The GWB 2017 Book Bingo

Just now found this one at The Grand World of Books. I will try to complete as many squares as I can.




Here is what I am reading:

1. Library Book: Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs--Wallace Stegner
2. Debut Novel: The Sky is Everywhere--Jandy Nelson
3. Free Space: Hope--Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus
4. Translated to English: The Abominable Man--Maj Sjowall
5. Banned Book: Black Beauty--Anna Sewell
6. Graphic Novel: Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So-Friendly Frenemy--Rachel Renee Russell
7. More Than 100 Years Old: Epic of Gilgamesh
8. Book of Poetry: The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens
9. Takes Place in Winter: The Field of the Dogs--Katherine Paterson
10. Takes Place in Summer: The Green Dog--Suzanne Fisher Staples
11. Becoming a Movie in 2017: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks--Rebecca Skloot
12. Most Recently Added to TBR: Killing Reagan--Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
13. Mental Illness: Bitch--Elizabeth Wurtzel
14. Brought You Joy: The Big Rock Candy Mountain--Wallace Stegner
15. Over 500 Pages Long: Wives and Daughters--Elizabeth Gaskell
16. About a Different Culture: Lipstick Jihad--Azadeh Maven
17. Last Book in a Series or Trilogy: Real Live Boyfriends--E. Lockhart
18. Takes Place in the Spring: Easter Bunny Murder--Leslie Meier
19. Cover is a Favorite Color: Girl in Hyacinth Blue--Susan Vreeland
20. Published in 2017: The Rules Do Not Apply--Ariel Levy
21. Takes Place in the Fall: The View From Saturday--E.L. Konigsburg
22. Author You Have Met: Beautiful, Brilliant, Borderline--Angelo H. Hudson, Jr.
23. Book You Had to Read in High School: 1984--George Orwell
24. A Popular Author's First Book: The Shack--William Paul Young

Challenge completed on October 5

Back to the Classics 2017

It's back. I will try to complete all 12 categories once again. Click here to sign up and see more details.

The challenge will be exactly the same as last year, 12 classic books, but with slightly different categories. You do not have to read 12 books to participate in this s

• Complete six categories, and you get one entry in the drawing
• Complete nine categories, and you get two entries in the drawing
• Complete all twelve categories, and you get three entries in the drawing

And here are the categories for the 2016 Back to the Classics Challenge:

1.  A 19th Century Classic - any book published between 1800 and 1899:
Martin Chuzzlewit--Charles Dickens



2.  A 20th Century Classic - any book published between 1900 and 1967. (Just like last year, all books MUST have been published at least 50 years ago to qualify. The only exception is books written at least 50 years ago, but published later, such as posthumous publications):
The Blacker the Berry--Wallace Thurman


3.  A classic by a woman author: Quicksand--Nella Larsen

4.  A classic in translation.  Any book originally written published in a language other than your native language. Feel free to read the book in your language or the original language. (You can also read books in translation for any of the other categories:
Candide--Voltaire

5.  A classic published before 1800: Plays and epic poems are acceptable in this category also.
The Epic of Gilgamesh

6.  An romance classic. I'm pretty flexible here about the definition of romance. It can have a happy ending or a sad ending, as long as there is a strong romantic element to the plot:
Lady Susan--Jane Austen


7.  A Gothic or horror classic. For a good definition of what makes a book Gothic, and an excellent list of possible reads, please see this list on Goodreads:
The Hound of the Baskervilles--Arthur Conan Doyle


8.  A classic with a number in the title. Examples include A Tale of Two Cities, Three Men in a Boat, Slaughterhouse Five, Fahrenheit 451, etc.
Slaughterhouse Five--Kurt Vonnegut


9.  A classic about an animal or which includes the name of an animal in the title.  It an actual animal or a metaphor, or just the name. Examples include To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, The Metamorphosis, White Fang, etc. :
Black Beauty--Anna Sewell

10. A classic set in a place you'd like to visit. It can be real or imaginary:The Wizard of Oz, Down and Out in Paris and London, Death on the Nile, etc.
Lost Horizon--James Hilton



11. An award-winning classic. It could be the Newbery award, the Prix Goncourt, the Pulitzer Prize, the James Tait Award, etc. Any award, just mention in your blog post what award your choice received:
The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens (Pulitzer)



12. A Russian Classic. 2017 will be the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, so read a classic by any Russian author:
Crime and Punishment--Fyodor Dostoevsky


Challenge completed on June 11

2017 Pick Your Genre Challenge

The Herd is doing the Pick Your Genre romance challenge again. I will choose to do an all-encompassing romance challenge (contemporary, historical, erotic, fantasy, mystery, m/m. f/f, etc). This way I don't need to sign up for multiple romance challenges.  Sign up at the link above.

Welcome to the 2017 Pick Your Genre Challenge

This challenge is about diving into specific genres/sub genres you love or just want to check out in 2017

You get to pick your genre. For example...

Sue might pick contemporary romance, Joan might pick urban fantasy, etc

The book just needs to fit your chosen genre.

Any book over 80 pages

Any format is fine.

Re-reads count!

You pick the number of books above that you'd like to read. 12 book minimum.

In your sign up post indicate how many books you'll be attempting. You can always move that total up as the year goes!

You can pick multiple genres as long as you read 12 for each.

Ex-- If I pick Contemporary and Erotic I'll need to read 24 total books...12 for each

Here is what I am reading:

1. City of Women--David R. Gilliam (Historical)
2. Pink--Lili Wilkinson (Contemporary/YA)
3. The Sky is Everywhere--Jandy Nelson (Contemporary/YA)
4. One Thousand White Women--Jim Fergus (Historical)
5. Lady Susan--Jane Austen (Historical)
6. How to Take the Ex Out of Ex-Boyfriend--Janette Rallison (YA)
7. The Language of Flowers--Vanessa Diffenbaugh (Contemporary)
8. Catch Me--Lisa Gardner (Romantic Suspense)
9. Wives and Daughters--Elizabeth Gaskell (Historical)
10. First Comes Love--Emily Giffin (Contemporary)
11. The Light Between Oceans--M.L. Stedman (Historical) 
12. Ash--Malinda Lo (Fantasy, F/F)
13. If You Come Softly--Jacqueline Woodson (YA)
14. When She Woke--Hillary Jordan (F/F, Fantasy)
15. Night Fall--Nelson DeMille (Romantic Suspense)
16. Just One Year--Gayle Forman (NA, Contemporary)
17. Girl in Hyacinth Blue--Susan Vreeland (Historical)
18. Chasing Stanley--Deirdre Martin (Contemporary)
19. La Cucina--Lily Prior (Historical)
20. The Neighbor--Lisa Gardner (Romantic Suspense)
21. Britt-Marie Was Here--Fredrik Backman (Historical)
22. Everything, Everything--Nicola Yoon (YA/Contemporary)
23. We Are the Goldens--Dana Reinhardt (YA/Contemporary)
24. The House--Danielle Steel (Contemporary)
25. Lisette's List--Susan Vreeland (Historical)
26. Crossing to Safety--Wallace Stegner (Historical)
27. Love and Gelato--Jenna Evans Welch (YA/Contemporary)
28. I'll Give You the Sun--Jandy Nelson (YA/Contemporary)
29. Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls--Lynn Weingarten (YA/Contemporary)
30. One Plus One--JoJo Moyes (Contemporary)
31. Carry On--Rainbow Rowell (Contemporary, Fantasy, M/M)
32. Wicked Lovely--Melissa Marr (YA, Paranormal)
33. Smoke Screen--Sandra Brown (Romantic Suspense)
34. Two Summers--Aimee Friedman (YA, Contemporary)
35. Eight Cousins--Louisa May Alcott (Historical)
36. Sweetbitter--Stephanie Danler (Contemporary)
37. Stardust and Shadows--Janelle Taylor (Paranormal)
38. Jane--April Lindner (Contemporary)
39. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine--Gail Honeyman (Contemporary)
40. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda--Becky Albertalli (MM, YA)
41. The Hate U Give--Angie Thomas (Contemporary)
42. Beach Town--Mary Kay Andrews (Contemporary)
43. Who's That Girl--Blair Thornburgh (YA, Contemporary, LGBT)
44. Serena--Ron Rash (Historical)
45. Beach Blondes--Katherine Applegate (YA, Contemporary)
46. Daughter of Smoke and Bone--Laini Taylor (Paranormal)
47. Southern Discomfort--Rita Mae Brown (Historical, F/F)
48. All Our Wrong Todays--Elan Mastai (Fantasy)
49. Truly Madly Guilty--Liane Moriarity (Contemporary)
50. Beautiful Ruins--Jess Walter (Historical)
51. The Trouble With Magic--Madelyn Alt (Paranormal)
52. All the Bright Places--Jennifer Niven (YA, Contemporary)
53. Holding Up the Universe--Jennifer Niven (YA, Contemporary)
54. Everyone's Dead But Us--Mark Richard Zubro (M/M, Contemporary)
55. Pirates--Linda Lael Miller (Historical, Paranormal, Time Travel)
56. Best. Night.Ever.--Jen Malone and Others (YA)
57. Lady Audley's Secret--Mary Elizabeth Braddon (Historical)
58. Agnes Grey--Anne Bronte (Historical)
59. The Way to Paradise--Mario Vargas Llosa (Historical)
60. Bloodlines--Richelle Mead (Paranormal, YA)
61. North and South--Elizabeth Gaskell (Historical)
62. 16th Seduction--James Patterson (Contemporary)
63. The Scarlet Letter--Nathaniel Hawthorne (Historical)
64. Wedding Cake Murder--Joanne Fluke (Contemporary)
65. Hitched!--B.J. Daniels (Historical, Romantic Suspense, Western)
66. The Apple Orchard--Susan Wiggs (Contemporary)
67. Caravan--Stephanie Garber (Urban Fantasy)
68. A Christmas Visitor--David Saperstein and George Samerjan (Contemporary)
69. Three Wishes--Barbara Delinsky (Contemporary, Fantasy)
70. Entwined With You--Sylvia Day (Contemporary, Erotic)
71. Captivated By You--Sylvia Day (Contemporary, Erotic)

Challenge completed on December 30

FULL HOUSE READING CHALLENGE 2017

At last the 2017 Full House Reading Challenge is up.  I love this one.

Challenge Guidelines:

Challenge will run from Jan 1st to December 31st 2017

Write and publish a post stating your intention to participate. In the post please include the Challenge graphic and a link back to this post. Then link your intention post at the bottom of this post.  Make sure it is the actual post and not just a generic link to your blog.

Add your reviews back here on the link in this post. At the end of every three months there will be a U.S. $12 prize with a book of your choice from the Book Depository or U.S. Amazon voucher, for the entries. There will be a new linky then for the next quarter and so on to the end of December.

Reviews are not mandatory and if you prefer to keep a list of the books read and the category they cross off the card, then you can still enter for the completion of a Full House by linking to that list on the final linky or in a comment. The list could be kept on somewhere like Goodreads or in a Google doc.

Link Ups

Jan - March will open on first week of January    

Each review can only be linked up once in the year. However it doesn't matter when you read the book in 2017 - which month, just link as you remember or have time. So if you read it in January you may not get around to linking it until say... May. That is fine.

Books may cross over from other challenges that you are doing. However a different book for each square, one book cannot cover two squares.

There will be a final post to link in a summary post for the challenge for those who have completed a full house. This will close on the 2nd January 2018  and a winner will be chosen using random.org for a U.S. $30 prize which again can be used to buy books at the Book Depository or be received as an Amazon voucher.

Completion Link will go here.

Complete the card below.  You can do it in any order you wish.  You are allowed "one free exchange", if there is something on the square you really dislike you may change it to something of your choice. Once you have played this free choice that is it. Mention the exchange in the final summary post.

* Book about books.  This can be fiction or non-fiction. It can be anything for example where the setting is a book shop for example. 

* Not really for you.  This can be a kind of book you don't usually read, or it could be one you just DNF, or one you just didn't enjoy that much.

* Diversity.  Think ethnic, cultural, religious, and gender diversity and you may come up with something you think of as well, as the list is basic.  But it must be somehow quite different to you. 

* Book from a list.   There are heaps of lists out there, from bestsellers to numerous Goodreads ones.

*Authors  UK/European author reads   UK or European author. 

*Size Word in Title   e.g small, little, tiny, huge, large, big, mini....etc. 

My Books for this one:

1. USA/Canadian Author: Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs--Wallace Stegner
2. Attractive Cover: One Thousand White Women--Jim Fergus
3. Nonfiction: Hope--Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus
4. UK/Eurpoean Author: The Abominable Man--Maj Sjowall
5. Borrowed: The Impossible Knife of Memory--Laurie Halse Anderson
6. Diversity Book: To All the Boys I've Loved Before--Jenny Han
7. Two-Worded Title: Lady Susan--Jane Austen
8. Published Pre-2000: Black Beauty--Anna Sewell
9. Western: More Brains Than Bullets/The Road to Casas Piedras/West of Dodge--Louis L'Amour
10. Page Turner: The Field of the Dogs--Katherine Paterson
11. Food on Cover or in Title: Cakewalk--Kate Moses 
12. Award Winner (Pulitzer): Angle of Repose--Wallace Stegner
13. Not Really For You: Killing Reagan--Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
14. Size Word in Title:  A Million Little Pieces--James Frey
15. Middle Grade Book: The Goose Girl--Shannon Hale
16. Cozy Mystery: Southern Ghost--Carolyn G. Hart
17. From a List (Goodreads Best Books of  2016): The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo--Amy Schemer
18. Over 500 Pages: Martin Chuzzlewit--Charles Dickens
19. Backlist Book From a Favorite Author: First Comes Love--Emily Giffin
20. Australian/NZ Author: The Light Between Oceans--M.L. Stedman
21. On TBR 2+ Years: Just One Year--Gayle Forman
22. Debut Book: Willow Weep for Me--Meri Nana-Ama Danquah
23. 2017 Published: The Rules Do Not Apply--Ariel Levy
24. Book About Books: Reading Lolita in Tehran--Azar Nafisi
25. Book From Childhood: Little House in the Big Woods--Laura Ingalls Wilder

Challenge completed on July 23

2017 MONTHLY KEYWORD READING CHALLENGE

Another one I enjoy doing is up now.  Go here to sign up.

Welcome to the 5th Annual Monthly Keyword Reading Challenge!

How does this challenge work?

For this challenge, I have chosen six keywords associated with each month in 2017. Your task is to read one book each month whose title includes one or more of the keywords for that month. Simple right?

Challenge Guidelines

• This challenge will run from January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2017
• You can join anytime before December 31, 2017
• Books must be read and reviewed in 2017
• You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can track your progress on Goodreads, Shelfari, Booklikes, etc.
• The book title you choose can be a variation on one of the keywords. Meaning, you can tweak the keywords. For example, your title could include the word ‘snowing’ or ‘snowflake’ even though the key word is ‘snow.’ Further, if the key word is ‘family‘ then your title could include the word ‘sister’ or ‘mother.’ It’s similar to the word game Word Association.
• Link up below to participate linking your post, Goodreads shelf, Shelfari, Booklies, etc.
• Lastly, have fun! This challenge is simply for the pure satisfaction of reading so please don’t worry if you have to skip a month or if you have to read your books out of order!

  ---

Here Are Your 2017 Keywords 

JAN- Court, Fall, Of, Way, Deep, Thousand  

One Thousand White Women--Jim Fergus

FEB- And, Rose, Promise, Every, Deception, Blazing
The Language of Flowers--Vanessa Diffenbaugh

MAR- Shall, Go, By, Silence, Her, Saga
A  Sudden Silence--Eve Bunting

APR- From, Trigger, Tale, His, Crown, Mist

The Cat Who Had 14 Tales--Lilian Jackson Braun

MAY- Four, Wind, All, Fury, Days, Shade

No Promises in the Wind--Irene Hunt

JUN- Without, Know, Good, Watch, One, Have
One Plus One--JoJo Moyes

JUL- Before, Final, All, Freedom, Life, Dream

All the Little Live Things--Wallace Stegner

AUG- Sun, Infinite, Big, My, Wherever, Most
The Inexplicable Logic of My Life--Benjamin Alire Saenz

SEP- Sand, From, Between, Ever, Reasons, Clash

Patterns in the Sand--Sally Goldenbaum

OCT- Darker, You, Ashes, Out, House, Sea

The Fall of the House of Usher and Four Other Tales--Edgar Allan Poe

NOV- Place, War, Heart, Why, Give, Meet

Heartless--Marissa Meyer

DEC- Forget, Twilight, Only, Crystal, On, Will

The Crime and the Crystal--E.X. Ferrars

Challenge completed on December 1

FLIGHTS OF FANTASY READING CHALLENGE 2017

Doing this one again. Click here to sign up and see more.

Rachel of Hello, Chelly & I will be hosting the Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge for the third time in 2017! We sure hope that you will be signing up to join us as we endeavor to read more fantasy novels (and series) in the year to come. Whether you're new to fantasy or a total veteran in the genre, we can promise that our challenge is real simple and that you can totally meet your goal, whatever it may be.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

The challenge will run from January 1-December 31, 2017.

We're welcoming all readers to join us for this challenge! In order to sign up, readers just need to link to one of the following: blog, Goodreads profile, Twitter account, YouTube channel or Instagram account in the Linky below. That way, we'll have a chance to see where you guys will be talking about all of your fantasy reads (and we can come and visit you).

You can read as little or as much as you'd like to. There are no levels for this challenge!

There will be two giveaways, one at 6 months and one at the end of the year. More details will be provided closer to those dates.

Help us spread the word! Feel free to tweet about the challenge using our official hashtag #flightsoffantasy, grab the button to link to the challenge in your blog sidebar, share the image on Pinterest / Instagram or even write your own post about it. We love talking with fellow fantasy fans and want to connect with as many of them as possible!

My Books:

1. Epic of Gilgamesh
2. Beast--Donna Jo Napoli
3. Not Your Typical Dragon--Dan El-Bar
4. Slaughterhouse Five--Kurt Vonnegut
5. The Goose Girl--Shannon Hale
6. Lost Horizon--James Hilton
7. Southern Ghost--Carolyn G. Hart
8. Crenshaw--Katherine Applegate
9. Soulless--Gail Carrier
10. Ash--Malinda Lo
11. Fuzzy Mud--Louis Sachar
12. When She Woke--Hillary Jordan
13. Night of the Ninth Dragon--Mary Pope Osborne
14. Angelina Ballerina--Katherine Holabird
15. Candide--Voltaire
16. Angelina's Cinderella--Katherine Holabird
17. Carry On--Rainbow Rowell
18. Wicked Lovely--Melissa Marr
19. Stardust and Shadows--Janelle Taylor
20. Love You Forever: The Best of Robert Munsch
21. Dragon of the Red Dawn--Mary Pope Osborne
22. Monday With a Mad Genius--Mary Pope Osborne
23. Dark Day in the Deep Sea--Mary Pope Osborne
24. Daughter of Smoke and Bone--Laini Taylor
25. 1984--George Orwell
26. All Our Wrong Todays--Elan Mastai
27. The Trouble With Magic--Madelyn Alt
28. Pirates--Linda Lael Miller
29. The Fall of the House of Usher and Four Other Tales--Edgar Allan Poe
30. The Spiderwick Chronicles 1-5--Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
31. Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles: The Nixie's Song--Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
32. Aunt Dimity and the Village Witch--Nancy Atherton
33. The Shack--William Paul Young
34. Bloodlines--Richelle Mead
35. The Girl With All the Gifts--M.R. Carey
36. Nightlight: A Parody--Harvard Lampoon
37. Zombies Calling--Faith Erin Hicks
38. Legend: The Graphic Novel--Leigh Dragoon
39. Prodigy: The Graphic Novel--Leigh Dragoon
40. Champion: The Graphic Novel--Leigh Dragoon
41. My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish--Mo O'Hara
42. My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish: The SeaQuel--Mo O'Hara
43. My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish: Fins of Fury--Mo O'Hara
44. My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish: Any Fin is Possible--Mo O'Hara
45. Blood Red, Snow White--Marcus Sedgwick
46. Heartless--Marissa Meyer
47. Snow & Rose--Emily Winfield Martin
48. Caraval--Stephanie Garber
49. A Wish for Elves--Mark Gonyea
50. One Second After--William R. Forstchen
51. Three Wishes--Barbara Delinsky

Challenge completed on December 24

Foodies Read 2017

The Foodies Read for 2017 is now up. This is one of my favorite challenges. I will try for the highest level again.  Sign up here.

Do you read books about food?  There are books about food in so many different genres.

• Cozy mysteries set in bakeries
• Romance books set in tea shops
• Nonfiction books about the history of ingredients
• Cookbooks
• Memoirs from chefs or waiters or people who just love to eat
• …the list goes on and on.  Need more ideas? Check out our Pinterest page!

Want to challenge yourself?  Pick a level below.

Short-Order Cook: 1 to 3 books
Pastry Chef: 4 to 8 books
Sous-Chef: 9 to 13 books
Chef de Cuisine: 14 to 18
Cordon-Bleu Chef: More than 19

Don’t like to plan?  Choose the a la carte option and let us know when you read a book about food.

Each month I’ll have a new page for book reviews that you post.  You can find the page for the month linked on the blog’s right sidebar.  Posts will be pinned to Pinterest and publicized on Twitter to get the word out.

Here is what I am reading:

1. The Lemonade Babysitter--Karen Waggoner
2. Cakewalk--Kate Moses
3. The Chocolate War--Robert Cormier
4. Easter Bunny Murder--Leslie Meier
5. La Cucina--Lily Prior
6. Love and Gelato--Jenna Evans Welch
7. Killer Gourmet--G.A. McKevett
8. Sweetbitter--Stephanie Danler
9. Cold Pressed Murder--Kelly Lane
10. A Dead Liberty--Catherine Aird
11. Ming Tea Murder--Laura Childs
12. Aunt Dimity and the Village Witch--Nancy Atherton
13. Peaches and Screams--G.A. McKevett
14. Wedding Cake Murder--Joanne Fluke
15. The Apple Orchard--Susan Wiggs
16. Christmas Caramel Murder--Joanne Fluke
17. Banana Cream Pie Murder--Joanne Fluke
18. Fat Free and Fatal--G.A. McKevett

Challenge completed on December 25