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 There, The Fill-In Boyfriend, Say What You Will, Everything,Everything, The Bling Ring
6. Colorado  - Our Souls at Night
7. Connecticut  - What I Thought Was True, My Life Next Door, The 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 & Storm, Locke & Key Vol.1: Welcome to Lovecraft
22. Michigan - Station Eleven
23. Minnesota
24. Mississippi - Magnolia, As 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 Why, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
31. New Mexico
32. New York  - Drinking at the Movies, Reality Chick, Tell The Wolves I'm Home, I 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 Future, Laughing at my Nightmare, Send Me a Sign
39. Rhode Island  - Ally Hughes Has Sex Sometimes, The Obituary Writer
40. South Carolina - Play On
41. South Dakota
42. Tennessee - Catching Jordan, Stealing Parker, Things I Can't Forget, Racing Savannah, Jesse's Girl
43. Texas   - Can't Look Away, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Dumplin'
44. Utah 
45. Vermont  
46. Virginia - El Deafo
47. Washington - Where'd You Go, Bernadette, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, The 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 Jordan, Stealing Parker, Things I Can't Forget, Racing Savannah, Jesse'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. 

#20BooksofSummer (2015) Challenge

#20BooksofSummer Reading Challenge hosted by 746 Books

Read 20 books between June 1 and September 4, 2015.

1.  Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern

2.  Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

3.  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

4.  Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry

5.  As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

6.  Joyride by Anna Banks

7. The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre

8. The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler

9. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

10.  I am Princess X by Cherie Priest

11.  The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

12.  Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

13.  Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

14.  Jesse's Girl by Miranda Kenneally

15.  Reality Chick by Lauren Barnholdt

16.  BiblioTECH by John Palfrey

17.  Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf

18.  I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

19.  Glass by Elen Hopkins

20.  Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan

2014 Reading Challenges

2014 Reading Challenges

My 2014 TBR Pile Challenge List:

1.  One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenisyn
2.  A Room With a View by E.M. Forster
3.  O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
4.  The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
5.  Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain
6.  In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway
7.  The Princess Bride by William Goldman
8.  Insurgent by Veronica Roth
9.  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
10.  The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
11.  Stolen by Lucy Christopher
12.  Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Alternates: 
A.  A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
B.  Ready Player One by Ernest Cline



The 2014 What's In a Name Categories are:
1.  A Reference to Time One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
2.  A Position of Royalty The Little Prince
3.  A Number Written in Letters  The Hundred Dresses
4.  A Forename or Names  Pudd'nhead Wilson
5.  A Type or Element of Weather Zane and the Hurricane
6.  School Subject in the Title  Foundations in Comic Book Art


Back to the Classics 2014

  Required:

1. A 20th Century Classic  A Room With a View by E.M. Forster
2. A 19th Century Classic  Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain
3. A Classic by a Woman Author  O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
4. A Classic in Translation  One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
5. A Wartime Classic  Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo or Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
6. A Classic by an Author Who Is New To You   Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Optional Categories:

1. An American Classic  As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner or something by Hemingway?
2. A Classic Mystery, Suspense or Thriller  The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
3. A Historical Fiction Classic.  The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
4. A Classic That's Been Adapted Into a Movie or TV Series.   As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
5. Extra Fun Category:  Write a Review of the Movie or TV Series adapted from Optional Category #4.  

50 States Personal Challenge:
I had signed up for this challenge hosted by Book Obsessed for a couple years in a row - but I didn't last year and I really wished I had.  Not because I stress about reading a book set in each of the 50 states, but because it is just kind of a fun thing to keep track of (at least I think it is fun).  So, I'm going to track it again in 2014, but I'm not bothering to sign up for an official challenge.  This is just for me - and so I'll list more than one book per state when it happens, because I'm also curious as what that will show at the end of the year.   


                                                                                   23/50

1. Alabama                                                                   
2. Alaska 
3. Arizona   
4. Arkansas
5. California - The Distance Between Us , The Beginning of Everything, Sinner, Landline, On The Fence, Something Real
6. Colorado 
7. Connecticut  Since You've Been Gone
8. Delaware
9. Florida - Where The Stars Still Shine, Paper Towns, Kiss of Broken Glass
10. Georgia 
11. Hawaii   
12. Idaho
13. Illinois - Insurgent, Allegiant, Yummy
14. Indiana  - Positive
15. Iowa  - Grasshopper Jungle
16. Kansas   
17. Kentucky - The Swift Boys & Me, Crash Into You, Take Me On
18. Louisiana - Zane and the Hurricane
19. Maine  - In The Shadows, This is What Happy Looks Like
20. Maryland  - Every Day, Little Fish
21. Massachusetts - The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, We Were Liars, Being Henry David, Forget Me
22. Michigan 
23. Minnesota
24. Mississippi
25. Missouri  - Pudd'nhead Wilson, The Art of Lainey
26. Montana  
27. Nebraska - O Pioneers!
28. Nevada - Crank
29. New Hampshire  - Half a Chance
30. New Jersey 
31. New Mexico - Love Letters to the Dead, Tomboy
32. New York - A Trick of the Light, Wonder, Panic, Game, Chopsticks, Okay for Now
33. North Carolina - Sweet Tooth
34. North Dakota
35. Ohio  
36. Oklahoma - The Spectacular Now, Ready Player One
37. Oregon  - If I Stay
38. Pennsylvania  Reality Boy, Bright Before Sunrise
39. Rhode Island  
40. South Carolina
41. South Dakota
42. Tennessee Breathe, Annie, Breathe 
43. Texas  Pivot Point , Skinny
44. Utah 
45. Vermont  
46. Virginia  
47. Washington
48. West Virginia  
49. Wisconsin  Better off Friends
50. Wyoming