Warning: Challenge Fever is Contagious

(Note: The following post is extra long. I crammed my challenge lists into one post. Sorry.)

Challenge - A test of one's abilities or resources in a demanding but stimulating undertaking. - Extracted from the Free Dictionary

Hold on a minute. I have to get the laundry out of the dryer. Okay, I’m back. Where was I? Oh, yes. Challenges. At the beginning of December, I was fairly certain I would forgo all challenges in 2009. I was not proud of the poor standing I made in the challenges I attempted in 2008. I barely completed four of the seven I had committed to do.

Lazy - Resistant to work or exertion; disposed to idleness.
- Extracted from the the Free Dictionary

First though, I wanted to take a look at Wendy’s A Novel Challenge blog just to see what I would be missing. And suddenly I was bit (no, not by Edward Cullen or Felix Gomez) by the challenge bug. I had caught the Challenge Fever. What could I do but make list upon list of challenges that caught my eye? I turned in desperation to my husband for advice, sure he would keep me grounded. Only he didn’t. He said I should join as many as I wanted (this would later change when I told him I had narrowed my choices down to 13 at which time he told me that was probably overdoing it). What freedom! What luxury! I could submerge myself in challenges . . . and drown. Never to be heard from again. That would not do.

And so I kept at it and narrowed down my list even further (no one has to know that there are challenges that start later in the year that I want to join; by then, who is going to remember how many I signed up for at the beginning of the year? Besides, I now know firsthand that nothing happens if I do not finish a challenge. No punch in the face, no game of Monopoly, no forced coffee drinking, no tortuous sentence writing on the blackboard . . .). With one exception, all of the challenges I am signing up for are very flexible. Substitution is allowed (except for the one). In many cases, listing intended books ahead of time isn’t even required. Of course, that does take away the best part of signing up for challenges: the list making. And you know how much I love making lists.

Without further ado, a few challenges to keep me busy during 2009:



Host: J. Kaye
Goal: Read 12 books that are 1st in any series. Books can be listed anytime during the year.
Time Frame: January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009

Book Choices:

Zoo Station by David Downing [read]
Lion of Senet by Jennifer Fallon [read]
Starfinder by John Marco [read]
Defending Angels by Mary Stanton [read]
The Missing Ink by Karen E. Olson [read]
Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey [read]
In the Woods by Tana French [read]
Prime Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan [read]
Shades of Grey by Clea Simon [read]

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Host: J. Kaye
Goal: Read 12 books by authors that you have only read once (it does not have to be a series). Books can be listed anytime during the year.
Time Frame: January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009

Book Choices:
Guests of the Ayatollah by Mark Bowden [read]
Watchmen by Alan Moore (& Dave Gibbons) [read]
Angel's Advocate by Mary Stanton [read]
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant [read]
Face Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan [read]
When She Flew by Jennie Shortridge [read]
The Girl on Legare Street by Karen White [read]
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens [read]

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Host: Annie
Goal: Choose one book from each of the following categories. Books can be listed anytime during the year.
Time Frame: January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009

Book Choices:
1. A book with a "profession" in its title.
In the Wake of the Boatman by Jonathan Scott Fuqua [read]

2. A book with a "time of day" in its title.
Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandell [read]

3. A book with a "relative" in its title.
Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey [read]

4. A book with a "body part" in its title.
Probable Claws by Clea Simon [read]

5. A book with a "building" in its title.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford [read]

6. A book with a "medical condition" in its title.
Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand by Carrie Vaughn [read]

* * * COMPLETED * * *

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Host: Literary Escapism
Goal: Read books by 20 new authors. Books/Authors may be listed anytime during the year.
Time Frame: January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009

Book Choices:

1. Shilpa Agarwal
2. Catherine Brady
3. Jan Brogan
4. Wilkie Collins
5. Darwyn Cooke
6. David Downing
7. Jamie Ford
8. Ru Freeman
9. Tana French
10. Patty Friedmann
11. Paul Harris
12. James LePore
13. Emily St. John Mandell
14. John Marco
15. J Lou McCartney
16. Christopher Meeks
17. Sandra Novack
18. Kwei Quartey
19. Michelle Richmond
20. Mattox Roesch
21. Diana Spechler
22. Mary Stanton
23. Vikas Swarup
24. Lisa Sweetingham
25. Lisa Tucker
26. Helene Tursten
27. Carolyn Wall
28. Christine Weiser

* * * COMPLETED * * *

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Hosts: Anna and Serena
Goal: Read 5 books related to some aspect of World War II (WWII). Books can be listed anytime during the year.
Time Frame: January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009

Book Choices:
1. Zoo Station by David Downing [read]
2. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford [read]
3. The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies [read]
4. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne [read]
5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak [read]

* * * COMPLETED * * *

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Host: Michelle
Goal: Read a minimum of 9 books first published in 2009. Books can be listed anytime during the year.
Restrictions: No children’s/YA titles allowed and at least 5 of the titles must be fiction.
Time Frame: January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009

Books Read:

1. Haunting Bombay by Shilpa Agarwal
2. The Mechanics of Falling by Catherine Brady
3. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
4. A Disobedient Girlby Ru Freeman
5. The Secret Keeper by Paul Harris
6. A World I Never Made by James LePore
7. Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandell
8. The Brightest Moon of the Century by Christopher Meeks
9. Precious by Sandra Novack
10. Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey
11. Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same by Mattox Roesch
12. Probable Claws by Clea Simon
13. Shades of Grey by Clea Simon
14. Angel's Advocate by Mary Stanton
15. The Weight of a Mustard Seed by Wendell Steavenson
16. Chemical Cowboys by Lisa Sweetingham
17. The Promised World by Lisa Tucker
18. Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand by Carrie Vaughn
19. Kitty Raises Hell by Carrie Vaughn

* * * COMPLETED * * *

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Host: Teddy Rose
Goal: Read 12 Advanced Reader’s Copies (ARC).
Special Instructions: List all ARC's that you have to read right now. Then throughout the year, you must continue updating that list as you receive more ARC's. (This is important). You should also strike out the ones that you finish.
Definition: For the sake of this challenge, ARC is defined as any book provided to you for the purpose of review by the publisher, publicist or author.
Time Frame: January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009

Book List for ARC Challenge

1. Haunting Bombay by Shilpa Agarwal
2. The Mechanics of Falling and Other Stories by Catherine Brady
3. Teaser by Jan Brogan
4. Zoo Station by David Downing
5. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
6. A Disobedient Girlby Ru Freeman
7. The Secret Keeper by Paul Harris
8. A World I Never Made by James LePore
9. Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandell
10. Starfinder by John Marco
11. De Marco Empire by J Lou McCartney
12. The Brightest Moon of the Century by Christopher Meeks
13. Precious by Sandra Novack
14. Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey
15. No One You Know by Michelle Richmond
16. Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same by Mattox Roesch
17. Probable Claws by Clea Simon
18. Shades of Grey by Clea Simon
19. Walking Through Walls by Philip Smith
20. Who By Fire by Diana Spechler
21. Angel's Advocate by Mary Stanton
22. The Weight of a Mustard Seed by Wendell Steavenson
23. Chemical Cowboys by Lisa Sweetingham
24. The Promised World by Lisa Tucker
25. The Glass Devil by Helene Tursten
26. Kitty Raises Hell by Carrie Vaughn
27. Sweeping Up Glass by Carolyn Wall
28. Broad Street by Christine Weiser

Level One - Completed
Level Two: Over Achiever - Completed
Level Three: ARC Obsessed - Completed

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Host: Jenn
Goal: Read 12 To Be Read (TBR) books.
Special Instructions: You need to have a list posted somewhere for others to see and the list cannot be changed after January 1, 2009 or the date you join if after the 1st. Alternate list of up to 12 books allowed.
Restrictions: Re-reads are not allowed.
Time Frame: January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009

Book Choices:
1. Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan
2. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne [read]
3. Teaser by Jan Brogan [read]
4. In the Woods by Tana French [read]
5. Goodbye and Amen by Beth Gutcheon
6. Legerdemain by James J. Heaphey
7. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
8. A Thousand Veils by D.J. Murphy
9. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
10. Who By Fire by Diana Spechler [read]
11. Broad Street by Christine Weiser [read]
12. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak [read]

Alternates:
1. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
2. Death of a Red Heroine by Xiaolong Qui
3. Gallows View by Peter Robinson
4. Forcing Amaryllis by Louise Ure
5. Shop Till You Drop by Elaine Viets
6. Overleaf of Hong Kong by Xu Xi
7. Full Moon by Rebecca York

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Host: Wendy
Goal: Read 4 books that share a theme.
Time Frame:February 1 , 2009 to July 31, 2009

My Theme: Titles with city/town names.
Book Choices:
Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandell [read]

Other Options:
Jackfish, The Vanishing Village by Sarah Felix Burns
The Painter from Shanghai by Jenifer Cody Epstien
Honeymoon in Tehran by Azadeh Moaveni
Overleaf of Hong Kong by Xu Xi

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Host: Dana
Goal: Option Chosen: *Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big?* which requires the participant to read 3 to 5 Chunksters.
Restrictions: Chunksters are defined as books 450 pages or more unless the book is in large print and then a 525 page rule applies. Only adult books allowed, no short story or essay anthologies, and no audio books.
Time Frame: Now to November 15, 2009

Book Choices:
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins [read]
Chemical Cowboys by Lisa Sweetingham [read]
Lion of Senet by Jennifer Fallon [read]

* * * COMPLETED * * *