Nadine's Nest of Challenges

[Nadine in NY]

EDIT: I'm finished with all three challenges!!! 12/20/16

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Last year was the first year I participated in a reading challenge, and I discovered I LOVE reading challenges, so this year I'm doing three.

Popsugar Ultimate Reading Challenge (completed in July)
Book Riot ReadHarder Challenge (in progress)
Around the Year in 52 Books (just started!)

[Nadine in NY]

My Popsugar Ultimate Reading Challenge list:

41/41

√ 1. A book based on a fairy tale - The Snow Child
√ 2. A National Book Award winner - The Round House
√ 3. A YA bestseller - The Rose Society
√ 4. A book you haven't read since high school - The Guns of Avalon
√ 5. A book set in your home state (NJ) - The Stranger
√ 6. A book translated to English - Nemesis
√ 7. A romance set in the future - Naked in Death
√ 8. A book set in Europe - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
√ 9. A book under 150 pages - The Grownup
√ 10. A New York Times bestseller - My Name Is Lucy Barton
√ 11. A book that's becoming a movie this year - Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
√ 12. A book recommended by someone you just met - The Sculptor
√ 13. A self-improvement book - The Art of Communicating
√ 14. A book you can finish in a day - I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
√ 15. A book written by a celebrity - Modern Romance
√ 16. A political memoir - Off the Sidelines: Raise Your Voice, Change the World by Kirsten Gillibrand, NY Senator
√ 17. A book at least 100 years older than you - The Woman in White
√ 18. A book that's more than 600 pages - Winter
√ 19. A book from Oprah's Book Club - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
√ 20. A science-fiction novel - A Borrowed Man
√ 21. A book recommended by a family member - Roller Girl
√ 22. A graphic novel - The Complete Persepolis
√ 23. A book that is published in 2016 - The Winner's Kiss
√ 24. A book with a protagonist who has your occupation (engineer) - Devices and Desires
√ 25. A book that takes place during Summer - The Dream Thieves
√ 26. A book and its prequel - The Girl of Fire and Thorns and The Shadow Cats & The King's Guard
√ 27. A murder mystery - The Cuckoo's Calling
√ 28. A book written by a comedian - Yes Please
√ 29. A dystopian novel - The Children of Men
√ 30. A book with a blue cover - That Summer
√ 31. A book of poetry - Dog Songs
√ 32. The first book you see in a bookstore - The Past
√ 33. A classic from the 20th century - The Talented Mr. Ripley
√ 34. A book from the library - The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
√ 35. An autobiography - Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir
√ 36. A book about a road trip - Sisters
√ 37. A book about a culture you're unfamiliar with - The Piano Teacher
√ 38. A satirical book - Breakfast of Champions
√ 39. A book that takes place on an island - A Superior Death
√ 40. A book that's guaranteed to bring you joy - A Lady Awakened

[Nadine in NY]

My 2016 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge (24/24)

✓ 1. Read a horror book - Warm Bodies
✓ 2. Read a non-fiction book about science - The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms
✓ 3. Read a collection of essays - The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction
✓ 4. Read a book out loud to someone else - Raymie Nightingale
✓ 5. Read a middle grade novel - The Titan's Curse
✓ 6. Read a biography (not a memoir or autobiography) - Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
✓ 7. Read a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel - Snow Crash
✓ 8. Read a book originally published in the decade you were born - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
✓ 9. Listen to an audiobook that has won an Audie Award - The Silkworm
√ 10. Read a book over 500 pages long - Heir of Fire
✓ 11. Read a book under 100 pages - A Dead Djinn in Cairo
✓ 12. Read a book by or about a person who identifies as transgender - The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act
✓ 13. Read a book that is set in the Middle East - Alif the Unseen
✓ 14. Read a book by an author who is from Southeast Asia - What Lies Between Us
✓ 15. Read a book of historical fiction that is set before 1900 - A Spy in the House
✓ 16. Read the first book in a series that is by an author of color - Sorcerer to the Crown (this was fantastic! I can't wait for the next one!)
✓ 17. Read a non-superhero comic that debuted in the last three years - Bitch Planet, Vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine
✓ 18. Read a book that was adapted into a movie, then watch the movie. Debate which is better - The Perks of Being a Wallflower (the movie was better)
✓ 19. Read a nonfiction book about feminism or dealing with feminist issues - Men Explain Things to Me
✓ 20. Read a book about religion (fiction or nonfiction) - God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
✓ 21. Read a book about politics in your country or another (fiction/nonfiction) - Between the World and Me
✓ 22. Read a food memoir - Relish: My Life in the Kitchen
✓ 23. Read a play - A Doll's House
✓ 24. Read a book with a main character that has a mental illness - Made You Up

[Nadine in NY]

And, finally, my Around the Year in 52 Books list:

Complete 52/52

✓ 1. A book you meant to read in 2015, but didn't - Altered Carbon
✓ 2. A book set in a different continent - Thérèse Raquin
✓ 3. A book from the Goodreads Choice Awards 2015 (winner or nominated) - The Lake House
✓ 4. A book by an author you discovered in 2015 - Americanah
✓ 5. A book with a title beginning with the 1st letter of your name - North and South
✓ 6. The highest rated on your TBR - Queen of Shadows
✓ 7. A book about books - A Discovery of Witches
✓ 8. A classic book with less than 200 pages - The Hour of the Star
✓ 9. A book that was mentioned in another book - Tarzan of the Apes
✓ 10. A book by an author you feel you should have read by now - The Sign of Four
✓ 11. A book from the Rory Gilmore challenge - Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
✓ 12. A childhood classic - The Call of the Wild
✓ 13. Reader’s Choice - A Torch Against the Night
✓ 14. A book with one of the five W’s -or H in the title (Who/What/Where/When/Why/How) - What Alice Forgot
✓ 15. A book set in the past (more than 100 years ago) - An American in Scotland
✓ 16. A book from the top 100 mystery novels - A Study in Scarlet
✓ 17. A book with a beautiful cover - All In
✓ 18. A book on a summer/beach reading list - A Hundred Summers
✓ 19. A non-fiction book - The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms
✓ 20. A book with a first name in the title - The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker
✓ 21. A book from the Goodreads Recommendations page - Real Murders
✓ 22. The first book in a new to you series - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
✓ 23. The next book in a series you are reading - The Last Star
✓ 24. A "between the numbers" book of a series (0.5, 1,5, 2.5, etc.) - The King's Guard
✓ 25. A book whose main character is in a profession that interests you - Lab Girl
✓ 26. A book everyone is talking about - The Nightingale
✓ 27. A book with a beautiful title (in your own opinion) - Snow Like Ashes
✓ 28. A biography, autobiography, or memoir - Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
✓ 29. A book by an author who writes under more than one name - Career of Evil
✓ 30. A fairytale from a culture other than your own - The Princess on the Glass Hill from Andrew Lang's fairy tale books
✓ 31. A work of young adult fiction - Blue Lily, Lily Blue
✓ 32. A historical fiction book - Miss Wonderful
✓ 33. The 16th book on your TBR - The Thirteenth Tale (I think it's funny that I'll be reading a book with an ordinal number in the title for this prompt with an ordinal number - this really was the 16th book!)
✓ 34. A book about mental illness - The Silver Linings Playbook
✓ 35. An award winning book - Ancillary Justice
✓ 36. An identity book - a book about a different culture, religion or sexual orientation - The Bonesetter's Daughter
✓ 37. A book that you've seen the movie of but haven't read - The Lover
✓ 38. A book about an anti hero - Lolita
✓ 39. A previous suggestion that did not make it into the list (animal on cover / in title) - The Raven King
✓ 40. A novella from your favorite genre - The Monarch of the Glen
✓ 41. A book about a major world event (fiction or non-fiction) - The Complete Maus
✓ 42. A top 100 fantasy novel - The Well of Ascension
✓ 43. A book about a thing that goes bump in the night - Zone One
✓ 44. A book you're embarrassed to read in public - Anna and the French Kiss
✓ 45. A book related to a hobby or passion you have (okay, I cheated a little bit with this one, but this is the only TV show I make time to watch, so I figure it counts!) - Lucifer, Book One
✓ 46. A crime story - Smaller and Smaller Circles
✓ 47. A book with a type of food/drink in the title - Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness
✓ 48. A dystopia - Feed
✓ 49. A book with a great opening line - The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
✓ 50. A book originally written in a language other than English - Seeking Whom He May Devour
✓ 51. A short story from a well-known author - one of the stories in Stars Above
✓ 52. A book published in 2016 - Fellside

[Sophie]

What an impressive list Nadine!

Sorcerer to the Crown looks very intriguing, but I'm hesitant to add yet another series in my TBR...

Good luck with Thérèse Raquin, I had to read it for school and hated it! It's definitely not the best Zola IMO... I preferred Germinal or L'Assommoir (The Dram Shop).

[Nadine in NY]

I'm about 80% done w Therese Raquin and I am not loving it! I'll be glad when I finish.

I loved Sorcerer to the Crown, but sometime I wait until a series is complete before I start, so I don't have to wait between volumes