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Pick & Mix 2020 reading challenge
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illegible_scribble
Posted 2020-08-13 4:40 AM (#22355 - in reply to #22353)
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dustydigger - 2020-08-12 1:54 PM
Scalzi... The only book of his that left me feeling let down was The Collapsing Empire.I felt as if I had strayed into one of David Weber's conspiracy series.I wasnt keen on the characters,so.I didnt bother reading the other two books in the series ...

Conversely, I really enjoyed all three books in that series (Interdependency). I found them compulsively readable, I liked the character development, and he did enough unexpected things that it didn't feel predictable to me. 



Edited by illegible_scribble 2020-08-13 4:42 AM
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TonkaToys
Posted 2020-08-18 6:42 AM (#22364 - in reply to #22355)
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Location: Hitchin, UK		I've just finished The Collapsing Empire, and it feels like a completely different author to me.
Admittedly I've only read Old Mans War and Redshirts, but this book feels like it is there to set up a series whereas the previous two seemed to be stand-alone books.
I know OMW becomes a set of books, but it didn't feel like it when I was reading it.

Collapsing Empire seems more epic in scale; like characters and settings and politics are slowly being unveiled and will come together in a big finish.
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dustydigger
Posted 2020-10-09 11:21 AM (#22509 - in reply to #21614)
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Location: UK		Just updated my challenge.I have ended it at 40 books,the first time in the whole six years of doing this challenge that I didnt complete 80. Its been a pretty odd year,and reading has been off kilter most of the time,so 40 books isnt too bad really.But I had little time to discuss my reads.,so serious apologies to anyone who usually reads my posts. It was all I could do to just pop in on the ''What Are We Reading in.......'' thread.to enter my reads
Over a dozen of my challenge books were actually rereads/comfort reads,books I already had at home,since our library has been closed for the duration of the Covid 19.You can book an appointment to visit the library now,but it is 15 minutes away on public transport,and my immune system is so compromised that when I got a cold 28th December and it got into my lungs I was ill literally for months. I have been left with terribly weak lungs,and I have been Shielding most of the time.And we have been put back in strict lockdown again in north east England.Once again we are a hotspot.i the country,and we seem to be back to shielding. So excuse me if I totally refuse to go on public transport,I wouldnt stand an eathly chance of surviving the virus.lol
I

Edited by dustydigger 2020-10-09 11:25 AM
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TonkaToys
Posted 2020-10-16 6:29 PM (#22516 - in reply to #22509)
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Location: Hitchin, UK		Start safe Dusty... and all my fellow readers.

Doesn't it feel like the name of this site is too optimistic now and that we are in fact living in the end times? Welcome to our sci-fi / horror world made real.
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illegible_scribble
Posted 2020-10-16 6:38 PM (#22518 - in reply to #21614)
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Sorry to hear about the state of things, dustydigger... but I am glad to hear that you are looking out for yourself and staying safe.

Does your library have Overdrive? Mine has started ordering more e-books and less physical books in response to increased demand for e-books.
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dustydigger
Posted 2020-10-17 4:34 PM (#22521 - in reply to #21614)
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Location: UK		illegible scribble - we used to have overdrive at our library and I used it for several years. Then for some unknown reason they stopped using overdrive and replaced it with something called Borrowbox connecting via Adobe.Somehow I couldnt connect to Borrowbox through my Adobe account. I tried,the library staff tried,but no good. Apparently many people are having problems connecting its been a nuisance ever since they changed over 18 months ago.Nothing goes well with my library lol
I was very annoyed because the library was no longer stocking physical copies of Simon R Green's Ishmael Jones series,only have them on Borrowbox.I only want to read,not to buy,and even the kindle versions cost nearly ?9 each,too expensive for this old age pensioner with a big and expanding family - 4 new babies added this year alone! No cash for books except C J Cherryh and Jim Butcher!!!.........Or those ridiculously priced Wildside Press books,nearly all under ?1 All of Poe,or Lovecraft for ?0.49 or ?0.75.
I read most of my SF and vintage crime reads on Open Library and Luminist,often difficult because they are often scans of the original books,very dark and murky.. But I can get a lot of very old stuff on there that cost a fortune to buy even second hand,so I put up with the inconvenience.I've read a lot of the Defining Books of the 50s and 60s lists here on WWEnd that I would never have read otherwise..

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TonkaToys
Posted 2020-10-20 4:21 PM (#22525 - in reply to #22521)
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Location: Hitchin, UK		Have you signed up to the Tor.com newsletter? You get a free book each month which is good.
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dustydigger
Posted 2020-10-21 12:05 PM (#22529 - in reply to #22525)
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Location: UK		Yes,I am a subsciber. I have always enjoyed Tor,such a friendly down to earth bunch,they never place themselves above their readers. I always loved Jo Walton's reviews in particular.
Not looking for downloads at the moment though. I do a yearly challenge reading 10 each from 10 different subgenres on the Librarything site. I still have 25 books to read to complete that. EEK!Hope I get through them.I normally read around 200 books a year,but not in Calamitous 2020. Scraping 100 will be a grand job!
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ScoLgo
Posted 2020-11-03 4:24 PM (#22589 - in reply to #21614)
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I somehow completed the 2020 Pick & Mix early this year, leaving nearly two months to randomly trim the TBR shelf.

Thank you Dusty for managing this fun reading challenge for us!
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TonkaToys
Posted 2020-11-08 3:47 AM (#22597 - in reply to #22589)
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Location: Hitchin, UK		Seconded!
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dustydigger
Posted 2020-11-08 5:37 AM (#22598 - in reply to #22597)
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Location: UK		Thanks,ScoLgo and Tonka Toys.I have done a poor job as host in this weird year. But lots of the usual suspects have done a lot of reading this year. 23 active members have read 582 books,we should reach 600 by the end of the challenge.
I intend to repeat the challenge again in 2021. Year 7! Hopefully I will achieve 80 books instead of 40.And also I hope to come on here more often,if ever we slay the covid 19!.For now I have drastically reduced reading time - Mr Dusty and I are sitting all day in the same room,trying not to kill each other (our TV tastes are very different to put it mildly)Its felt like Groundhog Day for months now. And this week turning on the TV each morning to see no change in the election figures REALLY felt like Groundhog Day.. lol
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Mervi2012
Posted 2020-11-15 1:00 PM (#22636 - in reply to #22525)
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TonkaToys - 2020-10-20 4:21 PM

Have you signed up to the Tor.com newsletter? You get a free book each month which is good.


The free books are US only, sadly.

Thanks dustydigger for this fun challenge! I hope you stay well.

I only managed ten books this year because I didn't want to overlap with my other challenges. I've also started to write fiction again, so that takes up a lot of my reading time.
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dustydigger
Posted 2020-12-28 7:17 AM (#22734 - in reply to #21614)
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Location: UK		We are at the end of our 2020 Pick & Mix,and amidst difficult circumstances 20 Pick N' Mixers read 613 books. Well done.Hope you will all return for the 2021 challenge.Year Seven believe it or not Happy reading!
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Engelbrecht
Posted 2020-12-31 5:56 PM (#22745 - in reply to #21614)
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Hi Dusty!

I just added my picks for the year - as usual, I selected my favorite reads of the year.  It didn't work out to a nice round number, so I show as having read 14 out of 20 books read for the challenge - oh well.

Interestingly, most of these books seem to be flying under the radar.  In fact, I'm the only reader so far for 9 of the 14.  It's often worth taking a chance on something off the beaten path - you never know what you're gonna get out of that box of chocolates! 

Hope you've been having a nice holiday season!

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dustydigger
Posted 2021-01-01 4:58 PM (#22777 - in reply to #21614)
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Location: UK		Hi Engelbrecht.good to see you. I think all of us read a lot less this year. I was expecting the opposite,that I would read a lot more,but unfortunately spending all my waking hours joined at the hip with Mr Dusty is so unconducive to reading!.
We are back in highest tier stay at home mode yet again here in NE England. It definitely works,its obvious each time from the graphs' sharply down sloping ''hills'',but selfish idiots keep going on the rampage and ruining everything. Here's hoping 2021 will soon improve,and we can focus on our reading much better! Happy reading!
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