December 2013 Wrap-Up

Here's a summary of my book-related activity for December. Basically, I knew I wasn't going to complete most of my challenges, so I focused on completing the few that were still achievable. And I succeeded in that!

I hope everyone had a great holiday season, and I'll see you in the new year!

Books I read (linked to the reviews)

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (free ebook)
Angel Omnibus by Christopher Golden, Joss Whedon, etc. (TBR pile)
Apocalyptic Organ Grinder by William Todd Rose (NetGalley)
Will O' the Wisp by Tom Hammock (NetGalley)
Basilisk by N. M. Browne (TBR pile)
Sworn (The Vampire Legends #1) by Emma Knight (free ebook)
The Price (A Selection Novella) by Kiera Cass (new book)

Books I bought at my friends' moving away sale

Cry, the Beloved Country
by Alan Paton

The Plague
by Albert Camus

Books I bought with Christmas gift cards (ie. sequels I was so excited for!)

Insurgent (Divergent #2)
by Veronica Roth

The Elite (The Selection #2)
by Kiera Cass

The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner #2)
by James Dashner

The Ask and the Answer
(Chaos Walking #2)
by Patrick Ness

Ebooks I bought

The Prince (A Selection Novella)
by Kiera Cass

Progress on challenges

I completed the following letters for the A-Z Book Challenge: none

I read 2 books for the Mount TBR Reading Challenge.

I read 0 books for the Anne Rice Challenge.

I completed the following squares for the Book Bingo Challenge: read 4 books from your TBR pile, read 4 books everyone but you has read

I read 0 books for the Nerdy Non-Fiction Challenge.

I read 1 book for the Dystopia Challenge.

I read 1 book written by women.

I read 0 books for the Seriously Series Challenge.

Progress on my TBR pile: I added 7 books to my to read list and removed 5, so my pile increased by 2 this month.

Challenge Completed: 2013 Book Bingo Reading Challenge

Well, I was going for the whole board, but the two row and two columns that I did complete technically mean I got Bingo. :) Listed below are all the books I read for this challenge. For books everyone has read but me, I used a combination of books that are huge in the blogosphere these days (so it seems every other book blogger has read them) and older books that are hugely popular. Some of them I picked by sorting my to-read shelf on Goodreads by number of ratings.

read 1 book from your tbr pile: (finished January)
-Geomancer (The Well of Echoes #1) by Ian Irvine

read 2 books from your tbr pile: (finished April)
-The Witches by Roald Dahl
-Ghosts Beneath Our Feet by Betty Ren Wright

read 3 books from your tbr pile: (finished October)
-Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
-Taltos (The Mayfair Chronicles #3) by Anne Rice
-The Escape (Animorphs #15) by K.A. Applegate

read 4 books from your tbr pile: (finished December)
-The Warning (Animorphs #16) by K.A. Applegate
-Haunted (Women of the Otherworld #5) by Kelley Armstrong
-Angel Omnibus by Christopher Golden, Joss Whedon, etc.
-Basilisk by N.M. Browne

read 5 books from your tbr pile: (finished April)
-The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl
-Burnish Me Bright by Julia Cunningham
-The Ghost Witch by Betty Ren Wright
-Getting the Most Out of RootsMagic Version 5 by Bruce Buzbee
-The Host by Stephenie Meyer

read 1 book that is part of a series: (finished April)
-The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner (An Eclipse Novella) by Stephenie Meyer

read 2 books that are part of a series: (finished January)
-The Secret (Animorphs #9) by K.A. Applegate
-Lasher (The Mayfair Chronicles #2) by Anne Rice

read 3 books that are part of a series: (finished in September)
-The Unknown (Animorphs #14) by K.A. Applegate
-The Show (Northwest Passage #3) by John A. Heldt
-Glitches (Lunar Chronicles #0.5) by Marissa Meyer

read 4 books that are part of a series: (finished February)
-The Android (Animorphs #10) by K.A. Applegate
-The Forgotten (Animorphs #11) by K.A. Applegate
-The Reaction (Animorphs #12) by K.A. Applegate
-Uglies: Cutters (Uglies: Graphic Novel #2) by Scott Westerfeld

read 5 books that are part of a series: (finished in June)
-The Change (Animorphs #13) by K.A. Applegate
-Dime Store Magic (Women of the Otherworld #3) by Kelley Armstrong
-Industrial Magic (Women of the Otherworld #4) by Kelley Armstrong
-Lichgates (The Grimoire Saga #1) by S.M. Boyce
-The Dark Victorian: Bones (The Dark Victorian #2) by Elizabeth Watasin

read 1 book that is released in 2013: (finished in May)
-Angel on the Ropes by Jill Shultz

read 2 books that are released in 2013: (finished in July)
-Riding on a Beam of Light by Ramsey Dean
-Love Rehab by Jo Piazza

read 4 books that are released in 2013: (finished in August)
-Red Moon by Benjamin Percy
-The First Rule of Swimming by Courtney Angela Brkic
-Three Lives of Tomomi Ishikawa by Benjamin Constable
-The Bookstore by Deborah Meyler

read 5 books that are released in 2013: (finished in May)
-The Archived (The Archived #1) by Victoria Schwab
-The Testing (The Testing #1) by Joelle Charbonneau
-Wars in Toyland by Joe Harris
-The Orphanage of Miracles by Amy Neftzger
-The Testing Guide (The Testing #0.5) by Joelle Charbonneau

read 1 book everyone but me has read: (finished in September)
-Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

read 2 books everyone but me has read: (finished in August)
-Mockingjay (Mockingjay #3) by Suzanne Collins
-Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth

read 3 books everyone but me has read: (finished in October)
-This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
-Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
-Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer

read 4 books everyone but me has read: (finished in December)
-The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking #1) by Patrick Ness
-The Selection (The Selection #1) by Kiera Cass
-The Maze Runner (Maze Runner #1) by James Dashner
-A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

re-read 1 book: (finished in May)
-The Andalite Chronicles by K.A. Applegate

reread 2 books: (finished in September)
-Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #1) by Louise Rennison
-On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #2) by Louise Rennison

The Bookstore by Deborah Meyler

Title: The Bookstore
Author: Deborah Meyler
Publication Date: August 20, 2013
Length: about 354 pages (ebook)

Esme is a young English woman, studying art history in New York City. She's pretty happy, even though her boyfriend, Mitchell, is the world's biggest douchebag. One day, she realises she's pregnant, and when she goes to tell Mitchell, he dumps her before she has the chance. Determined to stay in school and keep her scholarship, she gets a part-time job at a used bookstore.

The most frustrating thing about this whole book is that Mitchell is SO horrible and Esme never seems to quite understand that. Just when you think she's going to be happy without him and move on, he swoops in again and she just totally forgets what an idiot he is in favour of her mysterious attraction to him. Very annoying.

But other than that, I enjoyed this book, for the rather undefinable reason that it felt "real" to me. Even though all the other characters who worked in or frequented the bookstore kind of blended together and weren't very memorable, Esme herself really held my interest. And I found the book to be surprisingly feminist. Esme goes through the process of debating whether or not to have an abortion. She struggles with the realities of becoming a single mother, while her douchebag boyfriend offers her a rich and comfortable life as a decoration on his arm. Ultimately, despite having a depressing weakness for the jerk in her life, Esme is a strong, independent woman, and I enjoyed reading about her.

4 stars.

Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

New Year's Resolutions for 2014

The year is almost over, and when it comes to reading and blogging, the new year feels very much like a fresh start for me. In the last few months, my schedule has become so crazy and my reading time so limited. Combine that with overly-ambitious reading goals and too many review copies, and you have a less-than-ideal environment for actually enjoying recreational reading.

So, my main resolution for 2014 is to enjoy my reading more. I've already started taking steps to ensure that I follow through with this: I've signed up for reading challenges at lower levels for 2014, so that they're fun instead of unachievable, and I've hugely decreased the number of review copies I accept. I want to get back to where I can read what I feel like when I feel like it. I want to be able to read a 1000 page book without having to worry if I have time for it. And I even want to be able to take out library books without feeling too guilty about my towering pile. I feel a weight off my shoulders just thinking about it. So I'm going into 2014 feeling pretty darn good. :)

2014 New Year's Reading Resolutions:

1. Have more fun reading by allowing myself more freedom in what I read and when.
2. Keep review copies from overwhelming me by never allowing a backlog of more than 3.
3. Start reading some of the Beyond Reality books of the month again (like I used to do way back in high school, in the pre-Goodreads days if you can believe that!).
4. Write reviews soon after finishing a book, or at least start them. That way I won't be trying to remember details of a book I read 3 months ago, like has happened this year!

What are your reading resolutions for 2014? Share in the comments!

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Title: A Christmas Carol
Author: Charles Dickens
Publication Date: 1843
Length: about 76 pages (ebook)

We all know the story of this one. I've seen countless movie adaptations, but had never read the book until now. Scrooge, a grumpy old man who cares only for money, is visited by the ghost of his dead partner, who regrets the life he lived and the life Scrooge is still living, and tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits. The ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future all visit Scrooge that night, teaching him the error of his ways.

I knew I loved the story, but I didn't know if I'd like the writing. I've heard so many mixed things about Dickens. But this story is beautifully written. Perhaps that explains why so many scenes are reproduced word-for-word in the various movies.

This is a wonderful story to read around the holiday season. Very heart-warming.

5 stars.

2014 Book Bingo Reading Challenge

Just when I thought I was done signing up for 2014 challenges, I discovered that the Book Bingo challenge has returned! And the board is different this year! In some ways, the new board adds new challenges for me (eg. requiring me to read a romance and a mystery if I want to complete the whole board), but in some ways it's also easier. I'm particularly glad that the confusing free square of last year has been replaced by free squares that can be filled by any book. There are also fewer total books that need to be read to fill the board. See the challenge page for full details and to sign up yourself!

Like last year (my final scorecard for 2013 will be posted soon, by the way!), I won't be aiming for any particular goals besides getting some kind of bingo, but I am hopeful that I'll be able to fill the card this year.

Challenge Completed: 2013 Dystopia Challenge

Success! With just over a week to spare, I have met my goal of reading 15 dystopian books in 2013. For the list of books I read, check out my challenge sign-up post.

When perusing the offerings of 2014 challenges, I did see another dystopian challenge happening, but I'll be skipping that one next year. Believe it or not, I actually read pretty much all of my dystopian books for this challenge! I only have one left on my TBR shelf, and maybe one or two I wouldn't mind rereading (I keep meaning to revisit 1984). So I read almost all of the ones I already owned and was planning to read, plus several review copies and one library book.

2014 Seriously Series Challenge

Yay! The Seriously Series Challenge is happening again! I had a great time with this challenge in 2013. It was difficult, but ultimately achievable. (Though I achieved it by completely changing my lists over the course of the year. I stuck with my original levels, though!) It's good times all around. Click on the image above for full details and to sign up.

Goals:
Series started before 2014: Seriously Serious (7 - 12 series)
Series started in 2014: Seriously Serious (7 - 12 series)
Series rereads: Semi-Serious (1 - 6 series)

Again, I'm trying to focus on finishing series that I've already started. Below is the list of series I'm hoping to read; it'll change throughout the year to reflect the series I actually do read.

Series started before 2014:

• Women of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong
• Broken
• No Humans Involved
• Personal Demon
• Living With the Dead
• The Dwarves by Markus Heitz
• The Fate of the Dwarves
• Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison
• Love is a Many Trousered Thing
• Stop in the Name of Pants!
• Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?
• Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
• Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood
• Northwest Passage by John A. Heldt
• The Fire
• Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• The Forest House
• Divergent by Veronica Roth
• Free Four: Tobias Tells the Story
• Insurgent
• The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
• Cress
• Archived by Victoria Schwab
• The Unbound
• Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness
• The Ask and the Answer
• Monsters of Men

Series started in 2014:

• The Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa
• The Iron King
• Trilogía Victoriana by Félix J. Palma
• The Map of Time
• The Map of the Sky
• The Ravenscliffe by Geoffrey Huntington
• Sorcerors of the Nightwing
• Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan
• The Red Pyramid
• Onyx Court by Marie Brennan
• Midnight Never Come
• Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
• Under Heaven
• River of Stars
• Modern Faerie Tales by Holly Black
• Tithe
• Serenity by Joss Whedon, et. al.
• Those Left Behind
• The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda
• The Hunt
• Darkborn by Alison Sinclair
• Darkborn

Series rereads:

• Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
• The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
• Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
• Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison
• Away Laughing on a Fast Camel
• Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers
• Startled By His Furry Shorts

2014 Banned Books Challenge

Photo credit: Old Books by Petr Kratochvil

This is a new one for me this year, and I'm pretty excited about it! Buckling Bookshelves (great blog name, by the way) is hosting the Banned Books Challenge for the second year. Any book that has been banned or challenged counts towards this challenge.

In keeping with my over theme of aiming low in 2014 challenges so that reading challenges don't go from fun to stressful, I'll be starting with the lowest level, Making Waves, which only requires 1 to 2 banned books. But hopefully I'll find a bunch of awesome banned books and move up a level or two over the course of the year.

I'll list my banned books below as I read them, and link to the reviews as I write them.

2014 Diversity on the Shelf Reading Challenge

My Little Pocketbooks has started a new challenge, inspired by the POC Reading Challenge, called Diversity on the Shelf. The goal is to read books written by or about people of colour, thus diversifying our reading experiences and supporting diversity in the publishing industry.

This is a great challenge for me, because my reading experience is seriously lacking in diversity. The majority of the books I read are now written by women, and recently I have actively sought out books by LGBT authors, but I honestly can't think of a book I've read recently by an author who isn't white. That's a tad embarassing.

Since my book collection lacks in this area, I'll have to look beyond my own shelves for this one. As suggested on the challenge post, I'll be getting inspiration from the POC Reading Challenge blog. There are also plenty of Listopia lists on Goodreads that will give me ideas.

Since I'm trying to be more realistic with my challenge goals this year, I'll start with the lowest level, 1st Shelf: read 1 to 6 books. I'll list the books below as I read them, and link to the reviews as I write them.

1. The Returned by Jason Mott
2. The Hunt (The Hunt #1) by Andrew Fukuda

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent (Divergent #1)
Author: Veronica Roth
Publication Date: April 25, 2011
Length: 487 pages

Beatrice has grown up in the Abnegation faction, which values complete selflessness.Yet she's always struggled to be as selfless as her family. As a 16-year-old, Beatrice will soon have to decide which faction she'll spend the rest of her life with. While she doesn't want to leave her family and insult their values, she longs to join the Dauntless, the faction that values fearlessness.

After the Choosing ceremony, Beatrice (who soon rebrands herself as Tris) discovers that being accepted by a faction is no easy process. There are intense physical and psychological tests, and Tris must prove herself or wind up factionless. And through it all, she has to keep her secret, that's she's Divergent, which her society fears most of all.

It took some time for me to connect with Tris. I think that's mostly because there is no way I would ever choose Dauntless. It just seemed so unappealing to me. And I didn't like how some of the factions were so vilified, especially Erudite, the faction that values intelligence. I can't stand that they're portrayed as the bad guys! I totally would've chosen Erudite.

But, eventually Dauntless won me over. I still wouldn't choose it, but it gained my respect. Particularly the way Tris and Four view it. Also, this book gave me a strangely strong urge to get a tattoo.

Possibly my favourite thing in this novel was the fear landscapes. The idea of going into a holographic simulation that puts you through your worst fears is just so cool. Though I didn't really understand the process Tris went through to overcome each one. It makes me wonder what would be in my fear landscape. And how many fears I would have.

3 stars. Writing this review months later, I feel more positive about it and can't really remember why I gave it only 3 stars. But I always go with the rating I choose right after finishing. In any case, I'm looking forward to the second book!

2014 Mount TBR Reading Challenge

Every year I aim for Mt. Ararat, and every year I fail. So, as much as I'd like to be reading more books off my TBR pile, I'd also like to succeed in this challenge for once. :) So, this year, I'll be aiming slightly lower, starting with Mt. Blanc. That means my goal is only 24 TBR pile books this year, which I surely can achieve. And if I finally start making real progress on my mountains of books, and reach this goal early, I can always upgrade to a taller peak.

I'll list the books I read for this challenge below as I read them, and link to the reviews as I write them.

1. Insurgent (Divergent #1.5) by Veronica Roth
2. Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection by A.J. Jacobs
3. The Underground (Animorphs #17) by K.A. Applegate
4. Serenity: Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon, et. al.
5. Summer of My Amazing Luck by Miriam Toews
6. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
7. Blind Date by R.L. Stine
8. The Fate of the Dwarves (The Dwarves #4) by Markus Heitz
9. Darkborn (Darkborn #1) by Alison Sinclair
10. The Hunt (The Hunt #1) by Andrew Fukuda
11. The Philosopher's Apprentice by James Morrow
12. Broken (Women of the Otherworld #6) by Kelley Armstrong
13. The Decision (Animorphs #18) by K.A. Applegate
14. Twisted by R.L. Stine
15. The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma

Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb by Ally Malinenko

Title: Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb
Author: Ally Malinenko
Publication Date: September 12, 2012
Length: about 207 pages (ebook)

As far as Lizzy Speare knows, she's just a normal girl, with a talent for writing and a love of Shakespeare. But when her father disappears, and Lizzy and her friend Sammy are kidnapped by a man named Jonathan Muse who claims to be protecting her, she discovers an amazing secret: she's a direct descendant of William Shakespeare. And Dmitri Marlowe, direct descendant of Christopher Marlowe, keeps telling her things that make her unsure who to trust. She doesn't know either of these men, and trusting the wrong one could be disastrous.

Lizzy often frustrated me with her questionable decision making, but she is a fun, strong-willed character. And it's certainly understandable that she doesn't whose side she's on, since everyone seems to be lying to her or hiding things from her all the time. Especially when no one seems to be doing much to help her find her father.

I liked the interactions between all the characters. The relationships between the muses and their artists was really interesting, and would be a great basis for stories all on its own. And of course there's nothing like a feud that has been going on between two families for centuries.

At times I did feel like this book had a bit too much going on, especially for a middle-grade novel. There's lots of interesting stuff in there, but I feel like a lot of it isn't explored as much as it could be, just because there's so much in there that there isn't time. This is especially true with all the mythological creatures who are introduced.

3 stars.

Full disclosure: Free ebook copy received from the author.

2014 Women Challenge

Peek-a-booK! is hosting the Women Challenge again in 2014. I liked how the 2013 Women Challenge made me more aware of the genders of the authors I was reading, and I was pleased to discover that the majority of the books I read were written by women!

So, I will again be going for the highest level: Wonder Woman. This level has been increased this year, to 20+ books written by women. I'll list my books below as I read them.

1. Free Four: Tobias Tells the Story (Divergent #1.5) by Veronica Roth
2. Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth
3. The Darkness of Shadows by Chris Little
4. The Unbound (The Archived #2) by Victoria Schwab
5. The Underground (Animorphs #17) by K.A. Applegate
6. Namesake by Sue MacLeod
7. Away Laughing on a Fast Camel (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #5) by Louise Rennison
8. Summer of My Amazing Luck by Miriam Toews
9. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
10. Darkborn (Darkborn #1) by Alison Sinclair
11. The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn
12. Broken (Women of the Otherworld #6) by Kelley Armstrong
13. The Decision (Animorphs #18) by K.A. Applegate
14. Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #6) by Louise Rennison
15. The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter
16. Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
17. How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
18. In Beauty May She Walk: Hiking the Appalachian Trail at 60 by Leslie Mass
19. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
20. Binky: License to Scratch by Ashley Spires
21. Mouseheart by Lisa Fiedler

2014 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

 

 2013, when I went back to school again (and also planned a wedding!), was the first year since graduating university that I did not outdo myself reading. But the way I see it, my lower number in 2013 just makes it all the easier to outdo myself in 2014! :)

Since I'll still be in school for all of 2014 (and beyond), I'm going to start off aiming low, with the "getting my heart rate up" level: read 1 to 5 more books than last year. At the end of the year, when I know exactly how many books I've read in 2013, I'll update this post with my official goal.

Update: I read 84 books in 2013, so my minimum goal for 2014 is 85.

To keep track, all books I read in 2014 will be listed below.

1. The Troop by Nick Cutter
2. Free Four: Tobias Tells the Story (Divergent #1.5) by Veronica Roth
3. Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth
4. Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection by A.J. Jacobs
5. The Darkness of Shadows by Chris Little
6. The Unbound (The Archived #2) by Victoria Schwab
7. The Returned by Jason Mott
8. Canadian Government in Transition by Robert J. Jackson and Doreen Jackson
9. The Underground (Animorphs #17) by K.A. Applegate
10. Namesake by Sue MacLeod
11. Away Laughing on a Fast Camel (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #5) by Louise Rennison
12. Serenity: Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon, et. al.
13. Summer of My Amazing Luck by Miriam Toews
14. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
15. Blind Date by R.L. Stine
16. The Fire by John A. Heldt
17. The Confabulist by Steven Galloway
18. The Fate of the Dwarves (The Dwarves #4) by Markus Heitz
19. Darkborn (Darkborn #1) by Alison Sinclair
20. Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow
21. The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda
22. Blackwater Lights by Michael M. Hughes
23. The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn
24. The Philosopher's Apprentice by James Morrow
25. Broken (Women of the Otherworld #6) by Kelley Armstrong
26. The Decision (Animorphs #18) by K.A. Applegate
27. Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #6) by Louise Rennison
28. George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl
29. The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter
30. Twisted by R.L. Stine
31. The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma
32. Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
33. The Super Hungry Dinosaur by Martin Waddell
34. The Littlest Dinosaur by Michael Foreman
35. How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
36. In Beauty May She Walk: Hiking the Appalachian Trail at 60 by Leslie Mass
37. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
38. Chickenhare by Chris Grine
39. Binky: License to Scratch by Ashley Spires
40. Mouseheart by Lisa Fiedler

Incomplete 2013 Challenges

I signed up for way too many challenges in 2013. It was a learning experience. They just all seemed so exciting! But my main problem was that I committed to unrealistic levels for all of them. I probably could have completed any one of them easily if I'd focused on it, but put them all together, and you have epic failure.

I did complete a few challenges this year, which will have their own posts. This post is to group together all my failed 2013 challenges.

First, as usual, I failed my own challenge, the Anne Rice Challenge. My goal was the Armand level, 11 to 15 books, and I read a whopping 2. Lasher and Taltos. That's it.

Next, the Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge. This one makes me sad, because this is the first year in a while that I haven't read more than the year before. Not only did I not reach my goal of reading 11 books more than in 2012, but I actually read less than in 2012. However, when I made this goal, I didn't realise I'd be going back to school this year! So I do have a good excuse. And I still read way more this year than any year that I was in university!

The Nerdy Non-Fiction Reading Challenge. I was aiming for the Dork level, 7 to 10 non-fiction books, and I read 3. Well, I'm in the middle of a few textbooks that would count, but it doesn't look like I'm going to get any of them done by the end of year. Alas. By the way, does anyone know what happened to the blog this challenge was hosted by, Bookmark to Blog? It seems to have disappeared.

The Mount TBR Reading Challenge. Again. Goal: 48 books. Read: 28 books. (That seems crazy to me. That means I read more than 50 books that I got this year!) In 2014 I'm finally going to be realistic and drop down a level.

Next, we have the A-Z Reading Challenge. I'm so sad that I didn't complete this one, as it's always one of my favourites. I completed it in 2012, and was very proud of that fact. This year I fell short by 5 letters: J, N, V, Y, and Z. And I totally have books that start with all those letters! I just never got to them. And this is another blog that appears to be gone, so I guess I won't get another chance to try this challenge, unless someone else picks it up.

The 2013 Why Buy the Cow? Challenge. I signed up for the lowest level, with a goal of reading 12 free ebooks, and I ended up reading 9. I kept meaning to squeeze in a few more kids' books, and then I just never got around to it.

Finally, the Mammoth Book Challenge. If only I hadn't signed up for the highest level! My goal was to read 12 books of more than 450 pages. I read 9, which is quite respectable.

*shrugs* OK, so I had some unrealistic goals. Live and learn! I won't make the same mistakes next year! I've just started picking out my 2014 challenges, and it's going to be slightly fewer than 2013, but most importantly I'll be signing up at lower levels. That'll make them more fun for me, by keeping them achievable.

Animorphs #15 - The Escape by K.A. Applegate

Title: The Escape (Animorphs #15)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Publication Date: January 1998
Length: 163 pages

Warning: This is a review of a later book in the series and definitely contains a spoiler from at least one earlier book!

The Animorphs learn (from Erek, the android from Animorphs #10 - The Android) that Visser One has returned to Earth to oversee a secret project. (In case you'e forgotten, Visser One is Marco's mom, as only Marco and Jake currently know.) When they head underwater, to where the newest Yeerk facility is set up, they find sharks that are strangely focused and organised.

Marco doesn't want the others to know about his mother, since as the group comedian he doesn't want to be the object of pity. But he also doesn't want them to kill her if they get the chance, and how can he convince them of that without revealing the truth? This book is from Marco's perspective, so we see him thinking about this a lot throughout the story.

This book also brings us back to the competition between Vissers One and Three. Visser Three is always trying to make Visser One look bad, and vice versa. I'm interested in seeing how this plays out later in the series; so far it's always worked out well for the Animorphs, since when both Vissers are around the enemy doesn't present a united front.

5 stars.

On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God by Louise Rennison

Title: On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #2)
Author: Louise Rennison
Publication Date: 2000
Length: 243 pages

Warning: This is a review of the second book in the series, and may therefore contain spoilers from the first book.

So, Georgia is finally dating the Sex God, but things never just go smoothly in Georgia's life. Her mom tells her they're going to New Zealand to visit her dad. Her cat, Angus, is driving the new neighbours crazy by flirting with their fancy cat, and before long Robbie breaks things off, saying that Georgia's too young for him (which is true, but try telling Georgia that). She decides that to get him back, she must practice maturiosity and glaciosity, and have a Red Herring, aka a poor innocent boy she pretends to like just to make Robbie jealous.

Georgia really is quite dreadful. It shows a lot in this book. Dave the Laugh is such a sweetheart, and I'm sure if it weren't for the Sex God she'd see that. But he's just a Red Herring to her, and it's so sad to see how she squanders a potentially great relationship in order to get back the boy who makes her weak at the knees, and yet seems to have no other good qualities. (OK, I'm not a Robbie fan. Is it obvious?)

OK, now that that's out of my system: this book is filled with hilariousity and fabulousity. Libby is such a hilarious character. She really is quite mad. Like whenever Georgia tells her not to do something, usually to prevent poo from getting everywhere, Libby just says "shh, bad boy!". And how she can like suck on Angus' nose, when he'll attack anyone else who touches him.

Also: Sven. I want more Sven in these books. Is it just me, or did he switch from Danish to Swedish since the first book? Maybe Georgia just doesn't understand northern European geoggers.

4 stars.