Category: Reading Challenges

After the Sunday Papers #9: Reading Challenge Wrap-Up & New Book Arrivals

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It’s almost the end of 2010, which means most of the challenges I’ve been participating in this year are coming to an end (and some are already finished). I don’t want to bore you with twelve separate challenge wrap-up posts, so I’ve decided to incorporate them all into this week’s Sunday Papers post.

You can see the complete list of books I read for each challenge on my challenge page.

Women Unbound Reading Challenge: 8/8 books Completed
This challenge was a success. I had originally signed up for the Bluestocking level (5 books including 2 nonfiction) but easily reached Suffragette level (8 books including 3 nonfiction). I particularly loved all three of my nonfiction choices, Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain, Wild Swans by Jung Chang and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.

Year of the Historical: 12/12 books Completed
I had expected this to be an easy challenge to complete – and it was. For a total of 12 books, all I needed to do was read one historical fiction novel per month, but I actually met the requirements of this challenge halfway through the year.

New Authors: 50/50 books Completed
For the New Authors challenge I could choose to try either 15, 25 or 50 new-to-me authors in 2010. I chose 15, because in the past I’ve been slow to try new authors, preferring to stay with authors I know and love. Of course, book blogging has helped me to discover lots of new authors who I would never have even thought about trying, and I ended up reading 50!

All About the Brontes: 2/3 books Failed
Unfortunately I forgot that this challenge would be ending in the summer. I had been thinking I had until the end of the year to read my three Bronte books, so this one has been a failure. Not a complete failure though, because I enjoyed the two Anne Bronte books I read and am still intending to read Villette by Charlotte Bronte in 2011.

A-Z Challenge: 20/26 books Failed
For this challenge, I needed to read one book beginning with each letter of the alphabet. As I expected, some letters proved more difficult to find than others. I still haven’t read anything beginning with J, K, Q, X, Y or Z so I’ve obviously failed this one!

Flashback Reading Challenge: 2/6 books Failed
I’m disappointed to have failed this challenge because I used to love revisiting my favourite books. I fully expected this to be one of the easiest challenges to complete and it makes me feel sad that only two of the books I’ve read this year have been rereads. This is something I want to change in 2011, while still continuing to discover new books.

What’s in a Name? 3 Challenge: 4/6 books Failed
This challenge sounded fun, but was always going to be a difficult one for me. I managed to read a book with a plant in the title (The Black Tulip), a music term (The Cellist of Sarajevo), a title (The White Queen) and a food (The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie) but have failed on the place name and the body of water.

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: 20/20 books Completed
Like Year of the Historical, this one was easy to complete as historical fiction is one of my favourite genres.

Our Mutual Read: 12/12 books Completed
As you’ve probably noticed, I love anything Victorian so this challenge was perfect for me! I read three neo-Victorian books and the rest were Victorian classics.

Gothic Novel Challenge: 5/5 books Completed
I signed up for the Easy level, for which I needed to read five gothic novels. I chose four gothic classics (The Castle of Otranto, The Monk, Vathek and Dracula) plus The Unburied by Charles Palliser.

Daphne du Maurier Challenge: 3/3 books Completed
I loved all three of the Daphne du Maurier books I read for this challenge (I’ll Never Be Young Again, My Cousin Rachel and The Scapegoat). The challenge doesn’t finish until next April, so I still have plenty of time to read one or two more.

RIP V Challenge: 4/4 books Completed
This was one of the challenges I enjoyed the most – and it helped me get in the mood for Halloween! I actually read more than required – eight books and one short story.

~

Newly acquired books

I haven’t shared my new book arrivals with you for a while, mainly because I haven’t acquired very many recently. My TBR pile is starting to get out of control, so instead of adding to it I’ve been trying to read some of my unread books. I have received a few this month, though.

The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West: I found a second-hand copy of this and thought it would be perfect for the Virago Reading Week Rachel and Carolyn are planning.

Drive-by Saviours by Chris Benjamin: Won this through LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Ghost Light by Joseph O’Connor: I received this a couple of weeks ago courtesy of Jessica at Park Benches & Bookends. It was the prize I won during the Readathon in October.

Darkside by Belinda Bauer: I received this one from Transworld Publishers. This is Belinda Bauer’s second book – I recently reviewed her first novel, Blacklands.

Have you read any of these?

Have a great week and enjoy whatever you’re reading!

Reading the Victorians in 2011

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Around this time last year, I signed up for a lot of challenges for 2010. After a few months though, I discovered that challenges don’t really work for me. I prefer to just read whatever I feel like reading without being under any pressure – so I’ve been trying not to be tempted by any of the 2011 challenges. However, I couldn’t resist the Victorian Literature Challenge as I was planning to read a lot of Victorian classics next year anyway.

* The challenge is hosted by Bethany at Words, Words, Words and runs from 1 Jan 2011 to 31 Dec 2011.

* There are four levels to choose from:
Sense and Sensibility: 1-4 books.
Great Expectations: 5-9 books.
Hard Times: 10-14 books.
Desperate Remedies: 15+ books

I’m signing up for the Hard Times level, but hopefully will read enough for the Desperate Remedies level. I prefer not to make lists because I have trouble sticking to them, but here are some of the authors and books I’d like to read in 2011.

Charles Dickens
I’ve only read two of Dickens’ books so far: A Christmas Carol and Bleak House. I have a copy of Our Mutual Friend on my shelf so I might read that one next, but I’d also like to read Great Expectations. Hopefully I’ll have time for them both next year.

Thomas Hardy
The only two Thomas Hardy books I’ve read so far are Tess of the d’Urbervilles and A Pair of Blue Eyes, both of which I read this year and loved. I would welcome any suggestions as to which one I should read next. I’d like to read them all eventually!

Charlotte Bronte
I love the Brontes – all three of them. I’ve read Emily’s Wuthering Heights and both of Anne’s books, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Agnes Grey, but only Jane Eyre by Charlotte. I’ll definitely read Villette in 2011 (I was hoping to get to it this year, but I’m not going to have time now) and would like to read Shirley and The Professor too.

Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Aurora Floyd is definitely on my list for 2011 as I’ve really enjoyed both Lady Audley’s Secret and The Doctor’s Wife

Anthony Trollope
I enjoyed The Warden, and Barchester Towers was even better (I’ll be posting my review of that one soon) so I can’t wait to read more Trollope. I just need to decide whether to continue with the remaining four books in the Barsetshire series or to try one of his other books.

George Eliot
I read Middlemarch this summer and loved it, so I want to read another George Eliot book in 2011. Not Silas Marner though, because I read that at school and although I can’t remember much about it, I know I didn’t like it.

Oscar Wilde
I’m not sure about including Oscar Wilde on my list. I read The Picture of Dorian Gray a few years ago and The Canterville Ghost in October, and most of his other works are plays. I don’t usually read plays and the few that I have read I haven’t really enjoyed, but I’d be prepared to give one of his a try, probably The Importance of Being Earnest.

Elizabeth Gaskell
I feel guilty about not having read any of Elizabeth Gaskell’s books yet, despite reading so many glowing reviews of her work. I did read one of her short stories and liked her writing style, so I’m looking forward to reading some of her novels next year.

What do you think? Any Victorian classics I definitely need to read in 2011? Will you be reading some Victorian literature next year too?

R.I.P. V Challenge

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I’m excited about being able to take part in the R.I.P. Challenge for the first time! The challenge actually started yesterday and runs until October 31st. I’m signing up for Peril the First which means I need to read at least four books from any of these genres: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror, Supernatural.

I’m hoping to read some of these, which are all books I already have on my shelf:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
The Monk by Matthew Lewis
The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Vathek by William Beckford
The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

I might also re-read a few stories from my Edgar Allan Poe collection for the Short Story Peril.

For more information see the challenge post at Stainless Steel Droppings.

The Classics Challenge

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I’ve been trying to decide whether to sign up for this challenge, but in the end I couldn’t resist it. The challenge is hosted by Trish and runs from April 1 – October 31 2010.

There are 3 levels to choose from:

1. Classics Snack – Read FOUR classics
2. Classics Entree – Read FIVE classics
3. Classics Feast – Read SIX classics

Here are the rules from the challenge blog:

**Rules/Guidelines
1. Cross-posting with other challenges is allowed (and encouraged!)
2. Audiobooks are fine
3. Re-reads are acceptable, BUT books must be finished after April 1st to count for the challenge
4. Lists don’t have to be set in stone; you can change your selections at any time
5. Have Fun!!
6. You do NOT need a blog to participate.

I’m signing up at the Classics Feast level and have posted my list below (there are lots of other classics I want to read too so I might change my mind about some of these). There will also be some crossovers with the other challenges I’m participating in – e.g. the Brontes challenge, Our Mutual Read challenge and Gothic Novels challenge.

Books read for this challenge (updated 8th April 2010):

The Doctor’s Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
The Warden by Anthony Trollope
The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Gothic Novel Challenge

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I love reading Gothic fiction, so I was excited to find this challenge being hosted by Monica of The Bibliophilic Book Blog.

To sign up, see the challenge post here.

The challenge runs from now until December 31 2010 and there are three different levels of participation:

Easy: Read 5 Gothic Novels
Intermediate: Read 10 Gothic Novels
Expert: Read 20 Gothic Novels

I will be signing up at the Easy level.

Some examples of Gothic novels from Wikipedia

Books read for this challenge (updated 22 March 2010):

1. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
2.
3.
4.
5.

Our Mutual Read: A Victorian Reading Challenge

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Our Mutual Read is a Victorian reading challenge hosted by Amanda. The challenge runs from January 1st 2010 – December 31st 2010.

There are 3 levels to choose from and 2 Mini-Challenges.

~ Level 1: 4 books, at least 2 written during 1837 – 1901. The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.
~ Level 2: 8 books, at least 4 written during 1837 – 1901. The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.
~ Level 3: 12 books, at least 6 written during 1837 – 1901. The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.

Period Film Mini-Challenge — watch at least 6 films that take place between 1837 – 1901 (they don’t necessarily have to be based on a book) and post a review.

Short Story Mini-Challenge — read 12 short stories written or taking place between 1837 – 1901 and post a review.

I will probably go for Level 3 since the Victorian era is one of my favourites. I haven’t made a reading list yet, but I do have lots of Victorian and Neo-Victorian books on my TBR pile.

For more details please see the challenge blog.

Books read for this challenge (Updated 8th April 2010)

1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
2. Drood by Dan Simmons (Neo-Victorian)
3. The Doctor’s Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

Typically British Reading Challenge 2010

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This challenge is hosted by Book Chick City and runs from 1st Jan 2010 – 31st Dec 2010. The idea is to read books by British authors.

There are four levels:

• “Put The Kettle On” – Read 2 Typically British novels.
• “Gordon Bennett” – Read 4 Typically British novels.
• “Bob’s Your Uncle” – Read 6 Typically British novels.
• “Cream Crackered” – Read 8 Typically British novels.

I’m joining at the Cream Crackered level. This is one challenge I shouldn’t have a problem completing!

For more information please see the challenge post at Book Chick City.

Books read for this challenge (Updated 8 April 2010)

1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
2. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
3. Watership Down by Richard Adams
4. The Doctor’s Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon