Books in Translation Reading Challenge 2012

Hosted by: The Introverted Reader
Dates: 7 January - 31 December, 2012

Guidelines:

• The challenge goal is to read any book that's been translated from its original language into another language that you're comfortable reading.
• Any genre, format, or age range is accepted.
• Crossovers with other challenges are OK.
• You don't need a blog to participate; link up through Good Reads, Library Thing, etc.

Levels:

1. Beginner: Read 1-3 books in translation
2. Conversationalist: 4-6
3. Bilingual: 7-9
4. Linguist: 10-12

✷ I'm signing up at the "Conversationalist" level, so I'll be reading 4-6 books.

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

MY READING LIST (books read, with links to reviews)

1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Stieg Larsson 
2. The Trial. Franz Kafka (reading now)

POSSIBLE CHOICES:

Buddenbrooks. Thomas Mann
The Castle. Franz Kafka
Chess Story. Stefan Zweig
The Double. Jose Saramago
Farewell Waltz. Milan Kundera
If on a winter's night a traveler. Italo Calvino
Ignorance. Milan Kundera
Invisible Cities. Italo Calvino
Last Year at Marienbad. Alain Robbe-Grillet
Skylark. Kosztolanyi Dezso
Steppenwolf. Hermann Hesse
The Trial. Franz Kafka

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2012

***Challenge Completed***

 
Hosted by: Historical Tapestry
Dates: 1 January - 31 December, 2012

Guidelines:

• Anyone can join, and you don't need a blog to participate.
• Any kind of historical fiction is accepted.
• There will be a monthly link-up for reviews.

Levels:

1. Severe Bookaholism: 20 books
2. Undoubtedly Obsessed: 15 books
3. Struggling the Addiction: 10 books
4. Daring & Curious: 5 books
5. Out of My Comfort Zone: 2 books

✸ I'm signing up at Level 4 ("Daring & Curious"), so I'll be reading at least 5 books.

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

MY READING LIST (books read, with links to reviews):

1. A Month in the Country. J.L. Carr
2. The Solitary House. Lynn Shepherd
3. The Dovekeepers. Alice Hoffman
4. The House at Riverton. Kate Morton
5. The Little Stranger. Sarah Waters 

What's in a Name 5

 

***Challenge Completed***

 
Hosted by: Beth Fish Reads
Dates: 1 January to 31 December, 2012

The idea of the challenge is to read one book in each of the following categories:

1. A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title
2. A book with something you'd see in the sky in the title
3. A book with a creepy crawly in the title
4. A book with a type of house in the title
5. A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title
6. A book with something you'd find on a calendar in the title

Other Guidelines (quoted from the challenge announcement page):

• Books may be any form (audio, print, e-book).
• Books may overlap other challenges.
• Books may not overlap categories; you need a different book for each category.
• Creativity for matching the categories is not only allowed but encouraged.
• You do not have to make a list of books before hand.
• You do not have to read through the categories in any particular order.

See my original post about the challenge here.
See the challenge announcement/sign-up page here.
See the Gateway to Challenge Links here.
See my Challenge Wrap-up post here.

MY READING LIST (books read, with links to reviews):

Category 1: Tyrannosaur Canyon. Douglas Preston (See Review)
Category 2: A Fall of Moondust. Arthur C. Clarke (See Review)
Category 3: Spiderweb. Penelope Lively (See Review)
Category 4: The Solitary House. Lynn Shepherd (Review to come)
Category 5: The Key: A Miss Silver Mystery. Patricia Wentworth (Review to come)
Category 6: A Month in the Country. J.L. Carr (See Review)

POSSIBLE CHOICES:

Category 1:
~ She Walks These Hills. Sharyn McCrumb
~ Tyrannosaur Canyon. Douglas Preston

Category 2:
~ The Evening Star. Larry McMurtry
~ A Fall of Moondust. Arthur C. Clarke
~ The Moonstone. Wilkie Collins
~ A Patchwork Planet. Anne Tyler
~ Ring Around the Sun. Clifford D. Simak

Category 4:
~ Iron House. John Hart
~ Rose Cottage. Mary Stewart

Category 5:
~ Books: A Memoir. Larry McMurtry
~ The Children's Book. A.S. Byatt
~ The Glass Key. Dashiell Hammett
~ The Key: A Miss Silver Mystery. Patricia Wentworth

Category 6:
~ 11/22/63. Stephen King
~ The Man Who Was Thursday. G.K. Chesterton
~ A Month in the Country. J.L. Carr
~ The September Society. Charles Finch
~ Three Junes. Julia Glass

Off the Shelf Challenge 2012

 ***Challenge Completed***

Hosted by: Bookish Ardour
Dates: 1 January - 31 December, 2012

"This challenge is to read those books you own a copy of, print, digital, and audio, you have been meaning to read, but never gotten to. If you don’t own enough books for the challenge you can read your TBR list instead. And no, you do not need to get rid of your books afterwards, that’s completely your choice, this challenge is only to read them." (quoted from the challenge announcement page)

Guidelines:

• Only books acquired (or listed) before 2012 are eligible.
• Sign up until the last two weeks of December 2012.
• Any genre is allowed.
• Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
• You can change levels at any time.
• eBooks, short stories, and graphic novels are allowed.
• You don’t need a blog to join in.
• There will be a link for reviews.

Challenge levels:

1. Tempted– Choose 5 books to read
2. Trying – Choose 15 books to read
3. Making A Dint – Choose 30 books to read
4. On A Roll – Choose 50 books to read
5. Flying Off – Choose 75 books to read
6. Hoarder – Choose between 76-135 books to read
7. Buried – Choose between 136-200 books to read

✸ I'm signing up at the "Trying" level, and will be reading 15 books.


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

MY READING LIST (books read; with links to reviews):

1. Spiderweb. Penelope Lively
2. The Players Come Again. Amanda Cross
3. The Inn at Lake Devine. Elinor Lipman
4. Liberty. Garrison Keillor
5. A Month in the Country. J.L. Carr
6. The Horned Man. James Lasdun
7. Seven-Day Magic. Edward Eager
8. Tyrannosaur Canyon. Douglas Preston
9. A Man Lay Dead. Ngaio Marsh
10. Artists in Crime. Ngaio Marsh
11. The Key: A Miss Silver Mystery. Patricia Wentworth
12. The Warden. Anthony Trollope
13. Right Ho, Jeeves. P.G. Wodehouse
14. Dead Man's Folly (Hercule Poirot series). Agatha Christie
15. The House at Riverton. Kate Morton

POSSIBLE CHOICES (Fiction):

Afternoon Men. Anthony Powell
The Big Sleep. Raymond Chandler
Buddenbrooks. Thomas Mann
The Circular Staircase. Mary Roberts Rinehart
Cranford. Elizabeth Gaskell
Death of a Hollow Man. Caroline Graham
The Debut. Anita Brookner
English Music. Peter Ackroyd
Flaubert's Parrot. Julian Barnes
The Forgery of Venus. Michael Gruber
The Geographer's Library. Jon Fasman
Heroic Measures. Jill Ciment
If on a winter's night a traveler. Italo Calvino
Inkheart. Cornelia Funke
The Inn at Lake Devine. Elinor Lipman
Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte
July and August. Nancy Clark
Lethal Legacy. Linda Fairstein
Liberty. Garrison Keillor
Loop Group. Larry McMurtry
Los Alamos. Joseph Kanon
The Mists of Avalon. Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Moonstone. Wilkie Collins
The Pale Horse. Agatha Christie
Providence. Anita Brookner
The Saint Bids Diamonds. Leslie Charteris
The Secret Adversary. Agatha Christie
The Sign of the Book. John Dunning
Silver on the Tree. Susan Cooper
Three Junes. Julia Glass
Travels with My Aunt. Graham Greene
The Warden. Anthony Trollope
The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag. Alan Bradley

POSSIBLE CHOICES (non-fiction):

Books: A Memoir. Larry McMurtry
A Gentle Madness. Nicholas A. Basbanes
In Cold Blood. Truman Capote
Just Kids. Patti Smith
Manhattan '45. Jan Morris
The Pattern in the Carpet. Margaret Drabble
The Year of Magical Thinking. Joan Didion

New Author Challenge 2012

Hosted by: Jackie at Literary Escapism
Dates: 1 January through 31 December, 2012

Guidelines (quoted from the challenge announcement page):

• The challenge will run from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012.
• Since this is an author challenge, there is no restriction on choosing your novels. They can definitely be from other challenges. However, the authors must be new to you and, preferably from novels. Anthologies are a great way to try someone new, but only a third of your new authors can be from anthologies.
• You can pick to do either 15, 25 or 50 new authors....If you reach your goal halfway through the year, don’t stop. Any new author you try can be added to Mr. Linky.
• After reading your new author, write your review and then come back here and add your link to Mr. Linky. Make sure you include your name and the author, but adding the title is completely up to you.
• Bloggers or Non-Bloggers alike are welcome. You don’t have to have a site to participate. You can link up via Facebook, GoodReads or even Amazon if you’d like.

✸ I'm going to commit to 15 new authors, but hope to do a little better than that.



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

MY READING LIST (books read, with links to reviews):

1. Chris Bohjalian: The Night Strangers
2. J.L. Carr: A Month in the Country
3. James Lasdun: The Horned Man
4. Lynn Shepherd: The Solitary House
5. Alice Thomas Ellis: The Other Side of the Fire
6. Lynda Rutledge: Faith Bass Darling's Last Garage Sale
7. Linda Fairstein: Night Watch
8. Sarah Waters: The Little Stranger
9. Stieg Larsson: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
10. Ivan Doig: The Bartender's Tale 
11. 
    

Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge 2012

***Challenge Completed***

 
Hosted by: Book Chick City
Dates: 1 January - 31 December, 2012

Guidelines:

• No need to select books ahead of time.
• If you do make a list, it can be changed.
• Crossovers with other challenges are OK.
• Join at any time. All books read in 2012 count towards the challenge, no matter when you sign up.
• There will be a monthly link for reviews.
• Audiobooks don't count, but all other formats are OK.
• You don't need a blog to join in.
• See the list of sub-genres to choose from.

Choose from two levels for the challenge:

• Read TWELVE (12) mystery & suspense novels in 2012
• Read TWENTY FOUR (24) mystery & suspense novels in 2012

✸ I'm signing up at the first level, and will read 12 books.

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

MY READING LIST (books read with links to reviews):

1. The Night Strangers. Chris Bohjalian
   ~ Supernatural Thriller Category
2. The Players Come Again: A Kate Fansler Mystery. Amanda Cross
   ~ Amateur Detective Category
3. The Solitary House. Lynn Shepherd
   ~ Historical Mystery/Thriller Category
4. Tyrannosaur Canyon. Douglas Preston
   ~ Action Thriller Category
5. A Man Lay Dead: An Inspector Alleyn Mystery. Ngaio Marsh
   ~ Murder Mystery Category
6. Artists in Crime: An Inspector Alleyn Mystery. Ngaio Marsh
   ~ Murder Mystery Category
7. Night Watch. Linda Fairstein
   ~ Legal Thriller Category
8. The Key: A Miss Silver Mystery. Patricia Wentworth
   ~ Cozy Mystery Category
9. Dead Man's Folly (Hercule Poirot series). Agatha Christie
   ~ Murder Mystery Category
10. Elephants Can Remember (Hercule Poirot series). Agatha Christie
    ~ Murder Mystery Category
11. The Little Stranger. Sarah Waters
    ~ Supernatural Thriller Category (also Historical Thriller Category)
12. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Stieg Larsson
    ~ Drama Thriller Category

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2012

***Challenge completed***

Hosted by: Bev @ My Reader's Block
Dates: 1 January - 31 December, 2012

Guidelines:

• Choose your level. Once you choose, you must complete at least that many books (more is OK, too).
• Sign up anytime from now until 30 November 2012.
• Books read must be books owned by you prior to 1 January 2012. No books acquired after that date; no ARCs; no library books; no re-reads.
• Books may overlap with other challenges.
• You can make a book list in advance, or just list them as you read them.
• A blog is not required to participate.
• There will be a quarterly check-in post for reviews.

Challenge Levels:

1. Pike's Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s
2. Mt. Vancouver: Read 25 books from your TBR pile/s
3. Mt. Ararat: Read 40 books from your TBR piles/s
4. Mt. Kilimanjaro: Read 50 books from your TBR pile/s
5. El Toro: Read 75 books from your TBR pile/s
6. Mt. Everest: Read 100+ books from your TBR pile/s

✸ I'm signing up at the Pike's Peak level, and will be reading at least 12 books from my TBR pile.

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

MY READING LIST (books read):

1. Spiderweb. Penelope Lively
2. The Players Come Again. Amanda Cross
3. The Inn at Lake Devine. Elinor Lipman
4. Liberty. Garrison Keillor
5. A Month in the Country. J.L. Carr
6. The Horned Man. James Lasdun
7. Seven-Day Magic. Edward Eager
8. Tyrannosaur Canyon. Douglas Preston
9. The Warden. Anthony Trollope
10. Right Ho, Jeeves. P.G. Wodehouse
11. Dead Man's Folly. Agatha Christie
12. The House at Riverton. Kate Morton

POSSIBLE CHOICES (Fiction):

Afternoon Men. Anthony Powell
The Big Sleep. Raymond Chandler
Buddenbrooks. Thomas Mann
The Circular Staircase. Mary Roberts Rinehart
Cranford. Elizabeth Gaskell
Death of a Hollow Man. Caroline Graham
The Debut. Anita Brookner
English Music. Peter Ackroyd
Flaubert's Parrot. Julian Barnes
The Forgery of Venus. Michael Gruber
The Geographer's Library. Jon Fasman
Heroic Measures. Jill Ciment
If on a winter's night a traveler. Italo Calvino
Inkheart. Cornelia Funke
The Inn at Lake Devine. Elinor Lipman
Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte
July and August. Nancy Clark
Lethal Legacy. Linda Fairstein
Liberty. Garrison Keillor
Loop Group. Larry McMurtry
Los Alamos. Joseph Kanon
The Mists of Avalon. Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Moonstone. Wilkie Collins
The Pale Horse. Agatha Christie
Providence. Anita Brookner
The Saint Bids Diamonds. Leslie Charteris
The Secret Adversary. Agatha Christie
The Sign of the Book. John Dunning
Silver on the Tree. Susan Cooper
Three Junes. Julia Glass
Travels with My Aunt. Graham Greene
The Warden. Anthony Trollope
The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag. Alan Bradley

POSSIBLE CHOICES (non-fiction):

Books: A Memoir. Larry McMurtry
A Gentle Madness. Nicholas A. Basbanes
In Cold Blood. Truman Capote
Just Kids. Patti Smith
Manhattan '45. Jan Morris
The Pattern in the Carpet. Margaret Drabble
The Year of Magical Thinking. Joan Didion

Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2012

Hosted by: Yvonne (Socrates' Book Reviews)
Dates: 1 January - 31 December, 2012

Guidelines (quoted from the announcement/sign-up page):

• All books that are part of a continuing series qualify
• It doesn't matter if you have 1 or 10 books in a series to complete it, it qualifies....The goal is to complete a series from wherever you are up to until the last published book.
• The qualification period is January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. Books must be read during this time frame to count.
• Any format of book counts - audio, ebook, etc.
• You should choose the series you want to finish before the challenge begins, but it isn't necessary. It's fine to change series during the year - as long as you complete whichever series it is.

There are three levels to choose from:

• Level 1 - Complete 1 series.
• Level 2 - Complete 2 series.
• Level 3 - Complete 3 or more series.

✸ I'm signing up at Level 1, and I'll be trying to finish up the Mrs. Malory mystery series by Hazel Holt (three books left to read).

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

MY READING LIST:

1. Mrs. Malory and No Cure for Death. Hazel Holt
2. 
   

1st in a Series Challenge 2012

Hosted by: Katy (A Few More Pages)
Dates: 1 January through 31 December, 2012

Guidelines (quoted from the announcement/sign-up page):

• Anyone can join. You don’t need a blog to participate.
• You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you. Any genre counts. Any book format counts.
• A post will be created here where you can link-up your reviews and visit the reviews of other participants.

There are four levels for this challenge:

1. Series Novice: Read 3 books that are the first in any series.
2. Series Lover: Read 6 books that are the first in any series.
3. Series Expert: Read 12 books that are the first in any series.
4. Series Fanatic: Read 20 books that are the first in any series.

✸ I'm signing up at the "Series Novice" level, and will be reading 3 books.

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

MY READING LIST (books read, with links to reviews):

1. A Man Lay Dead. Ngaio Marsh (Inspector Alleyn series)
2. The Warden. Anthony Trollope (Chronicles of Barsetshire)
3. 
   

POSSIBLE CHOICES:

The Big Sleep. Raymond Chandler (first Philip Marlowe novel)
Fer-de-Lance. Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe)
Last Bus to Woodstock. Colin Dexter (Inspector Morse series)
A Man Lay Dead. Ngaio Marsh (Inspector Alleyn series)
Relic. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Pendergast series)
The Warden. Anthony Trollope (Chronicles of Barsetshire)

Reading Challenge Addict Challenge 2011

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2011
Hosts: Cheryl @ CMash Loves to Read, Gina @ Hott Books

Guidelines (quoted from the challenge announcement page):

• Write a starting post joining the challenge and outlining your challenges.
• Track all of your challenge accomplishments - good & bad.
• Stop by to join Gina and Cheryl in the mini-challenges, updates & extra giveaways throughout the year.

Levels of participation:

1. Easy as Pie: 1-5 Challenges (Entered & Completed)
2. On the Roof: 6-10 Challenges (Entered & Completed)
3. In Flight: 11-15 Challenges (Entered & Completed)
4. Out of This World: 16+ Challenges (Entered & Completed)

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

My 2011 Challenges:

1st in a Series Challenge 2011
2nds Challenge 2011
Alex Cross Reading Challenge (2011)
ARC Reading Challenge 2011
Aussie Authors Challenge 2011
Awesome Author Challenge 2011
Banned Books Project (ongoing)
Battle of the Prizes 2011: British Version
Book Awards Challenge V (2011)
Books of the Century (Perpetual) Challenge
Cruisin' thru the Cozies Challenge 2011
Fall Into Reading 2011
Historical Fiction Challenge 2011
Mystery & Suspense Challenge 2011
New Authors Challenge 2011
Off the Shelf Challenge 2011
Once Upon a Time V Challenge (2011)
Pub Challenge 2011
Reading the 90s Personal Challenge
RIP/VI Challenge (2011)
TBR Lite Challenge 2011
Themed Reading Challenge 2011
Vintage Mystery Challenge 2011
What's in a Name 4 Challenge (2011)
P.G. Wodehouse Challenge (2011-2013)