Semi-Charmed Summer 2013 Book Challenge

So, you all know how much I like to read...  It really should be obvious by now if you've been following my blog very long :)  I stumbled across a reading challenge when someone in one of my online book clubs posted about it.  It's called the Semi-Charmed Summer 2013 Book Challenge, which you can find info on if you click on that title.  Basically I have to read books that fall into certain categories.  I think this will be fun and an interesting way to get to read some books I probably otherwise wouldn't have.  My 20 year old daughter thought it sounded like fun too, so she is doing it along with me.  (This is my stack of books to be read, minus the three that I'm still waiting on from inter-library loan. I've finished three of these already.)

So here are the categories, and what I intend to read for them.  The books all have to be a minimum of 200 pages (with one exception, as noted below), and something I haven't read before.  The books have to be read between July 1 and Sept. 30.  Points are awarded for each book, but in order to finish, you have to read one from each category, so I'm not sure points will be of much use.  Oh, and fair warning.  This list might change as I get going on it.  We'll see.  I just felt like I needed to have it all planned out ahead of time. :)  I think it's a fairly good, diverse group of books.

5 points: Freebie! Read any book you'd like, as long as it follows the above rules. :) — Carly's Voice by Arthur Fleischmann (I'm finishing this one today). It's a non-fiction book about autism.  Awesome book.

5: Read a book that is less than 150 pages long. — Politically Correct Bedtime Stories by James Finn Gardner (finished this one.  Don't bother reading it.  It was really lame.) 

10: Read a book with a color in the title. — The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey (we'll see. I grabbed this because there was a color in the title, but if it isn't interesting, there are millions more to choose from.  I'm also considering Alan Bradley's Red Herring Without Mustard)

10: Read a book that is not the first in its series. — Insurgent by Veronica Roth.  Second in the series after Divergent.

15: Read a book it seems everyone but you has read! — The Kite Runner  by Khaled Hosseini. I have to read this one for my evening book club at the library anyway so I may as well use it for this too :)

15: Read a banned book. - A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway.  At least that's where I'm leaning.  My daughter is reading As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner and says it's very good, so I might do that one instead.

20: Read a book written by a celebrity. This can be a memoir or a fiction book published by someone who was already famous by another means. — originally picked up Mrs. Kennedy and Me by Clint Hill for this, but then I realized it says "celebrity," not "famous person" so I thought maybe I needed to look for something else.  Now I'm leaning toward The Notes: Ronald Reagan's Private Collection of Stories and Wisdom by Ronald Reagan.  

20: Read a non-fiction book that is not a memoir. It can be pure non-fiction or narrative non-fiction. — Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.   I have to read this one for my daytime library book club this month

20: Read a book that takes place in a state you have never been in. If you have been to all 50 states, choose a book that takes place in a country you have never been in. Also do the latter option if you are not American. — originally planned to do The Fugitive Wife by Peter Brown (set in Alaska).  Now that I realize my "celebrity" mix-up, I may use Mrs. Kennedy and Me for this category.  I really want to read it, and I'm sure it is set primarily on the East Coast, north of where I've been (we lived in NC for awhile but were never north of there).

25: Read a book that is at least 400 pages long. — Divergent by Veronica Roth.  487 pages.  Finished this one.  I had to read this one for one of my online book clubs and wasn't looking forward to it at all.  But I read it and actually loved it.  I read it in two days and have the second one on hold to use for my "not the first in a series" category as mentioned above.

25: Read a book with a main character who shares your first name. To Be Sung Underwater by Tom McNealy.  This was a very difficult category to figure out.  Took a ton of searching.  But then I came across this book and have great hopes.  Not only does the female character share my name, but the story is also set in Nebraska, where I grew up.  Lived there until I was 13 and still have strong ties there.  I hope it's good :) 

30: Read a book written by an author who was born in or died in your birth year.  1972.  Leaning toward HHhH by Laurent Binet.  I might also do A Girl Made of Dust by Nathalie Abi-Ezzi

So that means so far I have three books done (well, I will in about an hour anyway) totaling 35 points in the first 6 days of the contest.  Not a bad start.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have some reading to do...

Oh, by the way, when I was exploring the site that's hosting this contest, I found another contest - the A-Z Book Challenge.  Basically you just have to read a book that starts with each letter of the alphabet (a, an, and the don't count).  Since I've been keeping track of everything I've read this year, I wrote it all out alphabetically and realized I only need 10 more letters to be done - A, I, J, N, O, Q, R, U, V, and Z.  The books on the list above will take care of A, I and N.