's my recent purchase. Haven't opened it yet though

1. What Happened - Hillary Rodham Clinton

 

[Lausanne]

Last two years I set a goal to read 15 books and I managed to do it. This year will be even busier so I will stay at 15 again even thought I would try to challenge myself and read 20.

1. Markus Zusak - The Messenger (currently reading, started last year)

 

[Piet Retief]

Last year I wanted to read 50 books and succeeded :-)

this year I want to read 50 books as well, but I only read 3 books so far. Two of them being super sort plays: Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and Sophokles' Antigone. They were both great though

 

[softgrey]

I plan on reading 50!

Although, I haven't started yet. However, here's my recent purchase. Haven't opened it yet though

1. What Happened - Hillary Rodham Clinton

my friend got the audio and she kept sending me texts as she was listening to it about how amazing it was...
she was freaking out...
she said she hadn't realized so much stuff and that she came away with a whole new perspective...


now she is on a fierce mission to work on political stuff...
i mean, she was WAY more political than me beforehand, but i think that she was paying attention to the wrong things and didn't see the big picture before...
now she realizes there was a whole bunch of stuff she didn't see or understand and she's really pissed at herself for being strung along by these other people she was listening to, whoever they were...



would be interested to know what your reaction is once you've read it...

 

[softgrey]

Last year I wanted to read 50 books and succeeded :-)

this year I want to read 50 books as well, but I only read 3 books so far. Two of them being super sort plays: Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and Sophokles' Antigone. They were both great though

sounds like a damn good start...

 

[Piet Retief]

^ Absolutely. Immediately after, I went to my local book store and bought Oedipus Rex as well as several other classic plays

 

[jexxica]

I started the year with a few more Argentinian books mostly

1. Chicas muertas by Selva Almada
2. Las grietas de Jara by Claudia Piñeiro
3. Villa del Parque by Jorge Consiglio
4. Writing down the bones by Natalie Goldberg
5. El amor nos destrozará by Diego Erlan
6. La ridícula idea de no volver a verte by Rosa Montero
7. Después del invierno by Guadalupe Nettel
8. Letras hilvanadas by Victoria Lescano
9. Tarda en apagarse by Silvina Giaganti

And I'm currently reading
The second sex by Simone de Beauvoir
Las clases de Hebe Uhart by Liliana Villanueva

 

[jexxica]

1. Chicas muertas by Selva Almada
2. Las grietas de Jara by Claudia Piñeiro
3. Villa del Parque by Jorge Consiglio
4. Writing down the bones by Natalie Goldberg
5. El amor nos destrozará by Diego Erlan
6. La ridícula idea de no volver a verte by Rosa Montero
7. Después del invierno by Guadalupe Nettel
8. Letras hilvanadas by Victoria Lescano
9. Tarda en apagarse by Silvina Giaganti
10. Las clases de Hebe Uhart by Liliana Villanueva
11. Call me by your name by Andre Aciman
12. Las viudas de los jueves by Claudia Piñeiro
13. Tuya by Claudia Piñeiro
14. Cornelia by FLorencia Etcheves
15. Elena sabe by Claudia Piñeiro
16. Ta deuxième vie commence quand tu comprends que tu n'en as qu'une by Raphaëlle Giordano
17. Free love and other stories by Ali Smith
18. Una casa junto al tragadero by Mariano Quirós
19. Beber en Rojo by Alberto Laiseca
20. Sinfonía para Ana by Gaby Meik
21. Cine en pijamas by Maia Debowicz
22. Evil eye: four novellas... by Joyce Carol Oates
23. Virus tropical by Powerpaola
24. Casa transparente by María Luque
25. Amar como el cine by Natalia Trzensko and María Fernanda Mugica
26. Los mejores días by Magalí Etchebarne
27. Cuarenta y tres maneras de soltarse el pelo by Elvira Sastre
28. Putita golosa by Luciana Peker
29. Cómo desaparecer completamente by Mariana Enríquez
30. Foxfire by Joyce Carol Oates
31. A fair maiden by Joyce Carol Oates
32. Devotion by Patti Smith
33. Incest by Anaïs Nin
34. King Kong Theorie by Virginie Despentes
35. Amor y anarquía by Martín Caparrós
36. Tuer le pere by Amelie Nothomb
37. La mano del pintor by María Luque
38. Juliet, naked by Nick Hornby
39. Office girl by Joe Meno
40. Shibari by Juan José Burzi
41. The elementals by Michael McDowell
42. The bloody countess by Valentine Penrose
43. El origen de la tristeza by Pablo Ramos
44. A book of american martyrs by Joyce Carol Oates
45. Manual Sadomasoporno by Alberto Laiseca
46. Dicen de mí by Gabriela Wiener
47. Los deseantes by Juan José Burzi
48. L'asphyxie by Violette Leduc
49. Spy of the first person by Sam Shepard
50. Sharp objects by Gillian Flynn (re-read)


And I think I missed a few. There are also a lot that I haven't finished (yet, I hope; I'm always between many books) that there are not in the list.

 

[kissmesweet]

Wow, well done, jexxica. That's quite a list! I honestly thought that I was doing quite well this year until I saw your list.

Shout-out to Piet Retief and softgrey above. I also adore the mention of classic plays. I haven't read any in a while, but I've seen quite a lot of good theatre this year.

As for my list of books so far:

1. A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership by James Comey
2. China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
3. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
4. Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
5. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
6. Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
7. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Anna Shaffers and Annie Barrows
8. In Your Defence by Sarah Langford
9. Inheritance by Balli Kaur Jaswal
10. The Myth of the Nice Girl by Fran Hauser
11. Notorius RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik
12. Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
13. Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan
14. Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle by Dan Senor and Saul Singer
15. Thanks, Obama: My Honey, Changey White House Years by David Litt
16. Tribe: on Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger
17. What a Fish Knows by Jonathan Balcombe
18. When the Facts Change: Essays 1995 - 2010 by Tony Judt
19. Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? by Alyssa Mastromonaco

All of the books I've read thus far have been pretty darn great. Happy to discuss them as always!

 

[kissmesweet]

A quick update from me!

1. A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership by James Comey
2. China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
3. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
4. Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
5. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

6. Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
7. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Anna Shaffers and Annie Barrows
8. In Your Defence: Stories of Life and Law by Sarah Langford
9. Inheritance by Balli Kaur Jaswal
10. The Myth of the Nice Girl by Fran Hauser

11. Notorius RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik
12. Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
13. Remembering Shanghai: A Memoir of Socialites, Scholars and Scoundrels by Claire Chao and Isabel Sun Chao
14. Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan
15. Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton

16. Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle by Dan Senor and Saul Singer
17. Thanks, Obama: My Honey, Changey White House Years by David Litt
18. Tribe: on Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger
19. What a Fish Knows by Jonathan Balcombe
20. When the Facts Change: Essays 1995 - 2010 by Tony Judt

21. Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? by Alyssa Mastromonaco

 

[TheoG]

1. New People by Danny Senza
2. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
3. A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
4. There There by Tommy Orange
5. Heads of the Colored Folks by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
6. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
7. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
8. The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon

LOL at my list in comparison to everyone else but this is most I've read in years other than school textbooks. But I hope to add a few more before the year is over.

 

[kissmesweet]

@TheoG You're doing well. Some very interesting choices, I bet!

Another update from me. Finished reading a play (bolded below

1. A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership by James Comey
2. Beginning by David Eldridge
3. China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
4. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
5. Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

6. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
7. Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
8. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Anna Shaffers and Annie Barrows
9. In Your Defence: Stories of Life and Law by Sarah Langford
10. Inheritance by Balli Kaur Jaswal

11. The Myth of the Nice Girl by Fran Hauser
12. Notorius RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik
13. Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
14. Remembering Shanghai: A Memoir of Socialites, Scholars and Scoundrels by Claire Chao and Isabel Sun Chao
15. Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan

16. Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton
17. Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle by Dan Senor and Saul Singer
18. Thanks, Obama: My Honey, Changey White House Years by David Litt
19. Tribe: on Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger
20. What a Fish Knows by Jonathan Balcombe

21. When the Facts Change: Essays 1995 - 2010 by Tony Judt
22. Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? by Alyssa Mastromonaco

 

[axiomatic]

My list for 2018:

1. Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor
2. Promise Me, Dad by Joe Biden
3. Lost Horizon by James Hilton
4. Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdich
5. Authority by Jeff vandermeer
6. A Working Woman by Elvira Navarro
7. Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls
8. Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins
9. Ultraluminous by Katherine Faw
10. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
11. PawPaw by Andrew Moore
12. Sing, Unburied Sing by Jessmyn Ward
13. To the Back of Beyond by Peter Stamm
14. The Teeth of the Comb by Osama Alomar
15. Elmet by Fiona Mozley
16. Acceptance by Jeff vandermeer
17. The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston
18. Blue Hour by Laura Pritchett
19. Out in the Open by Jesus Carrasco
20. Poison by Gail Niederhoffer
21. Lacking Character by Curtis White
22. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
23. The Vegetarian by Han Kang
24. The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
25. The Hue and Cry at Our House by Benjamin Taylor
26. A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck
27. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
28. First Person by Richard Flanagan
29. Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper
30. That Bright Land by Terry Roberts
31. Sleepwalking by Meg Wolitzer
32. Boomsday by Christopher Buckley
33. Dreaming the Bear by Mimi Thebo
34. You Are One of Them by Elliott Holt
35. The Truth by Michael Palin
36. The Opposite House by Helen Oyeyemi
37. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
38. In the House in the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt
39. The Gardens of Kyoto by Kate Walbert
40. Florida by Lauren Groff
41. Wild Milk by Sabrina Orah Mark
42. The Incendiaries by RO Kwon
43. The Lion's Binding Oath by Ahmed Ismail Yusuf
44. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
45. Dead Mountain by Donnie Eichar
46. Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson
47. Things to Do When You're Goth in the Country by Chavisa Woods
48. Becoming by Michelle Obama
49. Transcription by Kate Atkinson
50. Denali's Howl by Andy Hall
51. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
52. A Pale View of the Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro

 

[jexxica]

1. Chicas muertas by Selva Almada
2. Las grietas de Jara by Claudia Piñeiro
3. Villa del Parque by Jorge Consiglio
4. Writing down the bones by Natalie Goldberg
5. El amor nos destrozará by Diego Erlan
6. La ridícula idea de no volver a verte by Rosa Montero
7. Después del invierno by Guadalupe Nettel
8. Letras hilvanadas by Victoria Lescano
9. Tarda en apagarse by Silvina Giaganti
10. Las clases de Hebe Uhart by Liliana Villanueva
11. Call me by your name by Andre Aciman
12. Las viudas de los jueves by Claudia Piñeiro
13. Tuya by Claudia Piñeiro
14. Cornelia by FLorencia Etcheves
15. Elena sabe by Claudia Piñeiro
16. Ta deuxième vie commence quand tu comprends que tu n'en as qu'une by Raphaëlle Giordano
17. Free love and other stories by Ali Smith
18. Una casa junto al tragadero by Mariano Quirós
19. Beber en Rojo by Alberto Laiseca
20. Sinfonía para Ana by Gaby Meik
21. Cine en pijamas by Maia Debowicz
22. Evil eye: four novellas... by Joyce Carol Oates
23. Virus tropical by Powerpaola
24. Casa transparente by María Luque
25. Amar como el cine by Natalia Trzensko and María Fernanda Mugica
26. Los mejores días by Magalí Etchebarne
27. Cuarenta y tres maneras de soltarse el pelo by Elvira Sastre
28. Putita golosa by Luciana Peker
29. Cómo desaparecer completamente by Mariana Enríquez
30. Foxfire by Joyce Carol Oates
31. A fair maiden by Joyce Carol Oates
32. Devotion by Patti Smith
33. Incest by Anaïs Nin
34. King Kong Theorie by Virginie Despentes
35. Amor y anarquía by Martín Caparrós
36. Tuer le pere by Amelie Nothomb
37. La mano del pintor by María Luque
38. Juliet, naked by Nick Hornby
39. Office girl by Joe Meno
40. Shibari by Juan José Burzi
41. The elementals by Michael McDowell
42. The bloody countess by Valentine Penrose
43. El origen de la tristeza by Pablo Ramos
44. A book of american martyrs by Joyce Carol Oates
45. Manual Sadomasoporno by Alberto Laiseca
46. Dicen de mí by Gabriela Wiener
47. Los deseantes by Juan José Burzi
48. L'asphyxie by Violette Leduc
49. Spy of the first person by Sam Shepard
50. Sharp objects by Gillian Flynn (re-read)
51. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
52. Ladrilleros by Selva Almada
53. Diaries by Alejandra Pizarnik
54. The Painter of Modern Life and Other Essays by Charles Baudelaire
55. Little women by Louisa May Alcott
56. La ilusión de los mamíferos by Julián López
57. Entre dos ríos by Romina Zanellato

 

[gius]

I didn't have a goal or number in mind, just wanted to keep reading...

I got up to #178