SA Book & Challenge Lovers discussion

Star Search
29 March - 31 October 2011

This is a mini challenge for those of us who like to read the same genre all the time. It is also for those of us that like to try new things :) But maybe you just want pretty stars!

Each time you read 3 books of a specific genre, you get a coloured star representing the genre.

Here are the stars and their genres:
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Romance
Science Fiction
Paranormal
Crime/Mystery/Thriller
Non-Fiction
Horror
YA / Children's Lit
General Fiction
Classics



So if you read 9 Paranormal books, you'll have 3 purple stars.

Everyone who participates and get 1 or more stars will be entered into a giveaway to win $25 worth of books from The Book Depository!
Get an extra entry for every star earned!

You get to read a genre as many times as you like, or challenge yourself by reading books you wouldn't normally pick up.

Feel free to make a post of your planning wherever you like, whether on this post or somewhere else. As long as an update is given here when a new star should be awarded :) No cheating to get the voucher, Lu is watching you :P

Only books with 200+ pages will count towards this one!

If anyone wants to put their stars in a separate topic (under Reading Goals for instance) and are not sure how, here's a list of codes to use:

Fantasy
<#img src="http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/8554...
Historical Fiction
<#img src="http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/1658...
Romance
<#img src="http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/85...
Science Fiction
<#img src="http://img862.imageshack.us/img862/33...
Paranormal
<#img src="http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/55...
Crime/Mystery/Thriller
<#img src="http://img864.imageshack.us/img864/56...
Non-Fiction
<#img src="http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/1673...
Horror
<#img src="http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/33...
YA / Children's Lit
<#img src="http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/8707/p...
General Fiction
<#img src="http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/81...
Classics
<#img src="http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/23...

Simply copy and paste the code, and delete the "#" sign.

Participants and their stars:

Barbara
Crusader
Liezel
Kae
Niecole
Lauren S
Lu
Diane

Kahlan's updates:

Fantasy
       
       
YA / Children's
                   
Science Fiction
               
Crime/Mystery/Thriller
   
Non-Fiction

General Fiction

Romance

Horror
   
Paranormal
   
Classics

Stars: 19

Lu's Planning thread and update thread:

Stars:

Fantasy

A Game of Thrones

Historical Fiction

Romance

Fatal Embrace
Water for Elephants

Science Fiction

Catching Fire
Mockingjay
Delirium



Paranormal

Demonglass
Blood Faerie
Evermore



Blue Moon
Spiral X
Once a Witch



Crime/Mystery/Thriller

Non-Fiction

Horror

YA / Children's

Flawless
Matched
Deadlands



Like Mother, Like Daughter
Bad Taste in Boys
If I Stay



General Fiction

Classics

Horror:


Science fiction:


Crime/Mystery/Thriller:


Fantasy:


Non-Fiction


STARS: 15

And of course I want to participate and here's my list (which for now is still empty):

Fantasy
1.1) Before and After
1.2) Guenevere The Queen of the Summer Country
1.3) Talyn
2.1) Ravens of Avalon
2.2) I shall wear midnight
2.3) Sword of Avalon
3.1) A game of Thrones
3.2) Heart of Light
3.3) Kushiel's Dart
4.1) The Two Towers
4.2) Kushiel's Chosen
4.3) Kushiel's Avatar
5.1) Soul of Fire
5.2) Heart and Soul
5.3) Guenevere The Knight of the Sacred Lake
6.1) Guenevere The child of the holy grail

Historical Fiction
1.1) Mevrouw Bentinck
1.2) Passage to Pontefract
1.3) The Second Duchess
2.1) The Star Of Lancaster
2.2) Birds of Prey
2.3) Pitcairn's Island
3.1) Epitaph for Three Women
3.2) The Secret River
3.3) The Red Rose of Anjou
4.1) The Sun in Splendour
4.2) Uneasy lies the head
4.3) Katharine The Virgin Widow
5.1) The Egyptian
5.2) Virgin Widow
5.3) Second Sight
6.1) The Shadow of the Pomegranate
6.2) The vagrant King
6.3) Brides of the West
7.1) Seduction
7.2) Two Little Lies
7.3) Sarum the novel of England

Romance
1.1) Scarlett
1.2) Pride and Prejudice
1.3) Sense and Sensibility

Science Fiction
1.1) Enemy Unseen
1.2) I am number four
1.3) Star trek The voyage Home
2.1) Black Man
2.2) Imzadi II

Paranormal
1.1) Changeless
1.2) Minion
1.3) Blameless
2.1) Heartless
2.2) The Black Veil and other tales of supernatural sleuths
2.3) Lilith's Dream

Crime/Mystery/Thriller
1.1) Zondaarskind
1.2) The Eyre Affair
1.3) Lost in a Good Book
2.1) The Mystery of the Yellow Room
2.2) Lemon Meringue Pie Murder
2.3) The Killer
3.1) The Devil's Whisper
3.2) This Pen for Hire
3.3) Death of a Poison Pen
4.1) Dead-End Road

Non-Fiction
1.1) The Bounty Mutiny
1.2) Katherine the Queen

Horror
1.1) Dracula
1.2) The Red Tree
1.3) The Ghost Writer

YA / Children's
1.1) Impossible
1.2) Heaven Sent
1.3) High Stakes
2.1) Mean Spirits
2.2) Young Blood
2.3) Grave Doubts
3.1) The Hatchling
3.2) The Outcast
3.3) Speak
4.1) Watership Down
4.2) The Gates
4.3) Hell's Bells
5.1) The Coming of Hoole
5.2) To be a King
5.3) James Potter and the hall of elders crossing
6.1) X-Isle
6.2) Into the wild

General Fiction
1.1) The thing about life is that one day you'll be dead
1.2) Brideshead Revisted
1.3) The Virgin Blue
2.1) When you are engulfed in flames
2.2) Miss Chopsticks

Classics
1.1) Wuthering Heights
1.2) The Mutiny on the Bounty
1.3) Ulysses
2.1) The Three Musketeers
2.2) Three Plays by Sophocles
2.3) Villette
3.1) The age of innocence
3.2) Jane Eyre


Stars: 28

I want to join!!!
Will it be ok if you read a book here that corresponds with the Diabolical challenge?

Fantasy
Alice in Wonderland
James Potter #1
A Game of Thrones

A Clash of Kings
A Storm of Swords
A feast for crows

Historical Fiction
The Constant Princess
The Red Queen
Shanghai Girls

Snow Flower and the secret Fan

Romance
Pillow Talk
Lady Chatterleys Lover


Science Fiction
I am number four

Paranormal
Sooky Stackhouse #1
Feed
Hush Hush


Crime/Mystery/Thriller
Body of Evidence
The Girl who played with fire
The Girl who kicked the hornets nest
The Echo Man
I want to watch

Non-Fiction
Steeped in Blood
Living with Evil

Horror
Night Shift

YA / Children's
Artemis Fowl #1
Gossip Girl#1
Hunger Games Catching Fire

Marked
Tempted
The Lost Hero

Chosen
Hunted
Untamed

The Magicians Nephew
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Horse and his Boy


General Fiction
Lover Mine
Digital Fortress

Classics
Dracula
Frankenstein
The Picture of Dorian Grey

Liezel's spot:

Fantasy
Pride prejudice Zombies
Blue Bloods
Masquerade

Revelations
The Van Alen's Legacy
Misguided Angel

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
City of Fallen Angels



Historical Fiction
Water for Elephants
My Dear Jenny

Romance
Blaze of Memory
Bonds of Justice
Play of Passion

Science Fiction
Across the Universe

Paranormal
Slave to Sensation
Visions of Heat
Caressed by Ice

Mine to Possess
Hostage to Pleasure
Branded by Fire

Crime/Mystery/Thriller

Non-Fiction
Outliers
Ayrton Senna: The Whole Story

Horror

YA / Children's

Jane
Intrinsical
Nightshade

[Book: The Hunger Games]
Catching Fire
Mockingjay

A Touch Mortal
Queen of the Dead
Everlasting

Radiant Shadows
Darkest Mercy
Passion

Clockwork Angel
In the Arms of Stone Angels
Revolution

General Fiction

Classics
Mansfield Park
Emma
Northanger Abbey

stars 12

Ooh, shiny new challenge, and there's a prize too! I'm so in :)

Fantasy 7
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
Spiral X by J.J. Westendarp
Un Lun Dun by China Mieville
The Dream Crystal by Mark O'Bannon
The Antithesis by Terra Whiteman
Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice
A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
The Winds of Winter by George R.R. Martin
A Dream of Spring by George R.R. Martin

Historical Fiction

Science Fiction 11
Nekropolis by Maureen McHugh
Morlock Night by K.W. Jeter
The Bookman by Lavie Tidhar
End of the World Blues
Shards of Honour by Lois McMaster Bujold
Deathstalker by Simon R. Green
Deathstalker Rebellion by Simon R. Green
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Embassytown by China Mieville
The Postmortal by Drew Magary
The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen
The Wind-Up Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever
The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon

Non-Fiction 2
James Tiptree, Jr.: The double life of Alice B. Sheldon by Julie Philips
The Duck that Won the Lottery by Julian Baggini

Crime/Mystery/Thriller 1
Exhibit A by Sarah Lotz
Reamde by Neal Stephenson

Horror 4
The Mall by S.L. Grey
Shadows by Joan de la Haye
Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts
Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman
The Shining by Stephen King

General Fiction 1
Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter

Classics 2
Grimm's Fairy Tales
The Three Musketeers
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte


STARS

Yay, one star for me!

UPDATED MINE

Fantasy

For A Few Demons More - Kim Harrison
Stardust - Neil Gaiman
City of Bones - Cassandra Clare

Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
The Looking Glass Wars - Frank Beddor
Seeing Redd - Frank Beddor

American Gods - Neil Gaiman
The Secret Hour - Scott Westerfeld
Touching Darkness - Scott Westerfeld

Blue Moon - Scott Westerfeld
The Ambassador's Mission - Trudi Canavan
The Rogue - Trudi Canavan

The Magician's Apprentice - Trudi Canavan

Science Fiction

Matched - Ally Condie
The Invasion - KA Applegate
The Visitor - KA Applegate

The Encounter - KA Applegate
The Message - KA Applegate
The Predator - KA Applegate

The Capture - KA Applegate
The Stranger - KA Applegate
The Alien - KA Applegate

Megamorphs 1: The Andalite's Gift - KA Applegate
The Secret - KA Applegate
The Android - KA Applegate

Non Fiction

Bossypants - Tina Fey
My Booky Wook - Russell Brand

I need to bank a few stars :-)

Science Fiction: 1 star

WWW:Wake by Robert J. Sawyer
WWW:Watch by Robert J. Sawyer
Factoring Humanity by Robert J. Sawyer

Crime/Mystery/Thriller: 2 stars

Silent Scream by Karen Rose
The Narrows by Michael Connelly
Echo Park by Michael Connelly

The Overlook by Michael Connelly
The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie
Side Effects by Michael Palmer

General Fiction: 1 star

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
The Lonely Polygamist by Bradly Udall

I'll post in batches of 3.

Updated mine a bit

I have switched the Jane Austin novels from classics to romance. Since they are both they can be in either category and I am trying to get at least one star in every category. To do that I stil have to read two non-fiction books which isn't a problem and a horror one which is. Any suggestions?

Finally updated mine a bit again

Nice Niecole!
You got loads of stars now.

Yay!
Wow,didn't realise there was so many books to add.
But I'm slacking off this year... but I'll make up for it next year :)

Yeah I got my horror star. All I need now is to read one more non-fiction book and I got at elast one star in each colour :)

If no one objects, I think I'm going to end this challenge at the end of this month, so it will end along with all the year challenges.

So everyone will have until just after 31 October 2011 to add up all their stars, and a random winner will be chosen.

In light of the recent import duties being levied on BookDepo imports, I'll also give the winner the option of choosing their prize from BookDepository or Amazon or any local online shop (Kalahari, Takealot, Exclusives etc.) of their choice.

The only problem I have with that is that I won't be able to get my non-fiction star since I don't have the time in October to read a non-fiction book. But if that is all ... There are a lot of things in the world that are more terrible than not getting a non-fiction star. So go ahead. I don't have any objections.

Sounds like a plan Kahlan

I was short one book in a few of the categories!

My Summary to 31 Oct is as follows:

BLUE - Fantasy ( 1 star)
Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind
The Gun Slinger by Stephen King
Blood of the Fold by Terry Goodkind

Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

ORANGE - Historical

Sylvia by Bryce Coutenay
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

CHERISE - Romance

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
Tatiana and Alexander by Paullina Simons

GREEN - Science Fiction (1 star)

WWW:Wake by Robert J. Sawyer
WWW:Watch by Robert J. Sawyer
Factoring Humanity by Robert J. Sawyer

WWW:Wonder by Robert J. Sawyer
The Host by Stephenie Meyer

PURPLE - Paranormal
BLACK - Crime/Mystery/Thriller (4 stars):

Silent Scream by Karen Rose
The Narrows by Michael Connelly

The Overlook by Michael Connelly
The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie
Side Effects by Michael Palmer

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson
The Surgeon: Tess Garrison
The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stieg Larson

The Snowman - Jo Nesbo
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larson
I Can See You by Karen Rose

Void Moon by Michael Connelly


GREY - Non-Fiction (2 stars):

Killing Kebble: An Underworld Exposed by Mandy Wiener
Unlimited: How To Build An Exceptional Life
Kissing Maddy: A story of loss and love by Matthew Logelin

Toast by Nigel Slater
Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius

Sky Burial by Xinran
The Insulin Resistance Diet by Cheryl R Heart
The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony

YELLOW - Horror

PINK - YA / Children (1 star):

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E Pearson
Trash by Andy Mulligan
Divergent by Veronica Roth

Before I fall by Lauren Oliver
Delerium by Lauren Oliver


TEAL - General Fiction (1 star)

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
The Lonely Polygamist by Bradly Udall

Separate Beds by Elizabeth Bucanan
Spud The Madness Continues by John van der Ruit


BRONZE - Classics

Is everyone all done updating?

I am!

Me too :)

Will be very soon

Mine is done (at least I think so!)

Done, nothing will change with my update

done

Done

I mailed Niecole and Kae last week and they haven't added updates. Should I just go ahead and pick a winner anyway?

I say go for it, then I can put it in the group message tonight as a extra congratz :)

And the winner is:


Congratz Lu!

And thanks to everyone who entered their stars. :)

Congrats Lu, let us know which books you picked out!

Congrats Lu!

OMG WHAT? Kahlan you just made my year!!!!!!
Thank you so much :D

Congrats Lu. Enjoy the spoils of war.

Thanks guys!