Adrateia's 2013 100 book challenge

2012 was my first year of making it to 100 (actually up to 107 at the moment) so I thought I'd join a 100 book challenge group. I hope I do as well as I did this year! Good luck to all the other members.

Welcome adrateia. I tend to be rather quiet on this gig but like to track my books here. It's a good place to be. I look forward to seeing what you will be reading in 2013.

Yes, welcome to the group. I'm also interested to see what you will be reading next year.

Welcome aboard! Good luck on reaching 100.

Hi @adrateia. I, too, have read over 100 books this year, and am looking forward to a second challenge year!

Welcome to the group! Looking forward to seeing your reading choices this year!

Thanks for the warm welcome :)

Okay, off to a slow start this year (work and illness) but here's number one!

1. The Red Queen by Matt Ridley

A biology non-fiction book, looking at the role of sex in evolution. This is the first of my Santathing books and I absolutely loved it. At times it was quite difficult to understand but that's what made it a lot of fun. 5/5

2. Phantoms in the Brain by V. S. Ramachandran

My second Santathing book, exploring neuroscience, psychology and philosophy. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this one as much. Some of his ideas were pretty hard to take seriously and the last third was far too philosophical for my tastes. Still, mostly enjoyable. 3/5

Nice choices from your Santathing!

Yes, my Santa picked very well!

3. The News Clown by Thor Garcia

I won this through Goodreads.
The author definitely has an enjoyable writing style, and I was hooked straight away. But it all got very tiresome and repetitive, and it didn’t go anywhere. Mostly a fun read, anyway. 2/5

4. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

The third and last of my Santathing books. I requested humour, and I got it. I simply didn't think I could find books particularly funny, that I just loved dark and serious books too much, but Sedaris proved me wrong. This was a hilarious and fantastic book. Thank you so much, Santa. 4/5

Oh, I had the fortune to hear him read on stage a the Sydney Writers' Festival some years ago, he was brilliantly funny! I must track down his spoken word somewhere...

Been meaning to look at a Sedaris book for a while, thanks for the recommendation adrateia !

I have that book on my bookshelves. I really should try to get to it soon.

Glad to be spreading Sedaris love!

5. A Game of Chance by Jon Osborne

I won this through Goodreads.
Much thanks to the author for sending this to me, I really enjoyed it. Deeply engrossing and interesting page-turner, I’ll definitely be looking out for other books by Osborne. 4/5

Hi Reagan, just passing by to say hello and how are you doing.

Hi johnsimpson, doing very well, and how about you?

6. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

One for the all time favourites collection. I kinda feel I robbed myself by not reading this a lot sooner. Absolutely remarkable read.

7. One Eyed Jack by Christopher J. Lynch

I won this through Goodreads.
This was a really good book, thank you to the author for sending it to me. It was spectacularly fast-paced, engrossing and interesting: if it weren’t for my need for sleep before work I’d have finished it in one sitting. It seemed to end too abruptly, though, but that makes me want to buy the next one when it comes out. So well played!

Hi Reagan, you're off to a good start in 2013 my dear.

How are you going so far?

8. Solar by Ian McEwan

This one was okay, definitely not my favourite McEwan work, but enjoyable anyway.

Oh, I rather liked Solar, although it is quite different from his others with the overt humour. Haven't read his latest yet, must get a copy...

Oh yes, I read a review of Sweet Tooth in the latest copy of GR, it sounds fantastic.

I am looking forward to reading Sweet Tooth as well, although there have been many negative comments about it. I liked Solar a lot, even though many didn't.

And then I've only heard good comments about Sweet Tooth. :) I'm currently #7 in the queue at the library...

9. Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie

This was quite a fun book. Best Christie I've read in a while.

10. Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro

I love Ishiguro, but this was nowhere as good as his novels.

11. Game Control by Lionel Shriver

Lionel Shriver is consistently good. I have adored every book of her's that I've read so far.

12. High Tide in Tucson by Barbara Kingsolver

I usually really like Kingsolver, but her essays didn't really interest me.

13. Collected Stories by Roald Dahl

Having grown up reading Dahl's books, I jumped at the opportunity to buy this collection, and I'm glad I did. This was genuinely a fantastic read.

You're reading is going well Reagan.

14. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

It took me longer than I'd have liked to get through this, because I was working long hard hours and this was quite a dense, involved read. Forgetting that, though, I really liked it. I've heard One Hundred Years of Solitude is Marquez's best work so I'm looking forward to reading that sometime.

adrateia I also enjoyed Love in the Time of Cholera, and you are in for a real treat with his One Hundred Years !

15. A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie

Another good one from Christie.

16. The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene

Working through a collection of Greene novels, this is the first. I didn't expect too much from this, but I absolutely loved it. Great book.

Oh, when Graeme Greene is good, he's very, very good! And I hope you like 100 Years of Solitude as much as I did.

17. The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books are my ultimate feel-good books. Slowly working my way through them.

Hi Reagan, i love the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency books and finished book 12 The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party last week. Book 13 is on the bookshelf with some more Mr McCall Smith books. I agree with your comment, they are feel good books.

18. Stamboul Train by Graham Greene

This was alright. Started off really good and engrossing but I lost interest by the end.

19. The Daydreamer by Ian McEwan

Eh. Cute enough book, but not really my thing.

wookiebender, your comment makes me all the more enthusiastic to read Greene. about to start A Burnt-Out Case, which sounds excellent.

johnsimpson, that's dedication, haha. I've nearly got the whole set. they are just too good!

My favourite Greene novels are The Quiet American and The End of the Affair. Honorable mention to The Third Man as well, but it's so well known it was a bit spoiled for me. I'd recommend any of those for your next Greene!

the end of the affair is the only one you mentioned that isn't in this collection i've got. i'll have to hunt it down at some point

20. A Burnt-Out Case by Graham Greene
21. A Perfectly Good Family by Lionel Shriver

Enjoyed these two, nothing spectacular about either of them though. Probably the worst Shriver I've read, but that's not necessarily a bad thing because I've absolutely loved all her other books.

Not doing as much reading as I'd like at the moment, unfortunately. I'm working a lot and I've just started a library/information studies correspondence course so I'm very busy! Also it's been incredibly hot so I've got no energy most of the time. Waiting patiently for winter.

22. The Third Man by Graham Greene
23. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith

Getting there! I didn't really like The Third Man. Started off amazingly then just seemed to fall flat. Is the movie worth watching?

24. The Quiet American by Graham Greene
25. The Pact by Jodi Picoult

The Quiet American was okay. Seems like the only Greene novel I've really liked so far is The Heart of the Matter. Oh well! Still worth reading.

I never would have bought a Picoult book, I really thought she wasn't the author for me. But my nan's friend, another avid reader, convinced me she was worth reading, and I'm glad she did. I liked this. A real tearjerker! I could barely put it down.

26. Loser Takes All by Graham Greene
27. 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King
28. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene

So that's it for my collection of Graham Greene. Some hits, some misses. I'd read more of his works. My favourites were The Heart of the Matter and The Power and the Glory.

Soon I'll start working through a collection of Charles Dickens' shorter novels.

I haven't read Stephen King for a very long time. All the books I owned I'd got through, then I saw someone selling a large collection of his books for quite cheap so I bought them. 'Salem's Lot was very satisfying and I'm looking forward to getting through the rest of them.

29. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

The first time I read Sarah Waters was when I was a teenager, the BBC cover of Tipping the Velvet was intriguing. I loved that, but for whatever reason I never read any more Waters till now. Absolutely adored The Little Stranger, I feel a deep need to hunt down her other books now!

30. Homeland by Barbara Kingsolver

I wasn't really looking forward to this because I didn't enjoy Kingsolver's non-fiction short stories, but these were all fiction, and I quite liked most of them.

Sarah Waters rarely disappoints. :)

31. Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
For some reason I didn't like the first book in this series, which I read a couple years ago. There was something about Lindsay's writing I didn't like, so I wasn't tempted to go out and get the next in the series. But then I saw #2 and #3 in a discount bin recently and curiosity grabbed me so I got them. I am so glad I did because I could hardly put this down. I'd sit down to start reading and before I knew it I'd be a hundred pages in, which very rarely happens to me.

32. The Clocks by Agatha Christie
The ending seemed unsatisfactory, but it made sense. Decent enough Christie.

33. Splinter by Sebastian Fitzek
Greatly absorbing read, but the ending was a bit aggravating.

34. Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay
I devoured this as quickly as #2. Must obtain the rest of the series!

35. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (The Shorter Novels of Charles Dickens #1)
I quite enjoyed this. Looking forward to getting through the rest of this collection.

36. Eleven by Mark Watson
I think Mark Watson's pretty funny, so I was excited to read this. It was very entertaining and addictive, but it felt dumbed-down. Also I don't much like ambiguous endings.

37. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Started off slow, but by the middle I was hooked. Finished the last 200 pages in one night (who needs sleep?). Utterly fantastic book.

I liked Eleven when I read it a while ago. I seem to remember liking the characters a lot.

The characters were very likeable, with the exception of Murray.

38. Rabbit, Run by John Updike
I didn't enjoy this one very much. Started hating Rabbit fairly early on, by the end I wanted to punch him in the face.

39. Cosmos by Carl Sagan
Oh dear, I loved this. Really really really loved it. It was quite a heavy read to begin with, so it took me longer than I expected. But what an utter delight. This edition didn't contain a few of the illustrations so I'm dying to get my hands on a better copy.

I ditched Rabbit at about page 50, so I'm impressed you finished it!

40. Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith

Slowly getting through this series. All the books are such a delight to read.

41. Big Brother by Lionel Shriver

I'm slightly in love with Lionel Shriver. This was another great book, some very interesting insights about obesity.

42. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith

Cosmos is amazing! It is one of the very very few nonfiction books that made me cry. And definitely get ahold of a copy with pictures!

I do enjoy McCall Smith's books. He writes with a lot of charm!

I am also interested in Big Brother. I have it on hold at the library. There is a bit of a waiting list :O)

43. Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

Had to reread this after I finally managed to watch the miniseries (which was surprisingly good!).

44. The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith

45. Hard Times by Charles Dickens (The Shorter Novels of Charles Dickens #2)

46. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith

47. Pet Sematary by Stephen King

48. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith

49. A Spy in the House of Love by Anaïs Nin

I'm generally very unimpressed by erotica but Delta of Venus was an amazing book. A Spy in the House of Love... didn't enjoy it so much.

50. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (The Shorter Novels of Charles Dickens #3)

Oh man I need to take a break from Dickens. It took me so long to get into this one, when I did I absolutely loved it, but gosh what a hard read. The last book in this collection can wait a while.

51. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith

This one might be my favourite of the whole series. Gorgeous and delightful.

52. Ben Barka Lane by Mahmoud Saeed

I was very excited to read this. There's definitely an intriguing back story to it, but it wasn't quite as outrageous as I expected, being a banned book. But I suppose that's just down to cultural differences. Anyway, this was an engrossing read. Sharqi was an interesting and highly accessible protagonist. Saeed is a wonderful author. I'd love to read more of his works in the future.

53. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith

54. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

Every book I read by Waters the more I love her. Need to get copies of Affinity and Fingersmith!

55. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

So amazing. One of the best books I've ever read.

56. Post-Mortem by Patricia Cornwell

I did read the first 3 or 4 of the Scarpetta series many years ago, but as it turns out that was so long ago I can't remember anything about them. I jumped on an opportunity to buy the whole series for very cheap, though, so I'm getting back into them. Post-Mortem was more gripping and horrifying than I remember.

57. The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs by Irvine Welsh

58. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

59. Lexicon by Max Barry

60. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie

61. Body of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell