Reading Challenges 2018 – Part 1

It’s that time of year when us readers start thinking about our
reading challenges for the year to come.

I have posted about the 3 Challenges I am hosting:

Just click on the buttons above for all the details.  

My friend Yvonne at Socrates’ Book Reviews… is hosting 3 Challenges too.

This is a little different than my cozy challenge.

From Yvonne – This year’s cozy mystery reading challenge has two ways to participate and you can choose whichever suits you the best:

A) Read-only cozy mysteries of your choice.

Or

B) Read one book from these sub-genres:

• 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 cozy mysteries based outside the US (example:  Belinda Lawrence series (British))
• 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!)

Here are the levels you can join for either A or B…

Level one (Snoop) –
A) Read 10 cozy mysteries of your choice.
B) Read one book in each of the above cozy sub-genres (total of 10 books)

Level two (Investigator) –
A) Read 20 cozy mysteries of your choice.
B) Read all the books in level one plus an additional 10 cozy books of your choice (total of 20)

Level three (Super Sleuth) –
A) Read 30 cozy mysteries of your choice.
B) 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) –
A)Read 40 cozy mysteries of your choice.
B)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, 2018, and ends December 31, 2018.
• 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.  She also has 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 below. Please use the link to your challenge post, not the link to your homepage.
• 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.

Just click here to go to Yvonne’s blog to join.

I will be participating at Level four (Sleuth Extraordinaire) – My books will be crossing over to my Craving for Cozies Challenge. 
A)Read 40 cozy mysteries of your choice. 
B)Read two books from each sub-genre in level one plus an additional 20 cozy books of your choice (total of 40 books)

From Yvonne – Two of my favorite things are cats and mysteries. So, I figured the *purrfect* reading challenge for me would be reading cat mysteries. 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, 2018, and end on December 31, 2018.

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 any time 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 below. There will be links to reviews and wrap posts later.

Enjoy and have fun!

This challenge was harder than I thought it would be for this year but I am joining again at Level 2  – Kneading – Read 11-20 cat mysteries.

Just click here to go to Yvonne’s blog to join the fun. 

From Yvonne – Welcome to the 2018 What an Animal Reading Challenge. I began hosting this challenge in 2010, when I took it over from Kristi at Passion for the Page. I love reading books that feature animals and am going to host this one again. I hope you will join me.

The challenge will begin on January 1, 2018, and end on December 31, 2018.

The rules are really simple. I am changing it up a little bit, though…read on…

1. Any book read for this challenge has to have an animal that plays a major role in the book (which could be fiction or non-fiction.)
 It also counts if a main character is (or turns into) an animal (define that however, you’d like). In the past, books would qualify if an animal is in the title or on the cover, but that alone no longer qualifies. This challenge is for books related to animals and just because they are in the title or on the cover, doesn’t mean it’s about an animal.

These are the levels.

Level 1 – Read 6 books

Level 2 – Read 7-12

Level 3 – Read 13-20

Level 4 – Read 21 or more

1. The animal can be any type of animal (real or fictitious)–dog, cat, monkey, wolf, snake, insect, hedgehog, aardvark…dragon, mermaid, centaur, vampire, werewolf…you get the idea…
2. Challenge runs from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2018.
3. Books can be fiction or nonfiction.
4. You may make a list of books at the beginning of the challenge or you can just list them as you find them.
5. Book titles may be swapped out at any time (assuming you made a list, to begin with).

6. Crossovers with other challenges are permitted and encouraged.

7. 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. Or you can sign up by joining my group on Goodreads for this challenge by clicking here.

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

9. To sign up, use the Mister Linky below. There will be links to reviews and wrap posts later.

That’s it! Enjoy and have fun!

Because I think most of my books for this challenge would duplicate the Purrfect Reading Challenge, I have decided not to participate in this challenge this year.

Just click here to go to Yvonne’s blog to enter. 

This challenge is hosted by my friend Bev at MY READER’S BLOCK and it is one of my favorite challenges because it allows me to try to get a handle on my To-Be-Read shelves. My #FlashbackFriday feature was born because of this challenge.

From Bev – January 2018 will kick off the seventh year for the Mount TBR Reading Challenge (I miscounted last year!) and I don’t seem to be getting those mountains moved at all. Despite the fact that I hope to have knocked 150 books off of my 2017 Mount TBR by the end of December, there are still whole mountain ranges lined up and down my hallway and in my back room waiting to be conquered. As fast as I read ’em and get them off the stacks, my bookaholic ways help me replace them. [Case in point–just returned from a long weekend in which I brought home about 20-25 new-to-me books.]

So, once again, I plan to concentrate on reading primarily from my own books in the coming year. And you’re invited to join me in knocking out some of those books that have been waiting in the wings for weeks….months…even years.

Challenge Levels:

Pike’s Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s
Mont 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, 2018.

*You may sign up anytime from now until November 1st, 2018.

*Books must be owned by you prior to January 1, 2018. No library books. If you’re looking for a library book challenge or one that counts books on your non-owned TBR list, then there may be challenges out there that do that. This one does not.

*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] and you bought the book pre-January 1, 2018 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 an 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 below. 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, I will update the sidebar link called Mount TBR Review Headquarters for current reviews and progress updates.

I am again hoping to complete the Mt. Vancouver: Read 36 books from your TBR pile.

Just click here to go to Bev’s blog and sign up. 

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p style=”text-align: justify;”>O.K. this is just my first batch of challenges for 2018. New challenges are being announced every day and there are many more listed that I am not participating in. There are 2 places I check in addition to visiting other blogs to stay on top of all the reading challenges. A Novel Challenge and Sleep Less, Read More – Reading Challenges, Events and more!