2024 Reading Challenge

I look forward to as good or a better reading year in 2024.

My list to follow:

1. The Little Liar - Mitch Albom, hardcover 333pp. 4.5*
2. Broken City - various - an anthology, paperback 441pp. 4*
3. A Time to Kill - John Grisham, paperback 515pp. 4*
4. The Bookkeeper’s Skull - Justin D. Hill, hardcover 200pp. 3.5*
5. The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England - Brandon Sanderson, hardcover 400pp. 4.5*
6. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley, paperback 221 pp. 3.5*

Keeping my goal at 24 for 2024.

Completed
1) Savage Son by Jack Carr 391p
2) The Devil's Hand by Jack Carr 538p
3) In the Blood by Jack Carr 420p
4) Only the Dead by Jack Carr 522p
5) The Chaos Agent by Mark Greaney 543p
6) The Gashouse Gang by John Heidenry 291p
Great book about the 1934 STL Cardinals
7) Mount Dragon by Preston and Child 349p
8) Shogun part 1 by James Clavell 693p
9) Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton 287p
10) Shogun part 2 by James Clavell 853p
11) 47 Ronin by John Allyn 253p
12) True Grit by Charles Portis 224p
13) Extinction by Douglas Preston 359p

I fell a little short of 20 books last year, so I'll go with 18.

Hopefully I can hit that. I know there were some stretches where I didn't read like I could've and I'm wanting to read a couple longer books again this year.

Goal: 18 Books

1. The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane - Robert E. Howard, 414 pages, 4/5
Moon of skulls may be my favorite story by Howard now.

2. The First Poems in English - Various, translated by Michael Alexander, 140 pages, 4/5
These poems (much like Beowulf) blend the old pagan England with the Christian one, and rather match the grafting in of Gentiles. Pretty good.

3. When God spoke Greek - Timothy Michael Law, 174 pages, 3/5
Very opinionated and at times reads like a Wikipedia entry mixed with a blog. Still, interesting stuff about the history of the Septuagint and the Bible.

4. Red Rabbit - Tom Clancy, 636 pages, 3/5
First Clancy book I've read in awhile. Was ok.

5. The Complete Plays - Sophocles, 440 pages, 4/5

6. Ben-Hur A Tale of the Christ - Lew Wallace, 488 pages, 5/5
A few quotes I really loved
"Could he have taken the offer and said the word, history might have been other than it is; but then it would have been history ordered by men, not God - something that never was and never will be."

"The intentions of God are always strange to us; but not more so than the means by which they are wrought out, and at last made plain to our belief."

"All the servants hastened weeping to see him; for he had the love of every living thing with which he had anytime to do;but when they beheld his face, and the smile upon it, they dried their tears, saying, "It is well. He is happier this evening than when he went out in the morning."

7. Blood and Smoke - Stephen King, 3 hrs 47 minutes, 2/5
1408 was the highlight of the stories

8. 'Salem's Lot - Stephen King, 18 hours, 3/5

9. Idylls of the King and a Selection of Poems - Alfred Tennyson, 367 pages, 4/5

10. Farnham's Freehold - Robert Heinlein, 10 hrs 25 minutes, 3/5

Goal last year was 24 but finished with 34.

Gonna set the goal at 30 this year.

A few on the list for this year that I’ve never read are The Witcher series, Legends of the Empire trilogy, and Rise and Fall trilogy. Also wanna get a Stormlight re-read in before book five drops.

So with just those and finishing my re-reread of Wheel of Time, that’ll get me to 25.

Completed
1. Crossroads of Twilight - Jordan
2. Knife of Dreams - Jordan
3. The Gathering Storm - Sanderson/Jordan
4. Towers of Midnight - Sanderson/Jordan
5. A Memory of Light - Sanderson/Jordan
6. The Last Wish - Sapkowski
7. Sword of Destiny - Sapkowski
8. The Way of Kings - Sanderson

Currently Reading
Words of Radiance - Sanderson

I just to finish all the books I have already purchased.

I did 51 last year. I will set mine at 25 this year

Goal last year was 52 and I hit 80. I need to slow up my pace a bit this year. New target is 48 or 4 per month.

These were my stats for 2023:
80 books totaling 44,731 pages
Avg. Book length was 559 pgs.
6.7 books per month
3,728 pgs. per month
34 Kindle Unlimited books
36 Libby borrows
10 purchased

(yes I'm a nerd who tracks books with a spreadsheet)

Decided this year to mix in a few classics here and there. Picked up Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn yesterday. Never read those as a kid. List below once I finish them:

1: Blood Meridian- Cormac McCarthy
2. One Second After- William Forstchen
3. One year after-William Forstchen
4. Final day-William Forstchen
5. 5 years after-William Forstchen
6. Cook county ICU, 30 years of unforgettable stories- Dr. Cory Franklin
7. Dirty Rocker Boys, sunset strip-Bobbie Jean Brown
8. Call of the Wild- Jack London
9. Frankenstein- Mary Shelly
10. The Disappeared- CJ Box

My updated goal is to read some Russian lit. Just started Anna Karenina.

I suggest an amazing book called Shine Little Light by Prophet Jonathan Nettles on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Google Books, etc. It's a true story and very deep. You will laugh and cry!