Fall into Reading 2013

Better late than never!  I completely forgot about this challenge and am excited to find it again.  Here are the details from The Musings of a Book Addict:

The Basics:

This is a low key reading challenge anyone can join.  It runs fromSeptember 22nd - December 21st.

Here is what you need to do to participate:

Create a list of books you would like to read this fall. This is the only requirement for participating in the challenge.  You may also wish to set some other goals (reading to your kids a certain number of hours per day or week. Maybe you have a separate stack of books listed to read to your kids or grandkids. This is not required and is completely optional.

·         Write a blog post that includes the list of books you want to read, plus any goals you may have set, and get ready to post it on your blog on September 22nd.

·         Visit The Musings of a Book Addict on September 22nd to sign up for the challenge. I’ll have an official launch post up that morning, complete with an area for you to submit a link to your personal Fall Into Reading  post, where it will be added to the master list of participants.

    If you don’t have a blog but wish to participate in Fall Into Reading 2013, you can. On September 22nd, leave a comment on the official Fall Into Reading launch post with the list of books you’d like to read/or finish this fall.  I’ll add you.  Please join us for this fun time of reading.

·         In December write another blog post to let everyone know how you did. (I’ll post an official wrap-up to the challenge on December 22nd, where you’ll be able to share your results.)

·         Finally, have fun.  Check in with the other participants to see what they are reading and get book ideas to add to your ever growing book list.  Write reviews if you want, but it is not required.

Last year I had a goal of 50 books and just made it, right at the deadline.  This year I won't have as much time to read because of the baby.  But I still want to participate.  The idea is to finish some of the reading challenges I have left over for 2013.  Overall, I am shooting for 35 books.  Here's the breakdown:

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zisak -- in progress
2. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (SubGenre; Dusty Bookshelf) 
3. The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman (Nerdy Nonfiction)
4. The Road by Cormac McCarthy (Dystopian; Monthly Key Word)
5. 1984 by George Orwell (Dystopian)
6. The Children of Men by P.D. James (Dystopian)
7. Witches 101 by Melissa de la Cruz (Witches and Witchcraft; Monthly Key Word)
8. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry (Witches and Witchcraft)
9. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (Classics)
10. Gulliver's Travel's by Jonathan Swift (Classics; Dusty Bookshelf)
11. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (Classics; Blogger Recommendations)
12. The Billionaire Wins the Game by Melody Anne (Romance; Monthly Key Word)
13. Her Ladyships Companion by Evangeline Collins (Romance)
14. The Sandman Vol. 11 (Neil Gaiman; Seriously Series)
15. The Sandman Vol. 12 (Neil Gaiman; Seriously Series)
16. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (Neil Gaiman; Blogger Recommendations)
17. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (Neil Gaiman)
18. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (Steampunk)
19. Tanglefoot by Cherie Priest (Steampunk)
20. Cape Storm by Rachel Caine (Seriously Series)
21. Total Eclipse by Rachel Caine (Seriously Series)
22. New Adult Book TBD (Eclectic)
23. Fairy Tale Book TBD (Telling Tales)
24. Fairy Tale Book TBD (Telling Tales)
25. Graphic Novel TBD (GN)
26. Zombie Book TBD (Zombies)
27. Zombie Book TBD (Zombies)
28. Jane Austen Book TBD (JA)
29. Jane Austen Book TBD (JA)
30. Jane Austen Book TBD (JA)
31. Jane Austen Book TBD (JA)
32. Jane Austen Book TBD (JA)
33. Nonfiction TBD (Nerdy Nonfiction)
34. Nonfiction TBD (Nerdy Nonfiction)
35. Nonfiction TBD (Nerdy Nonfiction)

2013 Reading Challenges Update #3

I thought it would be a good idea to do a periodic checkup on my reading challenges.  A way of reminding myself of my successes and failures.  So here goes…

Total Challenges: 5/34   14.7%

Total Spots: 553/771  71.7%

Individual Challenge Progress:

• Goodreads  115/175  65%
• The Four Month Challenge Part 11 19/20    95%
• The Four Month Challenge Part 12  15/20   75%
• Sub Genre   14/15   93.3%
• Nerdy Nonfiction   8/15   53.3%
• Genre   18/18  100%
• Paranormal    7/12  58.3%
• Dystopia    3/6  50%
• Witches   2/5  40%
• Telling Tales   3/5  60%
• Historical Fiction  0/5  0%
• Back for the Classics   5/11  45.5%
• Romance  3/5  60%
• Neil Gaiman  10/15  66.7%
• Jane Austen  4/10  40%
• YA/MG Fantasy  2/5  40%
• Graphic Novel  19/20  95%
• Steampunk  2/5  40%
• Zombies  4/6  66.7%
• New Author   25/25  100%
• What's in a Name   6/6  100%
• Monthly Key Word   8/12  66.7%
• Women Authors  25/25   100%
• Ebooks  18/25   72%
• Mount TBR  32/60  53.3%
• TBR Pile  29/30  96.7%
• Library  24/24  100%
• Seriously Series  5/9   55.6%
• Dusty Bookshelf  9/15  60%
• Books to Movies  17/20   85%
• Eclectic  10/12  80%
• Blogger Recommendation  7/10  70%
• 52 Books in 52 Weeks   36/52  69.2%
• Book Bingo   49/73  67.1%

*Successes: I've knocked out five reading challenges so far: Library, New Authors, What's in a Name, Genre, and Women Authors.  But to be fair, they were the easy ones.  I'm hoping to knock out many more in the next month or so.  And I'm on track to hit my 75% of spots goal.

**Failures (Needs Improvement): Some of my very specific genre challenges are suffering right now (Telling Tales, Witches, and especially Historical Fiction).  I feel like these will be my leftovers at the end of the year, but I'm going to keep trying.

The Fantasy Project -- Wheel of Fortune Sept/Oct

From Michelle: How does everyone feel about doing a Wheel of Fortune spin for September/October? The premise is to choose 15 books from your list and then on September 1st, I will randomly choose a number between 1-15. Whichever number that comes up will be the book you read in September/October.

Here are my choices for the spin...  Can't wait to dive in and start reading.

1. Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
2. Neil Gaiman – American Gods
3. Neil Gaiman – Anansi Boys
4. Gail Carson Levine – Ella Enchanted (Enchanted #1)
5. Gregory Maguire – Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
6. George RR Martin — A Feast for Crows (Song of Fire and Ice #4)
7. Cormac McCarthy – The Road
8. Karen Marie Moning — Darkfever (MacKayla Lane #1)
9. Karen Marie Moning — Bloodfever (MacKayla Lane #2)
10. Karen Marie Moning — Faefever (MacKayla Lane #3)
11. Maria Snyder — Poison Study (Study #1)
12. Maria Snyder — Magic Study (Study #2)
13. Maria Snyder — Fire Study (Study #3)
14. Jonathan Swift  – Gulliver’s Travels
15. Gregory Maguire — Wicked

The random number generator picked #1!  Very excited!  Pulling The Graveyard Book to read this month...

The Fantasy Project Challenge

From Michelle: How does everyone feel about doing a Wheel of Fortune spin for September/October? The premise is to choose 15 books from your list (see more in depth details in the sign-up post HERE) and then on September 1st, I will randomly choose a number between 1-15. Whichever number that comes up will be the book you read in September/October.

Here are my choices for the spin...  Can't wait to dive in and start reading.

1. Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
2. Neil Gaiman – American Gods
3. Neil Gaiman – Anansi Boys
4. Gail Carson Levine – Ella Enchanted (Enchanted #1)
5. Gregory Maguire – Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
6. George RR Martin — A Feast for Crows (Song of Fire and Ice #4)
7. Cormac McCarthy – The Road
8. Karen Marie Moning — Darkfever (MacKayla Lane #1)
9. Karen Marie Moning — Bloodfever (MacKayla Lane #2)
10. Karen Marie Moning — Faefever (MacKayla Lane #3)
11. Maria Snyder — Poison Study (Study #1)
12. Maria Snyder — Magic Study (Study #2)
13. Maria Snyder — Fire Study (Study #3)
14. Jonathan Swift  – Gulliver’s Travels
15. Gregory Maguire — Wicked

A NonFiction Adventure Reading Challenge

When I found The Fantasy Project, I also realized that Michelle had created a nonfiction challenge.  How did I not know about these?  I lover her seasonal readathons and general book choices.  I need to jump on this challenge also... I'm setting a goal of 100 books in 5 years, so my end date is August 2018.  I think I can manage that, and I just might go over.  I really want to read the nonfiction in my own stacks and branch out to those must reads I keep seeing.  See my list below the challenge details:

Here are the guidelines:

• choose 50+ non-fiction books; the number is up to you.  Choose 50, 75, 100, 200.  It's entirely your choice
• Books must be non-fiction--biography, autobiography, history, memoir, cooking, travel, science, etc.
• list them at your blog (or on Goodreads or another social media site, if you do not have a blog)
• choose your completion goal date five years in the future and make note of it with your list of titles (like this:  reading goal--50 books  goal dates--March 20, 2012 - March 20, 2017)
• come back here and post the link to your list in the linky below
• write a review (or a short summary) on the book when finished and link it to the title in your list (or link to your review on Goodreads, again, if you don't have a blog)
• there will be pages posted at the top of the blog for you to link your reviews
• when you have completed the challenge, come add your link to the Completed Challenges page
• there will be a blog roll in the sidebar where I will list you/your blog linked to your lists
• grab the button in the right sidebar and link it back to this blog
• check out this PAGE which contains links to various online sources with lists of reading ideas
• I might host a read-a-long from time to time.  If you are hosting one, or an event or challenge surrounding a non-fiction title, post about it at this PAGE
• this challenge can be crossed over with any other challenges
• your link in the linky below mustlead to your list, not just your main blog address.  Any links that are blog links only will be deleted

Updates: *I was asked if the list has to be made in advance.  The idea is to work toward reading non-fiction that you've been wanting to read so the list is mandatory. However, the list does not have to be set in stone. You can change out titles as the mood suits you.

My List:

The first 24 are taken directly from my Goodreads TBR shelf.  And the first 53 are those that I currently own.  The rest are suggestions and those I've been wanting to read. Notice the huge trend of history and women's studies volumes.  Can you guess what my college majors were?

1. Tales from the Boom Boom Room by Susan Antilla
2. A History of God by Karen Armstrong
3. The Battle for God by Karen Armstrong
4. The Great Transformation by Karen Armstrong
5. Alexander Hamilton by Richard Brookhiser
6. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
7. Living History by Hilary Rodham Clinton
8. What Ifs? of American History by Robert Cowley
9. Collapse by Jared Diamond
10. Where the Girls Are by Susan Douglas
11. Born for Liberty by Sara Evans
12. Longitudes and Attitudes by Thomas Friedman
13. The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman
14. The Confessions of St. Augustine
15. The Private World of Georgette Heyer by Joan Aiken Hodge
16. 13 by Nathaniel Lackenmeyer
17. 1776 by David McCullough
18. Founding Myths by Ray Raphael
19. A Great Improvisation by Stacy Schiff
20. The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto
21. When God was a Woman by Merlin Stone
22. Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
23. One Woman, One Vote by Marjorie Wheeler
24. A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonescraft
25. The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
26. The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins
27. Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain
28. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
29. Bait and Switch by Barbara Ehrenreich
30. You Did What by Bill Fawcett
31. No Turning Back by Estelle Freedman
32. Bachelor Girl by Betty Israel
33. Ladies and Not So Gentle Women by Alfred Allan Lewis
34. Origin of Satan by Elaine Pagels
35. Becoming Mona Lisa by Donald Sassoon
36. A History of the Wife by Marilyn Yalom
37. What They Didn't Teach You About the Civil War by Mike Wright
38. The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
39. Common Sense by Thomas Paine
40. Spinning Straw into Gold by Joan Gould
41. John Adams by James Grant
42. Frida by Hayden Herrera
43. Histories by Herodotus
44. Witchcraze by Anne Llewellyn Barstow
45. Democracy by Alexis de Tocqueville
46. Jesus and the Lost Goddess by Timothy Freke
47. Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
48. Devil in the Shape of a Woman by Carol Karlsen
49. College Girls by Lynn Peril
50. Boundaries of Her Body by Deborah Rowland
51. Warrior Women by Jeanine Davis
52. Five Sisters by James Fox
53. The Words We Live By by Linda Monk
54. Catherine the Great by Robert Massie
55. Thunderstruck by Erik Larson
56. Royal Panoply: Brief Lives of the English Monarchs by Carolly Erickson
57. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
58. The Joy of Books by Eric Burns
59. The Golden Bough by James George Frazer
60. On Writing by Stephen King
61. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
62. The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
63. The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
64. The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
65. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson
66. Washington by Ron Chernow
67. American Lion by Jon Meacham
68. Woodrow Wilson by John Milton Cooper
69. The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan
70. Traitor to His Class by H.W. Brands
71. Truman by David McCullough
72. Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt
73. The Shallows by Nicholas Carr
74. In the Footsteps of Alexander by Michael Wood
75. The Map that Changed the World by Simon Winchester
76. She-Wolves by Helen Castor
77. The Vanished Library by Luciano Canfora
78. (the rest is TBD)

The Fantasy Project: 101 Books in 10 Years

The list was compiled by Bella (formerly of A Bibliophile's Bookshelf), who currently blogs at A Prairie Girl Reads, and Jo (Ink & Paper) when they held a mammoth poll in 2009 inviting readers to nominate their favorite fantasy books. The list is compiled of all the books nominated and voted for (813 total) in order by number of votes. The challenge started out with a year long format and then I changed it to a perpetual challenge. In both instances, books could be read from the top 101 or the entire list of 813.

Below are the guidelines for this revamped challenge. I hope you will join me!

The guidelines for The Fantasy Project

• Read 101 fantasy books from the list of 101, or the entire list of 813, in 10 years (access the lists at the top of the blog).
• choose 101 fantasy books from the list (due to the large amount of urban/paranormal fantasy titles on the list, I have made thisexception--26 titles can be titles that are not on the list, i.e. newer releases that came out after the list was compiled, more books of a high fantasy nature, etc.) To break it down...75 titles from the list and 26 that are not on the list = 101 books total.
• you can read other books in a series in which the first book, or other books in the series, appears on the list, to complete the challenge
• post your list on your blog
• choose your completion goal date ten years in the future and make note of it with your list of titles (like this:  reading goal--101 books  goal dates--August 20, 2013 - August 20, 2023)
• come back here and post the link to your list in the linky below
• write a review on the book when finished and link it to the title in your list 
• there are pages at the top of the blog that link to spreadsheets where you can list/link up your reviews
• there is a members list page, where I will list your name, blog, goal date, and link to your list
• there is a "introduce yourself" page for members
• when you have completed the challenge, come add your link to the Completed Challenges page
• If you happen to host a read-a-long, or an event or challenge surrounding one of the titles on your list, post about it at this PAGE
• I will try to have periodic group check-ins too
• grab the button from sidebar

A few more important details

• this challenge can be crossed over with any other challenges
• your link in the linky below must lead to your list, not just your main blog address. Any links that are blog links only will be deleted
• the list must be made in advance. The idea is to work toward reading fantasy you may have been otherwise neglecting and/or the fantasy titles/authors you love. However, the list does not have to be set in stone. You can change out titles as the mood suits you.
• every 2 - 3 months we will have what we'll call the Wheel of Fortune (borrowing from The Classics Club classics spin idea) where you make a list of 15 books from your list (i.e. 5 you're dreading, 5 you can't wait for, 5 favorites or rereads--yes, rereads are okay OR 5 urban fantasy, 5 high fantasy, 5 by the same author...the list is pretty much up to you). On a predetermined date, I will randomly draw (random.org) a number from 1 - 15 and the number that's chosen will be the book you read from your list of fifteen.
• our Twitter hashtag is #101FantasyProject
• Addendum:  If you finish the 101 books before the ten years is up, come back and make another list and reset your ten year time limit!

If you have any questions or comments, please leave me a comment below, or email me at truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom

I found this the other day.  How did I not know about this?  Anyway, I have wanted to read some many books on the list of 813 that I had to sign up.  In fact, I decided that I want to read mostly new to me books.  I wanted to concentrate on getting to those books that I've been putting off.  My goal is August 2023 for the 101 books listed, but I'm hoping I can read these in 5 years.  I think I'll be making smaller timeline goals as the years progress.

My List:

New Reads:

1. Arabian Nights
2. Kelley Armstrong -- Bitten (Women of the Otherworld #1)
3. Kelley Armstrong -- The Summoning (Darkest Powers #1)
4. JM Barrie – Peter Pan
5. Anne Bishop -- Daughter of the Blood (Black Jewels #1)
6. Anne Bishop -- Heir to the Shadows (Black Jewels #2)
7. Anne Bishop -- Queen of the Darkness (Black Jewels #3)
8. Anne Bishop -- The Invisible Ring (Black Jewels #4)
9. Marion Zimmer Bradley -- The Mists of Aalon (Mists of Avalon #1)
10. Edgar Rice Burroughs – Tarzan
11. Edgar Rice Burroughs -- John Carter
12. Rachel Caine -- Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires #1)
13. Kristin Cashore -- Graceling (Seven Kingdoms #1)
14. Cassandra Clare -- City of Bones (Mortal Instruments #1)
15. Susanna Clarke --Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
16. Paulo Coelho – The Alchemist
17. Eoin Colfer – Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl #1)
18. Suzanne Collins – Gregor the Overlander (Underland Chronicles #1)
19. Michael Ende – The Neverending Story
20. Antoine de Saint Exupery – The Little Prince
21. Jeaniene Frost -- Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress #1)
22. Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
23. Neil Gaiman – American Gods
24. Neil Gaiman – Anansi Boys
25. Robert Jordan – The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time #1)
26. Annette Curtis-Klause – Blood and Chocolate
27. Ursula Le Guin – A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea #1)
28. Gail Carson Levine – Ella Enchanted (Enchanted #1)
29. Gregory Maguire – Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
30. Juliet Marillier  – Daughter of the Forest (Sevenwaters #1)
31. Juliet Marillier – The Dark Mirror (Bridei Chronicles #1)
32. Melissa Marr -- Wicked Lovely (Wicked Lovely #1)
33. George RR Martin -- A Feast for Crows (Song of Fire and Ice #4)
34. Anne McCaffrey – Dragonflight (Dragonriders of Pern #1)
35. Anne McCaffrey – Dragonsong (Harper Hall #1)
36. Anne McCaffrey – Acorna: The Unicorn Girl (Acorna #1)
37. Cormac McCarthy – The Road
38. Patrica A McKillip – Riddle-Master of Hed (Quest of the Riddle Master #1)
39. Patrica A McKillip – Ombria in Shadow
40. Patricia A McKillip – The Changeling Sea
41. Robin McKinley -- The Blue Sword (Damar #1)
42. Richelle Mead – Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid #1)
43. Richelle Mead – Storm Born (Dark Swan #1)
44. Karen Marie Moning -- Darkfever (MacKayla Lane #1)
45. Karen Marie Moning -- Bloodfever (MacKayla Lane #2)
46. Karen Marie Moning -- Faefever (MacKayla Lane #3)
47. Karen Marie Moning – Dreamfever (MacKayla Lane #4)
48. Karen Marie Moning – Beyond the Highland Mist (Highlander #1)
49. Karen Marie Moning -- To Tame the Highland Warrior (Highlander #2)
50. Karen Marie Moning -- The Highlander's Touch (Highlander #3)
51. Karen Marie Moning -- Kiss of the Highlander (Highlander #4)
52. Karen Marie Moning -- The Dark Highlander (Highlander #5)
53. Karen Marie Moning -- The Immortal Highlander (Highlander #6)
54. Karen Marie Moning -- Spell of the Highlander (Highlander #7)
55. Audrey Niffenegger – The Time Traveler’s Wife
56. Garth Nix– Sabriel (Old Kingdom #1)
57. Aprilynne Pike – Wings (Laurel #1)
58. Terry Pratchett – The Color of Magic (Discworld #1)
59. Terry Pratchett -- Mort (Discworld #4)
60. Terry Pratchett -- The Wyrd Sisters (Discworld #6)
61. Terry Pratchett -- Guards! Guards! (Discworld #8)
62. Terry Pratchett -- Small Gods (Discworld #13)
63. Terry Pratchett -- Soul Music (Discworld #16)
64. Terry Pratchett -- The Truth (Discworld #25)
65. Terry Pratchett -- The Last Hero (Discworld #27)
66. Terry Pratchett -- Night Watch (Discworld #29)
67. Terry Pratchett -- The Wee Free Men (Discworld #30)
68. Terry Pratchett -- Nation
69. Patrick Rothfuss  – The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicle #1)
70. Brandon Sanderson – Mistborn
71. Michael Scott – The Alchemyst (Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1)
72. Lisa See – Peony in Love
73. Diane Setterfield – The Thirteenth Tale
74. Maria Snyder -- Poison Study (Study #1)
75. Maria Snyder -- Magic Study (Study #2)
76. Maria Snyder -- Fire Study (Study #3)
77. Maggie Stiefvater – Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception (Books of Faerie #1)
78. Jonathan Swift  – Gulliver’s Travels
79. Rachel Vincent– My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers #1)
80. Rachel Vinent– My Soul to Lose (Soul Screamers #2)
81. Kurt Vonnegut – Slaughterhouse-Five
82. JR Ward -- Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood #1)
83. Jaye Wells – Red-headed Stepchild (Sabina Kane #1)
84. Patricia Wrede – Mairelon the Magician (Mairelon #1)
85. Patricia Wrede – Snow White and Rose Red
86. Patricia Wrede – The Magician’s Ward (Mairelon #2)
87. Patricia Wrede – Thirteenth Child (Frontier Magic #1)
88. Diana Wynne Jones– Charmed Life (Chrestomanci #1)
89. Diana Wynne Jones– House of Many Ways (Howl's Castle #3)
90. Diana Wynne Jones – Castle in the Air (Howl's Castle #2)
91. Diana Wynne Jones – Fire & Hemlock

Rereads:

1. Diana Gabaldon -- Outlander
2. Homer -- The Odyssey
3. Diana Wynne Jones -- Howl's Moving Castle
4. CS Lewis -- Chronicles of Narnia
5. Gregory Maguire -- Wicked
6. JRR Tolkien -- The Hobbit
7. JRR Tolkien -- The Fellowship of the Ring
8. JRR Tolkien -- The Two Towers
9. JRR Tolkien -- The Return of the King
10. Jules Verne -- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

2013 Reading Challenges Update #2

I thought it would be a good idea to do a periodic checkup on my reading challenges.  A way of reminding myself of my successes and failures.  So here goes…

Total Challenges:   0/34  0%

Total Spots:    420/771  54.5%

Individual Challenge Progress:

• Goodreads  84/175    48%
• The Four Month Challenge Part 11    19/20    95%
• The Four Month Challenge Part 12    10/20  50%
• Sub Genre    13/15  86.7%
• Nerdy Nonfiction   6/15  40%
• Genre   13/18  72.2%
• Paranormal    5/12  41.7%
• Dystopia    2/6  33.3%
• Witches   2/5  40%
• Telling Tales   2/5  40%
• Historical Fiction  0/5 0%
• Back for the Classics   4/11  36.3%
• Romance  2/5  40%
• Neil Gaiman  4/15  26.7%
• Jane Austen  3/10  30%
• YA/MG Fantasy  1/5  20%
• Graphic Novel  17/20  85%
• Steampunk  2/5  40%
• Zombies  1/6 16.7
• New Author   22/25  88%
• What's in a Name   4/6  66.7%
• Monthly Key Word   6/12  50%
• Women Authors 21/25  84%
• Ebooks  13/25  52%
• Mount TBR  26/60  43.3%
• TBR Pile  16/30  53.3%
• Library  23/24  95.8%
• Seriously Series  3/9  33.3%
• Dusty Bookshelf  5/15  33.3%
• Books to Movies  14/20  70%
• Eclectic  8/12  66.7%
• Blogger Recommendation  6/10  60%
• 52 Books in 52 Weeks   26/52  50%
• Book Bingo   38/73  52.1%

*Successes:  Many of my genre challenges are moving along quit nicely.  I've almost knocked out my sub-genres and genres.  Very exciting!

**Failures (Needs Improvement): I failed the T4MC Part 11; missed it by one book.  I'm trying again for this go around.  I also need to work on historical fiction, classics, and the T4MC Part 12.  Overall, I need to get moving on my overall reading totals to compensate for the anticipation of slower reading after October.  Newborns really tend to cut into free time.

T4MC Part 12 -- Starting Line

I failed the last one (part 11) by one book!  I am determined to finish this one.  I've already got two finished in the first week of May. Woohoo!  Here's the list of challenges and my tentative TBR:

5 Point Challenges

Read the second book in a series -- The Impossible Cube by Steven Harper
Read a book with water on the cover --
Read a book with a colour in the title --
Read  a book set in the 1900′s --
Read a book whose author name begins with M (First or last) -- Lost by Gregory Maguire

10 Point Challenges

Read a book published during your birth year -- The Color Purple by Alice Walker R
ead a book with a door, lock or key on the cover --
Read a book with a flower/flowers on the cover --
Read a book with something ‘hot’ in the title (sun, fire, heat, etc) -- The Firebrand by Susan Wiggs
Read a book whose author name begins with J (first name only) -- Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

15 Point Challenges

Read a book currently on a bestseller list --
Read a book that shows a woman from behind -- The Hostage by Susan Wiggs
Read a book with a moon or stars on the cover --
Read a book with an adjective in the title --
Read a book whose author name begins with J (last name only) --

20 Point Challenges

Read any book in one weekend (Friday to Sunday) --
Read a book with a child on the cover --
Read a book with over 400 pages -- Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Read a book with an animal on the cover --
Read a book whose author name begins with A (first or last) -- Emma by Jane Austen

2013 Reading Challenges Update #1

I thought it would be a good idea to do a periodic checkup on my reading challenges.  A way of reminding myself of my successes and failures.  So here goes…

Total Challenges: 0/33  0%

Total Spots: 284/741  38.3%

Individual Challenge Progress:

• Goodreads  57/175  32.6%
• The Four Month Challenge Part 11  19/20  95%
• Sub Genre  11/15  73.3%*
• Nerdy Nonfiction   3/15  20%
• Genre   9/18  50%
• Paranormal  4/12  33.3%
• Dystopia    0/6  0%**
• Witches   2/5  40%
• Telling Tales   2/5  40%
• Historical Fiction  0/5  0%**
• Back for the Classics   1/6  16.7%
• Romance  1/5  20%
• Neil Gaiman  3/15   20%
• Jane Austen  2/10  20%
• YA/MG Fantasy  1/5  20%
• Graphic Novel  12/15  80%*
• Steampunk  1/5  20%
• Zombies  0/6  0%**
• New Author   17/25  68%*
• What's in a Name   4/6  66.7%*
• Monthly Key Word   3/12  25%
• Women Authors  14/25  56%*
• Ebooks  10/25  40%
• Mount TBR  20/60  33.3%
• TBR Pile  13/30  43.3%
• Library  12/24  50%*
• Seriously Series  2/9  22.2%
• Dusty Bookshelf  5/15 33.3%
• Books to Movies  7/20  35%
• Eclectic  7/12  58.3%*
• Blogger Recommendation  3/10  30%
• 52 Books in 52 Weeks   13/52  25%
• Book Bingo   26/73  35.6%

*Successes:  I've made huge progress in my challenges.  I just need to keep the momentum up for the rest of the year.

**Failures (Needs Improvement): Dystopia, Historical Fiction, and Zombies.  0 books read for any of these.  I see some in my future, so not too worried yet.

Fantasy and New Movies February

I have two month-long challenges to highlight today.  First up the book related one...

From The Book Cellar:

So I first had this idea last year in the summer, way past the only F month of the year, but it still had been rolling around in my head. And this year I really want to make it happen. So basically picture a month solid of fantasy: author interviews, book reviews, book features, giveaways, and anything else I can think of that is solely fantasy.  Fantasy February here I come :)

SO IT IS HAPPENING. February is going to be all fantasy all the time here on The Book Cellar and I am inviting you to join me!

So if you are a reader, come with your thoughts and what fantasy books you love.

If you are a blogger, post your own reviews and link back up so we can all explore the awesome fantasyness all month long.

Love, love, love this idea!  I am totally on board with this idea.  I have a ton of fantasy books just waiting to be read.  Would you like to join?  Hope on over to The Book Cellar to join in the fun.  Now, excuse me while I go and rearrange my TBR pile...

And now to the movie related one...

Back in September of 2011, I decided to watch one movie for each letter of the alphabet.  It was meant to be a month-long challenge, but it ended up bleeding into October.  This year, I don't want to do an A to Z movie challenge.  I decided to do just a New Movie a Day challenge.  I won't be going to the theater everyday.  We have a library, multiple Redboxes, the server, and Netflix all within reach to use.  I am going to watch a new-to-me movie everyday for the month of February.  Each movie will be highlighted with a short review.  Stay tuned...

2013 Book Blogger Recommendation Reading Challenge

From Reading with Tequila:

The Levels:Level I - Read 5 books from the 2012 Book Blogger Recommendation List Level II - Read 10 books Level III - Read 15 books Level IV - Read 20 books Level V - Read 20+ booksThe Rules:

Challenge will run January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013. Participants can join anytime throughout the challenge.Create an intro post, linking back to this post. Sign up with the Linky below. Please link to your challenge intro post, not your blog home page. Chose your own books from the list. You can decide to read books only on the Top 25 list or from the entire recommendation list. You do not have to make a list of books before the challenge begins.All forms of books acceptable (audiobooks, eBooks, etc.)Rereads do not count towards the completion of the challenge. The challenge is about discovering books that are new to you.You don't need a blog to participate.Reviews, while always appreciated, are not mandatory.

Complete List (already read are bolded):

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
3. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
4. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
5. Divergent by Veronica Roth
6. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
7. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
8. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
9. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
10. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
11. Partials by Dan Wells
12. Pawn of Prophecy, David Eddings
13. Persuasion by Jane Austen
14. Plague Town by Dana Fredsti
15. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
16. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
17. The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain
18. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
19. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
20. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
21. Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince by J.K.Rowling
22. Morrigan's Cross by Nora Roberts
23. Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
24. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
25. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
26. The Prestige by Christopher Priest
27. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
28. Allison Hewitt Is Trapped by Madeline Roux
29. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
30. Every Day by David Levithan
31. I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe
32. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
33. Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
34. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
35. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
36. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
37. The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan
38. 84 Charring Cross Road by Helene Hanff
39. A Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy
40. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
41. Dead, Undead, or Somewhere in Between by J.A. Saare
42. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
43. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
44. Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb
45. The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman
46. The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain
47. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
48. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
49. Crewel by Gennifer Albin
50. MWF seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche
51. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
52. The Night Is Large by Martin Gardner
53. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
54. The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
55. Under The Dome by Stephen King
56. Wolf of the Plains by Conn Iggulden
57. Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis & Tracey Hickman
58. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
59. Gone by Michael Grant
60. Perfume by Patrick Suskind
61. Sail by James Patterson
62. Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley
63. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
64. Soulless by Gail Carriger
65. The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
66. The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
67. Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer
68. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
69. Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
70. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
71. Explosive 18 by Janet Evanovich
72. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
73. North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell
74. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
75. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
76. Strong Poison by Dorthy L Sayers
77. The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer
78. The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks
79. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
80. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
81. Matched by Ally Condie
82. Poison Study, Maria V. Snyder
83. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
84. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
85. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
86. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer
87. The Snow Child be by Eowyn Ivey
88. This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers
89. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
90. Feed by Mira Grant
91. I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
92. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
93. Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder
94. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
95. The Lies We Told by Diane Chamberlain
96. The Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C Clarke
97. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
98. Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder
99. A Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
100. A Storm of Swords part 1 by George R.R. Martin
101. Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs (Time Was Soft There) by Jeremy Mercer
102. Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn
103. Julie & Julia by Julie Powell
104. Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
105. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

I'm signing up for Level II: 10 books.  Out of the 105 books on the list, I've already read 21.  Looking at the remaining books, I narrowed it even further to 31 possibilities.  I've italicized my must-reads.  The other options are up for grabs.

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
2. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
4. Divergent by Veronica Roth
5. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
6. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
7. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
8. Morrigan's Cross by Nora Roberts
9. Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
10. Every Day by David Levithan
11. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
12. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
13. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
14. MWF seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche
15. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
16. Under The Dome by Stephen King
17. Gone by Michael Grant
18. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
19. Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
20. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
21. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
22. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
23. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
24. Matched by Ally Condie
25. Poison Study, Maria V. Snyder
26. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer
27. This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers
28. Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder
29. Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder
30. A Storm of Swords part 1 by George R.R. Martin
31. Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

2013 Book Bingo Reading Challenge

From Kristilyn at Reading in Winter:

Of course, a challenge isn’t really a challenge unless there are some rules and guidelines:

1. Be awesome. If you’re not, this isn’t going to work.
2. The challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2013.
3. If you want to participate, you can join in any time of the year! Feel free to write up a blog post with the rules linking back to my and Anne’s blog in your sign-up post.
4. If you read one book for the “1 book” in any category, you can’t change it later on when you read another book to “2 books.” Once a square is crossed off, it’s crossed off for good! (Feel free to print off the scoreboard to keep track!)
5. Books read for one square are for that square ONLY and cannot be counted towards another category. This is all about reading ALL THE BOOKS.
6. The FREE SQUARE isn’t really a free square. In order to cross it off, you must read a book by either:
   1. Reading a book picked by another participant, or
   2. Reading a book in a genre picked by another participant.
   3. You can start your board over again, but ONLY if you receive the stamp of awesome by completing a blackout. The “winners” of the challenge will be the ones who achieve the most winning combinations by the end of 2013.
   4. You can feel free to post your reading list for each category, though it’s not a requirement.
   5. Having a blog or writing reviews for books read is not required. So long as you want to have fun, you can participate!
   6. This isn’t a race, but don’t be afraid to rub your reads in the other player’s face. This will be seen as encouragement. Feel free to use the hashtag #2013BookBingo on Twitter!

While you can definitely “win” by the boring ol’ vertical or horizontal (or diagonal!) lines, the best ways to win are as follows:

Like it says in the guidelines, the ONLY way to start a new board is to become the SUPER READER! The goal is to read ALL THE BOOKS! To be a winner (thus, to become the awesomest reader around), you’ll want to accomplish as many wins as possible!

UPDATE: I had a question about when we will post updates for the challenge, so I decided that every 3 months I will post an update here and all participants can link to their own updates. Tentatively, an update post will go up April 1st, July 1st, October 1st, and December 31st. 

Will you participate in this challenge? Do you have what it takes to become a super reader? 

Holy crap!  This looks like so much fun!  I am jumping on this challenge and am hoping to be a super reader and fill the entire board!

2013 52 Books in 52 Weeks Reading Challenge

From 52 Books in 52 Weeks:

Are you ready for another round of Reading 52 books in 52 Weeks? Whether you are just joining in or continuing on for another round, the rules are very simple. The goal is to read one book (at least) a week for 52 weeks. Make the year easy and casual or kick it up by exploring new to you authors and genres. Challenge yourself to read at least some classics or delve into that chunkster (more than 500 pages) you always wanted to tackle. The goal is to read 52 books. How you get there is up to you.

Since this is our 5th year, I challenge you to a 5/5/5 challenge. Read 5 books in 5 Categories and/or 5 Genres. I have several mini challenges to make it fun:

A to Z challenge: Read books alphabetically by title and/or author.

Canadian Mini Challenge - read non fiction or fiction authors

C.S. Lewis: Read the works of C.S. Lewis

Chunky Mini Challenge -books more than 500 pages

Dusty Mini challenge: Limit buying new books for 1 - 4 months and read 4 to 12 or more books gathering dust on your shelves prior to 2013.

Inspiration Reading Project - Faith based or the Classics.

Mind Voyages: Explore the Hugo and Nebula winners, take side trips through the different decades reading the nominees.

Well Educated Mind: Explore the classics in five categories: Fiction, Autobiography, History/Politics, Drama and Poetry.

The mini challenges and weekly challenges are optional, Mix it up anyway you like.

1. The challenge will run from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013.
2. Our book weeks begin on Sunday.
3. Participants may join at any time.
4. All books are acceptable except children books.
5. All forms of books are acceptable including e-books, audio books, etc.
6. Re-reads are acceptable as long as they are read after January 1, 2013.
7. Books may overlap other challenges.
8. Create an entry post linking to this blog.
9. Sign up with Mr. Linky in the "I'm participating post" below this post.
10. You don't need a blog to participate. Post your weekly book in the comments section of each weekly post.
11. Mr. Linky will be added to the bottom of the weekly post to link to reviews of your most current reads.

52 books in 52 weeks?  Easy peasy.  I don't have my TBR list, but I'm certain I can find a read for each week's period and possibly some theme reads.

2013 Zombie Reading Challenge

From Book Chick City:

SIGN-UP DETAILS

To sign up you MUST make a post on your blog about participating in the challenge. Please feel free to use the banner above, however, a link via the image back to this post, so others can join the challenge if they wish, would be much appreciated.

CHALLENGE DETAILS

• Timeline: 01 Jan 2013 – 31 Dec 2013
• Rules: There are FOUR (4) LEVELS to choose from

1.        One Chomp: Read 6 Zombie books in 2013
2.         Two Chomps: Read 12 Zombie books in 2013
3.         Three Chomps: Read 18 Zombie books in 2013
4.         Four Chomps: Read 24 Zombie books in 2013

• You don’t have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.
• You can join at anytime. All books read in 2013 count towards the challenge regardless of when you sign up.
• At the beginning of Jan 2013, you will find a link to specific month to add your reviews.
• Audiobooks are accepted.
• This challenge can crossover to other challenges.
• You DO NOT have to write reviews of the books you read, but if you decide to then there will be a place each month for you to link up your reviews.
• You don’t have to have a blog to join in – for those without a blog but who use Goodreads, Amazon, LibraryThing etc, you can add the URL to where you track your books. If you don’t have a URL at all then choose a name you would like to use and then copy and paste the following link: http://wp.me/p2wdqf-6ZV

Finally!  I do love me some zombies!  This year I am scaling back a bit and only going for One Chomp (6 books).  TBR list to come later...

2013 Eclectic Reader Challenge

The aim of The Eclectic Reader 2013 Challenge is to push you outside your comfort zone by reading up to 12 books during the year from 12 different categories.

Join in:

• The challenge will run from January 1st to December 31st 2013. Participants may join at any time up until December 1st 2013

• Create a blog post committing to  your participation in this challenge.

• Select, read and review a book from each genre listed below during the year for a total of 12 books. A book may be in print, electronic or audio format.

*  You can choose your books as you go or create a list in advance. You may combine this challenge with others if you wish.

*  Where a book is identified by more than one genre eg historical romance, it may only count for either the historical fiction or romantic fiction genres – not both.

*  You can read your chosen titles in any order, at any pace, just complete the challenge by December 21st 2013 to be eligible for the prize drawing.

Categories

1. Translated fiction
2. Historical mystery
3. Romantic suspense
4. Made into a movie
5. New Adult
6. Urban Fantasy
7. Dystopian
8. Memoir
9. LGBT
10. Action Adventure
11. Humour
12. Published in 2013

• Each time you read and review a book as part of this challenge, make sure you identify it by adding either a direct statement  and /or the challenge image badge to the post.

• Share your review with other challenge participants by posting your name/blog name and title of the book with a direct link to your review in the Linky.

All participants that complete the challenge by December 31st 2012 will be eligible to win a book of their choice to the value of $15AUD from bookdepository.com or a $10US Amazon gift card or paypal funds of  US$10 to be drawn via random.org Jan  2014.

My TBR List:

1. Translated fiction -- The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
2. Historical mystery -- The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
3. Romantic suspense -- TBD
4. Made into a movie -- P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern
5. New Adult -- Switched by Amanda Hocking
6. Urban Fantasy --Veil of Shadows by Jennifer Armintrout
7. Dystopian -- Crossed by Ally Condie
8. Memoir -- TBD
9. LGBT -- TBD
10. Action Adventure --TBD
11. Humour-- TBD
12. Published in 2013 -- TBD

2013 Book to Movie Reading Challenge

From Doing Dewey:

Alright folks! Today we have another exciting new first for Doing Dewey! I will be hosting my first ever reading challenge, the 2013 Book to Movie Challenge. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to review books and the movies which they’ve been made into. It’s a tough job, but someone has to let us book lovers know which movies are going to fulfill our dreams of watching our favorite books come to life and which movies are going to ruthlessly shatter those dreams!

You can change challenge levels at any time and the challenge levels are as follows:

Movie Fan - read 3 books and watch their movies Movie Devotee - read 6 books and watch their movies Movie Lover - read 9 books and watch their movies Movie Aficionado - read 12 books and watch their movies

Credit for the logo, to which I artistically added writing, goes to the Ozark Dale County Public Library.

I'm going for the Movie Afficionado Level of 12 books and movies.  I love comparing movies to the original texts.

My TBR List:

1. The Reader
2. Mansfield Park
3. A Game of Thrones
4. One Day
5. The Host
6. The Secret Garden
7. Emma
8. Never Let Me Go
9. Vanity Fair
10. TBD
11. TBD
12. TBD

2013 Dusty Bookshelf Reading Challenge

From Books a True Story:

Hi everyone! I’m really excited for next year’s Dusty Bookshelf Challenge.  I started this challenge to read those books that have been sitting on my shelf for a long time or books that I don’t own, but that I’ve been meaning to read for years.  It’s up to you what books qualify for this challenge.

Because of the awesome people in the Dusty Bookshelf Goodreads group, I have even more fun things to add to the challenge this year.  There will be a theme for every month to help you pick books from your list.  Last year we had themes like Page to Screen, Animals, Young Adult, and Jane Austen.  Since these themes were so much fun in the Goodreads group, I’m going to share the theme on my blog monthly as well.  The Goodreads group also has a challenge widget to keep track of your progress!

I’m also going to do mini-challenges every month.  Here’s the schedule of the mini-challenges next year:

• Jan. – Quote Game
• Feb. – Share your favorite cover
• Mar.  - Swag Swap
• April – Pick my Read
• May – Soundtrack your Book
• June – Read your Biggest Book
• July – eBooks
• Aug. – Clear your Shelves
• Sept. – Read your Dustiest Book
• Oct.-  Book Buying Ban Moral Support
• Nov. – Share your Fav. Holiday Books
• Dec. – Final Giveaway and Link-up

There will also be a few giveaways throughout the year!  The giveaways will be mostly for the review link-ups every three months.  The review link-ups are for you to link up the book reviews of books that you’ve read for the challenge.  The first review link-up will be in March.

You can participate in as many or as few themes and mini-challenges as you’d like.  They aren’t required – they’re just for fun and motivation.

~Pixie Dust – Read 0-5 books

~Dust Bunny – Read 5-10 books

~Cobwebs – Read 10-15 books

~Grungy – Read 20+ books

EXTRA CREDIT-Say how long that book has been sitting on your shelf!

I think it's time to get the dust off of my bookshelf, so I'm definitely joining this one.  I added the Goodreads group to my profile and will be updating there and here on my blog.  In order not to get too bogged down, I am going to sign up for the Cobwebs level of 10-15 books. Tentative TBR list:

• P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern
• Thomas Paine by Craig Nelson

2013 Seriously Series Reading Challenge

From On a Book Bender:

How serious about series are you? We'll find out in 2013.

In the summer of 2012, Amanda and I hosted an informal challenge that focused on completing books in series that we owned. It was enough of a success that we decided we wanted to turn it into a year-long challenge--with a few minor changes. To start with, we have expanded on our original challenge by including both ongoing series and adding new-to-us series, as well as an option for series rereads for those that are VERY serious about their series (or for those that just like to go back and reread old favorites).

Definitions

For this challenge, we define a series as a collection of two or more books that belong together and where the second book is published before the end of 2013. This is a pretty broad definition of series, and it includes traditional series like the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, less traditional series like Stephanie Perkins's YA contemps (Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door), and shorter series, like Kendare Blake's Anna series (Anna Dressed in Blood, Girl of Nightmares).

A series is considered complete in one of two ways: either as finishing all the books that you own in the series or as obtaining and reading all the books that have been published in the series to date. Because we don't want this challenge to become a financial burden, how you choose to define completion is left to your discretion.

How It Works

To allow for the greatest level of flexibility, we've separated series into three categories: series started before 2013, series started in 2013, and series rereads. Series started before 2013 are defined as series that you have started reading before Jan. 2013 and that you still have unread books to get current in (or finish) the series. Series started in 2013 are defined as any series that you start reading between Jan. and Dec. 2013, and the second book in the series must be published before December 2013. A series reread is defined as books that are part of a series that were read before Jan. 2013 and that are reread between Jan. 2013 and Dec. 2013. A series reread does NOT have to include the full series.

For each category, there are different levels of seriousness about series that you can choose. Semi-serious is reading 1 to 6 series, seriously serious is reading 7 to 12 series, super seriously serious is reading 13 to 18 series, and seriously spectacular series star is reading more than 18 series. What this ends up looking like is this:

series started before 2013series started in 2013series rereads

Semi-Serious1-6 series1-61-6

Seriously Serious7-127-127-12

Super Seriously Serious13-1813-1813-18

Seriously Spectacular Series Star18+18+18+

You choose which categories you want to attempt and which level to shoot for. Reading novellas and short storiesfrom a series does count here.

Goals and Progress

Want to sign up? Create a post or page about this challenge, what goals you would like to accomplish (mine is here, as an example), and then link up your post here at Reading the Paranormal. I will be hosting all of the linkies for this challenge. In addition to the sign up, every three months, we will post a check-in, where you can report your progress and reassess your original goals.

That schedule will look like the following:

• April 1st: January--March
• July 1st: April--June
• October 1st: July--September
• January 1st, 2014: October--December

I'm going for the semi-serious level of 1-6 series for series started in 2012  and seriously serious level of 7-12 for series started in 2013.  I try to keep my series in progress to a minimum at any given time.  Therefore, I don't have a ton of qualifying books, but there are few.  I imagine that I will be starting some more series during 2013.  Tentative TBR list:

Already started

• Neil Gaiman's Sandman series
• Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series
• Kendare Blake's Anna Dressed in Blood series

Starting

• Weather Wardens
• Locke and Key
• Victoria Gardella
• Matched
• Chicago Fire
• ???

2013 Library Reading Challenge

Hosted by Gina at Book Dragon's Lair

Our love of reading can be expensive! Not only are we purchasing books but we also need space to keep them. I've started using the library (again) but couldn't find a challenge to help me. Here it is. There are a number of levels, for those who don't have a library card yet to those that live there. Enjoy! Requirements:

• choose a level - you may move up as needed, just not down.
• check books out of the library
• books may overlap with other challenges
• any format allowed (print, ebook, audio)
• reviews are not necessary but a list of books read is.
• a blog is not necessary, just comment that you want to join in

Levels:

• board book - 3
• picture book - 6
• early reader - 9
• chapter book - 12
• middle grades - 18
• Young adult - 24
• adult - 36
• just insert IV - 50

I'm going to go for the Young Adult level of 24 books as I really want to read from my personal hoarde.  But I'm sure that I will be patronizing the library at some point in the year.

2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

From Fikshun:

Welcome to 2013 TBR PILE Reading Challenge!!!

6 BLOGGERS, 12 MINI-CHALLENGES, 24 BOOKS TO WIN!!!

We all have those books. We buy them, win them, they’re gifted to us. Then we put them up on a bookshelf and there they stay, collecting dust, waiting for the time when we’ll finally decide to pick them up.

Join us on a quest to dust off your TBR Pile and read all the books you’ve been telling yourself you’ll read next time you’ll get a chance. This is your chance! And we’ve got PRIZES!!!

Challenge Guidelines…

•  This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2013 – Dec 31, 2013***
• Anyone can enter! You don’t have to be a blogger, as long as you review the book you’ve read! (On your blog, Amazon, Goodreads or Shelfari!)
• Any genre, length or format of book counts, as long as it is a book that’s been sitting on your shelf for some time now. Only books released in 2012 or earlier! NO  2013 ARCs or 2013 fresh-off-the-press releases allowed!
• 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 suits you.
• When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post about joining the 2013 TBR PILE Reading Challenge.
• You can move up levels, but no moving down.
• Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2013, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
• On the 20th of each month one of the hosts will post a wrap-up. Every wrap-up will be a unique theme, and include a mini-challenge, a giveaway and place for you to link up your reviews from that month. For each review you link up, you will get one entry in a drawing of one book of your choice from The Book Depository. It’s open to INTERNATIONALS. The giveaway will be open until the next wrap up post goes up! (i.e., the entire year).
• If you miss a wrap-up post + giveaway, you can link up your reviews next month. Do not, however, try to link up one review twice - we will be checking.
• December is a wrap-up for the whole year. All the book reviews you linked up January-November + the ones you’ll link up in December will be entered into a HUGE giveaway for a box of books.

Levels…

• 1-10 – A Firm Handshake
• 11-20 – A Friendly Hug
• 21-30 – A Sweet Kiss
• 31-40 – Love At First Sight
• 41-50 – Married With Children

Wrap-up Post Schedule…

Jan. 20th: Evie @Bookish (www.evie-bookish.blogspot.com) Feb. 20th: Rachel @Fiktshun (www.fiktshun.com) Mar. 20th: Justin @Justin’s Book Blog (www.justinsbookblog.com) Apr. 20th: Tiffany @Escaping…One Book At A Time (escapingonebookatatime.blogspot.com) May 20th: Bonnie @Words At Home (www.wordsathome.ca) Jun. 20th: Justin @Justin’s Book Blog (www.justinsbookblog.com) Jul. 20th: Emily @Doodle’s Book Blog (doodlesbookblog.blogspot.com) Aug. 20th: Tiffany @Escaping…One Book At A Time (escapingonebookatatime.blogspot.com) Sept. 20th: Rachel @Fiktshun (www.fiktshun.com) Oct. 20th: Emily @Doodle’s Book Blog (doodlesbookblog.blogspot.com) Nov. 20th: Bonnie @Words At Home (www.wordsathome.ca) Dec. 20th: This one will be posted on all the blogs. There will also be a huge BOX OF BOOKS giveaway and this time you can link up ALL YOUR TBR Pile REVIEWS you wrote for the entire month!

I'm going with the A sweet kiss level of 30 books.

My TBR List:

1. Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
2. Child of Darkness by Jennifer Armintrout
3. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
4. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
5. Emma by Jane Austen
6. Matched by Ally Condie
7. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
8. The Passage by Justin Cronin
9. The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Flaming
10. Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
11. Veil of Shadows by Jennifer Armintrout
12. Queene of Light by Jennifer Armintrout
13. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
14. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
15. Crossed by Ally Condie
16. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
17. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
18. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
19. Whisper Cape by Regan Walsh 
20. Foreign Affair by Caro Peacock
21. Rococo by Adriana Trigiani
22. Switched by Amanda Hocking
23. Sundial in a Grave by Mary Gentle
24. Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir
25. Thomas Paine by Craig Nelson
26. Terror by Night by Ambrose Bierce
27. The Private World of Georgette Heyer by Jane Aiken Hodge
28. The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
29. Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir
30. The Host by Stephenie Meyer