Sharon's Reading List and Challenges

[Sharon]

Decided I needed a central place to focus on the never ending challenges that continue to entice me to sign up. My life is in a bit of flux right now so long-term challenges will suit me best. I love having goals but without the added stress of time constraints. Enjoying NBRC very much and look forward to meeting those goals.

[Sharon]

2012 ~ Books Read



1. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins (01/05/12)
2. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins (01/12/12)
3. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins (01/19/12)
4. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (01/22/12)
5. The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (02/05/12)
6. The Wednesday Letters - Jason F. Wright (02/08/12)
7. One for the Money - Janet Evanovich (02/15/12)
8. Vision in White - Nora Roberts (02/21/12)
9. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (03/10/12)
10. 11/22/63 - Stephen King (04/03/12)
11. Beach Music - Pat Conroy (04/22/12)
12. P.S. I Love You - Cecelia Ahern (04/30/12)
13. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (05/08/12)
14. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer (05/17/12)
15. The Band That Played on: The Extraordinary Story of the 8 Musicians Who Went Down with the Titanic - Steve Turner (05/24/12)
16. Memoirs Aren't Fairytales: A Story of Addiction - Marni Mann (06/04/12)
17. Bossypants - Tina Fey (06/15/12)
18. The Fiery Cross - Diana Gabaldon (08/14/12)
19. Fifty Shades of Grey - E.L. James (08/22/12)
20. Fifty Shades Darker - E.L. James (09/03/12)
21. Fifty Shades Freed - E.L. James (09/15/12)
22. Dance Upon The Air - Nora Roberts (09/20/12)
23. Heaven and Earth - Nora Roberts (09/30/12)
24. Face the Fire - Nora Roberts (10/07/12)



2012 ~ Challenges
50 States Challenge (Perpetual)
All About You Challenge 2012
Six Degrees of Separation Challenge
Soundtrack Challenge: Dirty Dancing
NBRC ~ Titanic 100 Year Anniversary Challenge
Read Your Name
NBRC Goodreads Choice Awards (2011) Reading Challenge
Fill in the Gaps Project-5 Year Challenge
Pyramid Series Challenge

[Sharon]

50 States Challenge (Perpetual)
Start: Jan 1, 2012 -
Completed: 11/50

✔Alabama (AL) - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (05/08/12)
Alaska (AK)
Arizona (AZ)
Arkansas (AR)
California (CA)
Colorado (CO)
✔Connecticut (CT) - Vision in White by Nora Roberts (02/21/12)
Delaware (DE)
Florida (FL)
Georgia (GA)
Hawaii (HI)
Idaho (ID)
✔Illinois (IL) - The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (02/05/12)
Indiana (IN)
Iowa (IA)
Kansas (KS)
Kentucky (KY)
Louisiana (LA)
✔Maine (ME) - 11/22/63 by Stephen King (04/03/12)
Maryland (MD)
✔Massachusetts (MA) - Memoirs Aren't Fairytales: A Story of Addiction by Marni Mann (06/04/12)
Michigan (MI)
Minnesota (MN)
Mississippi (MS)
Missouri (MO)
Montana (MT)
Nebraska (NE)
Nevada (NV)
New Hampshire (NH)
✔New Jersey (NJ) - One for the Money by Janet Evanovich (02/15/12)
New Mexico (NM)
✔New York (NY) - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (01/22/12)
✔North Carolina (NC) - The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon (08/14/12)
North Dakota (ND)
Ohio (OH)
Oklahoma (OK)
Oregon (OR)
Pennsylvania (PA)
Rhode Island (RI)
✔South Carolina (SC) - Beach Music by Pat Conroy (04/22/12)
South Dakota (SD)
Tennessee (TN)
Texas (TX)
Utah (UT)
Vermont (VT)
✔Virginia (VA) - The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright (02/08/12)
✔Washington (WA) - Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James (08/22/12)
West Virginia (WV)
Wisconsin (WI)
Wyoming (WY)

[Sharon]

All About You Challenge 2012
Start Date: February 1st, 2012

Because this challenge is all about you, you can choose the order, you can trade out one monthly challenge for one you create, or you can substitute the sign or gem you wish you had for the one that is yours. Just let this challenge reflect the uniqueness of you, because this challenge is, after all, All About You.

This sounds like a fun challenge and I'm posting the challenge info/requirements in one place to help me keep better track of it.

Month 1: Read your Birthday Month (Spell it out challenge)
N - ✔Audrey Niffenegger - The Time Traveler's Wife (02/05/12)
O - ✔One for the Money - Janet Evanovich (02/15/12)
V - ✔Vision in White - Nora Roberts (02/21/12)
E - ✔Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer (05/17/12)
M - ✔Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (03/10/12)
B - ✔Beach Music - Pat Conroy (04/22/12)
E
R



Month 2: Read your Birthstone (Spell it out challenge)
T - ✔To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (05/08/12)
O
P - ✔P.S. I Love You - Cecelia Ahern (04/22/12)
A
Z



Month 3: Read your sign (Spell it out challenge)
S
C
O
R
P
I
O

Month 4: Read your Chinese zodiac sign (Spell it out challenge)
D
O
G

Read your favorite flower (Spell it out challenge) or read 3 or 4 books with your favorite flower on the cover
R
O
S
E

Month 5: Read 3 or 4 books set in a country you'd like to visit
Month 6: Read 3 or 4 books from your favorite genre
Month 7: Read 3 or 4 books with your child or a friend

Month 8: Read 3 or 4 books written by some of your favorite authors
✔The Wednesday Letters - Jason F. Wright (02/08/12)
✔11/22/63 - Stephen King (04/03/12)



Month 9: Set yourself a personal goal to exceed the amount of books you normally read in a month
Month 10: Read one of your favorite foods (Spell it out challenge)
Month 11: Read 3 or 4 books by authors you've never read before, but have been meaning to

Month 12: Read your favorite Book Crush's name
J -
A -
M - ✔Memoirs Aren't Fairytales: A Story of Addiction - Marni Mann (06/04/12)
I -
E -

F - ✔The Fiery Cross - Diana Gabaldon (08/14/12)
R -
A -
S -
E -
R -


P.S. If you want a specific part of the challenge to last longer than a month or shorter it's up to you. You decide. No pressure. It's just for fun:)

[Sharon]

Six Degrees of Separation Challenge
Level: Blue Ribbon - 1/4

1. Started with: Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (03/10/12)

2. Connected to: Reservation Road - John Burnham Schwartz

[Sharon]

Soundtrack Challenge: Dirty Dancing
Level: Overload (9/12)

Start Date ~ 12/28/11


I’ve Had the Time of My Life - Vision in White by Nora Roberts (K ~ 02/21/12)
Read a book that has a white dress on the cover.

Be My Baby - Beach Music by Pat Conroy (HB ~ 04/22/12)
Read a book with a body of water on the cover.

She's Like the Wind

Hungry Eyes - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (K ~ 01/05/12)
Read a book that has the word “hungry” or “hunger” in the title.

Stay - The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon (K ~ 08/14/12)
Read a book that is #5 in a series.

Yes - The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright (HB ~ 02/08/12)
Read a book that is a positive/affirmative/uplifting book.

You Don't Own Me - Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (K ~ 01/12/12)
Read a book where someone breaks free from something or someone. Or has monkey(s) in it.

Hey! Baby - Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (K ~ 01/19/12)
Read a book with a predominately baby blue cover.

Overload

Love Is Strange - The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (SC - 02/05/12)
Read a book that’s genre is romance.

Where Are You Tonight? - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (K ~ 01/22/12)
Book has a character named Tom (Buchanan)

In the Still of the Night

[Sharon]

NBRC ~ Titanic 100 Year Anniversary Challenge

Duration: March 15, 2012 - March 14, 2013

Level: Lifeboat (1/10)

• Read a book, non-fiction or fiction, about the Titanic.
A Night to Remember by Walter Lord

• Read a book that at least partly has its setting on a ship. This can also be a spaceship.
An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude by Ann Vanderhoof

✔ Read a book of “titanic proportions” - as in greater than 450 pages.
11/22/63 by Stephen King (04/03/12-866 pgs)★★★★★

• Read a book with “ice” in the title or is depicted on the cover.
Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen

• Read a book where a lifeboat is used.
The Lifeboat: A Novel by Charlotte Rogan

• Read a book about a catastrophe or disaster.
Ten Degrees of Reckoning by Hester Rumberg

• “And the band played on…” Read a book where the protagonist is connected to a musical band.
Life by Keith Richards

• Read a biography of someone who was on the Titanic.
The Band That Played on: The Extraordinary Story of the 8 Musicians Who Went Down with the Titanic by Steve Turner

• Read a book with a predominately white cover.
Hidden Riches by Nora Roberts

• Read a book with a star (or stars) on it.
Sleeping with Paris by Juliette Sobanet

[Sharon]

Read Your Name

Start Date: March 6, 2012

S -
H - Heaven and Earth by Nora Roberts (09/30/12)
A -
R -
O -
N -

L -
Y -
N -
N -

F - The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon (08/14/12)
I -
S -
H -
E - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (05/17/12)
R -

[Sharon]

NBRC Goodreads Choice Awards (2011) Reading Challenge
Duration: 01/01/12 - 12/31/12
Level: Easy (1/10)

Best Fiction ~ State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Mystery & Thriller ~ Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson

Best Historical Fiction ~ The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

Best Fantasy ~ The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

✔Best Science Fiction ~ 11/22/63 by Stephen King (04/03/12)

Best Romance ~ Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn

✔Best Humor ~ Bossypants by Tina Fey

Best Nonfiction ~ Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way by Jon Krakauer

Best History & Biography ~ Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Best Memoir & Autobiography ~ The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond

[Sharon]

The Never Ending Series Challenge


Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon
✔Outlander - 2011
✔Dragonfly in Amber - 2011
✔Voyager - 2011
✔Drums of Autumn - 2011
✔Fiery Cross - (08/14/12)
An Echo in the Bone
A Breath of Snow and Ashes



Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich
✔One for the Money - Feb. 2012
Two for the Dough
Three to Get Deadly
Four to Score
High Five
Hot Six
Seven Up
Hard Eight
To the Nines
Ten Big Ones
Eleven On Top
Twelve Sharp
Lean Mean Thirteen
Fearless Fourteen
Finger Lickn' Fifteen
Sizzling Sixteen
Smokin' Seventeen


Three Sisters Island by Nora Roberts - Completed
✔Dance Upon the Air - (09/20/12)
✔Heaven and Earth - (09/30/12)
✔Face the Fire - (10/07/12)


Cedar Cove Series by Debbie Macomber
16 Lighthouse Road
204 Rosewood Lane
311 Pelican Court
44 Cranberry Point
50 Harbor Street
5-B Poppy Lane
6 Rainier Drive
74 Seaside Avenue
8 Sandpiper Way
A Cedar Cove Christmas
92 Pacific Boulevard
1022 Evergreen Place
1105 Yakima Street
1225 Christmas Tree Lane

Werner Family Saga by Belva Plain
✔Evergreen - Plan to re-read
The Golden Cup
Tapestry
Harvest
Heartwood


Lowcountry Tales Series by Dorothea Benton Frank
✔Sullivan's Island - Plan to re-read
✔Plantation - Plan to re-read
Isle of Palms
Shem Creek
Pawley's Island
Return to Sullivan's Island
Lowcountry Summer
Folly Beach



Emma Harte Series by Barbara Taylor Bradford
✔A Woman of Substance
✔Hold the Dream
To Be the Best
Emma's Secret
Unexpected Blessings
Just Rewards



Tatiana and Alexander Series by Paullina Simons
The Bronze Horseman
Tatiana and Alexander
The Summer Garden

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
A Game of Thrones
A Clash of Kings
A Storm of Swords
A Feast for Crows
A Dance with Dragons

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
Tears of the Giraffe
Morality for Beautiful Girls
The Kalahari Typing School For Men
The Full Cupboard of Life
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
Blue Shoes and Happiness
The Good Husband
The Miracle at Speedy Motors
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built
The Double Comfort Safari Club

Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris
Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse
Dead and Gone
Dead in the Family
Dead Reckoning
Deadlocked

Earth's Children Series by Jean Auel
The Clan of the Cave Bear
The Valley of Horses
The Mammoth Hunters
The Plains of Passage
The Shelters of Stone
The Land of Painted Caves

Fifty Shades Series by E. L. James - Completed
✔Fifty Shades of Grey - (08/22/12)
✔Fifty Shades Darker - (09/03/12)
✔Fifty Shades Freed - (09/15/12)


Completed
The Hunger Games Trilogy-Jan 2012

Millenium Trilogy Series-2011

Harry Potter Series

Kent Family Chronicles

[Sharon]

Guess I'm a glutton for punishment, although this is a good way to get the TBR list referenced somewhere to keep me accountable. Going to try for 20/year.

Duration: Fill in the Gaps Project - 01/01/12 - 12/31/17
Books read: 13/100 (series=1/actual read=17)

1. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (05/08/12)
2. The Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger
3. Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
4. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
5. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë
6. Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë
7. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
8. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
9. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
10. Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
11. The Grapes Of Wrath - John Steinbeck
12. Dr. Zhivago - Boris Pasternak
13. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
14. For Whom The Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway
15. From the Terrace - John O'Hara
16. From Here to Eternity - James Jones
17. The Honey Badger - Robert Ruark
18. Advise and Consent - Allen Drury
19. A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway
20. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (01/22/12)
21. The Gargoyle - Andrew Davidson
22. The Alchemist - Paulo Coehlo
23. Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
24. Night - Elie Wiesel
25. The Executioner's Song - Norman Mailer
26. The Prince of Tides - Pat Conroy
27. The Great Santini - Pat Conroy
28. The Lords of Discipline - Pat Conroy
29. Beach Music - Pat Conroy (04/22/12)
30. …And Ladies of the Club - Helen Hooven Santmyer
31. The Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan
32. The Shining - Stephen King
33. The Silence of the Lambs - Thomas Harris
34. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
35. Peyton Place - Grace Metalious
36. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
37. Raintree County - Ross Lockridge, Jr.
38. The Hour I First Believed - Wally Lamb
39. The Bridges of Madison County - Robert James Waller
40. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (03/10/12)
41. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
42. World Without End - Ken Follett
43. A Reliable Wife - Robert Goolrick
44. Homer & Langley - E. L. Doctorow
45. The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (02/05/12)
46. The Given Day - Dennis Lehane
47. P.S. I Love You - Cecelia Ahern (04/30/12)
48. The Grand Sophy - Georgette Heyer
49. The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Brian Selznick
50. Columbine - Dave Cullen
51. Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
52. Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer
53. Zeitoun - Dave Eggers
54. Rising in the West - Dan Morgan
55. Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn - Gary M. Pomerantz
56. Sweet and Low - Rich Cohen
57. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon - David Grann
58. Still Alice - Lisa Genova
59. One of Ours: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing - Richard A. Serrano
60. A Game of Thrones (series) - George R. R. Martin
61. North and South Trilogy (series) - John Jakes
62. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (series) - J.R.R. Tolkien
63. Three Sisters Island Trilogy (series) - Nora Roberts (09/15/12-10/07/12)
64. The Fiery Cross (Outlander series) - Diana Gabaldon (08/14/12)
65. A Breath of Snow and Ashes - Diana Gabaldon
66. An Echo in the Bone - Diana Gabaldon
67. The Hunger Games Trilogy (series) - Suzanne Collins (Jan 2012)
68. Vision in White (Bride Quartet #1) (series) - Nora Roberts (02/21/12)
69. One for the Money (Stephanie Plum series) - Janet Evanovich (02/15/12)
70. My Life - Bill Clinton
71. Lucky Man - Michael J. Fox
72. My Journey with Farrah - Alana Stewart
73. True Compass: A Memoir - Edward M. Kennedy
74. Warren Beatty, A Private Man - Suzanne Finstad
75. Murrow: His Life and Times - A. M. Sperber
76. Life - Keith Richards
77. Personal History - Katharine Graham
78. Seabiscuit - Laura Hillenbrand
79. The Greatest Generation - Tom Brokaw
80. My Dark Places - James Ellroy
81. The World is My Home - James Michener
82. American Tragedy - Lawrence Schiller
83. Mortal Danger - Ann Rule
84. The Monster of Florence - Douglas Preston
85. Never Enough - Joe McGinniss
86. The Cases That Haunt Us - John Douglas/Mark Olshaker
87. Bossypants - Tina Fey (06/15/12)
88. Steve Jobs - Walter Isaacson
89. The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels - Ree Drummond
90. 11/22/63 - Stephen King (04/03/12)
91. Under the Dome - Stephen King
92. Room - Emma Donoghue
93. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - Jamie Ford
94. The Paris Wife - Paula McLain
95. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
96. The Yellow Lighted Bookshop - Lewis Buzbee
97. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Annie Barrows
98. Bel Canto - Ann Patchett
99. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
100. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America - Erik Larson

[Sharon]

NBRC "Pyramid Series" Challenge
Duration: July 1st 2012-June 30th 2013
Goal: 5/28

7th in Series
A Breath of Snow and Ashes - Diana Gabaldon

6th in Series
An Echo in the Bone- Diana Gabaldon
The Mephisto Club - Tess Gerritsen

5th in Series
✔The Fiery Cross- Diana Gabaldon (08/14/12)
Vanish - Tess Gerritsen
Dead as a Doornail - Charlaine Harris

4th in Series
Four to Score - Janet Evanovich
Body Double - Tess Gerritsen
Rapture in Death - J.D. Robb
Dead to the World - Charlaine Harris

3rd in Series
✔Face the Fire - Nora Roberts (10/07/12)
Three to Get Deadly - Janet Evanovich
The Sinner - Tess Gerritsen
Immortal in Death - J.D. Robb
Club Dead - Charlaine Harris

2nd in Series
✔Heaven and Earth - Nora Roberts (09/30/12)
Tatiana and Alexander - Paullina Simons
Two for the Dough - Janet Evanovich
The Apprentice - Tess Gerritsen
Glory in Death - J.D. Robb
Living Dead in Dallas - Charlaine Harris

1st in Series
✔Dance Upon The Air - Nora Roberts (09/20/12)
The Bronze Horseman - Paullina Simons
A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
The Surgeon - Tess Gerritsen
Naked in Death - J.D. Robb
Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris
✔Fifty Shades of Grey - E.L. James (08/22/12)

[Sharon]

Decades Challenge: 1-3-13 to 1-4-14
Level: Try for Level VIII
Duration: 1/3/13 - 1/4/14
Goal: 0/88

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