Ardachy aims for 75 again

I first did this challenge in 2014 and just achieved it with two hours to spare. It was the first time I had recorded each book I had read over a year and I enjoyed it enough to give it another go this year.

My first read of the year was Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day spies by Ben Macintyre. One of my favourite writers, this is the third in his trilogy about World War two spies and follows on nicely from Agent Zigzag and Operation Mincemeat. I recommend all three to anyone interested in narrative history, WWII or spying.

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12512025

Welcome back!

My second read The Long War (Long Earth 2) by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13099329

>1 ardachy:

I enjoyed it enough to give it another go this year.

I'm so happy that you found it fun. I'll be travelling along on your reading adventures for 2015. Best of luck in completing this challenge!

My third read The Forgotten Affairs of Youth by Alexander McCall Smith

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12950839

Number four The Martian by Andy Weir http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13119890

I loved this one and would recommend it even if you do not normally read science fiction as it is a great human story.

>7 ardachy:

I'll have to keep this book in mind as it seems like a good pick for my online book club (Better Than the Movie Book Club). The only way I'll get into the science fiction genre is if it is something beyond just science fiction.

Love the picture of the OBCZ on the book's journal! :)

Number five Toby's Room by Pat Barker http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12353087

Another good read from Pat Barker. I was a bit of a late comer to Pat Barker but having discovered her following a recommendation from fellow BookCrossers I am gradually working my way through her books.

Six - The Etymologicon by Mark Forsyth http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12937409

Another one I would recommend to anyone interested in the development of the English language.

Your bookstore pictures on your books' journal entries are so nice! I should try to do that. It's a great idea.

Thanks. I think a photo just makes a journal entry more interesting and so I try to add one whenever I can.

Seven - Don't Stand So Close by Luana Lewis http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12765964

Eight - The Mission Song by John le Carre http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13098995/

Nine - Chosen by Lesley Glaister http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/11931897

This was actually a book I received from another bookcrosser in 2013 which I overlooked for last years BC challenge.

10 - The Meerkats of Summer Farm by Jayne Collier http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12201893

I've never even seen a meercat. That book sounds like fun, though.

I have a friend who is starting a goat farm this year. I can't wait to hear about her own personal adventures with farm animals. So far, she and her boyfriend have bought several chickens. I can't wait to hear about when the goats start coming in. :)

I can also recommend Meerkat Manor . Meerkats are really BIG in the UK.

11 - All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/8780867

Did you ever read Life of Pi? In one scene of that story, Pi meets up with a group of meerkats. At that time, I thought they were mythical animals! I'd never heard of them before. :)

So many animals in Life of Pi I don't recall the Meerkats specifically. It must be nine years since I read it though.

12 - A Quiet Flame: A Bernie Gunther Myster by Philip Kerr http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13169226

13 - The Good Terrorist by Doris Lessing http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12623178

My reading has slowed down a bit compared to last year partly due to spending so much time working on the BookCrossing Convention http://2015.bookcrossingevents.com but this book certainly deserved the time I spent on it.

14 - The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13257659

Loved this. Some great dialogue including some famous lines from Tiffany Aching.

15 - Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13206464

A wish list book received from eponine38 at the Bookcrossing Convention in Oxford. A simple moving story about the impact of the Hiroshima bomb on families.

16 - The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13174877

A highly recommended read from BookAmbler.

17 - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12753163

18 - Border Crossing by Pat Barker http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13137615

19 - Proxima by Stephen Baxter http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13119895

20 - Orpheus Rising by Bateman http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12498560

How are you coming along on your challenge?

The books you're reading are so totally different from any of the books I'm reading this year! I love the bookstore pictures on your journal entries, by the way. :)

For various reasons, not l least the time spent on the BookCrossing Convention, I am well behind last years numbers and look unlikely to achieve 75 this year.

My reading is fairly eclectic. I have just finished reading a 528 page biography which is not something I have done for a while. Thank you for your comments regarding the photos, I like to think they add interest for anyone who subsequently finds the book.

21 - Sir Alf : A Major Reappraisal of the Life and Times of England's Greatest Football Manager by Leo McKinstry http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13022727

>32 ardachy:

I am well behind last years numbers and look unlikely to achieve 75 this year.

That's totally okay. At least you have a great excuse...the BC convention. Did you see 6of8 when you were there? She was the only one of our local group that attended convention in Oxford this year.

My reading is fairly eclectic

Mine, too...but eclectically different from yours! :D

Yes I saw 6of8 at the Convention. It was great to meet so many BookCrossers many of whom I had never met in person before. Sadly, being so busy over the weekend I did not get the chance to spend as much time talking to them as I would have like.

An interesting thing I have noticed from Library Thing is the varying popularity of the books I read. The 'other members' with the book i have read has declined as follows for the last six books:-
11,671
577
106
39
12
8
Perhaps it is not surprising you are reading very different books. :-)

My latest has a rather apt title:-

22 - Butterfly Brain by Barry Cryer http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/10101366

23 - The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13332087

1669 other members have this so I am moving back up in popularity and away from obscure books :-)

24 - The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12902399

25 - The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe by Romain Puertolas http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13128678

A third of the way there with nearly half the year gone.

26 - The Testimony of the Hanged Man by Ann Granger http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13158541

>34 ardachy:

Haha! Interesting books stats, Trevor! I actually favor reading books less known to others. When I read bestsellers, it's almost as if I'm "forced" to say I like them (which often I don't...or, at least, I think them mediocre).

I haven't posted here lately because I wasdistracted by our move of home from Colchester to Ipswich. I didn't read much for a while either but starting to catch up now.

27 - Another World by Pat Barker http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12512044

28 - The Children Act by Ian McEwan http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13473496

29 - Inspector Singh Investigates: A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul by Shamini Flint http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12125622

30 - The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13513675

31 The Number Mysteries: An Odyssey Through Everyday Life by Marcus du Sautoy http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/10330867

My first non-fiction for a while.

32 - All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12009896

33 - After Midnight by Robert Ryan http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/8337218

34 - A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13512827/
35 - Boneshaker: A Bicycling Almanac (BA 43-200) http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12796468

Two non-fiction on the trot!

36 - Skios by Michael Frayn http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12704118/

37 - Life Class by Pat Barker http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13124070

38 - The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13158605

39 - Before We Say Goodbye by Gabriella Ambrosio http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13576173

40 - The Day of the Jack Russell by Colin Bateman http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12471818

41 - Thief of Time by John Boyne http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13259265/
42 - Trouble on the Heath by Terry Jones http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13613004/

43 - Living through Hope! by Chris Bullock http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13621555

I believe this is the first time I have logged a book on LibraryThing that has never previously been logged.

44 - Dead Man Talking by Roddy Doyle http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13645464

45 - Time and Time Again by Ben Elton http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13661723

One of my favourite reads of the year.

Hi Trevor! I see you, too, are moving along slowly with this challenge. I haven't read many of the authors you've read, but I have enjoyed a few books by Roddy Doyle, especially A Star Called Henry and Oh Play That Thing (which I listened to on audio tape).

By the way, I see that you made position #100 on BC's list of members with most books registered. I'm up to position #89 now but I hope to catch up to ResQGeek one of these days. :)

There is no way I will read 75 books this year. The Oxford Bookcrossing convention and the home move has taken too much of my time to achieve that. I should get to over 50 though. I have read most of Roddy Doyle's books including the two you mention.

Regarding books registered I see I have now risen to #99 and you have risen to #88 since you posted. I don't think we will catch up ResQGeek this year! We are both ahead of ResQGeek on books caught though not on books released so we have a better catch rate.

46 - Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13689744
47 - Big Bang: The Most Important Scientific Discovery of All Time and Why You Need to know about it by Simon Singh http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13158618

48 - The Bicycle Book by Bella Bathurst http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13669680/

One I forgot to log earlier.

>55 ardachy:

I don't think we will catch up ResQGeek this year!

Let's race to beat ResQGeek for books registered n 2016. :D

P.S. These are the folks I want to race (just for fun!) because I know them in real Life:
bookczuk
ResQGeek
crrcookie
KateKintail

49. War Horse by Michael Morpurgo http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12663746

The race is on! :)
I see you are stuck on 88th whilst I have shot up to 93rd :D
ResQGeek still seems a long way ahead at 62nd.

I'll be keeping an eye on that list...since I keep registering more and more books. This will be fun!

62. ResQGeek
88. SqueakyChu
93. ardachy

Er, you definitely are closing in on me! :D

P.S. Once we close in on ResQGeek, we can then choose someone else to surpass. Heh!

50. Bodily Harm by Margaret Atwood http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/9979607

A previously bookcrossed book which I have had on my shelf for far too long.

51. Funny Girl by Nick Hornby http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13690877

52. Oh Dear Silvia by Dawn French http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13663450/

The last two books of the year.

53. Henry Winstanley and the Eddystone Lighthouse by Adam Hart-Davis http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/10162105/
54. A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12292327