around the world

This challenge sounded fun and easy!  It's the Around The World challenge hosted by All About Books.  It's basically just a challenge where you mark all the places your books take place.  See!  Totally easy!  And I get to mark up my map!  Woohoo!  If you'd like to sign up you can do that here.

Here's my map:

1. A Trick of the Light - Louise Penny
2. The Beautiful Mystery - Louise Penny
3. How The Light Gets In - Louise Penny
4. A Visit From The Good Squad - Jennifer Egan
5. Zac & Mia - AJ Betts

new author challenge

I'm trying a new host this year and I'm going with Literary Escapism's New Author Challenge.  You can sign up to join me here.

There are no levels, but I'm aiming for 12 new authors.

1. A Visit From The Good Squad - Jennifer Egan
2. Zac & Mia - AJ Betts

tbr pile reading challenge

The TBR challenges last year helped me check off a bunch of books so I thought I'd try it again this year.  I'll be returning to Bookish's challenge and you can sign up here!

I haven't picked my books yet, but I am aiming for the Firm Handshake level which is 5-10 books.  I'll figure out what books I'd like to check off and update this soon!

1. A Trick of the Light - Louise Penny
2. The Beautiful Mystery - Louise Penny
3. High Heat - Lee Child
4. Three Wishes - Liane Moriarty
5. The Other Side Of The Story - Marian Keyes
6. Heart Of The Matter - Emily Giffin
7. Four - Veronica Roth
8. Joyland - Stephen King
9. Darkfever - Karen Marie Moning
10. Just Listen - Sarah Dessen

ebook challenge

Annette's Book Spot is hosting the eBook Reading challenge and I am attempting it again!  I didn't make it last year :(  so sad.  If you want to sign up you can do that at Annette's Book Spot here.

Level Bytes (10 books)

1. A Trick of the Light - Louise Penny
2. The Beautiful Mystery - Louise Penny
3. How The Light Gets In - Louise Penny
4. A Visit From The Good Squad - Jennifer Egan
5. High Heat - Lee Child
6. Zac & Mia - AJ Betts

snagged @the library

This year the library challenge I'm participating in is hosted by The Geeky Blogger's Book Blog & The Book Nympho and it's called Snagged @ The Library.  So cute.  If you'd like to sign up too you can!  W00t!  You can do that here!  I'm starting with the Dewey Decimal level, but I will move up because I will count my graphic novels here since I do get them mostly from the library

12/12 (Dewey Decimal) Completed 1.15.15
23/24 (Thrifty Reader) Completed 2.18.15
36/36 (Overdrive Junkie) Completed 2.25.15
52/50 (Stalking the Book Stacks) Completed 5.14.15

1. Festive In Death - JD Robb
2. Batman & Robin: Born To Kill - Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason & Mick Gray
3. Batman & Robin: Pearl - Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason & Mick Gray
4. Batman & Robin: Death of the Family - Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason & Mick Gray
5. Batman & Robin: Requiem For Damian - Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray & Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
6. Batman Incorporated: Demon Star - Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham, Frazer Irving & Andres Guinaldo
7. Friends With Boys - Faith Erin Hicks
8. Bad Houses - Sara Ryan & Carla Speed McNeil
9. Chew: Bad Apples - John Layman & Rob Guillory
10. Locke & Key: Alpha & Omega - Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
11. The Shadow Hero - Gene Luen Yang & Sonny Liew
12. Batman: Night Of The Owls - Scott Snyder and Various Others
13. Revival: You're Among Friends - Tim Seeley & Mike Norton
14. Curses! Foiled Again - Jane Yolen & Mike Cavallaro
15. Level Up - Gene Luen Yang & Thien Pham
16. Maniac Killer Strikes Again! - Richard Sala
17. Batman Incorporated: Gotham's Most Wanted - Grant Morrison & Chris Burnham
18. Detective Comics: Faces of Death - Tony S. Daniel
19. Fatale: Death Chases Me - Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips
20. Zac & Mia - AJ Betts
21. Atlantia - Ally Condie
22. Confessions - Kanae Minato
23. Dark Witch - Nora Roberts
24. Dancing Home - Alma Flor Ada & Gabriel Zubizarreta
25. American Born Chinese - Gene Luen Yang
26. Boxers - Gene Luen Yang
27. Saints - Gene Luen Yang
28. Hidden - Loic Dauvillier
29. Zita The Spacegirl - Ben Hatke
30. Legend of Zita The Spacegirl - Ben Hatke
31. Prime Baby - Gene Luen Yang
32. Animal Crackers - Gene Luen Yang
33. The Eternal Smile - Gene Luen Yang
34. Malice - Keigo Higashino
35. Green Angel - Alice Hoffman
36. All The Bright Places - Jennifer Niven
37. Last Winter We Parted - Fuminori Nakamura
38. Amulet, Vol. 6 - Kazu Kibuishi
39. Personal - Lee Child
40. The Long Way Home - Louise Penny
41. Shadow Spell - Nora Roberts
42. Yes Please - Amy Poehler
43. Not My Father's Son - Alan Cumming
44. Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
45. Crazy Rich Asians - Kevin Kwan
46. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline
47. The Vanishing Season - Jodi Lynn Anderson
48. Blood Magick - Nora Roberts
49. A Place At The Table - Susan Rebecca White
50. Hope To Die - James Patterson
51. Gathering Prey - John Sandford
52. Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography - Neil Patrick Harris

finishing the series

Someday I will finish those series.  Trying again!

Socrates Book Reviews is once again hosting the Finishing the Series challenge and I'm determined to try again and get caught up on some series.  You can sign up here.  I'm going with three series which is the Experienced level even though I say I'm starting low with my challenges.  It's only 10 books and some of these are layovers from last year.  :/

Series 1 - Jack Reacher by Lee Child

1. High Heat
2. Not A Drill
3. Personal
4. Make Me

Series 2 - Chief Inspector Armand Gamache by Louise Penny

1. A Trick of the Light
2. The Beautiful Mystery
3. How The Light Gets In
4. The Long Road Home

Series 3 - In Death by JD Robb

1. Festive In Death 
2. Obsession In Death

my kind of mystery

Riedel Fascination is once again hosting the My Kind Of Mystery challenge.  This challenge runs from February 1, 2015 to February 1, 2016.  I'm going to be trying for the Secret Messages level, which is 10 books.  If you like you can sign up here.

1. Festive In Death - JD Robb

full house reading challenge

I loved the Full House reading challenge last year so I'm going to try again!  You can sign up here if you'd like to read along.  Let's see who can get a blackout first!

In my list there are some books I've earmarked for certain categories already.  I might change them, but they're what I'm working on right now.

Here's the board for this year:

1. Library Book: 
2. Novella: High Heat - Lee Child
3. Author outside your own country: A Trick of the Light - Louise Penny (Canada)
4. Won or borrowed: Four - Veronica Roth (borrowed)
5. 2nd book or more in a series: The Beautiful Mystery - Louise Penny (book #8)
6. A top book of 2015 for you:
7. Setting that you now want to visit:
8. Book by author you really like: Festive in Death - JD Robb
9. Book set in northern hemisphere:
10. Been on your TBR 'forever': 
11. You heard about the book online: All The Bright Places - Jennifer Niven
12. Award winning: A Visit From The Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan (Pulitzer 2011)
13. Free choice:
14. Debut novel by author:
15. Published in 2014: Atlantia - Ally Condie
16. Set in the southern hemisphere: Zac & Mia - AJ Betts (Australia)
17. First in a series:
18. Published 2000-2013:
19. Published pre-2000:
20. Type of book you rarely or never read:
21. Published in 2015:
22. A keeper:
23. Outstanding hero or heroine: How The Light Gets In - Louise Penny (CI Armand Gamache)
24. Author new to you:
25. You love the cover:

graphic novels & manga challenge

Once again I'm doing the Graphic Novels & Manga challenge hosted by Nicola.  I'm not including my GNs in my 'regular' book lists so I'll be using this to keep track.  If you're interested in signing up you can do that here!

I'm starting with the Modern Age level (12 books) Completed 1.15.15
Bronze Age (24 books)

1. Batman & Robin: Born To Kill - Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason & Mick Gray
2. Batman & Robin: Pearl - Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason & Mick Gray
3. Batman & Robin: Death of the Family - Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason & Mick Gray
4. Batman & Robin: Requiem For Damian - Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray & Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
5. Batman Incorporated: Demon Star - Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham, Frazer Irving & Andres Guinaldo
6. Friends With Boys - Faith Erin Hicks
7. Bad Houses - Sara Ryan & Carla Speed McNeil
8. Chew: Bad Apples - John Layman & Rob Guillory
9. Locke & Key: Alpha & Omega - Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
10. The Shadow Hero - Gene Luen Yang & Sonny Liew
11. Batman: Night Of The Owls - Scott Snyder & Various Others
12. Revival: You're Among Friends - Tim Seeley & Mike Norton
13. Curses! Foiled Again - Jane Yolen & Mike Cavallaro
14. Level Up - Gene Luen Yang & Thien Pham
15. Maniac Killer Strikes Again! - Richard Sala
16. Batman Incorporated: Gotham's Most Wanted - Grant Morrison & Chris Burnham
17. Detective Comics: Faces of Death - Tony S. Daniel
18. Fatale: Death Chases Me - Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips

reading challenge addict

I was overly ambitious last year and failed miserably, but this year I'm determined to try again with a little more success.  Let's go Challenge Addict!  You can sign up here if you're a challenge nut too.

1. You Read How Many Books?
2. Popsugar Ultimate Reading Challenge
3. Cruisin' The Cozies
4. Full House
5. New Author
6. TBR Pile
7. Around The World
8. eBook
9. My Kind Of Mystery
10. Finish The Series
11. Monthly Motif
12. Graphic Novels & Manga
13. Snagged @ The Library

cruisin' thru the cozies

I tried this challenge last year, but didn't quite make it.  So I'm trying again, but lowering my goal to something more realistic.  I can always go up if I make it.  Socrates Review is hosting again and you can sign up here.

Snoop (6 books)

1. A Trick of the Light - Louise Penny
2. The Beautiful Mystery - Louise Penny
3. How The Light Gets In - Louise Penny

monthly motif challenge

I'm attempting the monthly motif challenge!  hahaha  We'll see how well that goes.

Hosted by Bookmark To Blog every month you read a different book that fits into the assigned category.  Only one book a month!  Should be manageable, right?  If you'd like to attempt with me you can do that here.  The awesome things about this challenge is that I can read them out of order, which is awesome because I've already read February's!

Here's the categories:

JAN- Book to Movie or Audio
Read a book that has a movie based off of it. For an extra challenge, see the movie or listen to the audio book as well.

FEB- Award Winner
Read a book that has won recognition or a literary award.  Here's a list of literary awards to help you get started on your search: Literary Awards.

MAR-  Genre Jumble Read a book in a genre that you've never tried or that you're least familiar with. For example, if you typically reach for romance novels, try a mystery this time. Ask your local librarian for great suggestions on the genre your least familiar with.

APR- Mystery, Murder, and Mayhem 

Read a murder/mystery book, a book in which someone dies of mysterious causes, or a book in which the truth must come out.

MAY- Library Love

Show your library some love and visit your local branch. Choose a book to read that they have on display.

JUN-  Take A Trip 

Choose a book to read that takes place in a country different than the one you live in or choose a book written by an author that is from a country different than your own.

JUL- Standing Up

Read a book in which the main character stands up for themselves, stands against an enemy, or stands up for something they believe in.

AUG- Alternate Reality

Read a book that's set in the future, on another planet, in another dimension, or in an unknown world. A Dystopian book will count this month as well. 

SEP- Furry Friends

Read a book that includes an animal either as a main character or supporting character. Horses, cats, dogs, insects, bird, etc. The book doesn't have to be about the animal but the animal needs to play some sort of role in the story or be mentioned several times throughout the book.

OCT- Goblins, and Ghost, and Ghouls, Oh My!

Cozy mystery ghost stories, paranormal creeptastic, funky fantasy creatures- it's up to you!

NOV- An Oldie but a Goodie

Pick a book published before 2000 that you've always wanted to read, but just never got to. Or pick a book set in the past (before 2000). 

DEC- That's a Wrap

Finish a series you've been meaning to finish or read the next book in a series you started but never finished. 

1. Award Winner: A Visit From The Good Squad - Jennifer Egan (2011 Pulitzer Winner)

pop sugar reading challenge

Well, we all knew my limit on reading challenges could only go on for so long.

I'm sure you're aware of the Pop Sugar reading challenge that's been going around, especially if you're at all into books.  I decided to lazily attempt this one.  I'm not really going to go out of my way to check off the books on this list, but will try to complete it by reading off my TBR list.

It's basically a book a week so I don't know if I'll get to them all, but we'll see.

1. More than 500 pages:
2. Classic romance:
3. Became a movie:
4. Published this year:
5. A number in the title:
6. Written by someone under 30:
7. Nonhuman characters:
8. A funny book:
9. Female author:
10. Mystery or thriller: A Trick of the Light - Louise Penny
11. One-Word Title: Atlantia - Ally Condie
12. Short stories:
13. Set in a different country: The Beautiful Mystery - Louise Penny
14. Nonfiction:
15. Popular author's first book:
16. A book from an author you love, but haven't read yet:
17. Recommendation from a friend:
18. Pulitzer Prize-winner: A Visit From The Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan
19. Based on a true story:
20. Bottom of your tbr list:
21. A book your mom loves:
22. A book that scares you:
23. A book more than 100 years old:
24. Based entirely on its cover:
25. A book you were supposed to read in school, but didn't:
26. A memoir:
27. Finish in a day:
28. A book with antonyms in the title:
29. Somewhere you've always wanted to visit:
30. Published the year you were born:
31. Bad reviews:
32. A trilogy:
33. Childhood:
34. A love triangle:
35. Set in the future: Festive In Death - JD Robb (2060)
36. Set in high school:
37. A color in the title:
38. Made you cry: Zac & Mia - AJ Betts
39. Magic:
40. A graphic novel:
41. New to you author:
42. A book you own, but have never read:
43. Takes place in your hometown:
44. Originally written in another language:
45. Set during Christmas: How The Light Gets In - Louise Penny 
46. Author has your initials:
47. A play:
48. A banned book:
49. Based on or turned into a TV show:
50. A book you started but never finished:

you read how many books?

Last year I didn't complete all the challenges I wanted to.  I came close, but I got distracted by new hobbies!  To be a little realistic this year I'm going to start small.  I'm still going to work at a bunch of challenges because I just can't resist!  It's quite the addiction.  But I am going to scale down the levels to which I participate.  I figure I can always move up if I need to.  I tend to start out the year strong and then start getting distracted!

I'll be sticking with Book Dragon Lair's You Read How Many Books challenge.  I'm starting at the first level, 100 books.  If you'd like to sign up you can do so here.

1. A Trick of the Light - Louise Penny
2. The Beautiful Mystery - Louise Penny
3. How The Light Gets In - Louise Penny
4. A Visit From The Good Squad - Jennifer Egan
5. Festive In Death - JD Robb
6. High Heat - Lee Child
7. Zac & Mia - AJ Betts
8. Atlantia - Ally Condie