Wrap-up post: Lucky 14

As I suspected may very well happen, I of course read many more than 14 books for the Lucky 14 Reading Challenge than I was strictly required to do. It was a really fun challenge, which both made me read outside my comfort zone and get through quite a few TBR books I might never have got round to otherwise.

The 14 categories:
1. Visit the country: Read a book that has a setting in a country that you really want to visit in real life. Make sure the setting has a big role in the book and it can make you know a little bit more about your dream destination.

The Chocolate Temptation - Laura Florand (France)

2. Cover lust: Pick a book from your shelf that you bought because you fell in love with the cover. Is the content as good as the cover?

 The Twistrose Key - Tone Almhjell (I suspect the book would have been better if I were younger)
The Clockwork Scarab - Colleen Gleason (Gorgeous cover, really fun book)
Princess of the Silver Woods - Jessica Day George (Lovely cover, book not as good as rest of series)
Jackaby - William Ritter (Stunning cover, really imaginative and entertaining book)

3. Blame it On Bloggers: Read a book because you've read the sparkling reviews from other bloggers. Don't forget to mention the bloggers' names too!

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation - Lauren Willig (recommended on countless romance blogs)
Fortune´s Pawn - Rachel Bach (recommended by Ilona Andrews, one of my favourite authors)
For Darkness Shows the Stars - Diana Peterfreund (Forever Young Adult and others)

4. Bargain All the Way: Ever buy a book because it's so cheap you don't really care about the content? Now it's time to open the book and find out if it's really worth your cents.

Skies of Gold - Zoe Archer (not bad, not sure I would have bought it at full price)
Spider´s Bite - Jennifer Estep (absolutely not worth even the tiny amount of money I paid for it)

5. (Not So) Fresh From the Oven: Do you remember you bought/was given a newly released book last year but never had a chance to read it? Dig it from your pile and bring back the 2013.

When the Marquess Met His Match - Laura Lee Guhrke
Hero - Alethea Kontis
The Firebird - Susanna Kearsley
Etiquette and Espionage - Gail Carriger

6. First Letter's Rule: Read a book where the title begins with the same letter as your name (so M for Malin, in my case). Articles like "a", "an" or "the" don't count.

Murder of Crows - Anne Bishop
The Masque of the Black Tulip - Lauren Willig
Match Me If You Can - Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Magic Breaks - Ilona Andrews
My Beautiful Enemy - Sherry Thomas
Mind Games - Carolyn Crane

7. Once Upon a Time: Choose a book first published before the year you were born. Doesn't have to be a classic book, something only a bit older than you is ok. You can read the most recent edition if you like.

Haiene (The Sharks) - Jens Bjørneboe
Emma - Jane Austen
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

8. Chunky Brick: Take a deep breath, and read a book that has more than 500 pages. Yep, the one that you've always been afraid of! As suspected, this category was not a difficult one to cover. So many fat books read this year.

Cress - Marissa Meyer (550 pages)
Turn Coat - Jim Butcher (545 pages)
Changes - Jim Butcher (546 pages)
Ghost Story - Jim Butcher (608 pages)
Dreams of Gods and Monsters - Laini Taylor (624 pages)
Cold Days - Jim Butcher (614 pages)
The Fiery Cross - Diana Gabaldon (1456 pages)
Grave Mercy - Robin LaFevers (549 pages)
A Breath of Snow and Ashes - Diana Gabaldon (1410 pages)
An Echo in the Bone - Diana Gabaldon (1126 pages)

9. Favourite Author: You like their books, but there are too many titles. This is your chance, choose a book that's been written by your favourite author, but you haven't gotten round to reading it before.

The Season - Sarah Maclean

10. It's Been There Forever: Pick up a book that's been there on your shelf for more than a year, clean up the dust and start to read it now.

The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
Tell Me Lies - Jennifer Crusie
You Had Me at Hello - Mhairi McFarlane
Wicked as They Come - Delilah S. Dawson

11. Movies vs Books: You've seen the movie adaptation (or planned to see it soon) but never had time to read the book. It's time to read the book, so you can compare the book vs the movie.

The Princess Diaries - Meg Cabot (honestly don´t know if I prefer the film or the book)
Teori og praksis - Nikolaj Frobenius (absolutely prefer the film, it was shorter, for one thing)
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn (preferred the film, which was excellent)
Divergent - Veronica Roth (haven´t seen the film, don´t particularly want to)
Horns - Joe Hill (based on the reviews I´ve seen, the book and the film are quite different)

12. Freebies Time: What's the LAST free book you got? Whether it's from a giveaway, a birthday gift or a surprise from someone special, don't hold back any longer. Open the book and start reading now.

Hounded - Kevin Hearne
The Winter Long - Seanan McGuire

13. Not My Cup of Tea: Reach out to a genre that you've never tried (or probably just disliked) before. Whether it's romance, horror or non fiction, maybe you'll find a hidden gem.

The Girl with All the Gifts - M.R. Carey (I don´t normally like horror, but I loved this)
Locke and Key, vol 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
Locke and Key, vol 2: Head Games by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

14. Walking Down the Memory Lane: Ever had a book that you loved so much as a kid? Or a book that you wish you could read when you were just a kid? Grab it now and prepare for a wonderful journey to the past. Comic books or graphic novels are allowed!

The Outsiders - Susan E. Hinton
The Hero and the Crown - Robin McKinley
The Blue Sword - Robin McKinley

Challenge completed: 14th of October 2014
Books read in total: 51