Final Checkpoint

1. Tell us how many miles you made it up your mountain (# of books read). If you’ve planted your flag on the peak, then tell us and celebrate (and wave!).  Even if you were especially athletic and have been sitting atop your mountain for months, please check back in and remind us quickly you sprinted up that trail. And feel free to tell us about any particularly exciting adventures you’ve had along the way.

I signed up for 24 books (Mount Blanc) and managed to read my 24th book in August. Overall, I finished 31 books from my TBR. Waves!
List of books I finished for this challenge. Most exciting was to finish Kage Baker’s the Company series. I also really enjoyed the Buffy book (Spike & Dru: Pretty Maids All in a Row) and N. K. Jemisin’s Killing Moon.

2. My Life According to Mount TBR: Using the titles of the books you read this year, please associate each statement with a book read on your journey up the Mountain.

Are you male or female?: I’m one of the Five Female Sleuths
Describe yourself: Burn the Night
Describe where you currently live: The Machine’s Child
If you could go anywhere where would you go?: London Under
Your favorite form of transportation: Agatha H and the Airship City
What’s the weather like?: The Killing Moon
Favorite time of day?: The Dark Light of Day
Your relationships: Loyalties
You fear: All Spell Breaks Loose
What is the best advice you have to give?: The Shades of Gray
If you could change your name, you would change it to: The Lord of the Sands of Time
My soul’s present condition: Babylon Voices

 

RIP VIII

Carl at the Stainless Steel Droppings is hosting the eighth R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril, or R.I.P. VIII. I’ve joined in a couple of time and had great fun, so I’m joining this time, too.

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.
Or anything sufficiently moody that shares a kinship with the above. That is what embodies the stories, written and visual, that we celebrate with the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril event.

As time has wound on I’ve honed this event down to two simple rules:

1. Have fun reading (and watching).
2. Share that fun with others.

As I do each and every year, there are multiple levels of participation (Perils) that allow you to be a part of R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril without adding the burden of another commitment to your already busy lives. There is even a one book only option for those who feel that this sort of reading is not their cup of tea (or who have many other commitments) but want to participate all the same.

R.I.P. VIII officially runs from September 1st through October 31st. But lets go ahead and break the rules. Lets start today!!!

I will be joining

Peril the First:

Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (the very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be King or Conan Doyle, Penny or Poe, Chandler or Collins, Lovecraft or Leroux…or anyone in between.

Reading pool:
I have quite a few mystery books in my TBR:
I have a lot of Kerry Greenwood’s books.
I realized that I own three Peter O’Donnell’s Modesty Blaise books and I don’t remember anything about them, so it’s definitely a time for a reread.
I also have some new to me authors:
Laurie King, Carol Goodman, Paul Christopher, Jeffrey Deaver, and Donna Leon

Read:
1, Christopher Golden: Spike & Dru: Pretty Maids all in a row
2, Kerry Greenwood: Earthly Delights
3, Kerry Greenwood: Dead Man’s Chest
4, Jefferey Deaver: The Bone Collector
5, Donna Leon: Death at La Fenice
6, Kerry Greenwood: Heavenly Pleasures
7, Elizabeth Kostova: The Historian

 

Once Upon a Time VII

Once Upon a Time VII is here! Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings is hosting the challenge:

Thursday, March 21st begins the seventh annual Once Upon a Time Challenge. This is a reading and viewing event that encompasses four broad categories: Fairy Tale, Folklore, Fantasy and Mythology, including the seemingly countless sub-genres and blending of genres that fall within this spectrum. The challenge continues through Friday, June 21st and allows for very minor (1 book only) participation as well as more immersion depending on your reading/viewing whims.

There are several options to choose from and I’m going to participate in

Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time categories. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.

Reading pool:
It’s high time for me to finish a couple of fantasy series I’ve enjoyed a lot so “Burn the Night” by Jocelynn Drake and “Con and Conjure” and “All Spell Breaks Loose” by Lisa Shearin are on the list.

A wolf at the Door by K. A. Steward is the third in the series.
Blue Magic by Dellamonica is the second in the series.

I’m probably going to also begin at least one more series:
The Stepsister Scheme by Jim Hines

Of course, I have lots and lots of other fantasy books to read.

Read:
1, Yvonne Carroll: Leprechaun Tales
2, Kristine Kathryn Rusch: The White Mists of Power
3, Patrick Weeks: The Palace Job
4, Lisa Shearin: Con & Conjure
5, Lisa Shearin: All Spell Breaks Loose
6, Rachel Caine: Working Stiff
7, Jim C. Hines: The Stepsister Scheme
8, Jocelynn Drake: Burn the Night
9, Aliette de Bodard: Servant of the Underworld
10, N. K. Jemisin: The Killing Moon

 

Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2013

I’m going to join one more challenge. Instead of joining a challenge where I’m encouraged to start a new series, it’s going to be Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2013 hosted by Socrates’ Book Reviews.

Here are the rules guidelines.

1) All books that are part of a continuing series qualify (i.e. Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove, Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum, James Patterson’s Alex Cross, etc. etc.)

2) It doesn’t matter if you have 1 or 10 books in a series to complete it, it qualifies (i.e. if you only need to read one more Sookie Stackhouse book to complete the goal, that’s fine) The goal is to complete a series from wherever you are up to until the last published book.

3) The qualification period is January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013. Books must be read during this time frame to count.

4) Take the button above and post about it. Use the Mr. Linky below to sign up and make sure you link it directly to your post about this challenge. (Note: I’m not going to be using the Finishing the Series Blog I created last year. I’m going to keep everything here.)

5) If you don’t have a blog, that’s fine. Just leave a comment to sign up and tell us what you are reading.

IF YOU WANT TO LINK UP YOUR REVIEWS OR, FOR THOSE WITHOUT A BLOG, LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW.

6) Any format of book counts – audio, ebook, etc.

7) You should choose the series you want to finish before the challenge begins, but it isn’t necessary. It’s fine to change series during the year – as long as you complete whichever series it is.

8) Choose a level….

Level 1 – Complete 1 series.
Level 2 – Complete 2 series.
Level 3 – Complete 3 or more series.

I’m going to choose Level 3 with five series.

Series to complete:
Wicked Willow by Yvonne Navarro
2. Yvonne Navarro: Wicked Willow II – Shattered Twilight
3, Yvonne Navarro: Wicked Willow III – Broken Sunrise

Dark Days by Jocelynn Drake
6, Jocelynn Drake: Burn the Night

Raine Benares series by Lisa Shearin
5, Lisa Shearin: Con & Conjure
6, Lisa Shearin: All Spell Breaks Loose

The Company by Kage Baker
4, Kage Baker: The Graveyard Game
5, Kage Baker: The Life of the World to Come
6, Kage Baker: The Children of the Company
7, Kage Baker: The Machine’s Child
8, Kage Baker: The Sons of Heaven

and one other.
Jesse James Dawson series by K. A. Stewart
2, K.A. Stewart: A Shot in the Dark
3, K.A. Stewart: Wolf at the Door

I managed to complete all five series!

 

Books read 2013

I’ll collect all book and comics reviews I write this year to this post and also track my reading challenges.

Challenges:
Sci-fi Reader Challenge (16) 25 (12) (12 categories) done yay!
Graphic Novel Challenge (12) 12 done yay!
Steampunked (5) 6 done yay
Mount TBR Reading Challenge (24) 31 done yay!
New Authors challenge (25) 26 done yay!
JUST FOR FUN (12) 12 done!
Finishing the Series Reading Challenge (5) 5 done!
Once upon a time VII (5) 10
RIP VIII (4) 6

Experience:
The 2013 Science Fiction Experience 5

January
1, Rowena Cory Daniells: King’s Man
2, Yvonne Navarro: Wicked Willow I – the Darkening (sci-fi reader, new, TBR)
3, Yvonne Navarro: Wicked Willow II – Shattered Twilight (finishing, sci-fi reader, TBR)
4, Yvonne Navarro: Wicked Willow III – Broken Sunrise (finishing, TBR, sci-fi reader)
5, John Vornholt: Babylon 5: Voices (TBR, Fun)
6, Jules Verne: Around the Moon (reader, experience)

Comics
1, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Ring of Fire

February
7, Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris: The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel
8, Jill Archer: Dark Light of Day (TBR, new)
9, Elizabeth Bear: Hammered (reader, experience, TBR)
10, Kerry Greenwood: Death Before Wicket (fun)
11, Jules Verne: Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas (reader, exp)
12, Lois McMaster Bujold: Barrayar
13, Kage Baker: The Graveyard Game (TBR, Finishing, Reader, Exp)

Comics
2, Uncanny X-Men: The Birth of Generation Hope
3, Planetary: All Over the World and other stories

March
14, Tara Maya: Blood
15, Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio: Agatha H. and the Airship City (new, reader, TBR)
16, Steven Harper: The Doomsday Vault (new, reader, TBR)
17, Sean Ferrell: Man in the Empty Suit (new, reader)
18, Paul Byers: Act of God (new)
19, Kerry Greenwood: Away with the Fairies (fun)

Comics
4, Uncanny X-Men: Quarantine
5, Uncanny X-Men: Breaking Point

April
20, K.A. Stewart: A Shot in the Dark (tbr, once, finishing)
21, Yvonne Carroll: Leprechaun Tales (tbr, once, new)
22, Kristine Kathryn Rusch: The White Mists of Power (once)
23, Patrick Weeks: The Palace Job (once, tbs, new)
24, Kerry Greenwood: Murder in Montparnasse (fun)
25, Kristine Kathryn Rusch: Five Female Sleuths: a collection (tbr)

Comics
6, Uncanny X-Men: Fear itself

May
26, Lisa Shearin: Con & Conjure (finishing, TBR, Once)
27, Lisa Shearin: All Spell Breaks Loose (Finishing, TBR, Once)
28, Issui Ogawa: The Lord of the Sands of Time (TBR, New)
29, Peter Ackroyd: London Under (tbr, new)
30, Rachel Caine: Working Stiff (once)
31, Jim C. Hines: The Stepsister Scheme (new, once)
32, Karen A. Wyle: Reach, a Twin-Bred novel (reader)
33, Kerry Greenwood: Castlemaine Murders (fun)
34, A. Lee Martinez: Emperor Mollusk versus the Sinister Brain

June
35, Jocelynn Drake: Burn the Night (finishing, TBR)
36, Kerry Greenwood: Queen of the Flowers
37, Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge: Shades of Gray (TBR)
38, Aliette de Bodard: Servant of the Underworld (new, tbr, once)
39, N. K. Jemisin: The Killing Moon (once, tbr)
40, Kerry Greenwood: Death by Water (fun)
41, Michael Moorcock: The Warlord of the Air (reader)
42, K.A. Stewart: Wolf at the Door (finishing)

Comics
7, X-Men: Age of X

July

43, Jocelynn Drake: Angel’s Ink
44, Rosa Montero: Tears in Rain (new, reader)
45, J. Gregory Keyes: Dark Genesis: The Birth of the Psi Corps (reader, tbr)
46, Kerry Greenwood: Murder in the Dark
47, Adam Christopher: Empire State (new, challenge)
48, Kerry Greenwood: Murder on a Midsummer Night (fun)
49, J. Gregory Keyes: Dark Genesis: Deadly Relations: Bester Ascendent
50, Terry Pratchett: Feet of Clay

Comics
8, Battlestar Galactica: The Final Five
9, Planetary: Crossing worlds
10, JLA: The Obsidian Age books 1 and 2

August
51, Tara Maya: Strat
52, Terry Pratchett: Jingo (tbr)
53, Jim C. Hines: Mermaid’s Madness (fun)
54, J. Gregory Keyes: Final Reckoning: The Fate of Bester (tbr)
55, Robert J. Sawyer: Flashforward (reader)
56, Martha Miller: The Retirement Plan
57, Michael Moorcock: The Land Leviathan (steampunk, reader)
58, Kristine Kathryn Rusch: Alien Influences (tbr, reader)

Comics
11, Fantastic Four: Unthinkable
12, Fantastic Four: Authoritative Action

September
59, John Vornholt: Coyote Moon
60, Christopher Golden: Spike & Dru: Pretty Maids all in a row (tbr, rip)
61, Kerry Greenwood: Earthly Delights (rip, fun)
62, Kerry Greenwood: Dead Man’s Chest (rip)
63, Jefferey Deaver: The Bone Collector (new, rip)
64, Donna Leon: Death at La Fenice (rip, new)
65, P. C. Martin: Steampunk Holmes: Legacy of the Nautilus (new, steampunk)

Comics
13, Essential X-Men vol. 6
14, Batman & Robin vol. 1: Batman Reborn

October
66, Patricia Barnes-Svarney: Loyalties (reader, new, tbr)
67, Kerry Greenwood: Heavenly Pleasures (rip, fun)
68, Jim C. Hines: Snow Queen’s Shadow
69, Jim C. Hines: Red Hood’s Revenge
70, Elizabeth Kostova: The Historian (new, rip)
71, Seanan McGuire: Chimes at Midnight
72, Kage Baker: The Life of the World to Come (finishing, tbr)
73, Karen Wyle: Division

November
74, Kerry Greenwood: Unnatural Habits
75, Kristine Kathryn Rusch: Skirmishes
76, Rowena Cory Daniells: King Breaker
77, Elizabeth Bear: Grail (reader)
78, Kage Baker: The Children of the Company (finishing, reader)
79, Michael J. Martinez: The Deadalus Incident

Comics
15, X-Men: First to Last
16, Battlestar Galactica: Origins Omnibus

December
80, Jocelynn Drake: Dead Man’s Deal
81, Ellen Datlow and Terry Windling ed.: Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells (new)
82, Karina Cooper: Gilded (new)
83, Kage Baker: The Machine’s Child (tbr, finishing, experience, reader)
84, Michael D. Finley: The Tesla Conspiracy (new, experience, reader)
85, J. G. Ballard: The Drowned World (new, reader, experience)
86, Kerry Greenwood: Devil’s Food (fun)
87, Kage Baker: The Sons of Heaven (finishing, tbr, reader, experience)
88, Terry Pratchett: the Fifth Elephant

Comics
17, Battlestar Galactica: Season Zero Omnibus

 

The 2013 Science Fiction Experience

The Science Fiction Experience is here again!

And so I officially welcome you to The 2013 Science Fiction Experience, which runs from January 1st, 2013 through February 28th, 2013.

The “rules” of the experience are simple: there are none. Remember, this isn’t a challenge. If you would like to join us in discussing any science fiction reading or television viewing or movie watching you do over the time period, please do. Although signing up isn’t required, nor is posting your reviews, I do like to be able to keep up with folks who are participating, so there will be a Mr. Linky at the end of this post and there is a Sci-Fi Experience Review Site for you to link any SF-related posts of any kind that you would like the other participants to check out. Again, this doesn’t have to be entirely book related. It really is about experiencing science fiction (and even non-fiction having to do with space or technology) of all kinds.

I’ll be reading and reviewing a bunch of SF books during the next two months.
Read:
1, John Vornholt: Babylon 5: Voices
2, Jules Verne: Around the Moon
3, Elizabeth Bear: Hammered
4, Jules Verne: Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas
5, Lois McMaster Bujold: Barrayar
6, Kage Baker: The Graveyard Game

Reading Pool:
Elizabeth Bear: Hammered, Worldwired Scardown
Kage Baker: The Graveyard Game
Timothy Zahn: Cobra
Jules Verne
and lots of others

 

2013 Science Fiction Reader Challenge

I had such a great time last year with the Science Fiction Reader Challenge that I’m going to join it this year, too. The categories are a bit different but that shouldn’t be a problem.

Sign up post

The Rules

We’re keeping the basic rules though the challenge itself has changed a little. So we’re cheating a little and just copying last year’s rules with a few small changes:

1. The challenge begins January 1, 2013 and runs through December 31, 2013. Books started before January 1 don’t count towards the challenge. Re-reads do count, but a new review must be written. Any format of book counts – hard copy, audiobook, e-book – we’re not picky.

2. A review has to be written and posted for each book in the challenge. If you don’t have a blog, they can be posted on Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon, Shelfari, Facebook, anywhere else book reviews are accepted and can be linked to.

3. Any books read for another challenge that fit into a category here can count towards this one. One book, however, cannot fill multiple categories in this challenge. For example, Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game technically fits into at least four of the categories. It can only count for one though.

4. A post will be set up on Working for the Mandroid beginning January 1 for participants to add their review links. I personally will put up a post at the end of each month to track my own progress. That’s where you can comment, brag and/or complain about how impossible it is to get through The Time Machine.* Hopefully I will have my act together enough to get the posts up on the first of each month. Feel free to shame me if I don’t.

5. At the end of the year, I will put all the people who sign up for the challenge and finish all of the categories into a yet-to-be-determined contest. Additional contests throughout the year might also become available depending on participation of readers and availability of prizes. Note: The more participants, the more likely I can get some science fiction friendly sponsors, the more contests.

* I have actually read The Time Machine and while it is… odd, it’s not that hard to get through. Give it one more try!

There are sixteen categories to this challenge this year. Yes, that means more than one book a month this time. But it’s called a challenge for a reason, right? Some of these will be easier to fill for certain readers, while others might be more difficult. Here is what we’re working with in 2013:

YA/MG Science Fiction Title
Adult Science Fiction Title
Hugo Winner
Science Fiction Classic – Pre-50s
Science Fiction Modern Classic – 1951-1992
Steampunk
Robots/Cyborgs/Androids
Spaceships
Aliens
Time Travel
Alternate History/Parallel Worlds
Post-Apocalypse/End of World
Dystopia/Utopia
Cyberpunk
Mad Scientist
Military Scifi

Read and planned reading:
YA/MG Science Fiction Title
Patricia Barnes-Svarney: Loyalties

Adult Science Fiction Title
J. Gregory Keyes: Dark Genesis: The Birth of the Psi Corps
J. Gregory Keyes: Dark Genesis: Deadly Relations: Bester Ascendent
J. Gregory Keyes: Final Reckoning: The Fate of Bester
Robert J. Sawyer: Flashforward

Hugo Winner
Lois McMaster Bujold: Barrayar
China Mieville: The City and the City

Science Fiction Classic – Pre-50s
Jules Verne: Around the Moon

Science Fiction Modern Classic – 1951-1992
J. G. Ballard: The Drowned World
Benford, Gregory: Timescape
Dick: The man in the high castle
Miller: A Canticle for Leibowitz
Bester: The Stars my destination

Steampunk
Steven Harper: The Doomsday Vault
Hobson: Native Star
and lots of others

Robots/Cyborgs/Androids
Kage Baker: The Graveyard Game
Kage Baker: The Children of the Company
Kage Baker: The Machine’s Child

Spaceships
Elizabeth Bear: Grail

Aliens
Karen A. Wyle: Twin-Bred
Kristine Kathryn Rusch: Alien Influences

Time Travel
Sean Ferrell: Man in the Empty Suit
Issui Ogawa: The Lord of the Sands of Time
Kage Baker: The Life of the World to Come
Kage Baker: The Sons of Heaven

Alternate History/Parallel Worlds
Yvonne Navarro: Wicked Willow I – the Darkening
Yvonne Navarro: Wicked Willow II – Shattered Twilight
Yvonne Navarro: Wicked Willow III – Broken Sunrise
A. Lee Martinez: Emperor Mollusk versus the Sinister Brain

Post-Apocalypse/End of World
Steven King: The Gunslinger
Michael Moorcock: The Land Leviathan

Dystopia/Utopia
Michael Moorcock: The Warlord of the Air

Cyberpunk
Elizabeth Bear: Hammered
Rosa Montero: Tears in Rain

Mad Scientist
Jules Verne: Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas
Faust
Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio: Agatha H. and the Airship City

Military Scifi
Michael J. Martinez: The Deadalus Incident

 

Graphic Novel Challenge 2013

I’ll sign up for another familiar reading challenge: the 2013 Graphic Novel reading challenge. Hosted by Nicola.

I’m going to sign up for Basic Level 1 (12 graphic novels).

I was tempted to try the advanced but I’m not sure I could get all of required graphic novels. For example, as far as I know, classic adaptations aren’t done here.

Most likely, I’ll continue with similar stuff, meaning mostly superheroes.

It’s almost time for the 2013 challenge to start and so we’ll start taking names of participants now. There will be two ways to play and two levels this year! Please write a sign-up post on your blog and then sign-up below with a link to your specific sign-up post. Here is how the Challenge will play this year:

runs from Jan.1 – Dec. 31, 2013

Levels
Level 1: read and review 12 books during the year (you could spread them out and read one a month or have a blast and read all 12 in a row!)

Level 2: read and review 24 books during the year (same as above only you would read two a month for the slow rate)

Game Play

Basic: no change from last year. just read any book generally considered a graphic novel, manga, or collection of comics, write a review and link to your post.

Advanced: For advanced play we are going to play categories. Players will pick 1 book from each of the 12 categories below. If you are playing at Level 2 you could double up, choosing two from each category, or use the remainder as free picks. You only have to read one book from each of the 12 categories.

1. manga
2. superhero
3. classic adaptation (a classic work adapted into the graphic format)
4. memoir
5. fantasy
6. translated from a foreign language
7. a single-issue comic book
8. science-fiction
9. crime or mystery
10. fairytale or mythology (true to the original or fractured, such as Fables series)
11. children’s book (specifically written for children)
12. anthology (a collection of short stories by different authors/artists)

Any questions just ask in the comments.

Read:
1, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Ring of Fire
2, Uncanny X-Men: The Birth of Generation Hope
3, Planetary: All Over the World and other stories
4, Uncanny X-Men: Quarantine
5, Uncanny X-Men: Breaking Point
6, Uncanny X-Men: Fear itself
7, X-Men: Age of X
8, Battlestar Galactica: The Final Five
9, Planetary: Crossing worlds
10, JLA: The Obsidian Age books 1 and 2
11, Fantastic Four: Unthinkable
12, Fantastic Four: Authoritative Action
13, Essential X-Men vol. 6
14, Batman & Robin vol. 1: Batman Reborn
15, X-Men: First to Last
16, Battlestar Galactica: Origins Omnibus
17, Battlestar Galactica: Season Zero Omnibus

 

2013 Get Steampunk’d Reading Challenge

My next reading challenge for 2013:

About: The Get Steampunk’d Reading Challenge is all about Steampunk! Read anything as long as it has that Steampunk theme, with steam-powered gadgets, dirigibles, and punked up Victorian dress.

Steampunk Examples: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore, Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, Boneshaker by Cherie Priest, The Difference Engine by William Gibson.
The Finer Deets

Running dates for all 2013 challenges: 1st of January – 31st of December 2013
Sign-Ups are accepted until the 16th of December 2013.
Formats: All BA Challenges are eBook, audio, short story, and graphic novel friendly.
Crossovers: You’re welcome to crossover with BA’s challenges. Include as many books across all the challenges as you can, I always say.

How To Sign-Up and Join In

1, Choose Your Level: Choose a challenge level listed below.
2, Sign Up Post: Create a post on your blog, in a group, or on a forum (where possible) to let others see what you’re aiming for (a predefined list of books is optional).
3, Grab The Badge: Download or grab the badge and place it in your sign up post. Then link back to BA’s Get Steampunk’d Challenge. Grab me!Bookish Ardour.
4, Link Up: Grab the direct URL to your sign up post, not your blog, click the Mr Linky graphic and enter your link.
5, Blogless? Don’t worry, you can sign up with your social network profile (YouTube, Twitter, GoodReads, Shelfari included), just make sure you link to your review list, shelf, tweet, or category. If you don’t have any of those feel free to comment.
6, Your Reviews: Reviewing is optional! But if you do review it would be great for you to share them by submitting them on the review page.
7, Finished: When you’re done it’s completion post time and you can share these on the completion/wrap-up page.

Challenge Levels
Geared – Choose 5 books to read
Cogged – Choose 15 books to read
Goggle Mad – Choose 30 books to read
Victorian Lord/Lady – Choose 50 books to read
Inventor – Choose 75 books to read
Zephyr Pilot – Choose 76-135 books to read
Steampunk’d – Choose 136-200 books to read

I’m going easy on myself and choose Geared: 5 books.

Read:
1, Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio: Agatha H. and the Airship City
2, Steven Harper: The Doomsday Vault
3, Michael Moorcock: The Warlord of the Air
4, Michael Moorcock: The Land Leviathan
5, P. C. Martin: Steampunk Holmes: Legacy of the Nautilus
6, Karina Cooper: Gilded

I read one more book than my goal but surprisingly, I read only one book from my TBR. This means, of course, that I have to read some more steampunk in 2014.

Reading pool:
M. K. Hobson: Native Star
Steven Harper: Doomsday Vault
Mammoth Book of Steampunk, edited by Sean Wallace
James P. Blaylock: Lord Kelvin’s Machine
Kenneth Oppel: Airborn
Clay and Sussan Griffith: The Greyfriar
The next Cherie Priest book

 

2013 Mount TBR Reading Challenge

I’m going to sign up for one more reading challenge:
2013 Mount TBR Reading Challenge hosted by My Reader’s block. Review headquarters link.

Challenge Levels (I’ve adjusted the levels just slightly this year):

Pike’s Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Blanc: Read 24 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Vancouver: Read 36 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Ararat: Read 48 books from your TBR piles/s
Mt. Kilimanjaro: Read 60 books from your TBR pile/s
El Toro: Read 75 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Everest: Read 100 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Olympus (Mars): Read 150+ books from your TBR pile/s

And the rules:
*Once you choose your challenge level, you are locked in for at least that many books. If you find that you’re on a mountain-climbing roll and want to tackle a taller mountain, then you are certainly welcome to upgrade.

*Challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2013.

*You may sign up anytime from now until November 30th, 2013.

*Books must be owned by you prior to January 1, 2013. No ARCs (none), no library books. No rereads. [To clarify–based on a question raised last year–the intention is to reduce the stack of books that you have bought for yourself or received as presents {birthday, Christmas, “just because,” etc.}. Audiobooks and E-books may count if they are yours and they are one of your primary sources of backlogged books.]

*You may count any “currently reading” book that you begin prior to January 1–provided that you had 50% or more of the book left to finish in 2013. I will trust you all on that.

*Books may be used to count for other challenges as well.

*Feel free to submit your list in advance (as incentive to really get those books taken care of) or to tally them as you climb.

My level: Mount Blanc: Read 24 books from your TBR pile/s

I tried to read 50 books from my TBR this year. I’ve so far read 43 and I still have rest of the December to reach my goal. But I want less pressure for next year, so I’m taking a smaller goal.

Read:
1, Yvonne Navarro: Wicked Willow I – the Darkening
2, Yvonne Navarro: Wicked Willow II – Shattered Twilight
3, Yvonne Navarro: Wicked Willow III – Broken Sunrise
4, John Vornholt: Babylon Voices
5, Jill Archer: Dark Light of Day
6, Elizabeth Bear: Hammered
7, Kage Baker: The Graveyard Game
8. Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio: Agatha H. and the Airship City
9, Steven Harper: The Doomsday Vault
10, K.A. Stewart: A Shot in the Dark
11, Yvonne Carroll: Leprechaun Tales
12, Patrick Weeks: The Palace Job
13, Kristine Kathryn Rusch: Five Female Sleuths: a collection
14, Lisa Shearin: Con & Conjure
15, Lisa Shearin: All Spell Breaks Loose
16, Issui Ogawa: The Lord of the Sands of Time
17, Peter Ackroyd: London Under
18, Jocelynn Drake: Burn the Night
19, Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge: Shades of Gray
20, Aliette de Bodard: Servant of the Underworld
21, N. K. Jemisin: The Killing Moon
22, J. Gregory Keyes: Dark Genesis: The Birth of the Psi Corps
23, Terry Pratchett: Jingo
24, J. Gregory Keyes: Final Reckoning: The Fate of Bester
25, Kristine Kathryn Rusch: Alien Influences
26, Christopher Golden: Spike & Dru: Pretty Maids all in a row
27, Patricia Barnes-Svarney: Loyalties
28, Kage Baker: The Life of the World to Come
29, Kage Baker: The Children of the Company
30, Kage Baker: The Machine’s Child
31, Kage Baker: The Sons of Heaven