Sanja's 2014 Challenge

So excited for the next challenge. I think I may have limited myself during 2013 by defining my categories so strictly. Well, this year, everything changes!

Here are my categories for 2014, still subject to change.

I Re-reads - done
II Classics
III TBR lifers
IV Songs of Fire and Ice
V Female writers - done
VI Romance - done
VII Agatha Christie
VIII Impulse
IX Recommendations
X Non-fiction
XI Work related
XII Asterix and Obelix
XIII Leftovers from 2013 - done
XIV Mystery - done

I really liked doing the pyramid, so I will continue with that.

I. Re-reads
1. The Animal Farm

Done!!!

II Classics
1. The Secret of the Old Clock
2.

III TBR lifers - Anything that I've owned for more than a year.
1.
2.
3.

IV Songs of Fire and Ice - I love these books, but they are so long that it's taking me forever to finish the series.
1.
2.
3.
4.

V Female writers
1. The Other Boleyn Girl
2. The Hanover Square Affair
3. The Constant Princess
4. The White Queen
5. The White Princess

Done!!!

VI Romance - I somehow got into reading romance novels. And I'm ok with that.
1. The Heiress Effect
2. Hearts of Fire
3. Cards & Caravans
4. The Countess Conspiracy
5. The Suffragette Scandal
6. Talk Sweetly to Me

Done!!!

VII Agatha Christie - because it has to be done.
1. The Caribbean Mystery
2. At Bertram's Hotel
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

VIII Impulse - OMG, I have to read this book _right_ now!
1. Sex and the City
2. The Greenhouse
3. Miss Buncle's Book
4. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
5.
6.
7.

IX Recommendations - OMG, you have to read this book!
1. 50 Shades of Grey
2. Rise and Shine
3. Mere Christianity
4.
5.
6.

X Non-Fiction
1. 21 day Total Body Transformation
2. The Constitution of the United States of America
3.
4.
5.

XI Work related - I got promoted. :) Now, I have to figure out how do my new job. :(
1. Leadership and Self Deception
2. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
3.
4.

XII Asterix and Obelix - I don't know why I love these so much.
1. Asterix Omnibus 4
2. Asterix Omnibus 5
3.

XIII Leftovers from 2013
1. Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe
2. The Clocks

Done!!!

XIV Mystery - One sad day, I will finish all the books written by Agatha Christie. I need to find someone I can read afterwards.
1. The Cocaine Blues

Done!!!

Looks like a good plan.

Congrats on the promotion and nice setup! I like your description for the romance category :)

Looks like you have everything covered, 2014 should be a very good reading year.

Yeah, an Asterix and Obelix category! Looking forward to following your 2014 reading.

Smart move having an Impulse category. Great way to capture those spur of the moment whims b

Thank you, all of you! Y'all are the best!

I'm planning to read #2 of Fire and Ice, maybe we can share a read?
maybe March? I had a leftover category a few years ago when I had my "culinary" challenge - each Category was a course for a fancy dinner - ha, ha it was yummy!

cyderry, I would love to, but I've already read #2. If you're up for reading the 3rd sometime soon, I'm totally in.

Wide categories is a very wise way to go so you don't read yourself into a corner. And, congrats on the promotion!!

Thank you, Eva!

Great setup! And a Asterix category? Swoon! I think my favorite is Asterix the legionary.

Just curious - what is this new job you feel obligated to study for? I look forward to seeing what you fill your categories with.

Paruline, thanks!

Mamzel, I've been an engineer for the last 8 years and now I'm an engineering manager. Which means that I have to start talking to people, motivating my employees, hiring, training, and disciplining, instead of just making stuff work better. It's weird.

Good luck! My dad was an engineer and always resisted moving to the main office. He felt he needed to stay in the plant and had no desire to get involved with office politics.

Thanks! I need all the help I can get.

1. Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-56

My first book of the year! And since it took me months to finish it, I'm placing it into my 2013 leftover category.

I didn't know much about this time period. It sounds like a really hard time to survive, especially after the atrocities of WW II.

2. The Clocks

Since I started this book last year and since I really like having already finished a category, this goes in the Leftover column.

3. Sex and the City

This is the worst book I have read in years. It is full of despicable people doing horrible things, and it's not even fun. I liked the TV show and tolerated the movies, but it's a shame that trees had to die for this book to exist.

->33 sanja:
Agreed 100%! :)

4. 21 Day Total Body Transformation

I liked the book, I like the ideas. I followed it for the first 14 days and not. a. damn. thing. happened. I didn't drop any weight, I wasn't happier, my skin wasn't better, and I wasn't sleeping better. So I gave up. Well, I gave up on the challenge. I'll still limit carbs and try to get more sleep, but I will still have desserts and run a lot.

@ 35 -- Great review! That's what I always want to know about health/diet books: do they actually work?

5. The Other Boleyn Girl

This is my first Philippa Gregory book and I really like it. It took me only 3 days to read all 600-something pages. I will definitely be looking for more of her books. However, I will be getting them from the library. While they are addictive, they are also fluff. Totally engrossing, well written, staying up way too late and being miserable at work books, but still fluff.

>37 sanja:
I started that one a while back and enjoyed it a lot, but for some reason stopped reading and it's back on Mt. TBR. It was very pleasant fluff, and I should go back and finish it soon.

Eva, do it. It's just wonderful fluff, just like cotton candy.

6. Cocaine Blues
This was such a fun book. I love Miss Fisher, she's a hoot.

I haven't read any of Greenwood's Phryne Fisher mysteries but I am not afraid to admit that I am hooked on the TV adaptation!

Oh, I love the show! It's just so amusing.

7. The Greenhouse
This was a really interesting book. I knew nothing about it going in, but it held my interest long enough for me to finish it in 2 days.

Only one season of Miss March's Mysteries is available on Netflix. Is that all that was produced? Is Netflix holding out on me?

I think there may only be one season. I think each episode is one book.

>42 sanja: It looks like my kind of book, so on the BB list ...

8. Asterix Omnibus 4

I love Asterix and Obelix. That is all. It's very helpful that there's a site out there that translates all the latin phrases.

Asterix & company are fantastic!

9. The Constitution of the United States

I figure that you can't really argue about whether something is unconstitutional or not unless you've actually read the Constitution. Also, 27 amendments? Who knew...

>48 sanja: I figure that you can't really argue about whether something is unconstitutional or not unless you've actually read the Constitution. Love it! :)

10. The Heiress Effect

I really like Courtney Milan books. I like that there were 2 love stories in this book.

11. Leadership and Self Deception

I read this book a couple of weeks ago and forgot to record it..

12.Hearts of Fire

This is a novella, so it's really short. It didn't really give me enough time to get to know the characters or find out why I should like them. So I didn't.

13. Cards & Caravans

I really like these books. There's always a larger conflict than just if the characters will get together and none of the women suffer from the Too Stupid To Live disease. I appreciate that.

14. 50 Shades of Grey

There. Ok, I read the da*n thing.

15. The Caribbean Mystery

I wasn't really a fan of this one. I found the first 3/4 of the book very boring.

16. The Hanover Square Affair

This was my first Captain Lacey book. It was not exactly what I was expecting, but I have no idea how to describe what I expected the book to be.

17. The Countess Conspiracy

I love this book. I love how smart Violet is and how strong her mother is. The only issue I have is the Sebastian is just too perfect.

The only issue I have is the Sebastian is just too perfect.

The guy was too perfect...... oh, well, that is a problem. ;-)

It is, I swear. He's the most understanding, sensitive, smart, thoughtful guy ever. No real man is like that. I really would prefer for him to have at least one flaw.

LOL, you right, that is too perfect to be true!

18. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

My work mentor recommended this book. I think it was helpful in explaining why some teams don't get along or can't seem to accomplish anything, as well as how to correct these issues.

19. Rise and Shine

I don't think I'm the right audience for this book. I really saw no point in it.

20. The Secret of the Old Clock

This book was first published in 1930, so I'm going to call it a classic.

This is the first Nancy Drew book. It was amusing, if very simple.

I read a few Nancy Drews as a kid - it'd be interesting to read the first one, so I'm taking a BB for that.

21. The Animal Farm

The perfect book to re-read for banned book week. A bit late, but it still counts, I think.

22. The Constant Princess

I always wonder how much of Philippa Gregory's books are true. Very interesting.

23. The White Queen

This category is turning into all Philippa Gregory all the time.

No harm in that!

>67 sanja: I just finished the last book in that series, The King's Curse. The entire series was amazing. I think I'll be starting her Tudor books soon.

Staci, what did you think of it? I just started The White Princess last night.

24. The White Princess

I enjoyed the book. Not quite as much as some of the other ones, but it was enjoyable fluff reading. I think I'm going to have to stay away from Tudor England for a while though.

>70 sanja: It wasn't my favorite of the series, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. My favorites in the series were The White Queen and The Lady of the Rivers. All of the books in the series were extremely well done, those two were the stand outs for me.

Hey, thanks! I'll look them up!

25. Mere Christianity

I wound up having to buy my own copy of the book and underlining so many lines. If Christianity were really practiced like this, I could totally practice.

26. Miss Buncle's Book

I started this book a couple of months ago and was not all that impressed. But I picked it up again a few days ago and was hooked.

>75 sanja: I really like that book! Glad you gave it another chance.

I enjoyed the first much better than the next one.

>77 mamzel: mamzel: so I shouldn't go get the next one?

It's an acceptable cozy read but when I reread my review I had mentioned tedious descriptions I kind of glazed over instead of reading. See if you can borrow it instead of buying it.

Thanks!

>75 sanja:
My main argument for putting away a book that doesn't grip you - give it a while and it may be a great reading experience!

Eva, you are absolutely right.

27. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

Mindy Kaling is hilarious. This book is so funny.

28. The Suffragette Scandal

I like these books, but I have a slight issue with them. I don't know if this is true about all romance novels, but it kinda of bothers me that all the heroines have a bit of 'damsel in distress' about them. All of them need the guy to help them otherwise they'd be destroyed. Yes, the men do find salvation in the women, but it's not the same thing.

29. Talk Sweetly to Me

This novella was fun. However, the summary I read before reading it was completely different from the actual book. I seriously spent a good hour thinking that I had missed a chapter somewhere.

30. Asterix Omnibus 5

Another fun one.

I love Asterix and Obelix! They and the others loonies are always great for a laugh.

I second the Astrix and Obelix love! Enjoy!

31. At Bertram's Hotel

I wasn't really a fan of this book.

Oh, well. I guess finishing 31 books in a year is better than not finishing them. Onto the next year!

31 is a respectable total!! Congrats and happy new year!

Too bad your last one wasn't a winner. See you in the 2015 group!