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Original poster

50 Book Challenge in 2013. Who's with me?

991 replies

CardiffUniversityNetballTeam · 05/01/2013 16:58

Tidying up after Christmas it has come to my attention that I have nearly 100(!!) paperbacks in stacks down the side of my bed waiting to be read. BlushBlush
I am going to challenge myself to try and read at least 50 of them this year. That's nearly one a week so I am going to have to really apply myself and stop faffing around and doing other things when I could be enjoying a good book.
I wondered if anyone else would like to join me? We can post what we are reading and then post when we have finished each book and what's next.
I know I would love to hear what others are reading and enjoying (or not enjoying) so I can go out and buy more books in a few months time!
My first book of the year is President Down by Terence Strong about spies and terrorists which my dad lent me about a year ago! I'm only about 20 pages in, but so far so good.

OP posts:
linkainka · 29/03/2013 07:15

Book 1 Mhairi McFarlane. 'You had me at Hello'. A warm, enchanting but down to earth story about people and relationships. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

minsmum · 29/03/2013 10:34

20 The Winter Garden Mystery Carola Dunn

InLoveWithDavidTennant · 29/03/2013 20:37

finished book 11 this morning. lisa jackson - left to die. really liked it but after i had finished it i spent the next few hours being really pissed off. it doesnt have an ending. my poor dh... he had to put up with hours of me moaning about it... until i looked up the author and realised there was a part 2 Blush so now i have to wait to see it in a charity shop or get desperate and buy it from ebay

book 12 is sophie kinsella - mini shopaholic. have been looking forward to this one for a while now. am nearly half way through already Grin

minsmum · 29/03/2013 20:57

21 Requiem for a Mezzo by Carola Dunn. I bought the first 4 in the series in a kindle sale ages ago am currently reading the 4th. Really enjoying them but I have just checked and there are 20 I am not supposed to be buying books

shrinkingnora · 29/03/2013 21:03

The Ninth Life of Louis Drax was excellent, really interesting and original. Thoroughly recommend this one. Love Liz Jensen anyway but I think this is her best.

greengirlie · 29/03/2013 21:04

ooh, ooh, ooh, can i join? cant promise that i will read much highbrow stuff but i am a book worm :D not sure how many i read last year but would have been around the 50 mark give or take. I am one of these people that breaks into a sweat if i haven't got a book lined up when I'm nearing the end of the current read!
hey can i join the cardiff group too... links?
Cheers me dears [bugrin]

MrsCosmopilite · 29/03/2013 21:18

Finally finished 'Roughing It'. However, I posted about it so long ago I can't remember what no. book it was. #16 I think.

I've just got a stack of books out of the library, and have one from the MN book giveaway last week, and one I bought in the charity shop today. Taking a night off to let my brain wind down from gold prospecting, silver mining, and tours of Hawaii (see above), and then getting stuck into The Agincourt Bride.

shrinkingnora · 29/03/2013 22:32

Ok, I've just been given an iPad. I've downloaded iBooks but can't find a single free book that I want to read. Are there any decent free books or am I looking in the wrong place? Or should I resign myself to paying for them?

Allalonenow · 29/03/2013 23:11

Go to the Amazon Kindle pages and download the free Kindle app, you will find a huge number of free books there.

minsmum · 29/03/2013 23:49

22 murder on the Flying Scotsman Carola Dunn.I have loved these sweet little murder mysteries set in the 1920's.

mumslife · 30/03/2013 09:53

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

WednesdayNext · 30/03/2013 10:55

Still on book 16 here. I'm about half way through Game of Thrones book 3.

Cardiff I recently read The Lifeboat. It was really good. I'd highly recommend it.

EggBasket · 30/03/2013 23:10
  1. From Hell - Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell
  2. Room - Emma Donoghue
  3. Omon Ra - Victor Pelevin
  4. The Knife Of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness
  5. The Ask And The Answer - Patrick Ness
  6. Monsters Of Men - Patrick Ness

A weak ending to the Ness trilogy which I got a bit bogged down with.

tumbletumble · 31/03/2013 08:11

Finished book 11 last night - Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway. I'm not normally a fan of fantasy / sci fi, but I enjoyed this mainly due to the cast of interesting, memorable characters. Some strong female characters in particular.

DuchessofMalfi · 31/03/2013 08:17

Eggbasket - have you read A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness? I read it last year and thought it was very good.

MrsMaryCooper · 31/03/2013 12:01

Finished 27 Gently with the Ladies. All the smoking! True to its time but mindboggling.

Now on 28th Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn and I'm really enjoying it so far, its much better written than I expected.

EggBasket · 31/03/2013 15:02

Yes read A Monster Calls for book club last year and thought it was phenomenal. The first two books of the Chaos Walking trilogy live up to it but the third one is a real drop in quality.

Started book 16 - Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinski (reportage from the former Soviet Union).

EggBasket · 31/03/2013 15:03

whoops book 17 not 16!

InLoveWithDavidTennant · 31/03/2013 15:50

just finished book 12. sophie kinsella - mini shopaholic. really enjoyed it. hope she brings out another.

am now on 13. lynda la plante - cold shoulder. its a new author for me so i hope its a good one

juneybean · 31/03/2013 15:51
  1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
DuchessofMalfi · 31/03/2013 18:05

Coming to the end of Book 29 French Children Don't Throw Food by Pamela Druckerman. I've been pleasantly surprised by this book.

I was expecting the author to be claiming to have all the answers, to be preaching the French way of bringing up children. She doesn't. It's a very readable, interesting book.

CoteDAzur · 01/04/2013 09:13
  1. Paranoia - Joseph Finder

A surprisingly good, very detailed and credible book about corporate espionage, by an author who clearly knows what he is talking about. Highly recommended.

  1. World War Z - Max Brooks

I've always thought zombie books/movies are silly, so resisted reading this book for the longest time. It is actually a very good book about the strategies of dealing with a global pandemic and war.

minsmum · 01/04/2013 10:57

Just finished book 23 A discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness. I really enjoyed it

UnnamedFemaleProtagonist · 01/04/2013 11:01

I'm an English lit student, so I've read 27 books so far this year. Highlights have been The PowerBook, Nights at the Circus, Oryx & Crake, Lady Chatterly's Lover, and Second Class Citizen.

MrsCosmopilite · 01/04/2013 11:11

Currently reading
#18 - The Agincourt Bride. enjoying it so far, particularly as there was a programme on recently with Dr Janina Ramirez covering EXACTLY this period and these events, so it adds weight to the reading experience.

Lined up:
#19 Tea rose - Jennifer Donnelly
#20 Bronze summer - Stephen Baxter
#21 The woman who died a lot - Jasper Fforde
#22 The somnambulist - Essie Fox (see, I DO take note of recommendations!)
#23 Mrs Robinson's disgrace - Kate Summerscale (MN giveaway!)
#24 The confessions of Katherine Howard - Suzanna Dunn

Got several more pending from the library too.