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Jennifer's (in Oz) Reading Challenges
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❂ Murder by Death
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Dec 14, 2010 02:23PM
I'll try this and see if I keep up with it, or stick with my notebook.
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WINTER Reading Challenge - 21 December 2010 through 19 March 2011 - COMPLETEDFill in the letters of the word using the authors first name, last name, or title of the book (A, An, The don't count.)
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2011 A-Z Title Challenge COMPLETEDFor this challenge, you have the entire year to try to complete the alphabet using only book titles. "A", "An", and "The" don't count. As always, you may choose to do this challenge using ONLY mysteries or you may slip in a few non-mysteries for more difficult letters.
For "X" you may also read a book with "X" in the title.
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Read Around the World Challenge - 19 November 2010 through 31 May, 2011Option #2: Read 7 books that take place in 7 European countries.
Wales:
England:
France:
Scotland:
COMPLETED!!!Clue Board Game Challenge - This challenge will be based around the characters, weapons and rooms from the original game. The challenge will run for a year, until Oct 1, 2011. Books may only be used once for this challenge, so you'll be reading 17 to 22 books to complete the challenge.
Clue Characters:
Miss Scarlet (red):
Colonel Mustard (yellow):
Mrs. White (white):
Mr. Green (green):
Mrs. Peacock (blue):
Professor Plum (purple):
Weapons:
Dagger/Knife:
Candlestick:
Revolver (any revolver or pistol):
Rope:
Lead Pipe:
Wrench/Spanner:
Rooms:
Kitchen:
Ballroom:
Conservatory:
Dining Room:
Billard Room:
Library:
Study:
Hall:
Lounge
Cellar/Stairs:
Can also use The perfect poison for Billiard room or Ballroom.
2011 A-Z Character Challenge COMPLETEDThe idea is to fill out the alphabet over the course of the year with character names. You may use first or last name of a character. It's up to you if you want to use only mysteries or mix it up. For the truely obcessed, you could do character first names only, last names only, or do two lists: one for female character names and one for male character names. Just post on your list which your doing.
01-01-11 through 31-12-11
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* = first names
In honor of sports we will do a sports theme this month since we are in the middle of Hockey,Basketball and also the Superbowl will be coming up. And since it is a "New" year I encourage you to try a new author to you. 1. Sports (Football,Hockey,Tennis, etc.)
2. "New" Author (break out of your comfort zone)
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COMPLETED
February Theme ReadThe themes will be:
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COMPLETED
March Theme Read - COMPLETEDRead a craft book:
Read a book of your choice for Read Around America
Read the Season - Spring COMPLETEDS -
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April Theme Read - COMPLETED1. "Around the House" - maids, organizers, hanymen, etc.
2. "Raining Cats and Dogs" - a book about cats or dogs
May mini-challenge - COMPLETEDThese are based on some common and uncommon holidays that occur during the month of May. Complete as few or as many as you wish.
1. Birth Mother Day (May 7th) and Mother's Day (May 8th) - Read a book where at least one character is a mother.
2. Blame Someone Else Day (first Friday the 13th of the year) - Read a mystery where someone is falsely accused.
3. Frog Jumping Day (May 13th), Dance Like a Chicken Day (May 14th), and National Sea Monkey Day (May 16th) - Read a book with an animal either on the cover or a character in the story. (Note: Any animal counts, even if the cover has a butterfly on it, for example, or a horse in the novel.)
4. Military Spouses Day (May 6th) and Armed Forces Day (May 21st) - Read a book with a character that is in the military, is the spouse of a military member, or is a veteran or spouse of a veteran, or where the author is a veteran.
5. Pick Strawberries Day (May 20th) and Water a Flower Day (May 30th) - Read a book with a fruit or a flower on the cover, or the cover is red.
June Mini-Challenge - COMPLETED(Forgot to post this, but was keeping track of it in my notebook)
Here are some common and uncommon holidays for June. (The dates listed are the dates of each actual holiday. You have the entire month to read however many you choose.)
June 1st - Flip a Coin Day. Pick 2 books, then flip a coin and to see which one you're to read.
June 8 - Best Friends Day - Pick a book to read off one of your GRs friends shelves. (If you don't have many GRs friends, then pick off one of our member's shelves.)
June 8 - Name Your Poison Day - Read a book with "poison" or a type of poison named in the title, or a mystery where a poison is mentioned or used in the book.
June 18 - National Splurge Day - Read the most recent mystery book you've purchased. Or splurge and purchase a new book and then read it!
June 28 - Paul Bunyan Day - Read a book that's 400 or more pages (as Paul Bunyan was huge) or read a book with a blue cover (in honor of his companion, a huge blue bull named Babe).
Sherlock Holmes Challenge - Start Date: August 23, 2011 - COMPLETEDBased on the life and events of the fictional character Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
You have 6 months to finish this challenge from when you start. Please put your start date on your post.
1. Sherlock Holmes – Read a book with a detective or private eye as a main character.
2. Dr. John H. Watson – Read a book where the person solving the mystery has an assistant or helper.
3. 221 B Baker Street – Read a book with an address in the title, or mentioned somewhere in the book. Or there is a character named Baker, or Baker is in the title, or is part of the author’s name.
4. London – Read a book that takes place in England.
5. Books - There are 4 novels and 56 short stories that make up the Sherlock Holmes original works. Read any one of those, or you may read a book that is based on Sherlock Holmes in any way.
6. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – Read a book by an author with a 3 word name, the author is knighted (Sir or Dame), Or “Arthur”, “Conan” or “Doyle” is found in the authors name (including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, if you wish to read another book by the author himself).
7. Smoking – Holmes smoked a Meerschaum pipe, and occasionally cigarettes and cigars. Read a book where there is a pipe, cigarettes, or cigar either on the cover, in the title, or used by a main character in a book.
8. Drugs – Holmes had a habit of using cocaine and occasionally morphine as a stimulant. Read a book where drugs are part of the story or someone uses a stimulant (including caffeine).
9. Deductive Reasoning – Holmes was famous for this. Read a book where a mystery is solved by following and interpreting clues.
10. Disguise – Holmes frequently disguised himself. Read a book where, for whatever reason, someone wears a disguise or costume.
11. Forensic Science – This was used frequently by Holmes. Read a book where some type of forensic science is mentioned. It could be anything from fingerprints to CSI type lab work.
12. Deerstalker hat & cape – This was what Holmes is usually pictured wearing. Read a book where someone wears either a hat or a cape, of any kind, at some point in the book. (Police officers, cowboy, etc.)
13. Dr. Moriarty – He was Holmes’ archvillian. Read a book where there is one major villain.
Read the Season - Winter 2012Start date: January 1, 2012
End date: March 21, 2012
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T - Trail of the Spellmans: Document #5 by Lisa Lutz
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2012 Cozy Themes Reading ChallengeFor this challenge you will need to read 10 books, one for each category/theme. You can read more, but you only need to read one each. You can choose your books before you start, change them later as you go along.
Duration: Starts Feb 16th - July 31st
Cozy Themes:
#1 British - English - Books that take place in the United Kingdom countries of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
#2 Historical/Period - Any book that takes place prior to 1940.
#3 Animals - Any book with an animal as a main character, subject of the book, book takes place in a pet shop, stable, etc.
Copycat Killing by Sofie Kelly
#4 Culinary/Cooking - Food themed mysteries.
#5 Paranormal - Anything centered around the occult, witches, vampires, werewolves, Psychics, ghosts, etc.
#6 Vacation Mysteries/Exotic Locations - Any book that takes place outside the United States and/or outside the country in which you live.
Aunt Dimity and the Village Witch by Nancy Atherton
#7 Holidays - Any holiday themed mystery.
#8 Hobbies - Any mystery that centers around a hobby, craft, sport, etc.
The Long Stitch Good Night: An Embroidery Mystery by Amanda Lee
#9 Professions/Careers/Jobs/Occupations - Any mystery that centers on or highlights a particular job. Doesn't matter if the job is that of the person murdered, or that of the amateur slueth.
#10 Senior Slueths - Read a mystery where the sleuth is 50 or older.
I would really like to try this. I've never done a challenge. How does it work? I rad the book and then post about it? Don't mean to be a pain. Got to start somewhere. Who is in charge? In case I have questions.
Hi Maria - Basically, once you decide to do a challenge, select a book (preferably a cozy mystery, but it's not a requirement) that fits the criteria of each part of the challenge. Once you read it, check it off your list - however you decide to keep your list. Some of us create our own list of challenges in this section - I also keep a written list at home. You can post your progress in the Challenge section if you want so everyone can see your progress. If you wan to let people know about what you thought about the book you read you can post that in "What cozy mystery did you just finish reading?"
Hope this helps. :)
Jennifer E. wrote: "Hi Maria - Basically, once you decide to do a challenge, select a book (preferably a cozy mystery, but it's not a requirement) that fits the criteria of each part of the challenge. Once you read ..."
Ok, I'll copy and post the list, print out the same for my information and then I'll mark the books as I read them. I can do that. I'm in. Thanks. Maybe I'll just print out my personal copy and post as I progress.
Read the Season - SPRING Mar 20th - June 20thSpell out the word spring using the first word of book titles or author's first or last names. A, An, and The don't count. Example: "(The) Darwin Awards" would work for the letter D. A book may only be used once, even if the author and title both count.
S - Sketch a Falling Star by Sharon Pape
P - Perfect: A Novel by Marne Davis Kellogg*
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I - In Charm's Way by Madelyn Alt**
N - Nancy Atherton; Aunt Dimity and the Family Tree
G - Grace Among Thieves by Julie Hyzy
* - Re-reads unless new books can be found
** - will need replacing if book is not published in time.
Cozy Mysteries
Books mentioned in this topic
Sketch a Falling Star (other topics)Rattle His Bones (other topics)
Grace Among Thieves (other topics)
Aunt Dimity and the Family Tree (other topics)
Perfect (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Sharon Pape (other topics)Nancy Atherton (other topics)
Julie Hyzy (other topics)
Carola Dunn (other topics)
Marne Davis Kellogg (other topics)
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