Ongoing Easley Library Reading Challenge

[Werner]

This challenge was started in 2019, posted in a physical display in the library; but it occurred to us moderators that it might be fun to post it here as well. As set out below, this is a challenge to read a greater variety of books, the types based on the letters that make up the words: "EASLEY LIBRARY." For purposes of this online challenge, it's ongoing; you can list both books you've read already and books you read after starting, and the prize is the satisfaction you get from finishing! (For the 2020-21 school year, we'll also run this a time-limited challenge, from the start of the Fall to the end of the Spring traditional semesters, and just for students; only books read in that school year will count, and those who finish will be entered in a prize drawing. But that challenge won't be tied into this thread.

To take part, just copy-and-paste the template below into a comment box below this one, with your name. Then fill in the title (preferably using the Godreads link!) and author of any books you've read beside the slot they fill. (You can use my comment in message 2 as a model.) Use the "edit" function to add in more books as you read them; and be sure to comment when you complete the challenge.

Read a book:
E set in Europe
A set in Appalachia
S set in the summertime
L with a title starting with L
E by an author whose last name begins with E
Y with a yellow cover

L with a lawyer protagonist
I set on an island
B a chapter in the Bible
R that is a romance
A from Africa
R that's Realist/realistic fiction
Y that's marketed as YA

[Werner]

Here's my acceptance of the challenge!

Read a book:
E set in Europe --Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
A set in Appalachia --Clearing in the Sky & Other Stories by Jesse Stuart
S set in the summertime --Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
L with a title starting with L --Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore
E by an author whose last name begins with E --Theories of Primitive Religion by E. E. Evans-Pritchard
Y with a yellow cover --Daughter of the Legend by Jesse Stuart

L with a lawyer protagonist --The Case of the Stuttering Bishop
I set on an island --The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy
B a chapter in the Bible --I Samuel 29
R that is a romance --All the Tea in China by Jane Orcutt
A from Africa --A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
R that's Realist/realistic fiction --The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells
Y that's marketed as YA --Pirates! by Celia Rees

[Crystal]

Here's my list!
Read a book:
E set in Europe -Nurse, Come You Here!: More True Stories of a Country Nurse on a Scottish Isle by Mary J. MacLeod
A set in Appalachia – The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
S set in the summertime – Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
L with a title starting with L - Losing the Garden: The Story of a Marriage by Kimi Eisele
Y with a yellow cover - Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children's Literature as an Adult by Bruce Handy

L with a lawyer protagonist – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I set on an island -- Island of the Blue Dolphinsby Scott O’Dell
B a chapter in the Bible – Psalm 139
R that is a romance – The Night Circusby Erin Morganstern
A from Africa -- Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
R that's Realist/realistic fiction – The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
Y that's marketed as YA -- When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

[Werner]

Way to go, Crystal; you're the first person to complete this challenge! "A book with a lawyer protagonist" was one of the two categories I'm stuck on; but I hadn't thought of Atticus as the protagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird. That book is one I've been planning to read this year; so you've given me hope of checking off that category after all.

[Crystal]

Oh! I love that book! I know you will enjoy it! I had a hard time at first with that prompt too. I don't usually care for that type of story but Atticus is a hero.

[Werner]

Crystal wrote: "Oh! I love that book! I know you will enjoy it! I had a hard time at first with that prompt too. I don't usually care for that type of story but Atticus is a hero."

Yes, he definitely is! I should have thought of him in that connection, since I've seen the black-and-white film adaptation starring Gregory Peck.

[Werner]

Yay! I've finally completed the challenge! (See message 2 above.) And Crystal, so far To Kill a Mockingbird is my top favorite read of 2020.

[Werner]

Back when this challenge was posted in January 2020, I was interpreting it as referring to both present and past reading; so I filled most of my slots with books I'd read previously. However, it recently occurred to me that another way to interpret it is as only referring to new reads, read after the challenge was posted. (Interpreting the challenge in that way makes it a lot more ...well, challenging. :-) )

So, I'm going to do the challenge again as an ongoing one, and see how long it takes me to complete it this time. I will count only books I read after Jan 13, 2020, when the challenge was posted.

Read a book:
E set in Europe --The White Company, by Arthur Conan Doyle
A set in Appalachia --False Pretense, by Heather Day Gilbert
S set in the summertime --Avenging Angels: Sinners' Gold, by A.W. Hart
L with a title starting with L --Last Day in Limbo, by Peter O'Donnell
E by an author whose last name begins with E --Middlemarch, by George Eliot
Y with a yellow cover --Daughter of the Legend, by Jesse Stuart

L with a lawyer protagonist --The Case of the Stuttering Bishop, by Erle Stanley Gardner
I set on an island --To Calm a Storm, by Heather Day Gilbert
B a chapter in the Bible --Genesis 1
R that is a romance --Wildflower Bride, by Mary Connealy
A from Africa --Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton
R that's Realist/realistic fiction --O Pioneers!, by Willa Cather
Y that's marketed as YA --Girl of Nightmares, by Kendare Blake

[Werner]

I've now completed this challenge for the second time! Hopefully some other folks will eventually join in as well.