LaHernandez visits The Adam's Family in 2013

For the 2012 Challenge I used the song Those Were the Days as my theme. I had planned to use a Baker's Dozen for 2013 until I started to make my reading journal. I listed it as 1313 Journal. Well no one my age can look at 1313 and not think of the Munsters address, 1313 Mockingbird Lane. Now when one thinks of the Munsters they then think of the Addam's Family, and they had a GREAT theme song. So for 2013 I will be doing a 13 category pyramid challenge using the theme song from the Addam's Family. (I just noticed that I spelled the name wrong in the title.)

The books listed are ones I currently own. I decided to steal sandragon's idea of using this Challenge to explode some BOMBS (books off my book shelves). I am hoping to read 45-50 books that have been on my shelves before 1-01-2013. At any time, however, they may be replaced by a shiny new book purchased during the year.

2013 Pyramid Challenge

1. They're Creepy and They're Kooky- Gothic 1/1 DONE
2. Mysterious and Spooky-Ghost Stories 2/2 DONE
3. They're all Together Ooky- Horror 3/3 DONE
4. The Addam's Family: Gomez and Morticia- Romance 4/4 DONE
5. Their House is a Museum- Classics 5/5 DONE
6. When People Come to See 'em- Espionage 6/6 DONE
7. They Really are a Scre'am- Thrillers 7/7 DONE
8. The Addam's Family: Pugsley & Wednesday- Young Adults 8/8 DONE
9. Neat, Sweet, Petite- Short Stories/ Collections 9/9 DONE
10. So Get a Witch's Shawl on- Paranormal 10/10 DONE
11. A Broomstick You Can Crawl on- Sci Fi/Fantasy 11/11 DONE
12. We're Going to Make a Call on- Audio Books 12/12 DONE
13. The Addam's Family: Grandmama & Uncle Fester- TBR
13/13 DONE

They're Creepy and They're Kooky - Gothic DONE

1. The Phantom of the Opera read 4-8-2013
BOMBS (been on my book shelf) since before 2008

II. Mysterious and Spooky - Ghost Stories DONE

2. Trouble in Mudbug read 1-29-2013
3. A Christmas Carol BOMBS since 2010 read 12-20-2012

III. They're all Together Ooky - Horror DONE

4. The Picture of Dorian Grey BOMBS since 2009 read 2-4-2013
5. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow read 4-18-2013 BOMBS since before 2008
6. The Horror in the Museum read 10-27-2013

IV. The Addam's Family: Gomez and Morticia - Romance DONE

7. Grave Danger read 1-28-2013
8. Pride, Prejudice and Zombies read 4-24-2013
9. Dracula in Love read 6-1-2013
10. Mr Darcy's Bite read 5-3-2013

V. Their House is a Museum - Classics DONE

11. The Screwtape Letters BOMBS since 2011 read 9-30-2013
12. Dracula BOMBS since before 2008 read 10-23-2013
13. Frankenstein BOMBS since before 2008 10-25-2013
14. Dr. Jekyell & Mr. Hyde BOMBS since 2009 read 10-20-2013
15. The Invisible Man BOMBS since 2009 read 10-25-2013

VI. When People Come to See 'em - Espionage DONE

16. The Intriguers (BOMBS since 2008) Read 12-31-2012
17. The Ambushers (BOMBS since 2008) Read 12-30-2012
18. The Poisoners BOMBS since 2008 Read 1-20-2013
19. The Dragon's Eye (BOMBS since 2008) Read 12-13-2012
20. Death of a Citizen Read 1-29-2013
21. Wrecking Crew Read 2-9-2013

VII. They Really are a Scre' am - Thrillers DONE

22. The Ayes of Texas Read 12-17-2012
23. A Bloody Storm Read 4-1-2013
24. It Was a Very Bad Year Read 4-12-2013
25. Fly Me to the Morgue Read 4-5-2013
26. A Family Affair Read 4-7-2013
27. Naked Heat Read 4-9-2013
28. I'm a Fool to Kill You Read 4-10-2013

VIII. The Addam's Family: Pugsley and Wednesday - Young Adult DONE

29. Bliss Read 1-27-2013
30. On the Day I Died Read 4-19-2013
31. Benjamin Franklinstein Read 4-28-2013
32. Benjamin Franklnstein meets the Fright Brothers Read 5-1-2013
33. Earthling Read 5-7-2013
34. Villain School; Hero in Disguise Read 5-9-2013
35. The Ghost and the Goth Read 5-10-2013
36. Forgive My Fins Read 5-11-2013

IX. Neat, Sweet. Petite - Short Stories/ Collections Done

37. Poems and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe BOMBS since 2009 read 1-11-2013
38. The Dragon and the Stars read 6-19-2013
39. Twin Cities Noir read 9-25-2013
40. A Treasury of Cat Mysteries BOMBS since 2010 read 10-30-2013
41. A Many Windowed House BOMBS since 2009
42. The Anastasia Syndrome BOMBS since before 2008 read 10-18-2013
43. They Came From Outer Space BOMBS since before 2008 read 10-11-2013
44. Hooked for Life Adventures of a Crochet Zealot BOMBS since 2012 read 12-6-2013
45. Sugar and Spice BOMBS since 2012 read 10-29-2013

X. So Get a Witch's Shawl on - Paranormal DONE

46. Moon Dance; Vampire for Hire Read 1-10-2013
47. Witchling Read 10-26-2013
48. Mind Over Murder Read 4-14-2013
49. Undead and Unwed Read 4-21-2013
50. Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter Read 4-25-2013
51. Be Witch Read 4-29-2013
52. Ultraviolet Read 5-5-2013
53. Deck Z: The Titanic Read 5-26-2013
54. Interview with a Vampire Read 6-5-2013
55. Zombie Handbook Read 6-7-2013

XI. A Broomstick You Can Crawl on - Science Fiction/Fantasy DONE

56. Homeworld BOMBS since before 2008 read 1-24-2013
57. Year Zero Read 1-27-2013
58. Foundation read 9-22-2013
59. Fairy Garden and Handbook read 8-30-210
60. Foundation and Empire read 10-11-2013
61. Second Foundation read 10-16-2013
62. Star Trek Manga:Shinsei Shinsei read 4-22-2013
63. Star Trek Next Generation/Dr. Who: Assimilation read 10-27-2013
64. Star Trek Next Generation/Dr. Who : Assimilation 2 read 10-27-2013
65. Star Trek Nekt Generation/Dr. Who: Assimilation 3 read 10-27-2013
66. At the Mountain of Madness read 10-18-2013

XII. We're Going to Make a Call on - Audio Books DONE

67. Red Shirts heard 8-12-2013
68. Dracula's Ghost heard 7-2-2013
69. Door Through Space heard 6-1-2013
70. Sense and Sensibility heard 9-20-2013
71. An Ideal Husband heard 10-20-2013
72. Scarlet Pimpernel heard 5-15-2013
73. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd heard 3-20-2013
74. Pride and Prejudice heard 4-24-2013
75. The Importance of being Earnest heard 2-14-2013
76. Persuasion heard 1-28-2013
77. Moby Dick heard 11-01-2013
78. Anna Karenina heard 11-05-2013

XIII. The Addam's Family: Grandmama and Uncle Fester - TBR DONE
79. The West End Horror BOMBS since 2008 read 4-17-2013
80. Murder at Madingley Grange read 11-12-2013
81. Hurricane Punch BOMBS since before 2008 read 12-15-2013
82. The WhiteChapel Conspiracy read 6-23-2013
83. Ghouls Just Want to Have Fun BOMBS since 2010 read 10-22-2013
84. The Story of a Soul read 11-30-2013
85. All Through the Night BOMBS since 2008 read 4-8-2013
86. Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul read 11-24-2013
87. Hooked for Life read 12-10-2013
88. I'd rather be in Philadelphia read 12-10-2013
89. Mom, Apple Pie and Murder read 10-11-2013
90. The Lonely Silver Rain read 12-15-2013
91. The Lamb's Supper read 12-17-2013

Hi Lynda, great theme and so perfect for setting up in October! I love the Addams Family. Everything about them is such a scream. My other half is also a huge fan. Whenever I make shepherd's pie, he paraphrases Wednesday's comment about Girl Guide cookies and asked if it is made with real shepherds!

You have a number of categories I am really looking forward to see how you fill them.

Interesting theme!

Love it! Now I have that in my head *snap snap*

Ditto, Victoria!

I always liked this series so much more than The Munsters. I liked how you matched genres to the lyrics. Fun!

Excellent theme! Looking forward to seeing all of the spooky reads! :)

Brilliant theme - I am a huge fan of the Addamses - the cartoons, the TV-series, and the films! "Don't torture yourself, Gomez, that's my job." ;)

Thank you! I thought it was perfect for a year that ended in 13.

You've picked some really great books to read! I'm really looking forward to reading what you think about them.

I've got The War of the Worlds audiobook waiting patiently for me on my Ipod, so especially looking forward to your opinion on that one.

Love the Addam's Family and their theme song works great to outline your categories. Very clever and now you have me humming along!

I can't believe how many books I already have to fill this challenge. Not sure I put them in the right categories but I'll figure it out next year.

Lots of good books listed there - I loved The Picture of Dorian Gray and am planning on rereading it next year.

haha this is awesome! I love the Addams Family, and their wonderful song! :D

The photos are uploaded and most of my books a selected. Can't wait till December 13. Just have to finish the last four books in my 1212 Challenge.

I love how you've set up your challenge. The Addams Family theme song seems almost custom made for you and this challenge. I remember this was one of our favourite pieces to play in band class all those years ago. Hope you have as much fun with it. Looking forward to following your thread.

Thank you. So far it's been lots of fun selecting books.

Sandragon had a great idea to use this challenge as a way to read books she already owns. I am stealing that idea and plan to fit in at least 50 books from my books shelves. I will be including the year I obtained the book. I only started keeping track in 2008 so anything I had before that is just listed as "before 2008".

1. Dragon's Eye by Scott C. S. Stone

Michael was enjoying his retirement, writing, and learning to surf in Hawaii. So he wasn't happy to see Leslie in his living room, or to hear what he had to say. Of course it would be easy-peasy go in and get Leigh and Choy-Lin out. But when your in Asia nothing is easy.

2. The Ayes Of Texas by Daniel da Cruz

In 1943, at the age of 14, Gwillam Forte finds himself in the Navy aboard the USS Texas facing the Japanese. Two years later in 1945, when he's 16, he finds himself in Houston, Texas at a veterans hospital facing life without feet and missing his right hand. At 22, in 1951, he walks out of the hospital, facing life, and starts The Sunshine Industries Inc. which makes him millions. Now in 1998 Gwilliam is once again on the Texas this time facing the Russians, but can a 69 year old man in an 86 year old battleship defeat the three largest ships in the Russian fleet. Hey, we're talking about Texans here.

There were lots of statistics and history that kinda slowed done the action but over all it was a good book and a great story.

I'll be watching!

3. The Ambushers by Donald Hamilton
This was my first Matt Helm book and it was great. I "inherited" three Matt Helm books and finally decided to read them, and I'm glad I did.

Matt had a simple mission and carried it out with little problem. So why is D.C. so upset with him? Sure he found a Russian missile in the middle of Costa Verde but it wasn't like he could put it in his pack and bring it home.

4. The Intriguers by Donald Hamilton
This one wasn't as good as the last but it was still a good read.

Matt was suppose to be on vacation till someone takes a shot at him. When he tries to call the boss he finds out that not only has there been a shake up at the office but the agent assigned to him is a code double-zero. Is his biggest danger in-house?

5. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

A yearly read for me and so much better than any of the movies out there. Most actors play Scrooge as being mean and heartless but in reality he is miserly, bitter and believes people try to take advantage of him, hence his attitude towards others.
Scrooge is visited by three Christmas Ghosts who try to help him find his Christmas spirit.

A Christmas Carol is always a great book to end - or commence - the holiday season with. I read it last year and loved it. for a change of pace this year I ended my 2012 December reading with a different spin on Dicken's holiday classic - Mr. Timothy by Louis Bayard, a good historical fiction mystery with a gritty atmospheric feel to it - but only mentioning it here in case you have an interest in reading a book that borrows from and carries on from Dicken's classic.

Sounds interesting will have to give it a look see. Thanks for the recommendation.

Hilarious theme.

Thank you.

6. Moon Dance by J.R. Rain

Samantha Moon was a Federal agent for HUD when she was brutally attacked. Six years later she is still dealing with the ramifications of that attack, mainly the fact that now she's a vampire.
Having to quit her job she goes into the Private Detective business, where she is hire by a popular lawyer to find out who was the shooter that tried to kill him.

What I like best about this book was how Sam was dealing with her condition. Here she is, a wife and mother, trying to keep her life as normal as she could. There was not a lot of violence or gore like most of the other vampire books.

7. The Poisoners has Matt Helm chasing the mysterious killer known as Nicholas across the border into Mexico. There he finds drugs and an agent assigned to help him as long as he does not get in her way. But the drugs wind up leading him to an old enemy, Mr. Soo who has a plan to poison the very air we breath.

I liked it a lot. I enjoy the way Donald Hamilton writes more about Helms thought process then the gory action around him. Very good book.

8. The Best Tales of Edgar Allan Poe
Of course it was great, it's Edgar Allan Poe what more can I say.

9. Homeworld by Harry Harrison

Jan just found out his whole life and the world around him was a lie and it is up to his brother-in-law Thurgood-Smythe to keep it that way. Like many of the elite (though Jan never thought of himself as the elite he believed that the 9 out of 10 workers were well off while on the dole (welfare). But he soon finds out that what he had been told was far from the truth. Now it's up to "Smitty" to put and end to the flow of truth even if Jan is involved.

10. Grave Danger by Heather Graham
Clarissa is a Ghost in love with a Zombie. If that isn't bad enough she use to be a Death Bokor in her living life and was good at killing zombies. But now she finds herself at odds with the ghost community and the Zombie clan.

11. Bliss by Kathryn Littlewood
When Mr. and Mrs. Bliss have to leave the bakery for a week they leave their children in charge of the bakery and the magic cookbook. But Aunt Lily comes for a visit and to steal the book.

12. Death of a Citizen by Donald Hamilton
After 15 years of retirement Matt Helm has a wife, three kids and a life as a writer. So meeting an old partner, Tina, at a party was the last thing he expected or wanted.jAndjwhen he finds out her intent is to exact revenge on his family for keeping him from her, well that is something she will never live to regret.

13. Trouble in Mudbug by Jana DeLeon

Helena wakes up only to realize she has died. To make matters worse her daughter-in-law is the only one who can see her. But no matter their past Helena needs Maryse to help her catch her murderer, after all Maryse has a body.

14. The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde

Dorian Grey can do and be anything he wants because the effects don't touch his body. But they do touch his soul and drive him crazy. Some he destroys eveything he cared about.

15. The Wrecking Crew by Donald Hamilton
Matt helm has to find Casetuis, if he even exists, and destroy him. Along the way there is Sara, who hands Matt over and gets a bullet for her trouble. Then Low leads Helm to Casetuis, and Matt is able to finally dispatch him.

I am so far behind in my comments. As usually happens, life caught up to me and I just haven't been able to get online as often as I would like. But it looks like things may slow down a bit and I hope to get caught up, or at least comment on the books I really enjoyed.

Half way through the year, behind in my book comments and yet I'm already thinking about next years challenge.

Hah! Always the new and the shiny....

@ 53 -- You are not the only one! :)

If you need a new start, scrap your present challenge and begin a new one for the rest of the year. That was you can use your new categories already and at the end of the year you can merge the two challenges together. Starting fresh is sometimes a good way to be reinvigorated and reinspired.

Good idea mamzel. I might do a mini challenge along with this one. Thanks.

I read Pride, Predjudice and Zombies and really enjoyed it, so I decided to try actual Jane Austen books. I went with audio books as they were easy to come by and I could never get through the written books. I must admit the auido version of her books were not bad at all.

Woohoo! Yet another reader converted to Team Austen. :)

I'm glad that PP&Z inspired you to read (listen to) the original Austens. Talk about a gateway drug!

I have tried for 5 years to get through Pride and Perjudice, I'm more of a mystery buff, but I liked the audio book so much I bought the BBC/A&E mini-series with Colin Firth. I have the audio book ,Emma,on my wish list.

I finally got around to reading P&P early this year. I can see where it doesn't work as a read for some - it took me almost three months to get through it - but I can see where Austen stories would make good audiobooks.

I watched the original Star Trek, Star Trek Next Generation and all that followed. I've been watching Dr. Who since the 4th Doctor, with the tenth Doctor being my favorite. So a graphic novel combining the two is a dream come true. The Doctor and Picard must work together to battle the Borg and the Cybermen who have joined forces to take over the universe.

The Doctor and Picard together??? Pray, what was the name of this excellent adventure?

It is a graphic novel series called Star Trek the Next Generation/ Dr. Who: Assimilation2 by IDW, written by Scott and David Tipton with Tony Lee.

Do I feel like a super geek, or what? I just put a hold on two volumes available. Is that it or is there more????

There are 8 books in the series and I have 4 so far.

Nine more books to finish out this Challenge. I actually gave myself till Jan. 13, 2014 but hope to finish by the 13th of Dec. instead. I will be starting my 14-14 Challenge on Dec 14 even if I have to finish the 13-13 at the same time.

Well I am a few days over from when I wanted to finish but several weeks early of when I planned. Now on to the 14-14 Challenge.

Congratulations on completing your challenge!

Yay, congratulations!

Hurray, congratulations on finishing! :)

Thank you everyone.

Congratulations on completing the 2013 Challenge and good luck on starting with the 2014 one.

Thank you.