Monday, December 31, 2018

2018 Goodreads 52 Books Challenge

According to Goodreads you can read in order or jump around.  You can also have one WILD CARD. Insert in place of any topic. There is NO pressure to read 52 books. Use each title only ONCE.

The 2018 List

1. A book with the letters A, T, and Y in the title: The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
2. A book from the first 10 books on your Goodreads Want to Read list: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
3. A book from the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards (link): The Breakdown by B.A. Paris
4. A biography or autobiography: The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore 

5. A book about or inspired by real events: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
6. A book set in an English-speaking country other than the USA: Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie
7. A Skimm Reads choice - https://www.pinterest.com/theskimm/skimm-reads : A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena
8. A book you disliked but finished anyway: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
9. A book with a body part in the title (heart, bones, teeth, etc.): The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie 
10. An author's debut book (their first book to be published) The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

11. A literary fiction book: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
12. A book set in Africa or South America Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie
13. A book with a plot centered around a secret (forbidden love, spies, secret societies)  Everything You Want Me To Be by Mindy Mejia
14. A chick lit or romance book: Hey Ladies by Michelle Markowitz and Caroline Moss
15. A book with an unique format/writing structure: Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (Part 1: The Marked Woman [told from the perspective of Native American Mollie Burkhart regarding the deaths of more than three of her family members and other members of the Osage tribe in the 1920's]. Part 2: The Evidence Man [told from the perspective of the FBI agent investigating the deaths of Osage Native Americans]. Part 3: The Reporter [told from the perspective of ... you guess it, the reporter, author David Grann, investigating this story many years later). 
16. An audiobook (or your favorite audiobook of the year): Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith 
17. A humorous book: Dead End In Norvelt by Jack Gantos

18. A book with a location in the title: At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie 
19. A book nominated for an Edgar Award or by a Grand master author (books & authors): Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (An Edgar Award Winner for Best young Adult Fiction)
20. A book rated 5 stars by at least one of your friends: The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (friend: Tara.
21. A book written in first person: Gone, Baby, Gone by Dennis Lehane
22. A book you have high expectations or hope for: A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell
23. A medical or legal thriller: The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly24. A book with a map or diagram: The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty
25. A book with an antagonist/villain point of view : The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty
26. A nonfiction book: The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
27. A book about surviving a hardship (war, famine, major disasters, serious illness, etc): The Revolution of Ivy by Amy Engle
28. A book about a "polarizing" topic or person: All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brandon Kiely 
29. A book with a "Clue" weapon on the cover or in the title (lead pipe, revolver, rope, candlestick, dagger/knife, wrench): The Book of Ivy by Amy Engle (knife on the cover)

30. A short book or novella: Final Assignment by Linwood Barclay
31. A book set in a country you'd like to visit but never have: Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty (Australia)
32. An alternate history book: My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand
33. A book connected (title, cover, content) to a word that was created or "born" in the same year you were born (link): The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (word created in 1982 = e-mail)

34. A book written by an author who has written at least 25 fiction or 10 nonfiction books: N or M by Agatha Christie 
35. A book featuring a female private detective or female police detective: S is for Silence by Sue Grafton
36. A book published in the last 3 years (2016, 2017, 2018) by an author you haven't read before: Keep Her Safe by Sophie Hannah (published 2017)
37. A Women's Prize for Fiction winner or nominee (link1link2): Room by Emma Donaghue
38. A science book or a science fiction book: Proxy by Alex London
39. A book with a form of punctuation in the title: Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell
40. A book from Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime list (link): The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
41. A book by an author with the same first and last initials: China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
42. A book that takes place on, in, or underwater: The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
43. A book with a title that is a whole sentence One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
44. A ghost story: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold 
45. A book whose title or author's first or last name starts with Q, X, Y, or Z: Made You Up by Francesca Zappia
46. A book in a series (See #47) The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
47.  Same as #46; another book from same series: Lethal White by Robert Galbraith

48. A Young Adult book: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

49. A book from Goodreads Best Books of the Month lists (link) : Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris
50. A fiction or nonfiction book centered on politics/politicians: Sisters First by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush
51. A short story collection: Live from Carnegie Hall and Live for Your Listening Pleasure by David Sedaris
52. A book published in 2018: From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein
PLUS....... One WILD CARD that can be used in place of any topic: Becoming by Michelle Obama

Movies Seen in 2018

Total movies seen: 100 (right on the nose! Amazing!)
Bold denotes those seen in the theatre

January:
1. Pitch Perfect 2
2. The Last Jedi
3. Romancing the Stone
4. The Post
5. The Fugitive
6. Ocean’s Twelve
7. Battle of the Sexes
8. The Accountant
9. The Client
10. The Commuter
11. Get Out
12. The Post
13. The Crucible

February:
14. The Book of Eli
15. The Martian
16. The Girl on the Train
17. Tammy
18. The Greatest Showman
19. Game Night

March:
20. Baby Mama
21. Red Sparrow
22. The Darkest Hour
23. American Made
24. The Greatest Showman
25. Tomb Raider
26. I, Tonya
27. Passengers
28. Wind River

April:
29. Blockers
30. The Great Gatsby
31. A Quiet Place
32. The Greatest Showman
33. Beirut
34. Argo
35. Super Troopers 2
36. The Intern

May:
37. Bad Samaritan
38. Overboard
39. Breaking In
40. Overboard
41. Solo
42. Star Wars
43. The Empire Strikes Back

June:
44. Return of the the Jedi
45. The Force Awakens
46. Molly’s Game
47. Ocean’s 8
48. The Heat
49. Set It Up
50. Tag
51. Baywatch
52. Game Night

July:
53. Adrift
54. Jurassic World 2
55. Skyscraper
56. The Equalizer
57. The Equalizer 2
58. Gone, Baby, Gone
59. Defiance
60. Table 19
61. Mission: Impossible- Fallout

August:
62. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
63. The Spy Who Dumped Me
64. Mission: Impossible
65. Mission: Impossible- Fallout
66. Crazy Rich Asians
67. Life of the Party
68. What Women Want
69. BlackkKlansman

September:
70. Operation Finale
71. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
72. Searching
73. The Glass Castle
74. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
75. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
76. Peppermint
77. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
78. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
79. A Simple Favor

October:
80. A Star is Born
81. Argo

November:
82. Bohemian Rhapsody
83. Argo (at school)
84. The Girl in the Spider Web
85. The Crucible
86. The Post
87. Fantastic Beasts: the Crimes of Grindelwald
88. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

December:
89. Fantastic Beasts: the Crimes of Grindelwald
90. Love Actually
91. Penelope
92. The Christmas Switch
93. Robin Hood
94. The Mule
95. Christmas Vacation
96. Die Hard 2
97. Searching
98. The Christmas Chronicles
99. Mary Poppins Returns
100. Crazy Rich Asians











Books Read in 2018

Goal: 80
Actual number: 61.
X denotes those books used for the GoodReads 52 Books Challenge
Bold denotes the books I read (vs. listened to) (16 total)

January:
x1. The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
x2. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
3. Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie
x4. Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie
x5. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (x2)
x6. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie

February:
x7. Everything You Want Me To Be by Mindy Mejia
x8. Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie
x9. N or M by Agatha Christie
x10. Keep Her Safe by Sophie Hannah

March:
x11. A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena
x12. S is for Silence by Sue Grafton
x13. The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
x14. The Breakdown by B. A. Paris
15. Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris

April:
x16. The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie
x17. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
x18. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (x4)
x19. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

May:
x20. Sisters First by Jenna Busch Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush
x21. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
22. The Drop by Dennis Lehane
x23. Made You Up by Francesca Zappia
x24. Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
x25. One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
x26. The Book of Ivy by Amy Engle
x27. The Revolution of Ivy by Amy Engle
28. Book Love by Penny Kittle
29. 180 Days by Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle

June:
x30. Dead End In Norvelt by Jack Gantos
x31. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand
x32. At Bertram’s Hotel by Agatha Christie
x33. Hey Ladies by Michelle Markowitz and Caroline Moss
x34. The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty
x35. All Americans Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brandon Kiely

July:
x36. Gone, Baby, Gone by Dennis Lehane
x37. Proxy by Alex London
x38. The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty

August:
x39. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
x40. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
x41. The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

September:
x42. Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
x43. Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell
x44. A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell
45. So Close to Being the Shit, Y’all Don’t Even Understand by Retta

October:
x46. China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
x47. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
x48. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
49. Bossypants by Tina Fey
x50. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
51. Yes, Please by Amy Poehler
x52. From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein
53. Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty

November:
x54. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
x55. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
x56. Live from Carnegie Hall and Live for your Listening Pleasure by David Sedaris
x57. Final Assignment by Linwood Barclay
x58. Room by Emma Donaghue

December:
x59. Becoming by Michelle Obama
x60. Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris
x61. The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly