Reading Outside the Box Challenge

The Reading Outside the Box Challenge is being hosted by The Cheap Reader. 

Basic Details:

Jan 1, 2014 - Dec 31, 2014

Any book is eligible as long as it fulfills a square.  Crossovers are allowed. Reviews are not required.

*Most of the categories are pretty self explanatory. Here are the details for the ‘questionable’ ones:

• Read a Chunkster: Read a book with 600+ pages.
• Reading by Ear: Listen to an audiobook
• Accidentally Watched the Movie First: You didn’t realize the movie was based on a book until after you watched it. Ideally you haven’t read the book yet.
• Relive the Magic: Reread a book you really enjoyed as a kid but haven’t touched it since then.
• Gathering Dust: You’ve had this book for years and you still haven’t read it.
• Loved By Others: Other people really love this book but for whatever reason you haven’t read it yet.
• Lost in Translation: This book was originally written in another language.
• Second Chance: You read this book a while back and didn’t enjoy it, didn’t finish it, or were on the fence about it. Time to give it another try!

My box:

Read a Chunkster	Graphic Novel	Mystery	The Witch of Blackbird Pond	Self published
Reading by Ear	Poetry or Novel in Verse	Accidentally watched the movie first	Fantasy	Relive the Magic
Gathering Dust	Young Adult Fiction	Try a Classic	Award Winners	Biography or Memoir
Science Fiction	Loved by Others	Historical Fiction	Lost in Translation	Romance
Picture Book	Second Chance	Contemporary Fiction	Non-Fiction Book	Adult Fiction

Nicholas Sparks Reading Challenge

The Nicholas Sparks Reading Challenge is hosted by The Book Vixen. 

Basic Details:

Jan 1, 2014 - Dec 31, 2014

Books can be any format.  Rereads and crossovers are allowed. You do not have to be a blogger to participate, but can track your progress on Goodreads, etc.  Reviews not required. 

Levels:

     First Date – Read 1–4 Nicholas Sparks novels
     Going Steady – Read 5–8 Nicholas Sparks novels
     Engaged – Read 9–12 Nicholas Sparks novels
     Married – Read 13–16 Nicholas Sparks novels

I would like to at least read the 6 that I own - so will shoot for the Going Steady Level. 

Nicholas Sparks books that I own:

Message in a Bottle

The Notebook

The Last Song

Nights in Rodanthe

The Rescue

True Believer

Other books by Nicholas Sparks:

The Wedding

At First Sight

A Walk to Remember

A Bend in the Road

The Guardian

Dear John

The Choice

The Lucky One

Safe Haven

The Best of Me

The Longest Ride

Newbery Award Reading Challenge

The Newbery Reading Challenge is being hosted by Smiling Shelves. The goal is to read Newbery Award Winners or Honor Books.  

Basic Details

Jan 1, 2014 - Dec 31, 2014

Crossover allowed.  Reviews encouraged but not necessary. There will be a monthly link-up for reviews. Any format is acceptable. 

Each book you read is worth points. You get:

• 3 points for a Newbery Medal Winner
• 2 points for a Newbery Honor Book
• 1 point for a Caldecott Medal Winner (Gotta give the picture books some love, too.)

In addition to that, you pick a level to aim for:

• L'Engle: 15 - 29 points
• Spinelli: 30 - 44 points
• Avi: 45 - 59 points
• Lowry: 60 - 74 points
• Konigsburg: 75+ points

There will be mini challenges every couple of months.

List of Newbery Medal Winners & Honor Books
List of Caldecott Medal Winners

I am just going for the L'engle Level.  We are having an "I love Caldecott" month next month at school though, so may be able to rack up some onesie points there. 

1. The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Newbery Medal Winner  -  +3 points
2. The One and Only Ivan - Newbery Medal Winner - +3 points

New Author Reading Challenge

The New Author Reading Challenge is hosted by Literary Escapism. 

Basic Details:

Jan 1, 2014 - Dec 31, 2014

Authors must be new to you. Crossovers are allowed. 

You do not have to be a blogger, but can link up through Goodreads, Amazon, etc.  There will be a review linky.  You can pick 15, 25 or 50 new authors.  I am going with 15. 

1. Elizabeth George Speare - The Witch of Blackbird Pond

2. Marin Thomas - Her Secret Cowboy

3. Tawny Weber - A SEAL's Salvation

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Monthly Motif Challenge

The Monthly Motif Challenge is hosted by Bookmark to Blog.  

For this challenge, each month is assigned a certain motif or theme. Your task is to read one book per month that fits in with the motif for that particular month.
  
This challenge is just for fun so please don't worry if you have to skip a month or if you have to read your books out of order! If you don't have anywhere to link your reviews- don't worry about it. Just come back and comment telling us what you read and if you liked it! Just have fun with it! 

MONTHLY MOTIFS: 

Jan- Around the World

Choose a book to read that takes place in a country different than the one you live in or choose a book written by an author that is from a country different than your own. 

Feb- Award Winner
Read a book that has won recognition or a literary award.  Here's a list of literary awards to help you get started on your search: Literary Awards.
The One and Only Ivan - Newbery Award

Mar-  Fairy tales or Fairy Creatures

Read a fairy tale retelling or a book with fey/fairies in it.

Apr- Short & Sweet

Read a collection of short stories or anthologies.

May- Mystery, Murder, & Mayhem

Read a murder/mystery book, a book in which someone dies of mysterious causes, or a book in which a mystery must be solved. 

June-  A Long Journey

Read a book in which the character(s) take a trip, go on a quest, or find themselves on a journey toward something, etc.

July- Assassins, Warriors, & Rebels

Read a book in which the main character is one of these things or fights against one of these things.  

Aug- Alternate Reality

Read a book that's set in the future, on another planet, in another dimension, or in an unknown world. A Dystopian book will count this month as well. 

Sep- Book to Movie
Read a book that has a movie based off of it. For an extra challenge, see the movie as well. 

Oct- The Witching Hour

There's been a lot of zombies lately, but this year include a 'witchy' book in your scary reads- a book about a witch or a book that has witches in it.

Nov- An Oldie but a Goodie

Pick a book published before 2000 that you've always wanted to read, but just never got to. Or pick a book set in the past (before 2000). 

Dec- That's a Wrap

Finish a series you've been meaning to finish or read the next book in a series you started but never finished. 

Have fun!!! (For an extra challenge, try pairing this with the Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge.)

Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge

The Monthly Key Word Challenge is hosted by Bookmark to Blog. You must read a book each month whose title is associated with one of the six key words chosen for that month.

Basic details:

Jan 1, 2014 - Dec 31, 2014

* The title you choose can be a variation on one of the key words. For example- your title could include the word 'snowing' or 'snowflake' even though the key word is 'snow.'

* Key words can be tweaked. For example- You could read "Cinder" or "Ashes" for the key word 'Fire' and that would be just fine. If the key word is 'family' then your title could include the word 'sister' or 'mother.'If the key word is 'food' then your title could include the word 'cake.'

There will be a linky each month for you to add your post about the book you chose for that month.

MONTHLY KEY WORDS:

JAN- Angel, Secret, Clock, Black, Day, Wild

The Witch of Blackbird Pond 

FEB- Her, Life, Night, Red, Dark, Island

Her Secret Cowboy

MAR- Forever, Inside, Storm, Sky, Flower, Stay 

APR- Star, Light, Never, Princess, Break, Clear

MAY- Dawn, Death, End, Lost, Beautiful, And

JUN- Color, Beyond, Found, Place, Grave, Road

JUL- Crash, Ship, Prince, Whisper, Sun, Of

AUG- Forgotten, Down, True, Run, Danger, Me

SEP- Number, Take, Shadow, Ice, Who, After

OCT- Ocean, Blood, Still, Out, The, Fate

NOV- Into, Sound, Blue, House, My, Last

DEC- Kiss, Fire, Ruin, White, Promise, Infinity

Men in Uniform Reading Challenge

The Men in Uniform Challenge is hosted by The Book Vixen. Pretty self-explanatory - read books that feature men in uniform.

Basic Details

Jan 1, 2014 - Dec 31, 2014

Books can be any genre and any format.  Novellas allowed if at least 100 pages in length. Rereads and crossovers allowed. You do not have to be a blogger to participate but need to have somewhere that you can track your progress. 

Levels:

     Sergeant – Read 1–5 men in uniform novels
     Lieutenant – Read 6–10 men in uniform novels
     Captain – Read 11–15 men in uniform novels 
     Chief – Read 16+ men in uniform novels 

Not sure where to begin? Check out Uniform Book Lists and Military Book Lists for some suggestions.

We are shooting for the lowest level here of Sergeant.

1. A SEAL's Salvation

2. Her Secret Cowboy

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2014 Meet the Protagonist Reading Challenge

The Meet the Protagonist Reading Challenge is hosted by Littlequeen Rules. 

What is a protagonist? The leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text.

Basic Details:

Jan 1, 2014 - Dec 31, 2014

Rereads and crossovers are allowed.  Books can be any format and genre as long as the protagonist fulfills one of the categories below. Reviews are not required, but there is a review linky if you so desire.

The Protagonist Categories:

• A woman who is a mother. - Her Secret Cowboy
• A real life person who written into a fictional story.
• A person that changes forms.
• A person who is from a country different than the one you currently live in.
• A person who lived before WW1.
• A person who lives by a body of water.
• A person younger than 18. - First Love
• A character that is in a book series. 

Lucky No.14 Reading Challenge

The Lucky No.14 Reading Challenge is hosted by Books to Share. For this challenge you have to read 14 books from 14 different categories found below.

Basic details:

Jan 1, 2014 - Dec 31, 2014

Crossovers are allowed.  Reviews are required. 

See if you can't find a book for each category in your TBR pile.

You must read one book for each category to complete the challenge.

There will be a linky for each category for your review.

If you complete the challenge and write a wrap up post you will be eligible for a prize. 

The 14 categories are:

1. Visit The Country: Read a book that has setting in a country that you really want to visit in real life. Make sure the setting has a big role in the book and it can make you know a little bit more about your dream destination.

2. Cover Lust: Pick a book from your shelf that you bought because you fell in love with the cover. Is the content as good as the cover?

3. Blame it on Bloggers: Read a book because you’ve read the sparkling reviews from other bloggers. Don’t forget to mention the blogger’s names too!

4. Bargain All The Way: Ever buying a book because it’s so cheap you don’t really care about the content? Now it’s time to open the book and find out whether it’s really worth your cents.

5. (Not So) Fresh From the Oven: Do you remember you bought/got a new released book last year but never had a chance to read it? Dig it from your pile and bring back the 2013.

6. First Letter’s Rule: Read a book which title begins with the same letter as your name (for me, Astrid means A, and I can read anything that started with the letter A). Remember: Articles like “a”, “an” or “the” doesn’t count 

7. Once Upon a Time: Choose a book that’s been published for the first time before you were born (not necessarily has to be a classic book, just something a little bit older than you is okay. You can read the most recent edition if you want to) The Witch of Blackbird Pond - published in 1958

8. Chunky Brick: Take a deep breath, and read a book that has more than 500 pages. Yep, the one that you’ve always been afraid of!

9.  Favorite Author: You like their books, but there are too many titles. This is your chance, choose a book that’s been written by your fave author but you haven’t got time to read it before.

10. It’s Been There Forever: Pick up a book that has been there on your shelf for more than a year, clean up the dust and start to read it now 

11. Movies vs Books: You’ve seen the movie adaptation (or planned to see it soon) but never had time to read the book. It’s time to read it now, so you can compare the book vs the movie.

12. Freebies Time: What’s the LAST free book you’ve got? Whether it’s from giveaway, a birthday gift or a surprise from someone special, don’t hold back any longer. Open the book and start reading it now 

13. Not My Cup of Tea: Reach out to a genre that you’ve never tried (or probably just disliked) before. Whether it’s a romance, horror or non fiction, maybe you will find a hidden gem!

14. Walking Down The Memory Lane: Ever had a book that you loved so much as a kid? Or a book that you wish you could read when you were just a child? Grab it now and prepare for a wonderful journey to the past  Comic books or graphic novels are allowed!

2014 Kristin Hannah Reading Challenge

The Kristin Hannah Reading Challenge is being hosted by Rachael Turns Pages. I have quite a few Kristin Hannah books on my TBR shelf so thought this would be a great challenge to maybe read some of them!

Basic details:

Jan 1, 2014 - Dec 31, 2014

Read as many Kristin Hannah books as possible in any format.

Rereads and crossovers are allowed. Reviews not required but there must be somewhere that you keep track of your books.

Levels:

Walk Down the Road: 1-2 books

Evening Stroll: 3-4 books

The books that I own by Kristin Hannah:

Distant Shores

Firefly Lane

Home Again

If you Believe

Night Road

On Mystic Lake

Summer Island

Other books by Kristin Hannah

Fly Away

A Handful of Heaven

The Enchantment

Once in Every Life

When Lightning Strikes

Waiting for the Moon

Angel Falls

Between Sisters

The Things We Do For Love

Comfort and Joy

Magic Hour

True Colors

Winter Garden

Home Front

2014 Jumble Your Genres Reading Challenge

Jumble Your Genres Reading Challenge is hosted by Readers Live a Thousand Lives; Lovin' Los Libros; Corrie The Book Crazed Girl. The Link to sign up is located here. The goal of this challenge is to mix up the Genres that you usually read. Each month will feature a different genre and the goal is to read and write a review on a book from that genre. 

There will be giveaways along the way.  There will be a post each month on the hosting blogs with a review linky.  The list of genres per month is below:

January- Young Adult

February- Contemporary

March- Urban Fantasy

April- Middle Grade

May- Dystopian

June- High Fantasy

July- Adult

August- Paranormal

September- Romance

October- Sci-Fi

November- Historical Fiction

December- New Adult

"I've Always Meant to Read That!" Challenge

This challenge is hosted by Books and Movies.

Here is how this challenge works:

1. There will be one book for each month of the year.
2. January's book will be The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor. (I have requested this one from our Interlibrary Loan, but have not heard anything yet.)
3. Each month, you will read that month's pick.  There will be a review linky on the last day of the month or you can just join the discussion in the comments section.
4. You don't have to read all books - just the months that you want.

Here is the list - 

~ January – The Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor
~ February – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
~ March – State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
~ April – The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
~ May – The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
~ June – A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
~ July – American Gods by Neil Gaiman
~ August – The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
~ September – Watership Down by Richard Adams
~ October – Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
~ November – A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
~ December – Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger