The Semi-Charmed Winter 2016 Reading Challenge
As I’ve told you before, I haven’t officially entered any book challenges since 2012, when I entered 63 of them. You read that right: sixty-three challenges. As you might guess, that burned me out of reading lists for a while.
But, from time to time, I do challenge myself: to themed reading months, to the What’s in a Name? challenge now hosted by The Worm Hole, and to Semi-Charmed winter & summer challenges. All of these have the common element of introducing me to books I might have left languishing on the shelf, while being creative and fun.
It’s time now to announce that I’m entering the Winter 2016 edition of Semi-Charmed Book Challenge.
The challenge will run from November 1, 2016, to January 31, 2017. I’ve copied the criteria below. I have no idea at this time what books I will use to meet the requirements of the 10 point brand new release or either of the 30 point categories, and I’m open to suggestions.
Challenge Categories:
5 points: Freebie! Read any book that is at least 150 pages long.
10 points: Read a 2016 finalist (longlist or shortlist) for one of the following literary prizes: National Book Award, Man Booker or Man Booker International.
10 points: Read a brand-new release (something published between November 1, 2016, and January 31, 2017).
15 points: Read a book by an author of a different race or religion than you.
15 points: Read a book featuring a main character who is of a different race or religion than you.
20 points: Read a modern retelling of a classic
25 points: Read a book with an alcoholic beverage (neat or cocktail) in the title.
30 points: Read a book with a character that shares your first or last name.
30 points: Read two books: a nonfiction book and a fiction book with which it connects. (I must finish both books to get the 30 points! No partial points will be awarded.)
40 points: Read two books: one by an author whose first name is the same as the last name of the author of the other book. The shared name must be spelled exactly the same, no variations. (I must finish both books to get the 40 points! No partial points will be awarded.)
Do you have any suggestions for me, especially in my ‘problem’ categories?
This sounds like fun! Nonfiction November is happening over at Doing Dewey Decimal next month, and I think during week 3 they are having a fiction/nonfiction pairing event. You could pick up lots of good ideas! Probably too many. 🙂
Thanks for the suggestion, Naomi! I had noticed that part of Nonfiction November; I’ve never participated but this year, I think I will. 🙂
That is quite a challenge! I like setting my own challenges. Especially as a way of getting through the many books that languish unread on my shelves.
For a Man Booker prize winner I can recommend The Sellout by Paul Beatty. Brand new release: Moonglow by Michael Chabon and unless you are Jewish it would also count as a book by and about someone who is a different religion from you.
For a retelling I recommend Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld, a retelling of Pride and Prejudice or Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood, a retelling of Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
I just downloaded Hagseed but I’m not undecided whether to use it in the ‘retelling’ category or the fiction/nonfiction pairing, as I have an old biography of Atwood on my own shelves.
Thanks for your suggestions!