2025 Reading Challenge discussion

MY FAVOURITE QUOTES:

1. The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go. (Dr. Seuss)

2. If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. (Haruki Murakami)

***RESERVED SPACE FOR NOTES, REMINDERS & LINKS***

2017 CHALLENGES AT-A-GLANCE:

Personal Challenges:
1. 12 books in a year
2. Goodreads Choice Awards (2009-2016)

Yearly Challenges:
1. Genre Bingo Challenge
2. Let's Turn Pages Challenge
3. Around the Wold Through Language
4. Popsugar Reading Challenge
5. Modern Mrs. Darcy Challenge

Quarterly Challenges:
1. Clear the Shelves
2. Classics Around the World
3. Triathlon
4. Wonders of the World

Challenges by Month:
1. Marathon Challenge ☺
2. Myths From Around The World ☺
3. Earth Challenge ☺
4. The Women in the Book
5. World Religions Challenge
6. Links Challenge
7. War and Peace

GROUP READS | BUDDY READS | TBR TWINS:

January:
1. January Group Read : American Gods (Neil Gaiman)

February:
1. February Buddy Read : The Light Between Oceans (M.L. Stedman)

March:
1. March Group Read : The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
2. March Buddy Read : Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race (Margot Lee Shetterly)

April: N/A

May:
1. May Buddy Read : To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

June :
1. June Buddy Read : The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
2. TBR Twin w/Aysha : The Water Knife (Paolo Bacigalupi)

July :
1. July Group Read : Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut Jr.)
2. July Buddy Read : Scarlet (Marissa Meyer)
3. July Buddy Read : Life of Pi

August :
1. August Buddy Read : Little Women

September :
1. September Group Read
2. September Buddy Read

October :


November :

December :

YEARLY CHALLENGE #1 - GENRE BINGO
January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2017

Goal: 10 books / 2 bingos
Progress: 9/10 books

✔ Free Space (=Urban Fantasy): American Gods by Neil Gaiman
✔ Historical Fiction: The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
✔ Thriller & Suspense: The Light of the Fireflies by Paul Pen
✔ Book-to-movie: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
✔ Magic Realism: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
✔ Children's: El árbol generoso by Shel Silverstein
✔ Dystopian: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
✔ Literary Fiction: The Vegetarian by Han Kang
✔ Classics: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

YEARLY CHALLENGE #2 - LET'S TURN PAGES
January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2017

Goal: read 10,000 pages
Progress: 14,710/10,000 pages

January: 672 + 128 + 224 + 106 + 127 = 1,257


February: 417 + 338 + 224 + 657 = 1,636


March: 52 + 259 + 64 + 325 = 700


April: 194 + 312 + 231 + 466 = 1,203


May: 385 + 288 + 287 + 302 + 322 + 220 = 1,804


June: 189 + 352 + 240 + 320 = 1,101


July: 386 + 275 + 404 + 464 + 352 + 550 + 256 = 2,687


August: 833 + 401 + 368 + 368 + 179 + 401 + 353 = 2,903


September: 368 + 359 + 433 + 259 = 1,419


October:


November:
December:

Pages read total:

YEARLY CHALLENGE #3 - AROUND THE WORLD THROUGH LANGUAGE
January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2017

Goal: read 5 books originally published in a foreign language
Progress: 3/5

1. Spanish: El brillo de las luciérnagas
2. French: Le Petit Prince
3. Danish:
4. Japanese:
5. Italian:
6. Korean: The Vegetarian

YEARLY CHALLENGE #4 - POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE
January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2017

Goal: Complete 31 tasks
Progress: 3/31

1. A book recommended by a librarian
2. A book that's been on your TBR list for way too long
3. A book of letters
4. An audiobook The Vegetarian / The Secret Horses of Briar Hill / Slaughterhouse-Five
5. A book by a person of color We Should All Be Feminists
6. A book with one of the four seasons in the title
7. A book that is a story within a story The Great Gatsby / Slaughterhouse-Five / Life of Pi
8. A book with multiple authors
9. An espionage thriller
10. A book with a cat on the cover
11. A book with an author who uses a pseudonym
12. A bestseller from a genre you don't normally read
13. A book by or about a person who has a disability
14. A book involving travel American Gods /Le Petit Prince:
✔ A book with a subtitle Algernon, Charlie, and I: A Writer's Journey The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past
16. A book that's published in 2017 Roses of May / Desert Flowers / Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance
17. A book involving a mythical creature American Gods The Golem and the Jinni / The Ocean at the End of the Lane / The Secret Horses of Briar Hill
18. A book you've read before that never fails to make you smile Le Petit Prince: / The Giving Tree
19. A book about food
20. A book with career advice
21. A book from a nonhuman perspective The Golem and the Jinni
22. A steampunk novel
23. A book with a red spine
24. A book set in the wilderness
25. A book you loved as a child Le Petit Prince: / The Giving Tree
26. A book by an author from a country you've never visited
27. A book with a title that's a character's name Le Petit Prince: / Algernon, Charlie, and I: A Writer's Journey / The Great Gatsby / Cinder / Scarlet / Life of Pi / Cress /
28. A novel set during wartime The Secret Horses of Briar Hill / Slaughterhouse-Five
29. A book with an unreliable narrator Slaughterhouse-Five
30. A book with pictures Le Petit Prince: / The Giving Tree / The Secret Horses of Briar Hill
31. A book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you
32. A book about an interesting woman
33. A book set in two different time periods
34. A book with a month or day of the week in the title Roses of May
35. A book set in a hotel
36. A book written by someone you admire
37. A book that's becoming a movie in 2017
38. A book set around a holiday other than Christmas
39. The first book in a series you haven't read before The Butterfly Garden / Cinder
40. A book you bought on a trip

Advanced
41. A book recommended by an author you love
42. A bestseller from 2016
43. A book with a family-member term in the title
44. A book that takes place over a character's life span
45. A book about an immigrant or refugee
46. A book from a genre/subgenre you've never heard of
47. A book with an eccentric character
48. A book that's more than 800 pages
49. A book you got from a used book sale
✔ A book that's been mentioned in another book Flowers for Algernon /
51. A book about a difficult topic
52. A book based on mythology

YEARLY CHALLENGE #5 - MODERN MRS: DARCY CHALLENGE
January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2017

Goal: Read 9 books (5 for fun + 4 for growth)
Progress: 2/9

2nd QUARTER CHALLENGE - CLEAR ALL YOUR BOOKSHELVES CHALLENGE
April 1, 2017 - June 30, 2017

Goal: Read 10 books
Planned books:


Progress: 8/10 FAILED!
✔ The Vegetarian
✔ Flowers for Algernon
✔ Algernon, Charlie, and I: A Writer's Journey
✔ The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
✔ To Kill a Mockingbird
✔ The Butterfly Garden
✔ The Blue Girl
✔ The Great Gatsby

2nd QUARTER CHALLENGE - CLASSICS AROUND THE WORLD CHALLENGE
April 1, 2017 - June 30, 2017

Goal: Read 5 books
Progress: 0/5 FAILED!

3rd QUARTER CHALLENGE - TRIATHLON CHALLENGE
July 1, 2017 - September 30, 2017

Goal: read 3,000 pages
Progress:

3rd QUARTER CHALLENGES:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

4th QUARTER CHALLENGES:

4th QUARTER CHALLENGES:

JANUARY CHALLENGE - MARATHON CHALLENGE
January 1 - January 31, 2017

Goal: read 1,000 pages
Progress: 1,257/1,000 pages COMPLETED!

JANUARY CHALLENGE - MYTHS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
January 1 - January 31, 2017

Goal: 3
Progress: 4/3 COMPLETED!

1. Janus - Roman god of beginnings and transitions. Read a book set in Italy, or a book with a character that starts out on a fresh beginning.
The Forbidden Book

2. Fenghuang - Chinese bird, also known as the Chinese Phoenix, is a mythical bird that signifies high virtue and grace. Read a book set in China, or a book featuring a character full of grace and virtue.

3. Brownie - Scottish mythical creature that inhabits houses and aids in tasks. Read a book set in Scotland, or a book featuring a character that does work that is unseen.
The Monarch of the Glen

4. Enenra - Japanese smoke creature. It inhabits bonfires and legend says can only be seen by the pure of heart. Read a book set in Japan, or a book with a pure-hearted character.
The Little Prince

5. Cyclops - Greek mythical one-eyed giants. Read a book based on a Greek tragedy or a book featuring a short-sighted character.

6. Lang suir - Malaysian ghost of a woman who died in childbirth. Read a book from Oceania, or a book featuring a character who dies from a broken heart.

7. Finnish water spirit who will capture unmindful children. Read a book set in Scandinavia, or a book about a captured child.

8. Hippogriff - European medieval beast that is half eagle and half horse, known for being extremely fast and able to fly long distances. Read a book about medieval Europe, or a book featuring a character who flies.
Jonathan Livingston Seagull

9. Wandjina - Australian aboriginal wind and cloud spirits. Read a book set in Australia, or a book featuring an important weather event.

10. Jumbee - Caribbean malevolent entities. Read a book set in the Caribbean, or a book featuring a malevolent character.

FEBRUARY CHALLENGE - EARTH CHALLENGE
February 1 - February 28, 2017

Goal: 1
Planned books:

Progress: 1/1 COMPLETED!

1. Read a book that has the word “Earth” in the title.

2. Read a book where a character comes out of the Earth (examples: orcs, golems, zombies).
The Golem and the Jinni

3. Read a book where the Earth is treated as a character (examples: Mother Earth, Tera, Gaia).

4. Read a book where conservation of the Earth is a central theme.

5. Read a book that is specifically about one of the 7 continents more than just a single country.

6. Read a book where a landmark from the Earth that is central to the story (examples: mountians, rivers, land).

7. Read a book where something made from the Earth is central to the story (examples: pottery, marble statue, clay houses).

8. Read a book where the characters miss the Earth, either they are in outer space or in heaven/hell.

9. Read a book where one of the ancient elements is in the title of the book: clay, water, fire, or air.

10. Read a book where a modern element or mineral is central to the story (examples: diamonds, salt, pearls).

MARCH CHALLENGE - THE WOMEN IN THE BOOK
March 1 - March 31, 2017

Goal: 2
Planned books:

Progress: 2/2 COMPLETED!

1. Read a book written by a female author that is new to you.
2. Read a book written by a female of color.
3. Read a nonfiction book written by a female author.
4. Read a biography (not a memoir) about a woman.
5. Read a book that is classified as “feminist.” (Can be fiction)
6. Read a book where a woman disguises herself as man.
7. Read a book where the woman in the story does not conform to gender norms.
8. Read a book about a woman/women during a time of war.
9. Read a book where the antagonist is a female.
10. Read a book with a woman's name in the title.

APRIL CHALLENGE - WORLD RELIGIONS
April 1 - April 30, 2017

Goal: 1
Planned books:

Progress: 0/1

APRIL CHALLENGE - LINKS
April 1 - April 30, 2017

Goal: 1 link (=2 books)
Progress: 1/1 links (=2 books) COMPLETED!

1) TITLE TWINS: Read two books with that share a word in the title. Link is in the title.
2) REFLECTIONS: Read two books on the same subject, one fiction and one non-fiction. Link is the topic.
3) TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN: Two different perspectives on the same topic. For example a male and female's view of marriage OR a liberal and a conservative view on poverty OR a young person and an older person's view on friendship. Link is the topic.
4) BACKLIST: Read an author's most recent publication, followed by an earlier publication, and then an even earlier publication, etc. Link is the author her- or himself.
5)GOODREADS RECOMMENDATION: Read a book and then choose a book that Goodreads lists as being similar or recommended. Link is Goodreads.
6)GLOBETROTTER: Read a book in which the character travels from one place to another. Find a book that begins where the last book left off (Does not need to be exact location, but should be close.) Link is the location.

Flowers for Algernon
Algernon, Charlie, and I: A Writer's Journey

JULY CHALLENGE - WAR AND PEACE
July 1 - July 30, 2017

Goal: 1
Progress: 0/1

1. War and Peace is perhaps best known as one of the longest novels ever written, and spans the period 1805 to 1820. Read a book that has more than 500 pages or one takes place over a span of 15 or more years.

2. The book is set during the French invasion of Russia and chronicles the impact of the Napoleonic era on Tsarist society through the stories of five aristocratic Russian families. Read a book about aristocrats or one that is told from different perspectives.

3. Tolstoy said War and Peace is "not a novel, even less is it a poem, and still less a historical chronicle". Large sections, especially the later chapters, are a philosophical discussion rather than narrative. Read a book that fits different genres or one that contains philosophical considerations.

4. Tolstoy also said that the best Russian literature does not conform to standards and hence hesitated to call War and Peace a novel. Instead, he regarded Anna Karenina as his first true novel. Read a debut novel or one that has a link with Anna Katerina.

5. The central character, Count Pyotr Kirillovich (Pierre) Bezukhov, is the socially awkward illegitimate son of Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhov, and is based on Tolstoy himself. Read a book about a socially awkward person or one that you can identify with.

6. The narrative mentions 559 different characters, of which about 200 are historical figures. Tolstoy tried to get everyone into his novel: emperors, generals, nobility, peasants, soldiers, all with their own mannerisms and speech patterns. Read a book that is based on historical figures or one that includes multiple layers of society.

7. Portions of an earlier version, titled The Year 1805, were serialized in The Russian Messenger from 1865 to 1867. The novel was first published in its entirety in 1869. Read a book that has been published under different titles or one that is part of a series.

8. The Russian novel has been translated to English eleven times, the first translation by the American Nathan Haskell Dole in 1899. Read a book that was originally written in a language other than English or one that is set before 1899.

9. There are three films and five television adaptations of the story. The four-part and 431-minutes long Russian film took six years to shoot and has won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language film. Read a book that contains a competition or one about bilingual characters.

10. English progressive rock band Yes's song "The Gates of Delirium" from their 1974 album Relayer was inspired by War and Peace. Read a book about music or a delirious character.

SEPTEMBER CHALLENGE

SEPTEMBER CHALLENGE

OCTOBER CHALLENGE

OCTOBER CHALLENGE

NOVEMBER CHALLENGE

NOVEMBER CHALLENGE

DECEMBER CHALLENGE

DECEMBER CHALLENGE

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I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the way you've managed this corner. I've tried to figure out how to design mine, especially since there are goals from other groups, and your wonderfully organized corner gave me ideas.

Good luck with your goals for 2017!! I look forward to seeing your decisions.