Reading Challenges 2013

I have signed up for a number of challenges this year too. I am going to keep a track of my progress in the various challenges on this page.

READING CHALLENGE ADDICT (16+)

1. 2013 WITCHES AND WITCHCRAFT 

GOODREADS: (75)

52 BOOKS IN 52 WEEKS (52)

1. Mari by Easterine Kire
2. Lady-Killer by Anthony Gilbert
3. Holocaust House by Norbert Davis
4. Behind the Green Door by Mildred A. Wirt
5. Mysteries by Knut Hamsun
6. Beloved Witch: An Autobiography by Ipsita Roy Chakraverti
7. The Case of Lucy Bending by Lawrence Sanders
8. Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar 

9. The Body on the Beam by Anthony Gilbert
10. Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout
11. The Last Musha'irah of Dehli by Mirza Farhatullah Baig
12. Death in Cyprus by M.M. Kaye
13. Derby Day: A Victorian Mystery by D.J. Taylor
14. Maigret Loses His Temper by Georges Simenon

2013 EBOOK (5)

1. Holocaust House by Norbert Davis
2. Behind the Green Door by Mildred A. Wirt
















2013 GENRE VARIETY (12 books in 12 genres)

Contemporary
Historical : 1. Mari by Easterine Kire
Paranormal
Fantasy
Romance
Sci-Fi
Crime
Thriller: 2. Lady-Killer by Anthony Gilbert
Adventure
Non-Fiction
Women’s Fiction
Chick-Lit
Dystopian
Epic Fantasy
Western
Comedy
Horror
MANfiction
Self-Help
Biography
Auto-biography: Beloved Witch: An Autobiography by Ipsita Roy Chakraverti
Religious
Fairy Tales
Classics: Mysteries by Knut Hamsun
Erotica The Case of Lucy Bending by Lawrence Sanders:
Short Stories
Travel Guides
Mystery: Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar 
Suspense

2013 MYSTERY/ CRIME (30 +)

1. Lady-Killer by Anthony Gilbert
2. Behind the Green Door by Mildred A. Wirt
3. Mysteries by Knut Hamsun
4.  The Case of Lucy Bending by Lawrence Sanders
5. Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar 
6. The Body on the Beam by Anthony Gilbert
7. Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout
8. Death in Cyprus by M.M. Kaye
9. Derby Day: A Victorian Mystery by D.J. Taylor
10. Maigret Loses His Temper by Georges Simenon

2013 OUTDO YOURSELF (59 + 16)

2013 TBR PILE (12)


1. Beloved Witch by Ipsita Roy Chakraverti
2. Bombay Rains, Bombay Girls by Anirban Bose
3. Espresso Tales by Alexander McCall Smith
4. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
5. In Matto's Realm by Friedrich Glauser
6. Kartography by Kamila Shamsie
7. Killing the Angel in the House: Seven Essays by Virginia Woolf
8. Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss
9. The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
10. Questions You always wanted to ask about English by Maxwell Nurnberg
11. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
12. Visions from the Afterlife by Sylvia Browne


The two alternates are:

1. Arogyaniketan by Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay
2. Greek Literature for the Modern Reader by H.C. Baldry

2013 TRANSLATION CHALLENGE (7-12)

1. Mysteries by Knut Hamsun (Norwegian)
2. The Last Musha'irah of Dehli by Mirza Farhatullah Baig (Urdu)
3. Maigret Loses His Temper by Georges Simenon (French)

















2013 WITCHES AND WITCHCRAFT (1)

1. Beloved Witch: An Autobiography by Ipsita Roy Chakraverti

2013 WOMEN  (11-15)

1. Mari by Easterine Kire
2. Lady-Killer by Anthony Gilbert
3. Behind the Green Door by Mildred A. Wirt
4. Beloved Witch: An Autobiography by Ipsita Roy Chakraverti
5. The Body on the Beam by Anthony Gilbert
6. Death in Cyprus by M.M. Kaye

BOOKS ON FRANCE (3)

1. Maigret Loses His Temper by Georges Simenon

BRITISH BOOKS (12)

1. Lady-Killer by Anthony Gilbert
2. The Body on the Beam by Anthony Gilbert
3. Death in Cyprus by M.M. Kaye
4. Derby Day: A Victorian Mystery by D.J. Taylor

THE CLASSICS READING CHALLENGE

1. Mysteries by Knut Hamsun
2. The Last Musha'irah of Dehli by Mirza Farhatullah Baig

COLOR CODED (9)

1. Behind the Green Door by Mildred A. Wirt

CRIMINAL PLOTS III (6)


1. Novel with an animal in the title (examples: Hose Monkey, As the Crow Flies, Ink Flamingos, The Monkey's Raincoat)

2. Two short stories written by two different authors who are new to you - you can take these from magazines, anthologies, ezines. Your choice! If you're not sure where to start try The Best American Mystery Stories anthology. It's a yearly anthology and you'll find plenty to choose from.

3. Book written by more than one person. This can be a book written by a duo, like Tania Carver, Michael Stanley, Charles Todd. Or it can be a collaborate novel like No Rest for the Dead. And for the short story enthusiasts out there, this can be an anthology; however, if you choose to use an anthology for #2, this should be a different anthology.

4. A YA crime novel. Behind the Green Door by Mildred A. Wirt

5. A book from a series optioned for televsion.   This can be a series with a show that already exists: Bones, Rizzoli and Isles, Longmire, or it can be a series that's been optioned but hasn't been made yet: Karin Slaughter's Will Trent series, Louise Penny's Three Pines series, Marcia Clark's Rachel Knight series, Michael Koryta's Lincoln Perry series.

6. A novel that's been nominated for an Edgar® in the last five years. This should be a book you haven't read before. You can use any of the full book categories (fiction or non-fiction): best novel, best paperback original, best first novel, etc. You can check out their database to see what might strike your fancy.

EUROPEAN READING (5)

1. Lady-Killer by Anthony Gilbert (England)
2. Mysteries by Knut Hamsun (Norway)
3. Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar  (Switzerland)
4. Death in Cyprus by M.M. Kaye (Cyprus)
5. Maigret Loses His Temper by Georges Simenon (Belgium)

GUILTY READINGS (4-6)

1. Mari by Easterine Kire

HISTORICAL FICTION (5)

1. Mari by Easterine Kire
2. Mysteries by Knut Hamsun
3. The Last Musha'irah of Dehli by Mirza Farhatullah Baig
4. Derby Day: A Victorian Mystery by D.J. Taylor

LET ME COUNT THE WAYS (8001-10,000)

1. Mari by Easterine Kire (13 + 171)
2. Lady-Killer by Anthony Gilbert (252)
3. Holocaust House by Norbert Davis (43)
4. Behind the Green Door by Mildred A. Wirt (112)
5. Mysteries by Knut Hamsun (340)
6. Beloved Witch: An Autobiography by Ipsita Roy Chakraverti (283)
7.  The Case of Lucy Bending by Lawrence Sanders
8. Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar (247)
9. The Body on the Beam by Anthony Gilbert (255)
10. Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout (168)
11. The Last Musha'irah of Dehli by Mirza Farhatullah Baig (177)
12. Death in Cyprus by M.M. Kaye (271)
13. Derby Day: A Victorian Mystery by D.J. Taylor (405)
14. Maigret Loses His Temper by Georges Simenon (140)

LIBRARY BOOKS (18)

1 Lady-Killer by Anthony Gilbert

2. Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar 
3. The Body on the Beam by Anthony Gilbert
4. Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout
5. The Last Musha'irah of Dehli by Mirza Farhatullah Baig
6. Death in Cyprus by M.M. Kaye
7. Maigret Loses His Temper by Georges Simenon

MOUNT TBR (12)
Beloved Witch: An Autobiography by Ipsita Roy Chakraverti

NERDY NON-FICTION  (11-14 Books IN 6-7 Categories)


Categories:

* Health, Medicine, Fitness, Wellness
* History- US, World, European, etc
* Religion, Spirituality, Philosophy
* Technology, Engineering, Computers, etc
* Business, Finance, Management
* Sports, Adventure
* Food- Cookbooks, Cooks, Vegan Vegetarianism, etc
* Autobiography, Biography, Memoir: Beloved Witch: An Autobiography by Ipsita Roy Chakraverti
* Art, Photography, Architecture
* Music, Film, TV
* Self Improvement, Self Help, How To
* Home, Garden
* Science-Nature, Weather, Biology, Geology
* Anthropology, Archaeology
* Animals-Insects, Mammals, Dinosaurs, etc
* Family, Relationships, Parenting, Dating, Love
* Crime, Law
* Poetry, Theatre
* Politics, Government, Current Affairs
* Literary Criticism/Theory
* Cultural Studies
* Travel
* Crafts

[Artwork used (with permission) for the button is Anglerfish by Vlad Gerasimov.]

NEW AUTHORS (25)

1. Mari by Easterine Kire
2. Holocaust House by Norbert Davis
3. Behind the Green Door by Mildred A. Wirt
4. Mysteries by Knut Hamsun
5. Beloved Witch: An Autobiography by Ipsita Roy Chakraverti
6. Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar 
7. The Last Musha'irah of Dehli by Mirza Farhatullah Baig
8.Derby Day: A Victorian Mystery by D.J. Taylor

OUTSIDE THE BOX  (5-7)


#1   To the Screen
Read a book that was adapted to the screen.  Try to read the book first, then see the movie – how did they compare?
#2   Another Voice
Do you typically read books that focus on a Female Character? Try a male protagonist. A male point of view usually? See what it’s like from a woman’s perspective.
#3   Opposites Attract
 Are you always reading young adult or historical fiction? Try something that would be opposite – a contemporary read for those stuck in the past, for instance.
Behind the Green Door by Mildred A. Wirt

#4   5 Star Day
Is there a book you’ve seen featured on another blog and everyone raves about it? Even if it isn’t your cup of tea – give it a try to see what the hype is all about.
#5   XyZ pdQ
You’ve seen them – ABC book challenges – well this one is light! Grab a book that has either an X, Z or Q in the title!  Too tough? Try going for the author’s name!
#6   It’s my Birthday!
So, have a party! Read a book that was published in either your birth month or birth year!
#7   From one place…
It’s neat to read a book that was first published outside of the United States (or your country – we won’t hold it against you if you don’t live in the Good Ol’ USofA).  Make sure to pull up a slang dictionary of that country, though, otherwise you will always wonder why they put the ‘kettle on the hob’ (and, no, it has nothing to do with short hairy guys with big hairy feet!)
Mysteries by Knut Hamsun

#8   It’s All About ME!
It seems that everyone has written a memoir of one kind or another – or someone wrote about their favorite person.  Read about their life and know that yours is still marvelous, even though you didn’t climb Mt. Everest by the age of 2!
Beloved Witch: An Autobiography by Ipsita Roy Chakraverti

#9   Visit an Old Friend
Do you have one of those books that you tell everyone is your favorite, because of the fond memories you have when you read it eons ago?  Read it again, just to make sure it still is your Favorite!
#10  Look at the pretty pictures!
It seems that Graphic Novels are all the rage.  Check on out and see for yourself! If you have read the original, how did the graphic novel compare?
#11  She made me do it!
You read about the book on another site.  It wasn’t necessarily something that everyone raves about, but this person spoke so well of the book, you just had too! (I know, it’s kind of like #4 – but this one is special, you were moved by the blogger’s recount of the story, you just had to!) Don’t’ forget to mention who made you grab that cookie from the jar!
#12  I couldn’t help myself!
We all do it! We walk through the book store (or even one of those super stores) and it strikes you! You stop in your tracks and you have instant Cover Love! Grab it, buy it, and READ IT! Well, was it worth it?
#13  To be or Not to be…
Time to break in to that section that very few of us fear to tread! Read a play, memorize a poem and analyze it since it’s rolling around in your head!  Give the Bard (whoever she may be!) a chance!

SOUTH ASIAN, 2013

VINTAGE MYSTERY (16)


1. Colorful Crime: a book with a color or reference to color in the title
2. Murder by the Numbers: a book with a number, quantity in the title
3. Amateur Night: a book with a "detective" who is not a P.I.; Police Officer; Official Investigator (Nurse Keate, Father Brown, Miss Marple, etc.)
4. Leave It to the Professionals: a book featuring cops, private eyes, secret service, professional spies, etc.
5. Jolly Old England: one mystery set in Britain
6. Yankee Doodle Dandy: one mystery set in the United States
7. World Traveler: one mystery set in any country except the US or Britain:Death in Cyprus by M.M. Kaye

8. Dangerous Beasts: a book with an animal in the title (The Case of the Grinning Gorilla; The Canary Murder Case; etc.)
9. A Calendar of Crime: a mystery with a date/holiday/year/month/etc. in the title (Hercule Poirot's Christmas, Holiday Homicide, etc.)
10. Wicked Women: a book with a woman in the title--either by name (Mrs. McGinty's Dead) or by reference (The Case of the Vagabound Virgin)
11. Malicious Men:  Lady-Killer by Anthony Gilbert
12. Murderous Methods : a book with a means of death in the title (The Noose, 5 Bullets, Deadly Nightshade, etc).
13. Staging the Crime: a mystery set in the entertainment world (the theater, musical event, a pageant, Hollywood, featuring a magician, etc)
14. Scene of the Crime: a book with the location of the crime in the title (The Body in the Library, Murder at the Vicarage, etc.)
15. Cops & Robbers: a book that features a theft rather than murder
16. Locked Rooms: a locked-room mystery
17. Country House Criminals: a standard (or not-so-standard) Golden Age country house murder
18. Murder on the High Seas: a mystery involving water
19. Planes, Trains & Automobiles: a mystery that involves a mode of transportation in a vital way--explicitly in the title (Murder on the Orient Express) or by implication (Death in the Air; Death Under Sail) or perhaps the victim was shoved under a bus....
20. Murder Is Academic: a mystery involving a scholar, teacher, librarian, etc.  OR set at a school, university, library, etc.
21. Things That Go Bump in the Night: a mystery with something spooky, creepy, gothic in the title (The Skeleton in the Clock, Haunted Lady, The Bat, etc.)
22. Repeat Offenders: a mystery featuring your favorite series detective or by your favorite author (the books/authors you'd read over and over again) OR reread an old favorite
23. The Butler Did It...Or Not: a mystery where the butler is the victim, the sleuth....(gasp) the criminal....or is just downright memorable for whatever reason.
24. A Mystery By Any Other Name: any book that has been published under more than one title (Murder Is Easy--aka Easy to Kill [Christie]; Fog of Doubt--aka London Particular [Christianna Brand], etc.)
25. Dynamic Duos: Holocaust House by Norbert Davis 
26. Size Matters: a book with a size or measurement in the title (Death Has a Small Voice, The Big Four, The Weight of the Evidence, etc.)
27. Psychic Phenomena: a mystery featuring a seance, medium, hypnotism, or other psychic or "supernatural" characters/events
28. Book to Movie: one vintage mystery that has appeared on screen (feature film or TV movie).
29. The Old Bailey: a courtroom drama mystery (Perry Mason, anyone? Witness for the Prosecution...etc.) OR a mystery featuring a judge, lawyer, barrister, D.A., etc.

Additional Categories (thanks to JC from Wollamshram)
30. Serial Killers: Books that were originally published in serial format, probably from the pulp era.  Frank Packard's works come to mind.
31. Killed in Translation: Works that originally appeared in another language and have been made available in English (works published in English post-1960 would be acceptable, provided the original was published pre-1960).  Georges Simeon's works come to mind. OR If your native language is not English, then works that originally appeared in English and have been made available in your native language (same dating rules apply).



32.  Blondes in Danger:  A variation on "Colorful Crime".  Books that feature a blonde in the title role, like The Blonde Died First, or Blonde for Danger.
33. International Detectives.  A variation on "World Traveler" but instead of the crime being set in another country, the detective is not from the US or UK.   This may include Hercule Poirot as well as such notables as Judge Dee,
34. Somebody Else's Crime:  Read one book that someone else has already reviewed for the Vintage Mystery Challenge. Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout

35. Genuine Fakes: Authors who wrote under a pseudonym (Josephine Tey [Elizabeth Mackintosh]; Nicholas Blake [Cecil Day Lews]; etc) The Body on the Beam by Anthony Gilbert

36. Hobbies Can Be Murder: A mystery that involves a hobby in some way: stamp or coin collecting; knitting (a la Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver); bird watching; hunting (particularly the British hunt); scrapbooks; etc.  [thanks to S from Snaps and Snippets for the idea]

37. Get Out of Jail Free: This is a freebie category.  One per customer.  You tell me what special category the book fits ("It's got an awesome cover!"..."First book I grabbed off my shelf") and it counts.  Only thing I won't take is "It's a Vintage Mystery!"--that's a given. :-)

WHAT COUNTRIES HAVE I VISITED 2013 (10)

1. Lady-Killer by Anthony Gilbert (England)
2. Holocaust House by Norbert Davis (USA)
3. Mysteries by Knut Hamsun (Norway)
4. Beloved Witch: An Autobiography by Ipsita Roy Chakraverti (Canada)
5. Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar (Egypt)
6. Death in Cyprus by M.M. Kaye (Cyprus)
7. Maigret Loses His Temper by Georges Simenon (France)

WISHLIST (12)


Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig
The Boat by L.P. Hartley
The Eleventh Little Nigger by Jacquemard Senecal
Ethan Frome by Edith Warton
The Freedom Movement in Indian Fiction in English by Pramila Garg
The Glory that was Greece by J.C. Stobart
Good Old Anna by Belloc Lowndes
The Historical Novel by Georg Lucas
The House of Blue Mangoes by David Davidhar
The Last Labyrinth by Arun Joshi
The Lessons by Naomi Alderman
The Long Walk Home by Manreet Sodhi
Mr. Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood
Mysteries by Knut Hamsun
Pilpali Sahab by Mulk Raj Anand
Prison and Chocolate Cake by Nayantara Sahgal
Punjab and the Raj (1849 - 1947) by Ian Talbot
The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad
The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmed
What is Cultural History? by Peter Burke
The Yellow Room by Mary Roberts Rinehart