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What can I say, besides I'm consistent with my yearly challenge titles :)



2018 ATY Challenge

1. A book with the letters A, T, and Y in the title: My Name Is Lucy Barton - 3/5


2. One of the first 10 in your TBR: Black Chalk


3. From the 2017 GR Choice Awards: Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook - 3/5


4. Four books linked by the elements (earth): Earth - 1/5


5. Inspired by real events: The Invention of Wings - 5/5


6. Originally published in a language other than English: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - 3/5


7. A Gothic novel: The Monk


8. An own voices book: And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic - 4/5


9. Has a body part in the title: White Teeth - 2/5


10. An author's debut book: Some Are Sicker Than Others - 4/5


11. A literary fiction: The Prince and the Pauper - 3/5


12. A book set in South America/Africa: The Feast of the Goat


13. A book centered around a secret: Men at Arms


14. Four books linked by the elements (fire): Fire - 1/5


15. A book with a unique writing/formatting style: A Wasteland of Strangers


16. A book of narrative nonfiction: Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief - 4/5


17. A book you expect to make you laugh: The Well of Lost Plots - 3/5


18. A book with a location in the title: They Came to Baghdad


19. A book nominated for an Edgar Award: The Lock Artist - 3/5


20. Rated 5 stars by one of your GR friends: The Girl in the Spider's Web - 4/5


21. Written in a first person perspective: Scott Pilgrim, Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour - 3/5


22. A book you have high expectations for: Dust - 3/5


23. A medical or legal thriller: Prey - 4/5


24. A book with a map: You Are Here: Personal Geographies and Other Maps of the Imagination


25. A villain's point of view: Hannibal - 4/5


26. A text only cover: A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True - 2/5


27. About surviving hardship: Wishful Drinking - 4/5


28. Four books linked by the elements (water): Water - 2/5


29. A book with a "Clue" weapon on the cover: First Among Sequels - 4/5


30. A short book: Bartleby the Scrivener - 3/5


31. Set in a country you'd like to visit: The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye - 3/5


32. An alternative history book: United States of Japan - 2/5


33. Connected to a phrase from the year you were born: Road Rage: Two Novellas - 3/5


34. From the 2018 Close Calls/Polarizing prompts: The Fifth Doll - 3/5


35. About a murder: Hunter's Moon - 3/5


36. Published in the past 3 three years, by an author you haven't read: The Plastic Magician - 2/5


37. A Bailey Women's Prize Nominee/Winner: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet - 3/5


38. A science or science fiction book: Sourcery - 4/5


39. A book with punctuation in the title: Why Didn't They Ask Evans?


40. From Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime: Love Medicine


41. An author with the same first and last initial: The Excoms - 2/5


42. Takes place in/under water: The Lightkeepers - 2/5


43. A title that is a sentence: Lord Edgware Dies - 3/5


44. A ghost story: Ghost Story by Straub,Peter. 1989 Paperback - 3/5


45. A book that intimidates/scares you: More Than This - 4/5


46. Four books linked by the elements (air): Air - 1/5


47. A main character/author with a different background than you: Mr. X - 3/5


48. Related to the Seven Deadly Sins: The Woman Who Died a Lot - 4/5


49. A book from one of GR's "Best of the Month": The Ledge: An Adventure Story of Friendship and Survival on Mount Rainier - 3/5


50. Has a warm atmosphere: The Turner House - 4/5


51. An award-winning short story collection:The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas - 4/5


52. A book published in 2018: Iron Gold - 3/5

2018 Topic Discard Challenge - 1/3

1. Set in a circus: A Son of the Circus

2. First published the year you were born: book:The Bean Trees|30868] - 4/5

3. About mental illness: An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness

4. An author with an alliterative name: Open

5. Rated 5 stars by an ATY Mod (Sophie): Hollow World

6. A game changer: Guerrilla Warfare

7. Published in a year you have not read from: Anna and the King of Siam

8. Written in second person: If on a Winter's Night a Traveler

9. Picked from your TBR by a family/friend: Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned"

10. Published posthumously: Gather Yourselves Together

11. Has an Arthurian legend: The Table of Less Valued Knights

12. A title with a general time of day: The Witching Hour

13. A book that mentions its own title in the contents: MaddAddam - 4/5

14. Has a pronoun in the title: Thank You for Smoking

15. An author who writes under multiple names: The Mysterious Affair at Styles - 3/5

16. A book read a long time ago: This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen - 4/5

17. A derivative book: The Penelopiad

18. A literary western: The Winter Family

19. A disliked cover: The Year of Voting Dangerously: The Derangement of American Politics

20. An own voices book: How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity

21. Flip a coin (heads from your favorite genre): The Return of Sherlock Holmes - 3/5

22. Centered around your dream occupation: The Woman in Cabin 10

23. Less than 100 pages: The Pearl

24. By a Nobel Prize winner: East of Eden

25. An author famous for something other than writing: The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories

26. A fruit/vegetable in the title: Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World

27. About music/musicians: Truly Madly Guilty

28. Connected to the Color Purple: Deliverance - 4/5

29. A Canada Reads nominee: Sleeping Giants - 5/5

30. With an epic battle or fight scene: Lullaby

31. Written before 1800: Moll Flanders

32. Nonfiction about women: Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights

33. Teaches you a skill: The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World - 3/5

34. A love story: Skewed - 5/5

35. About/involving a child: The Girl in the Red Coat - 3/5

36. A character with special abilities: The Alchemyst

37. Twin characters: I Know This Much Is True

38. An outbreak theme: The Painted Veil - 3/5

39. An indie author: The Darkest Lies

40. A memoir from some of a different country: Yes, Chef

41. A book found b/c of the challenge: Brat Farrar - 1/5

42. Set in a country that starts with the letter your home country ends in: Things We Lost in the Fire

43. From GR's Top 100 Children's Books: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

44. You got for free: St. Nick - 2/5

45. Realistic fiction: What She Knew - 5/5

46. Would recommend to a non-reader: Ubik - 4/5

47. About a relationship: When I'm Gone - 4/5

48. A character with a title: The Ice Princess - 2/5

49. A member of emergency services: Answering 911: Life in the Hot Seat

50. About feminism/feminist themes: Asking for It: The Alarming Rise of Rape Culture and What We Can Do about It

51. An AI theme: Shift - 3/5

52. Written during the 19th century: A Little Princess

53. Set in prison: Mrs. McGinty's Dead

54. Makes you think: Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints

55. Part of 5+ book series: The Moving Finger

56. By/about indigenous people: Reservation Blues

57. Not read/rated by your GR friends: Snowblind

58. A professional/political job title: Because of Sex: One Law, Ten Cases, and Fifty Years That Changed American Women's Lives at Work

59. Randomly picked from your TBR by someone else: The Country of Ice Cream Star

60. Often assigned for a Lit. Class: The House of the Seven Gables

61. From the Ultimate Flow Chart of finding your next book: The Last Juror

62. An alt. history: Boneshaker

63. A protagonist with an animal companion: A Storm of Swords - 4/5

64. Set in/written by someone from a country with a population under 1M: Nightblind

65. A subject that has made headlines: Burial Rites

66. Audiobook: Indefensible

67. Received as a gift: The Innocent Killer: A True Story of a Wrongful Conviction and Its Astonishing Aftermath

68. Title with a made up word: Practical Demonkeeping - 3/5

69. Representing each direction on a compass (North): Far North

70. Representing each direction on a compass (East): Cowboys and East Indians

71. Representing each direction on a compass (South): Gone South

72. Representing each direction on a compass (West): West of the Pecos - 4/5

73. Three books linked by the same word in the title, 1: Letter to My Daughter

74. Three books linked by the same word in the title, 2: The Lost Letter

75. Three books linked by the same word in the title, 3: Hester: The Missing Years of the The Scarlet Letter

76. Follow the clues prompt (links to next book), 1: An Echo in the Bone - 2/5

77. Follow the clues prompt (links to previous &next book), 2: 1812: The Rivers of War

78. Follow the clues prompt (links to previous book), 3: Fatherland

79. Makes up a poker hand, 1: Hard Eight - 3/5

80. Makes up a poker hand, 2: To the Nines - 3/5

81. Makes up a poker hand, 3: Ten Big Ones - 3/5

82. Makes up a poker hand, 4: The Last Days of Jack Sparks - 2/5

83. Makes up a poker hand, 5: The Queen of the Damned - 4/5

84. Three authors, same genre, different publishing experience, (Owen King): We're All in This Together: A Novella and Stories

85. Three authors, same genre, different publishing experience, (Joe Hill): Wolverton Station

86. Three authors, same genre, different publishing experience, (Stephen King): Gwendy's Button Box - 5/5

87. Set under the sea, on earth, and in space (sea): Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings

88. Set under the sea, on earth, and in space (earth): A Breath of Snow and Ashes - 4/5

89. Set under the sea, on earth, and in space (space): The Dispossessed

2018 Topic Discard Challenge - 2/3

90. Discovered because of the ATY group: Lost in a Good Book - 4/5

91. Takes place in one day: Arlington Park

92. Title with boy or girl: The Girl Who Played with Fire - 4/5

93. A book with an epigraph: A Gate at the Stairs

94. A book that has been controversial: The Vampire Lestat - 4/5

95. Average books in your TBR: Choke

96. Coming of age novel: Where the Heart Is

97. Describes the experience of immigrants: Illegal: Reflections of an Undocumented Immigrant

98. BY an Iowa Writer's Workshop Alum: Big Cats: Stories

99. Author last name starts with Q, X, Y, or Z: Moskau

100. Centered around tech/social media: Super Sad True Love Story

101. Suggested by a Booktuber: Bared to You - 1/5

102: Mentioned in a GR blog post: Cress

103: A movie the decade you were born: Wiseguy

104. An author with initials: The Emigrants

105. Audie Award Winner: Locke & Key - 5/5

106. Published in a year with a "5": Something Rotten - 4/5

107. Dealing with loss/grief: Legend of a Suicide

108. Title that makes you chuckle: I Sing the Body Electric! & Other Stories

109. Protagonist with an animal companion: A Feast for Crows

110. A play: Doubt

111. Number in the title: One of Our Thursdays Is Missing

112. About a dragon: A Dance with Dragons

113. A contradictory title: Up the Down Staircase

114. At least one million ratings on GR: Angels & Demons

115. Chick-lit: The Hypnotist's Love Story - 4/5

116. Lowest rated in your TBR: My Favorite Fangs: The Story of the Von Trapp Family Vampires

117. Local librarian recommendation: A Patchwork Planet

118. Child narrator: Pigs in Heaven

119. Not on the 2017 ATY map: Dead In The Water - 3/5

120. Number 1 on any Listopia: The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness - 4/5

121. A fictional trickster: House of Many Ways

122. A posthumous publication: Sleeping Murder

123. Related to music: Juliet, Naked

124. Nominated for an Academy Award: Kramer vs. Kramer

125. One of the Seven Heavenly Virtues: The Girls of Room 28: Friendship, Hope, and Survival in Theresienstadt - 4/5

126. Written by a TED speaker: I Thought It Was Just Me: Women Reclaiming Power and Courage in a Culture of Shame

127. A two-letter word in the title: Notes of a Native Son - 4/5

128. A title that is a song: Go Tell It on the Mountain

129. Decided by a roll of the dice: Will Save the Galaxy for Food - 3/5

130. Coffee table book: The Wes Anderson Collection - 4/5

131. Two people on the cover: Does This Baby Make Me Look Straight?: Confessions of a Gay Dad - 4/5

132. About/containing something celestial: Rising Sun - 3/5

133. Character becomes a lifesaving hero: Winter

134. Personification title: The Paper Magician - 4/5

135. Twin characters: Two Little Girls in Blue

136. Alternative history: Underground Airlines - 3/5

137. A memoir by someone from a different country: The Distance Between Us

138. Associated with your favorite Hogwart's House: The Lies of Locke Lamora - 1/5

139. Major plot twist/ending: Dark Places

140. Set in a wintery/snowy environment: The Terror

141. A Russian author: Night Watch

142. From BookRiot's 100 Must Read Latin-American Books: A Crack in the Wall

143. Cooking/food theme: The Kitchen God's Wife

144. Popular classic: Paradise Lost

145. Involving advanced tech: Next

146. A unit of time measurement: Watch The Hour

147. Microhistory: The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl

148. Discovered on Whichbook: White is for Witching

149. Main character within 5 years of you: The Geek Feminist Revolution - 3/5

150. True crime: Killer Clown: The John Wayne Gacy Murders - 4/5

151. Less than 100 pages: On the Duty of Civil Disobedience - 4/5

152. Woman on the cover: Letters of a Woman Homesteader

153. Set during a holiday/celebration: Hallowe'en Party

154. Popular classic: A Farewell to Arms

155. Cross-genre with fantasy as a theme: Reincarnation Blues - 5/5

156. An epic: Mort -4/5

157. Oral history: Rant

158. Art/artist in fiction: The Mermaid Chair

159. Related to Olympics: The Ancient Olympics

160. Genre out of your comfort zone: The House Girl

161. Military book: ����ō���ܲ� - 4/5

162. Set in medieval times: Inheritance

163. Sci-Fi/fantasy standalone: Snow Crash - 4/5

164. Connected to Wizard of Oz: The Wicked Will Rise - 3/5

165. Supernatural character: Yellow Brick War - 3/5

166. Cyberpunk: Ghost in the Shell

167. Elderly main character: Wyrd Sisters - 4/5

168. A Ci-Fi: State of Fear

169. Made you fall in love with reading: Scott Pilgrim, Volume 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together - 3/5

170. Author published at least 30 books: Pyramids - 3/5

171. Graphic novel: Scott Pilgrim, Volume 5: Scott Pilgrim Vs. the Universe - 3/5

172. 1 of 10 with the fewest ratings in your TBR: Political Moments

173. Describes the experience of immigrants: Girl in Translation

174. Unforgettable character: The Valley of Fear

175. Place you've been before: A Cold-Blooded Business - 4/5

176. Best female lead: Eleven on Top

177. Artistic cover: Renegades

178. Set in a snowy/wintery environment: Play With Fire - 3/5

179. Supernatural character: The End of Oz - 2/5

180. Written under a pseudonym: The Reptile Room

181. About art/artists: Five Little Pigs

182. Children's book published after 2010: The X-Files: Earth Children Are Weird

183. A title of 4-letters or less: Eric - 4/5

184. Number 1 on any Listopia: Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West - 3/5

185. Food/cooking theme: A Pocket Full of Rye

186. A Cross-genre: Guards! Guards! - 3/5

187. Inspired by/referenced in a song: The Boy on the Bridge - 3/5

188. Elderly main character: They Do It with Mirrors

189. Book MASH: Crescendo: Welcome Home, Death Awaits

2018 Topic Discard Challenge - 3/3

190. Disliked cover: The Night Bird - 2/5

191. Coming of age novel: A Wizard of Earthsea

192. Related to showbiz: Moving Pictures - 3/5

193. Mythical creature main character/subject: Reaper Man - 3/5

194. Why is it in your TBR?: Will Grayson, Will Grayson - 4/5

195. Involves the color yellow: True Grit - 4/5

196. Recommended in Good Minds Suggests: Made for Love

197. From the 10 Best Top 100 List: Artemis - 4/5

198. Guilty pleasure: Witches Abroad - 4/5

199. Nobel Prize winning author: Dear Life: Stories

200. Seasonal book: Blood Will Tell - 4/5

201. Sex theme: Brown Girl in the Ring - 3/5

202. About your favorite sport: The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team

203. Q or X in the title or author's name: The Mysterious Mr. Quin

204. Main character with your dream job: The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side

205. Published/set before 1900: Sapphire's Grave

206: About social justice: The Cider House Rules

207. A celestial body in the title/author's name: Evil Under the Sun

208. Male author: Small Gods

209. Read by a fictional character: The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

210. Recommended by a famous person: Al Franken, Giant of the Senate

211. Recommended by GR's top reviewers: Lords and Ladies

212. Rhyming title/based on a nursery rhyme: Hickory Dickory Dock

213: Character with a great name: The Good Spy Dies Twice

214. Related to your favorite animal: Elephants Can Remember

215. Perfect to be read aloud: A Beautiful Composition of Broken

216. Set in the 22nd century: The God Engines

217. About twins: The Third Twin

218. Adapted into a live performance: The Story of the Trapp Family Singers

219. Reading as part of a group: The Glass Magician - 4/5

220. Orphan character: Anne of Windy Poplars - 4/5

221. Based on religion: Growing Up Amish - 3/5

222. Has a dinosaur: The Lost World

223. Character over 50 y/o: A Caribbean Mystery

224. Set in a single day: Seize the Day

225. About/involving arts: Three Act Tragedy

226. Takes place in a school setting: The Master Magician - 4/5

227. An iconic/well known character: Cards on the Table

228. Read by a fictional character: The Fixer

229. Teaches you something: Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe - 4/5

230. Genre fiction published before 1990: The Sirens of Titan - 5/5

231. Related to Halloween: The Haunting of Ashburn House - 2/5

232. Set on an island: Anne's House of Dreams - 3/5

233. Less than 2,018 ratings: Animal - 4/5

234. Character profile on the cover: Invisible - 1/5

235. Good vs. evil theme: Siege and Storm - 4/5

236. Female explorer: Sheepfarmer's Daughter - 2/5

237. Fiction and nonfiction book on the same subject (F): To Die for

238. Fiction and nonfiction book on the same subject (NF): Deadly Lessons: A Trial That Stunned a Nation. A Killer Whose Motive is the Most Shocking of All.

239. Geographic setting related to plot: Breakup - 2/5

240. Circus/carnival/amusement park: The Gracekeepers

241. Spin the TBR wheel: Sandman Slim - 1/5

242. A black cover: Whiskey, Words, and a Shovel I - 4/5

243. Features a game element: Survival Quest

244. Favorite author of your favorite author: The Sundial

245. Character featured in another book by the same author: Killing Grounds - 3/5

246. Makes you think: KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps - 3/5

247. Character in a different age category than you: Soul Music

248. A natural disaster: Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083

249. A guilty pleasure: The Last Anniversary - 5/5

250. A character with a higher, honorific, or professional title: Spell or High Water - 4/5

251. Related to an animal: Lesser Beasts: A Snout-to-Tail History of the Humble Pig - 4/5

252. A book that passes the Mako Mori test: At Bertram's Hotel

253. Autobiography/biography/memoir: Farewell to the East End: The Last Days of the East End Midwives

254. Human vs. nature theme: The Ghost Brigades

255. Mode of transportation on the cover: The Last Colony

Leftover Yearly Challenges Read in 2018

2017 Topic Discard Challenge

12. A book made into a movie that the author hated: Forrest Gump - 2/5

36. A title with a adjective: The Importance of Being Earnest - 2/5

47. Read about an immigrant or refugee: Inadmissible - 3/5

58. A book about a difficult topic: We Need to Talk About Kevin - 4/5

62. A history of food or drink: Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages - 4/5

73. A book about traveling: Seven Years in Tibet - 2/5

81. A book with an LGBTQ theme: Giovanni's Room - 3/5

93. Written by an author from a neighboring country: The Blind Assassin - 3/5

94. A time travel book: Timeline - 3/5

96. Published by an author over 40: Amy and Isabelle - 3/5

103. An author born the same year as you: The Fifth Child - 4/5

108. A book with an eccentric character: Artemis Fowl - 3/5

146. A book with a map on the cover or on the inside: Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks - 5/5

149. Reader's choice: A Dirty Job - 2/5

150. A self-published book: Unforeseen - 2/5

153. A book about a journey: The Mountain Story - 2/5

164. A book written in first person perspective: Until the End of the World - 3/5

177. A book about traveling: Kindred - 4/5

204. A book you took with you while traveling: Lady Cop Makes Trouble - 3/5

211. A title you find funny: Who Cooked the Last Supper?: The Women's History of the World - 4/5

220. An Agatha Christie novel: 4:50 from Paddington - 4/5

222. A book you feel takes you out of your comfort zone: A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy - 5/5

232. A title you find funny: Make Love! the Bruce Campbell Way - 3/5



2017 PopSugar Challenge

20. A book with career advice: Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting - 4/5

21. From a nonhuman perspective: Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard - 2/5

24. Set in the wilderness: The Ritual - 4/5

33. Set in two different time periods: The Fiery Cross - 2/5

35. Set in a hotel: Psycho - 4/5

36. Written by someone you admire: The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder - 4/5

Reserved

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January Summary

Books Read: 43
Pages Read: 15.912

Fiction: 32
Nonfiction: 11

Male Authors: 20
Female Authors: 23
Trans/Nonbinary Authors: 0
POC Authors: 5
LGTBQ Authors: 1

Connected to ...
Iowa: 1
South Dakota: 0
Alabama: 1
Alaska: 0


Ratings ...
1 Star - 3
2 Star - 8
3 Star - 16
4 Star - 16
5 Star - 0


Challenges ...

2018 Challenge: 7
2018 Topic Discard: 20
2017 Topic Discard: 7
2017 PopSugar: 3
2016 Topic Discard Challenge: 1
Mega Challenge:
Alphabet Challenge:
Quatre Challenge: 1
ATW Challenge:
Rory Gilmore Reads:
Stephen King Challenge:
Alpha-Author Challenge: 1
Strong Women Read:
Choices Challenge: 2
Side Pieces/IRL Book Club: 1

Favorites:
Kindred
When I'm Gone
Animal
Deliverance
Psycho
True Grit
Wishful Drinking
The Vampire Lestat
The Queen of the Damned

Least Favorites:
Forrest Gump
Unforeseen
The Excoms
Water
Air
Fire
Earth
The Last Days of Jack Sparks


Thoughts:
This felt like a great start to my 2018 reading year. I am impressed with how many books I managed to make it through despite my busy schedule.

February Summary

Books Read: 40
Pages Read: 12,737

Fiction: 33
Nonfiction: 7

Male Authors: 14
Female Authors: 25
Trans/Nonbinary Authors: 1
POC Authors: 6
LGTBQ Authors 4:

Connected to ...
Iowa: 2
South Dakota: 0
Alabama: 1
Alaska: 0

Ratings...
1 Star - 0
2 Star - 6
3 Star - 15
4 Star - 17
5 Star -2

Challenges ...

2018 Challenge: 7
2018 Topic Discard: 17
2017 Topic Discard:
2017 PopSugar:
Mega Challenge:
Alphabet Challenge:
Quatre Challenge:
ATW Challenge:
Rory Gilmore Reads:
Stephen King Challenge:
Alpha-Author Challenge: 1
Strong Women Read: 2
Choices Challenge: 6
Side Pieces/IRL Book Club: 5

Favorites:
And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic
The Turner House
Gwendy's Button Box
The Princess Diarist
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body
What She Knew
Brave
Girl Waits with Gun
The Lottery
Not My Father's Son
The Golem and the Jinni


Least Favorites:
The Night Bird
The Nest
St. Nick
The Ice Princess
Life After Life


Thoughts:
I love the wide variety of books I read this month, and that my male authors are in the minority (second month in a row), unintentionally.

March Summary

Books Read: 25
Pages Read: 9,769

Fiction: 22
Nonfiction: 3

Male Authors: 16
Female Authors: 9
Trans/Nonbinary Authors: 0
POC Authors: 2
LGTBQ Authors: 1

Connected to ...
Iowa: 1
South Dakota: 0
Alabama: 0
Alaska: 0

Ratings...
1 Star - 0
2 Star - 4
3 Star - 8
4 Star - 11
5 Star -2

Challenges ...

2018 Challenge: 6
2018 Topic Discard: 7
2017 Topic Discard: 4
2017 PopSugar: 1
Mega Challenge:
Alphabet Challenge:
Quatre Challenge: 1
ATW Challenge: 1
Rory Gilmore Reads: 2
Stephen King Challenge: 1
Alpha-Author Challenge:
Strong Women Read:
Choices Challenge: 1
Side Pieces/IRL Book Club: 1

Favorites:
Gone with the Wind
The Daily Show: An Oral History as Told by Jon Stewart, the Correspondents, Staff and Guests
More Than This
Spell or High Water
Carrie
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
The Ritual
Does This Baby Make Me Look Straight?: Confessions of a Gay Dad


Least Favorites:
The Mountain Story
A Dirty Job
A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True


Thoughts:
This month was okay. I'm disappointed that I read nearly half of last month, but am happy that I had a majority of quality reads this months.

April Summary

Books Read: 23
Pages Read: 7,530

Fiction: 16
Nonfiction: 7

Male Authors: 15
Female Authors: 8
Trans/Nonbinary Authors: 0
POC Authors: 3
LGTBQ Authors: 0

Connected to ...
Iowa: 1
South Dakota: 0
Alabama: 0
Alaska: 0

Ratings...
1 Star - 0
2 Star - 2
3 Star - 9
4 Star - 9
5 Star - 3

Challenges ...

2018 Challenge: 3
2018 Topic Discard: 7
2017 Topic Discard: 2
2017 PopSugar:
Mega Challenge:
Alphabet Challenge:
Quatre Challenge:
ATW Challenge: 1
Rory Gilmore Reads:
Stephen King Challenge:
Alpha-Author Challenge:
Strong Women Read:
Choices Challenge: 3
Side Pieces/IRL Book Club: 7

Favorites:
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Notes of a Native Son
Year of Yes
Growing Up Amish
Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living
The Bean Trees
You
You Can't Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain
O Pioneers!


Least Favorites:
United States of Japan
Delirium


Thoughts:
Another low number month, but a lot of awesome (and heavy) reads.

May Summary

Books Read: 17
Pages Read: 6,696

Fiction: 14
Nonfiction: 3

Male Authors: 9
Female Authors: 8
Trans/Nonbinary Authors: 1
POC Authors: 1
LGTBQ Authors: 1

Connected to ...
Iowa: 0
South Dakota: 0
Alabama: 0
Alaska: 0

Ratings...
1 Star - 1
2 Star - 2
3 Star - 7
4 Star - 7
5 Star - 0

Challenges ...

2018 Challenge: 1
2018 Topic Discard: 6
2017 Topic Discard: 1
2017 PopSugar:
Mega Challenge:
Alphabet Challenge: 1
Quatre Challenge:
ATW Challenge:
Rory Gilmore Reads:
Stephen King Challenge:
Alpha-Author Challenge:
Strong Women Read: 2
Choices Challenge: 3
Side Pieces/IRL Book Club: 3

Favorites:
My Ántonia
The Girl Who Played with Fire
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More
Strange Weather
Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget
Caraval

Least Favorites:
The Lies of Locke Lamora
Invisible
Sheepfarmer's Daughter


Thoughts:
I'm not liking my downward trending numbers, but I hope that as we move into summer I can start picking them back up.

June Summary

Books Read:
Pages Read:

Fiction:
Nonfiction:

Male Authors:
Female Authors:
Trans/Nonbinary Authors:
POC Authors:
LGTBQ Authors:

Connected to ...
Iowa:
South Dakota:
Alabama:
Alaska:

Ratings...
1 Star -
2 Star -
3 Star -
4 Star -
5 Star -

Challenges ...

2018 Challenge:
2018 Topic Discard:
2017 Topic Discard:
2017 PopSugar:
Mega Challenge:
Alphabet Challenge:
Quatre Challenge:
ATW Challenge:
Rory Gilmore Reads:
Stephen King Challenge:
Alpha-Author Challenge:
Strong Women Read:
Choices Challenge:
Side Pieces/IRL Book Club:

Favorites:


Least Favorites:


Thoughts:

July Summary

Books Read:
Pages Read:

Fiction:
Nonfiction:

Male Authors:
Female Authors:
Trans/Nonbinary Authors:
POC Authors:
LGTBQ Authors:

Connected to ...
Iowa:
South Dakota:
Alabama:
Alaska:

Ratings...
1 Star -
2 Star -
3 Star -
4 Star -
5 Star -

Challenges ...

2018 Challenge:
2018 Topic Discard:
2017 Topic Discard:
2017 PopSugar:
Mega Challenge:
Alphabet Challenge:
Quatre Challenge:
ATW Challenge:
Rory Gilmore Reads:
Stephen King Challenge:
Alpha-Author Challenge:
Strong Women Read:
Choices Challenge:
Side Pieces/IRL Book Club:

Favorites:


Least Favorites:


Thoughts:

August Summary

Books Read:
Pages Read:

Fiction:
Nonfiction:

Male Authors:
Female Authors:
Trans/Nonbinary Authors:
POC Authors:
LGTBQ Authors:

Connected to ...
Iowa:
South Dakota:
Alabama:
Alaska:

Ratings...
1 Star -
2 Star -
3 Star -
4 Star -
5 Star -

Challenges ...

2018 Challenge:
2018 Topic Discard:
2017 Topic Discard:
2017 PopSugar:
Mega Challenge:
Alphabet Challenge:
Quatre Challenge:
ATW Challenge:
Rory Gilmore Reads:
Stephen King Challenge:
Alpha-Author Challenge:
Strong Women Read:
Choices Challenge:
Side Pieces/IRL Book Club:

Favorites:


Least Favorites:


Thoughts:

September Summary

Books Read:
Pages Read:

Fiction:
Nonfiction:

Male Authors:
Female Authors:
Trans/Nonbinary Authors:
POC Authors:
LGTBQ Authors:

Connected to ...
Iowa:
South Dakota:
Alabama:
Alaska:

Ratings...
1 Star -
2 Star -
3 Star -
4 Star -
5 Star -

Challenges ...

2018 Challenge:
2018 Topic Discard:
2017 Topic Discard:
2017 PopSugar:
Mega Challenge:
Alphabet Challenge:
Quatre Challenge:
ATW Challenge:
Rory Gilmore Reads:
Stephen King Challenge:
Alpha-Author Challenge:
Strong Women Read:
Choices Challenge:
Side Pieces/IRL Book Club:

Favorites:


Least Favorites:


Thoughts:

October Summary

Books Read:
Pages Read:

Fiction:
Nonfiction:

Male Authors:
Female Authors:
Trans/Nonbinary Authors:
POC Authors:
LGTBQ Authors:

Connected to ...
Iowa:
South Dakota:
Alabama:
Alaska:

Ratings...
1 Star -
2 Star -
3 Star -
4 Star -
5 Star -

Challenges ...

2018 Challenge:
2018 Topic Discard:
2017 Topic Discard:
2017 PopSugar:
Mega Challenge:
Alphabet Challenge:
Quatre Challenge:
ATW Challenge:
Rory Gilmore Reads:
Stephen King Challenge:
Alpha-Author Challenge:
Strong Women Read:
Choices Challenge:
Side Pieces/IRL Book Club:

Favorites:


Least Favorites:


Thoughts:

November Summary

Books Read:
Pages Read:

Fiction:
Nonfiction:

Male Authors:
Female Authors:
Trans/Nonbinary Authors:
POC Authors:
LGTBQ Authors:

Connected to ...
Iowa:
South Dakota:
Alabama:
Alaska:

Ratings...
1 Star -
2 Star -
3 Star -
4 Star -
5 Star -

Challenges ...

2018 Challenge:
2018 Topic Discard:
2017 Topic Discard:
2017 PopSugar:
Mega Challenge:
Alphabet Challenge:
Quatre Challenge:
ATW Challenge:
Rory Gilmore Reads:
Stephen King Challenge:
Alpha-Author Challenge:
Strong Women Read:
Choices Challenge:
Side Pieces/IRL Book Club:

Favorites:


Least Favorites:


Thoughts:

December Summary

Books Read:
Pages Read:

Fiction:
Nonfiction:

Male Authors:
Female Authors:
Trans/Nonbinary Authors:
POC Authors:
LGTBQ Authors:

Connected to ...
Iowa:
South Dakota:
Alabama:
Alaska:

Ratings...
1 Star -
2 Star -
3 Star -
4 Star -
5 Star -

Challenges ...

2018 Challenge:
2018 Topic Discard:
2017 Topic Discard:
2017 PopSugar:
Mega Challenge:
Alphabet Challenge:
Quatre Challenge:
ATW Challenge:
Rory Gilmore Reads:
Stephen King Challenge:
Alpha-Author Challenge:
Strong Women Read:
Choices Challenge:
Side Pieces/IRL Book Club:

Favorites:


Least Favorites:


Thoughts:

2018 Summary

Books Read:
Pages Read:

Fiction:
Nonfiction:

Male Authors:
Female Authors:
Trans/Nonbinary Authors:
POC Authors:
LGTBQ Authors:

Connected to ...
Iowa:
South Dakota:
Alabama:
Alaska:

Ratings...
1 Star -
2 Star -
3 Star -
4 Star -
5 Star -

Challenges ...

2018 Challenge:
2018 Topic Discard:
2017 Topic Discard:
2017 PopSugar:
2016 Topic Discard:
Mega Challenge:
Alphabet Challenge:
Quatre Challenge:
ATW Challenge:
Rory Gilmore Reads:
Stephen King Challenge:
Alpha-Author Challenge:
Strong Women Read:
Choices Challenge:
Side Pieces/IRL Book Club:

Favorites:


Least Favorites:


Thoughts:

For #1 it's "and" not "or" so it's a good thing you have the 3 letters :p

I hope you'll have fun with The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, she's really a great author :)
Dusk was a little weak after Silo and Shift, but a nice end anyway.

Many books I never heard about in your plan, so I'm looking forward to the best ones!

I loved the invention of wings!!!

Zaz wrote: "For #1 it's "and" not "or" so it's a good thing you have the 3 letters :p

I hope you'll have fun with The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, she's really a great author :)
Dusk was a little weak a..."

Zaz! I can't believe I missed that. In my spreadsheet I have it correctly labeled, which would explain why I hit all three letters. Apparently my brain was just not reading properly this morning :D Thanks for catching that!

Kelly wrote: "I loved the invention of wings!!!"

I am so excited to read it. I have heard such good things, but have also heard it's a bit of a tearjerker.

How come More Than This intimidates/scares you? I haven't read it, but I've read a couple of Patrick Ness' other books. Love his writing style!

Rachel wrote: "How come More Than This intimidates/scares you? I haven't read it, but I've read a couple of Patrick Ness' other books. Love his writing style!"

Rachel, I like the premise of the book, but what makes me hestitant is how burnt out I am feeling on the YA dystopian overload, mixed with having only read one of Ness's books previously, and I did not really care for it. This seems like a different take on the YA Dystopian genre, but it still has me with clenched teeth.

Updated with my full 2018 Topic Discard Challenge. My goal for 2018 is 350 books. It's more than I've ever aimed for and am a bit nervous about it, but thinking positive :)

350 books? Jeepers!

I love that you have And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic. I'm planning that one, as well.

You could smash 350 in six months - I believe in you!

I'm stealing The United States of Japan for my list! I mainly found different results involving Germany. I think using Japan will be interesting!

Jody wrote: "You could smash 350 in six months - I believe in you!"

hahahaha! Thanks, Jody! I'm going to need that confidence and support :)

Jessica wrote: "I'm stealing The United States of Japan for my list! I mainly found different results involving Germany. I think using Japan will be interesting!"

YAY! I'm excited someone else is picking this up. It kind of reminded me of The Man in the High Castle, but with less of the mindf*** and more of a possible reality. I'm eager to trade notes next year!

Angie wrote: "350 books? Jeepers!

I love that you have And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic. I'm planning that one, as well."

This one is going to be a heavy one. I'm glad I'm not going it alone. Are you reading it for the same prompt or a different one?

Manda wrote: "Angie wrote: "350 books? Jeepers!

I love that you have And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic. I'm planning that one, as well."

This one is going to be a he..."

Yeah, it's definitely not light reading. I have it down right now as a narrative nonfiction choice. I actually have it down for a couple of categories, but I think I'm doing it for narrative nonfiction. I still don't know for sure what I'm doing for "own voices."

You have an amazing and ambitious plan for 2018, Manda.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet was a favourite of mine this year, I hope you'll like it too. I'm browsing through your plan, and I'll probably borrow some of your ideas!

Does your discard challenge include all the topics that didn't make it or did you just choose a very large sample size of them? I was too lazy to do the math to try to figure it out myself.

Manda, I love your spreadsheet! If I can come up with the time in the next few week, I might replicate it so I can be better organized.

What do the letters heading the volume on the right stand for?

Katie wrote: "Does your discard challenge include all the topics that didn't make it or did you just choose a very large sample size of them? I was too lazy to do the math to try to figure it out myself."
Hey Katie, this includes every topic that made it to the vote but did not win. So you may see some that appear multiple times, or that are on the final list (if they didn't win the first time around, but did later on). It's like the Discard List on steroids.

Anna wrote: "You have an amazing and ambitious plan for 2018, Manda.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet was a favourite of mine this year, I hope you'll like it too. I'm browsing through you..."

Borrow away! I hope I like TLWTASAP. I keep hearing such good things about it and it continues to pop up on my radar.

Brooke wrote: "Manda, I love your spreadsheet! If I can come up with the time in the next few week, I might replicate it so I can be better organized.

What do the letters heading the volume on the right stand for?"
I have found the spreadsheet to be the best organizer for my challenges and reading stats. Though, some things I have gotten behind on, like my map and reading diversity, because I've had less free time this year. I am hoping to start catching back up soon. I had a goal of doing a reading timeline, but that has fallen by the wayside :/

They letters are kind of my own internal tracking system so I know where I have commented on things.
RC = Reading Challenge (this group)
GR = GoodReads (if I have left a review on the book's page.
WY = Weebly (my blog, which is horribly and embarrassingly out of date).

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions :)

Good luck!

Wow, 350? That's amazing! I'm struggling right now to stay on track for my total of 158 this year, but hopefully I'll be able to finish. The Discard challenge is always so tempting for me, but I always run out of time. How are you planning on prioritizing/managing everything?

Wow. After putting it off for 6 months, I've finally updated my list and monthly stats. Now to run off and do 6 months worth of book postings (sorry in advance for all the notifications), and let's hope I don't wait another 6 months to update.