Long-term readers know that I really don’t “do” challenges. They are fun, but I can’t handle the perceived stress associated with trying to complete them. That being said, there are three challenges/reading events I absolutely adore and make the effort to complete every single year.
What’s In a Name 6, hosted by Beth Fish Reads, is one of the most fun challenges that exist. This will be my fourth year of participating, and I always enjoy going through my books read each month to see if I have been able to complete any of the categories. Here are the official rules:
Between January 1 and December 31, 2013, read one book in each of the following categories:
- A book with up or down (or equivalent) in the title – The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson; How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid; A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson
- A book with something you’d find in your kitchen in the title – The Dinner by Herman Koch, Lessons in French by Hilary Reyl, The Cider House Rules by John Irving; The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
- A book with a party or celebration in the title – Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr
- A book with fire (or equivalent) in the title – The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon
- A book with an emotion in the title – The Truth About Love and Lightning by Susan McBride; The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde; The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne; Amity and Sorrow by Peggy Riley
- A book with lost or found (or equivalent) in the title – Stolen Nights by Rebecca Maizel; The Lost Crown by Sarah Miller; And Then I Found You by Patti Callahan Henry; A Half-Forgotten Song by Katherine Webb
The books may be in any format, and while you can overlap any challenges, you must have one book per category. You do not have to follow any one particular order or (my favorite part) do not have to make a list ahead of time. Other than that, creativity is encouraged.
Check out all the details and think about joining this fun and very creative challenge!
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The TBR Double Dog Dare, hosted by Ready When You Are, C.B., is a fun way to finally get around to tackling that massive To-Be-Read pile we all have. Here are the rules:
If you agree to the full Double Dog Dare, then you pledge to read only books in your TBR stack as of January 1, 2013 from the start of the new year until April Fool’s Day. Your TBR stack is officially defined as the books you have purchased or have requested from the library as of January 1, 2013. This includes books that have not arrived in the mail or at the store yet. Dakota and I will be making exceptions only for books selected by my book club, and possibly not even those depending on what my book club selects. If you’re a member of a book club, then you know how that works. You can make whatever exceptions you would like to or need to make.
I already know that there will be some book club selections that I do not know and some review copies that I do not yet have that will have to be included during this four-month period. That being said, I have so many books on my TBR pile (I’m seriously pushing almost 600 books people), that I should be able to accomplish this with absolutely no problems. The question will be to find out just how many books I can complete in this time frame.
Are you ready to take this fun and very useful reading challenge? I double-dog dare you!
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The final reading challenge doesn’t start until September. Stop back then for more details of my favorite event of the blogging year!
That’s it! Three very simple but oh-so-fun reading challenges/events that make it so much fun to read. Won’t you join me?
Exactly!! 🙂
LOL! Well, it's really more of an event rather than a challenge, right? 😉
It's RIP that I will have a hard time staying away from!! 🙂
LOL! That's why I only pick these two challenges, plus RIP. Anything else and they stop being fun.
This year, I've decided to forgo all official challenges! I guess we will see how well I stick to it for the entire year!
I definitely recommend the Double Dog Dare challenge. It is a great way to get rid of those books that have been sitting around for a while, and it is only for the first quarter of the year. Good luck!
I think I'm going to have to take part in the Double Dog Dare challenge. The stacks are starting to teeter! Might I tempt you into trying the 2013 WWEnd Women of Genre Fiction Reading Challenge? 12 books by 12 women in 12 months with 12 reviews. We've got over 100 participants so far and there's always room for one more…. Cheers!