2014 Summer Reading Challenge

[Ann]

Our focus for this summer's reading theme is on "Literary Elements" this year. Your challenge is to read a total of 5 books, choosing one book from five of the following categories.

• Mystery
• Romance
• Science Fiction
• Fantasy
• Western
• Action/Adventure
• Classic/Literary
• Historical

The Salt Lake County Library is also hold its usual summer library program, so stop by one of our libraries and pick up a reading tracker. (You can count the books you read with our Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge for the Summer Library Program.) The Summer Library Program has two small monthly prizes for participants and a free book or $7.50 fine waiver for adults that complete the summer reading trackers. (To find out more about the Summer Library Program stop by one of the Salt Lake County Libraries.)

As usual we’ll hold a prize drawing for all Goodreads reading challenge finishers at the end of August.

[Jackie]

Easy, peasy! Thanks, Ann! :)

[Becky]

Count me in!

[Britt, Book Habitue]

Sounds good!

[Susan]

Sounds fun!

[Carolyn]

I'm in, let the reading commence

[Debbie]

We'll see what I do. It will be interesting. I would decide to read Lord of the Rings trilogy this summer! Ha ha ha!

[Brittany]

So excited! I always love the summer reading challenges!

[Jan]

This will be fun. I think I will step outside my comfort zone and read an actual Western. GiddyUp

[Linda]

I like easy challenges. This one will be fun. The hardest part will be deciding what to read.

[Mary]

Sounds like fun!! I'm game. I was already planning on reading some books that fit in those categories any way!

[Jackie]

My biggest challenge with this one is that I have committed to only read books on my "to read" list, so I will need to match genre that way. Good thing my list is REALLY long!
The first book I will read for this challenge is "The Girl on the Cliff", which is historical fiction, and also June's book club read.

[Becky]

I think I'll start with sci-fi, reading The Here and Now.

[Robyn]

With the summer Reader's Choice coming up you can complete two goals with one book!

[Ann]

Becky won our May Reading Challenge drawing. She read Roomies by Sara Zarr.

[Greg]

Complete!

•Mystery: Where Are the Children? by Mary Higgins Clark
•Science Fiction: Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card
•Fantasy: Skin Game by Jim Butcher
•Action/Adventure: The Culling by Robert P. Johnson
•Historical: The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch

[Jackie]

Yay!!!! I hope her prize is really nice!! She is the nicest person EVER!

[Jackie]

Greg wrote: "Complete!

•Mystery: Where Are the Children? by Mary Higgins Clark
•Science Fiction: Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card
•Fantasy: Skin Game by Jim Butcher
•Action/Adventure: The Culling by Robert P. Jo..."

Greg, you have read all five books since May 28th??? Fast reader!

[Debbie]

Jackie wrote: "Greg, you have read all five books since May 28th??? Fast reader! "

I've had times when I'm within a few pages of finishing a book when the new month starts. I always figure the new challenge begins with the start of the month, not the date the challenge is posted. It's posted early to give us a bit of time to decide what to read.

But I'm agog that Greg finished this fast. Way to go, guy!

[Debbie]

Robyn wrote: "With the summer Reader's Choice coming up you can complete two goals with one book!"

Kind of, but the goal is to read five books ..., not books in 5 categories. So you can't really do a two-fer on this one, imho. I mean, you can have one book in two categories, but that does not reduce the number of books you need to read.

Doing a two-fer might actually make the challenge harder and might mean you have to read more than 5 books!

[Becky]

Ann wrote: "Becky won our May Reading Challenge drawing. She read Roomies by Sara Zarr."

Thank you!

[Becky]

Jackie wrote: "Yay!!!! I hope her prize is really nice!! She is the nicest person EVER!"

Oh, thanks Jackie! The best part of winning a good book is sharing it with a friend. :)

[Brittany]

I'm starting with The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux for the Romance genre. I'm a little less than half way through so far and absolutely loving it!

[Greg]

I was thinking of the challenge as from the start of May, so those are all books I've finished in the past couple of weeks. I'm thinking I'll start fresh, though, to have it be books I've finished since May 28th. So, if I look at it like that:

Fantasy: Skin Game by Jim Butcher
Historical: Sarah by Orson Scott Card
Action/Adventure: The Target by David Baldacci
Classic: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Mystery: A Stranger is Watching by Mary Higgins Clark

[Marinda]

I you want to read a YF Fantasy, I thoroughly enjoyed Graceling.

[Dawnmcd]

What a fun summer list to read through! My current book does not fall under any of the categories, but as soon as I finish I will choose one to read that does fit.

[Mary]

Does Western Canada count as a "Western"?
Anyway currently working on two:
Fantasy: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
Romance or Western: Where Courage Calls by Janette Oke
Loving both of them!!!!

[Rachel]

I am in! How do I track the books I read through goodreads for the challenge or do I need to pick up a reading tracker at the library?

[Cecelia]

This is going to be a tough challenge for me. I'm a slow reader, but I'll give it a try. I'll start with mystery. I'm reading Gone by Mo Hayder.

[Jennifer]

I'm in- my first is a literary/classic: Sputnik Sweetheart.

[Jennifer]

Rachel wrote: "I am in! How do I track the books I read through goodreads for the challenge or do I need to pick up a reading tracker at the library?"

Rachel- just post what books you read in this thread. However, if you want to participate in the summer library program and receive all the great prizes (including my favorite- a pass to the awesome Utah Museum of Natural History), you'll need to pick up a reading record at any SLCLS library or print one off the website: http://www.saltlakesummerreading.com/...

[alisonwonderland (Alison)]

I'm currently reading (via my ears) two books that fit this challenge: the historical Tallgrass , which I'm listening to on my iPod while I walk, and the fantasy Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, which I'm listening to on CD during my commute.

[Debbie]

Opinions, please. I'm reading one of the Newbery Medal winners (2006), Criss Cross. If any of you have read it, would you place it in any of the categories for this challenge? Thanks.

[Becky]

Finished my first book of the challenge, The Painter by Peter Heller. I'm classifying it as a Western.

[Linda]

Just finished Victoria's Promise. Romance category

[Jan]

So can we use Paranormal for Fantasy?

[JoAnn]

I'm reading several non fiction books right now, so I'll have to be creative in placing them into these categories.
Princesses Behaving Badly I consider an anti romance since the "romantic" illusion of being royalty is dispelled through these vignettes and many marriages really end badly. I'll consider it my ROMANCE selection. It was a, fub and interesting read, by the way.

I'm reading When I Fell From The Sky, which is about Julianne Diller's survival of of a plane crash in the Peruvian Rain Forest and managed to walk out eleven days later. This will be my ADVENTURE selection. This is also very interesting and difficult to put down.

Finally, I'm reading The Tipping Point, which I will place in the MYSTERY category since it examines how some things "go viral" and others don't. The author includes many studies that have interesting conclusions.

[Jackie]

Finished "Big Hair and Flying Cows", which fits in the romance category.

[Brittany]

Here's my plan.

Romance - Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (not yet started)

Science Fiction - Divergent by Veronica Roth (not yet started)

Fantasy - Summerland by Michael Chabon (not yet started)

Action / Adventure - Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (in progress)

Classic / Literary - The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (COMPLETE)

So excited now that I finally have all my books picked out!

[Carolyn]

I think my problem is deciding the genre of the book, I am reading the Giver series, what catagory would that be placed in? It is dystopian. I think The Art of Hearing Heartbeats could be history (losely), litarary, or romance maybe. Where do I find out the genres?

[Greg]

To those who are questioning categories, I would suggest that not all books fit into the listed categories. Instead of trying to fit a book into a genre, why not find a book which fits naturally that you might not have read, otherwise? It brings a lot of fun to the challenge!

[Jackie]

Good point, Greg. The challenge is to find a book in the genre, and Goodreads has a search for genres. It is under the explore tab on top of the page. Tons of titles to choose from, and then you are not questioning where a book fits. I am going to do that if I get stuck :)

[Ruby]

Jackie wrote: "Finished "Big Hair and Flying Cows", which fits in the romance category."

I loved "Big Hair". So many laugh-out-loud moments! I even emailed the author and asked if I could treat her to dinner when I was going to be in her area (Jacksonville, FL). She surprised me by insisting I come to her house for lunch, and bring my mom, 2 sisters, and 2 of my daughters who were traveling with me. Not only is she just as funny in person, but she's a great cook!

[Jennifer]

I think Greg best sums up the spirit of the challenge, but for those of you looking for genre opinions, I'll give you mine. I'd say Criss Cross could be classic/literary, since it's a Newbery. And it's about as literary as children's fiction gets. Dystopian novels are generally classified as sci if, though I'd be more likely to call The Giver classic/literary in this case ( for the same reasons as Criss Cross). And Jan- I guess it depends on the paranormal? I feel like paranormal novels can fall into almost any genre, depending on the flavor. Genre as an idea is just a construct we use to discuss literature- those of us that like categories (read: librarians). So I think most fiction, especially good fiction, doesn't perfectly fit under just one label. Thoughts?

[Jennifer]

Ruby, you are awesome!

[Jackie]

Ruby wrote: "Jackie wrote: "Finished "Big Hair and Flying Cows", which fits in the romance category."

I loved "Big Hair". So many laugh-out-loud moments! I even emailed the author and asked if I could treat h..."

Wow! I stalked an author once, and didn't get an invite to anything, lol. Dolores would be great to have as a sister, so you could hear her humor on a regular basis.
The book did have some great moments. My fave character was the old guy that owned the house.

[Jackie]

Jennifer wrote: "I think Greg best sums up the spirit of the challenge, but for those of you looking for genre opinions, I'll give you mine. I'd say Criss Cross could be classic/literary, since it's a Newbery. And..."

So true! It is hard to fit most books into one category, as plots are generally multi-faceted. How boring the book would be if there was no mystery in an action/adventure book, for instance.

[JoAnn]

I just completed my second book this summer and I HAVE to strongly recommend it because I am still in awe as I close the book. When I Fell From the Sky will stay with me for a long time. It truly fits as an ADVENTURE as much as HISTORICAL, as it is an autobiography.

[Carolyn]

Jennifer wrote: "I think Greg best sums up the spirit of the challenge, but for those of you looking for genre opinions, I'll give you mine. I'd say Criss Cross could be classic/literary, since it's a Newbery. And..."

I do not read a book for it's genre, that is why I have a hard time putting them into a category. I have about 5000 books on my to read list and as I look through them and try to place them in a category/genre, I have a hard time. So I will continue to read the ones I want to and hope they fit into a category when I am done.

[Jackie]

Carolyn wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "I think Greg best sums up the spirit of the challenge, but for those of you looking for genre opinions, I'll give you mine. I'd say Criss Cross could be classic/literary, since it..."

Carolyn, bless you. I have almost 300 books on my "to read" list, which I feel is overwhelming at times. Now I know it's a very small list, lol.