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Monday, January 4, 2016

Back to the Classics 2015

Back to the Classics Challenge 2015  (8/12)
hosted by Books and Chocolate

I started this challenge a few years ago, and this will be the second year that Books and Chocolate have taken it over.  I am so thrilled that this challenge lives on, and I love the changes Karen has made.  Even though I failed by 1 book in 2014, I am going to keep at it!  After all, I do need to get to work on my Classics Club List! This year there are 12 categories, and you try to finish as many as you can to win entries into a drawing.  All books must have been originally published before 1965.

The Categories:

1.  19th Century Classic:  The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
2.  20th Century Classic:  As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
3.  Classic by a Woman Author: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
4.  Classic in Translation:  The Art of War by Sun Tzu
5.  A Very Long Classic Novel (500 pages or more):
6.  A Classic Novella (less than 250 pages):  Bonjour Tristesse
7.  A Classic with a Person's Name in the Title:  Emma by Jane Austen
8.  A Humorous or Satirical Classic:  
9.  A Forgotten Classic:  The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
10.  A Nonfiction Classic:
11.  A Classic Children's Book:  The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
12.  A Classic Play:

50 States - 2015

Another 'Just for fun' - Keep track of the states in which the books I'm reading are set:  (27/50)

  1. Alabama Go Set a Watchman                                                                  
  2. Alaska Revolver
  3. Arizona    - Not in the Script
  4. Arkansas
  5. California  I'll Meet You ThereThe Fill-In BoyfriendSay What You WillEverything,Everything, The Bling Ring
  6. Colorado  - Our Souls at Night
  7. Connecticut  What I Thought Was TrueMy Life Next DoorThe Boy Most Likely To
  8. Delaware
  9. Florida  - Joyride
  10. Georgia  - Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
  11. Hawaii   
  12. Idaho
  13. Illinois The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things
  14. Indiana   - The Start of Me and You
  15. Iowa 
  16. Kansas   
  17. Kentucky Nowhere But Here
  18. Louisiana 
  19. Maine  
  20. Maryland  
  21. Massachusetts Salt & StormLocke & Key Vol.1: Welcome to Lovecraft
  22. Michigan Station Eleven
  23. Minnesota
  24. Mississippi - MagnoliaAs I Lay Dying
  25. Missouri  - Gone Girl 
  26. Montana  
  27. Nebraska 
  28. Nevada  Glass
  29. New Hampshire  
  30. New Jersey Ms. Marvel Vol 2: Generation WhyThe Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
  31. New Mexico
  32. New York  - Drinking at the MoviesReality ChickTell The Wolves I'm HomeI Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The End of Your Life Book Club, A Visit From the Goon Squad
  33. North Carolina 
  34. North Dakota
  35. Ohio  Everything I Never Told You
  36. Oklahoma
  37. Oregon  - Stand Off
  38. Pennsylvania  - Glory O'Brien's History of the FutureLaughing at my NightmareSend Me a Sign
  39. Rhode Island  - Ally Hughes Has Sex SometimesThe Obituary Writer
  40. South Carolina - Play On
  41. South Dakota
  42. Tennessee Catching JordanStealing ParkerThings I Can't Forget, Racing SavannahJesse's Girl
  43. Texas   - Can't Look AwayAristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the UniverseDumplin'
  44. Utah 
  45. Vermont  
  46. Virginia El Deafo
  47. Washington - Where'd You Go, BernadetteThe Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time IndianThe Summer of Chasing Mermaids, I am Princess X
  48. West Virginia  
  49. Wisconsin  
  50. Wyoming

What's in a Name 2015


What's In A Name? 2015  (6/6)
hosted by The Worm Hole

This is the only challenge I actually finished in 2014, so I better do it again!  There are 6 categories, and I have to read books with a title that fits the category.

1.  A Word including "ing" in it:  Catching Jordan
2.  A Color:  The Woman in Black
3.  A Familial Relation: Things You've Inherited From Your Mother
4.  A Body of Water:  The Light Between Oceans
5.  A City  The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
6.  An Animal (Find Momo)? - I'd like to find a more directly animal title though....

The Official 2015 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

The Official 2015 TBR Pile Challenge   (11/14*)
hosted by RoofBeamReader.com

I sign up for this challenge every year, and fail at it nearly every year.  But enough progress is made, and Adam is such an awesome host - that I keep coming back.  I've made this year's list of 12 books (plus 2 alternates) that I pledge (hope) to read this year.  All have been sitting on my TBR shelf for at least a year - I brushed off enough actual dust to prove it.  Also, some are repeats from previous attempts at this challenge.  My list:

1.  And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
2.  As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
3.  Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers
4.  The Art of War by Sun Tzu
5.  Junky by William S. Burroughs
6.  Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
7.  Glass by Ellen Hopkins
8.  Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
9.  In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway
10.  The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
11.  The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
12.  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Alternates:
A.  A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
B.  The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

PopSugar 2015 Reading Challenge


POPSUGAR's 2015 Reading Challenge  (41/50)

This was floating around the interwebs, and thought I'd give it a shot...  just for fun.  The link above will bring you to a form you can download and print...  but I'm just going to list the categories here.

1.  Book with more than 500 pages:  Glass
2.  A classic romance  I Capture the Castle
3.  A book that became a movie:  As I Lay Dying
4.  A book published this year:  I'll Meet You There
5.  A book with a number in the title:  Slaughterhouse-Five
6.  A book written by someone under 30:  The DUFF
7.  A book with nonhuman characters:  The Phantom Tollbooth
8.  A funny book:  Stand Off
9.  A book by a female author:  Can't Look Away
10.  A mystery or thriller:  All Fall Down
11.  A book with a one-word title:  Revolver
12.  A book of short stories:  The Infinite Wait and Other Stories
13.  A book set in a different country: Adrian and the Tree of Secrets
14.  A nonfiction book:  Find Momo
15.  A popular author's first book:
16.  A book from an author you love that you haven't read yet:  The Fill-In Boyfriend
17.  A book a friend recommended:  Not in the Script
18.  A Pulitzer Prize-winning book:  The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
19.  A book based on a true story:  El Deafo
20.  A book at the bottom of your to-read list:  A Visit From the Goon Squad
21.  A book your mom loves:
22.  A book that scares you:  Go Set a Watchman
23.  A book more than 100 years old:  The Art of War
24.  A book based entirely on its cover:  The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things
25.  A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't:
26.  A memoir:  Drinking at the Movies
27.  A book you can finish in a day:  Lumberjanes Vol. 1:  Beware the Kitten Holy
28.  A book with antonyms in the title:  Glory O'Brien's History of the Future
29.  A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit:  Magnolia
30.  A book that came out the year you were born:
31.  A book with bad reviews:  The Gathering
32.  A trilogy:  Hundred Oaks (Catching JordanStealing ParkerThings I Can't Forget, Racing SavannahJesse's Girl)
33.  A book from your childhood:
34.  A book with a love triangle:  Catching Jordan
35.  A book set in the future:  Station Eleven
36.  A book set in high school:  Stealing Parker
37.  A book with a color in the title:  The Woman in Black
38.  A book that made you cry:  Send Me a Sign
39.  A book with magic:  Salt & Storm
40.  A graphic novel:  Level Up
41.  A book by an author you've never read before:  And Then There Were None 
42.  A book you own but have never read:  Where'd You Go, Bernadette
43.  A book that takes place in your hometown:  Reality Chick
44.  A book that was originally written in a different language:  Playing a Part
45.  A book set during Christmas: Anything Could Happen
46.  A book written by an author with your same initials;
47.  A play:
48.  A banned book:  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
49.  A book based on or turned into a TV show:
50.  A book you started but never finished:  

#15in31 - October 2015

#15in31 Challenge - October 2015

This is a fun little challenge, hosted byEstellasRevenge.net in which I will attempt to read 15 books in the 31 days of October. 

1.  Deathnote Vol. 4: Love by  Tsugumi Ohba*
2.  Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
3.  I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001 by Lauren Tarshis
4.  The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
5.  The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
6.  Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
7.  The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
8.  George by Alex Gino
9.  Lumberjanes Vol. 2: Friendship to the Max by Noelle Stevenson*
10.  Saga Vol. 4 by Brian K. Vaughan*
11.  Ally Hughes has Sex Sometimes by Jules Moulin
12.  Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
13.  The Marvels by Brian Selznick
14.  The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara
15.  Locke & Key Volume 1:  Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill

*Not reviewed here....  I only talk about the first and maybe the second in a manga, graphic novel or comic series.