This is Your Life Challenge

[Nikki]

This is Your Life Challenge: (Brought to you from Tatum)

This is a year long challenge designed to be flexible as far as genres and number of books that you read while allowing you to tell us your life story in books.

Rules:
1. Any genre and format of book works. You are also allowed re-reads. You can combine with other challenges.
2. Please update books with date read, rating and optional review.
3. You may make as many or as few categories as you like, this is you telling about your life, so you decide.
4. Books should be read between Jan. 1st/12 and Dec. 31st/12.

The Way It Works:
You will select significant events or time periods in your life, mark what that event was and then read a book which represents it, either by the genre, title or the year of publication.

Possible Categories:
Birth, The Early Years, School, Teen Years, Marriage, Children, Things I Like to Do, My Favourite Song, My Career, My Goals, My Values, Someone/thing Important to Me and so on... These are just examples, you can interpret the challenge in any way you like.

Examples:
Let's say I decide to use the categories I listed above I could have:
1. Birth: A book written in 1974 or a book with Baby/Birth in the title.
2. The Early Years: I could read a children's book, a book about young children or a book about growing up.
3. School: Book about being a student, has school in the title, book published in the year I entered school.
4. Teen Years: YA book, book about something you did while a teen etc.

I think you all get the idea, but as I said, the interpretation is really up to you. The important parts are to define why you chose the books you did and tell us a little about that.

[Tatum]

I am the challenge leader for this and I want everyone to have fun with it.

I can't stress the idea enough that this is your personal exploration challenge. Interpretations of what is accepted will be very generous. If the book that got you into reading is about a bunny and you can't remember the title, tell us about it anyways. If the title that most accurately describes something in your life belongs to a short story, go ahead and use the short story. And so on.

[Nikki]

im in.... Not sure on my # though..

[Johanna]

Robyn, that is exactly what I was thinking, I once started it but only got a few pages before something I had been waiting for to get published came along and then 1984 just slipped my mind.

[Sharon]

Robyn wrote: "this sounds like a fun challenge. my numbers will probably grow as i start though so im not choosing a set amount just yet. i have been wanting to read 1984and since that is the year i ..."

LOL, I was thinking of reading 1984because that was the year I graduated!

[Tatum]

I don't think I have any good This is Your Life reason to use 1984 but I can tell you all it's a really good book. Definitely up there on my list of favourite classics and not a hard read either.

[Nikki]

Sara, that is a great list!! I may borrow some of categories!

[Tatum]

That's a great spin on the challenge Sara! Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and Judy Bolton were some of the first books I started to read on my own. I can still remember which shelves they were on at the library! I owned some of them, my daughter has them now, she never liked them as much as I did though.

Glad to see people joining the challenge. I will wait a couple of days and then make a list of participants so far. As always, feel free to join in at any time.

[Tatum]

Participants So Far:
Sara
Nikki
Robyn
Johanna
Sharon
Lacy
Gina
Trevor
Anna
Tatum

Brianna, were you in or just commenting on Nancy Drew books?! Either one is fine.

Anyone can continue to join this challenge throughout the year. So feel free to come in with us and have a nostalgic time in This is Your Life!

[[deleted user]]

I'm in. not sure of the #. Will be listing here.

1:
2:
3:
4:The Future of Us finished 1/12/12 Facebook is my other addiction.
5:
6:
7:
8: Writer with a Day Job: Inspiration & Exercises to Help You Craft a Writing Life Alongside Your Career finished 1/18/12 I'm trying to finish my first book.
9:
10:
11:
12:

[Gina]

i have some idea, maybe. I'm a bit young (born in 1997) so it will be small for me maybe.

-birth: JK Rowling first got the idea for Harry Potter, in 1997 so ill read the philosophers stone
-i will read maybe some of those big 'ology books, like Wizzardology, Egyptology, Dragonology, Monsterology - i really thought they were real and they got me through year 3 to year 6
- then i will read Hocus Pocus by Paul Kieve and maybe even attemp some of the magic tricks again
- other books might include Percy Jackson series, Twilight, Inkheart, the Graveyard Book and Water for Elephants

[Nathan]

Love this! I'll have to think about possible categories. I'll post a list in my corner and updates here as well.

[Tatum]

Thanks for joining Trevor, I added you to the challenge participants post and we look forward to seeing what books you will pick and why!

[Anna]

I'm in, but need to think on the categories.

[Tatum]

Added you as well Anna and the amount of categories and what exactly they are is completely up to you, it's your life after all!

[Nathan]

OK, I'm ready! I haven't found books for every category yet, but here are the categories I will do (they're kind of weird, so bear with me!):

1. Birth: book published in 1993
2. Year One: book by an author who is an only child
3. Year Two: book with "brother" in the title (my brother was born when I was 2)
4. Early Years: book with "Annie" in the title / or a book written by someone named Annie (the name of my first school was Annie)
5. Junior High: book that has a yellow cover (in Junior High I took a yellow school bus to school every day)
6. High School: an adventure book (because High School was an unforgettable adventure)
7. High School (2): a book off of my grade 11 English teacher's list of books we should read
8. First Job: book at least partially set in a library, or with "library" in the title (I work at a library)
9. Year Eighteen: book published in 2011 (I turned 18 in December)

I will update this post as I read books that fit, and will put a post up in my member's corner as well and update it as the year goes on. :)

[Anna]

Good job Trevor. I'm still working on my list. It's not nearly as detailed as yours though.

[Tatum]

Nice list Trevor :) People can make up lists as they go along if they like, no need to decide all at first if you don't want.

[Nathan]

Tatum wrote: "Nice list Trevor :) People can make up lists as they go along if they like, no need to decide all at first if you don't want."

Excellent. You may find I add some categories then. :)

[Erika]

I am in and will track in my member's corner.