Tuesday, December 1, 2015

ROYAL CHALLENGE 2016

Adriana at She's Got Books on her Mind is hosting this new reading challenge. Sounds like fun.  I'll shoot for level one and see if I can go over. 



Last year I decided to dive into the world of yearly reading challenges with my very own challenge. I did not expect so many people signing up or the amount of reviews posted. It was really fun hosting!

This time around I want to do things a little differently. Instead of reading across the U.S. I decided that reading books that had to do with royalty would be something a little different and fun. That's books with princesses, princes, queens, kings, castles, kingdoms, and heroic quests. Whether it's fiction or nonfiction; picture books, graphic novels, or otherwise - stories having anything to do with royalty all are welcome for this challenge. There will be discussions along the way to get you in the spirit of being royal. Sound like your kind of thing? Then join the Royal Challenge!

(Image sources: Crown - Pattern 1 - Pattern 2)

The Goal: 

Read books that have a royal theme.

Examples: Books that center around anyone with a royal title (Prince, Princess, Queen, Duke, etc.), knights, castles, kingdoms, or heroic quests. (Anything else you can think of just let me know!)

Levels: 

Knight: 1-3 books

Baron or Baroness: 4-6 books

Earl or Countess: 7-9 books

Duke or Duchess: 10-12 books

Prince or Princess: 13- 15 books

King or Queen: 15+ books

Discussions:

January: A Royal Year
*Describe your goals and books you think you want to read for this challenge.

February: What Makes a Princess (or Prince!) 
* Create Your Own Princess or Prince! Come up with a list of attributes that you think makes a perfect (or imperfect) princess or prince. Connect those attributes with any character from a book.

March: Going on a Quest (Where Will You Go?) 
*List places you would want to visit on a quest. Bonus: What is your quest about?

April: Traveling on the Open Road 
*What books and (if you had space) what non-bookish things would you bring on a quest? (Super cool sword anyone?)

May: Classic Heroic Tales 
*What are your favorite classic heroic tales or themes that you enjoy in books with heroes?

June: A Royal Update
*How are you doing with your challenge? What books would you recommend to read or to stay away from?

July: A Tale as Old as Time 
* What time in history would you want to travel to that has to do with Kings and Queens? Would you change anything?

August: A Royal Gathering
*If you had the chance to invite anyone past or present to a royal feast who would you bring?

September: Retellings and Wishes 
*What are your favorite royal retellings? What retellings would like to be told? (Ex. You don't like the ending of Cinderella and you would change it to... or original stories you think need to be retold)

October: Kissing Your Curse Away 
*The importance of curses and what it means to be telling young girls that a prince will save them (or do you think that people put too much weight on princess stories?)

November: Happily Ever After 
*Pick your favorite story about royalty (or Disney princess!). What would happen after the book was over?

December: A Journey's End
*How did you do with your challenge? Did you get to read any fantastic books or join any discussions?

*Discussions are optional!


Royal Book Lists:



Here is what I am reading:
  1. Kitchen Princess Omnibus Volume 1--Natsumi Ando
  2. War and Peace--Leo Tolstoy
  3. The Frog Princess--Elizabeth Isele
  4. Devil's Prize--Kat Martin
  5. The Pillars of the Earth--Ken Follett
  6. Queen's Own Fool--Jane Yolen and Robert J. Harris
  7. Sleeping Beauty's Daughters--Diane Zahler
  8. Etiquette & Espionage--Gail Carriger
  9. Curtsies & Conspiracies--Gail Carriger
  10. Waistcoats & Weaponry--Gail Carriger
  11. Manners & Mutiny--Gail Carriger
  12. Deep Blue--Jennifer Donnelly
  13. Cress--Marissa Meyer
  14. Fairest--Marissa Meyer
  15. Winter--Marissa Meyer
  16. Stars Above--Marissa Meyer
  17. Say You Love Me--Johanna Lindsey
  18. Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia--Jean Sasson
  19. Princess Sultana's Daughters--Jean Sasson
  20. Princess Sultana's Circle--Jean Sasson
  21. Cinderella and the Sheikh--Natasha Oakley
  22. The Crown--Kiera Cass
  23. The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty--A.N. Roquelaure
  24. The Third Witch--Rebecca Reisert
  25. Empress Orchid--Anchee Min
Challenge completed on November 29

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