Classics Reading Challenge

There are many classics I want to read, but a list of all of them might get a bit overwhelming. So I'm starting with eleven. 

1. Sons and Lovers - D. H. Lawrence
2. North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell
3. Magnetism - F. Scott Fitzgerald
4. The Diary of a Nobody - George & Weeden Grossmith
5. Middlemarch - George Eliot
6. Tom Jones - Henry Fielding
7. The Secret Agent - Joseph Conrad
8. Carry on Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse
9. To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf
10. Rob Roy - Sir Walter Scott
11. The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand

Reading Challenge Page

The more observant amongst you may have already noticed that this blog has a second page now. "Reading Challenges." 

I love making book lists, and my reading lists change quite often, but there are certain books that I always meant to read, or certain genres that I want to devote more time to. And that's where reading challenges come in.

I already have two live reading challenges - Annual Reading Challenge, which is actually complete for this year, because I met my target of 80 books, and Fantasy Reading Challenge, in which I shall read 103 fantasy books.

But I will add some more, though bit smaller (I'm thinking maximum 11 books in each challenge) to give me a continuous reading challenge of some sort, and you know how good it feels to cross things off the list! 

So few more reading challenges will come up...but meanwhile, feel free to share updates on your reading challenges, or join in with mine. And let's all celebrate our love of books! 

New Series - WR Recommends

Hi Folks, 

You know I love doing series on this blog. This one is different - there will be no guest posts in this series - at least not in this original version. I might modify and invite people bit later on. 

Summer's here, and while many of us read pretty much the same all year around, a lot of people have more reading time in the summer, so it's a perfect time to do this. In this series, I will recommend up to 10 books in various genres. These are in my opinion "MUST READ" in these genres. 

These lists will be based on simple rules:

1. I have personally read these books
2. I put these books in "totally amazing" category. I had to narrow it down, because otherwise my recommendations would be endless. 

Disclaimer: I'm sure there will be books I will miss out (pretty hard to remember them all), but that happens. 

I would of course love it if you guys join in, in the comments, with the books you recommend, and if you have read any on my lists, and what do you think of them! 

Fantasy Reading Challenge

There are so many books I want to read that even a lifetime doesn't seem enough, so instead of following generic lists, for my favourite genre, I'm starting a challenge to read 103 fantasy books that I haven't read yet. There is no deadline for this, so if you like reading Fantasy, I invite you to join in. Read as many as you can - or even just a handful that appeal to you.

If you've read some of these, or are joining in the challenge, leave comments as you progress, and we can exchange thoughts. If you think others might enjoy this, please blog/twitter/facebook about it with the link. The more the merrier!! 


P.S. - I've included following books in the challenge simply because I already have these books. There are many more I want to read, but figured, let's focus on what I've already bought. 

103 FANTASY BOOKS TO READ 

1. Tigana - Guy Gavriel Kay
2. The Darkest Road - Guy Gavriel Kay
3. The Summer Tree - Guy Gavriel Kay
4. The Wandering Fire - Guy Gavriel Kay
5. Under Heaven - Guy Gavriel Kay
6. The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
7. The Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss
8. Dragonfilght - Anne McCaffrey
9. Dragonquest - Anne McCaffrey
10. The White Dragon - Anne McCaffrey
11. Mistborn: The Final Empire - Brandon Sanderson
12. Mistborn: The Well of Ascension - Brandon Sanderson
13. Mistborn: The Hero of Ages - Brandon Sanderson
14. Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians - Brandon Sanderson
15. The Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson
16. Beyond the Shadows - Brent Weeks
17. Shadow's Edge - Brent Weeks
18. The Way of Shadows - Brent Weeks
19. The Black Prism - Brent Weeks
20. A Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin
21. A Clash of Kings - George R. R. Martin
22. A Storm of Swords - George R. R. Martin
23. A Feast for Crows - George R. R. Martin
24. The Anubis Gates - Tim Powers
25. Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson
26. Deadhouse Gates - Steven Erikson
27. Memories of Ice - Steven Erikson
28. House of Chains - Steven Erikson
29. Midnight Tides - Steven Erikson
30. The Bonehunters - Steven Erikson
31. Reaper's Gale - Steven Erikson
32. Toll the Hounds - Steven Erikson
33. Dust of Dreams - Steven Erikson
34. The Crippled God - Steven Erikson
35. Ship of Magic - Robin Hobb
36. Mad Ship - Robin Hobb
37. Ship of Destiny - Robin Hobb
38. Fool's Errand - Robin Hobb
39. Golden Fool - Robin Hobb
40. Fool's Fate - Robin Hobb
41. The Warded Man - Peter V. Brett
42. The Desert Spear - Peter V. Brett
43. The First Betrayal - Patricia Bray
44. The Sea Change - Patricia Bray
45. The Final Sacrifice - Patricia Bray
46. Cygnet - Patricia A. McKillip
47. The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman
48. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
49. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
50. Replay - Ken Grimwood
51. Blade of Fortriu - Juliet Marillier
52. The Dark Mirror - Juliet Marillier
53. The Well of Shades - Juliet Marillier
54. Best Served Cold - Joe Abercrombie
55. The Heroes - Joe Abercrombie
56. The Sentinel Mage - Emily Gee
57. The Jewel in the Skull - Michael Moorcock
58. The Mad God's Amuel - Michael Moorcock
59. The Sword of the Dawn - Michael Moorcock
60. The Runestaff - Michael Moorcock
61. Lover Eternal - J R Ward
62. Lover Awakened - J R Ward
63. Lover Revealed - J R Ward
64. Lover Unbound - J R Ward
65. Lover Enshrined - J R Ward
66. Lover Avenged - J R Ward
67. Lover Mine - J R Ward
68. Lover Unleashed - J R Ward
69. Moon Called - Patricia Briggs
70. Blood Bound - Patricia Briggs
71. Iron Kissed - Patricia Briggs
72. Bone Crossed - Patricia Briggs
73. Silver Borne - Patricia Briggs
74. River Marked - Patricia Briggs
75. White Night - Jim Butcher
76. Summer Knight - Jim Butcher
77. Side Jobs - Jim Butcher
78. Small Favor - Jim Butcher
79. Proven Guilty - Jim Butcher
80. Grave Peril - Jim Butcher
81. Death Masks - Jim Butcher
82. Dead Beat - Jim Butcher
83. Blood Rites - Jim Butcher
84. Changes - Jim Butcher
85. Furies of Calderon - Jim Butcher
86. Academ's Fury - Jim Butcher
87. Cursor's Fury - Jim Butcher
88. Captain's Fury - Jim Butcher
89. Princep's Fury - Jim Butcher
90. First Lord's Fury - Jim Butcher
91. The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
92. The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan
93. The Dragon Reborn - Robert Jordan
94. The Shadow Rising - Robert Jordan
95. The Fires of Heaven - Robert Jordan
96. Lord of Chaos - Robert Jordan
97. A Crown of Swords - Robert Jordan
98. The Path of Daggers - Robert Jordan
99. Winter's Heart - Robert Jordan
100. Crossroads of Twilight - Robert Jordan
101. Knife of Dreams - Robert Jordan
102. The Gathering Storm - Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
103. Towers of Midnight - Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson

Books Read in May

This year is going pretty well in terms of reading. I've no doubt that I'm going to kick-ass of my 80 books target, since I've finished 49 books by end of May. But it's been fun, and since my reading list is endless....I still feel that I am not fast enough. But practice makes perfect :-)) 

1. Sixty-One Nails - Mike Shevdon - 01/05
   First book in the Courts of the Feyre series. I really enjoyed it. C. E. Murphy blurbed it as a Neverwhere for grown-ups, and I agree. It's different from a lot of my usual fantasy because the hero is a middle-aged, divorced, single parent - hence, your everyday man - who rises to his newly discovered Feyre heritage.
   
2. Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex - Eoin Colfer - 07/05
   The latest in Artemis Fowl series - and again, loved it. Artemis Fowl is my favourite young hero (yes, even more than Harry Potter - because while I love Harry Potter series more, I would much rather prefer Artemis' company than Harry's).
   
3. Dead in the Family - Charlaine Harris - 08/05
   The latest in Sookie Stackhouse. Another series I enjoy. But "Dead to the World" still remains my favourite book in the series so far.
   
4. Wicked Appetite - Janet Evanovich - 10/05
   I have enjoyed Stephanie Plum series by Evanovich, so I thought I would try something else by her. This is slightly fantasyish - in that it has magic, but not too much. I liked reading it, but didn't find it as laugh-out-loud funny as Stephanie Plum. So in terms of review, I would read more in this series, but not necessarily run out to buy when it comes out.
   
5. Matilda - Roald Dahl - 12/05
   I admit to a great shame here - until now I've never read any Roald Dahl. But then blame that to my foreign upbringing. There weren't Roald Dahl books around where I was growing up. So Matilda has been on my reading list, ever since I saw the movie Matilda (which I love). And I really enjoyed this book. Dahl's writing is FANTASTIC. I loved it so much, I had to read another book by him.
   
6. The Twits - Roald Dahl - 15/05
   Love the insults in this book. Hilarious. Though didn't like the story so much - certainly not as much as Matilda.
   
7. Dark Lover - J. R. Ward - 20/05
   Since a lot of people rave about Black Dagger Brotherhood books, I thought I would give this a go. So a mixed review about this - I liked the story, and I liked the characters - but not the writing. Especially not the dialogue. It was just too...well...wrong. Every guy speaks the same - and it doesn't match their history. But characters are compelling enough that I will read more books in this series, and hope that it improves over time, as it happens a lot since all new authors have stuff to learn after their first book.
   
8. First Five Pages - Noah Lukeman - 21/05
   Interesting book about first five pages, and the kind of things that might make an agent or an editor stop reading your book.
   
9. The Road to Bedlam - Mike Shevdon - 28/05
   May for me, began and ended with Mike Shevdon. This is the second book in Courts of the Feyre series, and again very good. Especially last third of this book was very good, in terms of plotting and pacing, and I kept turning the pages to find out what would happen next. 

Let's Test Our Reading Habits

Today's post is about our favourite activity: Reading. I do hope it is your favourite, since most people who follow this blog are either writers or readers. It's a little game.

What are you reading at the moment? If you are like me, and reading half-a-dozen books at the same time, just pick one that you are reading now, today etc.

Share the first sentence...no title. Let's see if we recognize these books (and no googling...that would be cheating). This is an experiment to test the how widely read we are as a group ;) And more importantly, do we remember the first lines of the books we have read? Let's find out.

Here is the first line of the book I am reading:

The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.

Books Read in February

Compared to January, February wasn't as good in terms of reading but I am all right with that. After all, can't spend every month getting crazily addicted to reading or I wouldn't get anything else done. So here are my seven books of February.

1. Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox - Eoin Colfer - 01/02
   I love Artemis Fowl series. Colfer's writing may be aimed for teenagers, but this is a master at work. Every book only gets better. I can't wait for the next book.
   
   
2. LEPrecon - Eoin Colfer - 01/02
   
   
3. Nemi - Lise Myhre - 05/02
   This is the first proper comic book I read. I read Nemi comics in Metro on my commute, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a book in the library. And it was absolute delight.
   
   
4. The Six Sacred Stones - Matthew Reilly - 09/02
   This was one of those impulse buy. I had never heard of this author, nor knew anything about the book. But it was on bargain in a supermarket, and I liked the back blurb, so bought it. Writing - as it happens in a lot of thrillers - not masterwork, but the story is so good that kept me turning the pages. Even learning later on that this was a middle book in the series, and ended with a cliff hanger, didn't really spoil my pleasure, which doesn't happen often.
   
   
5. Anita Blake: The Laughing Corpse - Laurell K. Hamilton - 15/02
   Very very disappointing. I picked this up because I've heard so much about Anita Blake series. I could barely get through it. And only finished it just for the sake of finishing.
   
   
6. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris - 16/02
   Fabulous of course. Another dose of Sookie and Eric. Oh I do hope Sookie ends up with Eric.
   
   
7. The Half-Made World - Felix Gilman - 19/02
   This was interesting, different. This book has reviews from the likes of Ursula K. LeGuin and Brandon Sanderson. Steampunk meets wild west. This is unusual, but wonderfully drawn. The world is richly and detailed, and characters like the story are very realistic and very human. I think the only reason I did't love this book is because it had an ending which is suitable to the story and very realistic, but not the kind of completely concluding ending that I mostly prefer. Vague endings just don't satisfy me. Oh well! Still glad to have read this though.

Books Read in January

I have decided to post a list at the end of each month, of books I read during that month. This will be a place to make brief comments about some of the books, whereas my overall annual list, simply includes names of books and authors, without any reviews or comments.

01. Arctic Drift - Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler - 05/01

Good story, excellent plot. But as is often the problem with a lot of complicated thriller novels,  writing itself leaves a lot to be desired. So even though I can appreciate a good story, and I can see what an excellent movie it might have made, but I can also see how much more I might have enjoyed if writing was more polished. 

02. Princess Diaries: Seventh Heaven - Meg Cabot - 06/01

03. Princess Diaries: After Eight - Meg Cabot - 07/01

I mistakenly thought that this was the last book in the series, so I was extremely annoyed by its ambiguous ending. I am sure there were few expletives as well. Then I calmed down enough to check on Meg Cabot's website and realised that there are actually two more books, so the world was right again. I am not a fan of vague endings at the best of times, but in series it is completely unforgivable. I don't invest hours and hours of reading time, and several books worth of money in a series, to find that conclusion could be either this or either that. 

04. Journal 1 - Dolly Garland - 08/01

I haven't read my journals cover-to-cover since I started keeping them. For the earlier journals, enough time has passed for me to look at them with objectivity, so I have decided to start reading from Journal 1. 

05. The Laurentine Spy - Emily Gee - 09/01

This was an excellent stand-alone fantasy. It does a good job of containing just enough information of setting and background to be sufficient for stand alone. It is well-written, engaging and characters are very sympathetic and well developed.

06. The Devil and Miss Prym - Paulo Coelho - 11/01

07. Club Dead - Charlaine Harris - 14/01

08. Knight of Shadows - Roger Zelazney - 14/01

09. Dead to the World - Charlaine Harris - 16/01

My absolute favourite book in the Sookie Stackhouse series (from Books 1 to 8). Before this book, I liked this series. After this book, I love this series.

10. Dead as a Doornail - Charlaine Harris - 16/01

11. Definitely Dead - Charlaine Harris - 17/01

12. All Together Dead - Charlaine Harris - 18/01

13. From Dead to Worse - Charlaine Harris - 19/01

14. Magic Strikes - Ilona Andrews - 22/01

15. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader - Anne Fadiman - 22/01

A superb collection of essays from a book lover. Anne Fadiman's writing style is easy to read, engaging and genuine. This little book is a wealth of joy for a book lover, and the essays talk about books, as book lovers think of them - as something more than just a piece of entertainment or an object. The value of books as we perceive them is not understood by "regular" people, and reading these essays is like speaking to a friend who feels exactly the same way.

16. One for the Money * - Janet Evanovich - 24/01

I read quite a lot of Stephanie Plum books from a library few years ago. Just bought first three books in the series for re-read. 

17. Pride and Prejudice * - Jane Austen - 30/01

Jane Austen is one of my favourite authors of all time, and definitely my THE favourite classics author. Now and again, I feel the need to revisit my favourite Austen books. 

What Kind of a Reader Are You?

People treat their books differently. They love their books differently. One person's habit could be another person's nightmare. Forget about e-books for a moment, and think of all the paperbacks and hardbacks you love(d) before the E-Reader Army arrived in town. How do you treat your books?

Are you a spine breaker? Are your pages dog-eared? Do you care if the books are used or new? Do you keep them? Do you write in them? Do you leave the book open, lying face down? Does it matter what your book looks like? 


I will share my own idiosyncrasies. 

1. I almost always buy new books. I have few used ones, where I might have picked them up from a second-hand shop or charity shop. But these would have been something that caught my interest, but not necessarily something I desperately wanted. These would have been bargains that were so cheap I felt it wouldn't be a waste even if I never touched them or didn't keep them, and even if used, they would be in relatively good condition. If it's a messed up book, dog eared ages, broken spines, food splashes - I wouldn't buy it for a penny. 
2. In all of my books I write my name and a date when I got the book. If I bought it from somewhere unusual - like while I was travelling in another country - then I write down the place I bought it from. 
3. I don't really lend my books, and I don't borrow other people's. Having lent them to few people previously, I have learned my lesson. I don't trust other people to handle my books. I lend occasional book to my husband. But he doesn't read a lot and I buy plenty for him as various presents than he ever reads, so it's not a big thing. But even when I give him one of my books, I supply it with a book mark and instructions to be careful. 
4. I do have double standards. I write in my books. I can scribble across the margins, underline pages, and it's okay. It adds to the character. If anyone else as much as puts a dot in it, they wouldn't be my favourite person for a long long time. 
5. I always use bookmarks. I may leave a book open and facing down for two seconds if I am just trying to grab something and needs hands free, but no more than that. I have a handy supply of bookmarks around, so it's never a problem, and besides, as soon as I pick up a book to read, a bookmark is the first thing that goes in there. 
6. I take care of my books, but not at the cost of pleasure. I am naturally careful with them, so if I have read a book only once, it will almost always look brand new. But the books I read again and again, begin to show wear and tear. And I like that. It adds to their character, and it makes sense that my favourite books would fall into that category.
7. I keep all my books.

Books Read 2011

My reading goal for 2011 is to read minimum 80 books, though I am secretly hoping that I could at least match last year's 99. But 80 is the goal. Here, I will keep an on-going list of books I read, and the dates I finish them. Feel free to make your comments, share your views about these books, or about what you are reading. Many of you have joined me in this reading challenge, so share your successes throughout the year. 


* books = rereads 


BOOKS READ

01. Arctic Drift - Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler - 05/01
02. Princess Diaries: Seventh Heaven - Meg Cabot - 06/01
03. Princess Diaries: After Eight - Meg Cabot - 07/01
04. Journal 1 - Dolly Garland - 08/01
05. The Laurentine Spy - Emily Gee - 09/01
06. The Devil and Miss Prym - Paulo Coelho - 11/01
07. Club Dead - Charlaine Harris - 14/01
08. Knight of Shadows - Roger Zelazney - 14/01
09. Dead to the World - Charlaine Harris - 16/01
10. Dead as a Doornail - Charlaine Harris - 16/01
11. Definitely Dead - Charlaine Harris - 17/01
12. All Together Dead - Charlaine Harris - 18/01
13. From Dead to Worse - Charlaine Harris - 19/01
14. Magic Strikes - Ilona Andrews - 22/01
15. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader - Anne Fadiman - 22/01
16. One for the Money * - Janet Evanovich - 24/01
17. Pride and Prejudice * - Jane Austen - 30/01
18. Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox - Eoin Colfer - 01/02
19. LEPrecon - Eoin Colfer - 01/02
20. Nemi - Lise Myhre - 05/02
21. The Six Sacred Stones - Matthew Reilly - 09/02
22. Anita Blake: The Laughing Corpse - Laurell K. Hamilton - 15/02
23. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris - 16/02
24. The Half-Made World - Felix Gilman - 19/02
25. Lark Rise - Flora Thompson - 01/03
26. Over to Candleford - Flora Thompson - 04/03
27. Candleford Green - Flora Thompson - 09/03
28. Strengths Finder 2.0 - Tom Rath - 12/03
29. Discovering Your Personality Type - Don Ruso&Russ Hudson - 17/03
30. Promises in Death - J. D. Robb - 19/03
31. Prince of Chaos - Roger Zelazny - 21/03
32. Turn Coat - Jim Butcher - 01/04
33. Globejotting - Dave Fox - 05/04
34. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - 08/04
35. James Bond 02: Live and Let Die - 16/04
36. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld - Patricia A. McKillip - 19/04
37. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley - 24/04
38. 84 Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff - 24/04
39. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street - Helene Hanff - 26/04
40. Twilight's Dawn - Anne Bishop - 29/04
41. Sixty-One Nails - Mike Shevdon - 01/05
42. Artemis Fowl and the Atlantic Complex - Eoin Colfer - 07/05
43. Dead in the Family - Charlaine Harris - 08/05
44. Wicked Appetite - Janet Evanovich - 10/05
45. Matilda - Roald Dahl - 12/05
46. The Twits - Roald Dahl - 15/05
47. Dark Lover - J. R. Ward - 20/05
48. First Five Pages - Noah Lukeman  - 21/05
49. The Road to Bedlam - Mike Shevdon - 28/05
50. Tigana - Guy Gavriel Kay - 04/06

51. Notes on Writing Weird Fiction - H. P. Lovecraft - 08/06

52. The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss - 17/06
53. Next Logical Step - Ben Bova - 22/06
54. Zen in the Art of Writing - Ray Bradbury - 26/06
55. How to Write a Great Query Letter - Noah Lukeman - 30/06
56. The Art of War for Writers - James Scott Bell - 01/07
57. Writing Fiction For All You Are Worth - James Scott Bell - 04/07
58. Dead Until Dark* - Charlaine Harris - 08/07
59. Journal 2 - Dolly Garland - 09/07
60. Moon Blood - Patricia Briggs - 13/07
61. Coraline - Neil Gaiman - 21/07
62. Heat Wave - Richard Castle - 21/07
63. Twilight - Stephenie Meyer - 23/07
64. New Moon - Stephenie Meyer - 23/07
65. Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer - 24/07
66. Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer - 24/07
67. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner - Stephenie Meyer - 26/07
68. Four to Score - Janet Evanovich - 30/07
69. Living Dead in Dallas* - Charlaine Harris - 31/07
70. Plum Lucky - Janet Evanovich - 03/08
71. How to Land (and Keep) a Literary Agent - Noah Lukeman - 06/08
72. Diary of a Wimpy Vampire - Tim Collins - 08/08
73. A Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin - 17/08
74. How to Read Like a Writer - Francine Prose - 19/08
75. Side Jobs - Jim Butcher - 19/08
76. Tenerife Journal - Dolly Garland - 31/08
77. A Clash of Kings - George R. R. Martin - 12/09
78. Fantasy in Death - J. D. Robb - 15/09
79. The Sign of Four - Arthur Conan Doyle - 20/09
80. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Wolves at the Gate - Drew Goddard - 24/09
81. Grave Peril - Jim Butcher - 25/09
82. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - 27/09
83. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins - 28/09
84. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins - 29/09
85. The Old Man and the Sea* - Ernest Hemingway - 30/09
86. Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians - Brandon Sanderson - 03/10
87. Dear John - Nicholas Sparks - 10/10
88. A Storm of Swords - George R. R. Martin - 24/10
89. Princess Diaries: To the Nines - Meg Cabot - 25/10
90. Princess Diaries: Ten Out of Ten - 26/10
91. Dead to the World* - 30/10
92. The Best of Reading for Your Success - Scott Dinsmore - 11/11
93. Focus - Leo Babauta - 12/11
94. How to Gain Extra 2 Hours Per Day - Brian Tracy - 12/11
95. 21 Ways to Double Your Productivity - Brian Tracy - 13/11
96. Zen to Done - Leo Babauta - 13/11
97. Goals - Brian Tracy - 14/11
98. Maximum Achievement - Brian Tracy - 15/11
99. 50 Best Jobs For Your Personality - Michael Farr - 19/11
100. My Life Planning Workbook - JaiperJAM - 19/11
101. The Ultimate Goals Program - Brian Tracy - 22/11
102. 21 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Money - Brian Tracy - 23/11

103. Get Paid More and Promoted Faster - Brian Tracy - 24/11
104. A Feast for the Crows - George R. R. Martin - 03/12
105. Across the Universe - Beth Revis - 0412
106. Doctor Who: The King's Dragon - Una McCormacn - 05/12
107. Starman's Quest - Robert Silverberg - 05/12
108. The Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss - 10/12
109. Third Girl - Agatha Christie - 17/12

2011 Reading Challenge - Join Me??

2011 Reading Challenge officially begins. What will be your goal for this year? Since I easily surpassed by 75 books last year, I am going to go for 80 books this year. Trying to remain realistic, as I have plenty of other goals this year - like write and edit more, and read more non-fiction (that takes longer than fiction), so I think 80 should do it. 

I will continue recording my 2011 Books Read list on this blog, as I did last year. But for personal use, I keep my faithful spreadsheet, which has more details than what I put on this blog. I know spreadsheets are not everyone's thing - but for me, it still remains most effective and fun (yes - I appreciate spreadsheets and fun don't usually go together, but I am weird about them) :P 

Are you going to keep a list of books you read this year? How do you plan to do that?

2010 Reading Challenge - How did you do?

I invited all of you to join me in 2010 Reading Challenge, and I know many of you did. So now that the year is nearly finished, how did it go for you? Did you meet your goal?


I am happy to say, I reached my goal of 75 books much earlier than anticipated. Currently, I have finished 98 books this year, and still hoping to finish two more by end of tomorrow to reach a neat 100, but even if I don't, I am happy with 98.


And I hope you will join me for 2011 Reading Challenge too. 

Reading Challenge Update

For the first time I decided to have an official challenge to read a certain number of books this year. Minimum 75. Here is the update.
It doesn't include any e-books that I have read, as I don't really keep track of those. But among my "regular" books, 42 reads so far.

Deadline to Tell The World What To Read

Hi Folks,

Sorry for a bit of silence. As they say....S*** Happens!!

Anyway, so previously, I asked you to send me a list of 10 books you think everyone should read. Books that matter to you for whatever reason - because they entertained you, made you cry, made you laugh, made you think something new...whatever....it's your list....your choice.

I will be posting a consolidated list of those books on Sunday 25th of July - so if any stragglers amongst you want to send their list, please feel free. Email me the list at lostwanderer5 [at] gmail [dot] com, and I will add it.

Your Collaboration Needed

So I had this bright idea - well it is bright, in my opinion :-)  Most people who follow this blog are writers, but we also share one other common identity: READERS.

Let's do something as readers that would benefit other readers and ourselves hopefully. I would like you to recommend up to 10 books (you can do 1 if you want) that you think people MUST read, or they are missing out on something. Please make sure it at least has the correct title and author's name.

Please EMAIL YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS to lostwanderer5 [at] gmail [dot] com. I will consolidate them, include your names and links with your recommendations. (So please make sure to send me your links too)

I think it will be a great thing for the readers, and for all of us, next time we have some Christmas money and wondering which authors' royalty cheques we should contribute towards. I haven't set a date for posting the list yet - depends on how many people might be interested, but I will give you a good few weeks.

If you want to leave a note in comment expressing your interest, please do so, but send the actual recommendations to my email address as it would be much easier to manage and to make sure I haven't missed anyone.

I really hope there will be good participation for this, and if your friends or family want to recommend something, send me their list and I will be happy to credit it to their names.

[Signs off....hoping to find a full inbox]

EDIT - Fiction and Non-Fiction both are fine. Just clarify which ones your recommendations are. Also, Adam's comment has led me to add - feel perfectly free and at ease to include your own book. If I had mine published, I am sure I would be including it :-)

Do You Read Enough?

One of the biggest irony for most writers is that as they write more - because they love stories - there is less time to read. Majority of us aren't full time writers, so time is short as it is. Once you get into the discipline of writing, do you still make time to read enough? Earlier this year when I started to write regularly, for first few months, my reading reduced considerably. I was aware of it, and I didn't like that. I had all these piles of books waiting to be read, new worlds to be explored. So I made a conscious decision not to let that happen. That was the reason behind keeping the record here. I still update it, and it's great to see the list grow. I already read a wide variety of fiction, so my new goal is to read a little more non-fiction (other than writing craft). And for 2010, I intend to challenge myself to read 101 books. What about you? Do you devote good time to read, just for the pleasure of it? PS: This is a scheduled post, while I am having a short break in Berlin. I will reply to any comments upon my return.

Writing What You Know

I downloaded "396 Books & Other Resources" from Holly Lisle's website. I am most pleasantly surprised by its concept. Of course we have all heard: Write what you know. In many writing books, we have also learned, "Know more" so you can "Write What You Know" with more stuff. What Holly did is got lots of people to recommend fiction and non-fiction books, compiled the list, and that's what this download offers. She also lists some strategies on how you could learn more from the books. It's not rocket science, and I am sure we have all done it at some point with some books, but what's good about this is that there is a huge list of books recommended by other writers, and strategy guide Holly has devised is a handy little reference sheet which would come in especially useful when reading a non-fiction book for research. Check it out at - www.hollylisle.com and just type the book's title in search area.