Books 2022 Reading Challenge

[Starlight]

Books

25.2 Argentina: Un país inexplicable - Jot Down. A collecton of short stories about that country.
26.2 La inflación explicada a los ministros - José Luis Sampedro. Economic theory about inflation, written in the 70s and surprisingly prescient these days.
27.2 You don't want to know - James Felton. A book about creepy, morbid and dark (but real) tales of murders, insane science and some of the dumbest deaths ever recorded.
28.2 Cuarentena - Petros Márkaris. The yearly entry of the adventures of Inspector Jaritos, a Greek policeman with a penchant for political commentary.

Comics
28.6 Issues 4386 and 4387 of Spirou magazine. Sadly the serialisation of La Mort de Spirou has gone on a 6-week hiatus but I'm keeping myself entertained with the serialisation of Les soeurs Gremillet.
28.8 Atom Agency 1 - Yann & Schwartz
29 Giant Days 2 - Allison + Treiman + Cogar + Sarin. I'm really enjoying this series. I think I'm going to buy more.

Coming up next: a book about modern Germany, a historical novel and some Herlock Sholmes. Wait.

(I'm starting to worry I won't be on track for 80 at the end of the year... oh boy I might fall short at this rate!)

So that's you on 29 correct? I'll be updating the first post in the next day or so 😊

 

[Ivysaur]

I have like... 10 more entires to add but I'll probably do it tomorrow morning, I'm too tired after work lol

 

[Starlight]

Everyone should be added and updated on the first page as of now!

 

[Duck]

So I've also read the 134 volumes of Hajime no Ippo (plus a few more that haven't been compiled into volumes yet).

And while the fact that it started in the 80s definitely shows, I gotta give it to the author for working all this time. And since all this manga has exploded the count, I think I can update the goal from 25 to something like 500.

221 / 500

 

[Ivysaur]

30 Why the Germans do it better - John Kampfner: How Germany can be an example of maturity for most of Europe, explained through history.
31 Breve historia de Portugal - Oliveira Marques: So I was at the Madrid Book Fair and I saw the Portugal stand and I love the country so I bought a book about its history...
32 Los secretos de las marcas - Fernando de Córdoba: And then I got this one signed by a twitter guy I've been mutuals with for a decade! Cool stuff.

32.6 Issues 4387 through 4390 of Spirou Magazine
32.8 Se busca personaje para cómic - Jan: A fun story. The author started writing it 40 years ago before starting the series that made him famous and so put it aside 10 pages in. He completed it in 2020 after ending said series.
33 Giant Days 3 - Love love this series
34 Gaston Lagaffe integral 2 (a compilation of 5 issues so counting it as one).

Currently... reading a lot of stuff. More Portuguese history, Roger Federer's authorised biography, more comics. Seriously. Stop me.

 

[Janp]

Season of Storms by Andrzej Sapkowski

Spoiler:

I decided to give the final book a chance and it was a lot better than the novels. This story once again felt more grounded and focused on Geralt doing his job, like the short stories. To be honest, this book is exactly what I was expecting from the series after reading the first book. Fine and entertaining read. And I can finally put The Witcher series away and move on.

[10/14]

 

[Duck]

I read 9 volumes of Way of the Househusband as well as the two volumes of the webserial Master, this poor disciple died again today

So yay, reading some longform prose again.

232 / 500

 

[Amore]

So I finally embraced my Poké-fandom in an expensive and over-the-top way. Among other things I expanded my PokéSpe collection from just Volume 1-5 to the whole thing through HGSS, plus ORAS. So I guess I could set myself two challenges within that:

1. Read all 11 volumes of the Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum chapters (when I used to read online it wasn't finished)
2. Read all 43 volumes and 6 mini-volumes (ORAS) making up my entire collection!!

I'll also possibly challenge myself to finally read the whole of The Count of Monte Cristo, but given I also bought all the Pokémon games I missed since 2012 earlier in the year I think that's optimistic.

Anyway, meant to join in before I'd started reading so currently I've completed 1 volume of PokéSpe DPPt!

 

[Ivysaur]

35 O pequeno livro do grande terramoto - Rui Tavares. A history book about the Great Earthquake of Lisbon (and the following tsunami and mass fire) and its effects on European history. Fascinating. And I read it in the original portuguese!
36 The Master - Christopher Clarey. Roger Federer's biography. A brilliant history of a brilliant man.

36.6 - Superlópez Integral 23 - Jan. A book with the last three comics of a beloved Spanish hero. Going to miss the dude- Issues 7 and 9 are still some of the best narrative I've ever read.
36.8 - Giant Days 4. You know what? I'm reading the full series now. Amazing stuff.
37.6 - Spirou Magazine 4391 to 4394

Currently reading a book about insane architecture, more French comics and... I'm still unsure of what to go for next...
This said, for my goal of 80 books in 12 months, 37.6 in 6 is a very decent checkpoint.

 

[Amore]

So I finished Volume 2 of DPPt earlier in the week. Got busy, but plan to start Vol. 3 before sleeping tonight. Have to say its far funnier than I remembered (although certain panels instantly fired the synapses triggering memories of their first readings!). Perhaps these characters were always funnier than the earlier ones, but bar the censored "Poké-boobs" in the RB chapter I don't remember PokéSpe being hilarious.

Spoiler:

• PokéSpe DPPT: 2/11 Volumes
• PokéSpe Gen 1-IV Characters: 2/43 +6 Volumes
• The Count of Monte Cristo: 0/1241 Pages + 35 appendix pages

 

[Duck]

So I've finished reading quite a lot in the mean time:

- The 27 published volumes of the manga Mairimashita! Iruma-kun (and some chapters that weren't compiled yet)
- The 26 published volumes of the manga One Punch Man (and some chapters that weren't compiled yet)
- The first 61 published volumes of the manga One Piece (still working my way through it, but it's in a boring arc)
- All 61 volumes of the manga History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi

I'm down with most of those to be honest, the only one I wouldn't recommend would be HSD Kenichi.

407 / 500

 

[Starlight]

I will update the thread later!!!

I am not even off the mark yet as I've only read non-fiction so far this year :/

 

[Starlight]

Everyone should be updated now! Let me know if anything is incorrect 😊

So I finished Volume 2 of DPPt earlier in the week. Got busy, but plan to start Vol. 3 before sleeping tonight. Have to say its far funnier than I remembered (although certain panels instantly fired the synapses triggering memories of their first readings!). Perhaps these characters were always funnier than the earlier ones, but bar the censored "Poké-boobs" in the RB chapter I don't remember PokéSpe being hilarious.

Spoiler:

• PokéSpe DPPT: 2/11 Volumes
• PokéSpe Gen 1-IV Characters: 2/43 +6 Volumes
• The Count of Monte Cristo: 0/1241 Pages + 35 appendix pages

What's your goal so I can add it to the front page? :)

 

[Amore]

Everyone should be updated now! Let me know if anything is incorrect 😊



What's your goal so I can add it to the front page? :)

Let's just say the 11 volumes of DPPt manga for now, if I do that I'll set another

 

[Duck]

Read all 25 volumes of Dr. Stone

I guess I liked it fine, but it's not really for everyone.

432 / 500

 

[Amore]

PokéSpe DPPt 3/11 volumes.

Took a little pause on this one, inability to commit to a save in the games. Then I remembered about those HOME gift starters so now I'm playing Shining Pearl at the same time, about 2 badges behind but about to be much further given my obsession with the Underground.

The comic is still really good, something really momentous and dark happens but it's still mostly the jokey adventure-of-the-week tone. Also had one of my favourite tropes - the slow character intuiting the secret all along!

 

[Janp]

I've started reading new series about Vikings and just found out it was never released in English. So, I'll include both the original title and its translation.

Lodbrogsønnernes hævn (The revenge of the Lodbrog sons) by Lasse Holm

Spoiler:

When I first saw this book, I was afraid it's spin-off of that not so good Vikings series, because it was marketed as such, but this is its own thing. It's quite accurate historical novel that mixes Viking legends about Ragnar Lodbrog and the siege and capture of Eoforwic. But the main focus is a cool murder mystery and unlikely detective/ally of Vikings - Rolf. I enjoy his POV and I'm glad he's the only POV character in the book. This way, the story and characters are pretty consistent, the author can drop Norse lore and there are almost no slow passages. Well, there are Rolf's flashbacks, which aren't that interesting. Overall, it was fun read and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

Spoiler:

It felt a little weird going back to Doyle's Holmes after reading other authors' take on this legendary character. But it's just a good old Sherlock Holmes that leaves you wonder how the hell can one person solve the whole murder before just by looking at the driveway of the crime scene. The second, flackbacks, part is weirdly stucked onto the story and it was always weird for me, especially since that story is still finished in the present. I also love Sherlock's scientific background set up in this book, that is often forgotten.

The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle

Spoiler:

Now this adventure I think of when speaking about Sherlock Holmes. It shows a little darker side of Sherlock as drug-addict and killer. Otherwise, it's once again a great book.

[13/14]

 

[Ivysaur]

So I went on a small detective spree... and I swear I did not coordinate myself with Janp.

38.6: A Three Dog Problem - S. J. Bennett. I enjoyed the story. It's certainly weird reading a crime novel set in the seat of the British monarchy with the Queen as a protagonist, but, well, one's seen stranger stories.
39.6. A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle. These two are so weird! They don't really fit my mental image of what a "Sherlock Holmes story is". Which I guess proves how earlier these were, and how Doyle never quite mastered the full-length detective novel.
40.6 The Sign of the Four - Arthur Conan Doyle

Comics

41 Spirou Magazine 4395 and 4396
41.2 Les sœurs Grémillet 2: Les amours de Cassiopée
41.4 Spirou à Tokyo

 

[Ivysaur]

41.6 Spirou Magazine 4397

42.6 Open - Andre Agassi. What do you do when your dad forces you to become the best in the world at something you hate? It's incredible how easy to read this book is. An autobiography of a man who took 30 years to understand who he was and that, actually, he could play tennis for fun, not just as a curse.

43.6 The Monogram Murders - Sophie Hannah. Another fun detective novel, and a nice Poirot reboot.

Currently reading: a book about journalism I'm this close to breaking into pieces (just because it wasn't bounded very well...), more comics and... two books I'm currently fighting over. Which one should I read first...?

 

[Duck]

I did a non-fiction!

433. Bernoulli's Fallacy

A very interesting book (to me at least) about philosophy and history of statistics. Despite the topic it doesn't delve too deeply into the mathematics of it all (stuff like formulas and derivations) so I'd very much recommend it to anybody!

EDIT:

434. The Cult of Statistical Significance

Another book talking about a very similar topic in philosophy of statistics and the state of science but boy, was this book a chore to get through. It felt like an overly bloated Tumblr callout post and not even a fun one to read because of the drama.

Would not recommend the book (but I would recommend remedial writing classes for the authors).