Beatles1964 2010 Challenge

Like everyone else here I can't wait until 2010 starts so I can start reading for all of my many different groups. I wish everyone Good Luck on all of their Challenges. Good Reading. Have Fun and Enjoy what you read. Here's to a great year in 2010.

Beatles1964

1. Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein
2. The Picture of Dorian Gray and Selected Stories
by Oscar Wilde
3. Halloween III: Season of the Witch by Jack Martin

Last year I read fie books in January which is a personal record for me however it looks like I'll not only break the record but also smash it to smithereens since I've already ready read three books in the first eleven days of the new year and I've never read three books in an eleven day period before in my entire life. So I'm hoping that 2010 is gonna be a great year for me and I think I'll finally find myself finishing my first LT challenges in the 25 and 50 Book Challenges at least it looks that way to me right now especially if I'm able to continue reading books at a faster than normal pace for myself. Who knows I may even finish the 75 and 100 Book Challenges as well but that's getting a little ahead of myself for the time being. But as of now I'm looking forward to completing the 25 and 50 Book Challneges.

Beatles1964

4. The Library Card by Jerry Spinelli
5. The BabySitters Club Mystery#13 Mary Anne and
the Library Mystery by Ann M. Martin
6. Howliday Inn by James Howe

Hopefully I'll be able to finish some other books this weekend bringing my total numbers of books read a little bit higher. This has already been a record month for me having read more books this month than any in previous month before in my entire life. My previous personal record for most number of books read in one month was January 2009 with 5 books read that month so I'm already ahead of my pace from a year ago which is great for me.

Beatles1964

My daughter was crazy for The BabySitters Club books when she was a kid. They were always laying around the house so I read several of them too. What a fun series! I bet she and I both would enjoy re-reading a couple of them. I wish they had a series like that when I was a kid. There are so many more kids books to choose from now than there was then.

I always loved the Dr. Seuss books and A Fly Went By in fact I still own all of the Dr. Seuss books I had growing up as wel as A Fly Went By. That particular BabySitters Club book is the only one I own and since it's Library related and I work in a Library I just figured
I'd read it.

Beatles1964

7. The Children of Men by P.D. James

January was a great month for reading for me and since February is the shortest month of the year with only 28 days it'll make it difficult to read that many books for me in a shorter month. Of course, I'll read as many books as I possibly can and I'm real excited about the great start I've had for 2010 so far. But I know I'll have to pick up the pace and average even more than 7 books a month if I have any chance to finish reading at least 100 books for 2010.

Even if I fall short and read only 80 or 90 something books for this year it will still turn out to have been my greatest year of reading EVER in my entire life. I'll be a little disappointed if I don't read at least 100 books this year but at least I'll know I would've given it my best shot.

Beartles1964

8. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
9. Venus Plus X by Theodore Sturgeon

Once I finish my 10th book I'll officially be one-tenth of the way through to reading 100 books for 2010. Which for me is saying quite an awful lot since I can't remember ever having finished reading 9 books in my entire life by February 16 which is a really truly amazing pace for me.

Beatles1964

Congratulations on your progress!

I think I may fall short of my 100 goal this year, as I've been tempted by some chunksters recently, and they do slow you down somewhat. :)

Thanks A Lot wookiebender. Of course it's still way too early for me to even assume I'll read 100 or more books this year however right now I think I'm on a pace to read mor than 100 books. We'll have to wait and see how my progress is by this Summer.

Beatles1964

10. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

Beatles1964

Beatles, what did you think of The Children of Men?

And the Ray Bradbury. I like sci-fi, but I don't think I've read any of his books!

I'm also interested in what you think of The Martian Chronicles. Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite authors.

Remember you asked for my opinion judylou about what I thought of The Children of Men. What I have to say might be controversial and you might not like or others might not like to hear what I have to say. You've been Warned:

For years I've been a fan of P.D. James I love her mysteries but it's been a long time since I've read anything by her. P.D. James is one of my favourite Authors. I really enjoyed the book but wouldn't want to live in that kind of a Society where people are treated as pieces of garbage, worthless junk, useless broken down and too worn out and not good for anything else once they get too old and they must be disposed of in order to make way for the next generation of people coming up. It was very dark and disturbing the further I got into the book especially once I learned about the Quietas and what that meant. The people who were scheduled to die were called sacrificial victimes then potential suicides then sacrificial matyrs because they thought the word victims was too harsh and wanted to ease their guilty conscious. Murder by any other word is still Murder.

OK, this is where my part of the review could get to be a little bit controversial. When I first learned about the Quietus and what they represented my first thought was OMG it's ObamaCare and his Death Panels trying to get rid of older people. At once I sae the similarities between the Quieus and the Obama Care Death Panels. Now I suppose I'll start to get all kinds of angry remarks from everybody who voted for and still suports Obama. They're probably beginning to que up right now. I can just imagine what people will be saying because I got ganged up on in Poetry Fool and Pro & Con which of course is why I left those LT groups in the first place. It would be a very scary place to live under that kind of environment.

People everywhere will probably be hating Beatles1964 and it will once again be Open Season on Beatles1964

Beatles1964

Not open season from me (I'm not American, so have no idea what a Death Panel is; I'm off to do some Googling, and if I disagree with you, well, you're entitled to your opinion), but I think it's a sign of a good book that it makes you think about something in the real world (either positively or negatively), that it resonates within you.

I thought Children of Men was a very powerful novel, although not always a pleasant read. I've not read any of her mysteries, although I do have Cover Her Face on Mt TBR.

And I may be yelled at for saying this, but I also liked the movie adaptation. Completely different story, but edge-of-your-seat visceral movie making.

Wookie, you must have been channelling my thoughts when you wrote the above post! You said everything for me!!!

Death Panel ~ Huh?
American politics ~ hmmmmm
PD James ~ this is the one and only of hers I have read.
The Movie ~ loved it!

Beatles you have every right to your opinions. If others disagree they also have the right to express that, but it is when their opinions become abusive or turn into a rant that they lose that right.

BTW I have just finished The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist - if you want to read another book about that kind of a Society where people are treated as pieces of garbage, worthless junk, useless broken down and too worn out and not good for anything else once they get too old and they must be disposed of in order to make way for the next generation of people coming up then you will find The Unit very interesting.

11. The Divided by Katie Waitman

judylou I know I'm entitled to my opinion but I was verbally attacked and ganged up on by people in Pro & Con and also in Poetry Fool. I had to get Tim to intervene on my behalf. I finally decided to just leave those LT groups in the end. Pro & Con didn't like me because I often quoted what I had heard on Fox News and they HATE Fox News. A lot of people HATE Fox News. President Obama slighted Fox News awhile ago when he did inteviews on all of the other News Channels with the exception of Fox News. And during the 2008 Democratic Primaries & November 2008 Presidential Election I would say stuff about Obama I had heard on Fox News and people would get on my case about that too. I still don't think Obama has done a good job at being President in fact I still think either Hillary or McCain would've still made better Presidents than Obama. However, this is neither the right place nor the time to discuss my feelings on the matter. In fact, I'm hoping he'll only be a one-term President.

Well enough people certianly ranted and raved against me in those two LT groups especially Pro & Con for my feelings against Obama. One last thought here and then I'll shut up all this Political talk. People need to Vote out all the Democrats and put the Republicans back in again. I also love what the Tea Partiers are doing and applaud their efforts to make things better again now that the Democrats have helped tear things down and trying to go their own way by ramming Bills down the American Peoples throat they say they don't want. If the Tea Party becomes a third Political Party I'll definitely change from being a Registered Republican to a Tea Partier. Hurray for the Tea Partiers.

Beatles1964

beatles I'm not going to rant and rave. All I'm going to do is point out that "death panels" were a demonstrable lie instigated by Sarah Palin and propagated by Fox News. Believe what you like, you have that right. But please don't expect the rest of us to respect it.

Canadian here . . . I thought death panels were a joke for late night tv.

#18 I'm not trying to force you or anyone else to like Fox News unlike Obama and hid Democratic cronies who are trying to force this Health Care Bill down America's throat just because they want to do it even though the majority of people polled have said they are against Obama's Health Care program. It's amazing how many Fox News haters there are here in LT. Besides I never said you had to respect it I was only trying to explain to #16 how people in Pro & Con and also Poetry Fool were ranting & raving against me because of what I said about Obama during the 2008 Democratic Primaries and later on the Presidential Election.

I still believe electing Obama was a huge mistake and now the whole country has to pay for that God awful mistake. I really like what the Tea Partiers are doing. What Obama and the rest of the Democrats fail to realize is that the Tea Partiers are a force to be reckoned with and not dismissed so easily.

I was also trying to make a point I saw between Margaret Atwood's book Children of Men and the
Death Panels. Everyone here in LT is entitled to their opinion on anything even if it doesn't match what other people's opinions are on the same subject.

Which is why I was verbally attacked and ganged up on in Pro & Con and also Poetry Fool. I really love LT and being a part of group reads or reading challenges or The Haunted Soda or anyone of the other LT groups I'm a member of. For the most part I truly enjoy LT and these groups I'm a part of especially when I use my sense of humour and imaginiation in something like The Haunted Soda and see where it's taking us.

I don't enjoy being attacked or ganged up on no one does. I want to be friends with everyone here but it's not possible to do that at least not for me. I figure I'm one of the liked people here in LT because of my opinions on some subjects like Obama and the Democrats. I think some people here can be mean spirited at least that's what I've personally found out since I've been a member of LT.

I feel some people aren't happy until they can either humiliate someone or belittle the person and force them to leave that particular LT group. I probably make way too many postings in some groups and maybe people resent that fact.

Beatles1964

a point I saw between Margaret Atwood's book Children of Men

I'm confused. Margaret Atwood hasn't written a book by that name. Are you talking about PD James's Children of Men, or a completely different Margaret Atwood book?

I'm Sorry about the mistake Nickelini you're right I meant P.D. James's book Children of Men not Margaret Atwod. I was trying to respond to #18 and just wrote down Margaret Atwood's name by mistake.

Beatles1964

another book that takes a different look at the idea of "death panels" is Neal Shusterman's Unwind. Talk about creepy.

Margaret Atwood is of course well known for her dystopias, it seems an obvious slip of the brain to me. (I must get around to reading Oryx and Crake! It's been on Mt TBR for too long.)

Ew, I saw the tags for Unwind. Definitely creepy!

11. The Divided by Kate Waitman
12. A Door Into Ocean by Joan Slonczewski
13. Alien by Alan Dean Foster
14.The Secret of Dresden Farm by Genevieve St. John
15.Gender Blender by Blake Nelson

Beatles1964

16. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

17.Whispering to Witches by Anna Dale

I really enjoyed reading Anna Dale's Whispering to Witches and seriously hope she decides to make it into a much longer series like J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. I wouldcertainly go out and get any other books in if she ever does decide to make it into a series consisting of several volumes. I will definitely go out look for other books by her. I'm gonna see if I'm able to finish an 8th book for the month of March and set a new Personal All-Time Record for most books read in a month. I still have today and tomorrow to finish reading an 8th book and setting a record I new even dreamed would be possible for me before now.I figure even if I'm able to continue reading at the pace of averaging seven books read a month like I have in two out of the first three months for this year I'll still fall short of 100 books read for the year. This means if I'm gonna even have any kind of a chance to read at least 100 book for 2010 I'm gonna have to take it up to the next level and read even faster than I have been recently and average 8-9 books a month just to have a chance at making the 100 Book Challenge. I'm gonna have to wait and see whether or not I'll meet the 100 Book Challenge.

Even if I don't finish reading at least 100 books this year I'd be disappointed of course but looking at it from the perspective that I would've finshed the 25, 50 & 75 Book Challenges for the very first time and was reading at an amazing pace like I've never done before in my life. It seems that reading several books at the same time is finally beginning to pay off for me.

So looking at it this way 2010 would've been a highly successful year for me. It's already shaping up to be the year I read more books than I ever have in any single year previously since I've been keeping track of the yearly number of books I read. I figure that by sometime in May I should set my new Personal All-Time High Record.

Beatles1964

It's gonna take me a little bit longer than I had previously figured on to break my All-Time Personal High of 35 books read set in 2008. I'm not even at the half-way point yet. But at least I'm already way ahead of my 2008 pace for reading books.

Beatles1964

Good luck with the reading! It appears as if you are well on your way to a personal best in terms of the number of books you've read this year! Even if you don't hit the 100 mark, you'll still be setting yourself a target to surpass next year!

What iftyzaidi said! It's a good personal best goal, and that's more important than an arbitrary goal.

Thank You both I do agree with yoor statements abour personal goals are more important than arbitary goals and setting a target to surpass next year. That was my thinking too which is why I said even if I fail to read a 100 books this year it still would've been a great year for me and next year I'll have to try even harder to surpass the total number of books I read in 2010. Though I wish I could be more like the people here in LT who read 100, 200, 350 or more books each and every year. Maybe I'll eventually get there if I can read around 90 or more books this year and at least that same number or even a little better next year and then keep on improving from the previous years's total number of books read.

I'm gonna give it my best shot and be satisfied with whatever the number turns out to be by the end of the year. Anyway I know this is gonna turn out to be my best year yet. And I think it's partially due to the environment of Book Lovers here at LT with Zillions of great suggestions of titles to read from and also reading different books from outside what used to be my own comfort zone.

Beatles1964

I don't know how people can read 200+ books a year. I think they must forgo sleep or something.

I must admit, I love the recommendations I get through here sometimes, but my budget and Mt TBR do not! :)

Yea, I find a lot of great suggestions here I never would've thought of reading before I joined LT.

Me too. I am reading so much more widely than I ever did before LT.

18, The Twisted Tree by Lynn Benedict
19. The Killing Doll by Ruth Rendell
20.Floating in My Mother's Palm by Ursula Hegi
21.A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey
22. Catfantastic by Andre Norton & Martin H. Greenberg
23. Big Bad Wolf by Christine Warren

Beatles1964

24. Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

I had forgotten to add the book Hunting Ground to my list of books
read. I had a feeling I had forgotten to add a book to my list and
this was it. Now I'm one book closer to reading 25 books for the
25 Book Callenge and also finishing my very first Book Challenge
here in LT. It's so exciting.

Beatles1964

Congratulations on the milestone!

I recently picked up A Shilling for Candles and am hoping to get to it sooner rather than later.

Thanks A Lotwookiebender. Thank the Goddess I just finished my 25th book over the weekend and completed my very first LT Book Challenge. It's been a long time coming for me. I'm just relieved it's finally over. It's been awful frustrating for me not to have been able to complete any of LT Book Challenges before now.

25. Stonehenge Decoded by Gerald S. Hawkins

Beatles1964

now I'm really confused... a pagan tea-partier?

congratulations on the 25-book challenge; you have a good shot at 75 for the year if you keep up the pace!

Well, actually I'm a Newbie to Paganism & Wicca which is why I have joined all the LT groups on Paganism and Wicca so I can learn about them from others. And also why I don't contribute too much to either group except from time to time to ask questions. Mostly I just go to those groups and read what others who are much more knowledgeable about them have to say and also look at their book recommendations. Actually I only havea few books on Pagamism at home. I think I may have alerady listed them in my Library here at LT.
I'm real interested in learning as much as I possibly can about both subjects.

Beatles1964

26. Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
27. The Demon of Raven's Cliff by Patience Day
28. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
29. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Beatles1964

30. Thirst No.1 by Christopher Pike

Beatles1964

31. Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice

Beatles1964

32. The Immortals by James Gunn
33. Just After Sunset by Stephen King
34. The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
35. Haunted a Mystery by Judith St. George
36. The Lord of The Rings The Fellowship of The Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
37. Wellspring of Magic by Jan Fields

Beatles1964

I have just recently set a brand new personal All-Time Record for most number of books read in a year when I finished The Fellowship of The Ring. Of course I'm not gonna be just happy knowing I've broken it which of course is a real nice feeling for me to have but I'm not gonna be content with just breaking it. I would love to be able to shatter the record so I have something to shoot for next year. I'm still gonna try to at least make the 75 Books Challenge since the 50 Books Challenge is a little bit closer for me now. I don't know whether or not I still have an outside chance of even reaching 100 books read for this year. I think I'll have a much better feeling of what my pace will be by the end of September.

Congratulations on setting a new record for yourself! And it looks like you've read some very good books.

Congratulations on the record breaking! And good luck!

Thanks A Lot loriephillips & wookiebender this new personal record feels real good. It's a great accomplishment for me. For so many years the number of books I actually read in a year would vary and go up and down like a yo-yo or an lift (elevator) out-of-control. Some years it may be around 12, 15, 18 or more than 20 books in a year while other years it would be under 10 books a year.

Since 2008 the number of books I've read has been pretty high for me.
2008-35 books read
2009-25 books read
2010-37 books read (so far)

Beatles1964

38. Kissing Christmas GoodBye by M.C. Beaton

Beatles1964

39. Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King
40. The Modern Witch's Spellbook by Sarah Lyddon Morrison
41. The Iron Heel by Jack London

I had read a book called Road Kill Insomniacs by S.R. Martin however I had decided not to include it on my list especially since it was such a small book and only around 74 pages long it didn't seem fair to include it on my list of books having read in 2010. However, I might change my mind at a later date if it means the difference between either making the 75 Books Challenge or missing it by one book.

Beatles1964

42. Grace Under Pressure by Julie Hyzy
43. The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
44. Watchstar by Pamela Sargent
45. The Odyssey by Homer
46. Danse Macabre by Stephen King
47. The Lord of The Rings The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
48. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Beatles1964

49. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
50. The Fourth Grade Wizards by Barthe DeClements
51. Night World Volume 1 by L.J. Smith

Beatles1964

Congratulations on making it past 50!

Thanks iftyzaidi. It's the first time I've ever read 50 or more books in a single year in my life. Now that I've reached the 50 books read plateau it's onward and upward to even greater heights for me. I didn't finish my 50th book of the year until December 15 so in 2011 I know I have to have a much faster readig pace if I hope to read 75, 100 or even more books.

Beatles1964

And what a great list of books they are. I have enjoyed reading your comments this year and look forward to seeing what you will be reading next year.

Thank You judylou. I hope to read even more books in 2011 than I did in 2010.

Beatles1964