Russian Reading Challenge

January 1, 2008 - December 31, 2008

Sharon over on Ex Libris is hosting the Russian Reading Challenge. She's started a group blog for participants too.

The rules look simple enough: The challenge runs a year, but Russian books tend to be chunksters, so participants only have to read a minimum of 4 fiction or non fiction books about Russia or written by Russian authors.

I love this idea! And I'm definitely participating. If you'd like to join us, drop Sharon a comment and request an invite to the blog!

Go here to see my list and progress.

The C.S. Lewis - J.R.R.Tolkien Challenge

Beginning January 1, 2008...

Becky at Becky's Book Reviews is on a roll! She's hosting a second challenge in 2008. The C.S. Lewis - J.R.R. Tolkien Challenge requires readers to commit to reading or watching two C.S. Lewis-related books or movies; AND two J.R.R. Tolkien-related books or movies. As always, participants may choose to read or watch more than the minimum!

Interested? Pop on over to Becky's blog and leave her a comment here.

The Jane Austen Challenge

Beginning January 1, 2008....

Becky at Becky's Book Reviews is hosting The Jane Austen Challenge. She's being creative and allowing readers to read and/or watch two Jane Austen-related books and/or movies. She notes that PBS is airing all six Austen movies in 2008!

To sign up go to the Jane Austen Challenge link above and leave Becky a comment!

The Whitcoulls Challenge

November 1, 2007 - November 1, 2008

Maria at Reading My Way Through Life is hosting her first challenge. Whitcoulls is a bookstore in New Zealand and each year they choose the top 100 books by popular vote. Since this is one of Maria's favorite bookstores, she has developed The Whitcoulls Challenge - read a minimum of 12 books from the Withcoulls lists from 1998, 2002 and 2006 (follow the links on her blog) over the twelve month period. I've checked out the list and there are some wonderful books on it.

To sign up for this innovative challenge - go visit Maria here!

Read It Again Challenge

Debi over at Twiga's Books has set herself a personal challenge and invited others to join in if they wish.

Here's what she says:

Reading is for fun, for pleasure, a hobby. Sure I want to read a lot of books that I've never read before. But there are books that I've already read that I would like to read again. And there's nothing wrong with re-reading a book. After all, the whole point is to enjoy it. And with non-fiction, I can even learn things, whether I've read the book before or not. Sometimes re-reading a book can refresh my memory and encourage me.

So... I'm setting a personal challenge to myself to re-read some of my old favorites. I'm not putting a time limit on it.

So, do you have some old favorites you'd love to read again? Why not visit Debi on her blog and let her know you'll be joining her?

Dystopian Challenge

May 6, 2007 - UPDATE

Lisa has started a new blog for participants of this challenge. You can go there and request an invitation to participate; once approved you will be able to post reviews and other relevant posts about Dystopian literature! Sound like fun? I thought so...so you can find me over there too!

Lisa over at Books.Lists.Life has proposed an interesting challenge. The Dystopian Challenge runs from March 31st through November 6th. There aren't a lot of rules:

1. Pick any number of books you wish to read that fall into the Utopia/Dystopia genre.
2. They do not have to be books you've never read, but hopefully they aren't books you read last week.

Sound fun? Pop on over to Lisa's blog and join in. I might have to think about this one. I've been wanting to read some Atwood books and The Road is also on my list.

April 12, 2007

I can't resist any longer. I'm in *smiles*

Here are my picks for this challenge:

1. Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell (FINISHED 4/18/2007. Read my review here.)
2. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy (FINISHED 5/17/2007. Read my review here.)
3. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
4. In the Country of Last Things, by Paul Auster (FINISHED 9/23/2007. Read my review here.)

Banned Books Week Challenge - 2007

September 29, 2007 - October 6, 2007

Here's one I heartily support! Callista has thrown down the challenge to read at least one banned book during Banned Books Week. Stop by her blog to leave a comment and a link to your review of whatever book(s) you read.

Back To History Challenge

January 1 - December 31, 2008

Shannon is hosting an intriguing challenge - Back To History.

She says:

This is a challenge to sharpen the mind, go back & visit times long since forgotten in this day in age. The Back to History Challenge is designed to encourage readers to stretch themselves in the history genre. I am truly interested in getting people to venture into unfamiliar territories of literature. So...take this challenge and discover what history has to offer you!

All participants should try to mix up their reading choices. Please do not have ALL biographies, or ALL memoirs, etc. There is no limit on any sub-category, but remember...this is supposed to be a CHALLENGE. You should be getting out of your comfort zones and finding something new to explore. You should read one historical non-fiction, or historical fiction novel a month. Ultimately...let’s have fun!

To sign up, go to the Back To History blog and use Mr. Linky.

Medical Madness Challenge

January 1 - December 31, 2008

Callista at SMS Book Reviews is hosting another challenge - The Medical Madness Challenge (not to be confused with the current Medical Mystery Madness Challenge!).

The challenge is to read books that have to do with Hospitals, Doctors, Illnesses, or anything medical... either non-fiction or fiction, but no mysteries or thrillers. It includes memoirs of medical personnel or people who have had medical crises or spent time in hospitals.

To sign up for Callista's challenge and be part of the group blog she has started, go here.

Seafaring Challenge

November 1, 2007 - January 31, 2008

Christina over at I Heart Paperback is hosting a nautical themed challenge. She is offering several options to meet the goal, with participants reading anywhere from 1 to 4 books OR MORE! The only rule is the novel must be a nautical theme - but you can choose your genre, non fiction or fiction.

To learn more about the Seafaring Challenge or to sign up, go visit Christina here.

24 Hour Read-A-Thon Challenge

UPDATE September 15, 2007: The date has been set, the rules have been established, the challenge is ON!

When: October 20th, 2:00 pm GMT
How Long: 24 hours
More Information and Rules and Sign ups: GO HERE

There are LOTS of ways to get involved, from being a reader, to being a cheerleader to being a promoter. I would love, love, love to be a reader or cheerleader for this amazing project. BUT, I will be traveling from October 13th through October 27th so I know I cannot commit to this. HOWEVER, I am going to promote the heck out of it and hope it is wildly successful so I can participate NEXT YEAR!!!!

*********

Dewey at The Hidden Side of a Leaf is formulating a new challenge in October. The 24 hour Reading Challenge will have readers commit to a 24 hour period of reading books and book blogging. Dewey is still finalizing the rules. She is considering this:

I also would like to have people sign up to be cheerleaders. The cheerleaders would be people who maybe can’t quite commit to 24 hours straight, but would like to go around and cheer on the readers.

Why not pop over to her blog and give her your input?

Bibliography Challenge 2007

October 1, 2007 - December 31, 2007

Bibliohistoria is hosting a Bibliography Challenge for the end of 2007. Pick three novels about books - cross overs are fine, reads can be either fiction or non fiction. She will be creating a new blog for this challenge. Click on over and post a comment if you are planning to participate.

Casual Reading Challenge

October 1, 2007 - October 1, 2008

The fabulous MizB is hosting The Casual Reading Challenge - a TBR challenge with a twist!

Simply make a list of books you have been wanting to read and read from that list over a 12 month period. The twist is you do not have to read every book you list - it is only a pressure-free guideline.

Want to get in on the fun? Click on over to MizB's site to sign up with a comment.

Non Fiction Five Challenge

UPDATE (May 1, 2007):

The challenge has officially begun. Don't forget to link your monthly reads over at Joy's blog. She's set up a Mr. Linky so we can read each other's reviews!


The Non Fiction Five Challenge is sponsored by Joy at Thoughts of Joy. Held from May through September, the goal is to read five non fiction books over five months.

I completed this challenge on September 12, 2007!!! Great challenge. My favorites were Coronary, The Other Side of the River, and The Devil in the White City.

Here are my selections in no particular order:

1. The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren (Completed June 17, 2007; read a review here.)
2. The Other Side of the River: A Story of Two Towns, A Death, and American's Dilemma, by Alex Kotlowitz (Completed June 20, 2007; read a review here.)
3. The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson (Completed September 12, 2007; read a review here.)
4. Lucky, by Alice Sebold (Completed June 10, 2007; read a review here.)
5. Coronary: A True Story of Medicine Gone Awry, by Stephen Klaidman (Completed August 6, 2007; read a review here.)

Fall Into Reading Challenge 2007

September 23 - December 21, 2007

Callapidder Days is hosting her annual Fall Into Reading Challenge where participants choose any number of books to read in the cool days of Fall.

Here's how it works:

Sign up on Callappider's blog through Mr. Linky on September 23rd. Share your goals and list of books in your post.

Callapidder Days says:

And, of course, what would a reading challenge be without a prize? As in previous challenges, I'll be awarding a $10 Amazon.com gift certificate to one random participant. To be eligible for this prize, you'll need to: post your initial Fall Into Reading 2007 blog post (and add it to the Mr. Linky that will be here) by midnight on September 26th AND post a wrap-up blog post (and add it to the wrap-up Mr. Linky that will be on this blog) by midnight on December 24th. I'll choose one lucky person at random as the winner.

Four Legged Friends Reading Challenge

September 20, 2007 - February 26, 2008

In honor of her golden retriever friend, Sandy, Kailana is hosting a special challenge. The Four Legged Friends Reading Challenge is in Sandy's memory...beginning September 20th, the day Kailana brought her home, and running for 5 months.

Kailana says:

Now, I bet you are thinking, what does Sandy have to do with books? Everything! Some of my most special memories of me and Sandy are of her laying beside me while I read. At night before bed, in the afternoon on the couch, outside on the patio, etc. Me and Sandy spent a lot of time together that way, and I will always think about her when I read.

Simply read and review 3-5 books with an animal as the main or important character. There will be prizes.

Celebrate The Author Challenge

January 1 - December 31, 2008

Becky's Book Reviews is hosting yet another challenge - Celebrate The Author.

Becky says:

The challenge is designed to "celebrate" author birthdays. Choose one author for each month of the year. Read at least one book a month. 12 authors. 12 birthdays. If you like, you can read MORE than that. If you're really obsessive, you might want to "celebrate" all 52 weeks of the year. (But even I am not THAT zealous!) The challenge is designed to 'celebrate' the special bond--the connection--that occurs between the author AND the reader as well as the connection between readers.

She gives some great links to find authors' birth dates...and one of the best parts of this challenge is you can create your list as you go - and change your mind a million times if you want.

I think I have to do this one...

Every Month Is A Holiday - 2008

January 1 - December 31, 2008

Another great challenge is on the horizon - Kim has set up the Every Month is A Holiday Challenge blog for her challenge. She has some wonderful lists of special days and holidays listed for every month. Participants will read a book a month relating to one of the themes, special days or holidays. I know I'm joining - why not check it out?

2 New 2 U Challenge

February 1 - May 1, 2008

Mizb17 at The Book Zone is hosting a new challenge for 2008 - 2 new 2 U Challenge. To participate, simply choose 2 or more books by authors you’ve never heard of before, or who you’ve never before read - OR - Choose 2 or more books outside of your reading “comfort zone."

To sign up leave a comment here by January 31, 2008.

Series Challenge

September 6, 2007 UPDATE: Please sign up for this challenge HERE.

Kathrin over at Crazy Cozy Murders is tossing around an idea for a challenge beginning December 1, 2007 and running through May 31, 2008, with a possible 6 month extension.

She says:

"Well, I've been thinking about all those series I've started, but not finished at various points in my life. Be it series with the same characters, the same topic, by the same author... There are just so many of which I read maybe the first few books and then left off because of other series I wanted to give a try. And by no means did I "leave" those series because I didn't like what I read!"

Participants get to pick the number of books they will read.

To see my picks and progress to here.

The Newbury Project

How did I miss this one!? An astute reader from my Yahoo Group gave me this link to The Newbury Project - a group of readers who are reading all the Newbury winners. They have a group blog where they post their reviews, and are accepting new contributors to the blog. The project was started in January 2007 and has no time limit - read without a deadline!

Why not check it out?