100 Book Challenge
In 2010 I took part in the 100 book challenge and I’ve decided to continue it every year. This is a great idea to encourage reading, and after doing it for a year I figured it was a good one to do every year. I especially want to see if I can beat 2010 in totals, plus I like posting the little mini reviews so I can easily go back and recommend a few books to friends who also love sci fi, or fantasy, business, etc.
Totals
2012 – In progress…
2011 – 131 Books – Click here for the list/reviews.
2010 – 111 Books – Click here for mini reviews and a list.
January 2012
1. The Olive Farm – A great story about buying a house in the south of France on the coats and rebuilding it. A little dark near the end just due to problems in the family and it took a more bibliography turn but still very interesting.
2. The Hunger Games – Second time I’ve read it, but couldn’t put it down, fun book! Must read for everyone out there.
3. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler. Peter is one of my favorite authors and I’ve read all his books on his time in China. This was one was about his time in Fuling during Peace Corp and was a more relaxed read than some of his others. I learned a lot like always (about China etc).
4. Sector 64: Coup de Main – An interesting book but a bit short and simplistic. Plot in short: Pilots, UFO, huge conspiracy, world is bigger and more complicated then you think, alien enemy, battle, done.
5. Devil’s Lair by David Wisehart. This was roughly based on Dante’s Inferno. It’s written as a historical novel / adventure novel as a group of people go down into hell to recover a sacred artifact.
6. The Coming Jobs War – A brilliant book, some amazing insights, and some I disagree with very strongly. I’m going to write a full post on this, I do think everyone in the USA should read it though.
7. Freight Train Across The Outback: On Board The First Train To Cross Australia From South to North – A fun travel book about Australia and riding the first train trip across the entire outback.
8. Firebird by Anthony Bellaleigh – Not bad for a free book on Amazon, about dragons in modern times, but pretty good. Writing a little hard to visualize clearly though.
9. 10. 11. and 12. X-Wing Series: Rougue Squadron, Wedge’s Gamble, Krytos Trap, and The Bacta War. A great series I last read ~5 years ago, good to visit old friends and an awesome series. It follows Wedge who did the death star run with Luke in the movie as he reforms Rogue squadron a few years after the Endor victory.
13. X-Wing: Wraith Squadron – Book 5 and another good one.
February
14. Rift Walker – Book 2 in a fun vampire empire series. Good fun cheap read.
15. 16. X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar and X-Wing: Solo Command – Book 6 and 7 in the series, fun reads!
17.
[...] has given me a lot of time to read, I’ve read 9 books in the last 3 to 4 days, reviews here! Just fun reads which is nice, almost like I’m at the [...]
[...] now up to 26 books on my 100 books in 2010 challenge! Short reviews next to them, not sure how helpful but it should be pretty easy to see which are [...]
I commend you Ben. One book a month is a stretch for me. I have read a few of those. The Bill Bryson book “A Brief History…” is one of my all time favorites.
We will see how far I get! I read fast luckily but its still really hard, its a lot of books.
Ya I was so impressed, I wish we had read that in high school.
[...] read 4 books and I highly recommend this book that talks about factory girls in China and was just an amazing [...]
[...] I went snorkeling every day, swam for hours, and just read under a nice awning right on the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen (mostly because I think the water is an amazing color). Plus enjoyed some rum, got a zillion new freckles, rented a jeep for a few days and drove all around the island to try other beaches, sampled a lot of french bakeries, ate a lot of fish, etc. And I read 21 books while on break, so I’ve hit my goal for this year with having read 124 books so far! [...]
ben, you should add the travel books Chuck Thompson wrote to you list to read, i think you’d like them. the only 2 i’ve read are: “to hellholes and back”, and “smile while you’re lying”.
Added to my amazon wish list! what are those two about and where does he visit?