Book By Book: 2017 Reading Challenges

Read Your Own Damn Books hosted by Estella's Revenge
I have an entire bookcase of books waiting to be read! In 2017, I will aim (again) to read at least 25 of My Own Damn Books, and I would love to clear even more off the TBR shelves!

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Friends for Life by Andrew Norriss
Dept. Of Speculation by Jenny Offill
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke
The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
NewsPrints by Ru Xu
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Shift by Hugh Howey
Mighty Jack and the Goblin King by Ben Hatke
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Dust by Hugh Howey
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
Overpowered by Mark H. Kruger
Hear the Wolves by Victoria Scott
In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
A Cold and Lonely Place by Sara J. Henry
Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
Spinning by Tillie Walden
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen
Real Friends by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham
Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag

2017 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge hosted by Girlxoxo.
I really enjoyed this fun challenge last year, where there is a different theme every month. My plan this year is to try to remember to check for the monthly motif before the end of the month! Here are this year's categories:

JANUARY – Diversify Your Reading
Kick the reading year off right and shake things up. Read a book with a character (or written by an author) of a race, religion, or sexual orientation other than your own. 'Round Midnight by Laura McBride

FEBRUARY – Undercover Thriller
Read a book involving spies, detectives, private investigators, or a character in disguise. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

MARCH – Time Traveler
Read a book set in a different dimension, a book in which time travel is involved or a dystopian or science fiction book where reality looks very different than what we’re used to. The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron

APRIL – Award Winners
Read a book that has won a literary award or a book written by an author who has been recognized in the bookish community. The Leavers by Lisa Ko won the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, awarded by Barbara Kingsolver.

MAY – Book to Movie or Audio
Read a book that has a movie based off of it. For an extra challenge, see the movie or listen to the audio book as well. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood has had several movies and TV adaptations made from it; I am dying to see the newest TV show, but we don't get Hulu!

JUNE – Destination Unknown
Read a book in which the character(s) take a trip, travel somewhere, go on a quest, or find themselves on a journey toward something. The Atlas of Forgotten Places by Jenny D. Williams

JULY – Believe the Unbelievable
This month it’s all about fantasy. Epic fantasy, urban fantasy, fairytales, magic, etc. Mighty Jack and the Goblin King by Ben Hatke

AUGUST – Seasons, Elements, & Weather
Read a book in which the season, the elements, or the weather plays a role in the story. Dust by Hugh Howey

SEPTEMBER – Creepy, Chilling, & Frightful
Cozy mystery ghost stories, paranormal hauntings, murder mysteries, weird and scary creatures- it’s up to you! Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

OCTOBER– Games, Challenges, & Contests
Read a book that involves a game of some sort. Video games, war games, psychological mess-with-your-mind games, characters who participate in a contest, or a story in which the character takes on a challenge. Artemis by Andy Weir

NOVEMBER – Last Chance
Read a book you’ve been meaning to get to all year but haven’t yet or read the last book in a series you started. How about Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen - I'd been meaning to get to it for about 5 years!!

DECEMBER – Picking Favorites
Read a book by one of your favorite authors: Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

Back to the Classics Challenge 2017 hosted by Books and Chocolate.

My own personal goal for this one is to read 6 classics this year (that would beat last year's total of 4). They have 12 different categories to fit your classics choices into:

1. A 19th century classic - any book published between 1800 and 1899. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells

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 Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

3. A classic by a woman author. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

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). Modern translations are acceptable as long as the original work fits the guidelines for publications as explained in the challenge rules. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

5. A classic originally published before 1800. Plays and epic poems are acceptable in this category. Translations can be modern in this category also.

6. A 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.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

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.

8. A classic with a number in the title. Examples include A Tale of Two Cities, Three Men in a Boat, The Nine Tailors, Henry V, Fahrenheit 451, etc. An actual number is required -- for example, Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None would not qualify, but The Seven Dials Mystery would.

9. A classic about an animal or which includes the name of an animal in the title. It can be an actual animal or a metaphor, or just the name in the title. Examples include To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, The Metamorphosis, White Fang, etc. If the animal is not obvious, please clarify it in your post.

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.

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. It must be an actual award-winner; runners-up and nominees do not count.

12. A Russian classic. 2017 will be the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, so read a classic by any Russian author.

A 2017 Reading Challenge to Keep You Well-Rounded hosted by /r/books.
This one is kind of non-traditional - no sign-ups or links list - but it looks like fun! The idea is to expand your reading horizons by aiming to read one book in each of the following categories - 52 books in a year (I read 75 last year, so that's not a problem, but we'll see how much variety I have!). There is also an easier version, where one book can count for multiple categories, so you could do it with far fewer than 52 books.

Genre
Read a book in the Science Fiction genre: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Read a book in the Fantasy genre The Scourge by Jennifer Nielsen
Read a book labelled as Young Adult The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron
Read a nonfiction book Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
Read a History book, fiction or nonfiction: The Whip by Karen Kondazian
Read a Biography, whether normal, Auto, or Memoir. Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies with Alison Leslie Gold
Read a book about Politics and/or Religion The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Read a book in the Thriller or Suspense genre Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz
Read a Mystery book The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
Read a book labelled as Dystopian Shift by Hugh Howey
Read a book in the Paranormal genre: Friends for Life by Andrew Norriss
Read a book labelled as a Satire or Allegory
Read a book from the Self-Help, Health, Travel, or Guide category Books for Living by Will Schwalbe
Read a collection of poetry
Read a book from the Horror genre
Read a Romance and/or Erotica book
Publishing
Read a book originally published in a language you do not know The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Read a book written before 1950 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Read a book written after 1949 Exo by Fonda Lee
Read a book published this year The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron
Read a self-published book
Read an indie book, where the publisher is a small or niche house and not one of the top 6 publishers The Leavers by Lisa Ko
Read a book published under one of the Big 6 publishing houses Everybody's Son by Thrity Umrigar (Harper)
Read a debut book from this year The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak
Popularity and Notoriety
Read a book that was turned into a movie I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
Read a popular book, with at least 1 million ratings on any one website
Read an unknown book, with no more than 100 ratings on any one website
Read a book that won a literary award: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Read a book labelled as a Best-Seller from this year The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Read a book that was, or currently is, banned by a government The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Author
Read a book by an author born in the same country as you The Journey of Crazy Horse by Joseph M. Marshall III
Read a book written by a man Celine by Peter Heller
Read a book written by a woman Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
Characters or setting
Read a book with a contemporary setting The Baby by Lisa Drakeford
Read a book that features animals How To Be Human by Paula Cocozza
Read a book where the main character goes on a journey: The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart
Read a book where a stranger comes to town Edgar and Lucy by Victor Lodato
Read a book by or featuring a character that is LGBT: 'Round Midnight by Laura McBride
Read a book set in your country Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson
Read a book not set in your country, but exists today The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck
Book features
Read a short story, one with less than 5,000 words
Read a short book, one between 5,000 and 100,000 words: Dept. Of Speculation by Jenny Offill
Read a long book, one between 100,000 and 250,000 words (about 222 - 555 pages) The Risen by Ron Rash
Read an epic book, one with over 250,000 words
Read the first book in a series NewsPrints by Ru Xu
Finish a series Dust by Hugh Howey
Listen to an Audiobook Making Friends with Billy Wong by Augusta Scattergood
Read a book on paper Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
Read a book with pictures in it: Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke
Combining all the letters of all the titles of all the books you’ve read this year, complete the Alphabet
Other
Read a book for the second time The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Read a book that’s been on your to read-list for more than a year The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge hosted by Mom's Small Victories, one of my favorite blogs. I signed up for this one back in 2014, so this is a continuation (it's a perpetual challenge) - I can't wait to see what places I visit in books in 2017! Last year I read 30 books set in other countries/cultures (20 different places), so I hope to do even better this year.

Friends for Life by Andrew Norriss (UK)
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (France, Germany)
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (Netherlands)
Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies with Alison Leslie Gold (Netherlands)
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (UK)
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Vietnam)
The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron (France)
The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck (Germany)
How To Be Human by Paula Cocozza (UK)
The Leavers by Lisa Ko (China)
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (Sahara Desert - Africa)
The Baby by Lisa Drakeford (UK)
Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz (Germany)
The Atlas of Forgotten Places by Jenny D. Williams (Uganda)
The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson (UK)
I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai (Pakistan)
Almost Autumn by Marianne Kaurin (Norway)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (UK)
In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware (UK)
Hollow City by Ransom Riggs (UK)
Artemis by Andy Weir (the moon) - ha ha
Local Girl Missing by Claire Douglas (UK)
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells (UK)
The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom (Italy)
Where the Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir by Amy Tan (China)
Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani (India)
The Lotterys Plus One by Emma Donoghue (Canada)

2017 Literary Escapes Challenge hosted by Escape with Dollycas Into a Good Book.

Hurray! After a year off, I found another reading challenge that tracks where books take place. I enjoy this so much that I kept tracking my states even when there was no challenge. I read books set in 27 different states last year, so I hope to do even better in 2017!

Alabama
Alaska Hear the Wolves by Victoria Scott
Arizona
Arkansas Making Friends with Billy Wong by Augusta Scattergood
California The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, Be Frank with Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson, NightSun by Dan Vining, Where the Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir by Amy Tan, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen, Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani
Colorado Our Souls at Night by Kent Haru, Overpowered by Mark H. Kruger
Connecticut Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia Shift by Hugh Howey, Dust by Hugh Howe, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Hawaii Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
Idaho
Illinois: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, The Hunting Accident by David L. Carlson & Landis Blair
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana If I Run by Terri Blackstock (LA)
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Michigan American Street by Ibi Zoboi
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska Exo by Fonda Lee
Nevada: 'Round Midnight by Laura McBride
New Hampshire
New Jersey The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak, Edgar and Lucy by Victor Lodato
New Mexico
New York: Dept. Of Speculation by Jenny Offill, Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney, Everybody's Son by Thrity Umriga, The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott (NY), A Cold and Lonely Place by Sara J. Henry, Before the Fall by Noah Hawley (NY)
North Carolina The Risen by Ron Rash, Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania Exposed by Lisa Scottoline
Rhode Island: The Whip by Karen Kondazian
South Carolina
South Dakota The Journey of Crazy Horse by Joseph M. Marshall III
Tennessee
Texas Spinning by Tillie Walden, Hap & Hazard and the End of the World by Diane DeSanders
Utah Real Friends by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham
Vermont
Virginia
Washington: The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart
West Virginia
Wisconsin The Hearts of Men by Nickolas Butler (WI)
Wyoming Celine by Peter Heller, Masterminds: Payback by Gordon Kormon

Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play each month! Stop by to print out this month's Bingo card and play along!

Big Book Summer Challenge hosted by Book By Book (me!)

Books Read During the Summer Over 400 Pages:

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Shift by Hugh Howey
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Dust by Hugh Howey
The Hearts of Men by Nickolas Butler
Overpowered by Mark H. Kruger
The Hunting Accident by David L. Carlson & Landis Blair

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Challenge (R.I.P.) hosted by Estella's Revenge and My Capricious Life

I signed up for Peril the First (four or more books in mystery/suspense/thriller/supernatural/horror genres) and Peril on the Screen because my husband and I watch a lot of suspense & thriller-type TV shows that I will review, too.

Books: