Thriller and Suspense Challenge

The Thriller and Suspense Challenge (hosted by Book Chick City) is to read 12 suspense or thriller books between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010. I'm not choosing my books in advance but I know there are a couple that I would like to try!

I have put in a couple titles of books I would like to get to but I have not read them until they are linked to a review.

I have read:

1. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

2. The Stand by Stephen King

3. Deeper Than The Dead by Tami Hoag

4. Loyalty in Death by J.D. Robb

5. Black Rain by Graham Brown

6. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

7. Witness in Death by J.D. Robb

8. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

9. The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley

10. The Ark by Boyd Morrison

11. The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

12. Judgment in Death by J.D. Robb

50 Book Challenge

In 2009, I read over 100 books but toward the end of the year I started to feel like I was choosing shorter books in order to reach my goal and pushing aside interesting, yet longer books. I am lowering my 2010 goal back to 50 and am striving for quality over quantity!

I do this challenge through the 50 Book Challenge on Shelfari and you can find all of my book reviews in one thread there or my blog reviews are linked to the books listed below.

The books I have read in 2010 are:

1. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

2. The Stand by Stephen King

3. My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler

4. Deeper Than The Dead by Tami Hoag

5. Loyalty in Death by J.D. Robb

6. The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan

7. Black Rain by Graham Brown

8. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

9. Why Evolution is True by Jerry A. Coyne

10. The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

11. Fire in the Turtle House by Osha Gray Davidson

12. Witness in Death by J.D. Robb

13. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

14. Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore

15. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

16. The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan

17. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

18. The Giver by Lois Lowry

19. The Weed that String's the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley

20. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

21. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

22. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

23. Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver

24. Lament by Maggie Stiefvater

25. Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts

26. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

27. Summer by the Sea by Susan Wiggs

28. Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg

29. A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux

30. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

31. Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler

32. Rebellion by Nora Roberts

33. Apologize, Apologize! by Elizabeth Kelly

34. Fluke by Christopher Moore

35. Snow White and Rose Red by Patricia C. Wrede

36. The Ark by Boyd Morrison

37. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

38. Dead In The Family by Charlaine Harris

39. The MacGregors: Serena ~ Caine by Nora Roberts

40. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

41. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

42. No Touch Monkey! by Ayun Halliday

43. The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

44. Without Reservations by Alice Steinbach

45. Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

46. The Search by Nora Roberts

47. Dark Life by Kat Falls

48. Judgment in Death by J.D. Robb

49. Seaworthy by Linda Greenlaw

50. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

51. Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

52. Wilderness Warrior by Douglas Brinkley

53. My Fair Lazy by Jen Lancaster

54. Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart

55. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

56. The Frog Prince by Elle Lothlorien

57. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

58. Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell

59. You Slay Me by Katie MacAlister

60. The Ice Limit by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

61. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

62. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

63. Tales of Mystery and Madness by Edgar Allan Poe

64. Ape House by Sara Gruen

65. Tough Customer by Sandra Brown

66. The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club by Laurie Notaro

67. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

68. Black Sun by Graham Brown

69. Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts

70. Death's Excellent Vacation by Charlaine Harris

71. The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

72. Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

73. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

74. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

75. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

76. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

77. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

78. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

79. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

80. Room by Emma Donoghue

The 1010 Challenge

For the 1010 Challenge, I will be reading books that fit into 10 different categories; some categories will be traditional genres but some might be a little more creative in order to get the maximum number of books off of my endless TBR pile! For a little extra challenge, I am going to read at least three books per category. I'm sure some of my categories will be complete in a couple of months but some will probably take the entire year!

For the most part, I am not going to decide in advance what books I will read for each category, instead I'll just file them where they fit. But, there are a few books that are physically on my shelf at home that I am determined to finally read! I have put those in the list already but everything is subject to change :) The books listed haven't been read until they link to a review!

Published in 2010

1. Black Rain by Graham Brown

2. The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bay by Alan Bradley

3. Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts

Romance/Romantic Suspense - I should just call this my Nora Roberts category!

1. Loyalty in Death by J.D. Robb

2. Witness in Death by J.D. Robb

3. Summer by the Sea by Susan Wiggs

Presidential Biographies

1. Truman by David McCullough

2. Wilderness Warrior by Douglas Brinkley

3.

Young Adult - still trying to fill the void left by Twilight and Harry Potter!

1. The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan

2. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

3. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Ongoing Series - this category will definitely have more than three books!

1. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

2. Dead In The Family by Charlaine Harris

3. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

New (to me) Authors

1. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

2. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

3. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Science - piggybacking onto one of my other challenges

1. Why Evolution is True by Jerry A. Coyne

2. The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

3. Fire in the Turtle House by Osha Gray Davidson

Thriller and Suspense - again, piggybacking on the challenge through Book Chick City

1. The Stand by Stephen King

2. Deeper Than The Dead by Tami Hoag

3. The Ark by Boyd Morrison

Chick Lit

1. My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler

2. Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg

3. Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler

Get It Off My Shelf!!! - books I have owned forever and will read in 2010!

1. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

2. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

3. Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

The Science Book Challenge

The Science Book Challenge urges you to read three science books during the 2010 year. The books can be about science, scientists, how science works, or the relationship of science and culture. They can be biographies, non-fiction, popularizations of science, or anthologies - pretty much anything goes! I am going a step further than the challenge requests, and am going to attempt six science books...an average of one every two months shouldn't be too overwhelming!

1. Why Evolution is True by Jerry A. Coyne

2. The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

3. Fire in the Turtle House by Osha Gray Davidson

4. The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan

5. Fluke by Christopher Moore

6. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

7. The Dark Life by Kat Falls

A New Procrastination Technique for 2010

As 2010 looms on the horizon, I have decided to take my reading to the next level - I am going to blog! I have zero experience with blogging, my (what I like to think of as) witty humor occasionally comes across as down-right mean in the written form, and this will most likely add another year to the completion of my PhD because I feel this will be the mother of all procrastination techniques - and yet I am determined to move forward with my plan!

I hope to keep track of the books I read, the challenges I am participating in, and maybe throw in some random thoughts on life as a PhD student while I'm at it. I don't promise to be politically correct, my personal views will most likely shine through, and I will attempt to refrain from using the really offensive profanity but the minor stuff is fair game.

If anyone out there happens to stumble upon my site, please feel free to comment away! If no one ever reads this then it won't be a new feeling - I write scientific papers for a living. :)