2017 Reading Challenges

I am late with this post this year. But searching the internet I see I am not the only one. But here is what I have planned to participate in so far…

Of course, the 3 Challenges I am hosting.

This is my favorite Challenge!

The Alphabet Soup Challenge means that by December 31, 2017
your bowls must be full of one book for each letter of the Alphabet.

Each Letter Counts As 1 Spoonful

Details

This challenge will run from January 1st, 2017 until December 31st, 2017.

You can join anytime. You do not have to post a review of the book. Books can come from any genre.

You do not need to link up each spoonful.

Make a page or a post or a GoodReads shelf where you will keep track of your spoonfuls. I keep track of mine on my Challenge Page.

Crossovers to other challenges are allowed and encouraged!

It’s an alphabet challenge!!! The challenge is to read one book that has a title starting with every letter of the alphabet.

You can drop the A’s and The’s from the book titles as shown below.

The First Main Word Needs To Be
The Letter You Are Counting 

Except For those pesky Q, X AND Z titles the word that starts with the challenge letter can be anywhere in the title.

So there are two different ways you can set up your own A-Z Reading Challenge.

A – How I plan to do it: Make a list on your blog from A-Z. Throughout the year, as you go along, add the books you are reading to the list. Towards the end of the year, you can check and see which letters you are missing and find books to fit.

OR

B – Make a list now of 26 books, picking one for each letter of the alphabet. For example: A – Assault and Beret by Jenn McKinlay B- Bookman Dead Style by Paige Shelton  C – Cold Pressed Murder by Kelly Lane   D – Dead Cold Brew by Cleo Coyle etc.

Books can be read in any order and all formats – print – e-book – audio – are acceptable for this challenge!

Ready to join??

Bloggers grab the image below and make a post about the challenge to encourage others to join!

Non-bloggers you can join too! Just keep track any way you wish and use the link below to sign up. You can even set up a special shelf on Goodreads.com to help you keep track!

Follow Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book as there may be special announcements made about the challenge.

There is also a very active group on Facebook where you can share your books read and converse with others taking part in the challenge. Alphabet Soup Challenge – Right now they are finishing this year’s challenge but it will switch over to the new year on January 1. 

SIGN UP HERE

Then when you complete the challenge copy and paste your completed list in a comment below and FILL OUT THIS FORM

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Craving For Cozies 2017 – Reading Challenge

Cozy mysteries, also referred to simply as “cozies”, are a sub-genre of crime fictionmysteries in which sex and violence are downplayed or treated humorously, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community. The crime solver is an amateur sleuth, usually but not always a woman, who is thrust into the aftermath of the murder. The protagonist frequently has an occupation or hobby that brings appealing information to the reader.

The challenge runs from January 1, 2017 and ends December 31, 2017

Rules

1. Choose the level you wish to participate:

Levels

• Peckish – 1 – 10 Cozy Mysteries
• Famished – 11 – 20 Cozy Mysteries
• Yearning – 21 – 40 Cozy Mysteries
• Starving  – 41 – 60 Cozy Mysteries
• Ravenous – 61 – 80 Cozy Mysteries
• Voracious – 81 – 100 Cozy Mysteries 
• Completely Satiated – 101 or more

2. You can Feed Your Need To Read with print, digital or audio books.

3. You do not have to post a review but the authors would appreciate it if you did. If you need help just let me know. 

4. You do not need to have a blog to participate.

Just keep track any way you wish and sign up up the link below. You can even set up a special shelf on Goodreads.com to help you keep track! Your can also participate via Facebook. You can find the Craving for Cozies Facebook Group here.

5.  If you do have a blog, take the button above, put it on your blog and post about the challenge. 

6. Follow Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book for cozy giveaways and reviews. 

7. There is also Craving for Cozies Facebook Group. Everyone can share and discuss the cozies we are reading. Just click here to join.  I will also host some pop-up giveaways during the year. 

8. Please share with us the books you are reading all year long by leaving comments on this page or on the Event page on Facebook.

9. No matter how you enter or keep track when you complete this challenge please FILL OUT THIS FORM no later than January 15, 2018. 

10. HAVE FUN!! 

I have changed from a Linky link up to a Google Form for 2017 because Google Forms are FREE! If you have already signed up on the Linky I have transferred your information to the new form.

SIGN UP HERE!

I am signing up for 

• Completely Satiated – 101 or more

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2017 LITERARY ESCAPES CHALLENGE

I used to participant in a challenge like this at Book Journey but she didn’t host it this year so I did it on my own. Just using the books I read for review so far I have traveled to 43 States and 8 Countries Abroad. Several of my maps can be found here. The 2016 map is here. I also have a list on my blog of Books by State. I am a little behind updating those pages but hope to get caught up before this year ends. 

Challenge – Try to read 1 book set in each of the 50 states + the District of Columbia. (51 Points). If you complete the challenge you earn 50 Bonus Points. You also can earn Bonus Points for books set in Countries around the world. 1 Bonus Point for each country. (No repeats – only 1 point can be earned for each country.)

Your books can be fiction or non-fiction and can be in any format, print, digital, audio. 

So how do you decide what state a book is categorized under?

1.  In a fiction read it would be the State or Country that the book spends the most time in.  (Ie. If your main character is from Wisconsin but the book is all about his/her time in college in California – the books should categorize under California….)

2.  Non fiction reads categorize  in whatever State or Country it is about (Ie…. a book about fly fishing in Colorado is a Colorado point, and a book about women in Afghanistan is an Afghanistan point.

3.  If the book goes from one state to another… go with the state that most of the time is spent.

The way you keep track is up to you. I like making the map to visualize where I have been and where I need to go but I also keep a list on Reading Challenges Page. Here is directions on how to create a map. – http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Google-Map. You do not have to just use Google Maps, you can use an map program you choose.

or just use this list

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

On my list I link to the review posted on my blog but this is not a requirement. In fact you do not need to be a blogger to participate. You can keep your list anywhere. 

Bloggers please grab the graphic above and post about this challenge on your blog.

To sign up just fill out this form.

I have found people like to share and communicate about the challenge and their progress so I have set up a Facebook Group for that purpose.

2017 Literary Escapes Facebook Group

At the end of the year (before January 15, 2018) just fill out this form.

Prizes will be announced as we get closer to 2018.

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Now around the blogosphere….

In addition to my cozy challenge I will be participating in Socrates’ Book Reviews… Crusin; thru the Cozies Challenge!

Yvonne is changing her challenge this year and making it very interesting. 

Level one (Snoop) – Read one book in each of these cozy sub-genres (total of 10 books)

– One from culinary (anything dealing with food:  restaurants, baked goods, etc.)
– One from animal related (cats, dogs, birds, etc.)
– One from craft related (any kind of hobbies – knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, etc.)
– One from paranormal (witches, vampires, etc.)
– One from British cozy mysteries (example:  Belinda Lawrence series)
– One career-based cozy mystery (housekeeping, wedding planner, etc.)
– One holiday based (set during any holiday – Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentines, etc.)
– One travel mystery (character could be on a cruise, touring another area, etc.)
– One historical mystery (any mystery not set in the present)
– One is your choice!  (freebie!)

Level two (Investigator) – Read all the books in level one plus an additional 10 cozy books of your choice (total of 20)
Level three (Super Sleuth) – Read two books from each sub-genre in level one plus an additional 10 cozy books of your choice (total of 30 books)
Level four (Sleuth Extraordinaire) – Read two books from each sub-genre in level one plus an additional 20 cozy books of your choice (total of 40 books)

Here are the rules…

1. The challenge runs from January 1, 2017 and ends December 31, 2017.

2. You don’t have to choose your books in advance. If you do, you can change your list at any time during the year. Books can overlap with other challenges.

3. Books can be in any format – paper, audio, ebooks…it all counts!

4. You don’t have to post a review, but I’m sure others would love to know about the books you are reading and may even want to add it to their reading lists.

NOTE: If you don’t have a blog and want to participate, that’s fine. You don’t have to have a blog, just post in the comments section as you finish books. If you belong to a site like Goodreads and review the books there, that’s fine too. Just leave us the link. I also have a group for this challenge on Goodreads and you can sign up here.

5. If you do have a blog, take the button above, put it on your blog and post about the challenge. Then add your name to Mr. Linky on her blog. Please use the link of your challenge post, not the link to your home page.

6. I’m going to have one link for signing up, one link for completed reviews and one link for your wrap up posts. I won’t be having a monthly link, just one for all reviews read for this challenge.

ADDENDUM:  (I’m adding one more thing for those who aren’t sure they want to read some of the sub-genres.)

7.  If you can’t find or don’t want to read a certain sub-genre, you can switch it out for another one of your choice. However, this can only be done one time.

I am going to sign up at Level 2 this year – Level two (Investigator) – Read all the books in level one plus an additional 10 cozy books of your choice (total of 20). You can join with me here.

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The CLOAK AND DAGGER Challenge is hosted by Books, Movies, Reviews. Oh my! and Booker T’s Farm.

Challenge Rules:

• You can read any book that is from the mystery/suspense/thriller/crime genres. Any sub-genres are welcome as long as they incorporate one of these genres.
• You don’t need a blog to participate but you do need a place to post your reviews to link up. (blog, goodreads, booklikes, shelfari, etc.)
• Make a goal post and link it back here with your goal for this challenge.
• Books need to be novellas or novels, please no short stories. (At least 100 pages +)
• Crossovers into other challenges  are fine.
• The Challenge will  be from Jan. 1st to Dec. 31st. (Sign up ends April 15th)

There will be a monthly link up so that others can check out your progress and look at your reviews. At the halfway mark and at the end we will have a giveaway for those participating.

If you tweet about your progress or reviews please use the hashtag #2017CloakDaggerChal so others can see it.

Levels:

5-15 books – Amateur sleuth

16-25 books – Detective

26-35 books – Inspector

36 – 55 – Special agent

56+ books – Sherlock Holmes

They are also ending a mini challenge within the Cloak and Dagger challenge.

Can you finish a series in a year? Or how about two or three series? The amount will be up to you! At the end of the year, they will have you link up the last book in the series or at least the last book that is out and published as it can be a series that is still going on. You can then sign up for the series ender giveaway for a $5 gift card. It’s a totally optional challenge.?

For this challenge I count mysteries that are not cozy since I participate in separate cozy challenges. So this year I am signing up for Detective Level – 16 – 25 Books. 

Join me by signing up here.

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Yvonne at Socrates Book Reviews….has along added a new challenge.
The Purrfect Reading Challenge!

Many years ago I found a cat mystery reading challenge on one of the blogs. Being both a cat and mystery lover, it was the *purrfect* reading challenge for me but then it suddenly disappeared and I never saw one again. So, I decided to create my own. It’s very simple, this challenge is all about reading mysteries that have cats as the main characters. Here are a few examples…

Joe Grey Mysteries by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
Midnight Louie Mysteries by Carole Nelson Douglas
A Cats In Trouble Mysteries by Leann Sweeney
A Klepto Cat Mysteries by Patricia Fry
Black Cat Bookshop Mysteries by Ali Brandon
Cat Who Mysteries by Lilian Jackson Braun
Cat in the Stacks Mysteries by Miranda James
Bookmobile Cat Mysteries by Laurie Cass
Theda Krakow Mysteries by Clea Simon
Black Cat Mysteries by Elaine Faber

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens more. You can find a list here, but you aren’t limited to just these choices. If you find others, that’s great.

Here are the levels you can choose from:

Purring – Read 1-10 cat mysteries
Kneading – Read 11-20 cat mysteries
Meowing – Read 21-30 cat mysteries
Catnip – Go crazy and read at least 31 and go as high as you’d like – the sky is the limit!

The challenge will begin on January 1, 2017 and end on December 31, 2017.

The rules are really simple.

1. Any book read for this challenge has to be a mystery and have a cat that plays a major role in the book.


2. You may make a list of books at the beginning of the challenge or you can just list them as you find them.


3. Book titles may be swapped out at anytime for those who make a list in advance.


4. Crossovers with other challenges are permitted and encouraged.


5. You don’t have to have a blog or write a review, but you can if you want to.
 If you don’t have a blog, just post in the comment section that you’d like to join. You can post your books in there. I also have a Cat Mystery group on Goodreads and you can join over there. The link is https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/188179-cat-mystery-readers

6. Books can be in any format of your choice (print, audio, ebooks)

7. To sign up, choose one of the levels from the above list and use the Mister Linky on  her blog. There will be links for reviews and wrap posts later.

Enjoy and have fun!

I am signing up at Purring – Read 1-10 cat mysteries but hope to move up to Kneading – Read 11-20 cat mysteries. Join me by signing up here. 

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I am trying a different To-Be-Read Challenge this year, last year I started by Flashback Friday feature and that is perfect for this challenge hosted by  MY READER’S BLOCK.

Challenge Levels:

Pike’s Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Blanc: Read 24 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Vancouver: Read 36 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Ararat: Read 48 books from your TBR piles/s
Mt. Kilimanjaro: Read 60 books from your TBR pile/s
El Toro: Read 75 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Everest: Read 100 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Olympus (Mars): Read 150+ books from your TBR pile/s

And the rules:
*Once you choose your challenge level, you are locked in for at least that many books. If you find that you’re on a mountain-climbing roll and want to tackle a taller mountain, then you are certainly welcome to upgrade.  All books counted for lower mountains carry over towards the new peak.

*Challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2017.

*You may sign up anytime from now until November 1st, 2017.

*Books must be owned by you prior to January 1, 2017. No library books. 

*Rereads may count only in the following circumstances: If you did not own the book when you read it long ago and far away [based on your age, you can decide what that might mean–definitely not within the last five years…my arbitrary pick for a limit] and you bought the book pre-January 1, 2017 intending to reread it now that it’s your very own.  [To clarify–the intention is to reduce the stack of books that you have bought for yourself or received as presents {birthday, Christmas, “just because,” etc.}. Audiobooks and E-books may count if they are yours and they are one of your primary sources of backlogged books.]

*You may count any “currently reading” book that you begin prior to January 1–provided that you had 50% or more of the book left to finish when January 1 rolled around.  I will trust you all on that.

*You may count “Did Not Finish” books provided they meet your own standard for such things, you do not plan to ever finish it, and you move it off your mountain [give it away, sell it, etc. OR remove it from your e-resources]. For example, my personal rule (unless it’s a very short book) is to give a book at least 100 pages. If I decide I just can’t finish it and won’t ever, then off the mountain it goes and I count it as a victory–the stack is smaller!

*Books may be used to count for other challenges as well.

*Feel free to submit your list in advance (as incentive to really get those books taken care of) or to tally them as you climb.

*There will be quarterly check-ins and prize drawings!

*A blog and reviews are not necessary to participate. If you have a blog, then please post a challenge sign up and link THAT post (not your home page) into the linky at MY READER’S BLOCK . Non-bloggers, please leave a comment declaring your challenge level–OR, if you are a member of Goodreads, I will once again put together a group for the challenge there. Feel free to sign up HERE if that’s where you want to participate. At the beginning of the year, she will update the sidebar link called Mount TBR Review Headquarters for current reviews and progress updates.

I am signing up at Mount Vancouver: Read 36 books from your TBR pile/s – use the links above to join me. 

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This year I am doing the Pages Read Challenge hosted by Gina at Book Dragon’s Lair. 

This challenge isn’t about how many books you read but rather how many pages. After all, it isn’t fair that I might read 4 titles and another might read 2 titles but we’ve read the same number of pages!

Levels

There are a couple of hard rules, one just for general courtesy, several guidelines and six levels.

Hard Rules

All books counted must be electronic – I don’t care if they’re kindle, pdf, nook, etc.

• The ebook in question must have an ISBN or equivalent. If you can buy it or borrow it, it counts – which just means that all those on-line serials I read don’t count 😉

General Courtesy

• When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post. That way we can find it.

Guidelines

• You can list your books in advance or as you read them. You can also change your list.
• Any genre or length of book counts.
• Anyone can join, you don’t need to be a blogger, just let me know in the comments.
• Reviews are good but not necessary. Once again, you don’t need to be a blogger, there are lots of places to post reviews. Hopefully, they’ll link up so we can read them.
• You may move up a level but not down.
• Crossovers for other challenges count
• Books started before January 1st, 2017 don’t count – unless you start over 😉

Levels
bit – 1 book
Byte – 10 books
Megabyte – 25 books
Gigabyte – 50 books
Terabyte – 75 books
Petabyte – 100 books
Empty the Cloud – 101+ books

I am going to shoot for Terabyte – 75 books. You can sign up here. 

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That’s  all for today. If  you are interested in finding more challenges, the Sleep Less, Read More – Reading Challenges, Events and more! group on Facebook has a great list. The Novel Challenge Blog also has a list!

I tried a crafty cozy challenge this and wasn’t as successful as I had hoped. Maybe I will add a Foodie Cozy Challenge if one pops up. I will also be doing my Personal Challenge of reading book by Wisconsin authors or set in Wisconsin.