The 2014 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread!

[Rumpelteazer]

I finally finished my first book of the year! The Man in the Moss by Phil Rickman. It took me a week to read (the second half I read yesterday and today) because I was either too busy or too tired to read. Hopefully from this week on everything will be back to normal again and I'll have more time to read.

[pdurrant]

Just finished my sixth book of the year, but this one was a short story. Unfortunately, I've already bought 9 books this year... although only three that weren't subscriptions or this month's Baen Bundle.

But I am still within my budget.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Book number three was The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes. Time to head on the road to Guatemala next.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Xanthe

I've got four done so far. I'm now reading Linda Castillo's Kate Burkholder mystery series so that'll add a few more when they are done.

How are you liking the series? I had high hopes for it, but I didn't love the first book when I read it last year--the plot seemed just okay, and I wasn't expecting quite so much gore.

[Xanthe]

I was surprised at the gore/graphic descriptions, but I did like the book. I figured out early on whodunit, but that didn't stop me from getting caught up in the story.

The plots of the next two books are a bit more twisty, but are still gory. I thought I knew who did it in the second book but I didn't get it quite right; the third book fooled me. I'm liking the exploration of the Amish culture. Makes me glad when I visited Lancaster County in PA that I always asked before I took a photograph.

This may seem strange, but if you get the DIY channel, check out the show "Vanilla Ice Goes Amish". The show is set in an Amish community in Ohio, and is well done; it respects the culture and really shows the qualities the books try to convey. So when I read the Burkholder series, I can visualize the settings and have actual people in my mind when Kate interacts with the Amish and goes to their farms.

My quibble about the series is Kate's constant identification with the young Amish female teenagers. The reason for it, based upon her past history, is understandable but I think that point is getting a bit overworked by the end of the third book.

[Fbone]

My 2014 challenge will be to read 18 books all of which I already own. This means any books I purchase won't be read until 2015.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Fbone

My 2014 challenge will be to read 18 books all of which I already own. This means any books I purchase won't be read until 2015.

Good luck! But it does mean you can wait for bargains and price drops on paperback releases...

[treadlightly]

Goodreads took the "rate you are reading at" description off the user page for the Reading Challenge - the "You are 1 book behind" message. I miss it!

[Yapyap]

Originally Posted by treadlightly

Goodreads took the "rate you are reading at" description off the user page for the Reading Challenge - the "You are 1 book behind" message. I miss it!

There's a long thread of complaints about this in the Goodreads Feedback forum. They've promised to discuss it, so we'll see... I miss it, too! (I also miss having the "View books" link in the challenge widget right on the Goodreads home page, instead of having to click View Challenge and then View books, but that's a lesser quibble.)

[Geralt]

They have this though



In your feed.
I miss that option in the challenge. Wish they bring it back.

[treadlightly]

Originally Posted by Geralt

They have this though



In your feed.
I miss that option in the challenge. Wish they bring it back.

I'm sorry but I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "your feed". Do you mean if you use a widget like in a blog sidebar?

[Geralt]

Originally Posted by treadlightly

I'm sorry but I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "your feed". Do you mean if you use a widget like in a blog sidebar?

No, it's on your profile page under Recent Updates. That's your recent updates feed

Though, as I said, its a bad and sad replacement for 2013 challenge widget.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Xanthe

I was surprised at the gore/graphic descriptions, but I did like the book. I figured out early on whodunit, but that didn't stop me from getting caught up in the story.

The plots of the next two books are a bit more twisty, but are still gory. I thought I knew who did it in the second book but I didn't get it quite right; the third book fooled me. I'm liking the exploration of the Amish culture. Makes me glad when I visited Lancaster County in PA that I always asked before I took a photograph.

This may seem strange, but if you get the DIY channel, check out the show "Vanilla Ice Goes Amish". The show is set in an Amish community in Ohio, and is well done; it respects the culture and really shows the qualities the books try to convey. So when I read the Burkholder series, I can visualize the settings and have actual people in my mind when Kate interacts with the Amish and goes to their farms.

My quibble about the series is Kate's constant identification with the young Amish female teenagers. The reason for it, based upon her past history, is understandable but I think that point is getting a bit overworked by the end of the third book.

Thanks. Maybe I'll try the second one after all. I would have preferred a lot less gore and a lot more Amish culture. Have you tried the P. L. Gaus Amish mysteries? That's another series I've been considering.

I don't think I get DIY channel; at any rate, I don't see the show listed in the current guide. By the way, there's a Lifetime TV movie of the first Kate Burkholder book, called An Amish Murder--I saw only part of it, though.

[Yapyap]

Originally Posted by Geralt

No, it's on your profile page under Recent Updates. That's your recent updates feed

Though, as I said, its a bad and sad replacement for 2013 challenge widget.

Hmm. I cannot see mine anywhere under my own Recent Updates, even though I can still see the last book I finished (last night) there, amongst other updates, so it should have refreshed the challenge stats as well.

I wonder if there is some setting somewhere that one has to set?

[Geralt]

I don't know. I think if you have a lot of updates, it gets "pushed" down. I expect it will "disappear" as soon as I add more books ~.~