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Smiling Shelves

Challenges Complete (Round 3 of Wrap-Up Posts)

12/26/2015

4 Comments

 
I participated in a lot of reading challenges this year. And amazingly, I completed them, too! In an effort not to flood all my awesome readers with a bazillion wrap-up posts, I'm aiming to cover several challenges at a time. Thanks for being patient - this is the last of these wrap-up posts, I promise!
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Hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block
This was a challenge to read books that have been sitting on your shelves for a year or more. I signed up for the Mt. Vancouver level, which meant I needed to read 36 neglected books from my shelves. I was actually able to pass that, and I'm hoping to squeeze in a couple more before the year is over!

​1. Mistress Pat by L.M. Montgomery
2. Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen
3. The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean
4. Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
5. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
6. The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey
7. Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott
8. The Little Book by Selden Edwards
9. The Tale of Applebeck Orchard by Susan Wittig Albert
10. An Accomplished Woman by Jude Morgan
11.  Grace (Eventually) by Anne Lamott
12. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
13. The Big House by George Howe Colt
14. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
15. Never A City So Real by Alex Kotlowitz
16. Keys to the Castle by Donna Ball
17. Arcadia by Lauren Groff
18. Symphony by Jude Morgan
19. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
20. Autobiography of Anthony Trollope by Anthony Trollope
21. The Guardians by Ana Castillo
22. The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer
23. Rococo by Adriana Trigiani
24. On the Water by Nathaniel Stone
25. Old School by Tobias Wolff
26. Walk the Lines by Mark Mason
27. Ivy Days by Susan Allen Toth
28. Sorcery & Cecelia by Patricia Wrede & Caroline Stevermer
29. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
30. The Great Bridge by David McCullough
31.  Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
32. The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer
33. The Real Boy by Anne Ursu
34. Around the World on Two Wheels by Peter Zheutlin
35. The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland
36. Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams
37. The Turquoise Ledge by Leslie Marmon Silko
38. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
​39. The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma
40. The Diary of Nobody by George Grossmith
41.  Grave Consequences by Lisa T. Bergren
42. Brainiac by Ken Jennings

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Hosted by Gina at Book Dragon's Lair
The other main source of my books is the library. I signed up for the Adult level, which was 36 library books. Um, I kind of passed that one. . .

​1.  Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
2. A Passion Redeemed by Julie Lessman
3. Balance by Nik Wallenda
4. I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora
5. In the Woods by Tana French
6. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
7. The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard Morais
8. The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna van Praag
9. The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
10. The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley
11.  A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
12. Packing for Mars by Mary Roach
13. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
14. A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck
15. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
16. The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart
17. A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
18. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
19. The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson
20. The Black Reckoning by John Stephens
21.  Stick to Drawing Comics, Monkey Brain! by Scott Adams
22. A Passion Denied by Julie Lessman
23. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
24. The Cracks in the Kingdom by Jaclyn Moriarty
25. Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth
26. Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
27. The Last Bookaneer by Matthew Pearl
28. A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
29. The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan
30. The Library of Unrequited Love by Sophie Divry
31.  A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
32. The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman
33. The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
34. The Maintenance of Headway by Magnus Mills
35. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
36. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
37. The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett
38. The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley
39. Between You & Me by Mary Norris
40. The Priest by Francine Rivers
41.  My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff
42. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
43. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
44. How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown
45. Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
46. Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
47. Because I Said So! by Ken Jennings
48. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
49. This Book Is Overdue! by Marilyn Johnson
50. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
51.  Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong
52. The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera
53. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
54. Holes by Louis Sachar
55. The Martian by Andy Weir
56. The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
57. Emma: A Modern Retelling by Alexander McCall Smith
58. Dragon on Trial by Tui & Kari Sutherland
59. Goodnight June by Sarah Jio
60. The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages
​61.  Faith of My Fathers by Lynn Austin
62. The Monopolists by Mary Pilon
63. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
​64. America the Beautiful by Ben Carson
65. The Hidden White House by Robert Klara
66. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
​67. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
​68. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
69. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
​70. Blessings by Anna Quindlen
​71.  Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

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Hosted by Escape with Dollycas Into a Good Book
For this challenge, I needed to read a book that started with each letter of the alphabet. Easier said than done, especially when it comes to something like X!

​A - Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
B - Balance by Nik Wallenda
C - The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer
D - The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean
E - Emma by Jane Austen
F - The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
G - Grace (Eventually) by Anne Lamott
H - The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard Morais
I -  In the Woods by Tana French
J - Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott
K - Keys to the Castle by Donna Ball
L - Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen
M - The Maintenance of Headway by Magnus Mills
​N - Never A City So Real by Alex Kotlowitz
O - Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
P - Pat of Silver Bush by L.M. Mongomery
Q - The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
R - Rococo by Adriana Trigiani
S - Symphony by Jude Morgan
T - Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
U - Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
V - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
W - Walk the Lines by Mark Mason
X - Xanadu by John Man
Y - The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey
Z - The Zucchini Warriors by Gordon Korman

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Hosted by Samantha Lin
This is a similar challenge to the last one, only you had to find a book for each letter based on the author's last name, rather than the title. I love the challenge of this one!

​A - Allen, Sarah Addison (Lost Lake)
B - Bennett, Alan (The Uncommon Reader)
C - Colt, George Howe (The Big House)
D - Dickens, Charles (Oliver Twist)
E - Edwards, Selden (The Little Book)
F - Falvey, Patricia (The Yellow House)
G - Groff, Lauren (Arcadia)
H - Hurston, Zora Neale (Their Eyes Were Watching God)
I -  Ibbotson, Eva (Island of the Aunts)
J - Jerome, Jerome (Three Men in a Boat)
K - Kean, Sam (The Disappearing Spoon)
L - Lewis, C.S. (Chronicles of Narnia)
M - Montgomery, L.M. (Pat of Silver Bush & Mistress Pat)
​N - Norris, Mary (Between You & Me)
O - Ozma, Alice (The Reading Promise)
P - Praag, Menna van (The Dress Shop of Dreams)
Q - Quindlen, Anna (Blessings)
R - Riley, Lucinda (The Seven Sisters)
S - Stone, Nathaniel (On the Water)
T - Trollope, Anthony (Autobiography of Anthony Trollope)
U - Ursu, Anne (The Real Boy)
V - Vreeland, Susan (The Passion of Artemisia)
W - Wallenda, Nik (Balance)
X - Xiaolong, Qiu (Death of a Red Heroine)
Y - Yousafzai, Malala (I Am Malala)
Z - Zheutlin, Peter (Around the World on Two Wheels)

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Hosted by Jen at The Introverted Reader
I really enjoy reading nonfiction, so I signed up for the Master level. That meant I needed to read 16-20 nonfiction books. I'm pretty happy that I passed that number!

1. Balance: A Story of Faith, Family, and Life on the Line by Nik Wallenda
2. The Disappearing Spoon and Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean
3. Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott
4. The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home by George Howe Colt
5. Never A City So Real: A Walk in Chicago by Alex Kotlowitz
6. Autobiography of Anthony Trollope by Anthony Trollope
7. On the Water: Discovering America in a Rowboat by Nathaniel Stone
8. Walk the Lines: The London Underground, Overground by Mark Mason
9. Ivy Days: Making My Way Out East by Susan Allen Toth
10. Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach
11.  The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough
12. The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America by Bill Bryson
13. Stick to Drawing Comics, Monkey Brain! by Scott Adams
14. Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth
15. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba
16. Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris
17. My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff
18. How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown
19. Because I Said So!: The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales, and Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids by Ken Jennings
20. This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson
21. The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World's Favorite Board Game by Mary Pilon
22. Around the World on Two Wheels: Annie Londonderry's Extraordinary Ride by Peter Zheutlin
23. Turn Right at Machu Picchu:​ Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time by Mark Adams
24. America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great by Ben Carson
25. The Turquoise Ledge:​ A Memoir by Leslie Marmon Silko
26. Xanadu:​ Marco Polo and Europe's Discovery of the East by John Man
27. The Hidden White House: Harry Truman and the Reconstruction of America's Most Famous Residence by Robert Klara
28. I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai
29. The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared by Alice Ozma
30. Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs by Ken Jennings

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You probably saw this one coming a mile away. I signed up for the In Flight level, which meant I had to complete 11-15 reading challenges. Here are the 15 challenges that I completed:
  • ​Mount TBR
  • I Love Library Books
  • Birthday Month
  • Hard Core Rereading
  • What's In a Name
  • Color Coded
  • Victorian
  • Reading England
  • Around the World in 12 Books
  • European
  • Chunkster
  • Alphabet Soup
  • Authors A-Z
  • Nonfiction
  • Newbery

I know you won't believe me if I say that I'm planning to cut way back on my 2016 challenges. I'm really trying my hardest to, though, because I have a very good reason (which shall be explained soon)!
4 Comments
Debbie link
12/26/2015 09:09:24 am

WOW!!! Hooray for you. That's a LOT of challenges.

Reply
Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
12/26/2015 03:45:47 pm

Thanks, Debbie. I was a little concerned these last couple of months that I wouldn't make it. I'm surprised and happy that I did! :)

Reply
Emily link
12/27/2015 12:31:53 pm

Mega impressed! I hardly ever sign up for challenges because I am horribly, horribly bad at them. But I think I miss out on some of the fun too!

Reply
Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
1/3/2016 04:51:33 pm

I tend to go a little overboard with the challenges, and I'm hoping to hold back a bit this year and just choose ones I'm really excited about. They certainly are fun!

Reply



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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.

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