The 2019 Ragdoll Reading Challenge (Regular Edition)

This is one of three editions of this challenge.

1. A funny book. Let’s start things off nice and easy. Something that will make you laugh or smile, to get you started:

Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating--Christina Lauren

2. A Family member's favourite book. Ask your favourite family member for their favourite book – find out why it’s so great:
Big Machine--Victor Lavalle

3. A book with a real city in the title. Pick a city, any city…any REAL city…Rome, Paris, Milton Keynes…find a book with the cities name in the title and read it ’til you it’s done (unless you picked Milton Keynes, then just read it until you’re sick of hearing about Milton Keynes!):

Paris for One and Other Stories--Jojo Moyes

4. A book with NO ROMANCE. Specially for the valentines period – any book with NO ROMANCE in it (or as little as possible). While everyone else is getting their sappy on, we’ll be getting our anything else in the world on!:
Burning Bright--John Steinbeck

5. A book you wouldn’t normally read. Think of a genre you wouldn’t normally choose, and pick something from it. I recommend using Goodreadsto find something; if you search a genre they will have loads of lists of books recommended by users:
Radical Sanity--Elizabeth Wurtzel (Self-Help)

6. A ‘free’ book. If you’ve got a kindle, that’s a good place to start – lots of free books there. Or a library. Or borrow from a friend, family member or coworker. If you must steal one, don’t get me involved when you get caught!:
The Secret Life of Eva Hathaway--Janice Weber

7. A book you’ve been meaning to read. Got a book you’ve always wanted to read but never got around to it? This is your chance!!:
Speak--Laurie Halse Anderson

8. A ‘classic’ book. “′Classic′ – a book which people praise and don’t read.” ― Mark Twain. Let’s fix this – find one, read it, see what all the fuss is about. You’ll love it. Goodreads has a massive list of ‘classic’ books if you’re not sure of what to pick; here:
The Godfather--Mario Puzo

9. A book or author with an alliterative name. Alliteration – where you use the same sounds in quick succession, like this, Peter Pan (book), Daniel Defoe (Author), Ragdoll Reads (Hoopy blog):
Prom & Prejudice--Elizabeth Eulberg

10. A translated book. Read a book that wasn’t written in English (or your first language). This is sometimes a bit tricky but usually really rewarding. Again, Goodreads is your friend for finding something for this category:
Don Quixote--Miguel de Cervantes

11. A book with a terrible cover. You know the type – you look at it and think ‘Now why on EARTH would I buy that?!” Maybe it’s boring, or cheesy, or just outright silly – but the book could be great – well guess whose gonna find out!:
The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak--Brian Katcher

12. A ‘Random Number’ book. Roll a 6 sided die, then look for a book with that number in the title. I.E. Roll die, get a 3 – read Three Men in a Boat (Jerome K. Jerome):
There's a Bat in Bunk Five--Paula Danziger

13. A book set in another country or culture. I’m going to say some rules here that you can choose to follow. 1. If you’re in England don’t pick America (and vice versa). 2. Alien / fantasy worlds don’t count. For some people this will be really easy, for others it’s a chance to broaden your reading horizons:
The Mysterious Affair at Styles--Agatha Christie

14. A memorable book. Most people have at least one book they remember reading that made them love books. At the very least, a book they remember really enjoying. Think of the book that got you hooked, and go read it again!:

Twilight--Stephenie Meyer (reread)

15. A book whose author shares your initials. Probably easier to just do your first and last initial. Your name is John Voltaire? Read Jules Verne! Molly Anderson? Read Margaret Atwood! Lawrence ‘Murderball’ Armstrong? Read Louisa May Alcott! You get the idea…
A Painted House--John Grisham 

16. A book over 500 pages. Any book, any genre, 500+ pages – what could be simpler?:

Ulysses--James Joyce

17. A book with a strong female lead. Strong as in well written, not necessarily physically strong. Female leads who get stuff DONE, kick some butt, or are just super cool!:

Bloodrose--Andrea Cremer

18. A book that takes place at sea. Doesn’t have to all  happen at sea, but it should be a key theme:

Wake--Amanda Hocking

19. A book set in the past. Go as far back as you like; historical fiction, fantasy; historical non-fiction – get your history on!

Journey to Topaz--Yoshiki Uchida

20. A book everyone else seems to love. We’ve all got books like this. Everybody raves about them, but for some reason you never picked up the book and found out why. Maybe it was over-hyped, or it just didn’t grab you. Maybe you were reading something else and by the time you finished, everyone had stopped going on about it. Time to find out what the big deal was!:
Where the Crawdads Sing--Delia Owens

21. A spooky book. Must be getting near Halloween, right? Read something a bit spooky, or supernatural, gruesome, or outright scary! Maybe a horror novel, or a book involving skeletons…:
The Guests on South Battery--Karen White

22. A book by a P.O.C. or LGBTQIA+ author. Double points if it has a related theme. If we are being honest, most of us have a real lack of diversity in our libraries – time to fix that problem:
The Gangster We Are All Looking For--Le Thi Diem Thuy

23. A book you’ve never heard of. We’ve all been in a bookshop (or amazon, or wherever), and seen a book we’ve never heard of. We’ve never heard it mentioned or reviewed…we don’t even recognise the author! Let’s take the plunge – who knows what we might be missing!
Play Me--Laura Ruby

24. A ‘Top 10 of 2019’ book. It’s the end of the year, everyone’s been rating books for 12 months, there’s going to be a million ‘Top 10’ book lists for every genre known to man. Pick a genre, find a list, pick a book from the ‘Top 10’ and read it. May as well try and end the year on a high!:

City of Girls--Elizabeth Gilbert

WILDCARD!! 2 more books from any of the categories. OR. My favourite book, Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (abridged is you must). Pick one of the above options. Fairly self-explanatory. Les Misérables my most favourite book – the story is so beautiful. It is heavy going at times and super long, but well worth the read. Let me know which you go for!
Over 500 pages: On a Sunbeam--Tillie Walden
Translated Book: The Tale of Genji--Murasaki Shikibu

Challenge completed on December 17