Thursday, January 3, 2013

I joined a challenge or two.

I like to be challenged. I like having a goal to work toward. I love reading. Can you see where this is going?

I've signed up for some reading challenges. In fact, I've signed up for probably too many challenges.
Well, here they all are. Click the links to go to my blog post for tracking the individual challenge.

Since I've decided to do so many challenges, I'm also signing up for a challenge challenge. (Huh?)

1. Reading Challenge Addict. Level: In Flight, 11-15 challenges. (0/12)
2. Literary Exploration. Level: Insane, 36 books. (0/36)
3. The 2013 Classics Catch-Up Challenge. Level: Senior, 12-13 books. (0/13)
4. Outside the Box. Level: No Box Can Contain Me!, 13 books. (0/13)
5. The A - Z Book Challenge. (0/26)
6. Nerdy Non-Fiction Reading Challenge. (0/23)
7. Books on France. (0/12)
8. 7 Continents, 7 Billion People, 7 Books. (0/7)
9. Essay Reading Challenge. (0/30)
10. 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. (23/1305)
11. 150+ Challenge. (0/150)
12. 52 Books in 52 Weeks. (0/52)

52 Books in 52 Weeks

Just one more reading challenge to tell you about.

Seriously.

I'm NOT signing up for anymore.

Really.

Unless I find one I just can't live without......

The challenge is 52 Books in 52 Weeks. Since I read more than one book a week, I'm going to pick my favorite review of the week and link it here.

Week 1:
Week 2:
Week 3:
Week 4:
Week 5:
Week 6:
Week 7:
Week 8:
Week 9:
Week 10:

The List.

What I've Read - 2013 edition

In addition to all the specific challenges, I'm also signing up for a challenge to read more than 150 books. Why not? Everything counts, so I'll also be using this page to keep track of everything I read this year.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die



Well. This challenge is clearly going to take me more than a year. And there are more than 1001 books, using the list in the challenge, which was compiled from all editions of the book.

The books I've read (including ones read before this blog and without reviews):

23. The Truthful History of the Conquest of New Spain - Bernal Diaz del Castillo (1632)
117. The Purloined Letter - Edgar Allan Poe (1844)
118. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas (1844)
119. Facundo - Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (1845)
126. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (1847)
162. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (1865)
258. The Awakening - Kate Chopin (1899)
276. Call Of The Wild - Jack London (1903)
328. The Return Of The Soldier - Rebecca West (1918)
521. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1943)
561. Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell (1949)
614. Lord of the Flies - William Golding (1954)
664. Gabriela, Clove And Cinnamon - Jorge Amado (1958)
680. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (1960)
787. Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (1969)
853. Kiss Of The Spiderwoman - Manuel Puig (1976)
967. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood (1985)
1128. The Reader - Bernhard Schlink (1995)
1155. Memoirs Of A Geisha - Arthur Golden (1997)
1178. Disgrace - J M Coetzee (1999)
1216. Atonement - Ian McEwan (2001)
1227. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides (2002)
1265. Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky (2004)

(23/1305)

Essay Reading Challenge






A funny thing. I can tell you what many of the great essays in history were about, and yet, I haven't actually sat down and read through them myself. I've often thought that I really should read them. Lo and behold- there's a challenge for that!

Since many essays are short(er than books), and I read a bunch just for school, I'm going to try for at least 30.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.

7 Continents, 7 Billion People, 7 Books


Challenge rules and more information found here.

The challenge is only 7 books, but they have to be from countries that meet specific requirements.

1) The starting point: 
A book from one of the 7 countries with the most population

2) From most populated to the mountains:
A book from one of the 7 highest countries in the world 
 
3) From high to old:
A book from one of the 7 oldest countries of the world



 4) From old to new:
 A book from one of the megacities of the world




 5) From megacity to migration:
 A book from one of the 7 countries with the most immigrants




 6) From people to money:
 A book from one of the 7 richest - or poorest - countries


 7) From society to environment:
 A book from one of the 7 most rainy or dry countries 

Books on France.


This is a challenge that I'm joining and not shooting for the top level. I picked the passionnément level, 12 books. This challenge includes books set in France, about French themes, by French authors, or written in French. I'm going to try and read books written in French. Because of this, I'm only aiming for 12 books.


C'est un défi que je rejoins et je n'aspire pas pour le niveau supérieur. J'ai choisi le niveau passionnément, 12 livres. Ce défi inclut des livres établis en France, sur des thèmes français, d'auteurs français, ou écrits en français. Je vais essayer de lire des livres écrits en français. Pour cette raison, j'aspire seulement à 12 livres. 

Obviously, my French isn't perfect, but I'd like to write the reviews for this challenge in English and French.

(Clairement, mon français n'est pas parfait, mais je voudrais écrire les critiques pour ce défi en anglais et français,)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.