I only have a little more than a year and a half to finish my Classics Club list, with 21 books remaining. So, I decided to join the Back to the Classics Challenge, hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate.
It’s simple; there are 12 categories, and the idea is to read one book, published at least 50 years ago, from each of the categories, review it, and link the review to the category your fulfilling. At the end of the year, participants will post a challenge wrap-up and link that up as well. We’re not required to read all 12 books or choose our books in advance, but I listed my potential reads next to each category below. Go to the main challenge page for the full details.
The Categories:
1. A 19th century classic – Dickens, Charles: Oliver Twist
2. A 20th century classic – Kafka, Franz: The Trial
3. A classic by a woman author – Brontë, Anne: Agnes Grey
4. A classic in translation – Remarque, Erich Maria: All Quiet on the Western Front
5. A children’s classic – Barrie, J.M.: Peter Pan
6. A classic crime story, fiction or non-fiction – Collins, Wilkie: The Woman in White
7. A classic travel or journey narrative, fiction or non-fiction – Tolkien, J.R.R.: The Hobbit
8. A classic with a single-word title – Du Maurier, Daphne: Rebecca
9. A classic with a color in the title – Hawthorne, Nathaniel: The Scarlet Letter
10. A classic by an author that’s new to you – Lawrence, D.H.: Lady Chatterley’s Lover
11. A classic that scares you – Melville, Herman: Moby Dick
12. Re-read a favorite classic – Hugo, Victor: Les Misérables
The deadline to sign up for the challenge is March 1, 2018. Are you planning to participate in Back to the Classics challenge? Are participating in the Classic Clubs reading challenge? Let me know in the comments!
Category: Challenge Accepted
#COYER – Summer Reading List
Yeah! It’s almost time for #COYER Summer! They’re doing things a bit differently this year, and I’ve decided to join in on the fun that is the Summer Reading List.
Summary of the Rules (check out the sign-up page to see all of the details.)
- The challenge starts on June 17th and ends September 8th. This is roughly at the same time as my Sci-Fi Summer reading challenge, so I’ll be reading pretty much nothing but Science Fiction.
- Books can be in any format: Ebook, Physical, Audio, Library, Borrowed, etc.
- You must pick 30 books for the Summer Reading List (you do NOT have to read all 30 books). Once COYER starts the list can’t be changed. For every 5 books read, 5 more can be added to the list.
- There will be 3 readathons. During a readathon, only books from the list can be read.
Readathon Dates:
- June 25th – July 2nd: Only ebooks
- July 23rd – July 30th: Only physical books
- August 20th – August 27th: Only audio and ebooks
My Summer Reading List
- Doctor Who: The Taking of Chelsea 426 by David Llewellyn
- Doctor Who: The Eyeless by Lance Parkin
- Doctor Who: Wooden Heart by Martin Day
- Doctor Who: Sick Building by Paul Magrs
Mad Tinker’s Daughter by J.S. Morin#3Doctor Who: Lights Out by Holly Black#4- Curiosity Quills: Chronology by J.R. Rain
- Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
- Steampunk: Extraordinary Tales of Victorian Futurism by Mike Ashley
- Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
Doctor Who: The King’s Dragon by Una McCormack#5- AddingParable of the Sower by Octavia Butler#6- Doctor Who: The Deviant Strain by Justin Richards
- Doctor Who: Only Human by Gareth Roberts
- To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
- Maybe the Moon by Armistead Maupin
- True Calling by Siobhan Davis
- The Gemini Effect by Chuck Grossart
- The Undays of Aralias Lyons by K.L. Horvath
- The Time Traders by Andre Norton
- Allegiant by Veronica Roth
- The Einstein Prophecy by Robert Masello
- Doctor Who: Engines of War by George Mann
- Sword & Laser Anthology ed. by Veronica Belmont
- Out of Time by Monique Martin
- Doctor Who: Dead of Winter by James Goss
- Planet Urth by Jennifer Martucci
- Black Widow: Red Vengeance by Margaret Stohl
The Circle by Dave Eggers#2The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick#1Ghost Shipby Diane Carey#7
Sci-Fi Summer 2017 Reading Challenge
I enjoyed last year’s Sci-Fi Summer Reading Challenge so much that I’m going to do it again this year. I’m also going to start using the hashtag #SciFiSummer across all of my social media accounts (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Litsy – just look for Fortified By Books to add me).
The challenge is from June 20th, the official first day of Summer, to the 21st of September (the day before the Autumnal Equinox). Below are the levels:
- Red Shirt – 1 to 5 books
- Viper Pilot – 6 to 10 books
- Jedi – 11 to 15 books
- Time Lord – 16 or more books
Any book of at least 100 pages that is classified as Science Fiction, including any Sci-Fi subgenres, qualifies for this challenge. That means audiobooks, physical books, ebooks, library books, free books, other borrowed books, anthologies, and graphic novels are all acceptable options. You may also count any Sci-Fi book that counts towards another reading challenge. The link-up for your reviews will open on June 20th and stay open until September 25th.
This year, I’m going to attempt to reach the Jedi level, despite successfully earning Time Lord status last Summer. I just barely made it, though, and I’m sure the only reason was being out of work for nearly a week.
So, why not join me in a Summer full of Science Fiction fun? Link up your sign-up post below:
The challenge sign-up will stay open until September 14th.
#ShelfLove Challenge 2017
I’m joining the Show Your Shelves Some Love Challenge again! Below are my goals.
My Goals
- Read at least 51 books from my personal library that I got before January 1, 2016 (my shelves and I are going steady).
- With the exception of one book, I can only buy books using the money I get from selling books to the used bookstore. I can “buy” as many free books as I would like, as well as accept ARCs and enter giveaways to my heart’s content.
- If I’m purchasing ebooks with my book money, I may add on the audio narration without it counting against my book money. To me, adding on the audiobook is like buying a second copy of a book I already own.
- Participate in the monthly discussion posts. I didn’t do so well with this goal last year, but I’m hoping to get back to writing a discussion post every month.
My TBR
These are, of course, only my physical books, and not all of them are books I haven’t read yet, but the majority of them have never been opened. Total, I have 293 unread books sitting on my shelves or in my Kindle and Nook, according to my TBR shelf on Goodreads. However, I know that’s not all of them. I don’t know how close it is to last year’s 400+, but considering I acquired a few more books and only read 58 of the ones I got prior to 2016, I’m sure it’s not far off. One of my projects this year will be to update my TBR shelf on Goodreads to get a more accurate total (most of the ebooks on my Nook aren’t on it).
#COYER Black Out: Winter Storm
This COYER, from December 17th to March 3rd, is much more strict than it has been in the past. Participants can only read ebooks we already own and got for less than $1 or audiobooks we got for less than $5.
However, there is the “generator” option, but I won’t be taking advantage of that. If you would like to know more about using your generator, click on the COYER picture to get the full details over at the official COYER website.
Since the rules are tight this time, I’m not going to read any ebooks until December 17th, and I’m going to concentrate on finishing the books I’m currently in the middle of reading. Once COYER starts, I’ll concentrate on reading as many of my ARCs as possible. With any luck, I’ll get completely caught up on them. Since library books don’t count, I’ll also be focusing on the few audiobooks I own that I got for free.
Usually, my goal for COYER is 10 books, but this time I’m going to try for 12. Bout of Books is coming up during the first week of January and I’m taking vacation during that week as well, so I’m fairly certain I can manage 12 books by March.
Are you participating in COYER?
Sci-Fi Summer Wrap-up
Today is the last day of the Sci-Fi Summer Reading Challenge!
We started the challenge on June 20th, the official first day of Summer, and agreed to read a certain number of Sci-Fi books by the official end of Summer, today, the day before the Autumnal Equinox. Below are the levels:
- Red Shirt – 1 to 5 books
- Viper Pilot – 6 to 10 books
- Jedi – 11 to 15 books
- Time Lord – 16 or more books
I was successful in reading 16 books for the Time Lord level, and I managed it with more than a week to spare. I’ve still got a couple reviews to write, however. While the review link-up isn’t closed yet, I wanted to share with everyone the amazing reviews that the other participants wrote throughout this Summer:
Thank you for a great Summer filled with Science Fiction! I plan on doing this again next year, and perhaps by then I’ll be able to do a giveaway to go along with it. The review link-up will remain open until September 25th, so if you were a participant in the Sci-Fi Summer reading challenge, you’ve still got a few days to get those reviews posted!
The review link-up will remain open until September 25th, so if you were a participant in the Sci-Fi Summer reading challenge, you’ve still got a few days to get those reviews posted!
R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril XI
R.I.P. XI takes place from September 1st, 2016 through October 31st, 2016.
I’m a day late in signing up for this, and I blame my old day planner and myself for forgetting to write all the important reading events for the year down in my new planner.
There are multiple levels of participation. I’m only going to give a summary of them here, so for the full details, click on the image above.
Peril the First – Read four books, of any length, from the very broad categories of Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Gothic, Horror, and/or Dark Fantasy.
Peril the Second – Read two books that fit the R.I.P. categories.
Peril the Third – Read one book.
Peril of the Short Story – Read one or more short stories.
Peril of the Screen – Watch one or more movies.
Peril in Play – Play one or more video, electronic, board or table top games.
I’ll be doing Peril the First and, since I’ll also be participating in Castle Macabre’s Gothic September and Season of the Witch, Peril of the Short Story. Though I’m sure to watch several movies in October that would count towards Peril of the Screen, I won’t be writing any movie reviews. However, I might list the ones I watch in my Monday’s Minutes posts, especially if they are based on books.
Are you participating in R.I.P XI? Which Peril(s) are you going to do?
Let the Challenge Begin!
Starting today, June 20th, and running until September 21st (the day before the Autumnal Equinox), is the Sci-Fi Summer Reading Challenge!
If you haven’t signed up yet, the link-up is at the bottom. You can link up your reviews HERE.
Here are the challenge levels:
- Red Shirt – 1 to 5 books
- Viper Pilot – 6 to 10 books
- Jedi – 11 to 15 books
- Time Lord – 16 or more books
Any book of at least 100 pages that is classified as Science Fiction, including any Sci-Fi subgenres, qualifies for this challenge. That means audiobooks, physical books, ebooks, library books, free books, other borrowed books, anthologies, and graphic novels are all acceptable options. You may also count any Sci-Fi book that counts towards another reading challenge.
Link up your sign-up posts below:
The sign-up will remain open until September 14th, a week before the challenge ends.
#COYER Summer Vacation!
The COYER Summer Vacation reading challenge is from June 18th to September 2nd, and I’ll be participating! The lovely hosts of COYER have decided to throw out the rules and allow ANY book, regardless of price or format. I’m super excited about this because during most of the challenge, I’ll be hosting my Sci-Fi Summer reading challenge, and a large chunk of the Science Fiction titles I own are physical editions, which is what I want to concentrate on clearing from my TBR mountain since I’m also participating in the Shelf Love reading challenge. That’s THREE awesome challenges!
Since the rules for COYER have been tossed like hot potatoes for the Summer, I’m not setting any goals. I’m just going to read as much as I can, mostly Sci-Fi, but also a few of my ARCs that have publication dates between June and September. This is going to be a wonderful Summer! 🙂
Are you participating in the COYER Summer Vacation reading challenge?
Sci-Fi Summer Reading Challenge
There’s Sci-Fi November, and Vintage Sci-Fi January, but for me, the Summer is the time of year that is best for reading Science Fiction. I don’t know why. Do you think I make the rules of when I read certain genres or books? Oh…wait…I do. Or maybe my cat Dresden does? He seems to be Lord and Master of the rest of my life, so it stands to reason that he does. Regardless, from June 20th, the official first day of Summer, to the 21st of September (the day before the Autumnal Equinox), I’m reading as much Sci-Fi as possible. I’ve got a lot of it on my TBR shelves, and I’m inviting all of you to join me.
Since I’d like to make this a legitimate annual reading challenge, below are the levels:
- Red Shirt – 1 to 5 books
- Viper Pilot – 6 to 10 books
- Jedi – 11 to 15 books
- Time Lord – 16 or more books
Any book of at least 100 pages that is classified as Science Fiction, including any Sci-Fi subgenres, qualifies for this challenge. That means audiobooks, physical books, ebooks, library books, free books, other borrowed books, anthologies, and graphic novels are all acceptable options. You may also count any Sci-Fi book that counts towards another reading challenge. On June 20th, I’ll post the link up for your reviews, and it will stay open until September 25th.
Are you up to the Science Fiction Summer challenge? Link up your sign-up posts below:
The sign-up will remain open until September 14th, a week before the challenge ends.