Challenges & Giveaways

2016 Reading Challenges (Overall Reading Goal-13)
I'm significantly scaling down my reading goals this year, in part, because I failed most of last year's miserably (well, ok . . . all) and, in part, because I want to have more time for Review Requests. I'm looking forward to another year of reading, and if I have time, I might peck away at some of the books I missed from last year. My overall goal this year for this blog is one book a month, with 1 extra floater. Happy Reading!

 2015 Reading Challenges (Overall Reading Goal-40)

Back to the Classics Challenge 2015
Basic Requirements: 6 Books (Published Prior to 1964)
Extra Credit: 9 Books (Two Entries), 12 Books (Three Entries)
Reviews for this Challenge 
  1. 19th Century Classic-The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  2. 20th Century Classic-To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  3. Classic by a Female Author-And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
  4. Classic in Translation-Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
  5. A Very Long Classic (500+ pgs)-Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
  6. A Classic Novella (<250 pgs)-Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
  7. Classic with a Person's name in the Title-Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
  8. Humorous/Satirical Classic-Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
  9. Forgotten Classic-The Lost Estate by Henri Alain-Fournier
  10. Non-Fiction Classic-The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell
  11. Classic Children's Book-The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  12. Classic Play-A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

The Official 2015 TBR Pile Challenge
Basic Requirements: Read 12 Books published before 2014, that have been in your TBR pile, and you've never read




  1. The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
  2. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  3. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
  4. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  5. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  6. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  7. Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  8. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
  9. Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie
  10. N or M? by Agatha Christie
  11. By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie
  12. Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie
Alternates:
  1. Hard Times by Charles Dickens
  2. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
2015 Book to Movie Challenge
Basic Requirements: Quarterly Check-In or Four Read-Alongs
March 2015-Serena by Ron Rash
June 2015-Paper Towns by John Green
September 2015-To Reach the Clouds by Philippe Petit
November 2015-The Martian by Andy Weir

The Classics Club
Basic Requirements: Read 50 Classics in 5 Years (My Full List)
My Overall Goal is to read 200 Classics in 5 Years (2014-2019)
My 2015 Goal: Read 35 Classics (Some are Re-reads)

  1. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
  2. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
  3. Persuasion by Jane Austen
  4. Emma by Jane Austen
  5. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
  6. Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen
  7. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
  8. The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
  9. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  10. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
  11. Hard Times by Charles Dickens
  12. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  13. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
  14. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  15. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  16. Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  17. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
  18. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
  19. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
  20. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
  21. Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie
  22. N or M? by Agatha Christie
  23. By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie
  24. Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie
  25. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
  26. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
  27. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
  28. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  29. Ross Poldark by Winston Graham
  30. Demelza by Winston Graham
  31. Jeremy Poldark by Winston Graham
  32. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  33. The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  34. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
  35. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
  36. Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

The Well-Educated Mind Perpetual Challenge
Basic Requirements: Read at least 5 books from the list a year, Any Category
Five Categories Include: Fiction, Autobiography, History/Politics, Drama, Poetry







  1. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
  2. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
  3. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  4. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
  5. The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell
  6. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
  7. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
  8. Keats: Poems by John Keats

Agatha Christie Reading Challenge
Basic Requirements: This is a perpetual challenge to read all her novels/short stories
My Goal for 2015: 6 Books (I plan to read by series, instead of pub date order)







  1. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
  2. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
  3. Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie
  4. N or M? by Agatha Christie
  5. By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie
  6. Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie

Minnesota Fiction Goal
Basic Requirements: 12 Books written by a MN Author
within 5 Years (2014-2018) 
  1. Undiscovered Country by Lin Enger
  2. The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens
  3. The Guise of Another by Allen Eskens
  4. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
  5. Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
  6. The Winds of Change by Duane Schwartz
  7. A Can of Peas by Traci Depree
  8. Dandelions in a Jelly Jar by Traci Depree
  9. Aprons on a Clothesline by Traci Depree
  10. Unforgettable by Dean Hovey
  11. Hooker by Dean Hovey
  12. Tall, Dark & Dead by Tate Hallaway
  13. The Night Birds by Thomas Maltman
  14. Little Wolves by Thomas Maltman

USA Fiction Challenge
Basic Requirements: 1 Fiction Book Authored in each State
Level: Midwest Mini-Challenge
within 5 Years (2014-2018)





  1. Wisconsin-American Boy by Larry Watson
  2. Michigan-The Unquiet Bones by Mel Starr
  3. Illinois-The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg
  4. Indiana-Paper Towns by John Green
  5. Ohio-The Bubblegum Thief by Jeff Miller
  6. Missouri-Tomato Red by Daniel Woodrell
  7. North Dakota-The Light at the End of the World by Lorraine Dopson
  8. South Dakota-Blood Ties by Lori G. Armstrong
  9. Nebraska-The Grove by John Rector
  10. Kansas-The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty
  11. Minnesota-The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens
  12. Iowa-True Detective by Max Allan Collins

 2014 Reading Challenges (Overall Reading Goal-50)-GOAL MET


Back to the Classics Challenge 2014
Basic Requirements: 6 Books (Published Prior to 1964)
Reviews for this Challenge

CHALLENGE COMPLETED


Required Categories:
  1. 20th Century Classic- Howards End by E. M. Forster
  2. 19th Century Classic- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
  3. Classic by a Female Author- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  4. Classic in Translation- Beowulf
  5. Classic about War- A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
  6. Classic by Author You've Never Read-The Making of a Marchioness by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Optional Categories:
  1. American Classic- Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
  2. Classic Mystery/Suspense/Thriller- A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  3. Historical Fiction Classic (Set 50 yrs prior to publication)- The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
  4. Book to Movie-The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  5. Review of Movie/TV Series Adaption of Opt Category 4-The Great Gatsby (1974)

The Classics Club
Basic Requirements: Read 50 Classics in 5 Years (My Full List)
My 2014 Goal: Read 40 Classics (200 in 5 Years)


CHALLENGE COMPLETED



  1. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
  2. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
  3. Persuasion by Jane Austen
  4. Emma by Jane Austen
  5. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
  6. Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen
  7. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
  8. The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
  9. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
  10. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
  11. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
  12. In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway
  13. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  14. Simon Called Peter by Robert Keable
  15. A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  16. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
  17. Summer by Edith Wharton
  18. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
  19. Beowulf
  20. Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie
  21. The Mysterious Mr. Quin by Agatha Christie
  22. Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie
  23. Murder in the Mews by Agatha Christie
  24. The Big Four by Agatha Christie
  25. Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie
  26. A Carribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie
  27. Endless Night by Agatha Christie
  28. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
  29. Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
  30. Howards End by E. M. Forster
  31. The Making of a Marchioness by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  32. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
  33. Howl by Allen Ginsberg
  34. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
  35. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
  36. Daisy Miller by Henry James
  37. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
  38. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
  39. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
  40. Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll

Old Books by Petr Kratochvil
2014 Banned Books Challenge
Basic Requirements: Any Book Banned or Challenged
Levels:
Making Waves (1-2)
Trouble Maker (3-5)
Rebel (6-9)
Insurgent (10-14)
Leader of a Revolution (15+)
CHALLENGE COMPLETED
  1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  2. Simon Called Peter by Robert Keable
  3. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
  4. Summer by Edith Wharton
  5. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
  6. In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway
  7. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
  8. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
  9. Howl by Allen Ginsberg
  10. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

2014 Series Challenge
Basic Requirements: Finish 1-3 Complete Series in 2014
Levels:
Bronze (1-3)
Silver (4-6)
Gold (7-11)
Platinum (12+)
 CHALLENGE COMPLETED


  1. The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth
  2. Daimones Trilogy by Massimo Marino
  3. The Unearthed Series by Evan Ronan

2014 Book to Movie Challenge
Basic Requirements: Read 3 Books and Watch their Movies
Levels:
3-Movie Fan
6-Movie Devotee
9-Movie Lover
12-Movie Aficionado
24-Movie Auteur

CHALLENGE COMPLETED

  1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  2. A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  3. Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie
  4. The Blind Side by Michael Lewis
  5. Moneyball by Michael Lewis
  6. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
  7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
  8. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
  9. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
  10. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
  11. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
  12. Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
  13. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
  14. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
  15. The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp
  16. Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton
  17. Divergent by Veronica Roth
  18. Howards End by E. M. Forster
  19. The Making of a Marchioness by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  20. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
  21. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  22. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
  23. Persuasion by Jane Austen
  24. Emma by Jane Austen
  25. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
  26. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

The Well-Educated Mind Perpetual Challenge
Basic Requirements: Read at least 5 books from the list a year, Any Category
Five Categories Include: Fiction, Autobiography, History/Politics, Drama, Poetry


CHALLENGE COMPLETED




  1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
  3. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  4. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
  5. Beowulf
  6. Howl by Allen Ginsberg

Jane Austen in 2014
Basic Requirements: Read all Six of Jane Austen's Completed Novels in 2014
I've opted not to join the facebook discussion or focus on Motherhood.


CHALLENGE COMPLETED





  1. February-Pride & Prejudice
  2. April-Mansfield Park
  3. June-Persuasion
  4. August-Emma
  5. October-Northanger Abbey
  6. December-Sense & Sensibility

Agatha Christie Reading Challenge
Basic Requirements: This is a perpetual challenge to read all her novels/short stories
My Goal for 2014: 6 Books (I plan to read by series, instead of pub date order)

CHALLENGE COMPLETED


Basic Requirements: Read 52 Short Stories in 2014 (one per week)
Suggest assigning each story a card suit/number.
Draw a story at random from your list using a deck of cards.
My Twist: Letting the Story of the Day/Week site pick my story for me.


CHALLENGE COMPLETED



  1. The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen
  2. Eveline by James Joyce
  3. An Ex-Mas Feast by Uwem Akpan
  4. The Brass Teapot by Tim Macy
  5. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
  6. The Wicker Husband by Ursula Wills-Jones
  7. A Ghost by Guy de Maupassant
  8. The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
  9. Gradation by Geoff Peck
  10. The Lady or The Tiger? by Frank Stockton
  11. The Allotment by Charlie Hill
  12. Night Flight by Simon Collings
  13. Impersonating Elvis by Polly Nelson
  14. Essence and Attribute by Fernando Sorrentino
  15. Rules of the Game by James Wood
  16. An Uncomfortable Bed by Guy de Maupassant
  17. The Bear Got Me by Matthew Licht
  18. The Bracket by Rod Riesco
  19. It's Just the Sun Rising by James Ross
  20. Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield
  21. The Time-Sweepers by Ursula Wills-Jones
  22. Tracy: Pregnant and Hosting a Dinner Party by Terry L. Rollins
  23. Jessica: Til Death Do Us Part by Terry L. Rollins
  24. Paulette: A Light in the Darkness by Terry L. Rollins
  25. Julianna: Food, My New Best Friend by Terry L. Rollins
  26. Paige: Mexico, Here We Come! by Terry L. Rollins
  27. Audra: In Sickness and in Health by Terry L. Rollins
  28. Brook: We're Moving . . . Again by Terry L. Rollins
  29. Camille: My Demon Within by Terry L. Rollins
  30. Lucy: What Can You Do with a General? by Terry L. Rollins
  31. Suzanna: September 11, 2001 by Terry L. Rollins
  32. One Rat for Every Person by Becky Tipper
  33. Taste by Adam J. Wolstenholme
  34. Tasty by Andy Cashmore
  35. Fear by Moira Conway
  36. Lear Bus by John F. King
  37. Hey, Why Not Be a Daughter? by Angela Readman
  38. A Bottle of Silence by Sal Page
  39. The Sundial by Rhys Barter
  40. Dress Sense by James Coates
  41. The Working Man's Struggle by Richard Holt
  42. Show, Don't Tell by Cathy Bryant
  43. A Sense of Entitlement by E. L. Norry
  44. The Sensation of Pain by Angi Holden
  45. What I'll Do To Be In Love With You by Simon Sylvester
  46. Postcard to my best friend from a non-Londoner, one 'dull . . . of soul' by Jenny Holden
  47. Seven Breaths by Pam Plumb
  48. Launch Pad by Diane Simmons
  49. Half-Life by Michael Marshall Smith
  50. Random by Calum Kerr
  51. Eating My Words by Marie Gethins
  52. The Three Questions by Haidji
  53. Morale Was Down by Evan Ronan
  54. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
  55. In the Blood by Evan Ronan
  56. Whiskey and a Gun by Jade Eby
  57. Dumbledore's Army Reunites at Quidditch World Cup Final by J. K. Rowling
  58. Baptizing the Gun by Uwem Akpan
  59. My Parent's Bedroom by Uwem Akpan

2014 Spiritual Challenge-Theme Fruit of the Spirit
"evidence that God is at work in your life"

CHALLENGE COMPLETED




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