2025 Reading Challenge discussion
ARCHIVE 2014
>
Kai's 100 Books in 2014
date
newest »
newest »
Yearly ChallengesThe TBR Randomiser Challenge: 5/12
31: Kabuki, Vol. 5: Metamorphosis
92: Kafka on the Shore
22: The Kite Runner
42: Palmer-Hughes Accordion Course, Bk 1
10: Stuck Rubber Baby
110: The Carnivorous Carnival
74: War and Peace
Around the World in Books Challenge: 6/6 completed June 6th
Central America
Caribbean
East Europe and Former Soviet Union: War and Peace
Africa
Middle East: The Kite Runner
Southeast Asia
Australia & South Pacific
The Goodreads Authors Challenge: 11/12
My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
Dust by Elizabeth Bear
The Opposite of Fate by Amy Tan
He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys by Greg Behrendt
The First Rule of Swimming: A Novel by Courtney Angela Brkic
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman
The Next Time You See Me by Holly Goddard Jones
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
When Did You See Her Last? by Lemony Snicket
#READWOMEN2014: 6/12
#readwomen2014 is a movement started by Joanna Walsh who was tired of the status quo. In her own words, this is what the movement is all about:
It’s a truth universally acknowledged, and confirmed by VIDA, that, though women read more books than men, and female authors are published in comparable numbers, they are more easily overlooked: a smaller presence in literary journals both as reviewers, and the reviewed, they also account for fewer literary translations.
It’s not whether women are published (because they are) but how they are published. Are men more likely to write what’s considered ‘important’ literary fiction, or could it be that more are regarded that way? I’ve heard female writer friends grouse when their books are given flowery covers though their writing’s not, when reviews, even press-releases, describe their work as “delicate” when it is forthright, “playful” when it is experimental, “delightful” when it is satirical, “carving a niche” when it is staking a claim (none of these examples is made up).
For this challenge, decide how many new-to-you female authors you would like to read. Once your goal is set, read! And come back and tell us who your favorites were to get great female authors more exposure. Each author can only count once.
The First Rule of Swimming: A Novel by Courtney Angela Brkic*
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell*
The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman*
The Next Time You See Me by Holly Goddard Jones*
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Waves by Virginia Woolf
Paris Was the Place by Susan Conley*
Stuck in the Middle With You: A Memoir of Parenting in Three Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan*
Freefall to Fly by Rebekah Lyons
The End of Sex: How Hookup Culture is Leaving a Generation Unhappy, Sexually Unfulfilled, and Confused About Intimacy by Donna Freitas*
Happier Endings: A Meditation On Life And Death by Erica Brown
Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
Queen City Jazz by Kathleen Ann Goonan
Writing Machines by N. Katherine Hayles
Quarterly ChallengesThe Chinese Zodiac (Shēngxiào): 12/12 completed March 26th
Duration: January 1 - March 31, 2014
Bossypants
My Year of Meats
He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys
The Opposite of Fate
Five Women Who Loved Love: Amorous Tales from 17th-Century Japan
The Impossible Knife of Memory
One Hundred Years of Solitude
A Humument: A Treated Victorian Novel
Death of a Salesman
The God of Small Things
Dust
The Giver
Lilac's Rainbow Challenge: 14/10 completed March 8th
Duration: January 1 - March 31, 2014
ALWAYS A NOMINEE, NEVER A WINNER: 0/6
Duration: July 1 - September 30, 2014
There are tons of wonderful books out there that have never won any awards, no matter how many awards they've been nominated for.
For this challenge, choose a literary award (or two or three) that appeals to you. For a list of literary awards, click here: https://www.goodreads.com/award
Your goal is to read as many books as you can that have been nominated for but never won that specific award. Set your goal, and do your best to reach it by the end of the quarter!
Monthly Challenges: First QuarterJanuary's Let it Snow! Mini Challenge: 3/4
Death of a Salesman
My Year of Meats
A Humument: A Treated Victorian Novel
4. Is winter over yet? Read a long book (a book with 500 or more pages).
Daphne's Challenge: Explorations in Love: 2/4
Love comes in all flavors right?
1. Philia. Translated from the ancient Greek as brotherly love. Read a book that features some sort of ‘bromance’ or two strong male characters.
2.
Five Women Who Loved Love: Amorous Tales from 17th-Century Japan
3. Pygmalionism. From the Greek myth of Pygmalion. Read a book that features an artist, a great work of art or architecture, or an inanimate object having some sort of consciousness.
4. Autassassinophilia. Another way to say you love death, destruction, or mayhem. Read a mystery, horror, or thriller.
5.
One Hundred Years of Solitude
6. Biophilia. A love of nature. Coined by the great E. O. Wilson. Read a book whose setting takes place in nature or wild and untamed lands OR read a book about ecology. Bonus if you read a book by Edward O. Wilson!
7. Star-crossed lovers. In honor of the original star-crossed lovers, read a book that takes place in Renaissance Italy, Elizabethan England, or was book to movie that had Claire Danes or Leonardo DiCaprio in them. (There are a lot, seriously. Check out IMDb if you don’t believe me.)
8. Mechanophilia. Who doesn't love cool machines? Read a Steampunk/Cyberpunk book OR read a book that machines (like a spaceship) play a big role.
9. Plushophilia. A love of stuffed animals. They even call themselves plushies. Read a book about a sub-culture OR read a book involving anthropomorphism.
The Mnemonic Challenge: 5/4 completed March 16th
"Spring forward, fall back" is a mnemonic device to help you remember which way to change your clocks during daylight savings time. A mnemonic is a memory aid. Let's explore other mnemonics in this challenge.
1.
Dust
2. My Enormous Penguin Bounces Pretty High is to remember the series of alkanes in chemistry. Read a book that features an animal that is not typically kept as a pet (like a penguin).
3. Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November. Read a book that has a page number count that includes the digits 3 and 0 (in any order).
4.
The Opposite of Fate
5.
Darkly Dreaming Dexter
6.
Bossypants
7.
The Giver
8. I before E, except after C read a book that has a title containing a word following the mnemonic (e.g., it could contain the word "friend" or "receive").
Monthly Challenges: Second QuarterThe Shower Disambiguation Challenge: 1/4
Wikipedia has lots of entries for the word "shower." Let's explore them!
1.
The First Rule of Swimming: A Novel
2. A type of precipitation. Read a book that contains some kind of weather event.
3. A juggling pattern. The more objects in the shower, the more difficult. The same can be said for page numbers. Read a book with more than 350 pages.
4. The 1999 short film. This film is only 10 minutes long. Read a short book (fewer than 150 pages).
5. The 1999 Chinese drama/comedy. Read a book set in China OR read a book you would consider to be both a drama and a comedy.
6. The episode of The O.C. The O.C. was an American teen drama that took place in Orange County, CA. Read a book set in California OR read something you would consider to be a teen drama.
7. Baby shower. Read a book in which a character has a baby OR read a book in which something important happened to a main character while he or she was a baby.
8. Bridal shower. Read a book you received as a gift OR read a book in which someone gets married.
9. Meteor shower. Read a book that at least partly takes place in space OR (because we sometimes wish upon meteors) read a book in which a character makes a wish.
10. Particle shower. Read a book about science OR read a book with a title containing a word that can be made from the letters in the word PARTICLE (examples: PART, ICE, IT, AT, CLEAR).
The May Holiday Cover Hunt: 3/4
1. May Day is lei day in Hawaii. Read a book with a flower on its cover OR read a book that takes place in a country that celebrates May day. For a list, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internat...
2.
The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.
3. Star Wars Day. May the Fourth be With You. Read a book with a star on its cover OR read a science fiction book.
4.
Fangirl
5. Cinco de Mayo. Read a book with the number 5 somewhere on its cover (even if it’s in the title!) OR read a book with a 5 in its number of pages.
6. National Train Day. Read a book with a mode of transportation on its cover OR read a book in which a character takes a train ride.
7. Towel Day. "A towel, [The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy] says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have." Read a book with a towel on it OR read a book written by Douglas Adams.
8.
To Kill a Mockingbird
JUNE: THE REQUIRED READING MINI CHALLENGE: 1/4
Duration: June 1 - 30, 2014
June's theme is End of Term, so let's catch up on books that might have been required reading in school.
1.
Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear: Three Tragedies
2. Poetry: Read any collection of poetry.
3.
Neverwhere
4. Biography: Read any biography about or autobiography written by a significant historical figure.
Monthly Challenges: Third QuarterJULY: THE HOARDERS CHALLENGE: 0/4
Duration: July 1 - July 30, 2014
As we move into the second half of the year, it's time to clear those shelves!
1. Read the book that has been on your Goodreads TBR list longest.
2. Read a book from your physical book shelf or any other stash of books.
3. Read a book you got as a gift or for free.
4. Read a book recommended by or borrowed from a friend.
5. Read a group read that you missed. You can see them all here: https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...
6. Read the next book in a series that you've neglected.
7. Read the book that you've most recently added to your TBR list.
8. Read a book you started and never finished.
9. Read a book you bought with great intentions to read and just haven't got to it yet.
10. Read a book that you should have read in high school or college but you faked through instead.
AUGUST: GREAT EMPIRES CHALLENGE: 0/4
Duration: August 1 - 30, 2014
Our theme for the month is empires, so this challenge is about a few of the greatest ones.
1. The Ottoman Empire (1299 – 1923) was a multinational/ multilingual empire and was also known as the Turkish Empire. Read a book that was originally written in a language other than your own OR read a book that contains at least one Muslim character.
2. The Persian Empire (Achaemenid Empire) (550 – 330 BC) was known for its architectural stonework on buildings such as mausoleums and for its metalwork. Read a book that takes place (at least in part) in a cemetery OR read a book that has a metal in the title (for example: The Adventures of Tintin, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Silver Star, etc.)
3. The Byzantine Empire (330 – 1204 & 1261 – 1453) had its capital in Constantinople (aka Istanbul, aka Byzantium) and fell once but was temporarily revived. Read a book that takes place in a city that has at least one other name (for example: Bombay/Mumbai, Canton/Guangzhou, Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, St. Petersburg/Petrograd, New York/ New Amsterdam) OR read a book where something that is broken is put back together.
4. The Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) was known for its economic prosperity with the emperor at its head. Read a book that is focused on money OR read a book with a character named “Han/Hans.”
5. It was said that the sun never set on the British Empire (1497 – 1997). Read a book where most of the plot takes place after sunset OR read a book that is set in several countries around the world.
6. The Russian Empire was officially founded by Peter the Great who brought European ideas to Russia. Read a book where at least one character is introduced to a foreign culture OR read a book where a character is unhappy with his or her life.
7. The Roman Empire (Western: 27 BC – 476 AD; Eastern: 330 AD – 1453 AD) borrowed from Greek mythology and was well known for its fighting in the Colosseum. Read a book about mythology OR read a book that includes a physical fight.
8. The Holy Roman Empire (off and on 800 – 1806) was an attempt to revive the Western Roman Empire and spent most of its existence very fragmented. Read a book that features something dysfunctional OR read a book where characters try hold on to something longer than they should.
9. The Mongol Empire (1206 – 1368) was the largest land empire (that covered only joining land) spanning from China to Europe and fell because Genghis Khan’s grandchildren kept fighting over leadership. Read a large book (more than 500 pages) OR read a book that contains siblings fighting.
THE BANNED BOOKS CHALLENGE: 0/4
Duration: September 1 - 30, 2014
1. Banned Books Week is September 21st-27th. Order your TBR List by Date Added and read a book that you added on the 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, or 27th of any month or year.
2. Forty-six of the top 100 novels of the 20th century (based on Radcliffe Publishing Course's list) have been the target of ban attempts. Read one of those 46 novels (found here).
Animal Farm / 1984
3. This is a list of the most frequently challenged books of the 21st century by year. Choose a year that has significant meaning to you (i.e., graduated, married, baby born, hamster died, etc.), and then read a book from that year's list.
4. Use Random.org to help you choose a number between 1-100 that will correspond to one of the Top 100 Books Challenged/banned from 2000-2009 (found here). If you see that someone got the same number/book as you, see if they want to do a buddy read!
The Kite Runner
5. Chances are you have recognized some books on these lists. Some may even be on your TBR list or some maybe your favorite books. But do you recognize the most challenged authors of the 21st Century? Sort your TBR list by author and find one who is on this list. If you can't find any common authors, read a book by one of the authors that you've never, ever heard of before -- ever.
6. During the actual Banned Book Week (September 21st-27th), read a book that has been banned by a government entity from Wikipedia's list.
7. Lastly, if all these controversial books are making your blush or get squirmy, read one of these books instead from a Goodread's listopia as a less offensive option.
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Animal Farm / 1984 (other topics)When Did You See Her Last? (other topics)
The Waves (other topics)
The Kite Runner (other topics)
Stuck in the Middle With You: A Memoir of Parenting in Three Genders (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Virginia Woolf (other topics)Lemony Snicket (other topics)
Jennifer Finney Boylan (other topics)
Rebekah Lyons (other topics)
Harper Lee (other topics)
More...
Yearly Challenges
The TBR Randomiser Challenge: 5/12
Around the World in Books Challenge: 6/6 completed June 6th
The Goodreads Authors Challenge: 11/12
#READWOMEN2014: 6/12
Quarterly Challenges
The Chinese Zodiac (Shēngxiào): 12/12 completed March 26th
Lilac's Rainbow Challenge: 14/10 completed March 8th
Always a Nominee, Never a Winner: 0/6
Monthly Challenges
January's Let it Snow! Mini Challenge: 3/4
Daphne's Challenge: Explorations in Love: 2/4
The Mnemonic Challenge: 5/4 completed March 16th
The Shower Disambiguation Challenge: 1/4
The May Holiday Cover Hunt: 3/4
The Required Reading Mini Challenge: 2/4
The Hoarders Challenge: 0/4
The Great Empires Challenge: 0/4