Friday, December 30, 2011

December and 2011 Wrap-up

So that's it. 2011 is no more. Kaput. finite. done. complete. disappearing in the rearview mirror. It's been a momentous year for many reasons, but perhaps the biggest for me has been this blog. Even though I started this blog last July, it wasn't until February of this year that I had any clear vision of it being a book blog. Since then I've read 75 books (not including text books), published 50 book reviews, 10 film reviews, taken part in 25 Top 10 Tuesday memes, hosted a Harry Potter Countdown challenge/meme, started Fanart Friday, gained 118 wonderful readers (and friends), and received about 6 or 7 books from authors requesting reviews. Along with that I'm also more active on Goodreads, Twitter and tumblr thanks to the blogging community and I've had (and continue to have) an absolute ball!

Hosted by Two Bibliomaniacs 
Aim:
8 books and 8 films.

Progress:
Completed!

News/Notes:
I so nearly didn't make this one! It was a little bit chaotic trying to read the books and watch the films all while Christmas was rolling in, but somehow I managed to finish I Am Legend with one day to spare! I probably would have been finished earlier if it wasn't for me losing my copy of I Am Legend around Christmas time. All the mess and craziness caused by Christmas, wrapping gifts and having both my mum and sister come down to stay made it very difficult to find just about anything!

Books Read:
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson - Simply one of the greatest novels ever written. I can't recommend it enough.
Read review here.

Films watched:
Blade Runner, starring Harrison Ford, Sean Young and Rutger Hauer - Killer sci-fi/fantasy film, though it diverges quite significantly from the book. Definitely try to get either the Director's Cut or the Final Cut if you're considering giving it a watch.
read review here.

The Exorcist, starring Ellen Burstyn and Max Von Sydow - It's aged surprisingly well, unlike some older horror films I can completely understand why this terrified an entire generation. Closer to the book that I'd realised.
read review here.

I Am Legend, starring Will Smith. What a steaming pile of crap. Seriously, don't waste your time with this rubbish. It gives the book a bad name.
read review here.

Challenge Highlights:
I really loved this challenge because it introduced me to a few books and movies that I perhaps would have skipped over otherwise. I enjoyed all the reads I took on but my absolute favourites were Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and the graphic novel adaptation of The Great Gatsby by Nicki Greenberg. They were phenomenal, especially Never Let Me Go. Even now I occasionally stop and think about that book and get a little teary. Other than I Am Legend, I also loved the films I chose to watch. But I think best of all was that all the films (I Am Legend excluded), even those which diverged from the book's plot slightly (or in some cases significantly) really maintained the true essence of the novel, and in no way had me exclaiming "The book is sooooo much better" or "They completed screwed up the film adaptation, idiots!" Overall a great challenge, thanks Two Bibliomaniacs for hosting!


Hosted by GabrielReads


Aim:
Avid Reader (2 books per month)- changed from the original aim of casual reader (1 book per month)

Progress:
11 books in total, or in other words, I failed dismally. I just ran out of time, and since most of my books left in my TBR pile are epic tomes that were destined to take a fair chunk of time it was just not meant to be. On the other hand, I did manage to read at least one book each month (except September and October due to thesis overload) and complete my original aim of casual reader (1 book per month).

Books read:
How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely - A lot more interesting than I'd expected. A funny and somewhat cynical look at the publishing industry but at it's heart it has a punch to it.
read review here.

Challenge Highlights:
I really loved this challenge, even if I didn't complete it. It really pushed me to pick up some of those books that have been gaining far too much dust on my shelves, and I managed to discover some real treasures while I was at it. The absolute highlight would have had to be The Doctor is Sick by Anthony Burgess. It wasn't the best book I've ever read, but it was a fantastic discovery to see that Burgess definitely did have more than one great book in him and my fears of branching into his other work were stupid! A huge, massive thanks to the blogger who was responsible for providing the motivation to read these 11 books, Gabe!


Aim:75

Progress:Completed!

Books read:
The Vagabond Kingby James Conway -A really lovely coming of age story sent to me by the author. A real surprise treasure.
Read review here.

Girlsby the Luna Brothers- An interesting, if flawed, first book in a series of graphic novels about a town that has a rather weird invasion. Annoying ex-girlfriend is annoying.
Read review here.

The Goon by Eric Powell - Absolutely brilliant. Funniest and funnest (I know, I know, it isn't a word) graphic novel I've read all year.
read review here.

Challenge highlights: I really branched out this year, reading from a variety of genres and formats. A huge highlight was definitely discovering the George R.R. Martin A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series (Beginning with A Game of Thrones). I think that's perhaps the fastest I've ever devoured an entire series, I barely came up for air between book 1 and book 5! Other than that, I just really enjoyed how much reading I managed to get through, and the fantastic new authors I discovered.


Anything New:
*A little self-promotion to end the year on! Other than this blog, you can find me on twitter, goodreads, tumblr and taking part in my other blogHail Horror, Hail.

2 comments:

  1. Sounds like you had a good year. Well done in completing the book/movie challenge. I haven't commented on any of these posts but I have read all your reviews. It looked to be an interesting one.

    I failed the BISHRBN challenge too. Still, 11 is a good attempt considering it was for 6 months and not the full year. Only three on my original list were left unread so I am seeing that as a partial success, lol.

    Good luck for 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A definite success Karen!

    Yeah, I'm not too disappointed about not finishing BISHRBN, at least I read plenty of books that have been waiting for far too long on my shelf!

    Hope 2011 was a great book year for you too Karen.

    ReplyDelete

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