Allison’s Comments (group member since Jan 02, 2015)

Allison’s comments from the The Reading Challenge Group group.

Yay, Renee!

Allison's Guardian Pie

✔ 1. Comedy - Bridget Jones's Diary
✔ 2. Crime - The Mysterious Affair at Styles
3. Family & Self - The Picture of Dorian Gray
4. Love - Doctor Zhivago
5. Science Fiction & Fantasy - Dracula
6. State of the Nation - Oliver Twist
✔ 7. War & Travel - Around the World in 80 Days

Whether it's the Boxall's list of 1001 Books to Read Before You Die, or the Guardian's 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read, that's a lot of books! This mini-challenge aims to help you chip away at them. The challenge will run for all of 2016. You can complete it more than once if you like.

To complete the challenge, you must 'eat' a whole pie. Read one book for each piece of the pie. There are 7 pieces, each representing a different theme.

Note: the Guardian list is already divided into these themes. If you're using the Boxall list, you'll have to use your own judgment as to what fits each category. However, a lot of books do overlap between the lists.

Listopia lists for each Guardian theme:

Comedy
Crime
Family & Self
Love
Science Fiction & Fantasy
State of the Nation
War & Travel

Some Links for the Boxall's List:

Listopia: Favorites from 1001 Books You Should Read Before You Die
Books shelved as Boxall on Goodreads

Here is the list of pie pieces that you can copy into your own thread (feel free to copy the pie graphic as well, if you want):

1. Comedy
2. Crime
3. Family & Self
4. Love
5. Science Fiction & Fantasy
6. State of the Nation
7. War & Travel

I am aiming to complete Level 2 - Wanderer.

Level 1 - Explorer
1. The Golem and the Jinni - Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature (2014)
2. Murder as a Fine Art - Nero Award (2014), Sue Feder Historical Mystery Award (2014)
3. The Lives of Tao - ALA Alex Award (2014)

Level 2 - Wanderer
4. The Vor Game - Hugo Award for Best Novel (1991)
5. A Monstrous Regiment of Women - Nero Award (1996)
6. An Officer and a Spy - Walter Scott Prize (2014)

Completed: 6/6

The goal for this mini-challenge is to read books that have won an award. Any award is eligible, but see below for a list to help get you started.

- This is a year-long challenge for 2016.
- It can be completed more than once in the year.
- 4 levels are possible, for a total of 12 books.

Level 1 - Explorer
1.
2.
3.

Level 2 - Wanderer
4.
5.
6.

Level 3 - Enthusiast
7.
8.
9.

Level 4 - Expert
10.
11.
12.


List of awards to consider:

General Fiction and World Awards

Pulitzer Prize (International)
ALA Alex Award (Written for adults but with special appeal to young adults).
National Book Award (U.S. Authors)
Man Booker Prize (Commonwealth / International)
Governor General's Literary Awards (Canadian)
Scotiabank Giller Prize (Canadian)
Orange Prize formerly, now Women's Prize (International women writers published in Britain)
Asian Literary Prize (Asian)
DSC Prize for South Asian Literature (International with focus on South Asia)
Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa (African)

Genre-Specific Awards

Newbery Medal (Young Adult)
Walter Scott Prize (Historical Fiction)
Macavity Award (Mystery)
Edgar Award (Mystery)
Agatha Award (Cozy Mystery)
Barry Award (Crime)
Arthur Ellis Award (Crime - Canada)
Mythopoeic Fantasy Award (Fantasy)
Nebula Award (Sci Fi & Fantasy)
Locus Award (Sci Fi & Fantasy)
Hugo Award (Sci Fi & Fantasy)
Andre Norton Award (YA Sci Fi & Fantasy)
Prometheus Award (Sci Fi with Libertarian Focus)
James Tiptree, Jr. Award (Sci Fi & Fantasy with Gender Focus)
RITA Award (Romance)
Bram Stoker Award (Horror)

You could try Off to Be the Wizard. It's not as good, but kind of fun.

That's twice for you, Brenda - nice!

Thanks, guys! I hope it will be fun!

Yes! I finally finished level 4!

Level 4

✔ 10. Lonesome Dove - Pulitzer Prize, 1986
✔ 11. Rebecca - National Book Award & Anthony Award
✔ 12. In the Woods - Barry Award, Macavity Award, Anthony Award, Edgar Award (2008)

I posted a template for the 1001 books mini-challenge in the 2016 planning folder for anyone who wants to plan ahead. I included some links to help you find books that fit the categories. Have fun!

Here's what the Boxall's / Guardian's mini-challenge will look like:

Let's Have Pie: 1000/1001 Books Before You Die (2016)


Whether it's the Boxall's list of 1001 Books to Read Before You Die, or the Guardian's 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read, that's a lot of books! This mini-challenge aims to help you chip away at them. The challenge will run for all of 2016. You can complete it more than once if you like.

To complete the challenge, you must 'eat' a whole pie. Read one book for each piece of the pie. There are 7 pieces, each representing a different theme.

Note: the Guardian list is already divided into these themes. If you're using the Boxall list, you'll have to use your own judgment as to what fits each category. However, a lot of books do overlap between the lists.

Listopia lists for each Guardian theme:

Comedy
Crime
Family & Self
Love
Science Fiction & Fantasy
State of the Nation
War & Travel

Some Links for the Boxall's List:

Listopia: Favorites from 1001 Books You Should Read Before You Die
Books shelved as Boxall on Goodreads

Here is the list of pie pieces that you can copy into your own thread (feel free to copy the pie graphic as well, if you want):

1. Comedy
2. Crime
3. Family & Self
4. Love
5. Science Fiction & Fantasy
6. State of the Nation
7. War & Travel

Congrats, Danielle!

There will also be a year-long challenge based on the Boxall's 1001 / Guardian's 1000 books to read before you die lists.

Renee wrote: "That would be fantastic!
I plan on posting as many challenges as I can between Dec. 31 and Jan. 2..."

Too bad there's not a way to save a post in draft!

Renee, I have a 'pie' graphic ready to go for the 1000 / 1001 books challenge, based on the Guardian categories. Let me know if you want me to post that challenge when the time comes. It looks like you're going to have a lot on your plate.

Thanks for the motivation, Renee!

I like that with the leveled challenge you could make progress with a large series even without finishing it this year. I think it breaks it into manageable pieces and would give me a sense of accomplishment along the way. So I think I'm partial to the tiered option.

I also like the idea of declaring which series I plan to be working on, though. I will probably have more than one series going at a time and that would help keep me focused.

Maybe there could be a bonus when you actually finish a series.

Oh, I see. That'd work then. :)

2.8 down on the Haunted challenge! I'm a bit worried that I'm not going to make 5 since I'm traveling during the holidays, but I'm hoping it's still possible. I have 1 award winner left to go. Just 1!!

Would you consider adding levels of completion to this? I am pretty sure I'm not going to commit to 30 nonfiction books, but I might consider something much more modest.