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I've decided to combine written and audiobooks for the overall total. I'm also increasing the audiobook goal to 20. The overall goal will be 70.

5/30/2015 increasing audiobook goal to 30. Overall goal to 80.
7/7/2015 increased goal to 101

101 books total
Read 50 written books (paper or e-book)
Listen to 30 audiobooks
Read 100 Short Stories

Updates in Reader's Corner

Progress

Books 19/50
1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James 1/4/2015
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling1/4/2015
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 1/10/2015
4. Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny 1/19/2015
5. The Neighbor by Abby Weeks 1/24/2015
6. The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan 1/30/2015
7. The Arrangement Box Set by Abby Weeks 1/31/2015
8. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins 2/4/2015
9. Captive in the Dark by C.J. Roberts 2/6/2015
10. Better when He's Bad by Jay Crownover 2/14/2015
11. Therapist by Jaden Wilkes 2/19/2015
12. And Playing the Role of Herself by K.E. Lane 2/24/2015
13. Craving the Alpha (Complete Series 1-6) by Kate Kent 3/1/2015
14. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn 3/4/2015
15. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn 3/24/2015
16. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn 3/29/2015
17. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins 400 Pages 4/10/2015
18. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins 336 Pages 5/1/2015
19. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume 149 Pages 5/3/1015

Short Stories 14/100
1. The Tomb by E. L. James 1/1/2015
2. Dagon by H.P. Lovecraft 1/1/2015
3. A Scandal in Bohemia by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 1/6/2015
4. The Book of Blood from Books of Blood, Volume One by Clive Barker 1/12/2015
5. The Midnight Meat Train from Books of Blood, Volume One by Clive Barker 1/15/2015
6. Mom Lets Loose by MsHoudini from literotica.com 1/30/2015
7. Gym Threesome by Cindy Centurion 1/31/2015
8. The Last Cigarette by NoJo from literotica.com 2/1/2015
9. The Stranger by Irving Squalor from Infernal Ink Magazine 2/1/2015
10. Sexy Slutty Smoking B*tch by MissKinkyCatrionea from literotica.com 2/1/2015
11. The Wolf-King by Eve Francis from Infernal Ink Magazine 2/1/2015
12. Arena by Frederic Brown from Science Fiction Megapack 2/22/2015
13. The Yattering and the Jack from Books of Blood, Volume One by Clive Barker 2/26/2015
14. Pig Blood Blues from Books of Blood, Volume One by Clive Barker 2/27/2015

Audiobooks 6/15
1. The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan 1/6/2015
2. The Call of the Wild by Jack London 1/8/2015
3. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien 1/20/2015
4. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin 1/28/2015
5. Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan 2/28/2015
6. Hyperion by Dan Simmons 3/3/2015

Metrics Books Only
Pages 5039
Words 1524k

Genre/Type
Biography/Memoir: 0
Classics: 0
Fantasy: 2
Graphic Novel: 0
Historical Fiction: 0
Horror: 0
Literary Fiction: 0
Mystery: 0
Nonfiction: 0
Science Fiction: 3
Young Adult/Teen Fiction: 3
Paranormal Romance: 1
Romance: 8
Thriller: 1

Length
Short (<200 pages): 0
Medium (201-400 pages): 11
Long (401-600 pages): 2
Very Long (601-800 pages): 1
Extremely Long (>800 pages): 0

Author Gender
Female: 12
Male: 2

Author Nationality
United States: 9
Canada: 3
United Kingdom: 2

Additional Goals for 2015. Basically to finish some series in progress and explore some new things or haven't read in a while.

1. Finish Reading Wheel of Time series including rereading previous novels not read in 2014.
Book - The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan 1/30/2015
2. Finish Reading A Song of Ice and Fire series.
3. Read a microhistory
4. Read a novel featuring an unreliable narrator - Therapist by Jaden Wilkes 2/19/2015
5. Read a suspense/thriller novel Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn 3/4/2014
6. Read science fiction novels
6. a. a space exploration
6. b. a posthuman Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny 1/19/2015
6. c. Star Wars or Star Trek
6. d. Written in the 1950s
6. e. Written before 1950.
6. f. Time Travel Hyperion by Dan Simmons
7. Read a romance novel Better when He's Bad by Jay Crownover
8. Read a classic novel
9. Read a novel set in the UK
10. Read a novel set in France
11. Read a novel set in Russia
12. Read a novel set in China/Japan or other Asian Country
13. Read a fantasy novel written before 1970 not written by Tolkien or CS Lewis.
14. Read a New York Times Bestseller in 2015
15. Read a novel by an author I haven't heard of before 2015. The Neighbor by Abby Weeks 1/24/2015
16. Read a novel on my to-read list for >20 years
17. A Metafiction book
18. A biography, Memoir or Autobiography
19. A sports book (fiction or non fiction)
20. A science book (non fiction)
21. Read a Southern Gothic Novel or Story
22. Read a Horror novel

Updates in Reader's Corner

Good luck with your challenge, Scott! I really like the way you broke up your challenge into novels and short stories, and your categories are great as well. I don't read many short stories. Do you have any recommendations?

I've read quite a few short stories over the years but I'm not sure if I've finished the collections containing them or not. This seems like a good way to keep track of the read stories even if I don't finish the collections.
I usually read horror or science fiction short stories from authors like Clive Barker, Stephen King, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and HP Lovecraft. I also recently started reading George RR Martin who published a lot of stories before he started working on the Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) series. Martin has also edited a number of collections from many other authors. I also plan to read stories by Robert E. Howard (creator of Conan the Barbarian).

I've read 6 books so far this month and I think I can finish 1 more this puts me way ahead of my original goal of 30 books. I've decided to increase the goal to 50.

I didn't realize that George R.R. Martin wrote short stories. I'll have to check those out, along with some of the other authors you mentioned.

Kudos to you for increasing your goal already! I'm way ahead of my goal too, so I may be increasing mine later on.

1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James
Completed 1/4/2015
Pages 514, Words 152k

Pretty interesting read. Very steamy but not as much BDSM as I expected. A little trouble relating to Anastasia as she seems to go along with Christian's plans than freak out when they start actually happening.

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. by JK Rowling.
Completed 1/4/2015.
Pages 341, Words 85k


This was a reread I did with my son. Well I've seen the movie about 10 times and had read the book before so there weren't many surprises. But still a fun read.

3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Completed 1/10/2015
Pages 374, Words 100k

Really good book but I wished now that I would have read it before watching the movie.

4. Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
Completed 1/19/2015
Pages 304, Words 97k

This is an amazing novel that I both read and listened to the audio version. It's a Science Fiction novel that reads like a fantasy. The first time through (audio) it felt like a fantasy tale with lots of strange things. The second time through when I understood the meanings of the strange things it felt like a Science Fiction novel. Really amazing both times.

5. The Neighbor by Abby Weeks
Completed 1/24/2015
Pages 241, Words 65k

This is a pretty interesting erotica romance/thriller. After discovering her husband is having an affair the heroine convinces her husband to move in hopes of ending his extramarital relationship. Well things don't exactly go as planned and she is drawn into his new world that is much more than a simple office fling.

6. The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan
Completed 1/30/2015
Pages 681, Words 261k

I've read this book several times before. This is the second book in a very big series with tons of characters. The series was written over 23 period with the original author passing away and being completed by a second writer. I originally read this book 20 years ago and really enjoyed it. Now that the series is finally completed I hope to reread the books I've previously read then finish the series.

I have both a hardback and ebook version of this book. I went back and forth between the two but finally decided I liked reading the ebook much better.

7. The Arrangement by Abby Weeks
Completed 1/31/2015
Pages 365, Words 101k

This is another interesting erotica romance/thriller by the same author as the Neighbor. The plot is somewhat similar to other one but different enough to make it an fun read. The heroine's husband gets a promotion at work along with it a new house, servants, limos, clothes etc. However the new arrangement is not as perfect as it initially seems...

8. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Completed 2/4/2015
Pages 391, Words 102k

I enjoyed this book but I have the same wish as the Hunger Games that I had read the book before watching the movie.

9 Captive in the Dark by C.J. Roberts
Completed 2/6/2015
Pages 253, Words 87k

This is a very dark romance novel that is extremely well written. The basic plot is Celeb kidnaps Olivia to sell her as a pleasure slave. The story is told from the points of view both of the kidnapper and the victim. You really get the feel for the motivations of the two. In the case Celeb it boils down to 'the ends justifies the means' to explain his evil. He is clearly a monster but he feels his reasons justify his actions even though he realizes they are wrong.

10 Better when He's Bad by Jay Crownover
Completed 2/14/2015
Pages 366, Words 109k

This is a romance novel with mystery/thriller elements set in a fictional inner city. The hero is a bad just out of prison looking for his best friend that set him out. The heroine is the best friends sister. The story is told from both points of view. The two try to find the missing best friend/brother to find out why the hero was setup and of course they have a romance with explicit details. The story was fairly fast paced and the hero had a bad boy attitude which I enjoyed. Overall I enjoyed the book.

11 Therapist by Jaden Wilkes
Completed 2/19/2015
Pages 206, Words 56K

Story about a therapist that does unusual experimental research on his patients. Really good book.

Short Story 12: Arena by Frederic Brown from Science Fiction Megapack

I really liked this story and it has a sentimental value to me. When I was about 5 I watched an episode of Star Trek (TOS) and it really hooked me on science fiction. I remembered the details and later learned the title of the episode was Arena. The story I just read by Fredric Brown was used for the basis of the Star Trek episode. The basis of both the Short Story and the Star Trek Episode is mankind (federation in Star Trek) is about to fight a major space battle against an unknown enemy. Just before the battle to protagonist is transported to an Arena along with a counterpart from the enemy by a superior space being. The two have to fight a duel to the death not only for themselves but their entire species as the superior being will destroy the losers. The short story was very good but I liked the ending in the Star Trek episode better.

12 And Playing the Role of Herself by K.E. Lane
Completed 2/24/2015
Pages 336, Works 113k

Caidence Harris is a TV actress and has a secret crush on her fellow actress Robyn Ward. The writers on the show have the kiss in the season finale. Robyn and her boyfriend tennis star Josh Riley invite Caidence to dinner. After dinner Josh goes home and Robyn relieves she is not really dating Josh. They are just pretending to date. Thus begins the romance between Caidence and Robyn. Caidence has never dated a woman before and she doesn't know Robyn's orientation either so there is lots of awkwardness leading to lots of drama in the story. Overall I really liked this story.

Wow, you put so much thought into your 2015 challenge. I am very impressed. I noticed that one of your challenges was to read a book set in Russia. One of my favourites is Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, if you have not read it; I would highly recommend it.

Good luck with completing your challenge! :)

Thank you.

I have several possible books in mind for the Russia challenge. One is Anna Karenina. I think the top of the list would be Gorky Park. I might also do a contemporary novel by a Russian author.

13. Craving the Alpha (Complete Series 1-6) by Kate Kent
Completed 3/1/2015
415 Pages, 104 Words

Back in December I learned of a sub-genre called paranormal romance. Maybe I'm sleeping under a tree but I had never heard of this before. I've read a ton of vampire novels mainly by Anne Rice but a few others as well mostly back in the 90s. Anyways I went to Amazon and found there are a ton of books and many are split into multiple parts with the first free. I grabbed a few. The one I settled on was Craving the Alpha by Kate Kent. I read the first one and liked it. Later I got the rest of the series and it was definitely a fun read.

Here's a quick review:
Kristen is an 20 something camp counselor. On the last night she and two friends are drugged and kidnapped. When she wakes up she finds that she has been converted into a werewolf by an evil pack. While she was out she was rescued by a good pack but since she's now a werewolf she most now live with this pack. She is forced to choose a mate between two brothers and only given a minute to make up her mind. Well she picks Dorian but he turns out to be a drunk. The other brother Markus then helps her when she first shifts to a werewolf. Well you can probably guess the rest of the story. She starts shagging with Markus and falls in love. Dorian finds out and has Markus imprisoned. Kristen helps Markus escape and the two run off together. This leads to a series of adventures as the two are pursued by Dorian. Pretty good story with a quite a bit of action.

14. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Completed 3/4/2015
252 Pages, 81k words

Really great book. The characters are extremely unlikeable but very interesting. The novel follows an early 30ish newspaper reporter, Camille Preaker from Chicago sent back to her home town in Missouri to cover the story of the murder of two young girls. She's not met with open arms by her mother Adora and much younger step sister Amma. As the story unfolds we learn more and more about these interesting but unlikeable characters. (view spoiler)[ I almost quit reading in the fourth or fifth chapter when I learned Camille and cut words all over her body. Very disturbing. (hide spoiler)] This book was very hard to put down.

15. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Completed 3/22/2015
349 Pages

This is the second book by Gillian Flynn. This novel lots at the affects of a family massacre on the surviving members. The story of survivor Libby is told in the present. She was 7 at the time and is now 31. Now she is trying to find the other over cover what really happened. The story is also told in the 3rd person for the events that happened 24 years ago in the days before the murder. All the characters are very dark similar to Sharp Objects. We learn more and more about the characters along with what really happened as the story unfolds. Overall I really liked this book. The book was very hard to put down. At one point I lost my place and accidently skipped several chapters so it was a bit confusing until I went back and read those chapters. I'll probably read gone girl next but I might work on finishing a few books I've already started first.

Hi Scott. I've read all of Gillian Flynn's books and I think Gone Girl is by far my favorite. Best to read before watching the film though (like every book I suppose) I think my second favorite was Dark Places, then Sharpe Objects.

Well hopefully I've saved the best for last.

Fay if you like Gillian Flynn we may want to read Megan Abbott. I read Dare Me back in December. It's a dark thriller with characters similar to want you would find in one Flynn's books.

Fay if you like Gillian Flynn we may want to read Megan Abbott. I read Dare Me back in December. It's a dark thriller with characters similar to want you would find in one Flynn's books.

Thanks for the recommendation Scott, I'll definitely check them out.

I'm about 60 pages into gone girl. good so far I'm probably still in the setup/development phase. I'm sure it will turn up a bit as i get further in.

I read Defending Jacob by William Landay and I just melted right in has anyone read it. I have a question!

I read Defending Jacob by William Landay and I just melted right in has anyone read it. I have a question!

Sorry haven't read it

Fay I'm about 2/3 through gone girl so far this book is amazing, definitely better than the other two.

16. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
3/29/2016
560 Pages

I read all three Gillian Flynn books in published order.
Sharp Objects, Dark Places, Gone Girl

I decided I like Gone Girl the best because it was the most complete story and had the best characters. I liked Sharp Objects next and Dark Places third. All were great and didn't feel like the same story over and over.

(view spoiler)[
Not much else to say about Gone Girl except in a spoiler. Nick seemed to be a pretty realistic guy. He's flawed of course, he lies and cheats but who wants to read stories with perfect angels. I certainly don't. At the beginning of the backstory everything seems perfect for Nick. He has the perfect job, the perfect wife, the perfect apartment in New York City. He's a writer for a magazine. Who buys and reads magazines anymore. Everything is on the internet and print media is in a sharp decline. Remember film cameras anybody? Well Nick loses his job and so does his wife Amy who is also a writer in New York. Life starts to go downhill. Nick and Amy move back to Nick's home town in Missouri. On the morning of the couples 5th anniversary Amy has disappeared and appears to have been kidnapped and possibly murdered. Nick starts to investigate but everybody knows when the wife dies the husband is always the primary suspect. The police begin to focus on Nick. As the story of Nick is told we have a parallel story from Amy's diary starting 7 years ago. As the story goes we learn more about Nick and learn he was cheating with a much younger women and Amy's life was getting very unhappy and she was afraid Nick would murder her. This is how the story progresses during the first half of the novel. Lovable Nick appears to turn into a murderer. Then about the halfway point he realizes Amy is really framing him. Then the story shifts and we start learning the real story from Amy's point of view. Amy had discovered Nick was cheating over a year earlier and started writing a fake diary as evidence in her framing of Nick. She faked her own kidnapping and is living in a motel watching his reports of Nick's demise. Things don't go exactly as she planned but she has multiple backups. She meets two friends at the motel that also appear to be in hiding. Then things go bad for Amy as the so called friends rob her of all her money. She is force to call an old boyfriend. The story with Nick also continues. With his new guy defender lawyer goes on a PR attack. The media manipulation in this book is excellent and really sets it apart from Flynn's first two books. During a TV interview Nick confesses to is adultery but pleads that he still loves Amy and wishes her return. Amy's watches this and starts to change her mind. The police have finally found Amy's fake diary and it's damaging. Of course Amy had to make an anonymous tip. Nick is arrested but quickly released on bail to await trial. Amy's old boyfriend Desi is hiding her in a summer house and really he's keeping her prisoner. Amy has sex with Desi then murders him and returns to Nick. Now she is framing Desi and has the evidence of a rape inside her. Most of the police go along with this new story even with many holes as they wish to close the case and move on. Nick knows what Amy really did but she still has enough to frame him for attempted murder. At the end of the story Amazing (Psycho Bitch) Amy wins the battle with Humbled Nick who finally goes along with Amy's new story. What really made this story so interesting is the tale of a marriage gone bad with highly flawed characters.
(hide spoiler)]

I might need a break from dark flawed characters but I hope to read Lolita and Flowers in the Attic later this year.

In April I've only been able to finish one written book. I started at least three others and hope to finish at least one of them this month. I have been able to finish listening to 3 audiobooks. So four total and maybe one or two more by the end of the April.

Total so far 29/70

Updated List

I seem to have heard mostly negative comments about Gone Girl, which has actually piqued my interest. Now you have increased my interest. I also like to read in order of publication. Sharp Objects is now on hold at the library.

All the Gillian Flynn books were great in my opinion. On the surface they are mysteries but you'll probably guess the endings well before the end. But what I really enjoyed were the dark characters. Think female Walter White, Tony Soprano or Dexter Morgan. You can read them in any order as they are totally independent. Publication order worked for me because the first is the shortest and only one point of view.

And if you like Gillian Flynn then the girl on the train by Paula Hawkins and Dare me by Megan Abbott are similar and great as well.

Joe wrote: "I seem to have heard mostly negative comments about Gone Girl, which has actually piqued my interest. Now you have increased my interest. I also like to read in order of publication. Sharp Objec..."

Hi Joe,

I really enjoyed Gone Girl as well. The dark characters and the playing off one another was a nice twist. The book had you hating one minute, liking the next minute, and saying "Come on" at other times.

I have not read Gillian's other two works mentioned by Scott, but I plan too later.

One criticism I see is the characters are unlikeable but that really raises an issue about what that really means. Would we want to be friends in real life or do we like a character because they make the story interesting. I'm definitely in the latter camp.

Gone Girl creates so much debate, which is part of its charm for me. I really appreciate Flynn's ability to make you completely change your mind about a character in just a few pages, and then do it again, and again...

I wouldn't want to be friends with any of the characters in real life (except possibly Margo), but that's not what I look for in books. I just want interesting characters with a good story, and I think Flynn delivers on that point.

18. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

I loved this book. The story begins about Rachel that rides on a everyday to work in London. On the way there is a little signal stop where sometimes she observes a couple (Jason and Jess) outside their house near the tracks. Rachel seems to know a lot about this couple. Well everything is not what it seems as we learn more about Rachel and the couple near the tracks.

19. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

I had never heard of this book until a month or two when I saw it keep popping up on the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Trivia game. So I figured I should check it out. I never imagined myself reading a novel about an 11 year old girl wanting to have her first period but it was surprisingly good. The novel is about 11 year old Margaret who has just moved from Manhatten, New York to New Jersey. Margaret meets new friends. Tries to figure out what religion she should be. Worries about her figure and when she will get her first period. The story was very well written and deals with issues of growing up.

Scott wrote: "19. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
"

Have you read Forever, also by Judy Blume? I don't like it as much as Are You There God, though. It's got some very similar themes as far as dealing with the issues of growing up.