The Reading Challenge Group discussion

I don't have a set number of books I want to read for this year. But I do have some general goals:
- reduce the number of unread books on my physical bookshelves
- read diversely (in terms of genres, language, and nationalities)
- delve into more non-fiction

Now onwards with the challenges! I think I will keep an overall tab here on the progress of all my challenges and then do monthly progress updates in the challenge threads.

Alphabet Soup Challenge

A- Amba of de kleur van rood
B- The Big Snow
C- A Conviction in Question: The First Trial at the International Criminal Court
D- Dorst
E- Ève de ses décombres
F- The Fallen Curtain
G- Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japan’s Disaster Zone
H- Half of a Yellow Sun
I- The Inimitable Jeeves
J- Le Joueur D'echecs
K-
L- Life After Life
M- My Sister, the Serial Killer
N- Need You Dead
O- Oorlog en terpentijn
P- Pulse Points
Q- Qu'attendent les singes
R- Requiem pour l'Est
S- La Saison de l'ombre
T- Tales of liechtenstein Then and Now
U- The Ultimate Tragedy
V- Vernon Subutex, 1
W- Wil
X-
Y- Your Madness, Not Mine: Stories of Cameroon
Z- Zwart. Afro-Europese literatuur uit de Lage Landen

Chunkster Challenge (400-599 pages)

COMPLETED 25 October 2019

Level One Chunckster
1 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Half of a Yellow Sun (433 p)
2 Peter James - Need You Dead (484 p)
3 Umberto Eco - Baudolino (521 p)

Level Two Flowe Presser
4 Jo Claes - Het gewicht van de haat (405 p)
5 Kathy Reichs - Cross Bones (478 p)
6 Virginie Despentes - Vernon Subutex, 1 (429 p)

Level 3 Back Breaker
7 Juan Gabriel Vasquez - Le corps des ruines (585 p)
8 Jane Harper - The Dry (401 p)
9 Elif Shafak - The Architect's Apprentice
10 Michael Newton - Victorian Fairy Tales

Buyer's remorse (aka take down that TBR)

COMPLETED 31 JULY 2019

Level one - List Tickler
1 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Half of a Yellow Sun
2 Peter James - Need You Dead
3 Baantjer - De Cock en een dodelijke dreiging
4 Christian Wolmar - The Subterranean Railway
5 Umberto Eco - Baudolino

Level two - List Tamer
6 Andrei Makine - Requiem pour l'Est
7 Ruth Rendell - The Fallen Curtain
8 Maurice Maeterlinck - Pélléas en Mélisande
9 Kate Atkinson - Life After Life
10 Mary Roach - Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War

Level three - Captain of the Shelf
11 Virginie Despentes - Vernon Subutex, 1
12 Asne Seierstad - The Bookseller of Kabul
13 Uwem Akpan - Say You're One of Them
14 Paolo Cognetti - Les Huit montagnes
15 Siri Hustvedt - The Blindfold

Level four - Master of all Dust Bunnies
16 Allen Ginsberg - Howl, Kaddish and Other Poems
17 Helen McCarthy - Women of the World: The Rise of the Female Diplomat
18 Yasmina Khadra - Les Agneaux Du Seigneur
19 Tracy Chevalier - At the Edge of the Orchard
20 Philip Kerr - The Pale Criminal

Seize the day (aka catching up with trusted friends)

Level one - Have a treat
1 Andrei Makine - Requiem pour l'Est
2 Damon Galgut - Beautiful Screaming of Pigs
3 Ruth Rendell - The Fallen Curtain

Level two - Savor the moment
4 Tracy Chevalier - At the Edge of the Orchard
5 C.J. Sansom - Sovereign
6 Arto Paasilinna - Le potager des malfaiteurs ayant échappé à la pendaison

Level three - Seize the day
7 JK Rowling - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
8
9
10

Down with history

Level one - Ancient Ancestors

1 Leonora Miano - La Saison de l'ombre
2 Umberto Eco - Baudolino

Level two - Medieval Mayhem
3 Kate Atkinson - Life After Life
4 Peter Tremayne - Night of the Lightbringer

Level three - Days of Empire
5 Laura Carlin - The Wicked Cometh
6 Tracy Chevalier - At the Edge of the Orchard
7 Leila Aboulela - Lyrics Alley

Level four - Wars of Old
8 Melissa Harrison - All Among The Barley
9 C.J. Sansom - Sovereign
10 Elif Shafak - The Architect's Apprentice

Level five - The Past is the Present
11 Simone van der Vlugt - Nachtblauw
12 Abdulai Sila - The Ultimate Tragedy
13 Nadifa Mohamed - Black Mamba Boy
14
15

Decade Challenge
(Original publication date)

1800-1809:
1810-1819:
1820-1829:
1830-1839:
1840-1849:
1850-1859: The Warden
1860-1869:
1870-1879:
1880-1889:
1890-1899: Pélléas en Mélisande
1900-1909: The Touchstone
1910-1919: Rashômon et autres contes
1920-1929: The Inimitable Jeeves
1930-1939: Death on the Cherwell
1940-1949: Le Joueur D'echecs
1950-1959: Howl, Kaddish and Other Poems
1960-1969: Les Damnés de la terre
1970-1979: The Collector of Treasures and Other Botswana Village Tales
1980-1989: De Cock en een dodelijke dreiging
1990-1999: Your Madness, Not Mine: Stories of Cameroon
2000-2009: Half of a Yellow Sun
2010-2019: La Saison de l'ombre

The Game is Afoot

COMPLETED 31/07/2019

Level one - Break the Code
1 Peter James - Need You Dead
2 Baantjer - De Cock en een dodelijke dreiging

Level two - Shadow the suspect
3 Mavis Doriel Hay - Death on the Cherwell
4 Jo Claes - Het gewicht van de haat

Level three - Crack the case
5 Ruth Rendell - The Fallen Curtain
6 Graeme W. Kent - Devil-Devil
7 Maurizio de Giovanni - L'hiver du commissaire Ricciardi

Level four - Chase the villain
8 Isabelle Corlier - Ring Est
9 Jane Harper - The Dry
10 Philip Kerr - The Pale Criminal

Good luck on all your challenges, Valerie.

Rosemarie wrote: "Good luck on all your challenges, Valerie."

Thanks Rosemarie. Am enjoying how the challenges are pushing me to delve into my stacks of unread books.

The Anti-Alphabet Challenge

COMPLETED 13/04/2019

No A- The Big Snow
No B- Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japan’s Disaster Zone
No C- Need You Dead
No D- The Subterranean Railway
No E- Wil
No F- Le Joueur D'echecs
No G- Amba of de kleur van rood
No H- Beautiful Screaming of Pigs
No I- Half of a Yellow Sun
No J- The Collector of Treasures and Other Botswana Village Tales
No K- Requiem pour l'Est
No L- Your Madness, Not Mine: Stories of Cameroon
No M- Pulse Points
No N- Dorst
No O- Het gewicht van de haat
No P- La Saison de l'ombre
No Q- Pélléas en Mélisande
No R- Tales of liechtenstein Then and Now
No S- De Cock en een dodelijke dreiging
No T- Baudolino
No U- Death on the Cherwell
No V- The Fallen Curtain
No W- Pereira Maintains
No X- Life After Life
No Y- Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War
No Z- Devil-Devil

Valerie. Glad you are reading from your personal shelves

Jan-Mar quarterly update

Checking in with the three goals I set at the beginning of the year:
- I've read 26 books, 24 of which were from my bookshelves (physical and ebook) so good start on tackling my big pile of owned unread books.
- In terms of diversity, I read almost a fairly balanced amount of male (58%) and female (42%) authors, while 60% of my read books were in English and the remaining 40% in French and Dutch. I read authors from 17 different nationalities but mostly concentrated on Africa, Europe and North America.
- Of the 26 books, only 4 were non-fiction so am not quite meeting my goal yet of reading more non-fiction.

Door Stopper Challenge (600-1000 pages)

Level 1 - A Mighty Tome
1. Kate Atkinson - Life After Life

Level 2 - Stack 'em High
2. Vonne van der Meer - Eilandgasten ~ De avondboot ~ Laatste seizoen
3. C.J. Sansom - Sovereign

Level 3 - Weight Matters
4. JK Rowling - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
5.
6.

Level 4 - A Hefty Pile
7.
8.
9.
10.

Spring Bingo

B1: Award Nominated: Virginie Despentes - Vernon Subutex, 1
B2: Memoir: Shaun Bythell - The Diary of a Bookseller
B3: Audio Book
B4: Green Cover: Mary Roach - Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War
B5: Pretty Dress

I1: Published before 1900: Anthony Trollope - The Warden
I2: Travel
I3: Horror or Suspense: Isabelle Corlier - Ring Est
I4: Mental Illness
I5: Fairies or Fae: G..W. Kent - Devil-Devil (I am adopting a very broad interpretation of the prompt here; the book I read includes belief in 'spirit worlds' )

N1: Published This Year: Hallie Rubenhold - The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
N2: Yellow Cover: Gael Faye - Petit pays
N3: FREE: Juan Gabriel Vasquez - Le corps des ruines
N4: Romance Graeme Simsion - The Rosie Project
N5: Male POV: Paolo Cognetti - Les Huit montagnes

G1: Tear-Jerker: Uwem Akpan - Say You're One of Them
G2: In Translation: Antonio Tabucchi - Pereira Maintains
G3: Minority Studies: Margot Lee Shetterly - Hidden Figures: The Untold Story of the African American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race
G5: Young Adult
G6: Magical Powers: Maurizio de Giovanni - L'hiver du commissaire Ricciardi (broad interpretation of the prompt; the detective sees ghosts)

O1: Fairy Tale Retelling: Sophie Anderson - The House with Chicken Legs
O2: Historical (F or NF): Kate Atkinson - Life After Life
O3: Play: Maurice Maeterlinck - Pélléas en Mélisande
O4: Based on a True story: Tommy Wieringa - De dood van Murat Idrissi
O5: Pink Cover

The Rainbow Challenge (Apr-Dec. 2019)

🌈 Level 1: Painter's Palette - Any 3 colors
- Multicolored:

- Multicolored:

- Multicolored:


🌈 Level 2: Ride The Rainbow!
Rainbow Six:
Red:

Orange:

Yellow:

Green:

Blue/Indigo:

Purple/Violet:


🌈 Level 3: Beyond the Pale - All 12
Beyond the Pale:
Pink:

Gray:

White:

Black:

Brown:

Color/Colour:

Summer Bingo

B1: Exploration: Marina Tsvetaieva - La tempête de neige - Une aventure: 2 pièces romantiques
B2: Congratulations!: Jokha Alharthi -Celestial Bodies
B3: Participation: Stefan Hertmans - Oorlog en terpentijn
B4: Information: Helen McCarthy - Women of the World: The Rise of the Female Diplomat
B5: Collaboration: Anonymous - A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A Diary

I1: Listed it: Melissa Harrison - All Among The Barley
I2: Bought it: Timothy Snyder - On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
I3: Eyed it: Sue Halpern - Summer Hours at the Robbers Library
I4: Downloaded it: Simone van der Vlugt - Nachtblauw
I5: Scored it!: Alex Wright - Cataloging the World: Paul Otlet and the Birth of the Information Age

N1: Oldie but goodie: Carson McCullers - The Haunted Boy
N2: New kid on the block: Cinzia Arruzza - Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto
N3: FREE: Zwart. Afro-Europese literatuur uit de Lage Landen
N4: Yesterday's news: Laura Carlin - The Wicked Cometh
N5: Everybody's talking: Sayaka Murate - Convenience Store Woman

G1: Nice to meet you: Richard Ali A Mutu - Mr. Fix It
G2: You seem familiar: Maggie O'Farrell - Instructions for a Heatwave
G3: One of the girls: Muriel Spark - Memento Mori
G4: One of the guys: Franz Fanon - Les Damnés de la terre
G5: Old friends: Tracy Chevalier - At the Edge of the Orchard

O1: Take a stand: Yasmina Khadra - Les Agneaux Du Seigneur
O2: Take a friend: Jane Harper - The Dry
O3: Take a trip: Leila Aboulela - Lyrics Alley
O4: Take a look: Toon Tellegen - De genezing van de krekel
O5: Take a break: JK Rowling - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Mid-year update

At the beginning of the year, I set myself three reading goals. How have I fared?

- reducing the physical tbr
This year so far I have read 67 books, of which 59 were from my physical tbr. I did, however, buy quite a few books over the last months so overall the tbr number hasn't really gone down.

- diversity
I achieved gender parity, which is great: 34 of the books I read were by women and 33 by men
In terms of language, 60% of my books were in English, 28% in French and 12% in Dutch. My aim is to get the numbers more or less even.
Finally, I read authors from 23 different nationalities, with a majority from Europe (54%), Africa (20%) and North America (15%).

- reading more non-fiction
Of the 67 books I read, 13 were non-fiction - which is a decent number so I hope to keep the momentum going.

AUTUMN BINGO

B1- Multiple Awards: Ismail Kadare - Broken April
B2- Never Finished
B3- Courtroom or Crime: Graeme Macrae Burnet - His Bloody Project: Documents Relating to the Case of Roderick Macrae
B4- Orange Cover: Rania Mamoun - Thirteen Months of Sunrise
B5- Politics: Ernest Harsch - Burkina Faso: A History of Power, Protest and Revolution

I1- Finish a Series
I2- Beloved Children's: Jill Barklem - The Secret Staircase
I3- Adventure
I4- Dysfunctional Family: Diane Setterfield - The Thirteenth Tale
I5- Sweater on Cover

N1- GR Award Nominated: Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen - The Wife Between Us
N2- Challenges Social Norms: Sara Maitland - A Book Of Silence
N3- FREE: Jim Crumley - The Nature of Autumn
N4- Senior Romance
N5- Hometown Setting: Jacqueline Harpman - Le bonheur dans le crime

G1- First Person POV: Yoko Ogawa - La petite pièce hexagonale
G2- Red Cover: Annelies Verbeke - Slaap!
G3- Unfamiliar Territory: Jorn Riel - La Vierge froide et autres racontars
G4- Highly Recommended: Mary Beard - Women & Power: A Manifesto
G5- Supernatural Character: Dimitri Verhulst - De intrede van Christus in Brussel: in het jaar 2000 en oneffen ongeveer

O1- Foreign Setting: Laszlo Krasznahorkai - Satantango
O2- Time Travel: Aude De Tocqueville - Atlas van verdwenen steden
O3- Illustrated: Michael Newton - Victorian Fairy Tales
O4- Religion: Derek Wilson - A Magical World: Superstition and Science from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment
O5- Brown Cover: Cagni Alem - Cola Cola Jazz

End of year check-in. 2019 was a very good book reading year, in which I read 157 books. I can't emember the last time I managed to read so many books in a year. And I am also happy with my progress on the challenges I set:

- Reducing the physicial tbr
Of the 157 books read, 129 were from my physical tbr. However, my overal tbr didn't decrease because I bought more books than I read this year.

- reading more diversly
I read a balanced number of female (78) and male (80) authors. In terms of reading language, 62% of the books I read were in English, 24% in french and 15% in Dutch. In all three languages combined, 18% were books read in translation. And finally, I read authors from 45 different nationalities, of which 88% were european and 26% were african.

- reading more non fiction
26% of the books I read were non-fiction. While this is an improvement on previous years, I would like to increase that number even more