More than halfway through the year I discovered ‘reading challenges’ and completed all 17 I chose. I’m being daring in 2013, imagining the good I can do starting right in January! I’m joining more of these pleasant circles than ever. Out of respect for non-book followers of my blog, I’m grouping about three together per post. First up: more outlets to tackle book series!
I was thrilled to stumble upon a pair, “Firsts” & “Seconds“, creatively thought of by a ‘Katy’. But we haven’t heard from her and another fan, ‘Darlene’s Book Nook’, is keeping it available. Part I invites exposure to numerous series at your chosen pace. Book 1 of anything that continued, will do. I’ll start as a ‘series lover‘ because I like to finish all the way through what I start. If you multiply that by ten, that’s a lot of stories.
Series Novice: 05 that are first.
Series Lover: 10 that are first.
Series Expert: 20 that are first.
Series Fanatic: 30 that are first.
“Mystery At Black Rock Island” Robert Sutherland 1983
“The Secret Of Terror Castle” Robert Arthur 1964
“Dancing Feathers” Christel Kleitsch 1985
“The Secret Adversary” Agatha Christie 1922
“Rest You Merry” Charlotte MacLeod 1978
“Night Of The Living Deed” E.J. Copperman 2010
“Defending Angels” Mary Stanton 2008
“Homicide In Hardcover” Kate Carlisle 2009
“Mew Is For Murder” Clea Simon 2005
10) “Who Do Voodoo” Rochelle Staab 2010
“The Secret Of The Old Clock” Mildred A Wirt 1930
“Murder On The Canadian” Eric Wilson 1976
“A Killer Read” Erika Chase 2012
“Jacob Two-Two Meets Hooded Fang” Mordecai Richler 1975
“If Walls Could Talk” Juliet Blackwell 2010
“Room With A Clue” Kate Kingsbury 1993
“The Ghost & Mrs. McClure” Alice Kimberly 2004
“Fer-De-Lance” Rex Stout 1934
“Pretty Poison” Joyce, Jim Lavene 2005
20) “Death By Darjeeling” Laura Childs 2001
“The Irish Cottage Murder” Dicey Deere 1999
“Casting Spells” Barbara Bretton 2008
“The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax” Dorothy Gilman 1966
“Haunting Jordan” P.J. Alderman 2009
“Borrower Of The Night” Elizabeth Peters 1973
“The Tower Treasure” Leslie McFarlane 1927
**** CHALLENGE CONQUERED! ****
The match to this pair invites you to stick with series, sharing any volume II. A great addendum I wish were in both, is an option to include the second time you’ve read any author. It doesn’t have to be ‘book 2’ of anything and opens up titles that might not fit anywhere else, such as standalone novels. This flexibility enables me to go higher. I’ll reach for ‘a few more bites‘!
A Spoonful: 05 second in a series, or second time .
Few More Bites: 10 second in a series, or second time.
A Full Plate: 20 second in a series, or second time.
All You Can Eat: 30 second in a series, or second time.
“The Ghost Of Windy Hill” Clyde Robert Bulla 1968
“If Books Could Kill” Kate Carlisle 2010
“A Time To Be Brave” Christel Kleitsch 1985
“The Luck Runs Out” Charlotte MacLeod 1979
“The Secret Adversary” Agatha Christie 1922
“Demons Are A Ghoul’s Best Friend” Victoria Laurie 2008
“Jacob Two-Two & The Dinosaur” Mordecai Richler 1987
“Vancouver Nightmare” Eric Wilson 1978
“Forward, Shakespeare!” Jean Little 2005
10) “Green Apple Street Blues” Ted Staunton 1987
“The Hidden Staircase” Mildred A Wirt 1930
“The Loon Lake Murders” Robert Sutherland 1987
“Do Not Disturb” Kate Kingsbury 1994
“Angel’s Advocate” Mary Stanton 2009
“Murder On The Links” Agatha Christie 1923
“Copper Sunrise” Bryan Buchan 1972
“The Secret” Carol Beach York 1984
“Kilroy And The Gull” Nathaniel Benchley 1977
“Charlotte’s Web” E.B. White 1952
20) “Read And Buried” Erika Chase 2012
“The Sign Of Four” Arthur Conan Doyle 1890
“Too Many Ghosts” Paul Gallico 1959
“Haunting Jordan” P.J. Alderman 2009
“Laced With Magic” Barbara Bretton 2009
“The Irish Manor House Murder” Dicey Deere 2000
**** CHALLENGE CONQUERED! ****
Pre 2013 | In 2013 | Re-Reads | |
Semi-Serious | 1-6 series | 1-6 | 1-6 series |
Seriously Serious | 7-12 | 7-12 | 7-12 |
Super Seriously Serious | 13-18 | 13-18 | 13-18 |
Seriously Spectacular Star | 18+ | 18+ | 18+ |
Every three months, there’s a check-in to report progress and re-assess your goals. Six series are a big order, if you factor in completing them, with innumberable quantities of books. I’ll say ‘semi-serious‘.
All of these have been begun in 2013.
1) “Dancing Feathers” Christel Kleitsch 1985
“A Time To Be Brave” Christel Kleitsch 1985
2) “Jacob 2-2 Meets The Hooded Fang” Mordecai Richler 1975
“Jacob Two-Two & The Dinosaur” Mordecai Richler 1987
I was surprised to see these excellent Canadian children’s books aren’t one-off but a series. I’m content to stop with what I own.
3) “A Killer Read” Erika Chase 2012
“Read And Buried” Erika Chase 2012
The plot ideas and outcomes were plausible and very, very good. Unfortunately the writing is weighed down by so much irrelevant detail; you scarcely get to the mystery and they scarcely fit the genre at all. I bore the tedium of the second novel to see if “TMI” (too much information) improved. I won’t collect any more.
4) “Casting Spells” Barbara Bretton 2008
“Laced With Magic” Barbara Bretton 2009
“Spun By Sorcery” Barbara Bretton 2010
“Spells & Stitches” Barbara Bretton 2011
This is the best series I have ever read and I worry that people get the wrong impression from the knitting cover. It leans more towards fantasy that guys could enjoy! I hope it continues from 2011.
5) “In A Witch’s Wardrobe” Juliet Blackwell 2012
This too has become a treasured series. I’m been chomping at the bit to obtain Juliet’s latest installment. I am a supporter of solely paper, physical books. I’ll make sure to have it in 2014/
Could you imagine the vastness of Kate Kingsbury, Charlotte MacLeod, Agatha Christie, Rex Stout? I lay out titles belonging to series, as I finish. I will mix & match the keepers when they’re organized.
Welcome to the 1st In A Series and 2nds Challenges, CM! I hope you have fun reaching your goals!
Please be welcome to call me Carolyn. I look forward to hearing where you are. If you saw my comment on the Canadian review list, Margaret Laurence and oodles of greats are my turf!
Glad you’re joining us for Seriously Series! Good luck!
Responding to the question you left on the Seriously Series sign up page:
As we stated “A series is considered complete in one of two ways: either as finishing all the books that you own in the series or as obtaining and reading all the books that have been published in the series to date. Because we don’t want this challenge to become a financial burden, how you choose to define completion is left to your discretion.”
Honestly, the challenge is here to give you a boost to get your series read. If you only want to read the books you own, that’s fine. If you want to go out and buy all the books so you can finish the series in its entirety, that’s fine, too. I, personally, am doing a combination of both – I’m trying to clear out my series, but some series I *have* to own all the books on so I can get caught up.
Again, that part of the challenge is up to you.