It's January1! Time for new reading challenges!! I always sign up for a bunch of these, so I'm going to try consolidating my sign-up posts. That way you may only see a few of these posts instead of a dozen. :) This challenge is a must for me. I am terrible about buying books and never reading them. For the Mount TBR Challenge, hosted by My Reader's Block, you have to read books that you owned before January 1. Sometimes way before January 1 . . . This challenge is about the only way I keep myself focused on my own shelves instead of the library's shelves. I'm signing up for the Mt. Vancouver level, which means I need to read 36 books by the end of December. I did it last year, and I'm confident that I can do it again! (Or even beat it. Wouldn't that be nice?) The I Love Library Books Challenge is hosted by Book Dragon's Lair. As you probably guessed from the above description, my other main source of books is the library. I love libraries. And I very rarely step into one without leaving with an armful of books. So this challenge shouldn't be terribly difficult, and will probably be so easy to complete that it will get in the way of my Mount TBR Challenge. I'm signing up for the Adult level, which means I need to read 36 library books. I already have three sitting on my nightstand, ready to go! The Birthday Month Challenge is hosted by You, Me, and a Cup of Tea - and I am so excited about this one! First of all, it's an awesome idea. You are supposed to read a book each month, written by an author whose birthday is in that month. How fun is that? I'm planning to use this challenge to help me make great progress in my Classics Club list. I already have a spreadsheet showing when the authors on my list have their birthdays (yes, I'm being slightly geeky about this one). I'm already working on my book for January, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the months! This challenge, hosted by Reading to Know, just happens during January, but it's one of my absolute favorites. L.M. Montgomery is a favorite author of mine, and I have read many of her books again and again. And again. I love that this challenge provides an excuse to revisit them once more. I've already read Anne of the Island for this challenge (first book of the year!), and I plan on reading Pat of Silver Bush and Mistress Pat before the end of the month. And maybe more, if I can sneak it in. :)
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I really want to do a better job of reading books I own this year. And I thought of a way that all of you out in the blogosphere can help me out. I took pictures of one of my bookcases, and I would like you to pick one of the shelves! My goal is to read all of the books from that shelf (that I haven't read before) by June 30. Then the fun will start all over again with a new shelf! Here are the pictures of the shelves. There is a list of the books on each shelf, as well as the place where you vote, at the bottom of the page. Check them out and help me choose, please! Shelf # 1 (19 books to read)Shelf # 2 (14 books to read)Shelf # 3 (16 books to read)Shelf # 4 (18 books to read)Shelf # 5 (15 books to read)Shelf # 6 (18 books to read)List of Books on Each ShelfVote Here!Voting will close January 15. The winning shelf will be announced January 16!Last year, I was incredibly excited to take a look back at what I had read over the year in 2013. I had never really kept track before, but Goodreads allowed me to figure out all sort of geeky statistics about my reading. Well, I'm no less excited to figure out those geeky statistics this year. And this time, they come complete with pie charts! Books read: 119 (3 of those were audiobooks) Pages read: 40,174 Fiction: 78% Nonfiction: 22% Male authors: 41% Female authors: 59% Set in the United States: 29% Set in Europe: 48% (of which most took place in England. . .) Set elsewhere in the world: 26% I also went a little crazy in signing up for reading challenges this year, but I somehow managed to complete them all! If you want to know what books I read for each challenge, you can check out my Reading Challenges page. These are the reading challenges I completed in 2014: Mount TBR I Love Library Books! Newbery Color Coded Full House What's In a Name? Nonfiction European Global Around the World in 12 Books Read It Again, Sam You Read How Many Books? Chunkster Alphabet Soup My Top Finds of 2014Favorite fiction book: Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn (or Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson)
Favorite nonfiction book: One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson Favorite children's/young adult book: Wonder by R.J. Palacio Favorite series: Daughters of Boston by Julie Lessman My last two challenges of 2014 are complete! I figured I wouldn't have a lot of trouble with the I Love Library Books Challenge hosted by Book Dragon's Lair. I signed up for the highest goal - Just Insert IV, which meant I needed to read 50 library books. My summer is full of trips to the big libraries in the nearby cities (as opposed to the little library here in the small town I live in). I regularly come home with ten books (at least) per trip. So I assumed that hitting a goal of fifty books wouldn't be a problem. I was right. :) Here are the books I read for this challenge: 1. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery 2. Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne 3. Big Cherry Holler by Adriana Trigiani 4. The Wishing Thread by Lisa Van Allen 5. Paris in the Twentieth Century by Jules Verne 6. A Guide for the Perplexed by Dara Horn 7. Strings Attached by Joanne Lipman & Melanie Kupchynsky 8. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell 9. Serving Victoria by Kate Hubbard 10. The Help by Kathryn Stockett 11. The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge 12. My Venice and Other Essays by Donna Leon 13. Longbourn by Jo Baker 14. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken 15. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 16. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn 17. Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier 18. Tilt by Nicholas Shrady 19. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin 20. The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior by Paul Strathern 21. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell 22. Orphan Train Rider by Andrea Warren 23. The Last Enchantments by Charles Finch 24. She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell 25. Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool 26. The Service of Clouds by Delia Falconer 27. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead 28. Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos 29. The Curriculum Vitae of Aurora Ortiz by Almudena Solana 30. Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier 31. The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton 32. The Secret Life of William Shakespeare by Jude Morgan 33. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman 34. The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon 35. Glamorous Illusions by Lisa Tawn Bergren 36. The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan 37. Imperfect Harmony by Stacy Horn 38. Wonder by R.J. Palacio 39. A Constant Heart by Siri Mitchell 40. The Case of the Love Commandos by Tarquin Hall 41. Never Look a Polar Bear in the Eye by Zac Unger 42. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron 43. Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa 44. A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman 45. One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson 46. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 47. The Xanadu Adventure by Lloyd Alexander 48. Vienna Nocturne by Vivien Shotwell 49. Jerusalem Vigil by Bodie & Brock Thoene 50. The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom 51. Zoobreak by Gordon Korman 52. Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins 53. Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata 54. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison The other major place I get the books I read is my personal library. I own a lot of books, and I don't read nearly enough of them. So I joined My Reader's Block's Mount TBR Challenge again this year. In 2013, I barely made my goal of 12 books. I knew I needed to do better than that this year, so I signed up to read at least 36 books that I've owned for a year or more. Maybe I can even increase that to the next level in 2015! 1. Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer
2. Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson 3. The Iron Whim by Darren Wershler-Henry 4. Austenland by Shannon Hale 5. The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman 6. The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost by Rachel Friedman 7. The Underneath by Kathi Appelt 8. The Song of the Quarkbeast by Jasper Fforde 9. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain 10. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate 11. Spilling Clarence by Anne Ursu 12. Travels in the Greater Yellowstone by Jack Turner 13. The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer 14. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden 15. Aunts Aren't Gentlemen by P.G. Wodehouse 16. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows 17. La Bella Lingua by Dianne Hales 18. Bucking the Sun by Ivan Doig 19. A Romance on Three Legs by Katie Hafner 20. Living in a Foreign Language by Michael Tucker 21. Renaissance Florence on 5 Florins a Day by Charles FitzRoy 22. Two Memoirs of Renaissance Florence by Buonaccorso Pitti & Gregorio Dati 23. Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux 24. The Deception of the Emerald Ring by Lauren Willig 25. Room by Emma Donoghue 26. The Orchid House by Lucinda Riley 27. The Queen of the Big Time by Adriana Trigiani 28. The Man Who Ate the 747 by Ben Sherwood 29. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson 30. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson 31. Jesus by Walter Wangerin 32. Bitter Chocolate by Carol Off 33. A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599 by James Shapiro 34. The President's Lady by Irving Stone 35. Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer 36. The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Moyes 37. The Feast by Randy Lee Eickhoff I hosted this reading challenge this year (and I am again in 2015, too!), so I had better finish it! Rather than a number of books, each level was a number of points. Newbery Award winners were worth 3 points, Newbery Honor books were worth two, and Caldecott winners were worth one. I signed up for the Spinelli level, which meant that I needed to get at least 30 points. I made it! (Although apparently I didn't review many of these. . .) 1. The Underneath by Kathi Appelt (2 points) 2. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (3 points) 3. Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo (4 points - 2014 Medal winner) 4. Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool (3 points) 5. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (3 points) 6. Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos (3 points) 7. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (3 points) 8. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron (3 points) 9. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz (3 points) 10. The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden (2 points) 11. Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins (3 points) 12. Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (3 points) 13. Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi (3 points) Point Total: 38 (In case you're curious, When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead was by far my favorite of the Newbery books I read this year.) A chunkster is defined as a book that has more than 450 pages. When I initially signed up for this challenge, I set my sights at 8 chunksters, although I was hoping to reach 10 by the end of the year. I blew past both of those goals, and ended up reading 14 chunksters! (Although rereading Harry Potter this summer certainly helped.) 1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (552 pages)
2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (530 pages) 3. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain (456 pages) 4. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (502 pages) 5. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1,462 pages) 6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (734 pages) 7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (870 pages) 8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (652 pages) 9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (759 pages) 10. A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman (477 pages) 11. One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson (458 pages) 12. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (487 pages) 13. Waverley by Sir Walter Scott (600 pages) 14. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (478 pages) I love reading books that take place in different countries, so I signed up for three reading challenges this year that would help me do that! This challenge was hosted by Rose City Reader. I officially signed up for the Deluxe Entourage level, which meant I needed to read five books, all of which needed to be set in different European countries. I wanted to challenge myself, so I set my sights at ten books set in different European countries. Well, I didn't quite make it. . . but I'm content with the eight I accomplished! Germany: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Norway (Norwegian author): The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder United Kingdom: Serving Victoria: Life in the Royal Household by Kate Hubbard Italy: Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy by Michael Tucker France: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas Spain: The Curriculum Vitae of Aurora Ortiz by Almudena Solana Austria: Vienna Nocturne by Vivien Shotwell Ireland (technically Northern Ireland): The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom The Global Reading Challenge (hosted here) and Around the World in 12 Books (hosted by Giraffe Days) had similar rules. For each challenge, I needed to read a book set on each continent (well, minus Antarctica). Then, for the Around the World challenge, I needed to read an additional six books to add up to twelve altogether, each of which needed to be set in a different country. These two reading challenges really stretched me as a reader, because I don't often read outside my comfort zone of Europe and the U.S. And I really enjoyed being stretched as a reader. I love experiencing things I normally wouldn't ever come across! Africa: A Guide for the Perplexed by Dara Horn (Egypt) Asia: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (Japan) Australia/Oceania: The Service of Clouds by Delia Falconer (Australia) Europe: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Germany) North America: Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson (Canada) South America: Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru) Seventh Continent: Song of the Quarkbeast by Jasper Fforde (Kazam) Africa: A Guide for the Perplexed by Dara Horn (Egypt)
Asia: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (Japan) Australia/New Zealand: The Service of Clouds by Delia Falconer (Australia) Europe: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Germany) North America: Never Look a Polar Bear in the Eye by Zac Unger (Canada) South America: Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru) The Constantine Codex by Paul Maier (Turkey) King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard (Zimbabwe) Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux (China) The Case of the Love Commandos by Tarquin Hall (India) Jerusalem Vigil by Bodie & Brock Thoene (Israel) The Orchid House by Lucinda Riley (Thailand) This is the first year I participated in the What's in a Name Reading Challenge, which is hosted by The Worm Hole, although I know it's a standard in the blogosphere. Even though there were only six categories, it was surprisingly hard to find books that would work for each. I tried to overlap this with my TBR challenge, and only choose books that I already own. I succeeded, except for the weather category. Not too bad! A reference to time: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599 by James Shapiro A position of royalty: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain A number written in letters: A Romance on Three Legs by Katie Hafner A forename or names: Jesus by Walter Wangerin A type or element of weather: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon A school subject: A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson I was really excited for this challenge, because it allowed me to reread books without feeling guilty about it. Especially important because I planned to reread all of the Harry Potter books over the summer (which I did, in a crazy four-day marathon). I'm grateful to Bev at My Reader's Block for hosting this challenge and allowing me to reread books I love! 1. Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett 4. The Constantine Codex by Paul Maier 5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling 6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling 7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling 8. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling 9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling 10. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling 11. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling 12. Persuasion by Jane Austen I created this challenge in 2014 as an encouragement for myself to read more Newbery Award winners and Newbery Honor books. It worked! So far this year, I've read eleven Newbery books, and I'm hoping to sneak a few more in before the end of the year. I also discovered that there were people out there like me who wanted to read more Newbery books, so I've decided to host this challenge again in 2015. The rules are basically the same. Check it out below, and I hope you decide to join us! Each book you read is worth points. You get:
In addition to that, you pick a level to aim for:
You can get to this level with any combination of points you want. You can read all Newbery Medal winners. You can throw in a few Honor Books. If you want, you can even read 75 Caldecott Medal winners! How you get to your point level is totally up to you. Also, anywhere is the point range for your level counts as completing that level. So for example, if you signed up for the Avi level and read 46 points' worth of books, then you have completed that level! List of Newbery Medal Winners & Honor Books |
My name is Julie, and I own a lot of books. As in, they are stacked on the floor because I've run out of room on the shelves. And those shelves? There are so many books on them that they smile -- not sag; smile. This blog will cover book reviews and all manner of other bookish things.
You can contact me at julie@smilingshelves.com. Archives
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