Back to Classics Challenge

Hosted by Karen over at Books and Chocolate, the Back to the Classics Challenge really has me excited. Not only do I love challenges and classics, but I also love lists. :) Plus, I'm already part of a Classics Challenge, and I clearly need a kick in the pants to get going on reading more classics - which used to be the primary genre I read (before my brain went to mush).

As to the challenge itself: By reading and posting about a minimum of six classic books, one lucky winner will receive a $30 gift from Amazon.com or The Book Depository! If there is a category you don't like (or more than one), you can just skip it, and still qualify for the drawing! 

• Complete six categories and you get one entry.
• Complete nine categories, and you get two entries.
• Complete all twelve categories, and your name is entered into the drawing three times!

The Categories, plus my tentative selections:

1. 19th century: Germinal by Emile Zola

2. 20th century: The Collector by John Fowles

3. By a woman author: Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth

4. In translation: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn

5. A chunkster (500+ pages): The Ambassadors by Henry James

6. A novella (-250 pages): Silas Marner by George Eliot

7. With a person's name in the title: Daniel Deronda by George Eliot

8. Humorous or satirical: Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

9. A forgotten classic: The Nowlans by John Banim

10. Nonfiction: TBD - I haven't included nonfiction in my classics list up to this point, so I have to head to the shelves to see what I have and do some listing.

11. Children's book: TBD - Same reason as #10

12. Play: The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

And now for the rest of the rules:  

• All books must be read in 2015.  Books started prior to January 1, 2015, are not eligible.  Reviews must be linked by December 31, 2015. 

• All books must have been published at least 50 years ago; therefore, 1965 is the cutoff date.  The only exception is books published posthumously, but written before 1965. 

• E-books and audiobooks are eligible!  Books may also count for other challenges you may be working on.  

• Books may NOT cross over categories within this challenge.  You may NOT count the same book twice for different categories in this challenge.  One book per category -- otherwise, they won't count.  

• If you do not have a blog, you may link your review from Goodreads or other publicy accessible online format.  

• Please sign up for the challenge using the linky below BEFORE MARCH 31, 2015.  If possible, please link to your sign-up announcement post, if possible or applicable.

• You do NOT have to list your books prior to starting the challenge, but it's more fun if you do!  You can always change your list at any time.  Books may be read in any order.

• Please identify the categories you've read in your wrap-up post so that I can easily add up your entries for the prize drawing!  Adding links within the post would be greatly appreciated. 

• The prize will be awarded the first week of January, 2016.  All qualifying participants will receive one or more entries, based on the categories completed.  One winner will be randomly drawn from qualifying entries.  The winner will receive a $30 (US) gift card from Amazon.com or The Book Depository, as long as they live in a country that can receive shipment.  See here for list of countries. 

In an ideal world, I will read one of these a month, but heavens knows my life is not that scheduled. I would like to ask though - where do you guys think I should start? Are any of the books listed up there a "must read right now" type of book? Or do you have a better choice for any of the categories (from my list of classics I have on the shelves). 

Culting It

I managed to side-step the "no challenges this year" promise by making Projects instead, and now I feel the need to add one more project to the list. There is quite the handful of cult classic reads that I have had on the TBR list for ages, and since I'm feeling pretty good about the projects I've started, I figured why not slap a new project up there.

Defining a "cult classic" is practically impossible, but we all know it when we encounter it. They range from the horrid and cringeworthy to the brilliant and beautiful. They cross genres and eras and styles. But they all have one thing in common (in my humble opinion) :: They deliver a serious mindf*ck. These are stories designed to rearrange your thinking. With a tendency to challenge the status quo, cult classics veer off the beaten path and offer readers something new. They also change the reader in some way, and many a reader of a cult classic finds him/herself keeping a dog-eared copy on hand, well-read and practically memorized.

Here are some of the top cult classics:

1. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
2. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
3. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
4. Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard
5. Dune by Frank Herbert
6. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
7. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
8. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
9. Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
10. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
11. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
12. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
13. The Stranger by Albert Camus
14. Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
15. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
16. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
17. Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs
18. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
19. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
20. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
21. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
22. Necromancer by William Gibson
23. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
24. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
25. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
26. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
27. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
28. The Magus by John Fowles
29. Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susan
30. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
31. Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges
32. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
33. The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf
34. The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailor
35. Howl by Allen Ginsberg
36. Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
37. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller
38. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
39. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
40. The Third Policeman by Brian O'Nolan (Zibilee)
41. Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews (Care)
42. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (Trish)
43. Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa (Rajdeep)
44. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (Kristen)
45. The Tao of Poo by Benjamin Hoff (Kristen)
46. Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach (Kristen)
47. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (bookdout)
48. 1984 by George Orwell (Jenny Girl)

I am looking to make this list an even 50, so let me know what I'm missing here!!!

Challenge Update

Due to my four month hiatus, my challenges are really suffering this year. Plus, I've found I am more interested in readalongs than challenges this year. But just to wrap my mind around what's going on, here's an update on the challenges I thought I would be completing.

COMPLETED
TwentyEleven Challenge: 20/20
Steampunk Challenge:  7 read
GLBT(Q): 10+ (including GLBTQ-positive if not GLBTQ-centric; less than I wanted)
Dystopia Challenge: 5/5 (less than my original hope for 15)

STILL WORKING ON IT
Take a Chance: 4/10
Gothic Challenge: 1/10
Graphic Novels: 2/10
Read a Myth: 0/4

Obviously the challenges I haven't completed are not going well at all, at all. Honestly, I am not going to really worry about finishing these challenges. Not because I don't want to - I do - but because I'm just not into the stress of it right now.

How are you guys doing on challenges?

Waffling Through Challenges

I have been highly remiss with challenges this year. I, of course, signed up, but I quickly lost interest once I started jumping in on all these wonderful read-a-longs in the blogosphere. I actually haven't paid a bit of attention to what challenges I am in and whether or not the books I am reading count for any of them for months. So I figured it was time to get my act in gear and figure out where I stand.

• The Steampunk Challenge: 7 books read, no goal number
• Take a Chance Challenge: 1 book read, 9 to go: My main problem here is my (probably futile) attempt to not buy any more books and read from my shelves. Many of the challenges require getting books from outside sources.
• Twenty Eleven Challenge: 17 books read, 3 to go
• GLBTQ Challenge: Category 1 (GLBTQ focus) =  5  ::  Category 2 (positive portrayals) = 6
• Gothic Reading: 1 book read (that may or may not be gothic), 9 (or 10) to go
• Graphic Novel Challenge: 2 books read, 8 to go: And I haven't even reviewed them yet!!
• Read a Myth Challenge: 0 books read, 4 to go: Major Fail.
• Dystopia Challenge: 4 books read, 11 to go

Not as bad as I expected. Looks like about 55 books to go though, so uh, maybe it is pretty bad. On the other hand, I am doing pretty well with readalongs and review copies.

Dystopian February

Lenore over at Presenting Lenore is hosting Dystopian February, her third month focusing on one of my favorite genres of literature. All you have to do to participate is read and review one dystopian or post-apocalyptic book; then you link up your review over at Presenting Lenore. To really get in to the spirit of things though, you should check out Lenore's site daily as she is featuring reviews, author interviews, Dystopian Mash Ups (which sound like so much fun), and contests and giveaways.

This is my first time participating, and I still haven't quite decided what I want to read most. I have a few dystopian/post-apocalyptic novels sitting on the shelves, but I need to focus on one or two, since I am also involved in three readalongs this month, plus I have four ARCs I need to read and review. Crazy stuff, but I'm more excited than overwhelmed.

So I urge you to join in the fun and immerse yourself in the fascinating, uncomfortable, prophetic, and cautionary world of dystopian fiction.

Reading Schedule 2011

Quite a few bloggers I adore are doing formal, semiformal, or informal readalongs this year, and I need a place to keep track. Here is a schedule of monthly readings for the 2011 year. I hope to get to all of them, but I am not going to force myself. If I try to force my reading, I get all 8-year-old cantankerous and stubborn.

If you know of others you think I would like, be sure to let me know!


Year of Fem: Year of Feminist Classics
Allie Lit Odyssey: Allie's Readalongs at A Literary Odyssey
Erin Reads: Erin's Reading Buddies at Erin Reads

January
A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollestonecraft (Year of Fem)

February
The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor Mill (Year of Fem)
Ulysses by James Joyce (Fizzy Thoughts): First Post, Second Post,
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (Erin Reads)

March
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen (Year of Fem)
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (Allie Lit Odyssey)
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Erin Reads)

April
Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (Year of Fem)
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (Allie Lit Odyssey)
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (Erin Reads)


May
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (Year of Fem)
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (Erin Reads)

June
God Dies by the Nile by Nawal Saadawi (Year of Fem)

July
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir (Year of Fem)
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (Erin Reads)

August
The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston (Year of Fem)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Erin Reads)

September
The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf (Year of Fem)
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (Allie Lit Odyssey)

October
Ain’t I a Woman? by bell hooks (Year of Fem)
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (Allie Lit Odyssey)

November
Gender Trouble by Judith Butler (Year of Fem)

December
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde (Year of Fem)

Jousting with Joyce

Chatting with Trish and Jill on Twitter can get me in trouble. I start feeling invincible and geeky and then I do something stupid like suggest a readalong for Ulysses by James Joyce. In my defense, however, these two jumped on the suggestion pretty fast. There was no arm twisting or threats or anything. Then Jason and Joanna also joined in the madness. And I just noticed that Care has also signed up, and she managed to download a copy for free!

So starting February 1, we will be reading this bane of a book, and we are asking all of you to join us in our misery fun. We will be covering three chapters a week for six weeks:

• End of week 1: thoughts on Section 1, chapters 1-3.
• End of week 3: this is midway through Section 2, through chapter 9.
• End of week 5: thoughts on Section 2, through chapter 15.
• End of week 6: Section 3, end of book

Head over to the sign up post now and together we can triumph over the mindmelt that is Ulysses!

Difficult Books Personal Challenge

Reading and mathematics are not mutually exclusive. One can appreciate the complexities of literature and differential equations simultaneously. Or better yet, Bookslut reminds us that readers can read about the lives of mathematicians; you know, if you aren't into deterministic equations involving continuously varying er....yep, whatever..you can just read about people who are into...that...

Thinking about the difficulty of math got me contemplating the more difficult novels. This list of the 5 Hardest Books to Read (That Are Totally Worth It) may be a place to start on those brain-stretching reads. The list includes:

Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
Violence and the Sacred by Rene Girard
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
Ulysses by James Joyce
The Way of Love by Lucy Irigaray

I have the first four sitting on the shelves, unread, but in February/March, I am hosting a readalong for Ulysses with Trish from Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity and Jill from Fizzy Thoughts. I am considering making a Difficult Books reading list as a personal challenge this year, but before finalizing the list, I'd love to know if you guys have any thoughts on the above list. Are there books you would add?

2010 Challenge Wrap Up 2

Man oh man, did I suck up the TBR Challenge. I chose 12 books to read this year, and 12 alternates. I only read three of my original 12 and two off the second list. Bad Trisha.

Books Read: 5

The Books to Read Before I Die challenge results are even more pitiful than my TBR challenge. One. One freaking book.

Books Read: 1

And another fail here for the 18th and 19th century Women Writers Challenge. Again, only one book. Although I only had to read two to begin with, so maybe one isn't so bad?

Books Read: 1

I thought the 42 Challenge would be easy peesy. After all, I watch a ton of science fiction films and tv shows, and I read the occasional sci-fi book. What I forgot was the whole reviewing part...

Total: 26

I do find it rather telling that I managed to complete exactly half...

2010 Challenge Wrap Up 3

Ah, Books and Movies, my two favorite things next to food. I did a bit worse than I thought I would, primarily because I was quite slacking on reviews. Alas, what can you do?

Books/Movies Read/Watched: 9

The challenge ended way back in June, but I didn't manage to read all of the Sookie books by that time. Currently, I still have the last published book, number 10, to read...I'm hoping someone bought it for me for Christmas. :)

Books Read: 9

The GLBT challenge has been one of my favorites of the year. Consciously choosing to read books about GLBT characters or by GLBT authors has been a fascinating way to broaden my really old white guy reading.

Books Read: 26

Reading Young Adult novels is so not a problem for me. I love them without guilt. They are exciting, entertaining, and easy reads.

Books Read: 54

Reading for the NonFiction Five got me thinking about the type of nonfiction I read, and I tried to branch out a bit into different areas. I ended up reading a pretty good mix.


Books Read: 12

The Hogwarts Reading Challenge had me classifying the books I read into studies at the wizarding school, which I found to be tons of fun. I seem to be doing really well in Defense against the Dark Arts, but sucking most dramatically at Herbology.


Points Gained: 369

An absolute favorite of mine, the R.I.P Challenge takes place over the best holiday of the year and encourages reading the best kind of book - dark. I only read four this year though and managed to completely dump out on the movies. In my defense, there were some real life issues at the time.


Books Read: 4

I knocked the 100+ on its behind this year, finishing more books than any of the previous years I've been blogging. This is in large part, I think, due to the amazing suggestions I get from fellow bloggers.

Books Read: 142

2010 Challenge Wrap Up

This is the first of three challenge wrap up posts!

The Women UnBound Reading Challenge was more of a fascinating look at whether or not I read woman-focused books than a challenge. I didn't actually pick up anything particularly for this challenge. I ended up surpassing the highest level which called for eight books. I would say though that the definitions were a bit fast and loose with female empowered protagonists counting for the challenge.

Books Read: 22

The Sci-Fi Challenge ended back in August after a year run. Obviously the point is to read science fiction books, specifically eight of them. I found out that I read a lot more Fantasy than I do Sci-Fi, and that my Sci-Fi reads tend to have a fantastical bent.

Books Read: 13

I loved completing this challenge. Re-reading some of my old favorites is a very pleasurable activity for me, and having a practical reason to do so was kind of gratifying. The top level, Literati, called for over six books.I counted 14 books by the end of this challenge.

Books Read: 14

I didn't manage to complete all twelve of the tasks for the Take Another Chance challenge, but I'm pretty pleased with the ones I did complete. I managed to complete 8 of the challenges, gaining 10 points!

Books Read: 12

The World Religion Challenge had me reading a few books I wouldn't have picked up otherwise and surprised by the religiosity of some of the other books I read.

Books Read: 8

Gotta love a challenge that encourages me to read Graphic Novels! My love of GNs is recent, but I'm feeling more and more positively towards these unique texts. I made it all the way to expert level this year!


Books Read: 15

The Once Upon a Time Challenge is really no challenge for me. Quite a bit of my reading falls into the fantasy/folk lore/mythology area, so meeting the requirements. I am, however, a bit disappointed that I didn't manage to pick up any nonfiction for it, and I hope to rectify this next year.

Books Read: 14

This was my first time taking on the Really Old Classics Challenge, but I certainly went all in for it, challenging myself to read the really old stuff for a whole month! It seriously was more fun than it sounds like..

Books Read: 7

Steampunk Challenge

Title: Steampunk Challenge
Host: The Bookkeeper
Timeframe: Oct. 10 to Oct. 2011
Suggested Reading List

My Goal: I'd like to read the following list

• Soulless by Gail Carriger
• Changeless by Gail Carriger
• Blameless by Gail Carriger
• Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
• Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
• Goliath by Scott Westerfeld
• Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
• The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by Gordon Dahlquist
• Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
• Sapphique by Catherine Fisher
• The Clockwork Century series by Cherie Priest 
• The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

GLBT Challenge 2011

Title: GLBT Challenge
Host: Amanda
Timeframe: 2011
Suggested Reading List

My Goal: 20 Books

Instead of picking books about GLBTQ issues, I thought I would read books by GLBTQ authors. I am sure I'll still read GLBTQ-focused novels, but I want my emphasis to be on the authors. So here are some possibilities:

Chuck Palahniuk
Oscar Wilde
Truman Capote
Jeannette Winterson
Marcel Proust
Willa Cather
Allen Ginsberg
James Baldwin
Gore Vidal
Gertrude Stein
James Baldwin
Emma Donaghue
Ann-Marie MacDonald
Alan Ball
Augusten Burroughs
E.M. Forster
David Levithan
Gregory Maguire
Sarah Waters
Sappho
David Sedaris
Tennessee Williams
Dorothy Allison
Alison Bechdel
Ivan Coyote: Missed Her,
Catherine Ryan Hyde: Jumpstart the World,
Cheryl Rainfield: Scars
Daniel Allen Cox: Krakow Melt, 

Books focused on GLBTQ characters but I'm not sure if the author is GLBTQ
Kathleen Winter: Annabel,

Books featuring (but not focused on) GLBTQ characters in a positive light
Clare, Cassandra: City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, Clockwork Angel,
This Girl is Different by JJ Johnson


Most of these guys are sitting somewhere on my shelves. If you have any other suggestions, I am particularly interested in GLBTQ books written by GLBTQ authors.

*Note: I do not know any of these author's personally, so identifying any one of them as GLBTQ is the result of information found on various websites (primarily Wikipedia which makes me feel something of a hypocrite for telling my students it's not a credible source). If you know that an author listed here is not GLBTQ, let me know.

Gothic Reading Challenge

Title: Gothic Reading Challenge
Host: Susan B. Evans
Timeframe: 2011
Suggested Reading List

My Goal: A Maniacal Frenzy (10)

From the host site (it was too perfect to pass up): "There is nothing better than a great Gothic read - crumbling old castles, mysterious legends, shadowy characters, supernatural beings and unexplainable events, make for some of the most haunting and captivating reading imaginable."

I could not agree more. I love Gothic novels, but I don't make an actual effort to read them. That is changing this year, and this challenge is going to help!

There are four levels of participation to choose from:

A Little Madness - Read just 1 novel with Gothic elements.
The Darkness Within - Read 5 novels with Gothic elements.
A Maniacal Frenzy - Read 10 novels with Gothic elements.
Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know - Read 20 novels with Gothic elements.


Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

TBD on the Gothic categorization
The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

I would love suggestions for this one. What are some truly, truly Gothic novels I should be getting my hands on?

Graphic Novel 2011

Title: Graphic Novels Challenge
Host: Vasilly
Timeframe: 2011
Suggested Reading List

My Goal: 10+ books

I do so love me a good graphic novel. My goals for 2011 are 1) to finish the Fables series by Bill Willingham; 2) to read 10+ graphic novels; and 3) to finally read some more 'traditional' GNs like 300, Superhero stuff, V for Vendetta, etc.

I am definitely in the market for some suggestions as well, so please, please, please Lay Them On Me!

Dante's Inferno by Seymour Chwast
Nylon Road: Coming of Age in Iran by Parsua Bashi

Read a Myth Challenge

Title: Read a Myth Challenge
Host: Bibliojunkie and Bina
Timeframe: 2011
Suggested Reading List

My Goal: Level 2

Level 1 Athena: That’s a Myth!
Read any two (2) books about myths.

Level 2 Erlang Chen: Demystify the Myth!
Read any four (4) books about myths.

Level 3 Mimir: World Myth!
Read any six (6) books from the myth series must cover 2 different countries, including any one from the following list:

• non-fiction book on the study of mythology (figure), or
• Karen Armstrong’s A short history of myth, or
• The original text of myth (many to choose from the Greek Mythology)

Level 4 Ogma: The God of all Myths!
Mix and match of any 8 books from the myth series or any mythology books, with the following conditions:

• Must cover more than 3 countries.
• Must contain at least 1 non-fiction book on mythology study.

TwentyEleven Challenge

Title: 2011 Challenge
Host: Darren at Bart's Bookshelf
Timeframe: 2011

Requirements: Read 20 books from 11 categories, 1-2 books for each category. Books cannot overlap categories.

Books Read: 20

And the categories for TwentyEleven are:

1. To YA or not YA…
   Okay, this one works like this… Tend to read more Young Adult than Adult Fiction books then read one or two adult fiction titles, vice-versa if you don’t tend to read much Young Adult. Nocturne by Syrie James and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Holmes by Loren D. Estleman
2. …With a Twist.
   This one focuses on sub-genres, read a lot of chick-lit, then try a paranormal romance! Fantasy? Why not give some Steampunk a go, like a bit of Space-Opera in your Sci-Fi then pick up a military Sci-fi book. Like your Contemporary Literature, give a Young Adult Contemporary a chance. Well hopefully you get the idea! This Girl is Different by JJ Johnson and Anastasia's Secret by Susanne Dunlap  (non-SFF YAL)
3. Hot off the Presses.
   Read a book published (in your country) in 2011? Then it counts for this category. Jane Austen Biography, Lost Voices,
4. It Wasn’t Me! (aka Bad Bloggers*)
   Books in this category, should be ones you’ve picked up purely on the recommendation of another blogger count for this category (any reviews you post should also link to the post that convinced you give the book ago). Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver and The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
   * Bad Bloggers: Is hosted by Chris of Stuff as Dreams are Made on.
5. Show it Who is Boss!
   Tackle that overflowing T.B.R. pile! Books for this category must be already residents of your bookshelves as of 1/12/10.  City of Bones (and Ashes) by Cassandra Clare
6. Bablefish.
   Read books that are translated from a language that is not your own. A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
7. Will-Power? What Will-Power? (aka: The Henry Ward Beecher Memorial.)
   You know that quote I have in my blog-header… “Where is human nature so weak as in a bookstore?” Recognise yourself in it? Then this is the one for you! Bought a book NEW during 2011? Then it counts for this category. Second-hand books do not count for this one, but, for those on book-buying bans, books bought for you as gifts or won in a giveaway also count. Fablehaven by Brandon Mull and Knightley Academy by Violet Haberdasher
8. Mind the Gap.
   Need just one more book to compete that duology/trilogy/series then read it for this one! (Obviously as this is for that final book you need to complete it, then you can’t read two books from the same series! And it clearly can’t be your first or penultimate read!) Because not everyone reads a series in order, this is for the last book you need to read, not necessarily the last book in the series… Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
9. Back in the Day.
   Re-read an old favourite or two for this category. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman and The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
10. Way Back When.
    Read books that were published before you were born for this one, whether that be the day before or 100 years prior! A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft and The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mills
11. Slim-Pickings
    Got a novella you want to read? Then this one is the one for you! Any books between 90-150 pages count. Dead(ish) by Naomi Kramer and The Vampyre by John Polidori

Take a Chance Challenge 2011

Title: Take a Chance Challenge
Host: Jenners
Timeframe: 2011

Requirements: Ten books, one from each of the categories below:

Books Read: 4/10

1: Staff  Member’s Choice: Go to a bookstore or library that has a “Staff Picks” section. Read one of the picks from that section. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

2: Loved One’s Choice: Ask a loved one to pick a book for you to read. (If you can convince them to buy it for you, that is even better!)

3: Blogger’s Choice: Find a “Best Books Read” post from a favorite blogger. Read a book from their list. Annabel by Kathleen Winter from Amy Reads

4: Critic’s Choice: Find a “Best of the Year” list from a magazine, newspaper or professional critic. Read a book from their Top 10 list. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

5: Blurb Book: Find a book that has a blurb on it from another author. Read a book by the author that wrote the blurb.

6: Book Seer Pick: Go to The Book Seer and follow the instructions there. Read a book from the list it generates for you.

Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Patterson (speak)

7: What Should I Read Next Pick : Go to What Should I Read Next and follow the instructions there. Read a book from the list it generates for you.

The Magician's by Lev Grossman
The Girl Who Played with Fire/Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

8: Which Book Pick: Go to Which Book and use the software to generate a list of books. Read a book from that list.

9: LibraryThing Pick: Go to LibraryThing’s Zeitgeist page. Look at the lists for 25 Most Reviewed Books or Top Books and pick a book you’ve never read. Read the book. (Yes … you can click on MORE if you have to.)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

10: Pick A Method: Pick a method for finding a book from the choices listed below (used in previous versions of the challenge).

• Random Book Selection. Go to the library. Position yourself in a section such as Fiction, Non-Fiction, Mystery, Children (whatever section you want). Then write down random directions for yourself (for example, third row, second shelf, fifth book from right). Follow your directions and see what book you find. Check that book out of the library, read it and then write about it. (If you prefer, you can do the same at a bookstore and buy the book!) Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson
• Public Spying. Find someone who is reading a book in public. Find out what book they are reading and then read the same book. Write about it.
• Random Bestseller. Go to Random.org and, using the True Random Number Generator, enter the number 1950 for the min. and 2010 for the max. and then hit generate. Then go to this site and find the year that Random.org generated for you and click on it. Then find the bestseller list for the week that would contain your birthday for that year. Choose one of the bestsellers from the list that comes up, read it and write about it.

School of Life Challenge

Title: School of Life Challenge
Host: Bethy
Timeframe: 2011

Do you miss being a student? Did you major in English but you haven't read a classic in years? In this reading challenge you can pick and choose books that are assigned in classes related to your old major.

How To Participate
   1. Decide which major or subject you would like to study
   2. Visit your alma mater's website and see if they have class syllabi online. If they don't, check one of the hundreds of free online classes at Yale, MIT, or any other college
   3. Pick a few classes in your major
   4. Choose one or more books required in each class syllabus
   5. You do not have to write reviews
   6. You may keep in touch and leave links to your reviews below, if you choose to write them
   7. You do not have to have a blog
   8. The books you choose can be overlaps from other reading challenges
   9. The challenge begins January 1 and ends December 31, 2011

Levels of Participation
cum laude: 6 books
magna cum laude: 8 books
summa cum laude: 12 books

I haven't quite picked my list yet, but I did find a ton of free online courses that I am geeking out over.

Update: I have found a lovely site at UCLA which has graduate reading lists for a wide variety of topics. LOVE IT! My top choices so far:

Chatterjee's Victorian Reading List
Pizzo's Victorian Reading List
Folklore and Mythology
GLBTQ Literature

The TBR Dare

Title: The TBR Dare
Host: James
Timeframe: January - March 31

James dares us to pledge to read only the books in our TBR (To Be Read) stack for as long as we dare starting January 1, 2011. 

One hour, one day, one book, one week, one month, or until the dare ends on April 1.

I'm going for it. I am vowing to not purchase a book for three months. Even the idea of it is giving me nasty chills, but with 300+ TBR books, I think it's a necessary step on the road to recovery, especially with BBC/BEA coming up in May.

I am not putting together a list or anything for this one - 300+, no need for a list. Here's to reading what we own instead of buying what strikes our fancy!