Reading Challenge Progress

Here's the tracking of the challenges I am participating in at the moment

My Book Pledge 

I'm joining again for 2021, pledging to read 175 books.
I read 176 books in 2020 and earned 16 badges


So far I'm at 14 books

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I've moved A Century of Books to its own page here now.

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52 Book Club https://www.the52book.club/challenges/2021-reading-challenge/

1.       Set in a school

2.       Featuring the legal profession

3.       A dual timeline

4.       An author that is deceased

5.       Published by Penguin

     Armadillo by William Body. Finished January 7

6.       A character with the same name as a male family member

7.       An author with only 1 published book

    The Push by Ashley Audrain. Finished January 22

8.       A book set in the 900’s of the Dewey Decimal System

9.       Set in a Mediterranean country

   Hearts of Stone by Simon Scarrow. Finished January 3

10.   Related to the word “fire”

11.   Book with discussion questions inside

12.   Title starting with the letter D

13.   Includes an exotic animal

14.   Written by an author over 65 (when published)

15.   A book mentioned in another book

16.   Set before the 17^th Century

17.   A character “on the run”   

    Victory Colony, 1950 by Bhaswati Ghosh, finished January 3 (Refugee character)

18.   Author with a 9-letter last name

    What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan. Finished January 5

19.   Book with a deckled edge

20.   Made into a TV series

21.   Book by Kristin Hannah

22.   A family saga

23.   An ending that surprises you

24.   A book you think they should read in schools

25.   A book with multiple character POV

26.   An author of color

27.   First chapter ends on an odd page number

    Her Aussie Holiday by Stefanie London. Finished January 13

28.   Includes a historical event you know little about

    The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain. Finished January 20 (Pleiku in Vietnam War)

29.   Featuring the environment

30.   Watch out for dragons!

31.   Shares a similar title to another book

32.   A selfish character

33.   Featuring adoption

34.   A book you’d rate 5 stars

35.   Set in a country that starts with the letter “S”

36.   A nameless narrator

37.   An educational read

38.   Recommended on BookBub

39.   An alternate history novel

40.   Found vie #bookstagram

41.   An endorsement by a famous author on the cover

    Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley. Finished January 16 (endorsement by Harlan Coben)

42.   An epistolary

43.   A character with a pet cat

44.   Includes a garden

45.   A coming of age novel

46.   Winner of the National Book Award – any year

47.   A character with a disability

48.   A cover with a woman who is facing away

49.   A flavour in the title

50.   A shoe on the cover

51.   Published in 2021

52.   Re-do of one of the previous 51 categories from this 2021 challenge

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I haven't done these right from the first year, but I've done a fair number of them.And now I am hosting them.

This year I will try to go one better than last year for a nice round 30. 

I'll also participate and run the book club I'm doing this year. 

I meant to put up the post sooner, but it was only when I went to post my first book that I realized that I had not. 

1. When We Were Birds by Maria Mutch. Finished July 5

2. The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa. Finished July 10

3. The True Story of Ida Johnson by Sharon Riis. Finished July 28
4. Maria Chapdelaine by Louis Hémon. Finished August 1
5. The Girl who Rode a Shark by Ailsa Ross and Amy Blackwell. Finished August 23
6. The Swinging Bridge by Ramabai Espinet. Finished August 23
7. 1967: A Coming of Age Story by Richard Doornink. Finished August 25
8. The Afterlife of George Cartwright by John Steffler. Finished August 30
9. Roanoke Ridge by J.J. Dupuis. Finished August 31
10. Benjamin's Blue Feet by Sue Macartney. Finished September 3
11. Led Astray by Kelley Armstrong. Finished September 27
12. Once Removed by Andrew Unger. Finished September 29
13. Shape Up, Construction Trucks! by Victoria Allenby. Finished September 30
14. Starlight by Richard Wagamese. Finished October 1
15. The Wars by Timothy Findley. Finished October 8

16. Blue Sky Kingdom by Bruce Kirkby. Finished October 16

17. Summer Constellations by Alisha Sevigny. Finished October 27

18. Duck Days by Sara Leach. Finished October 31

19. Raven, Rabbit, Deer by Sue Farrell Holler, illustrated by Jennifer Faria. Finished November 4

20. Teaching Mrs. Muddle by Colleen Nelson, illustrated by Alice Carter. Finished November 5

21. The London Restoration by Rachel McMillan. Finished November 17

22. Snow Days by Deborah Kerbel and Miki Sato. Finished November 28

23. The Ever Open Door by Julie Band. Finished November 29

24. The Library Bus by Bahram Rahman, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard. Finished November 30

25. A World of Mindfulness by editors and illustrators of Pajama Press. Finished December 2

26. Journey to the Hopewell Star by Hannah D. State. Finished December 4

27. Bomb Girls by Barbara Dickson. Finished December 8

28. The Rogue Wave by Paul Nicholas Mason. Finished December 12

29. Victory Colony, 1950 by Bhaswati Ghosh. Finished January 3

30. The Blondes by Emily Schultz. Finished January 4

31. Her Aussie Holiday by Stefanie London. Finished January 13

32. The Push by Ashley Audrain. Finished January 22

For the Book Club, here is the overview post with the list of books for the year.

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Nerd Reading Challenge

https://www.thenerddaily.com/the-nerd-daily-2021-reading-challenge/

1.       An audiobook

2.       2020 Goodreads Choice Nominee

3.       Gold on Cover

4.       Two word title

    Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley. Finished January 16

5.       Author starting with E

     The Blondes by Emily Schultz. Finished January 4

6.       2021 Adaptation

7.       Part of a trilogy

8.       NYT Bestseller

     What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan. Finished January 5

9.       An anthology

    The Usual Santas. Finished January 16

10.   Debut author

    The Push by Ashley Audrain. Finished January 22

11.   Released in April

12.   Protagonist starting with L

    Armadillo by William Boyd. Finished January 7

13.   Title starts with ‘G’ or ‘K’

14.   Multiple perspectives

     Hearts of Stone by Simon Scarrow. Finished January 3

15.   Features travelling

    Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce. Finished January 10

16.   Standalone

    The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain. Finished January 20

17.   Written by a queer author

18.   Recommended on social media

19.   Set in winter

20.   A quest

21.   Bought based on cover

22.   SFF or Mystery

23.   A new author to you   

      Victory Colony, 1950 by Bhaswati Ghosh. Finished January 3

24.   Between 460-495 pages

25.   Food on the cover

26.   Bookstore recommendation

27.   Same first initial as you

    Her Aussie Holiday by Stefanie London. Finished January 13

28.   Reviewed by Host in 2021

29.   Romance or YA

30.   Recommended by family

31.   A Book you never finished

32.   A dash of royalty

33.   Holiday event themed

34.   Author starting with N

35.   An emotion in title

36.   Released between 1991-2012

37.   BIPOC author

38.   Set in the future

39.   Flora or fauna on cover

40.   Released in 2020

41.   Body part in title

42.   Written by two authors

43.   A retelling

44.   Indie author

45.   Purchased years ago

46.   Pink cover

47.   Released in July

48.   Five word title

    The Dog Who Saved Me by Susan Wilson. Finished January 16

49.   Start a new series

50.   Protagonist starting with G

51.   A book gifted to you

52.   Recommended by a friend

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Books in Translation Reading Challenge

Hosted here: https://introvertedreader.com/books-translation-2021/

I'm going for the Linguist Level of a minimum of 10 books.

1.  

2.  

3.  

4.  

5.  

6.   

7.  

8.   

9.  

10.  

5.

3

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European Reading Challenge. 

Hosted here: https://www.rosecityreader.com/p/2021-european-reading-challenge.html

Going for 5 star.

1.  Hearts of Stone by Simon Scarrow. Finished January 3 (Greece)

2.  What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan. Finished January 5 (England)

3.  

4.   

5.  

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52 Books in 52 Weeks Reading Challenge. Hosted here: http://www.read52booksin52weeks.com/

 This will be my second year trying this challenge

1. Victory Colony, 1950 by Bhaswati Ghosh. Finished January 3 (Bingo and Alphabet)

2. Hearts of Stone by Simon Scarrow. Finished January 3 (Bingo and Alphabet)

3. The Blondes by Emily Schultz. Finished January 4 (Dusty)

4. What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan. Finished January 5 (Chunky)

5. Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce. Finished January 10 (Bingo and Alphabet)

6. Her Aussie Holiday by Stefanie London. Finished January 13 (Bingo)

7. Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley. Finished January 16 (Dusty)

The challenge has different parts you can participate with. I'm going to do the Bingo. Books here must be at least 100 pages.

Number in the title: Victory Colony, 1950 by Bhaswati Ghosh. Finished January 3

Alpha Males and Strong Heroines: Hearts of Stone by Simon Scarrow. Finished January 3

High Adventure: Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce. Finished January 10

Your Choice: Her Aussie Holiday by Stefanie London. Finished January 13

The Nobel Prize Winners: 

Baby Steps:  2 Books

Toddler:  4 books

Adolescent:  6 Books

Teenager:  8 or more Books

I'm going for Baby Steps on this part.

The Well Educated Mind portion will help me tackle some of those classic titles on my shelves. The goal is to read 3 books in one of the categories

Alphabet Soup

Since I'm planning a different challenge related to the alphabet for book titles, I'm going to do the location version of this challenge. 

A

B 

C  Victory Colony, 1950 by Bhaswati Ghosh, Finished January 3 (Calcutta)

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L  Hearts of Stone by Simon Scarrow. Finished January 3 (Lefkas)

M

N Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce. Finished January 10 (New Caledonia)

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W 

X

Y

Z

Dusty and Chunky

I'm going to skip the not buying books as I participate in some book subscriptions, but I will do the Dusty and the Chunky portions. Here are the levels: 

Dusty Books

 

Safe in the Harbor - 2 Books

Sail on Sweet Sister - 4 Books

Life in the Dark Water  - 6 Books

Beyond the Sea  - 8 Books

The Voyage  - 10 Books or more

Chunky Books - Come Sail Away 

The Tide is High  - 2 books

Down to the Water Line  - 4 books

Big Boat  - 6 books

 Big Ship Sailing  - 8 books

Mother Ocean  - 10 books or more

I'm going to go for The Voyage level for the Dusty portion, and the Down to the Water Line level for the Chunky portion. Chunky here consists of at least 500 pages. 

Dusty

1. The Blondes by Emily Schultz. Finished January 4 (Added to TBR list in 2012)

2. Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley. Finished January 16 (Added to TBR list in 2014)

Chunky

1. What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan. Finished January 5 (518 pages)

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Aussie Author Reading Challenge

This challenge is hosted at: https://www.bookloverbookreviews.com/reading-challenges/aussie-author-challenge-2021-australian-writers-book-reviews

I'm going for the Wallaroo level again this year. 

WALLAROO
Read and review 6 books written by Australian authors, of which at least 2 of those authors are female, at least 2 of those authors are male, and at least 2 of those authors are new to you; Fiction or non-fiction, at least 2 different genre.

1. Her Aussie Holiday by Stefanie London. Finished January 13 (female, new to me)

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Pick Your Poison: 

Hosted here: http://gregoryroad.blogspot.com/2020/01/new-years-resolutions.html

There are a variety of levels. I'm going to aim for Fortnightly level

1.  Challenges: A Book about Overcoming Obstacles: Victory Colony, 1950 by Bhaswati Ghosh. Finished January 3 

2. Those Bodies: A Book with a Picture of the Ocean on the Cover: Hearts of Stone by Simon Scarrow. Finished January 3

3. TBR Burners: A Book That Has Been on Your TBR List More than a Year: The Blondes by Emily Schultz. Finished January 4

4. The Tools of Writing: A Paperback Book: What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan. Finished January 5

5. That Creepy Feeling: A Book with an Insect on the Cover: Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce. Finished January 10

6. TBR Burners: Anything You Want: Her Aussie Holiday by Stefanie London. Finished January 13

7. Picture This: A book by a journalist or news photographer. Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley. Finished January 16

8. Shapes and Colours: A Book with a Shape on the Cover that Reminds You of a Rorschach Test. The Push by Ashley Audrain. Finished January 22

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What's in a Name Challenge

It is hosted: https://carolinabooknook.wordpress.com/2020/12/26/whats-in-a-name-2021-sign-up/

Choose 6 books that have titles that contain a:

* One / 1

     Victory Colony, 1950 by Bhaswati Ghosh. Finished January 3 

* Doubled word 

* Reference to outer space

* Possessive noun

* Botanical word

* Article of clothing

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A-Z Reading Challenge

It is hosted: https://bookstacksngoldenmoms.com/2021-atoz-reading-challenge/

The challenge is to read a book starting with each letter of the alphabet.

A Armadillo by William Boyd. Finished January 7

B The Blondes by Emily Schultz. Finished January 4

C

D The Dog Who Saved Me by Susan Wilson. Finished January 16

E

F

G

H Hearts of Stone by Simon Scarrow. Finished January 3

I

J

K

L

M Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce. Finished January 10

N

O

P The Push by Ashley Audrain. Finished January 22

Q

R

S Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley. Finished January 16

T

U The Usual Santas. Finished January 16

V  Victory Colony, 1950 by Bhaswati Ghosh, Finished January 3

W What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan. Finished January 5

X

Y

Z

Here are the mini-challenges: 

JANUARY – A book you purchased in 2020 but didn’t read
    Her Aussie Holiday by Stefanie London. Finished January 13

FEBRUARY – A book with non-romantic love (siblings, parent-child, friendships)
MARCH – A book written by a person of a different race than you
APRIL – A book with an Autistic main character (April is Autism Awareness)
MAY – A book about a nurse (Nat. Nurses Week 2021 is May 6-12)
JUNE – A co-written book (2 authors)
JULY – A Christmas book (Christmas in July!)
AUGUST – A book by an Indie author (self-published or independent)
SEPTEMBER – A memoir/biography
OCTOBER – A book written by a new-to-you author
NOVEMBER – A book outside your normal genre
DECEMBER – A backlist title (published BEFORE Jan 1, 2021)

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Book Bingo hosted here: https://carolinabooknook.wordpress.com/2021-challenges/book-bingo-2021/

Bingo card:

In Support of Indie Publishers:  Victory Colony, 1950 by Bhaswati Ghosh. Finished January 3

A Book You've Been Meaning to Read but Haven't: The Blondes by Emily Schultz. Finished January 4

The Start of a Series: What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan. Finished January 5 (Jim Clemo, #1)

Herstory: Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce. Finished January 10

Your Choice: Her Aussie Holiday by Stefanie London. Finished January 13

A Book that Everyone Has Been Talking About. The Push by Ashley Audrain. Finished January 22

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Colour Coded Reading Challenge

The challenge is hosted here: https://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2020/10/color-coded-reading-challenge-2021.html

You have to read nine books in the following categories

* A book with "Blue" or any shade of Blue in the title or on the cover

* A book with "Red" or any shade of Red in the title or on the cover

* A book with "Yellow" or any shade of Yellow in the title or on the cover

* A book with "Green" or any shade of Green in the title or on the cover

* A book with "Brown" or any shade of Brown in the title or on the cover

* A book with "Black" or any shade of Black in the title or on the cover

* A book with "White" or any shade of white in the title or on the cover

* A book with any other colour in the title or on the cover (Purple, Orange, Silver, Pink, etc.)

* A book with a word or image that implies colour in the title or on the cover (Rainbow, Polka-dot, Plaid, Shadow, Paint, Ink, etc.)
    The Blondes by Emily Schultz. Finished January 4

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I've long been a fan of the Novelist database and was excited when I found out they are having their first reading challenge this year. It's a great way to expose people to the ways they can use the database to find books, and I'm always up for a new challenge.

Novelist Reading Challenge 

Book Challenge Beginners  

• Read an own voices memoir. (Tip: search for AP own voices AND GN autobiographies and memoirs to find titles) 
• Read a novel with an unreliable narrator.  
• Read a book described as being gritty, atmospheric, or having a strong sense of place.  
• Read a historical novel that takes place anytime except during World War II.  
• Read a romantic comedy by a BIPOC author.  
• Read a book recommended by a NoveList staff member.  (Tip: Browse through our NoveList Staff Faves Recommended Reads list) 
• Read a book recommended for fans of a TV show you like.  
• Read a book that features a global pandemic.  
• Read a book recommended by someone who works at your local library.  
•  Read a book described as feel-good, heartwarming, or hopeful.  
•  Read a graphic novel with minimally colored illustrations.  
•  Listen to an audiobook featuring multiple narrators.  

Book Challenge Afficionados

•  Read a locked room mystery.  
•  Read an epistolary novel.  
•  Read a short story collection written by a woman.  
•  Read a speculative novel with the theme “Vengeance is mine.”  
•  Read a novel by a trans author.  (Tip: Search AG transgender) 
•  Read a book with an unconventional or nonlinear storyline.  
•  Read a book selected as a best of 2020 title by NoveList staff.  
•  Read a book that is an adaptation, retelling, or spin-off of a classic.  
•  Read a nonfiction book about antiracism.  
•  Read a book about celebrating identity. (Tip: Search TH celebrating identity) 
•  Read a book starring a main character with a disability.  
•  Read a book that has been or will be made into a movie.  

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