The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories Challenge

Perpetual

I am introducing this as my first original reading challenge – to read all 56 books of what most avid Nancy readers consider to be the original Nancy Drew series.  Each book, written under the pen name Carolyn Keene, is thoroughly entertaining for all ages.  Click through for challenge guidelines and a complete list of all 56 mysteries in the series!

The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories Challenge Guidelines:

• This is a perpetual reading challenge!  Take all the time you need to enjoy Nancy’s adventures; just read them all!  However, this challenge only requires the reading of the first 56 Nancy Drew books written; any books above number 56 do not count.
• The challenge is open to absolutely anyone, not merely bloggers.  Simply leave your information with the linky widget and perhaps leave comments on this post throughout your mysterious journey.
• You may peruse books in any format (print, e-book, audiobook, etc.).
• If you are a blogger, please post a link here to your challenge post.
• You are not required to read the series in succession; read it in any order you choose!

This reading challenge is hosted by The Novel Orange. For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Monthly Mix-Up Mania Reading Challenge

April 1, 2015 – March 31, 2017

The Never-Ending Anne Rice Challenge

Perpetual

Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge

Perpetual

The Stephen King Perpetual Reading Challenge

Perpetual

Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards Perpetual Reading Challenge

Perpetual

Read One Million Pages

Perpetual

Lit Collective: An Online Reading Retreat

Perpetual

The Bloggers Recommend Perpetual Challenge

Perpetual

Since I got such positive feedback from my earlier post, I’ve decided to make this challenge a bit more official. It will be a perpetual challenge and pretty relaxed, but I will post at least once a month so we can check in, share reviews, and see how everyone is doing.

The Rules:*

(1) Sign Up Below

(2) Subscribe to the Bloggers Recommend Newsletter.

(3) Once you receive a Newsletter, pick which book(s) you want to read as part of the challenge.

(4) Read the book(s).

(5) Link up any reviews you write about the book(s) (e.g., your blog, goodreads).**

(6) Repeat steps (2)-(4) the following month!

That’s it. I am starting this challenge to make the Bloggers Recommend Newsletter less overwhelming and even more awesome. You can decide how many books you want to read each month – there are no specific challenge levels. If you want to read one book one month and five the next, great. If you want to take a month off, no problem. This is a no-pressure challenge. Really.

The Giveaway:

And, if you need an extra incentive to sign up, three lucky participants who sign up by August 30, 2013 will win a copy of The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.

Each participant will be given one entry and I will choose three winners using random.org. Many thanks to Bloggers Recommend for this giveaway.

There will likely be more giveaways in the future, so sign up and keep checking back!

The challenge will officially start with the September newsletter, so look for the linky to be up after the next newsletter goes out. Happy Reading!

____

*I am reserving the right to change the rules as we go if I see a need. I’m not usually a challenge hostess, so I’m just making it up as I go.

**We’re all pressed for time. and I understand that you may end up reading a September book in October (particularly if it comes out in late September). You can link up any reviews you write that month, even if the book is from a prior month’s newsletter.

This reading challenge is hosted by My Books. My Life. For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

The Fantasy Project: 101 books in 10 years

10 years - participants choose their start and end dates

I've been wanting to make some changes to this challenge for a while now. It seems if I neglect any genre, it always ends up being fantasy which is kind of funny seeing how it's one of my favorite genres. And the problem has been that there is no deadline and I'm a deadline kind of gal. I thought about making it a five year challenge, but I'm already participating in three other five year challenges (The Classics Club, A Non-Fiction Adventure (my challenge) and the Fill in the Gaps: 100 project) so I thought ten years would be good. The 101 Books part is an homage to the original challenge, The 101 Fantasy Reading Challenge, which was created originally by Bella, formerly of A Bibliophile's Bookshelf. I took the challenge over in early 2010. The original premise was based on the list itself. Here are the details of how it was created:

The list was compiled by Bella (formerly of A Bibliophile's Bookshelf), who currently blogs at A Prairie Girl Reads, and Jo (Ink & Paper) when they held a mammoth poll in 2009 inviting readers to nominate their favorite fantasy books. The list is compiled of all the books nominated and voted for (813 total) in order by number of votes. The challenge started out with a year long format and then I changed it to a perpetual challenge. In both instances, books could be read from the top 101 or the entire list of 813.

Below are the guidelines for this revamped challenge. I hope you will join me!

The guidelines for The Fantasy Project

• Read 101 fantasy books from the list of 101, or the entire list of 813, in 10 years (access the lists at the top of the blog).
• choose 101 fantasy books from the list (due to the large amount of urban/paranormal fantasy titles on the list, I have made this exception--26 titles can be titles that are not on the list, i.e. newer releases that came out after the list was compiled, more books of a high fantasy nature, etc.) To break it down...75 titles from the list and 26 that are not on the list = 101 books total.
• you can read other books in a series in which the first book, or other books in the series, appears on the list, to complete the challenge (for example, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, first book in the Graceling Realm series, made the list in 2009. Further books have been released in the series since the list was compiled and those books can be read for this challenge...these DO NOT have to be part of the 26 titles option--see above).
• post your list on your blog (or on Goodreads or another social media site, if you do not have a blog)
• choose your completion goal date ten years in the future and make note of it with your list of titles (like this:  reading goal--101 books  goal dates--August 20, 2013 - August 20, 2023)
• come back here and post the link to your list in the linky below
• write a review (or a short summary) on the book when finished and link it to the title in your list (or link to your review on Goodreads, again, if you don't have a blog)
• there are pages at the top of the blog that link to spreadsheets where you can list/link up your reviews (they will be listed by author's last name, i.e. A - F, etc.)
• there is a members list page, where I will list your name, blog, goal date, and link to your list
• there is a "introduce yourself" page for members
• when you have completed the challenge, come add your link to the Completed Challenges page
• If you happen to host a read-a-long, or an event or challenge surrounding one of the titles on your list, post about it at this PAGE
• I will try to have periodic group check-ins too
• grab the button from sidebar

A few more important details

• this challenge can be crossed over with any other challenges
• your link in the linky below must lead to your list, not just your main blog address. Any links that are blog links only will be deleted
• the list must be made in advance. The idea is to work toward reading fantasy you may have been otherwise neglecting and/or the fantasy titles/authors you love. However, the list does not have to be set in stone. You can change out titles as the mood suits you.
• every 2 - 3 months we will have what we'll call the Wheel of Fortune (borrowing from The Classics Club classics spin idea) where you make a list of 15 books from your list (i.e. 5 you're dreading, 5 you can't wait for, 5 favorites or rereads--yes, rereads are okay OR 5 urban fantasy, 5 high fantasy, 5 by the same author...the list is pretty much up to you). On a predetermined date, I will randomly draw (random.org) a number from 1 - 15 and the number that's chosen will be the book you read from your list of fifteen.
• our Twitter hashtag is#101FantasyProject

This reading challenge is hosted by The True Book Addict at the dedicated blog. For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Dave & Neta Jackson Perpetual Reading Challenge

Perpetual

Do you love Christian Fiction? I sure do, but haven’t read much of it this year. Then when I was visiting  Brittanie @ A Book Lover Forever, I saw her post of  the first book in the new series,  ”Windy City Neighbors” by Neta & Dave Jackson. Her post reminded me that I’ve had The Yada Yada Prayer Group for a long time but haven’t read it yet. Of course that lead me to want to read the rest in that series as well as the other series by the authors since they all connect to each other in one way or another.

So…I’ve decided to start a perpetual reading challenge. If anyone else wants to join, that would be great.

This reading challenge is hosted by I'd Rather Be At The Beach. For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Rory Gilmore Bucket List Reading Challenge

Perpetual

So, the other day in this post I mentioned having come across the bucket list of books Rory read or mentioned on Gilmore Girls. I said that if there was interest, I would make it an official blog hop. Well, at least a half a dozen people on twitter mentioned an interest, so decided to make it my G post for A to Z and get this officially up and running.

For the month of April, it will just be time for everyone to get situated and scheduled and such. Starting in May, if you are signed up, you will be expected to post about at least one book on the below list every month. Then we will all hop around to each other’s blogs and read each others thoughts and have some excellent and amazing discussions. So here's the rundown:

The Rules
1. Sign up on the linky below.
2. Post a startup post similar to this one with the list.
3. Post at least once a month about a book on The List. You can post about more than one book in any given month but would like it to be at least once a month. It does not have to be a full review, but at least some thoughts you had about the book after reading the book.
4. When you post about a book, go back to your original list and link to your post.
5. Get the code for the linky and post the rules and the linky on your intro post.
6. Visit as many other blogs as you can in the hop.
7. Have a good time.

The List

• A Month Of Sundays by Julie Mars
• The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
• Small Island by Andrea Levy
• My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
• A Quiet Storm by Rachel Howzell Hall
• My Life in Orange by Tim Guest
• Truth & Beauty by Ann Patchett
• The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
• The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
• How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer
• The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
• Nervous System by Jan Lars Jensen
• The Meaning of Consuelo by Judith Ortiz Cofer
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• How the Light Gets In by M. J. Hyland
• Oracle Night by Paul Auster
• Quattrocento by James McKean
• The Opposite of Fate by Amy Tan
• Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
• Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi
• Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
• The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
• The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
• Old School by Tobias Wolff
• The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
• The Bielski Brothers by Peter Duff
• Brick Lane by Monica Ali
• Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
• The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
• Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
• The Song of Names by Norman Lebrecht
• Property by Valerie Martin
• Rescuing Patty Hearst by Virginia Holman
• The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
• Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
• The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander
• Just a Couple of Days by Tony Vigorito
• Bee Season by Myla Goldberg
• Fat Land : How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World by Greg Critser
• Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
• Unless by Carol Shields
• Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
• When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
• Songbook by Nick Hornby
• Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
• Extravagance by Gary Krist
• Empire Falls by Richard Russo
• The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker
• Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
• A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
• Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
• The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
• Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
• Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
• The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
• A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
• Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
• Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov
• The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
• David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
• The Lottery: And Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
• Song of the Simple Truth: The Complete Poems of Julia De Burgos by Julia De Burgos
• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
• Night by Elie Wiesel
• The Code of the Woosters by P. G. Wodehouse
• Hamlet by William Shakespeare
• Complete Tales & Poems by Edgar Allan Poe
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
• A Separate Peace by John Knowles
• Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
• Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
• The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
• The Awakening by Kate Chopin
• Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
• Time and Again by Jack Finney
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
• Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Sybil by Flora Schreiber
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Cousin Bette by Honore De Balzac
• Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
• Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
• The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
• The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
• 1984 by George Orwell
• The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker
• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
• An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
• Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
• Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
• The Sound and The Fury by William Faulkner
• The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
• Emma by Jane Austen
• On The Road by Jack Kerouac
• The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

The Rules
1. Sign up on the linky below.
2. Post a startup post similar to this one with the list.
3. Post at least once a month about a book on The List. You can post about more than one book in any given month but would like it to be at least once a month. It does not have to be a full review, but at least some thoughts you had about the book after reading the book.
4. When you post about a book, go back to your original list and link to your post.
5. Get the code for the linky and post the rules and the linky on your intro post.
6. Visit as many other blogs as you can in the hop.
7. Have a good time.

This reading challenge is hosted by Just Another Rabid Reader. For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Monthly Mix-Up Mania: 2013-2015 Edition

January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013
Hosted by: The Book Dragon's Lair

What: To read a book for each letter in the year. That's right, a title for the J in January and the A in January, etc.... 74 books total!

Official Start date: April 1, 2013, because we're fools to try this but any book read since 1-1-11 that you didn't already use for the 2011-2013 edition counts ;) 

End date: March 31, 2015, yes, two years, because well, we have other challenges to do ;)

Guidelines:

• only one letter per book
• books can be moved around if it fits better somewhere else after you've read it
• the letter doesn't have to be the first word, just the first letter of a word in the title (a, an, and the do not count)
• reviews aren't necessary but a quick "I read for letter... it was about... I did/not like it" would be nice and can be left in the comments.
• if you decide to join in, create a post on your blog telling others then come back and link up (to the actual post, not just your blog's home page)
• a blog is not necessary, just comment on that month's post.
• the most important thing is to have fun!

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

M.C. Beaton Cozy Mystery Challenge

 

Perpetual

 

 

Welcome to the M.C. Beaton Cozy Mystery Challenge hosted by Darlene's Book Nook!

I just finished the first book in the Agatha Raisin series, and I'm hooked! I decided to make a reading challenge out of M.C. Beaton's cozy mysteries!

This challenge will include both the Agatha Raisin series and the Hamish Macbeth series. Because there are so many books, I have decided to make this a Perpetual Reading Challenge, which means that there is no ending date! Take as much time as you need to finish both series!

The books in the Agatha Raisin series are:

1. Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death

2. Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet

3. Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener

4. Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley

5. Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage

6. Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist

7. Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death

8. Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham

9. Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden

10. Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam

11. Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell

12. Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came

13. Agatha Raisin and the Curious Curate

14. Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House

15. Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance

16. Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon

17. Agatha Raisin and Love, Lies and Liquor

18. Agatha Raisin and Kissing Christmas Goodbye

19. Agatha Raisin and a Spoonful of Poison

20. Agatha Raisin: There Goes the Bride

21. Agatha Raisin and the Busy Body

22. Agatha Raisin: As The Pig Turns

23. Agatha Raisin: Hiss and Hers

And for the enthusiast: The Agatha Raisin Companion

 

The books in the Hamish Macbeth series are: 

1. Death of a Gossip

2. Death of a Cad

3. Death of an Outsider

4. Death of a Perfect Wife

5. Death of a Hussy

6. Death of a Snob

7. Death of a Prankster

8. Death of a Glutton

9. Death of a Travelling Man

10. Death of a Charming Man

11. Death of a Nag

12. Death of a Macho Man

13. Death of a Dentist

14. Death of a Scriptwriter

15. Death of an Addict

16. A Highland Christmas

17. Death of a Dustman

18. Death of a Celebrity

19. Death of a Village

20. Death of a Poison Pen

21. Death of a Bore

22. Death of a Dreamer

23. Death of a Maid

24. Death of a Gentle Lady

25. Death of a Witch

26. Death of a Valentine

27. Death of a Sweep

28. Death of a Kingfisher

Please read below for the challenge guidelines.

M.C. Beaton Cozy Mystery Challenge

Here are the challenge details:

1. This is a perpetual challenge, which means there is no end date. You will finish the challenge whenever you finish both series! Take as much time as you need.

2. The challenge will begin on December 9, 2012. You can join the challenge at any time, whether you haven't yet started either series or are already halfway through.

3. This challenge can cross-over to your other reading challenges.

4. You do not need a blog to participate! If you are not a blogger, you can post your reviews at Goodreads, Shelfari, or LibraryThing and link them up here.

5. All formats of books are acceptable: Bound copies, e-books, and audiobooks (as long as they are unabridged).

6. There will be a link-up for your reviews, which will be posted on THIS page.

7. There will be a link for your challenge progress at the end of each year (starting in 2013).

8. Create a sign-up post and link back to this post. Sign up with Mister Linky below! Be sure to use the direct url to your sign-up post and not the url to your blog.

9. Grab the challenge button and post it in your sidebar. Paste this HTML code into an HTML gadget for your sidebar: <a href="http://darlenesbooknook.blogspot.ca/2012/12/mc-beaton-cozy-mystery-challenge.html"><img alt="M.C. Beaton Cozy Mystery Challenge" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9CZmGcK7o9viXqlMGnSj4aL81_1ty5AXcdi7Agc1hJPQUEu3rRAw2XtWELFLIKtSw-sJmEOhCuNKY4Ey3UlkZz3L6Ty91P-KIr0jeKIWPz6Yuux9e34RZsdbXOwq5AMGHLJESeFOBo-xT/s1600/M.C.+Beaton+Cozy+Mystery+Challenge.jpg" width="210" /></a>

 

This reading challenge is hosted by Darlene’s Book Nook. For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.


1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

Perpetual

I thought it would be fun to gather a few people who are interested in reading through the list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. I have posted a compilation of all editions of the list, if you'd like to check it out. But you're welcome to work from the compilation or from one specific edition - your choice!
Here's how I expect our team to work:

1. If you want to participate, prepare an introductory post on your blog which either lists the books you've read or at least gives the highlights (your favorites) and the number you've read so far. Personally, I'm going to use mine as a Master Post, so I can include hyperlinks to my own reviews. Be sure to link your post back to this sign-up page so that the news can spread!
2. Fill in the Mister Linky, providing the introductory post as your link.
3. At the beginning of each month, I will have a Team 1001 post. In the comments of that post, please include links to all the reviews that you want me post links to. ONLY reviews to 1001-listed books! You can give me reviews that you've written before joining the team. That way, everyone can see that month's new reviews.
4. Quarterly (March, June, September, December), I'll have an update meme in which we can all share what books we've read over the quarter, which were our favorites, etc. You can provide a link to your update in the comments section of my Team 1001 Quarterly Update.
5. To see the comprehensive list of reviews, click on the 1001 Books tag in my blog. Any book with a hyperlink has at least one review.

This is a new project for me, so I may have to change things around as it develops. If you have any suggestions, let me know!

This reading challenge is hosted by Resistance is Futile. For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Sunday Story Society

Perpetual Weekly

The Sunday Story Society is a reading group for short stories. We read and discuss (in the comments of a blog post) a different story every two weeks, starting on a Sunday – but the comment threads are always open, so join in whenever you like. All the stories are available to read for free online.
Here’s our schedule for the rest of the year, with dates and links to the stories:
22 July: “Black Box” by Jennifer Egan [discussion]
05 Aug: “Bombay’s Republic” by Rotimi Babatunde [discussion]
19 Aug: “Atlantic City” by Kevin Barry [PDF]
02 Sept: “The Merchant of Shadows” by Angela Carter
16 Sept: “Two Ways of Leaving” by Alois Hotschnig
30 Sept: “Drifting House” by Krys Lee
14 Oct: “Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in the Spring” by M. John Harrison
28 Oct: to be confirmed
11 Nov: “Reflux” by José Saramago
25 Nov: “Immersion” by Aliette de Bodard
09 Dec: to be confirmed
(NB. A couple of slots are still open, pending the results of various literary awards later in the year.)
***
To keep up to date with the Sunday Story Society:

• Follow @SundayStorySoc on Twitter
• Visit our Facebook page
• Download the schedule as a Google Calendar (HTML or XML/feed)
• Subscribe for email updates:

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

The Classics Club

Perpetual - no time frame listed

The club basics:

• choose 50+ classics
• list them at your blog
• choose a reading completion goal date up to five years in the future and note that date on your classics list of 50+ titles
• come back here and link your classics list to this blog according to these instructions
• write about each title on your list as you finish reading it, and link it to your main list
• when you’ve written about every single title, come back here and reply to your initial comment when you joined, to let us know you won (instructions when you achieve your challenge)!
• 
  

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.  

The Stephen King Challenge!

 

February 1, 2012 – No End Date

 

As far as I could determine, there are no other Stephen King challenges (yearly or perpetual) going on now. I know that Book Geek blog was hosting a perpetual challenge at one time, but I checked her blog and she has not been active since January of 2011 (hope everything is okay with her). I'm assuming that the challenge is no longer active. If I'm mistaken, feel free to let me know.

So...my friend Kate and I (Read 2 Review) were talking about doing a project together and we decided to host a Stephen King reading challenge! Since Stephen King has such a huge list of books, we decided to make this a perpetual challenge. I know, I know...you're thinking "perpetual? I never get motivated to complete perpetual challenges." Well, don't worry. We are going to have mini-challenges throughout the year with prizes and we will also have read-a-longs during the year as well. Kate had the idea for our first read-a-long...to read Carrie during prom season. Clever, right?! As far as the mini-challenges go, the first one will begin at the official start of this challenge, which is February 1, 2012, and the prize will be a brand new hard cover copy of Stephen King's newest novel, 11/22/63! The mini-challenge schedule will work as follows:

Feb | March | April -- mini-challenge
May | June | July -- mini-challenge
Aug | Sept | Oct -- mini-challenge
Nov | Dec -- free months

*November and December are free/non-mini-challenge months due to most of us being so busy during the holiday season.

The first mini-challenge will be to read books within certain themes. You will choose three themes and read three books that will fit each of the themes during the three month mini-challenge period. If you complete the three themed reads, you will be entered in the giveaway for the book, 11/22/63. A bonus entry will be given to any person who reads a fourth book that fits within the fourth left over theme.

Examples:
Fantasy/Post-Apocalyptic
i.e. The Stand, any book from the Gunslinger series, Under the Dome, The Eyes of the Dragon, The Talisman (with Peter Straub), Black House (with Peter Straub), 11/22/63
Ghosts/Hauntings
i.e. The Shining, Bag of Bones, Duma Key, It, Insomnia
Creatures--supernatural (werewolves, vampires, demons/devils, zombies, etc.) or other type (animals, aliens, etc.)
i.e. Salem's Lot, Needful Things, Cycle of the Werewolf, The Eyes of the Dragon, Dreamcatcher, Pet Sematary, Cell, Cujo, It, The Tommyknockers
the mind--psychic, psychological, possession, abuse, etc.
i.e. Misery, The Green Mile, Dolores Claiborne, Rose Madder, Carrie, Gerald's Game, The Dark Half, The Dead Zone, Desperation, The Regulators

You can also earn a bonus entry if you read a book of King short stories. The books of short stories are clearly marked in the list of King works listed below in the footer of the blog.

To summarize:

• Official start date is February 1, 2012 and lasts...forever! LOL! Stop when you've read all of King's books, could be two years from now, could be five years. Take a break any time or stop when you've had enough (although I'll never have enough of SK).
• Choose three themes from the list and read one book within each theme during the three month mini-challenge period (Feb., March, April) to receive one entry in the giveaway.
• For a bonus entry, choose one book in the left over theme and read it during the three month period.
• You can also receive a bonus entry if you read a book of SK short stories (you do not have to read the fourth themed book to get this entry).
• There will be a mini-challenge review page for you to link up your reviews. This will be the method we use to keep track of who completes the mini-challenge (and who earns the bonus entries). If you don't have a blog that you review books on, you can link to your reviews on Goodreads or leave your thoughts about the books in the comments (I will allow comments on the review page).

Giveaway rules: The winner will be chosen via random.org and must be a resident of the U.S. If the winner is not a U.S. resident, we will purchase the Stephen King book of your choice (under $10) from Better World Books (they ship free internationally) and have it shipped to you. This book will quite possibly be a gently used book.

The goal of this challenge is to, ultimately, read all of Stephen King's books. I have posted the complete list of his works in the footer section below. If you would like to embark on this journey with us, please sign-up in the linky below. If you have any questions, feel free to contact myself or Kate. Contact information can be found in the 'About' page.

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Stephanie Plum Reading Challenge

Perpetual Reading Challenge

Rules:

1. This is a perpetual challenge, which means there is no end date. You will finish the challenge whenever you finish the series! Take as much time as you need.

2. The challenge will begin on January 1, 2012. You can join the challenge at any time, whether you haven't yet started the series or are already halfway through.

3. This challenge can cross-over to your other reading challenges.

4. You do not need a blog to participate! If you are not a blogger, you can post your reviews at Goodreads, Shelfari, or LibraryThing and link them up here.

5. All formats of books are acceptable: Bound copies, e-books, and audiobooks (as long as they are unabridged).

6. There will be link-ups for your reviews on a quarterly basis, which will be posted on THIS page.

7. There will be a link for your wrap-up post at the end of the year.

8. Create a sign-up post and link back to this post. Sign up with Mister Linky below! Be sure to use the direct url to your sign-up post and not the url to your blog.

9. Grab the challenge button and post it in your sidebar. 

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Kinsey Millhone Reading Challenge

 

Welcome to the Kinsey Millhone Reading Challenge hosted by Darlene's Book Nook!

There are so many books in this series that I have decided to make this a Perpetual Reading Challenge, which means that there is no ending date! Take as much time as you need to finish the series. '

I read the first two books in the series this year, and I want to continue on in the series. Since I could not find anyone else hosting this challenge, I thought I would give it a whirl!

The books in the Kinsey Millhone series by Sue Grafton are:

1. A is for Alibi (Kinsey Millhone, Book #1)
2. B is for Burglar (Kinsey Millhone, Book #2)
3. C is for Corpse (Kinsey Millhone, Book #3)
4. D is for Deadbeat (Kinsey Millhone, Book #4)
5. E is for Evidence (Kinsey Millhone, Book #5)
6. F is for Fugitive (Kinsey Millhone, Book #6)
7. G is for Gumshoe (Kinsey Millhone, Book #7)
8. H is for Homicide (Kinsey Millhone, Book #8)
9. I is for Innocent (Kinsey Millhone, Book #9)
10. J is for Judgment (Kinsey Millhone, Book #10)
11. K is for Killer (Kinsey Millhone, Book #11)
12. Law is for Lawless (Kinsey Millhone, Book #12)
13. M is for Malice (Kinsey Millhone, Book #13)
14. N is for Noose (Kinsey Millhone, Book #14)
15. O is for Outlaw (Kinsey Millhone, Book #15)
16. P is for Peril (Kinsey Millhone, Book #16)
17. Q is for Quarry (Kinsey Millhone, Book #17)
18. R is for Ricochet (Kinsey Millhone, Book 18)
19. S is for Silence (Kinsey Millhone, Book #19)
20. T is for Trespass (Kinsey Millhone, Book #20)
21. U is for Undertow (Kinsey Millhone, Book #21)
22. V is for Vengeance (Kinsey Millhone, Book #22)

 

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.