2013 Pre-1960 Classic Children's Books Reading Challenge

**Challenge complete.  See my wrap-up post HERE.**

Hosted by: Kimberly @ Turning the Pages
Dates: 1 January - 31 December, 2013

The goal here is to read classic children's books: any number, but only participants who read/review at least one book per month will be eligible for the challenge giveaway.

Guidelines:

• All books must have an original publication date of 1960 or earlier.
• All formats are allowed
• Books must be at least 60 pages in length
• Re-reads are OK
• Reviews are only required to qualify for prizes
• There will be monthly "Challenge in Review" posts for links to reviews/progress reports

See my original post about the challenge HERE.
See my challenge wrap-up post HERE.
See the challenge announcement/sign-up page HERE.
See the page for January wrap-ups HERE.
See the page for February wrap-ups HERE.
See the page for March wrap-ups HERE. 
See the page for April wrap-ups HERE.
See the page for May wrap-ups HERE.



MY READING LIST (books I read):

1. The Happy Hollisters. Jerry West (1953)
2. Half Magic. Edward Eager (1954)
   
3. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. L. Frank Baum (1900)  
4. Pretty Polly Flinders. Mary Frances Blaisdell (1914)
5. The 13 Clocks. James Thurber (1950)

LIST OF POSSIBLE READS:

The 13 Clocks. James Thurber (1950)
Anne of Green Gables. L.M. Montgomery (1908)
Beezus and Ramona. Beverly Cleary (1955)
Black Fox of Lorne. Marguerite de Angeli (1957)
Five Children and It. E. Nesbit (1902)
Half Magic. Edward Eager (1954)
Hitty Her First Hundred Years. Rachel Field (1929)
The Hundred and One Dalmatians. Dodie Smith (1956)
Magic by the Lake. Edward Eager (1957)
Magic or Not? Edward Eager (1959)
Miss Hickory. Carolyn Sherwin Bailey (1946)
Mistress Masham's Repose. T.H. White (1946)
Stuart Little. E.B. White (1945)
Tom Sawyer, Detective. Mark Twain (1896)
The Well-Wishers. Edward Eager (1960)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. L. Frank Baum (1900)

2013 Mystery / Crime Reading Challenge

**Challenge complete.  See my wrap-up post HERE.**

Dates: 1 January - 31 December, 2013
Hosted by: Amy @ The Crafty Book Nerd (now @ A Bookish Girl)

Guidelines:

• No set number of books.  All novels, short stories, or authors qualify, just so long as the genre is mystery/crime.
• Anything over 100 pages counts as a novel; five short stories equal one novel.
• There will be a monthly link for reviews/progress reports.
• There will also be monthly prizes for participants who link up.
• You don't need a blog to participate: link up through GoodReads or Flickr.

At the end of the year, participants will receive a rank depending on the amount read:

• 5 books = Detective 
• 10 books = Sergeant 
• 15 books = Lieutenant 
• 20 books = Captain 
• 25 books = Chief 
• 30+ books = Sherlock Holmes

See my original post about the challenge HERE.
See the challenge announcement / sign-up page
See my challenge wrap-up post HERE.  
See the January page for linking reviews HERE.
See the February page for linking reviews HERE.

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

1. Cat on the Scent. Rita Mae Brown
2. The Lost Symbol. Dan Brown
3. Cold Remains. Sally Spedding
4. Guilt. Jonathan Kellerman
5. Fer-de-Lance. Rex Stout 
6. A Fearful Madness. Julius Falconer
7. Inferno. Dan Brown
8. Death By a HoneyBee. Abigail Keam
9. A Fatal Likeness. Lyn Shepherd
10. The Book of Secrets. Elizabeth Joy Arnold
11. Night Film. Marisha Pessl 
12. Double Indemnity. James M. Cain
13. Evil Under the Sun. Agatha Christie

2013 Middle East Reading Challenge

**Challenge complete. See my wrap-up post HERE.**

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2013
Hosted by: Maphead

Guidelines:
The goal here is to read as many books as you like, related to the Greater Middle East area (or MENA--Middle East/North Africa).  Books can be fiction or nonfiction, and there are four levels of participation:

1. Tourist (1-5 books)
2. Diplomat (5-10 books)
3. Foreign Policy Specialist (10-15 books)
4. Scholar (15 books or more)

Books can be written by Middle Eastern authors, take place in the Middle East, or be concerned with the Greater Middle East; and they can deal with either contemporary or historical Middle Eastern issues.

Regions (quoted from the challenge blog):
"Referred [to] by many nowadays as the "Greater Middle East" or "MENA" (Middle East/North Africa), our challenge will focus on the North African nations of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt; the Levantine nations of Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories; all the nations within, bordering or relatively close proximity to the Arabian Peninsula including Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and the Gulf Emirates.

• After a great deal of agonizing I've decided to not include Turkey. Nothing personal, it's just a judgement call. However, if you come across a book dealing with that nation's role in the Middle East by all means feel free to include it. Of course, since much of the Middle East was ruled by the Ottoman Empire until the end of WWI, books dealing with [that] period of history are cool too. 
•  I've also decided to not include the nations of the Horn of Africa or its neighbors Sudan and South Sudan. Yet another judgement call." 

 ~ I'm signing up at the "Tourist" level, so I'll be reading 1-5 books.

See my original post about the challenge HERE.
See my challenge wrap-up post HERE. 
See the challenge announcement / sign-up page HERE.
See the challenge blog HERE.
See the page for reviews HERE.

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

1. Clea. Lawrence Durrell

Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2013

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2013
Hosted by: Yvonne @ Socrates' Book Reviews

Guidelines:

• Books must be part of a continuing series to qualify. 
• Doesn't matter how many books you have left to read in the series -- the goal is to complete the series.
• Books must be read between January 1st and December 31st, 2013.
• You don't need a blog to participate.
• Any format of book counts -- audio, e-book, etc.
• You should have some idea of what series you want to complete when you begin the challenge, but you can change your mind during the course of the challenge.

Levels of Participation:

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

~ I'm signing up at Level 1, and I'll probably try to complete the Mrs. Malory mystery series, by Hazel Holt (I have two books to go). But I have quite a few other series I could work on (see my list HERE), if I get that one wrapped up.

~ See my original post about the challenge HERE.
~ See the challenge announcement / sign-up page HERE.

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

European Reading Challenge 2013

**Challenge complete. See my wrap-up post HERE.**

Dates: 1 January 2013 - 31 January 2014
Hosted by:  Rose City Reader

Guidelines:

• Read books by European authors; or books set in European countries, no matter where the author comes from.
• All genres are allowed.
• Each book read must be by a different author and set in a different country.
• For this challenge, "Europe" refers to the list of 50 sovereign states that mostly fall within the geographic territory of the continent of Europe (or those countries that belong to international European organizations such as the Council of Europe).  See the list of countries, below.
• All books must be read between January 1, 2013 and January 31, 2014.
• You don't need to commit to your choices now; you can change your mind about books at any time. 
• Overlap with other challenges is allowed -- and encouraged! 
• Re-reads count. 
• Audiobooks count. 
• E-books count. 
• Self-published books count. 
• You don't need a blog to participate. 
• As you progress, please link to your reviews on the review list page. However, reviews are not mandatory, unless you're going for a prize, in which case only books reviewed count. 

The List of Countries: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Vatican City.

Levels of Participation:

1. Five Star (Deluxe Entourage): Read at least five books by different European authors or books set in different European countries. 
2. Four Star (Honeymooner): Read four qualifying books. 
3. Three Star (Business Traveler): Read three qualifying books. 
4. Two Star (Adventurer): Read two qualifying books. 
5. One Star (Pensione Weekender): Read just one qualifying book. 

~ I'm signing up at the Five Star Level, so I'll be reading at least 5 books.

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

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

1. Cold Remains. Sally Spedding (Wales, UK)
2. Ignorance. Milan Kundera (mostly set in Czechoslovakia)
3. Inferno. Dan Brown (Italy)
4. Chéri. Colette (France)

Chunkster Reading Challenge 2013

***Challenge done (well, half of it anyway)***

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2013
Hosted by: Caribousmom and Vasilly

Guidelines:

• Books must be at least 450 pages to qualify as a "chunkster" (large print editions must be at least 525 pages)
• No audio books allowed (some exceptions)
• No e-books allowed (some exceptions)
• Books may be fiction or nonfiction
• Crossovers with other challenges are allowed
• You don't need a blog to participate
• No advance lists required
• Once you've picked your level, you're committed to it for the duration of the challenge

Levels:

1. The Chubby Chunkster – read 4 chunksters
2. The Plump Primer - read 6 books that qualify
3. Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? - read 6 chunksters from the following categories:
   2 books which are between 450 - 550 pages in length;
   2 books which are 551 - 750 pages in length;
   2 books which are GREATER than 750 pages in length
4. Mor-book-ly Obese - Read 8 or more chunksters of which three MUST be 750 pages or more

~ I'm signing up for Level 1 ("Chubby Chunkster"), so I'll be reading 4 books.

~ See my original post about the challenge HERE.
~ See my wrap-up post HERE. 
~ See the challenge sign-up page HERE.
~ See the challenge blog HERE.
~ See the link for reviews HERE.


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

1. The Lost Symbol. Dan Brown (509 pages in hardcover) 
2. Night Film. Marisha Pessl (602 pages in hardcover)

2013 Book Blogger Recommendation Reading Challenge

***NOTE: This challenge seems to have evaporated.
I can't find any working links, so I'm assuming this one is non-active.***

Dates: 1 January - 31 December 2013
Hosted by: Jennifer @ Reading with Tequila

Guidelines:

• Participants will choose their books from the list of recommended titles
• All formats are allowed
• Re-reads are not allowed
• You don't need a blog to participate, and reviews are not mandatory (although appreciated)

Levels:

1. Level I - Read 5 books from the 2012 Book Blogger Recommendation List 
2. Level II - Read 10 books 
3. Level III - Read 15 books 
4. Level IV - Read 20 books 
5. Level V - Read 20+ books 

~ I'm signing up at Level I, and will be reading 5 books from the list.

~ See my original post about the challenge HERE.
~ See the challenge announcement / sign-up page HERE.
~ See the list of recommended books HERE.

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

POSSIBLE READS:

11/22/63. Stephen King
Across the Universe. Beth Revis
The Alchemyst. Michael Scott
Anansi Boys. Neil Gaiman
The Bell Jar. Sylvia Plath 
The Book Thief. Markus Zusak
In Cold Blood. Truman Capote
Gone Girl. Gillian Flynn
The Night Circus. Erin Morgenstern
The Nine Billion Names of God. Arthur C. Clarke
North and South. Elizabeth Gaskell
The Prestige. Christopher Priest
Ready Player One. Ernest Cline
Rules of Civility. Amor Towles
The Secret History. Donna Tartt
The Shadowy Horses. Susanna Kearsley
Wide Sargasso Sea. Jean Rhys