Off the Needles: 2015 Reading Challenge Update

In January I told you guys about my reading challenge for 2015. The idea is to read 52 books this year, each of which fulfills an item on this checklist.

I think it's safe to say, I won't be reading 52 books in 2015, but I am off to a good start! I've already finished a book languishing from last year, read 2 new books, and started a third!

I started things off with a book by a female author--book 1 in the Outlander series. Historical fiction is my preferred genre, so some aspects of this series are right in my wheelhouse. I found the book a bit repetitive (Claire's in trouble, let's save her! Jaime's in trouble, let's save him! Etc.), but I enjoyed it and will probably continue this series.

Then I finished up a book I started last year: Lamb, the Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. I thought this book was HILARIOUS, but if you don't have much of a sense of humor about Christianity, it might not be for you. It's probably best described as irreverent. It covers Jesus' missing years, as remembered by Biff, the lost Apostle. So that's "a book [I] started but never finished."

Next up: The Martian. A manned Mars mission accidentally leaves an astronaut on the red planet, and he has to figure out how to survive until a new mission arrives to rescue him. They're already turning this one into a movie (starring Matt Damon!), and while my eyes glazed over a bit at some of the more minutely detailed "science-y stuff," I really enjoyed it. That fulfills the "book recommended by a friend" category.

And now, A Spool of Blue Thread. I knew I wouldn't have to look far to find " a book that takes place in [my] hometown"--the incomparable Anne Tyler sets all her books in Baltimore. And I love me some Anne Tyler. If you're not familiar with her books (the most famous is probably The Accidental Tourist), they're light on action but heavy on character development and family relationships. I just started this one 2 days ago, but it's moving swiftly along.

So, I'm certainly not on a book-a-week pace, but I am off and running. Are you doing a reading challenge in 2015? What have you read so far?