Ghost Story

So I have finished my first book of 2014. Now I had started this book last year, but every year I have some books that follow me into the new year. Now I am not using this book for the 25 genres/categories challenge because the rules state that the book needs to be started in 2014 to count. But it does count towards my overall total. 

My first book for 2014 was Ghost Story by Jim Butcher. It is the thirteenth novel in the Dresden Files series. This book took me awhile to read. I had trouble in the middle and thought it got the really slow. Now once I got through that slow point for me the ending was amazing. If there is one thing Jim Butcher can do it is wrap up his books with a bang. I think it was interesting look at the different characters and what would happen if something happened to Harry. In this book we are dealing with Harry's Ghost. We see the development of different characters and how they cope. I thought it was a very interesting way to progress the story and the characters. 

My favorite characters in the series are Butters and Bob. Now in this book I also feel in love with Mort the ecnomancer. It is worth reading, especially if you have been reading the series. There are so e lovely scenes and Jews in this book, just like most of his books have. 

I am actually interested in reading his other series and see how much I like that one. I think it is worth looking into. 

I have now started Cold Days by Jim Butcher. I will write more about what I think about that book in a later last. 

Challenge #2

The second challenge I am undertaking is the monthly genre challenge. Here is the link for those of you who are interested: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/118012-the-2014-reading-challenge-group. Know this group has a variety of reading challenges on it since it is the 2014 Reading Challenge Group. So this allows you to select a challenge that is right for you. I selected the genre challenge which means each month you read a specific genre. You can read one or as many as you like. I have chosen to read one book for each genre. Here is the run down....
January - Historical
February - Romance/Chick-Lit
March - Young Adult
April - Humour
May - Fantasy/Science-Fiction
June - Contemporary
July - Utopian/Dystopian
August - Crime/Mystery
September - Classic/Literary
October - Horror
November - Non-Fiction
December - Adventure

This group is pretty active and I like when i can see what other people are reading and talking about. it helps me select books and get an idea of what may be good or interests me. 

So that those are the challenges I am trying this year. So my goal is to read 52 books this year, the 25 genre or category challenge, and the monthly genre challenge. I am very excited to get started on my reading adventure!!

Challenge #1

So as of today I have added two more titles to my reading list. There are 25 genres that were selected by the Goodreads group I am following. They are: read a chunker (+600 pgs), mystery, young adult fiction, accidentally watched the movie first, relive the magic, gathering dust, loved by others, second chance, award winner, classic, biography/memoir, contemporary fiction, non-fiction, adult fiction (romance), fantasy, horror, lost in translation, secret Santa, short stories, graphic novels, banned books, true crime, current NY Time #1 best seller, cover story ( a book selected only by cover), and humor. 

Here it's the link for those of you who are interested. https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/119797-2014-book-challenge

Now I selected this challenge because some of the categories are out of my comfort zone. I also have most of the categories covered by what is already on my bookcase. So this is to try reading a bit more variety the. I may usually try. I have branched out throughout the years and am trying new this. Now this is one of the challenges I am doing. I am also doing a genre challenge that is a different genre each month. Now to an extent I may try and get so e crossover between the two. But since my goal is 52 books this year and one challenge is 25 and the other is 12 which is only 37. It should not be a problem. I am very excited and have the books I will start with all mapped out. 

As for starting the challenges I should be ready to start hem next week. I am finishing up Ghost Story by Jim Buthcher, which will count for 2014, but not for my challenges. So I will keep chugging along with that one for now. 

Next post will cover the second challenge I am doing.