2015 Reading Challenge

While surfing through the Goodreads site the other day, I ran into a 2015 Reading Challenge group. This looked really fun to me and I adore reading new things, so I think I am going to try to challenge myself to read things on the challenge list.  (And you can see the original challenge info here.)

One thing I like about this challenge list is that it will force myself to step outside my usual comfort zone of books.  Not that there is anything wrong with reading things you like, but OTOH, it's good to expand one's boundaries occasionally, doncha think?

There is a handy downloadable checklist available via a link at the above original challenge site, but I've also put the group list of weeks and topics below, so you can check it out for yourself.  Some of these are going to be a stretch for me; some of these will feel almost too easy.

I'm finishing up Charles deLint's Forests of the Heart for a forest-themed RAL in a Ravelry group, and I'm going to use that for topic #16, but once I've finished that, I'm going to begin at the top of the challenge list with item #1.  I've got a few gaps to fill in for later in the year, but I think I'm set for the next several months with what I've picked.

Anyone else interested in playing along?

WEEKS & TOPICS

1. a book with more than 500 pages: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth.

2. a romance: Katherine by Anya Seton.

3. a book that became a movie: The Hours by Michael Cunningham.

4. a book published this year: The House of Hawthorne by Erika Robuck.

5. a book with a number in the title:  The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.

6. a book written by someone under 30: The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton.

7. a book with nonhuman characters:  The Greyfriar by Susan Griffith.

8. a funny book: Bossypants by Tina Fey.

9. a book by a female author: Fever 1793 by Laurie Anderson.

10. a mystery or thriller:  Séance in Sepia by Michelle Black.

11. a book with a one-word title:  Jabberwocky by Daniel Coleman.

12. a book of short stories:  Snow White, Blood Red anthology.

13. a book set in a different country: The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak.

14. a nonfiction book:  The Fossil Hunter by Shelley Emling.

15. a popular author's first book: The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.

16. a book from your favorite author that you haven't read yet: Forests of the Heart by Charles deLint.

17. a book a friend recommended: Botelo by Alyson Hagy.

18. a Pulitzer-prize winning book: Andersonville by MacKinley Kantor.

19. a book based on a true story: The Wild Princess by Mary Hart Perry.

20. a book at the bottom of your to read list: Before I Go To Sleep by S.J Watson.

21. a book your mom or dad loves: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

22. a book that scares you: The Blackhouse by Peter May.

23. a book more than 100 years old: Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte.

24. a book based entirely on its cover

25. a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

26. a memoir:  Two Rings by Millie Werber and Eve Keller

27. a book you can finish in a day

28. a book with antonyms in the title

29. a book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit: Iceland by Betsy Tobin.

30. a book that came out the year you were born: Mary, Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser.

31. a book with bad reviews

32. a trilogy (the first):  Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clarke.

33. a trilogy (the second) Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clarke.

34. a trilogy (the third)  Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clarke.

35. a book from your childhood

36. a book with a love triangle: Muse by Mary Novak.

37. a book set in the future

38. a book set in high school: The Small Rain by Madeline L’Engle.

39. a book with a color in the title:  A Cavern of Black Ice by J.V. Jones.

40. a book that made/makes you cry

41. a book with magic: Grave Witch by Kalayna Price.

42. a graphic novel

43. a book by an author you've never read before:  My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira

44. a book you own but have never read: The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro.

45. a book that takes place in your hometown: Magic America by C.E. Medford.

46. a book that was originally written in another language: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

47. a book set during Christmas (or similar holiday)

48. a book written by an author with your same initials

49. a play

50. a banned book

51. a book based on OR turned into a tv show

52. a book you started but never finished:  The Heresy of Dr. Dee by Phil Rickman.