2011 Challenge(s)

There are many appealing challenges hosted by other book bloggers which I am tempted to join in but I am reluctant to do so because I am the kind of person who would then feel not just motivated but obligated to meet the whatever challenge’s goal and I am afraid reading would become a job instead of joy.

Therefore, I am setting my own personal challenge, which is:

• to read 3 books by Jane Austen (shame on me, I have read only a few pages of Emma years ago and couldn’t force myself to continue, but I really like the films and series made after her books, so I’m giving her another try)
• to read 3 of Harry Potter books  (yes, I have managed to skip those, too, until now)
• to read 50 books between January 1^st – December 31^st 2011 (I think I can manage one book a week)
• to clean-up 10 books from my TBR shelf (they count among the 50)
• rereads don’t count
• books not written in English and not translated into English don’t count either

That’s it. Keep your fingers crossed. Whatever challenges you join in or set for yourself, I hope you meet the goal.

CHALLENGES RECORDS:

3 books by Jane Austen:

Persuasion

Northanger Abbey

3 Harry Potter books

50 books:

Books are listed in order of reading; those reviewed are linked to their reviews and also listed under My Reviews tab. The books not counting (rereads, non-English) are in italics and numbered separately, but I list them here to keep track of the total number of the books I read. 

1. Dark Mysteries of the Vatican by H. Paul Jeffers
2. Persuasion by Jane Austen
3. Labyrinth by Kate Mosse (from my TBR list 1)
4. The Death of Kings (Emperor #2) by Conn Iggulden
5. Tongue in Chic by Christina Dodd
6. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
7. A Hunger Like No Other (Immortals After Dark #2) by Kresley Cole
8. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (from my TBR list 2)
9. The Field of Swords (Emperor #3) by Conn Iggulden
10. The Koran
11. The Gods of War (Emperor #4) by Conn Iggulden
12. The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse (from my TBR list 3)
13. England's Perfect Hero by Suzanne Enoch 
14. Blood of My Brother by James LePore
15. Playing Easy to Get by Sherilyn Kenyon, Jaid Balck and Kresley Cole 
16. No Rest for the Wicked (Immortals After Dark #3) by Kresley Cole
17. Sepulchre by Kate Mosse (from my TBR list #4)
18. Club Dead  (Sookie Stackhouse #3) by Charlaine Harris 
19. Random Magic by Sasha Soren
20. Dead to the World  (Sookie Stackhouse #4) by Charlaine Harris
21. Lament (Books of Faerie #1) by Maggie Stiefvater
22. Ransom My Heart by Meg Cabot
23. Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon (from my TBR list #5)
24. The Awakening (The Vampire Diaries #1) by L. J. Smith (from my TBR list #6)
25. The Tsarina's Daughter by Carolly Erickson (from my TBR list #7)
26. The Struggle (The Vampire Diaries #2) by L. J. Smith (from my TBR list #8)
27. Fatherland by Robert Harris (from my TBR list #9)
28. The Fury (The Vampire Diaries #3) by L. J. Smith (from my TBR list #10)
29. The Reunion (The Vampire Diaries #4) by L. J. Smith
30. The Luxe (Luxe #1) by Anna Godbersen
31. The  Alarming History of European Royalty by Karl Shaw
32. The Lowlands of Heaven by F. J. Dagg
33. It Must Be Love by Rachel Gibson
34. Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night (Immortals After Dark #4) by Kresley Cole
35. Fallen (Fallen #1) by Lauren Kate
36. Dead as a Doornail (Sookie Stackhouse #5) by Charlaine Harris
37. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
38. Nightfall (The Vampire Diaries: The Return #1) by L. J. Smith
39. Shadow Souls (The Vampire Diaries: The Return #2) by L. J. Smith
40. Soldier of Rome: The Legionary by James Mace
41. Midnight (The Vampire Diaries: The Return #3) by L. J. Smith
42. Ballad (Books of Faerie #2) by  Maggie Stiefvater
43. The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pulmann
44. London's Perfect Scoundrel by Suzanne Enoch 
45. Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach
46. A Great Place for a Seizure by Terry Tracy
47. The Inspector General by Nikolai Gogol 
48. The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles #2) by Anne Rice
49. A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
50. The Pillars of Society by Henrik Ibsen
51. The Queen of the Damned (The Vampire Chronicles #3) by Anne Rice
52. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
53. The Expected One (Magdalene Line Trilogy #1) by Kathleen McGowan
54. Surviving with Wolves by Misha Defonseca
55. Phantom (The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters #1) by L. J. Smith*
56. The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún by J. R. R. Tolkien
57. Sire (The Vampires of St. Troy #1) by Thomas Galvin 
58. Vision in White (Bride Quartet #1) by Nora Roberts
59. Dark Needs at Night's Edge (Immortals After Dark #5)  by Kresley Cole
60. Flight of the Falcon by Susan Geason

*written by an anonymous ghost-writer

Books not counting for the challenge (and reasons):

1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (reread)
2. Die Verbotene Frau (original title in German, read it in Slovene)
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (reread)
4. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (reread)
5. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (reread)
6. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (reread)
7. The Stranger by Albert Camus (reread)
8. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (reread)
9. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (reread)
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (reread)
11. Za narodov blagor by Ivan Cankar (Slovene book and author, most probably not translated into English)
12. Limonada Slovenica by Vinko Moderendorfer (Slovene book and authour, not translated into English)
13. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (reread)

CHALLENGES WRAP-UP:

·       3 Jane Austen novels: I read two, but I will keep reading them, because I started to like her writing. ü

·       3 Harry Potter books: failed miserably – read zero. I think I’ll keep those waiting for a while longer, but I might get to them some time. X 

·       50 books: I read 60 books. ü

Total books read: 73

I also read 13 books which I did not count in the 50 books challenge because they were either rereads or not written and/or translated into English.

Rating stats – according to my Goodreads ratings, though I rated several books with half-stars:

Did not rate: 1

* not strange: 0

** a little strange: 3

*** strange enough: 17

**** very strange: 30

***** beyond strange: 9

I must say I feel good about reaching and surpassing (some of) my reading goals this year. It has been a good reading year.