This is Going to Be a Challenging Year

I think I better quit checking other blogs, because once again I found another challenge courtesy of Laughing Stars' post today. This is a monster and the brain child of Find Your Next Book Here. Check it out to get full details. Here are the participation levels:

    A Small Gamble: 

Complete any 3 of the 12 challenges described below.
    A Moderate Gamble: 

Complete any 6 of the 12 challenges described below.
    Gambling It All: 

Complete all 12 of the challenges described below.

I am going to try for the moderate gamble and see how that goes.

Challenge 1: Read Your Doppelganger (worth 1 entry)

Find an author who has either the same initials, the same first name, the same last name, or the exact same name as you. Read a book by this author and write a post about it. I found a book by Jane Harrington (my initials are JH)

Challenge 2: Blogroll Roulette (worth 1 entry)

Find a blogroll at either your book blog or a book blog you like that has at least 15 book blogs on it. Go to Random.org and, using the True Random Number Generator, enter the number 1 for the min. and 15 for the max. and then hit generate. Then find the blog that is that number on the blogroll you selected. I chose Word for Teens and the winner is #10 Carrie's YA Bookshelf, which actually is lucky for me because I already had put one of the books Carrie recently review on my must read list My Invented Life  by Lauren Bjorkman. Completed 2/9

Challenge 3: 100 Best Book (worth 1 entry)

Choose one of the lists below and go to the link provided. Choose a book to read from the list that you haven't read before. Read the book and write about it. The Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon. Completed 1/6

Radcliffe's Rival 100 Best Novels List 

Top 100 Sci-Fi Books

100 Best Romance Novels of the 20th Century

100 Best Mystery Novels

100 Best Non-Fiction Books (pick from either Board List or Reader List)
2009 Best Books for Young Adults

Challenge 4: Prize Winner Book (worth 1 entry)

Pick one of the major literary awards from the list below. Click on the link for the award you picked. You will find a brief description of the award and links to past winners. Pick one of the past winners, read the book and write about it. I will be reading from the Newberry Award Winners 2009 list Savvy by Ingrid Law: Completed 1/28

• Booker Prize
• Caldecott Medal
• National Book Award
• National Book Critics Circle Award
• Newbery Medal
• Nobel Prize for Literature
• PEN/Faulkner Award
• Pulitzer Prize
• Commonwealth Writers' Prize
• EMMA Awards

 Challenge 5: Title Word Count (worth 1 entry)

Go to Random.org and, using the True Random Number Generator, enter the numbers 1 for the min. and 5 for the max. and then hit generate. Find a book to read that has that number of words in the title. Read the book and write about it. My random number was 2 so I will be reading Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson. Completed 1/24

Challenge 6: Genre Switch-Up (worth 1 entry)

Go to this list of book genres and pick a genre that you have NEVER read before. Find a book from that genre, read it, and write about it. Note: If you seriously cannot find a genre that you have never read, then pick the genre that is as far away from what you normally read. I will be reading a graphic novel for this one, and would love suggestions on a title.

Challenge 7: Break A Prejudice (worth 1 entry)

We all have reading prejudices--authors we don't like, genres we don't like, or even publishers we don't like. For this challenge, think of a reading prejudice you have and then find a book that is an example of this type of book. Read the book and then write about the reading prejudice you had BEFORE you read the book and how reading the book either changed your prejudice or reinforced it. I have to think about this one too. 

Challenge 8: Real and Inspired (worth 2 entries)

Many authors or books inspire others to pay homage to them by writing another book inspired by the original work. For this challenge, read both an original work and a book inspired by that original work. Write about both books in one post. Note: This might require some research on your part and requires reading two books so it worth 2 entries. Researching

Challenge 9: Same Word, Different Book (worth 2 entries)

Find two books that have the same word in the title. Read both books and write about them. (Worth 2 entries because you have to read two books).

Challenge 10: Become A Character (worth 2 entries)

For this challenge, you can read any book you want. However, you have to write about the book as one of the characters from the book. The character can comment on his/her treatment by the author, other characters, the "untold story," what happened next, and so forth. You could even have two characters interviewing each other! Your imagination is the only limit. Because of the difficulty level of this challenge, it is worth two entries.

Challenge 11: All in the Family (worth 2 entries)

The writing gene often runs in the family. For this challenge, you need to find two authors from the same family (either by blood or by marriage) and read a book by each of the authors and then write about both books. Because of the research involved and having to read two books, this challenge is worth two entries.

Challenge 12: Author Anthology Pick (worth 2 entries)

Find an anthology of your choice. Read at least 5 entries in the anthology. Of the 5 entries you've read, pick your favorite one and then find a book by that writer and read it. (If your first choice doesn't have a book, then pick your next favorite until you find a writer that has a book.) Write about the anthology, your favorite pick from the anthology, and the book you read by your favorite pick. Because of having to obtain and read two books, this challenge is worth two entries. Thanks to J.T. Oldfield at Bibliofreak who partially inspired this challenge. Researching



So to recap, I will be doing the following challenges for sure:
#1 Four Things My Geeky-Jock-of-a-Best-Friend Must Do In Europe by Jane Harrington Completed

#2 My Invented Life by Lauren Bjorkman Completed

#3 Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson: Completed
#4 Savvy by Ingrid Law Completed
#5 Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson Completed
#6 Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shan Tan