Challenge Index

Here are the links to the individual listings for each of my current challenges:

1% Well-Read Challenge
20 in 2009 Challenge
2009 TBR (Lite) Challenge
2nds Challenge 2009
Battle of the Prizes Challenge
Book Awards II Challenge
Books Into Movies Challenge
Chunkster Challenge 2009
Guardian 1000 Novels Challenge
Herding Cats II Challenge
Lost in Translation Challenge
MysteryReaderCafe Challenge 2009
Once Upon a Time III Challenge
Read Your Own Books (RYOB) Challenge
Reading the 90s Personal Challenge
Romance Reading Challenge 2009
Southern Reading Challenge 2009
Spring Reading Thing 2009
Summer Reading Challenge 2009
Suspense-Thriller Challenge
The 42 Challenge
To Be Continued (Perpetual) Challenge
Victorian Challenge
What An Animal! Challenge
Winter Reading Challenge 2008-09

Summer Reading Challenge 2009

Dates: June 21 to September 21, 2009
Hosted by: A Southern Daydreamer Reads

Guidelines:

• Make a list of books you want to read this summer.
• Write a post with your list on your blog. (You can add to or change this list at any time during the challenge.)
• Post the direct link to your Summer Reading Challenge 2009 post (so that other participants can visit and see what you are reading).
• You can write another post in September to let everyone know how you did.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

READING LIST (list may change):

1. A Stitch in Time. Monica Ferris
2. Angels of Destruction. Keith Donohue
3. Fer-de-Lance. Rex Stout
   
4. Ignorance: A Novel. Milan Kundera
5. July and August. Nancy Clark
6. Mistress of Mellyn. Victoria Holt
7. Murder Must Advertise. Dorothy L. Sayers
   
8. Murder, She Meowed. Rita Mae Brown
9. People of the Book. Geraldine Brooks
10. Rabbit Is Rich. John Updike
11. Sacred Hearts. Anita Dunant
12. Stone's Fall. Iain Pears
13. Summer House. Nancy Thayer
    
14. The Angel's Game. Carlos Ruiz Zafon
15. The Black Dahlia. James Ellroy
16. The Dance of Death. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
17. The Forgery of Venus. Michael Gruber
    
18. The Inn at Lake Devine. Elinor Lipman
19. The Mothman Prophecies. John A. Keel
20. The Spectator Bird. Wallace Stegner
21. The Stormy Petrel. Mary Stewart
22. Victory Over Japan. Ellen Gilchrist
    

Southern Reading Challenge 2009

**Challenge Completed**

Dates: 15 May to 15 August, 2009
Hosted by: Maggie of Maggie Reads

Guidelines:
You may choose to read any style of Southern book such as Appalachian tales, Civil War sagas, Gothic myths, Grit lit, and heart-wrenching biographies. . . . Just as long as you read three (fiction or nonfiction) between May 15th and August 15th.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

READING LIST (books read):

1. The Optimist's Daughter. Eudora Welty [see review]
   
2. Ellen Foster. Kaye Gibbons [review to come]
   
3. To Dance with the White Dog. Terry Kay [see review]
   

Sunshine Smackdown! Battle of the Prizes Challenge

Dates: 1 May to 7 September 2009
Hosted by: Rose City Reader

Guidelines:

• Chose three books that you have not read before:
  1) One that won both the Pulitzer and the National;
  2) One that won the Pulitzer but not the National; and
  3) One that won the National but not the Pulitzer.
  
• OPTION: For those who have already read all six of the double-dippers, or otherwise do not want to read one of those six, pick two Pulitzer winners and two National winners for a total of four books.
  
• Read all books between May Day and Labor Day. Overlap with other challenges is allowed -- and encouraged!

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

MY READING LIST

1. Double Winner: Rabbit is Rich. John Updike
2. Pulitzer Winner: The Optimist's Daughter. Eudora Welty [see review]
   
3. National Book Award Winner: Victory Over Japan. Ellen Gilchrist [reading now]
   

The Herding Cats II Challenge (Attack of the Hairballs)

Dates: 1 April to 31 December 2009
Hosted by: Renay, at Let's Get Literate

Guidelines:

• Make a list of five books you want to recommend. All titles must be books you've read in 2007, 2008 or 2009. Do not list entire series of books - just one of the titles in the series.
• Post your list in your own blog or in comments on the challenge announcement page. Your list must be public (no locked entries, no logging in to view).
• Browse the Master Book List for books you'd like to read.
• Read or not, as you like. Review or not, as you like. Share your reviews or not, as you like.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the Book List here.
See the Review List here.

MY READING LIST (to choose from):

1. The Library at Night. Alberto Manguel
2. The Manual of Detection. Jedediah Berry
3. Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind. Ann B. Ross
   
4. Norwegian Wood. Haruki Murakami
5. The Secret History. Donna Tartt
6. Smilla's Sense of Snow. Peter Hoeg
7. We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Shirley Jackson

Spring Reading Thing 2009

**Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.**

Dates: 20 March through 20 June, 2009
Hosted by: Katrina of Callapidder Days

Guidelines:

• Make a list of the books you think you'll read
• Write a blog post and then sign-up using Mr. Linky on the challenge announcement page
• List can change over the duration of the challenge

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my challenge wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the challenge review page here.

MY READING LIST (books read):

1. Angels & Demons. Dan Brown [see review]
   
2. The Private Patient. P.D. James [review to come]
   
3. The Way Through the Woods. Colin Dexter [see review]
   
4. The Book of God and Physics. Enrique Joven [see review]
   
5. Brimstone. Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child [review to come]
   
6. The Old Man and Me. Elaine Dundy [review to come]
   
7. The Optimist's Daughter. Eudora Welty [see review]
   
8. Ellen Foster. Kaye Gibbons [review to come]
   
9. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Robert C. O'Brien [see review]
10. To Dance with the White Dog. Terry Kay [see review]
    
11. The Unit. Ninni Holmqvist [see review]
    
12. Moon Tiger. Penelope Lively [review to come]
    
13. The Longshot. Katie Kitamura [see review]
14. The Valley of Fear. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle [see review]
    

Once Upon a Time III Challenge

Dates: 21 March to 20 June, 2009
Hosted by: Carl V of Stainless Steel Droppings

Guidelines:

• Readings should come from these four genres: fantasy, fairy tale, folklore and mythology.
• Participants can choose one or more of the following levels (or Quests).

1. The Journey - Read at least one book from any of the four genres. No need to commit to any set number of books.
2. Quest the First - Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time III criteria. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.
3. Quest the Second - Read at least one book from each of the four categories. In this quest you will be reading 4 books total: one fantasy, one folklore, one fairy tale, and one mythology.
4. Quest the Third - Fulfill the requirements for Quest the First or Quest the Second AND top it off with a June reading of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream OR a viewing of one of the many theatrical versions of the play.
5. Quest the Fourth - Read two non-fiction books, essay collections, etc. that treat any one or more of the four genres covered in this challenge.
6. Short Story Weekends - This quest involves the reading of one or more short stories that fit within at least one of the four genres during the course of the weekend. Ideally you would post about your short story readings on Sundays or Mondays, but this is not strictly necessary.

See my original post about the Challenge here.
See the Challenge Announcement page here.
See the Challenge Review page here.

I've chosen to join the Challenge at the Journey level, although I'm hoping to manage more than one book; and my reading will most likely be from the fantasy genre.

MY BOOK LIST

1. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Robert C. O'Brien [see review]
   

The 1% Well-Read Challenge

Dates: 1 March 2009-31 March 2010

Hosted by: Michelle of 1 More Chapter

All selections are to come from the lists in the book, 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (Peter Boxall, ed.). Participants can use either the original edition of the book, or the new revised edition.

Guidelines:

• Read 10 titles from the original list from March 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.
• Read 10 titles from the new list from March 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.
• Read 13 titles from the combined list (of almost 1300 titles) from March 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010. In other words, “What were they thinking dropping titles from Dostoevsky and Jane Austen?”
• For all options, overlaps with other challenges are allowed, and you may change your list at any time.

See my original post about the challenge here.

See the challenge announcement page here.

READING LIST (subject to change):

1. The Ambassadors. Henry James
2. An Artist of the Floating World. Kazuo Ishiguro
3. Atonement. Ian McEwan
4. The Black Dahlia. James Ellroy
5. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick
6. The Double. Jose Saramago
7. The Hours. Michael Cunningham
   
8. Ignorance. Milan Kundera
9. The Moonstone. Wilkie Collins
10. Northanger Abbey. Jane Austen
11. Play It As It Lays. Joan Didion
12. The Reader. Bernhard Schlink
13. The Secret History. Donna Tartt
14. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Haruki Murakami
    

The Guardian 1000 Novels Challenge

Dates: 1 February 2009 - 1 February 2010
Hosted by: Jennie of Biblio File
Guidelines:

• The British paper, The Guardian, has come up with a list of 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read Before They Die. The challenge is to read and review 10 books off the list (that's 1%) between February 1st of 2009 and February 1st of 2010.
• Of these 10, you must read 1 from each category and, if possible, 1 should be a book you have never heard of until you saw it on this list.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See reviews for February 2009 here.
See reviews for March 2009 here.
See reviews for April 2009 here.

READING LIST

Cover Her Face, by P.D. James (Category: Crime) [see review]
The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton (Category: Love) [see review]
Solaris, by Stanislaw Lem (Category: Science Fiction and Fantasy) [see review]

Books Into Movies Challenge

**Challenge completed. See my wrap-up post here.**

Dates: 1 January to 31 December 2009
Host: Kathrin (CozyMurders.com)
Guidelines:

Read two or more books that were made into movies or relate to TV shows (or that originated as movies or TV shows).

See my original post about the challenge here.
See my challenge wrap-up post here.
See the challenge announcement page here.

READING LIST:

1. The Age of Innocence. Edith Wharton [See Review]
2. Angels & Demons. Dan Brown [See Review]
3. Angels & Insects. A.S. Byatt [See Review]
4. Cover Her Face. P.D. James (this was made into a mini-series for British TV and shown on Masterpiece Theater in the U.S.) [See Review]
5. Hotel Du Lac. Anita Brookner (this was made into a film for British TV and shown in the U.S. on the A& E Network) [See Review]
6. Solaris. Stanislaw Lem [See Review]
7. The Way Through the Woods. Colin Dexter (this became an episode of the "Inspector Morse Mysteries," shown in this country on PBS) [See Review]
   

Chunkster Challenge 2009

Dates: Ends November 15, 2009
Host: Dana, of So Many Books, So Little Time
Guidelines:

• A chunkster is 450 pages or more of ADULT literature (fiction or nonfiction).
• If you read large type books your book will need to be 525 pages or more. I asked around and the average LT book is 10-15% longer or more so I think that was a fair estimate.
• No Audio books in the chunkster. It just doesn't seem right. Words on paper for this one folks.
• You may start any time after signing up. You must complete your reads before or on Nov 15th.
• Short Stories and Essay collections will not be counted.
• Books may crossover with other challenges (see option 4 for a collaborative effort with TBR challenge).
• Only option 4 requires that you make a set list of books to complete the challenge.

There are several reading level options to choose from:

1. The Chubby Chunkster - this option is for the reader who has a large tome or two to read, but really doesn't want to commit to more than that. 2 books is all you need to finish this challenge.
2. Do These Books Make My Butt Look Big? - this option is for the slightly heavier reader who wants to commit to 3-5 Chunksters over the next ten months.
3. Mor-book-ly Obese - This is for the truly out of control chunkster. For this level of challenge you must commit to 6 or more chunksters OR three tomes of 750 pages or more. You know you want to.....go on and give in to your cravings.
4. And lastly, in an intriguing collaboration with the wildly popular Miz B of the TBR Challenge we have:
   Too Big To Ignore Anymore - this option is for those chunksters on your TBR list. You may select any number of books over 450 pages but you must LIST THEM to complete the challenge and they must be on your TBR list as well

I'm going to be doing the first level (the "Chubby Chunkster").

See my original post about the challenge here.

See the official challenge blog here.

READING LIST (completed books)

Angels & Demons. Dan Brown (572 pages) [see review]
Brimstone. Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (500 pages)

The Victorian Challenge

Dates: January 1 to June 30, 2009
Host: Alex
Guidelines:

• This challenge is open to everyone who wishes to participate.
• You can choose the number of books you want to read by selecting one of the reading levels proposed (see below).
• There is a dedicated blog for the challenge. You can share your reviews or make a small update of your readings in this blog. It's entirely up to you.
• Books allowed can be written during the Victorian Era, set during that period, or about that period, including biographies.

Reading Levels:

• A drink at Whitechapel: 3 books
• A walk in Hyde Park: 4 books
• A tour of the British Museum: 5 books
• A visit to Buckingham Palace: 6 books

I'm going with Level 2: A Walk in Hyde Park
See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement page here.
See the challenge blog here.

READING LIST (books read):

1. The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton [See Review]
2. The Master, by Colm Toibin [See Review]
   
3. Angels & Insects, by A.S. Byatt [See Review]
   
4. The Valley of Fear, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle [See Review]