2024 Summer Reading Challenge @Messy Middle

Been waiting for this one! One of my favorite summer challenges. I will get as many books as possible during the time indicated.

It will start on June 1 (I know!! Sorry for the last minute) and run through August 16, 2024. To enter, read seven books from 25 plus categories and leave a comment at the end of the challenge with the books you read. That’s all. No entrance fee, no hassle, just fun. Also, if you’re trying to find this on the website, surprise, you’re going to struggle because the website is being redone :). Why not add that into the mix, right :)?!

But here in the messy middle, we sally forth!

What’s different?

A book related to the Olympics (Paris, we see you!)

A book related to weddings or marriage (My oldest niece is getting married)

A book related a broken bone (My mom’s femur broke ☹)

What’s the same?

Many categories will be similar because reading is reading. As mentioned above, you will notice a few new gems

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 six summers I’ve selected a penalty book and it worked, except that my penalty book two years was horrible. I’m now a bit gun shy, but am reminding my self that my track record is 87% good books. I tend to choose “long” history books that I have meant to get around to but this summer is different … my penalty book was an impulse buy last Saturday and has the potential for me to not get around to it . . . so ha! I’m tricking myself into reading it! My penalty book for 2024 is Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America by Leila Philip.

Like previous years, if you do not read your “penalty” book, you will subtract two books from your total.

The joy of reading!

What’s in it for you?

All who comment on a summary blog post that I’ll publish on August 12th will be entered to win one of ten $10 Amazon gift cards. You will have between August 12-16th to comment with the names of the books you read.

Drumroll . . . here are the categories!

1. A biography or a book about history: Thunderstruck--Erik Larson
2. A book you already own: Summer on Sag Harbor--Sunny Hostin
3. A book you’ve been wanting to reread: Where'd You Go, Bernadette--Maria Semple 
4. A book a friend recommended: Mistress of All Evil--Serena Valentino
5. A Young Adult book (YA): Burn for Burn--Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian
6. A book of poetry: Kabir's Jacket Has a Thousand Pockets--Ayaz Pirari
7. A memoir or autobiography: Rolling Warrior--Judith Heumann
8. A graphic novel: Lumberjanes: Out of Time--Noelle Stevenson
9. A book for professional development (loosely defined): Meditations for Personal Healing--Louise L. Hay
10. A book longer than 600 pages (counts as two books): The Fiery Cross--Diana Gabaldon
11. A book with a verb in the title: I'll Take You There--Joyce Carol Oates
12. A play: Prometheus Bound--Aeschylus
13. A book about a country or culture you’ve never visited: Yellowface--R.F. Kuang
14. A book that won an award: Whistling Past the Graveyard--Susan Crandall
15. A book by an author you know (get “credit” for supporting your friends 😊)
16. A mystery or classic: The Leper of St. Giles--Ellis Peters
17. An audiobook: Pam Ayres: Down the Line
18. A book with an animal: Lone Wolf--Kathryn Lasky
19. A book less than 100 pages: Aladdin--Walt Disney Company
20. A book you want to discuss with others: Funny Story--Emily Henry
21. A book you read as a child: These Happy Golden Years--Laura Ingalls Wilder
22. A book in a different language than English (could be sign language, morse code, Spanish, don’t get hung up on terms 😊): Bilingual Fairy Tales Rapunzel--Blackwell Burke (in English and Spanish)
23. Read out loud to someone. Could be a whole book, a favorite passage, or to a child: Read a Bible passage to a friend.
24. Listen to someone reading out loud (not an audio book, an actual person): Listened to a friend read a Bible passage.

A few categories special to Summer 2024

1. A book related to the Olympics (Paris, we see you!): Rise--Lindsey Vonn
2. A book related to weddings or marriage (My oldest niece is getting married): Picture Bride--Yoshiko Uchida
3. A book related a broken bone (My mom’s femur broke ☹): Henry Heckelbeck Breaks a Leg--Wanda Coven

Bonus: choose a Penalty Book in the first week of the challenge as a way to kick yourself in the pants. If you don’t read your penalty book you will subtract two (2) books from your grand total.

My Penalty Book: Life is Sweet--Elizabeth Bass

26 books and penalty book completed on August 12