2015 "Reading Through Time" Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

***I'm assuming this challenge is ended, as the host has abandoned her blog***

2015 "Reading Through Time" Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 

Hosted by: Amy Yingling @ A Bookish Girl

Dates: January 6 - December 31, 2015

Guidelines:

• Read any novel, short story or author just so that the genre is historical fiction.
• 1 novel counts as 1 novel (a novel is anything over 100 pages); 5 short stories count as 1 novel.
• Audio books and e-books also count.
• There will be a monthly post for you to add a link or links to your post showing the progress that you have made so far.
• There will be a book giveaway each month and for initially signing up.

Levels:

• 5 books = Anthony Doerr
• 10 books = Kate Morton
• 15 books = Sarah Waters
• 20 books = Linda Lafferty
• 25 books = Hilary Mantel
• 30 books = Philippa Gregory
• 35 books = Ken Follett
• 40+ books = Diana Gabaldon

✹ My Goal: "Anthony Doerr" (5 books)

● See my original post about the challenge HERE.
● See the announcement /sign-up page HERE.
● See the review pages: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

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

1. The Witch of Painted Sorrows. M.J. Rose (published 2015 / set in 19th Century France)
2. 
   

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2015

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2015

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

Hosted by: Amy Bruno @ Passages to the Past

Dates: January 1 - December 31, 2015

Guidelines:

• Choose your level.
• Read any sub-genre of historical fiction (Historical Romance, Historical Mystery, Historical Fantasy, Young Adult, etc.)
• You don't need a blog to participate.

Levels:

• 20th century Reader - 2 books
• Victorian Reader - 5 books
• Renaissance Reader - 10 books
• Medieval - 15 books
• Ancient History - 25 books
• Prehistoric - 50+ books

✹ My goal: "Victorian Reader" (5 books)

● See my original post about the challenge HERE. 

● See the announcement/sign-up page HERE.
● See the review link-up pages: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December .
● See my wrap-up post HERE.

MY READING LIST (Books I've read, with links to reviews):

1. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust (Flavia de Luce #7). Alan Bradley (published 2015 / set around 1950)
2. The Witch of Painted Sorrows. M.J. Rose (published 2015 / set in 19th Century France)
3. A Fine Summer's Day (Inspector Ian Rutledge #17). Charles Todd (published 2015 / set in 1914)
4. The Silence of Ghosts. Jonathan Aycliffe (first published 2013 / set during World War II)
5. The Angel Court Affair (Charlotte and Thomas Pitt #30). Anne Perry (published 2015 / set in Victorian England) 
6. Newport. Jill Morrow (published 2015 / set in 1921) 
7. The Quick. Lauren Owen (published 2014 / set in late 19th Century England) 
8. A Man of Some Repute. Elizabeth Edmondson (published 2015 / set in 1953) 

Vintage Mystery Bingo 2015

Hosted by: Bev @ My Reader's Block

Dates: January 1 - December 31, 2015

Guidelines (quoted from the announcement post):

• All books must be from the mystery category (crime fiction, detective fiction, espionage, etc.). The mystery/crime must be the primary feature of the book--ghost stories, paranormal, romance, humor, etc are all welcome as ingredients, but must not be the primary category under which these books would be labeled at the library or bookstore.
• Challengers may play either the Silver Age or Golden Age Card—or both. For the purposes of this challenge, the Golden Age Vintage Mysteries must have been first published before 1960. Golden Age short story collections (whether published pre-1960 or not) are permissible provided all of the stories included in the collection were originally written pre-1960. Please remember that some of our Golden Age Vintage authors wrote well after 1959--so keep an eye on the original publication date and apply them to the appropriate card. Silver Age Vintage Mysteries may be first published any time from 1960 to 1989 (inclusive). Again, Silver Age short story collections published later than 1989 are permissible as long as they include no stories first published later than 1989.
• Challenge runs from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015. Sign up any time between now and November 4, 2015. Any books read from January 1 on may count regardless of your sign-up date. If you decide to go for broke and try to score on both cards, you only need sign up once--pick a card, any card for your link. 
• Books can be used for other challenges.
• Reviews aren't required, but would be nice.
• One Free Space per card—you may use your Free Space to cover any spot on the board. The Free Space book must fulfill one of the categories from the card, but it may fulfill ANY space you like—even a category you have already fulfilled. For example…if you are having trouble finding a book to meet the “mode of transportation” category, but you really need that space to complete a BINGO then you may read a book that meets any other category on the board and use your Free Space to claim the “mode of transportation” space.
• No double-counting. A book may not count for both the original category (say, "Woman in the Title") and as the Free Space to replace "mode of transportation." A second "Woman in the Title" would need to be read to complete the Free Space and replace "mode of transportation."
• BINGOS may be claimed by completing all spaces in a row--horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. You may also claim a “Four Corner” BINGO by reading a book for each of the four corners plus two more spaces—any two. A valid BINGO must have six complete spaces.

✹ I'll be reading Golden Age mysteries and working on Gold Card bingos. 

● See my original post about the challenge HERE.
● See the challenge announcement/sign-up post HERE.
● See challenge headquarters HERE.

FOUR CORNER BINGO:

1. Color in the Title or Cover Color: The Red House Mystery, by A.A. Milne (first published 1922)
2. Method of Murder in Title: .
3. Eat, Drink and Be Merry: Champagne for One (Nero Wolfe #31), by Rex Stout (first published 1958)
4. Book with Professional Detective: The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett (first published 1930)
5. First Extra Square - Book featuring Lawyer, Courtroom, etc.: The Case of the Velvet Claws (Perry Mason #1), by Erle Stanley Gardner (first published 1933)
6. Second Extra Square - Book Set in US or England: Gently Does It (Chief Inspector George Gently #1), by Alan Hunter (first published 1955; set in England)

Possible for "Method of Murder":

• Behold, Here's Poison (Inspector Hannasyde #2). Georgette Heyer (1936) 
• The Canvas Dagger (Inspector McKee #26). Helen Reilly (1956) 
• The Case of the Drowning Duck (Perry Mason #20). Erle Stanley Gardner (1942) 
• Cold Poison (Hildegarde Withers #15). Stuart Palmer (1954) 
• The Drowning Pool (Lew Archer #2). Ross Macdonald (1950)
• Name Your Poison (Inspector McKee #14). Helen Reilly (1942)
• The Poisoned Chocolates Case (Roger Sheringham Cases #5). Anthony Berkeley (1929) 

The Reporter's Challenge 2015

Dates: January 1 - December 31, 2015
Hosted by: Ellie Oberth (Dead Herring)

This is a GoodReads Challenge.
Sign up for the challenge on GoodReads (In The Challenge Factory under 2015 yearly challenges)

Guidelines (quoted from Dead Herring's announcement page):

• For this challenge – Each book can only be used for 1 category (Ex: Agatha Christie’s Mousetrap – victim is strangled, the setting is in England and they are cut off from the world due to bad weather. But you can only place this story in 1 of the categories)
• You don’t have to choose your books in advance. If you do, you can change your list at any time during the year.
• Books can be in any format – paper, ebooks, audio…
• Crossovers with other challenges are fine.

Levels:

• Cub reporter: 5 books (1 from each category) 
• Columnist: 10 books (2 from each category) 
• News Anchor: 15 books (3 from each category) 
• Editor: 20 books (4 from each category) 
• Newspaper Mogul: 25 books 

✹ I'll be trying for Cub Reporter, to start. (I'm hoping to become a Columnist some day, but this might not be my year.)

LIST OF CATEGORIES 

WHO

1. Protagonist is a librarian: The Book of Speculation. Erika Swyler
2. Protagonist is a government agent 
3. Protagonist is a ghost 
4. Protagonist works with animals (vet, dog walker, zoo, etc) 
5. Protagonist is a crook 

WHAT

1. Holiday in the title 
2. Animal in the title: Let Sleeping Dogs Lie ("Sister" Jane #9). Rita Mae Brown
3. Weather in the title 
4. Poison in the title 
5. Title starts with the same letter as your last name 

WHERE

1. Set in England 
2. NOT set on land (cruise ship, boat, airplane, spaceship, etc) 
3. Set on an Island 
4. Set on foreign soil (not America or England) 
5. Historical novel: As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust (Flavia De Luce #7). Alan Bradley (The Flavia De Luce novels are set during and just after World War II.)

WHEN

1. One book set during any holiday 
2. One that centers around a convention or conference 
3. One Dark & Stormy night – bad weather plays big role in story 
4. One where the protagonist has to beat the clock (time is crucial to solving mystery)
5. One set during a vacation: Gently Does It (Inspector George Gently #1). Alan Hunter (Inspector Gently is on vacation when a local murder case catches his attention.)

HOW (Method of Murder)

1. Poison is murder weapon 
2. Knife/stabbing is murder weapon 
3. Gun/shooting is murder weapon: The Red House Mystery. A.A. Milne
4. Blunt object is murder weapon 
5. Rope/strangulation is murder weapon 

2015 Chunkster Challenge

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

Dates: January 1 - December 31, 2015
Hosted by: Vassily  

Guidelines:

• A chunkster is any book (adult or YA) with 450 or more pages.
• Both fiction and nonfiction are allowed.
• Audio books and e-books are allowed. Graphic novels are not.
• Essay, short story, and poetry collections are allowed but must be read in their entirety to count. 
• Books may crossover with other challenges. 
• Anyone can join. 
• You don’t have to list your books ahead of time. 
• There are no set levels; participants can determine their own level to aim for. 

✵ I'm setting myself a goal of two books for the challenge.

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


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

1. The Quick. Lauren Owen (544 pages)
2. 
   

POSSIBILITIES:

• The Book of the Dead. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (454 pages) 
• The Children's Book. A.S. Byatt (675 pages)  
• Crimson Shore. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (464 pages) 
• A Gentle Madness. Nicholas A. Basbanes (638 pages) 
• The Girl Who Played With Fire. Stieg Larsson (503 pages) 
• Inkheart. Cornelia Funke (500+ pages) 
• Jane Eyre. Charlotte Brontë (450+ pages)
  
• The Land of Painted Caves. Jean M. Auel (757 pages) 
  
• The Map of Time. Felix J. Palma (613 pages) 
• The Mists of Avalon. Marion Zimmer Bradley (over 800 pages) 
• The Peabody Sisters. Megan Marshall (602 pages) 
• The Secret History. Donna Tartt (522 pages) 
• The Secret Keeper. Kate Morton (496 pages)