2025 Reading Challenge discussion
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Cindy C and the Reading Challenges
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A to Z ChallengeCompleted April 30
A: All Things Irish -Michael Loynd
B: Bad Pets Most Wanted! -Allan Zullo
C: The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts -Lilian Jackson Braun
D: D is for Dahl -Compiled by Wendy Cooling
E: Exodus -Deborah Feldman
F: The First World War -John Keegan
G: A Good Marriage -Stephen King
H: Heresy -S. J. Parris
I: I Work at the Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks -Gina Sheridan
J: The Journey of Crazy Horse -Joseph M. Marshall III
K: The Kitchen House -Kathleen Grissom
L: The Lake of Dreams -Kim Edwards
M: A Midsummer Night's Dream -William Shakespeare
N: Nightmares! -Jason Segel & Kristen Miller
O: Over Our Dead Bodies: Undertakers Lift the Lid -K. McKenzie & T. Harra
P: Princess of the Silver Woods -Jessica Day George
Q: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking -Susan Cain
R: Remember, Remember (The Fifth of November)... -Judy Parkinson
S: Star Sullivan -Maeve Binchy
T: Twenty-five Books That Shaped America -Thomas C. Foster
U: Under the Covers and Between the Sheets -C. Alan Joyce & Sarah Janssen
V: A Veiled Deception -Annette Blair
W: Why Is My Mother Getting a Tattoo?: And Other Questions I Wish I Never Had To Ask -Jancee Dunn
X: X Marks the Scot -Victoria Roberts
Y: Yellow Star -Jennifer Roy
Z: Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth -Reza Aslan
2nd Quarter Challenge5 tasks 5 completed 05/04/15
1. Read a book about time travel.
**2. Read a book where a character makes an impetuous decision. (Razorhurst by Justine Larbalestier)
3. Read a book that takes place in the Spring.
**4. Read a book with water on the cover or that takes place on the water. (Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington) The edition I read has an ocean scene on the front & back covers.
5. Read a steampunk book.
6. Read a book that has been on your TBR list the longest.
**7. Read a book that takes place at a college or during spring break. (Murder 101 by Faye Kellerman) Set in a college town in New York.
**8. Read a book where weather plays an important part to the plot. (Joy School by Elizabeth Berg) Winter symbolizes the main character's struggle with the loss of her mother.
9. Read an old favorite or a book you have been putting off reading.
**10. Read a book of poetry or a book about a poet. (I Wrote This For You and Only You by pleasefindthis)
11. Read a book that was released in 2015 or the newest book on your TBR list.
12. Read a book that has a character who exhibits these characteristics or an action genre book.
3rd Quarter Challenge: Clear the ShelvesMy to-read piles (yes, piles!) are getting out of control, so this is a great challenge for me. I'm going for 27 (4 books from each pile). 27/27 finished 09/14.
1. True to Form (read 07/04)
2. A Nation Rising: Untold Tales of Flawed Founders, Fallen Heroes, and Forgotten Fighters from America's Hidden History (finished 07/12)
3. The Shade of the Moon (finished 07/15)
4. An Irish Country Christmas (finished 07/21)
5. Will Grayson, Will Grayson (finished 07/22)
6. Not My Father's Son: A Memoir (finished 07/23)
7. Farewell to the East End: The Last Days of the East End Midwives (finished 07/25)
8. Shadows of the Workhouse (finished 07/27)
9. Texts from Jane Eyre: And Other Conversations with Your Favorite Literary Characters (finished 07/29)
10. How To Be a Heroine (finished 08/05)
11. An American Holocaust: The Story of Lataine's Ring (read 08/05)
12. Gourmet Rhapsody (read 08/05)
13. I Regret Nothing: A Memoir (finished 08/07)
14. An Irish Country Girl (finished 08/11)
15. Love, Stargirl (finished 08/12)
16. One for the Books (finished 08/15)
17. The Bone Lady: Life as a Forensic Anthropologist (finished 08/16)
18. Horses Never Lie About Love: The Heartwarming Story of a Remarkable Horse Who Changed My Life(finished 08/20)
19. Wallflower at the Orgy (finished 08/21)
20. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (finished 08/22)
21. The Devil in Massachusetts: A Modern Enquiry Into the Salem Witch Trials (finished 08/29)
22. Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade (finished 09/07)
23. Practical Classics: 50 Reasons to Reread 50 Books You Haven't Touched Since High School (finished 09/08)
24. Picture Me Gone (read 09/08)
25. Born Wicked (finished 09/10)
26. An Irish Country Courtship (finished 09/13)
27. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride (finished 09/14)
4th Quarter Challenge: Banned BooksI plan on reading 5 banned books. I plan to reread a few favorites, but I want to read at least 2 titles that I have never read before this challenge. Finished 12/20
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (reread)
2. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (reread)
3. The Handmaid's Tale (reread)
4. The Witches (new to me)
5. Speak (new to me, but I have seen the movie)
Completed June 10
1. A book written by someone when they were under the age of 25 (Popular by Maya Wagenen)
2. A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65 (A Good Marriage by Stephen King)
3. A collection of short stories (either by one person or an anthology by many people) (The Garden of Eden and Other Criminal Delights by Faye Kellerman)
4. A book published by an indie press (All Things Irish by Michael Loynd)
5. A book by or about someone that identifies as LGBTQ (Over Our Dead Bodies: Undertakers Lift the Lid by K. McKenzie & T. Harra **Ken McKenzie is gay.**)
6. A book by a person whose gender is different from your own (Twenty-five Books That Shaped America by Thomas C. Foster)
7. A book that takes place in Asia (The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards **parts of it take place in Asia)
8. A book by an author from Africa (Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi) The author was born in Nigeria.
9. A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture (Native Americans, Aboriginals, etc.) (The Journey of Crazy Horse by Joseph M. Marshall III)
10. A microhistory (Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan)
11. A YA novel (Princess of the Silver Woods by Jessica Day George)
12. A sci-fi novel (Prudence by Gail Carriger)
13. A romance novel (X Marks the Scot by Victoria Roberts)
14. A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize winner from the last decade (Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington. It won in 1922, but I don't usually read Pulitzer Prize winners so I modified this task.)
15. A book that is a retelling of a classic story (fairytale, Shakespearian play, classic novel, etc.) (Beastly by Alex Flinn)
16. An audiobook (The First World War by John Keegan)
17. A collection of poetry (I Wrote This For You and Only You by pleasefindthis)
18. A book that someone else has recommended to you (Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett)
19. A book that was originally published in another language (One Generation After by Elie Wiesel) This was originally published in French.
20. A graphic novel, a graphic memoir or a collection of comics of any kind (Hi, have you met Panels?) (Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley)
21. A book that you would consider a guilty pleasure (Read, and then realize that good entertainment is nothing to feel guilty over) (The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts by Lilian Jackson Braun)
22. A book published before 1850 (A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare)
23. A book published this year (The Last American Vampire by Seth Grahame-Smith)
24. A self-improvement book (can be traditionally or non-traditionally considered “self-improvement”) (Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking -Susan Cain)