LoisB is anxiously awaiting the 2015 challenge!

THEME: The song "My Favorite Things" from the Sound of Music. The lyrics specify 14 favorite things that I will use as metaphors for my planned reading. I've added Unfavorite (I know it's not a real word) Things as the 15th topic to cover categories on the BingoDOG card that I don't like.

OBJECTIVE: 2015 pages in each category

My Favorite Things
***1. Raindrops on roses ............................................ Books about nature, especially natural disasters
***2. Whiskers on kittens ........................................... Books from the NYT Best-sellers List
***3. Bright copper kettles ......................................... Award-winning books and classics
***4. Warm woolen mittens ........................................ Books by favorite authors
***5. Brown paper packages tied up with strings ........... Books that I receive for free (ARC's etc.)
***6. Cream colored ponies ........................................ Twentieth-century books
***7. Crisp apple streudels ......................................... Books I should read
***8. Doorbells .............................................................. Who is it? And other mysteries
***9. Sleigh bells ...................................................................... Books about Christmas or other holidays
***10. Schnitzel with noodles ..................................... Non-fiction books
***11. Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings . Books about foreign locations
***12. Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes ....... Books by or about women
***13. Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes . Books about New England
***14. Silver white winters that melt into springs ......... Books about retirement or the South
***15. Unfavorite Things ........................................... SciFi, dystopia, some history, etc

Category 1: Raindrops on roses - Books about nature (climate, animals, etc.), especially natural disasters



***COMPLETED (2034/2015)
On the Brink: The Inside Story of Fukushima Daiichi (308)
The Stolen Dog (202)
War Dogs: Tales of Canine Heroism, History, and Love (233)
In the heart of the sea : the tragedy of the whaleship Essex (302)
The Whale Rider (152)
All Creatures Great and Small (448)
Alexandra Horowitz: The Kindle Singles Interview (Kindle Single) (49)
The Worst Hard Time (340)

Category 2: Whiskers on Kittens - Books from the NYT Best-sellers List



*** Completed: (2307)
Canada (432)
Notorious Nineteen (320)
Plainsong (301)
The Fault in Our Stars (336)
The Honorary Consul (304)
Go Set A Watchman (278)
Ragtime: A Novel (336)

Category 3: Bright copper kettles - Award-winning books and classics



*** COMPLETED (2151/2015)
Moon Tiger (208)
Narrow Road to the Deep North (334)
Babbitt (464)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (226)
The Spare Room: A Novel (175)
I'm Gone (195)
Dear Committee Members (180)
My Name is Asher Lev (369)

Category 4: Warm woolen mittens - Books by favorite authors



***Completed: (2389)/2015
Hercule Poirot's Christmas (272)
The Nightingale (448)
Midwives (374)
Death on the Nile (382)
The Shell Game (29)
Fly Away (416)
Plum Lovin' (164)
The Scam (304)

Category 5: Brown paper packages tied up with strings - Books that I receive for free (ARC's etc.)



***COMPLETED (2401/2015)
Belfast Noir (256)
One Step Too Far (285)
Wide-open World (352)
Stay Another Night (410)
A Small Indiscretion (336)
Providence Noir (288)
Second Helpings at the Serve You Right Café (218)
Thirteen Ways of Looking (256)
Death before Decaf (???)

Category 6: Cream colored ponies - Twentieth-century books



***Completed: (2017/2015)
Brideshead Revisited (432)
Daisy Miller (128)
Of Human Bondage (704)
Once Were Warriors (192)
Mr. Darwin's Shooter (365)
The Garden Party and Other Stories (196)

Category 7: Crisp apple streudels - Books I should read (for challenges, etc.)



***COMPLETED (2325)/2015
Orphan Train: A Novel (304)
The Bobbsey Twins At The Seashore (182)
The Madonnas of Leningrad: A Novel (231)
War Brides (496)
Master Georgie (212)
The Last Picture Show (288)
The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss (320)
The Siege (292)

Category 8: Doorbells - ​Who is it? And other thrillers


***Completed: (2048/2015)
In Wilderness: A Novel (320)
The Mysterious Affair at Styles (218)
Bradstreet Gate (305)
Three Bags Full (341)
Killing Maine (388)
The Murderer's Daughter (364)
The Driver's Seat (112)

Category 9: Sleigh bells - Books about Christmas or other holidays



*** COMPLETED (2203/2015)
The Christmas Thief (336)
The Christmas Pearl (176)
Christmas in Cedar Cove (299)
Deck the Halls (202)
My Christmas Curse (158)
The Christmas Bargain (296)
The Halloween Tree (160)
The Christmas Bus (176)
What Happens at Christmas (400)

Category 10: Schnitzel with noodles - Non-fiction books



***Completed: (2640/2015)
Philomena: A Mother, Her Son, and a Fifty-Year Search (448)
Ghettoside (384)
Flirting with French: How a Language Charmed Me, Seduced Me, and Nearly Broke My Heart (288)
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed (272)
Pretty Little Killers (352)
The Glass Castle (288)
On Writing (320)
Lights Out (288)

Category 11: Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings - A great metaphor for travel and books about foreign locations



***Completed: (2105/2015)
The World Beneath (342)
The Hamilton Case (320)
The Savage Garden (339)
Oscar & Lucinda (432)
Circling the Sun (366)
West with the Night (306)

Category 12: Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes - Books by or about women


*** COMPLETED (2833/2015)
Call the Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times (337)
Redefining Realness (263)
Love Medicine (400)
The Millstone (192)
Folly Beach: A Lowcountry Tale (384)
Deadly Messengers (286)
We Never Asked For Wings (320)
The Memory of Water (315)
The Bean Trees (336)

Category 13: Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes - Books about New England. New England is home to me and snowflakes are a lovely memory of home.



*** COMPLETED: (2232/2015)
Above The Thunder (333)
Inside the O'Briens (352)
Boston 1775 (103)
Why the Devil Chose New England for his Work (276)
Crossing to Safety (335)
Wrong Place, Wrong Time (402)
Good Harbor (256)
A Dance with Tilly & Jack & Tilly (175)

Category 14: Silver white winters that melt into springs - Books about retirement, aging, or the South. This has become my metaphor for retirement.



*** COMPLETED (2418/2015)
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (368)
Bulls Island (334)
House Mother Normal: A Geriatric Comedy (210)
beach town (434)
Savannah Breeze (464)
Wise Blood: A Novel (256)
The Hurricane Sisters (352)

Category 15: Unfavorite Things - SciFi, dystopia, some history, etc



*** Completed: (2853/2015)
Ella Minnow Pea (208)
The House on the Strand (304)
Back Again (363)
Burning Your Boats (457)
Haroun and the Sea of Stories (216)
The Visitant: A Venetian Ghost Story (339)
The Eyre Affair (374)
Slade House (256)
Restless (336)

Love the theme! Gosh, it's been a long time since I've seen "The Sound of Music"....

I bet that last category will be the biggest challenge! Good luck!

>17 christina_reads: The musicals of the 50's and 60's were the best!

>18 mamzel: You are correct! Thanks!

Most excellent! Good luck with your challenge!

Great theme! I especially like the ARC category choice. Nice one :)

What a lovely theme! Good luck!

Wonderful theme! That tune will play my head every time I visit your thread.

Lovely theme and I will enjoy humming my way through your 2015 reading choices.

Haha, I like your "unfavorite" category - good way of getting some out-of-the-box reading done.

Oh, this is beautiful! Love your theme!

I love your theme!

>20 Her_Royal_Orangeness: thru >27 _Zoe_:
Thanks for your kind comments - let's hope for great reading in 2015!

How clever! And delightful! Looking forward to this thread.

Very nice. I was singing the song in my head as I looked over your plans.

I almost did this theme, glad I chose something else so you have it all to yourself! Have fun!

>31 cyderry: great minds . . .

This was one of my mom's favorite songs :) Look forward to seeing what you read.

I've been working on filling my categories, based on challenges and my RL book club for next year.

BingoDOG
1. Translated from a language you don't speak/read - Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story
2. Picked for you by someone else - The mockingbird next door : life with Harper Lee
3. Reminds you of your childhood The Bobbsey Twins Go to the SeaShore
4. Subject of you're unfamiliar - Call The Midwife
5. Autism - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
6. About Languages - Embassytown
7. About/with Scientists - Nikola Tesla: Imagination and the Man That Invented the 20th Century
8. Natural Disaster The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
9. Major Historical Event - War Brides
10. Correspondence/letters/epistolary - Ella Minnow Pea
11. LGBTQ main character - Fingersmith
12. Protagonist of the opposite gender - Stone Cold
13. Read A CAT - Pillars of the Earth
14. Set in a country other than your own - Narrow Road to the Deep North
15. Animal is of importance - Dog On It
16. Based on fairy tale/myth - Cinder
17. Mythical creature - Tooth and Claw
18. Prophecy, signs, or portents are important - Watership Down
19. Genre bender - The Blind Assassin
20. Inspired by another piece of fiction - The Eyre Affair
21. Outside your comfort zone - Cloud Atlas
22. Published in 1915 - Of Human Bondage
23. Author as same name as your mother/grandmother - The Christmas Thief
24. Owned for more than 1 year - In the heart of the sea : the tragedy of the whaleship Essex
25. By an LT Author - Midwives

American Authors Challenge:

January - Carson McCullers - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
February - Henry James - The Portrait of a Lady
March - Richard Ford - Canada
April - Louise Erdrich - Love Medicine
May - Sinclair Lewis - Babbitt
June - Wallace Stegner - Crossing to Safety
July - Ursula LeGuin - The Dispossessed
August - Larry McMurtry - The Last Picture Show: A Novel
September - Flannery O'Connor - Wise Blood: A Novel
October - Ray Bradbury - The Halloween Tree
November - Barbara Kingsolver - The Bean Trees: A Novel
December - E.L. Doctorow - Ragtime: A Novel

British Authors Challenge - TBC

January : Penelope Lively - Moon Tiger
February : Sarah Waters - Fingersmith
March : Daphne Du Maurier - The House on the Strand
April : W. Somerset Maugham - Of Human Bondage
May : Margaret Drabble - The Millstone
June : Beryl Bainbridge - Master Georgie: A Novel
July : B.S. Johnson - House Mother Normal: A Geriatric Comedy
August: Graham Greene - The Honorary Consul
September: Salman Rushdie - Shame
October: Helen Dunmore - The Siege
November: Muriel Spark - The Driver's Seat
December: P.G. Wodehouse - The Code of the Woosters

RL Book Club

January: Orphan Train: A Novel
February: The Madonnas of Leningrad: A Novel
March: Philomena: A Mother, Her Son, and a Fifty-Year Search
April: War Brides
May: The Book Thief

SFFFCAT, HistoryCAT et al

January -- Other Pasts -- Steampunk, Gas Lamp and other historical SFFF: Thieftaker (Thieftaker Chronicles)
February -- The Classics -- SFFF Written before 1980: The Left Hand of Darkness
March-- Apocalyptic, Dystopic and Post-Apocalyptic Novels: Ella Minnow Pea
April -- Fairy Tales and Myths: Cinder: Book One of the Lunar Chronicles
May -- SFFF Written By Women or featuring a strong female main character: Tooth and Claw
June -- Time Travel & Alternative History: The House on the Strand
July -- Non-Humans from Aliens to Dragons: Watership Down: A Novel
August -- Other Worlds: Embassytown
September --Slipstream and Interstitial (This includes Magic Realism and Genre Benders): Cloud atlas
October -- Supernatural, Paranormal and the Just Plain Inexplicable: The Halloween Tree
November -- Heros, Superheroes, Puzzles and Epic Journeys: The Eyre affair
December -- Influential and/or Award Winning and Award Nominated SFFF: The blind assassin

HistoryCAT

January: Myths & Legends Cinder: Book One of the Lunar Chronicles
February: 1 to 500 Religion
March: 500 to 1000 Exploration & Conquest
April: 1000 to 1300 - The Pillars of the Earth
May: 1300 to 1500 Plagues & Disasters
June: 1500 to 1600 Culture & the Arts
July: 1600 to 1700 Immigration & Migration
August: 1700 to 1800 Boston 1775
September: 1800 to 1850 - In the heart of the sea : the tragedy of the whaleship Essex
October: 1850 to 1900 Master Georgie
November: 1900 to 1945 War & Peace - The Siege
December: 1945 to 1990 Civil Rights & Equality

ANZAC

Australia

January- Richard Flanagan The narrow road to the deep north
February-Cate Kennedy The world beneath
March-Michelle De Kretser
April-Roger McDonald
May-Christina Stead
June-Kim Scott
July-Peter Carey Oscar & Lucinda
August-Helen Garner
September-Ruth Park
October-Robert Hughes
November-Kerry Greenwood
December-Matthew Reilly

New Zealand

January-Fiona Kidman
February-Maurice Shadbolt
March-Elizabeth Knox
April-Alan Duff
May-Katherine Mansfield
June-Witi Ihimaera
July-Lloyd Jones
August-Keri Hulme
September-Michael King
October-Patricia Grace
November-Ngaio Marsh
December-Paul Cleave

duplicate post deleted

I think I am also going to read Embassytown for the Bingo "language" square. I'll be interested to compare notes! :)

>40 christina_reads: :) I'll probably be confused - it's a genre far outside my comfort zone!

You have some good ones picked out! I'll be watching your reviews, especially as some of your future reads were favorites of mine. Good luck!

>42 mstrust: Thanks. I've been filling up my categories based on the AAC, BAC, and SFFCAT challenges. Some of my categories have been sorely neglected!

Great categories! I look forward to seeing your reviews, especially for the Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes category - I grew up in New England, and always consider it my home!

Right now, that's one of the categories that is being neglected. But, I'm sure I will find plenty. I can always re=read some of Robert B. Parker's Spenser series.

>45 LoisB: I don't know if you're interested in suggestions, but I loved Why the Devil Chose New England for His Work by Jason Brown. It's connecting short stories about a small town in Maine.

>46 mstrust: Ooh that sounds interesting! I'll put it on my list.

Love your theme!

>48 thornton37814: Thanks!

Well, I found your Bingo thread and confused it with your main thread. Silly me! Love your Favorite Things theme. I see you have also been bitten by the AAC and BAC challenges. I won't be reading something for those challenges every month but I am looking forward to expanding my reading through the challenges. ;-)

>50 lkernagh: The CATs just didn't appeal to me this year. I will try SFFF since it covers genres that I know nothing about, so the AAC & BAC will be my prime focus.

A great start to the year!

COMPLETED
1. On the Brink: The Inside Story of Fukushima Daiichi *****
2. Call the Midwife ****
3. The Orphan Train: A Novel ****

A great start indeed! I see you liked Call the Midwife. I saw part of the first season and then put the book on my TBR list. I'm glad to see it's worth the effort (once I get to it).

4. The Christmas Thief ***

OBJECTIVE: 2015 pages in each category

January summary:

1. Raindrops on roses 308
2. Whiskers on kittens
3. Bright copper kettles 542
4. Warm woolen mittens
5. Brown paper packages tied up with strings 541
6. Cream colored ponies
7. Crisp apple streudels 486
8. Doorbells
9. Sleigh bells 336
10. Schnitzel with noodles
11. Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
12. Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes 337
13. Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
14. Silver white winters that melt into springs 368
15. Unfavorite Things

OBJECTIVE: 2015 pages in each category

February summary:

1. Raindrops on roses 308
2. Whiskers on kittens
3. Bright copper kettles 542
4. Warm woolen mittens 272
5. Brown paper packages tied up with strings 1303
6. Cream colored ponies 502
7. Crisp apple streudels 717
8. Doorbells
9. Sleigh bells 336
10. Schnitzel with noodles
11. Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings 342
12. Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes 337
13. Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes 333
14. Silver white winters that melt into springs 368
15. Unfavorite Things

Coming along nicely!

A silver white winter that melts into spring will definitely be one of my favourite things this year... at least the melting into spring part ;)

Hope you've been finding some goodies in the parcels tied up with string!

>57 mamzel: Thanks!

>58 rabbitprincess: I enjoyed all my ARCs ( 3 or 3 1/2 stars) :
Belfast Noir
One Step Too Far
Wide-open World
Stay Another Night

I completed one of my categories: Category 6: Cream colored ponies - Twentieth-century books!

Brideshead Revisited (432)
Daisy Miller (128)
Of Human Bondage (704)
Once Were Warriors (192)
Mr. Darwin's Shooter (365)
The Garden Party and Other Stories (196)

Wow, congratulations!

May Summary

1. Raindrops on roses 1045
2. Whiskers on kittens 752
3. Bright copper kettles 1066
4. Warm woolen mittens 720
5. Brown paper packages tied up with strings 1639
6. Cream colored ponies 2017
7. Crisp apple streudels 1213
8. Doorbells 538
9. Sleigh bells 512
10. Schnitzel with noodles 1120
11. Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings 1001
12. Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes 1192
13. Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes 1064
14. Silver white winters that melt into springs 368
15. Unfavorite Things 512

June Summary

1. Raindrops on roses 1197
2. Whiskers on kittens 1053
3. Bright copper kettles 1006
4. Warm woolen mittens 1478
5. Brown paper packages tied up with strings 1639
6. Cream colored ponies 2017
7. Crisp apple streudels 1425
8. Doorbells 1184
9. Sleigh bells 512
10. Schnitzel with noodles 1120
11. Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings 1001
12. Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes 1576
13. Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes 1399
14. Silver white winters that melt into springs 702
15. Unfavorite Things 512

Mid-year progress:

Total planned = 2015 x 15 = 30225 pages
as of 6/30 = 17821 / 30225 = 59%

June Summary

1. Raindrops on roses 1197
2. Whiskers on kittens 1053
3. Bright copper kettles 1006
4. Warm woolen mittens 1478
5. Brown paper packages tied up with strings 1639
6. Cream colored ponies 2017
7. Crisp apple streudels 1425
8. Doorbells 1184
9. Sleigh bells 512
10. Schnitzel with noodles 1120
11. Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings 1001
12. Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes 1576
13. Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes 1399
14. Silver white winters that melt into springs 702
15. Unfavorite Things 512

Mid-year progress:

Total planned = 2015 x 15 = 30225 pages
Pages read as of 6/30 = 17821 / 30225 = 59%

July Summary

1. Raindrops on roses 1694
2. Whiskers on kittens 1389
3. Bright copper kettles 1006
4. Warm woolen mittens 1921
5. Brown paper packages tied up with strings 1927
*6. Cream colored ponies 2017
7. Crisp apple streudels 1425
*8. Doorbells 2048
9. Sleigh bells 512
10. Schnitzel with noodles 1120
*11. Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings 2105
*12. Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes 2182
13. Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes 1399
14. Silver white winters that melt into springs 1346
15. Unfavorite Things 875
Mid-year progress:

Total planned = 2015 x 15 = 30225 pages
Pages read as of 7/31 = 22966/ 30225 = 76%

Update: 5 of 15 categories completed

***4. Warm woolen mittens ........................................ Books by favorite authors
***6. Cream colored ponies ........................................ Twentieth-century books
***8. Doorbells ........................................................ Who is it? And other mysteries
***11. Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings . Books about foreign locations
***12. Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes ....... Books by or about women

Very impressed by the number of pages you've read so far! You're doing well with your challenge. Maybe I should consider counting pages instead of books too. I've been working through a number of gigantic doorstoppers lately, and a page-count might be more encouraging.

That's what started me in the page direction. I had Of Human Bondage and The Pillars of the Earth on my list. I got thru the first (thanks to DailyLit), but the second is still on TBR!

August Summary

***1. Raindrops on roses 2034
2. Whiskers on kittens 1693
3. Bright copper kettles 1602
***4. Warm woolen mittens 2085
***5. Brown paper packages tied up with strings 2145
***6. Cream colored ponies 2017
***7. Crisp apple streudels 2033
***8. Doorbells 2048
9. Sleigh bells 1013
***10. Schnitzel with noodles 2032
***11. Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings 2105
***12. Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes 2182
13. Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes 1399
14. Silver white winters that melt into springs 1810
15. Unfavorite Things 1332

Mid-year progress:

Total planned = 2015 x 15 = 30225 pages
Pages read as of 7/31 = 27530/ 30225 = 91%

September Update

10 categories completed. On track for all others.

Amazing progress!

Well, I've made good progress and only have 4 books left in order to satisfy this challenge. So, I should complete it in December.

Hurray!! :)

Finally completed my Challenge categories! On to 2016!

Congrats on completing your challenge!

Woo hoo! Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Yay, congratulations!

Thank you all!

Congratulations!

Congratulations on completing your 2015 Challenge. Now you get to take a nice break over the holiday season and then get to jump back in with the 2016 Challenge!

Congratulations!

Congratulations on finishing!

Belated congratulations on finishing, and I'll see you over in the 2016 challenge!