Fall Into Reading 2012: Wrap Up Post

This year I participated in the Fall Into Reading Challenge over at Callapidderdays . I liked this event because it was designed to cover only the three months of fall, and to be a very low pressure challenge. It was a perfect way to plan for the reading for the rest of the year.

My plans for the Fall Into Reading Challenge were overly ambitious, and I did end up only completing some of the books I planned to read. But read some others instead.

At the time, I had seven books left to fill in for the A-Z Reading Challenge, and these are the ones I read this fall. (All links go to my reviews.)

A:  The Affair of the Mutilated Mink by James Anderson

J:  The Judas Sheep by Stuart Pawson
K:  Kindness Goes Unpunished by Craig Johnson
V:  The Vault by Ruth Rendell

X:   XPD by Len Deighton

Y:   The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

Z:   Zombies of the Gene Pool by Sharon McCrumb

Prior to reading The Vault, I read The Monster in the Box (2009) and A Sight for Sore Eyes (1998) by the same author. Although A Sight for Sore Eyes is not a book in the Inspector Wexford series, The Vault is a sequel to that story. With the completion of those books, I have finished one series for my Finishing a Series Challenge. 

Zombies of the Gene Pool is a sequel to another book, which I also read in the fall:  Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharon McCrumb.

For the Kate Martinelli series by Laurie R. King, I read two in the series but did not finish the last two books in the series, as I had hoped:
2. To Play the Fool (1995)
3. With Child (1996)

I am happy to say that I did complete my last book for the Chunkster Challenge:  
The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard J. Evans

I had hoped to read the last book in the Bill Smith, Lydia Chin Series by S. J. Rozan and the last three books in the Bernard Samson Series by Len Deighton. Those did not get read.

During the Fall Into Reading challenge period, I also read these books:

1. The House Without a Key by Earl Derr Biggers
2. The Greene Murder Case by S. S. Van Dine
3. A Touch of Frost by R. D. Wingfield
4. The Dead Can Tell by Helen Reilly
5. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
6. A Trace of Smoke by Rebecca Cantrell
7. The Cape Code Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

 

Fall Into Reading 2012

I was visiting My Reader's Block this weekend, and saw that Bev had joined a Fall Reading Challenge. The Fall Into Reading Challenge over at Callapidderdays is designed to be a very low pressure challenge.

I decided this would be a great challenge for me to participate in because it will help me focus on what I want to read in the next three months to complete other challenges.

Extracting from the description of the rules for the challenge,  here’s what you need to do:

• Create a list of books you’d like to read or finish this fall. This is the only real requirement for participating in the challenge.

• Write a blog post that includes the list of books you want to read (and any additional goals you’ve set), and visit Callapidder Days on (or after) September 22nd to sign up for the challenge. 

• Read! Work on your goals throughout Fall 2012.

• Report your results. Write another blog post in December to let everyone know how you did. There will be an official wrap-up post to the challenge on December 22nd, where you’ll be able to share your results.

My Goals

These are the specific books I will be aiming at completing for this challenge.

I have seven books left to fill in for the A-Z Reading Challenge, and these are the ones I plan to read in the next few months.

V:   The Vault by Ruth Rendell

X:   XPD by Len Deighton

Y:   The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

Z:   Zombies of the Gene Pool by Sharon McCrumb

The other letters not yet completed are A, J, and K.

Zombies of the Gene Pool is a sequel to another book, that I will read before that one:  Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharon McCrumb

To read The Vault, I need to first read The Monster in the Box (2009) and A Sight for Sore Eyes (1998) by the same author. Although A Sight for Sore Eyes is not a book in the Inspector Wexford series, The Vault is a sequel to that story. When I complete those books, I will have finished one series for my Finishing a Series Challenge.

In addition to the Inspector Wexford series, there are three other series I want to finish this year for the Finishing a Series Challenge:

 

S. J. Rozan (Bill Smith, Lydia Chin Series) (one to finish)

11. Ghost Hero (2011)

Len Deighton (Bernard Samson Series) (3 remain)
7. Faith (1994)
8. Hope (1995)
9. Charity (1996)

 

Laurie R. King (Kate Martinelli series) (4 remain)
2. To Play the Fool (1995)
3. With Child (1996)
4. Night Work (2000)
5. The Art of Detection (2006)

There is only one other challenge that I have not completed AND that I know what I want to complete for the challenge. It is the Chunkster Challenge.

I am currently reading The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard J. Evans for that challenge. This is a very long book, and I am a slow reader, especially non-fiction that is dense with information and ideas. It is going to take me a while to get through this one. I hope I finish it before the end of the year.