I love travelling. And I love reading about places far away from me. So reading challenges that involve books set in other countries? Perfect! I'm signing up for three reading challenges that are pretty similar, so I thought I'd combine them into one post. The first one is the European Reading Challenge hosted by Rose City Reader. I participated in this challenge last year, and I loved it. I love Europe, and I've traveled there several times. Reading books set in Europe is no problem whatsoever. For this challenge, I'm signing up for the Five Star (Deluxe Entourage) level. I will need to read 5 books set in 5 different European countries. Last year, I read twice that. I'm hoping to match that again this year. My reading does tend to be Eurocentric, so I thought I would try to do just what this challenge says - expand my horizons. For the Global Reading Challenge, I am signing up for the Easy Challenge. I will need to read one novel set on each continent (although the seventh continent doesn't have to be Antarctica; it could be a different setting of your choice). This last challenge is going to be the most challenging one yet. The challenge is called Around the World in 12 Books, and it's hosted by Giraffe Days. I'm going big and signing up for the Seasoned Traveller level. This means I will need to read twelve books, each set in a different country. Thankfully, it overlaps with the Global Reading Challenge, because I also need to make sure I have a book set in each continent (minus Antarctica). This one could be a bit of a stretch for me, but I'm really looking forward to exploring other areas of the world through reading. After all, what is reading for, if not to explore new places?
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I have always loved reading nonfiction. Partly, I think that's because I love learning when I read. Sure, you can learn by reading fiction books (especially historical fiction, which I enjoy), but it's not the same as really digging into things with nonfiction. That's why I was so excited to discover the Nonfiction Reading Challenge hosted by The Introverted Reader.
Like any good reading challenge, there are levels. The highest level you can sign up for is Master, which is 16-20 books. But here's the thing. I read 20 nonfiction books last year, without any sort of reading challenge to spur me on. Now I love reading challenges that are easy to complete, but this one would be a little too easy. So I'm creating my own level (Master Plus, shall we say), and I'm challenging myself to read 25 nonfiction books. I've already got a start, and you can check out what I've read so far on my Reading Challenges page. Two more nonfiction books are sitting in the library book pile on my nightstand. Bring on the learning! Okay, so I know I'm late on this one. I was supposed to have my list posted by last Monday. But I totally missed that memo somehow, and I don't know what spin number was chosen, so I'm going to post my list now. I haven't participated in one of these spins yet, and I've been looking forward to it. I'm not going to let a measly thing like being a week late get in my way! So without further ado, here is my Classics Club Spin List: 1. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 2. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens 3. Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain 4. Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll 5. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson 6. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 7. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan 8. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe 9. The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain 10. Autobiography of Anthony Trollope by Anthony Trollope 11. Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald 12. Erewhon by Samuel Butler 13. The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison 14. Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald 15. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne 16. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck 17. Waverly by Sir Walter Scott 18. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Bucks 19. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston 20. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain Okay, I created that list before I went and looked at the spin number. (I guess there are some perks to being a week late. Now I get to know what book to read right away.) The spin number was 20. I have until April 2 to read A Connecticut Yankee in King's Arthur Court. The only Mark Twain I've read was Huck Finn back in high school, so I'm excited about this one. Now I've just got to find time in the next six weeks to read it!
From what I've seen in the blogosphere, this challenge is a tradition. This year, it's hosted by The Worm Hole. I've never participated in this challenge before, but it's only five books. Surely I can find the time to squeeze in these five books by the end of the year!
The categories are: - A reference to time - A position of royalty - A number written in letters - A forename or names - A type or element of weather I'm also going to make it slightly more challenging for myself and overlap it with my Mount TBR Challenge. That means that the five books I read for this challenge have to come from my own shelves. I certainly have enough books to choose from. I don't think it will be too difficult to find some in the right categories. Time to go scour the shelves and see what I can find! A bingo-based reading challenge? What fun!
I have to admit that part of my excitement for this challenge comes from nostalgia. When I was in fourth grade, our teacher had us do something similar. Whenever we finished reading a book, we had to pick a square on our bingo sheet. The square told us how to respond to the book we had read - everything from writing a journal as a character to coming up with an alternate ending to creating a diorama. The aim was to get a bingo by the end of the school year. That was no problem for me! This reading challenge reminds of that - but yet it's better! Now we're not aiming for just one bingo, but a full card. I am ready to begin! (And actually, I already have. Check out my Reading Challenges page to see what squares I've completed so far.) I've always loved L.M. Montgomery's books, but I usually don't venture outside of her Anne and Emily series. So this year's Reading to Know Book Club selection provided the perfect balance for me - one Anne book of my choosing and The Blue Castle, Montgomery's only book set somewhere other than Prince Edward Island. I have read The Blue Castle before (the plot gradually came back to me as I read), but it had been years. There was much that I didn't remember, but I enjoyed rediscovering it all. Valancy's sense of humor as she began to shake off her mother's shackles was incredibly amusing, even if I can't picture myself ever talking to someone that way. What would it be like if we all went around saying exactly what we were thinking, even (especially) if it wasn't something nice? Would our relationships deteriorate because we were offending our friends and family, or would our relationships grow stronger because everyone is telling the truth and has nothing to hide? Some relationships would survive, I am sure, but it seems like an awfully dangerous experiment. Valancy and Barney's love story is rather unorthodox. But isn't it just like Montgomery to have her characters fall in love over the beauty and wildness of nature? There have been many moments in my life when I wished I could see the world through Lucy Maud Montgomery's eyes. What a magical place it becomes, and what wonderful writing she uses to describe it! For the L.M. Montgomery Reading Challenge this month, I also reread Anne of Avonlea (for about the eighteenth time). I always love revisiting Prince Edward Island and renewing my friendship with Anne. And much of that (this time at least) was exactly what I just mentioned in the paragraph above - Montgomery's descriptions of the world around her. I just love to revel in the magic she brings to nature by the word-pictures she draws. I can't say that The Blue Castle is my favorite Montgomery book, but I was glad to be given the chance to reread it. It helped remind me of all the amazing Montgomery stories there are out there, beyond the world of Emily and Anne. I just may find myself exploring more of these stories in the very near future! I never noticed just how many books have colors in the title until I discovered this challenge last year. It's hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block. The goal is to read nine books with colors in the titles, one for each of the following categories: - Blue - Red - Yellow - Green - Brown - Black - White - Any other color - Any implied color It can be a shade of the above-mentioned color or the name of the color itself. I completed this challenge last year, and I was a bit hesitant to join again this year. I thought it might be difficult to find enough color books to complete this challenge two years in a row. But it's not quite the end of January, and I've already read books for three categories - unplanned, even! It looks like I'm ready for another go on this challenge. You can check out my 2014 Reading Challenges page to see what I've read for this and all of the challenges I've joined so far.
Now I'm off to find the rest of my color books. I'm discovering that blue and green are common in titles. Black and white seem to be less so. I'm open to suggestions if anyone's got some! I figure it's about time to sign up for my own challenge! I decided to host a Newbery Reading Challenge because it's one of my long-term goals to read all of the Newbery Medal winners. But those books often slip through the cracks of all the adult fiction and nonfiction (and the occasional YA novel) I read. This challenge will keep me on track for someday completing that goal.
The challenge is point-based (click on the challenge badge above to see all the details). I'm signing up for the Spinelli level, which is 30-44 points. If you want to join the fun, check out the introductory post! I discovered this challenge too late last year to sign up, but I will not make that same mistake this year! This challenge is hosted by Book Dragon's Lair, and it is a challenge I have no fear of not completing. Trips to the library are the mainstay of my summer months. Every three weeks, I have a Library Day where I visit the two big libraries in my vicinity, and then celebrate my piles of books by meeting my husband for lunch during his lunch break. Even now in January, I am looking forward to those Library Days in June.
I am signing up for the Just Insert IV level, which means I need to read at least 50 library books by the end of 2014. No problem, since I just can't stay away from libraries. My original plan was to read from my TBR stacks until June, then live in the library all summer. But the book I'm reading now came from the library. . .and there are two more waiting on my nightstand. There's just something about a building full of books that you can borrow for free! So there's my confession: My name is Julie, and I'm addicted to library books. Here's to signing up for a challenge to help fuel that obsession! I joined the Mount TBR Challenge hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block last year in July, and I just barely made my goal of 12 books by the end of the year. I have plans to do better this year! I've decided to read books from my own shelves until the end of the school year. I don't have time for big library trips right now, so this is the perfect time to focus on all those books that have been sitting neglected for so long. To help me keep focused on my TBR stacks, I've decided to aim for the Mt. Vancouver level this year. That means I need to read 36 of my own books by December 31. Sounds easy this early in the year, right? I sure hope it turns out to be as easy as I think! I already have one book complete. I devoured Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer over the weekend. I've just been waiting for January 1 to read that one! I'll be keeping track of the rest of my list on my 2014 Reading Challenges page. You can check out the (hopefully) growing list over there.
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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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