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27 February 2012

When a Challenge isn't...

I joined the British Books Challenge at the beginning of this year, just as I have in 2010 and 2011. In both of those previous years I completed the challenge with ease.
This year the BBC is being hosted at the Overflowing Library.

In 2011 I discovered that over a third of what I read is British crime fiction.
Certainly in 2012 that trend is continuing.
I have now read 28 titles so far this year and 13 of them are British.

This means that I have now already completed the "at least 12 books" level of the BBC.

So I have decided that, for me, this is not really a challenge, although I will still keep my list to see if I get to the magical 50. I can see many British crime fiction titles waiting for me even now on Mt TBR.

My list so far
  1. 4.5, DEATH OF AN EXPERT WITNESS, P.D. James
  2. 4.4, THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS, Eric Ambler
  3. 4.5, DEAD IN THE WATER, Aline Templeton
  4. 4.7, DEATH COMES AS AN END, Agatha Christie
  5. 4.3, THE CASE OF THE POISONED CHOCOLATES, Anthony Berkeley
  6. 4.4, BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP, S.J. Watson
  7. 4.4, THE RESURRECTION MEN, Sara Fraser
  8. 4.6, THE VAULT, Ruth Rendell
  9. 4.2, STEPS TO HEAVEN, Wendy Cartmell
  10. 3.5, OUR KIND OF TRAITOR, John Le Carre
  11. 4.2, TOWARDS ZERO, Agatha Christie
  12. 4.2, THE ANATOMY OF GHOSTS, Andrew Taylor
  13. 4.0, Some Agatha Christie Short Stories  
Sometimes you just discover that the reason a reading challenge appeals to you, is that it is just what you normally do. Completing the challenge is no struggle at all, but it is still enjoyable.
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7 comments:

  1. Anonymous27 February 2012 at 08:53

    Kerrie - I think it's interesting that we're drawn to certain kinds of crime fiction even when it rather creeps up on us...

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  2. Marg27 February 2012 at 09:03

    I have stopped joining the challenges which aren't challenging. I am still reading those kinds of books, but it isn't challenging as such.

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  3. Kerrie27 February 2012 at 12:45

    I like to support reading challenges Marg, and so I do join some that provide no problems in achieving. When you prioritise your reading, some challenges get put on the back burner but there are really still no doubts that you will get there. Are they any more a challenge than the ones you achieve in the early days?

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  4. Charmaine Clancy27 February 2012 at 15:34

    Sounds like you're really ploughing through those books at the moment! I only do the Goodreads challenge where you set your book limit for the year. I've dropped this year from 100 to 50 to try in fit some writing in too :)

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  5. Maxine Clarke27 February 2012 at 20:24

    Well done on the number you've read so far. I have to watch out for overemphasising Britain in my reading - living here means that almost all the new books coming out, and promotions, are for British books (closely followed by USA).

    Another way to make this challenge more "challenging" would be to split it into England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The first three would be easier than the last one.

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  6. Kerrie28 February 2012 at 07:18

    that really would turn it into a challenge Maxine

    ReplyDelete
  7. kathy d.28 February 2012 at 17:32

    I just got several ideas from this list.

    And, yes, the ease of obtaining U.S.-written and -published books must be countered on my part. The library, especially the "new fiction" shelves are 99% U.S.-published books.

    It is maddening when the library orders 300-500 dvd's of a popular movie, but I have to implore the staff to buy one copy of a book from overseas so that I can borrow it.

    Also, I'd only include Northern Ireland in Britain's categories. The Republic of Ireland is independent.

    ReplyDelete

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