The Sweet Southern Reading Challenge 2019

I missed there being a Southern-themed reading challenge so I was gold to see this new one at Readeropolis. I will try for the first level, getting more if time permits.

Guidelines for the Challenge:

• Please focus on works that are Southern in feeling. I'll leave it for you to decide what that means. I won't throw a hissy fit about specifics, just please keep in mind the South is more than just an area on a map. 
• The challenge will run from January 1 to December 31, 2019.
• Books must be started on or after January 1 to count.
• There are five reading levels. You can move up or down in level, if needed.
• All book formats are allowed.
• Books can cross over to other challenges in which you are participating.
• Re-reads are okay.

For this challenge, the South is defined as the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.* 

There are five reading levels for this challenge. 

• One Glass of Sweet Tea: Read 1 - 3 Books
• Two Glasses of Sweet Tea: Read 4 - 6 Books
• Three Glasses of Sweet Tea: Read 7 - 9 Books
• A Pitcher of Sweet Tea: Read 10 - 12 Books
• A Gallon Glass of Sweet Tea: Read 13 or More Books

Here is what I am reading:

1. Open House--Elizabeth Berg
2. Stella By Starlight--Sharon M. Draper
3. The Guests on South Battery--Karen White
4. Bed & Breakfast--Lois Battle
5. Bluebird, Bluebird--Attica Locke
6. A Painted House--John Grisham
7. Cold Paradise--Stuart Woods
8. Where the Crawdads Sing--Delia Owens
9. A Line in the Sand--Sherry Garland
10. Save the Date--Mary Kay Andrews
11. Rebel--Beverly Jenkins
12. She Wanted It All--Kathryn Casey
13. The High Tide Club--Mary Kay Andrews
14. On Tall Pine Lake--Dorothy Garlock
15. Before We Were Yours--Lisa Wingate
16. The Color of Lightning--Paulette Jiles
17. Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo--Ntozake Shange
18. Bone Appetite--Carolyn Haines
19. Keeper of the Light--Diane Chamberlain
20. Lies We Tell Ourselves--Robin Talley
21. A Confederacy of Dunces--John Kennedy Toole
22. A Blade So Black--L.L. McKinney
23. ttyl--Lauren Miracle
24. The Mothman Prophecies--John A. Keel
25. Merci Suarez Changes Gears--Meg Medina
26. Salvage the Bones--Jesmyn Ward
27. The Summer Guests--Mary Alice Monroe
28. The Magnolia Story--Chip and Joanna Gaines
29. One Foot in the Gravy--Delia Rosen
30. Sugar and Spice--Fern Michaels & others

Calling challenge complete on December 14

Beyond the Bookends 2019 Reading Challenge

Many of the monthly prompts of this one are tempting so I am in.

Google

January: Open House--Elizabeth Berg

February: Prom & Prejudice--Elizabeth Eulberg

March: When You Reach Me--Rebecca Stead

April: I Have Lived a Thousand Years--Livia Bitton-Jackson

May: Paris for One and Other Stories--Jojo Moyes

June: The Joy Luck Club--Amy Tan

July: Wake--Amanda Hocking

August: There's a Bat in Bunk Five--Paula Danziger

September: Wolves Eat Dogs--Martin Cruz Smith

October: Lies My Girlfriend Told Me--Julie Anne Peters

November: Herding Cats--Sarah Andersen

December: A Study in Emerald--Neil Gaiman

Challenge completed on December 5

The HSL 2019 Reading Challenge

I may not be a parent--let alone a homeschooling one-- but I like Bingo reading challenges and I haven't found very many this year (I'll miss Full House) so I am doing this one.  All of the categories are of interest to me and I will fill as many of them as possible. (You can download a copy of the Bingo card here.)

New year, new books! For some people, the end of the year means holiday treats, celebrations, time with family and friends — and that’s all nice, but real book nerds know that winter break is really all about putting together your dream TBR list for the coming year.If you, too, are looking for a way to organize your (endless) reading lists for 2019, consider our Reading Challenge Bingo — it’s flexible enough to work for you and your younger readers and a fun way to keep track of what you’re reading throughout the year. You can be as ambitious as you like: Complete the whole card by reading 25 books, or just complete a row or two. Your 3rd grader can tackle the challenges, your high schooler can fill out her own card, and you can take this challenge on yourself. Keep your scorecards on the fridge and plan celebrations when you hit major milestones or offer prizes for the first person to get three in a row or another accomplishment you choose. 

Ideally, this challenge will give you an excuse to check out a
few books you wanted to read anyway and point you toward
a few books that you might not have picked up otherwise.
And since it involves reading, everybody wins!

What’s on this year’s challenge:

• A retelling of a classic you’ve never actually gotten around to reading:
  Prom & Prejudice--Elizabeth Eulberg
• A book set in a city you’ve always wanted to visit:

  Paris for One and Other Stories--Jojo Moyes
• A book that’s becoming a movie in 2019: The Rosie Project--Graeme Simsion
• A book by an author from your state: Burning Bright--John Steinbeck
• A book set in an alternate reality: V for Vendetta--Alan Moore
• A book published in the 1970s: Journey to Topaz--Yoshiki Uchida
• A book with a non-human narrator: Diary of a Minecraft Zombie--Zack Zombie
• A book published this year: The Art of Losing--Lizzy Mason
• A book translated from another language: Cavalleria Rusticana and Other Stories--
  Giovanni Verga
• A book inspired by Asian mythology or folklore: The Tale of Genji--Murasaki Shikibu
• A book inspired by Norse mythology or folklore: Odd and the Frost Giants--Neil Gaiman
• A book recommended by your friend: The Mysterious Benedict
  Society--Trenton Lee Stewart
• A book you meant to read last year but never actually got around to reading:
  The Sun is Also a Star--Nicola Yoon
• A book you think your favorite fictional character would read:
  Bright Lights, Big A**--Jen Lancaster
• A book that has been banned in your state: Ulysses--James Joyce
• A play: A Raisin in the Sun--Lorraine Hansberry
• A book with a character who has a hobby that you also practice (Blogging):

  Click Here--Denise Vega
• A book that takes place on two continents: Red Earth and Pouring Rain--Vikram Chandra
• A book nominated for an award in 2019: Me--Elton John
• A book that takes place in two different timelines: Nine Perfect Strangers--Liane Moriarty
• A book set in space: Illuminae--Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
• A book set in (or near) the place you grew up: Quicksilver Chronicles--Frances K. Woods
• A book inspired by Native American mythology or folklore: Thirteen Moons on
  Turtle's back--Joseph Bruchac and Jonathan London
• A book whose title begins with the letter J, K, Q, X, or Z: Kabul Beauty School--
  Deborah Rodriguez
• A book with a homeschooled main character: Tuck Everlasting--Natalie Babbitt
  
  Challenge completed on November 25

Birth Year Reading Challenge 2019

Going to try this one again, getting at least three books from 1971.

Here we go again! The Birth Year Reading Challenge returns for another year!

What makes this challenge different from the others out there? In a word: PRIZES! Here at the Hotchpot Cafe, everybody wins.

Special thanks to Steven Depolo for permission to use his photo!

BIRTH YEAR READING CHALLENGE

What books were published the year you were born? This challenge encourages you to find out, and then read some of them. You might even draw some conclusions about what was going on in the literary world that year.

Wikipedia and GoodReads.com have lists of books by year published. Literary prize lists are a great source, and searching “best books of ______” will also give you interesting results. (Feel free to comment and suggest other sources!)



My Books:

1. Journey to Topaz--Yoshiki Uchida
2. That Was Then, This is Now--S.E. Hinton
3. Maigret and the Informer--Georges Simenon

Challenge completed on October 25

December Musings

Wow, the year is almost over. It always seems to go by so fast. Only nine days till Christmas, though my family has  been keeping the holiday on the low-key for that last few years. All of us seem fine with that. 

Our holiday party at work is this Friday, with a gift exchange, food and some games. Then we're off for a week, open New Year's Eve, then closed New Year's Day. We will have a NYE have a reception at work. I'm not sure what else I will be personally doing that day.

As you can see on my blog, I have been signing up for reading challenges for 2019. And I'm trying to finish  the ones I'm  doing this year.  I'm still waiting to see if some of the ones I did this soon-to-be past year will be offered.I'm especially waking on What's in a Name--I've loved doing that one. I was sad to see that one I have been dong since 2014 will no longer be offered, The Full House. This one was always fun and had some fun categories. 

And I glanced at my archives widget and saw that my very first blog post was on December 15, 2008--ten years ago yesterday. Wow, another thing that has gone by fast.

Hope the rest of the year and month goes well for everyone and happy holidays to all.

Whodunit Bookology

I decided to try the new spelling/bookology challenge for next year. As I did with   this year's Blossom Bookolgy, I will do my best to interpret this one.

There are a variety of ways to complete this challenge with plenty of rabbit trails. Read a book with one or more of the following (but not limited to) and have fun exploring a variety of places and topics:  

• One book per letter in the character's first or last name.
• One book per letter in the author's first or last name.
• If you're feeling really ambitious, one book per letter in the character's first and last name.
• Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the story.
• Follow in the author's footsteps and read a book set in their place or time of birth.
• Read a book with the first or last name of the character or author in the title
• Read the first book in the series.

Bookish Detectives, Sleuths, and Private Eyes, Oh My!
Month	Character	Author	Setting
Created by Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks
January	Hercule Poirot	Agatha Christie	Multiple Locations
February	Chen Cao	Qui Xiaolong	China
March	Armand Gamache	Louise Penny	Canada
April	Brother Cadfael	Ellis Peters	England
May	Peter Zak	G.H. Ephron	United Kingdom
June	Guido Brunetti	Donna Leon	Italy
July	Rabbi David Small	Harry Kemelman	United States
August	Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg	Fred Vargas	French
September	Darko Dawson	Kwei Quartey	Ghana
October	Toby Peters	Stuart Kaminsky	United States
November	Phryne Fisher	Kerry Greenwood	Australia
December	Gabriel Allon	Daniel Silva	Israel

January: The Mysterious Affair at Styles--Agatha Christie (First book in the series)

February:  

C Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?--Roz Chast

A And We Stay--Jenny Hubbard

O (The) Old Limey--H.W. Crocker III

March: Still Life--Louise Penny (First Book in the Series)

April: The Heretic's Apprentice--Ellis Peters (A Book in the Series)

May: A Cup of Tea--Amy Ephron (Author has Same Last Name)

June: Unto Us a Son is Given--Donna Leon (A Book in the Series)

July: Friday the Rabbi Slept Late--Harry Kemelman (First Book in the Series)

August: The Feast of the Goat--Mario Vargas Llosa (Author With the Same Last Name)

September: This Book is Gay--James Dawson (Author Named Dawson)

October: Lies My Girlfriend Told Me--Julie Anne Peters (Author Named Peters)

November: DNF

December: A Death in Vienna--Daniel Silva (A Book in the Series)

11 categories completed on December 11

2019 Audiobook Challenge

The annual audiobook challenge at Hot Listens is up. I've found myself listening to fewer audiobooks per month, thus not making it to 25 to 30 this year, so I decided to do one or two audiobooks per month for next year.

The Audiobook Challenge is back for 2019!

Join Hot Listens and Caffeinated Reviewer for the 7th year of audiobook fun.

Audiobooks are great for those times you want to read but can’t for some reason like driving, doing chores, working out, or just relaxing.

I hope all those new and old junkies can join us once again for The 2019 Audiobook Challenge.

Listening has never been better! Thanks to the continued popularity of Audiobooks just about everything is being published on audio…YAY!

We will hold 2 updates with giveaways. First update will be June 30th, 2019 and the final update will be Dec 15, 2019.

There has never been a better time for reading with our ears 

My Audiobooks:

1. Educated--Tara Westover
2. Milk and Honey--Rupi Kaur
3. White Houses--Amy Bloom
4. Who Was Walt Disney?--Whitney Stewart
5. Tuck Everlasting--Natalie Babbitt 
6. Paris for One and Other Stories--Jojo Moyes
7. Do This  For Me--Eliza Kennedy
8. The Poet X--Elizabeth Acevedo
9. Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great--Judy Blume (reread)
10. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe--C.S. Lewis
11. Twilight--Stephenie Meyer (reread)
12. Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So-Happy Birthday--Rachel Renee Russell
13. Eve of the Emperor Penguin--Mary Pope Osborne

Challenge completed on December 14