
So it’s kind of funny that I decided to join the “Real” Book Challenge this year, since one of my resolutions is to make better use of my Kindle. I’ve been resisting for years – psychologically, I just haven’t been able to make the leap – but reality is forcing my hand, as it so often does: I just don’t have much space left in which to cram more books! Even stacked in double rows, my bookshelves are just about packed full. Also, I feel bad about using all that paper, even as I chase down every company and nonprofit which dares to send me unsolicited junk mail. I’ve been assuaging that guilt by buying used whenever possible, but even this strategy has its limits. (See: my previous point about lack of space.)
This year I set a goal of 78 books on Goodreads (three more than 2013’s goal, but eight less than I actually read; it works out to about a book and a half a week), and I figure that at least half of these will be physical copies; maybe more if I can keep one of my other resolutions, not to buy any new books until I get a handle on my existing book pile. (Yeah right!) So my goal for the Real Book Challenge is 39 physical books, landing me smack dab in the “Real Book Aficionado” tier. Personally I think I’m more of a Hoarder, but I guess we’ll see how things go.
This isn’t a definitive list of what I hope to read; more of a rough outline. So far this year I’ve already read Invincible Summer: An Anthology, Volume 1, by Nicole Georges, as well as Feed, the first book in Mira Grant’s Newsflesh trilogy; I’m also well into the first book on the list below, The Carvings Collection.
The Carvings Collection: Ten Stories of Horror and Suspense by Drake Vaughn (2013)
The Ink Slingers Guild Present Into the Abyss (Volume 2) (2013)
The Abyss: A Journey with Jack the Ripper by David Ruffle (2013)
Joss Whedon and Religion: Essays on an Angry Atheist’s Explorations of the Sacred, editd by Anthony R. Mills, John W. Morehead and J. Ryan Parker (2013)
Deadline (Newsflesh, Book 2) by Mira Grant (2011)
Blackout (Newsflesh, Book 3) by Mira Grant (2012)
The New Hunger: The Prequel to Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion (2013)
Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis (2013)
Seed to Harvest by Octavia Butler (2007)
Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff (2013)
Alcestis by Katharine Beutner (2010)
Savages by Shirley Conran (1987)
When She Woke: A Novel by Hillary Jordan (2012)
Wormwood, Nevada by David Oppegaard (2009)
The Adventures of Vivian Sharpe, Vegan Superhero by Marla Rose (2012)
Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer (2012)
Tankborn (Tankborn Trilogy #1) by Karen Sandler (2011)
Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin (2012)
Dualed by Elsie Chapman (2013)
Fear of the Animal Planet: The Hidden History of Animal Resistance by Jason Hribal (2011)
The first four items are actually books I accepted for review, so I’m locked into those. I also hope to finish up the Newsflesh series, and at least begin The Lunar Chronicles, Tankborn, Masque of the Red Death, and Dualed – though if I finish any of them, it’ll probably be on the Kindle, since I currently only own the first book in each series. I didn’t include them here, but I’d also very much like to dive into the ginormous piles of Margaret Atwood, Joanna Russ, and Anne McCaffrey books I’ve amassed.
There are also a ton of graphic novels on my list: Firefly, The Runaways, Marvel’s The Dark Tower and The Stand series. Maybe Joe Hill’s Locke & Key and 28 Days Later, too. I should really put off buying those until I finish the rest of my two shelves of comics. Yes? (No!)
I’ll be posting updates at the end of every month if you’d like to follow along. Better yet, join me!: You can find instructions and further details here. The cutoff for signup is December 1, 2014, so you’ve got plenty of time to mull it over.