Summer Reading Challenge 2022 @ Messy Middle

 Doing this one again, getting as many books as possible during the time frame indicated.

It will start on June 1  and run through August 12, 2022. To enter, read seven books from 25 categories.

What’s different?

• I read Gone to the Woods by Gary Paulsen this spring and it is so fantastic that for the first time I’m choosing a book for us. (I’ll share more about it later.)
• A few new categories
• No COVID or Olympic focus this year 

What’s the same?

• Many categories will be similar because reading is reading. But you will notice a few new gems
• Counting a book of more than 700 pages as two books.
• Choosing a penalty book within the first week of the challenge. A penalty book or category is one you declare to yourself I will read or be penalized. The last four summers I’ve selected a penalty book and it worked! 
• Like previous years, if you do not read your “penalty” book, you will subtract two books from your total.

What’s in it for you?

• All who comment between August 11-15th with the names of the books they read will be entered to win one of ten $10 Amazon gift cards.

Drumroll . . . here are the categories!

1. Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood--Gary Paulsen 
2. A Biography or about history: Hiroshima--John Hersey
3. A book you already own: The Summer of Jordi Perez--Amy Spalding
4. A book you’ve been wanting to reread: Willow Weep for Me--Meri Nana-Ama Danquah
5. A book a friend recommended: A Crack in the Sea--H.M. Bouwman
6. A Young Adult book (YA): Listen to Your Heart--Kasie West
7. A book with a great cover: The Guncle--Steven Rowley
8. A book of poetry: Vanilla--Billy Merrell
9. A memoir or autobiography: Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama--Bob Odenkirk
10. A graphic novel: Lumberjanes: Friendship to the Max--Noelle Stevenson & Grace Ellis
11. A book for professional development (loosely defined): Decluttering at the Speed of Life--Dana K. White
12. A book longer than 700 pages (counts as two books): Voyager--Diana Gabaldon
13. A book with a verb in the title: Would Like to Meet--Rachel Winters
14. A play: The Merchant of Venice--William Shakespeare
15. A book about a country or culture you have never visited: Half a Yellow Sun--Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
16. A book with the number 7 in the title or subtitle (in honor of this being the 7th anniversary): Punk 57--Penelope Douglas
17. A book that won an award: The Girl Who Drank the Moon--Kelly Barnhill
18. A book by someone with a different view point than you recommended you read: Poor Unfortunate Soul--Serena Valentino
19. A mystery: The Coldest Case--Martin Walker 
20. A classic: Anne of Avonlea--L.M. Montgomery
21. An audiobook: Vacation Under the Volcano--Mary Pope Osborne
22. A book with an animal: A Cat Story--Ursula Murray Husted
23. A book less than 100 pages: Retro Rhythms--Francesca Damkar
24. A book you want to discuss with others: The Homewreckers--Mary Kay Andrews
25. A book you read as a child: By the Shores of Silver Lake--Laura Ingalls Wilder

My Penalty Book: Tell the Wolves I'm Home--Carol Rifka Brunt

25 books (+ penalty book) read. Challenge completed on July 21