Out with a Bang Read-A-Thon

Although I did not read nearly as much as I wanted to this year, I am proud to say that so far I've completed half of the reading challenges I signed up to complete by 12/31/10.  The Bookish Type is hosting the Out with a Bang Readathon which I plan on participating in so that hopefully I can manage to improve my record above the .50 line.  Quite awhile back I mentioned how playing games on Facebook was eating into my reading time...sad to say that hasn't changed--I'm hopelessly addicted to Facebook and those time-wasting games. Anyway, here's where I am with my 2010 challenges:

Successfully Completed

• DelGal's Cookbook Challenge: 2 of 2 cookbooks read
• Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge: 12 of 12 thrilling books read
• 2010 Chunkster Challenge: 3 of 3 chubby books read
• Buy One Book and Read It: 7 of 6 books bought and read
• Audiobook Challenge: Listened to 7 books, only 6 were required
• Read the Book, See the Movie Challenge: 2 books read and 2 movies seen

Not Quite...

• The African Diaspora Challenge: 6 of 8 books read...almost there!
• Support Your Local Library Challenge: 12 of 25 books read
• South Asian Author Challenge: 1 of 3 books read
• 2010 Global Challenge: 5 of 12 books read
• Fangtastic Fiction Challenge: 2 of 8 bloody books read
• RYOB: I read 14 books of the 25 books required
• TwentyTen Challenge:  10 of 20 books. I still need to read 2 YA, 1 from my TBR pile, 2 books published in 2010, 2 books recommended from another blogger,  1 book bought in 2010, and 2 books published before my birth year.

Will Not Complete

• 2010 Mixology
• Black Classics Reading Challenge

Perpetual Challenges

The Stephen King/Richard Bachman Challenge: I read 2 Stephen King books this year.

My Big Bang

I hope to at least finish up The Living Blood by Tananarive Due. This will go toward the Support Your Local Library Challenge and The African Diaspora Challenge.  It won't be enough to finish out the challenges...but I still think I did pretty darn good this year overall.  Looking forward to doing even better in 2011.

2010 Cookbook Challenge

DelGal asks:    

Are you a fan of cookbooks?
Do you find yourself browsing through or thoroughly reading cookbooks?
Wish you could get some new recipes from cookbooks, but don't have time or patience to thumb through everything?

If you answered YES to any or all of these questions, this reading challenge is for you!

2010 Cookbook Challenge

Here are the simple rules:

Level 1

1. Read any cookbook that strikes your fancy

2. Post on your blog or below what cookbooks you have read for others to enjoy

Level 2

Post a recipe on your blog from any or all of the cookbooks you have read. For every recipe you post you will receive one entry for a drawing in the 2010 cookbook challenge.

Entries will be gathered and randomly selected, the winner will receive a copy of

Strictly Sundays: Making Every Cook A Hero On Sundays by Joe Fitzpatrick

That's it! Have fun reading, share a few recipe ideas, and maybe even win a cool cookbook! Good Luck!


Cookbooks I've devoured:

1. Mexican Cooking Made Easy by Wei Chuan Cooking School
2. Simply Salads by Jennifer Chandler

The TwentyTen Reading Challenge

I've decided to add just one more challenge to the list...this sounds like too much fun to not join. 

Goal: Read a total of 20 books, over ten categories, in 2010.

For a complete listing of the rules, head on over to the TwentyTen Reading Challenge page.

The Categories:

1. Young Adult
Any book classified as young adult or featuring a teenage protagonist counts for this category.

2. T.B.R. **
Intended to help reduce the old T.B.R. pile. Books for this category must be already residents of your bookshelves as of 1/11/09.   

The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Henry Thurman

3. Shiny & New
Bought a book NEW during 2010 from a bookstore, online, or a supermarket? Then it counts for this category. Second-hand books do not count for this one.                               

Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist      

   

                                                  
4. Bad Blogger’s ***
Books in this category, should be ones you’ve picked up purely on the recommendation of another blogger count for this category (any reviews you post should also link to the post that convinced you give the book ago).
*** Bad Bloggers: Is hosted by Chris of Stuff as Dreams are Made on.

5. Charity
Support your local independent bookstores with this category, by picking up books from one of their shops.

Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill 

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

6. New in 2010
This category is for those books newly published in 2010 (whether it be the first time it is has been released, or you had to wait for it to be published in your country, it counts for this one!)

7. Older Than You
Read two books that were published before you were born, whether that be the day before or 100 years prior!

8. Win! Win!
Have a couple of books you need to read for another challenge? Then this is the category to use, as long that is, you don’t break the rules of the other challenge by doing so!                    

Nervous by Zane

The Mist by Stephen King

9. Who Are You Again?
This one isn’t just for authors you’ve never read before, this is for those authors you have never even heard of before!       

White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

The Infidelity Pact by Carry Karasyov

10. Up to You!
The requirements for this category are up to you!  I will go with reading 2 cookbooks.

Mexican Cooking Made Easy by Wei-Chuan Cooking School 

Simply Salads by Jennifer Chandler

The Black Classics Challenge 2010

Lhea J. Love: 2010 will be the first year for The Black Classics Challenge. The purpose of this reading challenge is to encourage people of all ages to read great  pre-modern literature that is not regularly promoted in the Western canon. Books for this challenge must have been originally published prior to the Harlem Renaissance (1920) and may be fiction, nonfiction, poetry or prose. The author of the book, regardless of birth country, must be of African descent.  The Challenge has 3 levels of participation:

1. Curious -- I commit to 3 books
2. Experienced -- I commit to 7 books (may include 1 anthology)
3. Enthusiast -- I commit to 15 Books (may include 2 anthologies)

My Goal: To participate at the Experienced level and read 7 Black Classics between January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2010.

I have not yet finalized my reading list, but I've started off with The Conjure Woman by Charles W. Chestnutt. 

Fangtastic Fiction Challenge 2010

Here are the rules as listed on the original challenge page:

Challenge Levels/Goals

The base challenge here (“Newly Turned”) is to read four books, one from each of the four categories below: classic, horror, romance and young adult. If a book can fit into two categories (or more), simply pick one category and then read another.
Once you have completed that, you can go wild with what books you read for your challenge list, so long as they have vampires in some form as a prominent part. For every additional four books you read, you go up a level. Where the base challenge is the equivalent of the first stages of a vampire, think of each four books as a century added onto their existence.
How old can you go?

First Blood

This is the category for vampire tales that were written prior to 1900. Examples of such books would be:

• Dracula – Bram Stoker
• Carmilla – Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

Things That Go Bite In The Night

This is the category for works firmly entrenched in the horror genre.

• Let The Right One In – John Ajvide Lindqvist

Kiss Of The Vampire

This is the category for all books that have romance as one of its main genres/focuses. Examples of such books would be:

• Dead Until Dark  – Charlaine Harris
• Jessica’s Guide To Dating On The Dark Side – Beth Fantaskey

High School Is Hell

This is the category for all vampire books that fit in the young adult category. Examples of such books would be:

• The Vampire Diaries – L.J. Smith
• The Morganville Vampires – Rachel Caine

Bonus Challenge/Activity: Screams On Screen

As a bonus challenge/activity, why not take in vampires on the large and small screens as well? Keep track of how many movies or TV seasons you watch, whether it’s Buffy, True Blood or The Vampire Diaries on your TV, or Lost Boys, Underworld or any film adaptation of a vampire novel, and see how many you can total up during the year!

Other Information

This challenge runs the entire length of 2010, so from January 1 to December 31.

The 2010 Chunkster Challenge

The Levels of participation are:

1. The Chubby Chunkster - this option is for the reader who has a couple of large tomes on their TBR list, but really doesn't want to commit to much more than that. 3 books is all you need to finish this challenge.
2. Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? - this option is for the slightly heavier reader who wants to commit to 4 Chunksters over the next twelve months.
3. Mor-book-ly Obese - This is for the truly out of control chunkster. For this level of challenge you must commit to 6 or more chunksters OR three tomes of 750 pages or more. You know you want to.....go on and give in to your cravings.

The Rules:

• No Audio books in the chunkster. It just doesn't seem right. Words on paper for this one folks.
• No e-Books allowed - we are reading traditional, fat books for this challenge.
  
• Short Stories and Essay collections will not be counted.
• A chunkster is 450 pages or more of ADULT literature (fiction or nonfiction) ... A chunkster should be a challenge. 

Books Read:

1. Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (480 pages)
2. White Lines by Tracy Brown  (512 pages)
3. Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill (486 pages)

Challenge Complete 11/10/2010!!

2010 Global Reading Challenge

The Medium Challenge
Read two novels from each of these continents in the course of 2010:
Africa

Asia

• The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga 
• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Australasia

Europe

• Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Sweden)

 North America (incl Central America)

• Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill (Canada)
• The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Henry Thurman (United States)

South America


Try to find novels from twelve different countries or states.

Buy One Book and Read It 2010 Challenge

There are three levels of participation for this challenge:

Level One!
Buy one book and read it before December 31st, 2010.

Level Two!
Buy six books and read them before December 31st, 2010.

Level Three
Buy 12 books and read them before December 31st, 2010.

Options:
To add a little twist to this year's challenge you are encouraged to choose one of the following options to add to your level.
Indie Option--Make sure the book or books you buy are purchased at an independent bookstore.

I will participate at level 2 and commit to buy and reading six books before 12/31/2010. I am also going to add on the option of buying those books from an independent store.

1. The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Henry Thurman 
2. Pursuit of Honor by Vince Flynn
3. White Lines by Tracy Brown
4. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
5. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
6. Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill
7. Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

Challenge Complete!!

Audio Book Reading Challenge 2010

There are several levels of participation for this challenge

-- Curious – Listen to 3 Audio Books.

-- Fascinated – Listen to 6 Audio Books.

--Addicted -- Listen to 12 Audio Books

-- Obsessed – Listen to 20 Audio Books.

I am going to commit to read 6 audio books this year. Last year I met this goal, but I don't think I'm quite ready to step the challenge up to 20 books.

1. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga 
2. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini 
3. Pirate Latitudes by Michael Chrichton
4. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
5. Plea of Insanity by Jilliane Hoffman
6. The Infidelity Pact by Carrie Karasyov
7. Lisey's Story by Stephen King

 CHALLENGE COMPLETE!!

Read the Book, See the Movie Challenge 2010

It is very rare that I enjoy the film adaptation of a book more than the movie. But it's still hard to resist checking out the movie and comparing the two versions.  The Read the Book, See the Movie Challenge has several levels:

• Matinee: one book/movie
• Double Feature: two books/movies
• Saturday Movie Marathon: four books/movies
• Film Festival: eight books/movies
• Festival Jury Member: ten books/movies

Here is the list of books I read with the corresponding movies:
1. Let the Right One In
2. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

I watched Kite Runner and Girl with a Pearl Earring but have yet to read the books.  I've also started to read Girl, Interrupted and have the movie...so that might be the next on the list for this challenge.

CHALLENGE COMPLETE!!

Read Your Own Books Challenge 2010

Goal: To read 25 of my own books from 1/1/10 - 12/31/10.

1. Pursuit of Honor by Vince Flynn
2. Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
3. The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Henry Thurman
4. Nervous by Zane 
5. Mexican Cooking Made Easy by Wei-Chuan Cooking School 
6. White Lines by Tracy Brown
7. Simply Salads by Jennifer Chandler
8. Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill
9. Pandora's Box by Allison Hobbs
10. Double Cross by James Patterson
11. Mary Mary by James Patterson
12. Shadow of Power by Steve Martini
13. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
14. Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill

South Asian Author Challenge 2010

S. Krishna: This challenge is to encourage people to read books by South Asian Authors – South Asia being India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The books can be from any time period, contemporary or classic.  If you want to talk about the challenge on Twitter or tweet your reviews, use the hashtag #saac. 


My Goal: To read at least 3 books by South Asian Authors between 1/1/10 - 12/31/10

1. 1. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
   

Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge 2010

Goal: To read TWELVE (12) different sub-genres of thrillers in 2010.

The following is a list of the sub-genres. As I complete each book, I will notate the title next to the corresponding sub-genre.

• Action thrillers Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
  
• Amateur Detective mystery
  
• Comic thrillers 
  
• Conspiracy thrillers
  
• Cozy mystery
• Crime thriller  Mary Mary by James Patterson
• Eco-thriller
• Erotic thriller
  
• Disaster thriller
  
• Drama thriller 
• Forensic mystery 
• Futuristic mystery/thrillers  
• Hard-boiled mystery
• Historical thriller
• Hitman thriller
  
• Horror thrillers~ Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
  
• Inverted mystery
• Legal thrillers  Shadow of Power by Steve Martini
• Literary thrillers
• Locked Room
• Medical thrillers
• Military thrillers
• Murder Mystery  The Infidelity Pact by Carrie Karasyov
• Mob mysteries or thrillers
• Police procedural thrillers
• Political thrillers~ Pursuit of Honor by Vince Flynn
  
• Private detective mystery
• Psychological thrillers  Plea of Insanity by Jilliane Hoffman
• Religious thrillers
• Romantic thrillers  Lisey's Story by Stephen King
• Sci-fi thrillers  The Mist by Stephen King
  
• Serial killer thriller  Double Cross by James Patterson
• Spy thriller
• Stalking thrillers A Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill
• Supernatural thrillers Riding the Bullett by Stephen King
  
• Techno-thrillers
  
• Terrorist thrillers
  
• True Crime thrillers

CHALLENGE COMPLETE!

African Diaspora Reading Challenge

BrownGirl: The African diaspora speaks mainly to the dispersion of African descendants in the Americas and Europe due to the Atlantic slave trade. Yes, Africans were enslaved or migrants to other parts of the world but the term is usually in reference to the aforementioned areas. So, for this challenge, books read will be by Black authors and set in Africa, North America, South America, Central America, Caribbean Islands, and Europe. Yes, this is broad but it means the possibilities are endless. Hopefully, those who participate will gain more incite into the myriad of Black cultural experiences.  If you're on Twitter, we'll use this hashtag: #afrodiaspora. Make sure you follow that hashtag for updates and possible mini challenges.The three levels of participation are:

  Novice: commitment to read four (4) books
  Versed: commitment to read eight (8) books
  Scholar: commitment to read twelve (12) books

My Goal: To participate at the Versed level and read 8 qualifying books between 1/1/10 and 12/31/10.

1. The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Henry Thurman 
2. Nervous by Zane 
3. White Lines by Tracy Brown 
4. Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill
5. Pandora's Box by Allison Hobbs
6. My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due

The 2010 Support Your Local Library Challenge

J. Kaye's hosting this challenge which allows audio, re-reads, eBooks, YA, Young Reader – any book as long as it is checked out from the library count. Checked out like with a library card, not purchased at a library sale.

Aim high. As long as you read 25 by the end of 2010, you are a winner.


There are four levels of participation:

--The Mini – Check out and read 25 library books.

--Just My Size – Check out and read 50 library books.

--Stepping It Up – Check out and read 75 library books.

--Super Size Me – Check out and read 100 library books.

Last year I participated in this challenge and actually did pretty I well. I checked out and read 30 books, although I aimed for 50. This year I'm trying to read more of my own books, so...

My Goal: To participate at The Mini level and read 25 books checked out from my local library between 1/1/10 and 12/31/10

1. White Tiger by Aravind Adiga 
2. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini 
3. Plea of Insanity by Jilliane Hoffman
4. Infidelity Pact by Carrie Karasyov
5. Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
6. Riding the Bullet by Stephen King
7. Lisey's Story by Stephen King
8. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
9. The Mist by Stephen King
10. The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones
11. Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist
12. My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due