Erin's reading challenge

Book Challenge by Erin 4.0

Categories·         5 points:  Read a book, any book that is at least 200 pages long.  The collected works of A.J. Fikry is waiting to be read, and it's the next book on my list.·         10 points:  Read a book that begins with the letter “D”.  (Yes, I put 25 letters in jar – I left out X – and drew randomly)Divergent  has been on my to be read list for a while. Hoping to get this one read.·         10 points:  Read a book with a four word title.  An abundance of Katherines has also been placed in my to be read pile. Hoping to get this one read.·         15 points:  Read a book with one of the following words in the title: “mother(s)”, “father(s)”, “son(s)”, “daughter(s)”, or “child(ren)”.  The memory keeper's daughter·         20 points:  Amazon ranks their “most popular authors”, and they update this list hourly.  Based on when you make your book list, look at the top 100 authors, and pick a book to read from one of those authors, but here’s the catch – it needs to be an author new to you…one of the most popular authors, yet you’ve never read them before.  http://www.amazon.com/author-rankI noticed that Stephen King is on this list, and I haven't read any of his before so I will check out what's available from this author. My son is a baseball player so I've picked The girl who loved Tom Gordon

I enjoyed Snowflower and the ?? fan by Lisa See. So I think I will read Shanghai Girls also by Lisa See. ·         25 points:  Read a book with a “Season” in the title.  (I start the challenge in Summer and end in Autumn; many of you start in Winter and end in Spring…so the title of your book should have Summer, Autumn/Fall, Winter, or Spring in the title.)Another one off my pile TBR One summer


·         30 points:  Read a book that will make you laugh from the list attached. (submitted by Bernadette) http://www.buzzfeed.com/erinchack/books-guaranteed-to-make-you-laugh-out-loudHaving having already read Catch 22 and Jonthan Tropper's book This is where I leave you, I decided to read My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler
·         30 points:  Read a book that is a friend or family member’s favorite book (or the favorite book of another participant from this challenge).  (submitted by Peggy)TBA·         35 points:  Read a book published the year you were born. (submitted by Meredith)Terms of endearmentIf you are stuck on any of these categoriesY, ask for help or recommendations!  GOOD LUCK!

It's getting close to 2016 and so another book challenge will commence. 

·         20 points:  Read a book set in any country in Asia.  (In previous challenges, we’ve been to Europes, Latin America, and a country you’ve never visited.  Stick around, we’ll tour the world!)

Another challenge

I saw on Jamie's blog another reading challenge for 2016 and thought I had one or two books on my pile to read with colours in the title but when I actually looked beside my bed and on the study bookshelf, I own 5 titles that will be suitable for this challenge.  The Color Coded Challenge seems to be as popular as ever, and you can sign up for it here..  Once again the categories will be more open--the color may either be named in the title or it may appear as the dominant color for the cover of the book. For "implies color" the image implying color should dominate the cover--for instance a large rainbow, a field of flowers, or the image of a painter.  Get ready for a rainbow of reading in 2016. 

*Read nine books in the following categories.

1. A book with "Blue" or any shade of Blue (Turquoise, Aquamarine, Navy, etc) in the title/on the cover. 

2. A book with "Red" or any shade of Red (Scarlet, Crimson, Burgandy, etc) in the title/on the cover.

3. A book with "Yellow" or any shade of Yellow (Gold, Lemon, Maize, etc.)in the title/on the cover.

4. A book with "Green" or any shade of Green (Emerald, Lime, Jade, etc) in the title/on the cover.

5. A book with "Brown" or any shade of Brown (Tan, Chocolate, Beige, etc)in the title/on the cover.

6. A book with "Black" or any shade of Black (Jet, Ebony, Charcoal, etc) in the title/on the cover.

7. A book with "White" or any shade of White (Ivory, Eggshell, Cream, etc)in the title/on the cover.

8. A book with any other color in the title/on the cover (Purple, Orange, Silver, Pink, Magneta, etc.).

9. A book with a word that implies color (Rainbow, Polka-dot, Plaid, Paisley, Stripe, etc.).

* Any book read from January 1 through December 31, 2016 will count.

*Crossovers with other challenges are fine.

So here is my starting pile for this challenge:

1. Blue- Island of the blue dolphins This Newberry medal has been waiting for 2 years for me to read.

2. Red - A Rose for the Anzac boys I got this after a visit to the War memorial on one of my trips to Canberra. Hoping to read it in 2016.

3. Yellow- Valley of Gold I bought this title last year when my class was studying Gold

4. Green - Green boy I bought this title 12 months ago thinking I might use with my class on the topic of sustainability but never got round to reading it.

5. Brown- TBA

6. Black - The witch of blackbird pond another Newberry medal winner on my TBR pile

7. White- TBA

8. Other colour TBA

9. Word that implies colour -TBA

Looking forward for 2016!

My October reads

I managed to get through a couple of books this month...

Is it Just me? By Miranda Hart... I loved this social awkward comedian and this book had moments that made me cringe, made me relate to and just laugh out loud.

Next I managed to get through Hotel K by Kathyrn Bontella... A non fiction book that details life inside Kerokoban prison and the corruption in the Bali justice system.

A title I read that I thought I might share with my class, Emil and the detectives highly engaging novel about a boy travelling in a train to Berlin. He has some money stolen from him on the train and this book is about his adventures to recover the money from the thief. Originally written in German, a classic story that I think young children will love. 

And lastly with my class I enjoyed my childhood favourite ... Morris Lurie's Twenty seventh annual African hippopotamus race

What did you get to read this month? The new challenge starts Sunday can't wait!!

getting organised

I've gathered the books I already own from my list and piled them up near my favourite reading spot. I plan to get a couple of titles as audiobooks from audible.com as I have a monthly subscription and listen to books in my commute to and from work.

 My sunny reading spot

At the moment I am listening to Hotel K by Kathryn Bonella. I am reading this title as a non fiction book for another reading challenge I am in. This book is horrifying at times...The corruption outlined in Bali and the justice system makes me think twice before visiting this popular destination. I am up to the chapter where it discusses Amorozi, the man behind the Bali bombings and how he orchestrated another bombing whilst he was in prison due to the corruption. The conditions and treatment of prisoners is unjust...and relies on how much you are willing to bribe people.

First reading challenge

Okay this is a first for me... I enjoy spending lots of time sitting somewhere cosy, whether curled up in bed, on the lounge, outdoors under the shade of a tree with my head in a great book but this is the first time I have joined a reading challenge and blogged about it. I had seen this challenge on a website http://megancstroup.blogspot.com.au I visited this blog after doing a search on a title I thought about reading but forgot about the title I was looking for a recommendation on and discovered more titles to add to my list... After reading the latest entry I thought I could join this challenge... so I compiled my list and came up with these :

5 points: Read a book that has between 100 and 200 pages. Animal Farm - George Orwell
10 points: Read a debut book by any author. (The book does not have to be a 2015 debut.) Divergent - Veronica Roth
10 points: Read a book that does not take place in your current country of residence.  Outside the lines- Amy Hatvany
10 points: Read a book that someone else has already used for the challenge. — Submitted by SCSBC15 finisher Kristen @ See You in a Porridge.... TBA
15 points: Read a book published under a pseudonym (e.g. Robert Galbraith, Sara Poole, J.D. Robb, Franklin W. Dixon, Mark Twain, etc.). — Submitted by SCSBC15 finisher Megan M. The Silkworm- Robert Galbraith
15 points: Read a book with “boy,” “girl,” “man” or “woman” in the title (or the plural of these words).  It's raining men- Milly Johnson
15 points: Read a book with a one-word title (e.g. Attachments, Americanah, Uglies, Wild, etc.).  Room- Emma Donoghue
20 points: Read a book with a person's first and last name in the title (e.g. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle).  The storied life of Aj Fikry- Gabrielle Levin
20 points: Read a food-themed book. — Submitted by SCSBC15 finisher Jamie @ Whatever I Think Of!  Scones and sensibility - Lindsay Eland
20 points: Read a book with a verb in the title. (For any grammar nerds out there, I mean “verb” in the most general sense, so gerunds count. For non-grammar-inclined people, just use any book that appears to have a verb in the title!) If I Stay - Gayle Foreman
30 points: Read two books with the same title (by different authors). — Submitted by SCSBC15 finisher bevchen @ Confuzzledom.  One summer - David Baldacci and One Summer - Bill Bryson
30 points: Read a nonfiction book and a fiction book about the same subject (e.g. a biography and historical fiction novel about the same person; two books about a specific war or event; a nonfiction book about autism and a novel with a character who has autism, etc. The possibilities are endless!). Thinking in Pictures: my life with autism - Temple Grandin and House Rules - Jodi Piccoult

The challenge starts November 1st and I will be giving monthly updates on my progress!! I can't wait to start!!