The Four Month Challenge - Part 6

Love these four month challenges- it's become my one and only challenge that I ever really follow through with, so I've decided to just keep it simple and run with it! The next cycle is from April-July 2011, I believe.

Visit the official Four Month Challenge site for more information or to sign yourself up!

Here are the categories:

5 POINT CHALLENGES
Read a book that the author’s name begins with A for April IN April (first or last name): Matched by Allie Condie

Read a book that the author’s name begins with M for May IN May (first or last name): Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

Read a book that the author’s name begins with J for June IN June (first name only): The Summons by John Grisham

Read a book that the author’s name begins with J for July IN July (last name only)

Read a book that begins with the S for Spring: Stolen by Lucy Christopher

10 POINT CHALLENGES
Read a ‘debut’ novel (an author’s first book): The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch

Read a book where the author wrote under a pseudonym

Read a book with a male on the cover (male only, no female): Iron House by Jon Hart

Read a book with a female on the cover (female only, no male): I'd Know You Anywhere by Lisa Lippman

Read a book with a house on the cover

15 POINT CHALLENGES
Read a book that you previously DID NOT finish

Read a book with a flower on the cover OR in the title: The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

Read a book with a reference to a fairy tale (Cinderella theme, Alice in Wonderland theme, etc)

Read a book that the author was born during the Spring season: Smile by Raina Tegemeier (born May 26)

Read a book that has won awards: One Day by David Nicholls

20 POINT CHALLENGES
Read something that is next in a series

Read a book that the title begins with either your first or last initial: Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank (First inital is 'A')

Read a book where the main character is an author

Read a book having to do with ghosts, reincarnation, etc.

Read a book with one of the Four Elements in the title – Fire, Water, Wind, Earth

Amy Einhorn Perpetual Challenge and Non-Fiction Challenge

Note the word perpetual in the title. This loophole is what permitted me to sign up for yet another challenge -- it's no pressure with no deadline! And, seriously, pretty much every book in the Einhorn imprint is on my wishlist anyway. So, here we go...

This challenge is the brainchild of a few of my favorite bloggers (I found it at Beth Fish Reads) and currently includes 14 titles. For full rules, guidelines, and sign up info, visit here.

Here are some of the titles I'm especially looking forward to for this challenge:

• Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan- David Loogan finds his violent past catching up with him after his friend and boss, Tom Kristoll, publisher of the mystery magazine David works for, is murdered and David becomes the prime suspect, and, as more bodies are found in circumstances that match the plots of some of the magazine's murder stories, David must prove his innocence before he is arrested or becomes the killer's next victim.
• The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Flaming- An elderly antiques dealer must revisit his past when an old photograph brings back haunting memories and the woman in the photograph, math prodigy Cheri-Anne Toledo, claims she knows the way to the lost Kingdom of Ohio and holds the secret to changing the fabric of the past.
• The Postmistress by Sarah Blake- The lives of two women in a small Cape Cod town are impacted by the radio broadcasts of Frankie Bard, an American journalist in London who hopes that by revealing details of World War II she will encourage the United States to take up the cause.
• The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O'Connor McNees

I'll link my reviews here as I write them...

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I read quite a bit of nonfiction, so I figure this challenge is a no-brainer for me. Click here for complete rules and sign-up info.

I'm going for six books, but will most likely read many more. I'll post here as I review them.

1. Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden
   

Can't...Stop...Signing....Up

A Life in Books is hosting this wonderful challenge (click to sign up).

The challenge will be to read a set number of books that focus on books or reading. These can be fictional works, such as The Eyre Affair or The Shadow of the Wind; or non-fiction works such as 84, Charing Cross Road or The Polysyllabic Spree. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of books out there that would fit this challenge.

The challenge begins on January 1, 2010 and ends on December 31, 2010. You must sign up for the challenge by January 31st, 2010.

Only books read during the challenge will count. You may reread books as well as cross-reference books with other challenges.

You do not need to make out a list when you sign up and you can change your mind on particular book selections throughout the challenge. I like to have flexibility for my reading whims!

There are three levels for you to choose from:

• Bookworm: Read three books
• Litlover: Read six books
• Bibliomaniac: Read twelve books
  

I'm going for Litlover:

1. A Passion for Books
2. The Ghost Writer
   
3. Who the hell is Pansy O'Hara?
4. The Thirteenth Tale
5. The Last Dickens
6. The Man who loved books too much

First off, some details:  This challenge will run from January 1st, 2010 to December 31st 2010.  And it is completely okay to double-dip, what you read/watch here can count on other challenges! Click here to sign up.

Next, decide on what level you'd like to participate:
~ Level 1:  4 books, at least 2 written during 1837 - 1901.  The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.
~ Level 2:  8 books, at least 4 written during 1837 - 1901.  The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.
~ Level 3:  12 books, at least 6 written during 1837 - 1901.  The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.
I'm going for Level 1.

1.  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
2. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
3. The Bride's Farewell by Meg Rosoff
4. Grange House by Sarah Blake
   

The challenge will run from January 1st to December 31st, 2010, and will be hosted at Medieval Bookworm.  Challenge genres include history, medieval literature, and historical fiction.  Medieval, for simplicity of definition, will be from 500-1500, and literature from all over the world is welcome, not just western Europe.  There are 3 levels:

• Peasant – Read 3 medieval books of any kind.
• Lord – Read 6 medieval books, at least one of each kind.
• King – Read 9 medieval books, at least two of each kind.

I'm going for the Peasant Level.

1. The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin
2. A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by E.L. Konigsburg
3. Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve

Haley of The Life (and Lies) of an Inanimate Flying Object is hosting the Jane Austen Reading Challenge.

--Levels: 

**Newbie 2 books by J. Austen, 2 re-writes, prequels, sequels, or spoofs (by other authors)

**Lover 4 books by J. Austen, 4 re-writes, prequels, sequels, or spoofs (by other authors)

** Fanatic 6+ books by J. Austen, 5+ re-writes, prequels, sequels, or spoofs (by other authors)

I'm doing the Newbie level.

1. Pride and Prejudice
2. Sense and Sensiblility
3. Intimations of Austen by Jane Greensmith
4. The Other Mr. Darcy
   

Even more challenges...

I love You've Got Mail. A movie all about the book business with some romance thrown in? You've got me.

Book PSmith is hosting this one. Click here for complete sign up/rules info at the challenge blog.

The challenge involves reading by or about the authors that are read or mentioned in the movie.
Here's the list:

Jane Austen
L.M. Montgomery
Maud Hart Lovelace- Heaven to Betsy/Betsy in Spite of Herself
Noel Streatfeild
Roald Dahl
Kay Thompson
Shel Silverstein
E.B. White
Beatrix Potter
Dr. Suess
Ludwig Bemelmans
Mario Puzo
George Bernard Shaw
Thomas Jefferson
Margaret Wise Brown
Maurice Sendak
Frank L. Baum
Lewis Carroll
C.S. Lewis
Johann David Wyss

There is no set number. I'm going to say I'll do 3 and go from there. I'll link up when I publish a review.

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Basic Information

• The challenge will run from January 1, 2010 until December 31, 2010. Click here to sign up!
  

• Here are the participation levels. Feel free to do whatever level you want. You can also switch up or down midway through the challenge.
  

A Small Gamble: Complete any 3 of the 12 challenges described below. I'm doing this one!
A Moderate Gamble: Complete any 6 of the 12 challenges described below.
Gambling It All: Complete all 12 of the challenges described below.

Here are the 3 challenges I'm doing: 

Challenge 2: Blogroll Roulette (worth 1 entry)
-For this challenge, I 'drew' Bibliophile By The Sea. I chose The Zookeeper's Wife. 

Challenge 5: Title Word Count (worth 1 entry)
-For this one, random.org chose the number 4, so I found a title with four words in it from my bookshelf. That book is Dead End Gene Pool.

Challenge 8: Real and Inspired (worth 2 entries)
-I'm thinking Jane Eyre and Romancing Miss Bronte for now...

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The 2010 Science Book Challenge

1. Read at least three nonfiction books in 2010 related to the theme "Nature & Science". Your books should have something to do with science, scientists, how science operates, or the relationship of science with our culture. Your books might be popularizations of science, they might be histories, they might be biographies, they might be anthologies; they can be recent titles or older books. We take a very broad view of what makes for interesting and informative science reading, looking for perspectives on science as part of culture and history.
2. After you've read a book, write a short note about it giving your opinions of the book. Tell us what you'd tell a friend if you wanted to convince your friend to read it--or avoid it. Naturally, you can read some of the existing Book Notes for ideas. You might like to read our Book-note ratings for ideas about how to evaluate your books; we include ratings with every book note.
3. Don't worry if you find that you've read a book someone else has also read; we welcome multiple notes on one title.
4. Get your book note to us and we'll post it with the other notes in our Book Note section. Use the book-note form or the comment form to get in touch with us.
5. Spread the scienticity and tell other people about the Science Book Challenge: http://scienticity.net/wiki/Science_Book_Challenge. 

My book list:

1. Charles and Emma: The Darwin's Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman
2. Stiff: the curious lives of human cadavers by Mary Roach
3. ?

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Sarah is hosting the The Art History Reading Challenge again in 2010.

This year there will be four levels of participation:

Curious - Read at least 3 books about art, either fiction or non-fiction.

Fascinated - Read at least 6 books about art, either fiction or non-fiction.

Enamored- Read at least 9 books about art, either fiction or non-fiction.

Utterly enchanted - Read at least 12 books about art, either fiction or non-fiction.

I'm going with the Curious level for now.

1. Frida by Barbara Mujica
2. Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa by R.A. Scotti
3. The Creation of Eve by Cullen

*alternate:
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

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Becky (click to sign up) hosts a load of mini-challenges that I could have a field day with. I'm going to stop at this one for now.

It begins October 1, 2009. It ends December 31, 2010.

Read two books (or watch two movies) set during the French Revolution. These can be nonfiction or fiction.

1. Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund

2. Dancing to the Precipice: The Life of Lucie de la Tour du Pin, Eyewitness to an Era by Caroline Moorehead

*alternate: The Scarlet Pimpernel by Orczy 

More Challenges - Yes, I know I have a problem...

As a preacher's kid, it's only appropriate that I spend a lot of time questioning religion and faith and generally being a black sheep. It's part of my role as a PK to rebel :) I love reading about all religions, both fiction and nonfiction, so I'm really excited about this challenge in 2010 hosted by Bibliofreak.

The Challenge will run from Jan 1st 2010 to Dec 31st 2010. There are four categories to the Challenge. I chose The Unshepherded Path, which means I can read about any damn religion I want to, fiction or nonfiction. I'm going to say 5 books, although this path has no specific number.

Here are my tentative picks. I'll link up reviews as I write them.

1. Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman (nonfic)
   
2. The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs (nonfic)
   
3. Charles and Emma: The Darwin's Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman (nonfic)
   
4. Lamb: The Gospel according to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore (fic)
   
5. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (fic)
6. America's Prophet by Bruce Feiler (nonfic)

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This one is hosted by Laura's Reviews. Visit her blog for all the juicy details, rules, reading suggestions, etc.

 The All About the Brontes challenge will run from January 1st to June 30, 2010.

Here's the list - only 3 are required, but I'd like to do 4 if possible:

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (re-read)
   
2. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
3. Romancing Miss Bronte by Juliet Gael
4. Heathcliff's Return to Wuthering Heights by Lin Haire-Sargeant
5. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (re-read)

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Heck yes! I'm all about this one. Alyce from At Home With Books created this challenge. Visit her blog for rules and book recommendations.

I'm committing to three books for now. Here's my list:

1. Somewhere in Time by Richard Matheson
2. Time and Again by Jack Finney
3. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
4. When you reach me by Rebecca Stead
5. To say nothing about the dog by Connie Willis
   

2010 South Asian Author Challenge

S. Krishna is hosting this fabulous challenge. Click here for the complete set of rules and suggested reading.


What is the South Asian Author Challenge? This challenge is to encourage people to read books by South Asian Authors – South Asia being India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.  Please not that it does not include the Middle East!  The books can be from any time period, contemporary or classic.  If you want to talk about the challenge on Twitter or tweet your reviews, use the hashtag #saac.

What books qualify for the South Asian Author Challenge?

There are two requirements for a book to qualify for the South Asian Author Challenge, both of which must be met:

1) The author must be of South Asian descent.  It doesn’t matter if they’re third or fourth generation, or are only half South Asian – I’m pretty flexible on this issue.

2) The book must be about South Asia in some way.  It doesn’t have to be set in South Asia, as long as it’s about the culture or history in some way.  On the other hand, it can be set in South Asia and not be about South Asians.

I'm going for 3 books, since I already had these on my shelves. Here's my list:

• The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
• A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam
• The Wish Maker by Ali Sethi
  

War through the Generations 2010 Challenge

War Through the Generation’s 2010 reading challenge will be the Vietnam War.  The challenge will run from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2010. I'm really excited about getting in on the challenge this year!

Rules:
This year you have options when reading your fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, etc. with the Vietnam War as the primary or secondary theme.
Books can take place before, during, or after the war.
Books from other challenges count so long as they meet the above criteria.

I'm going with the beginner's level:

Dip: Read 5 books in any genre with the Vietnam War as a primary or secondary theme.

•  Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell
• The Sorrow of War by Bao Minh
• If I die in a Combat Zone: Box me up and Ship me home by Tim O'Brien
  
• Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
• In Pharaoh's Army by Tobias Wolff

Note: If you haven't read any Tim O'Brien yet, put him at the TOP of your list!!!

What's in a Name? 3 Challenge

Challenges are my bittersweet addiction. Here's yet another...

So here's how it works:
Between January 1 and December 31, 2010, read one book in each of the following categories:

1. A book with a food in the title: Sugar by Bernice McFadden
   
2. A book with a body of water in the title: Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden
   
3. A book with a title (queen, president) in the title: Lady Macbeth's Daughter by Lisa Klein
   
4. A book with a plant in the title: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
   
5. A book with a place name (city, country) in the title: Left Bank by Kate Muir
   
6. A book with a music term in the title: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
   

This challenge is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and you can sign up for it here.

GLBT Challenge 2010

The basic idea of this challenge is to read books about GLBT topics and/or by GLBT authors.

This challenge blog is the brainchild of Amanda from The Zen Leaf.

The challenge runs year-round, and there will be three levels of participation:

• Lambda Level: Read 4 books.
• Pink Triangle Level: Read 8 books.
• Rainbow Level: Read 12 or more books.

Since I have quite a few challenges going on these days, I'm going to start at the Lambda level and see how it goes from there. Here's my very tentative list:

• Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides-  Three generations of a Greek American family find themselves plagued by a mutant gene which causes bizarre side effects in the family's teenage girls.
  
• Trans-Sister Radio by Chris Bohjalian-  Divorced school teacher Allison Banks falls in love with Dana Stevens, her summer university instructor, but when Dana reveals that he plans to have a sex change operation, Allison must judge whether their relationship can survive, even amidst the fallout from the people of their small town.
•  Lucky in the Corner by Carol Anshaw- Fern, having never quite forgiven her mother for leaving her marriage to live with her lover, Jeanne, gets a better understanding of the ambiguities of parental love when she takes on the care of her best friend's baby.
•  My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr- As she tries to understand the closeness between her older brother and his best friend, fourteen-year-old Ellen finds her relationship with each of them changing.

 I'll link to my reviews as I read them.

Click here to sign up.

The Four Month Challenge

This challenge is hosted by Virgine Says and begins November 1st. I really like the topics covered in this challenge.

Click here for the rules and to sign up. This challenge is a bit different from others, in the fact that you get awarded points for reading books in certain categories.

The points & categories are as follows, along with my tentative book choices:

5 Point Challenges
Read a book with a proper name in the title - Alice I Have Been
Read a book about a queen or king - The Life of Queen Elizabeth I
Read a book by/about a Bronte - Romancing Miss Bronte
Read a book about Vampires - The Vampire Lestat

Read a book by V.C. Andrews - might skip. Not a fan.

10 Point Challenges
Read a book by Canadian author - The Birth House
Read a book by Charles Dickens - David Copperfield
Read a book set in France - Abundance
Read a book by Georgette Heyer - The Nonesuch
Read an ‘art’ themed book. - Creation of Eve

15 Point Challenges
Read a book with a Civil War theme - Beautiful Creatures
Read a book with characters inspired by King Arthur or about King Arthur/Camelot - Here Lies Arthur
Read a biography/autobiography - Anne Frank: Her Life in Words and Pictures
Read a book related to or something by Shakespeare - Shakespeare's Wife
Read a book by an author born in November, December, January or February - A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver (E.L. Konigsburg was born in February)

20 Point Challenges
Read a book with a wintery theme (Christmas, snow, ice, freezing etc.) - You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas
Read a book that was a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction - The Road
Read a book that begins with A and one that begins with Z - Alphabetical Life/Zookeeper's Wife
Read a book from The Modern Library Top 100 - Ragtime
Read a book and then write a review- 1984 by George Orwell

My total for the 4MC was 145 points. Not too bad...

My first Challenge!

Random Reading Challenge

August 1, 2009 – July 31, 2010

Are you stuck in a rut? Do you always find yourself reading from set lists or feeling committed to reading one book while another book screams at you from your TBR mountain? Has your reading become completely scheduled? If so, the Random Reading Challenge may be just the thing to put the spontaneity back into your reading.

For this challenge, readers will be choosing books randomly from their TBR stacks. You may select one of three levels of participation.

I chose Level II:

You really want to break away from all those lists, but you do still have a responsibility to your reading groups, other challenges and all those review books. Six books is too little, but twelve is too much. Stretch a little and read nine books for the challenge.


I'll post the books here as I finish them!

• The Kin by Peter Dickinson
• Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass
• Atonement by Ian McEwan
• Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt
• The Glimmer Palace by Beatrice Colin
• The Confederate General Rides North by Amanda Gable
• Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
• Matilda by Roald Dahl
• Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill