2011 Reading challenges

Challenges & reading lists for 2011. Planning is fun!

The purpose of the R.I.P. Challenge is to enjoy books that could be classified as:
Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

My first read this year Miss Peregrine’s home for peculiar children by Ransom Riggs, which is a mix of all those elements. Well, maybe not as fast paced as a thriller. But all the rest are there. Read my full review<

Next up was Beauty by Robin McKinley. A retelling of the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, so you know the story. It was a nice read, but not spectacular. Full review

I can heartily recommend my next read, The adventures of the Princess & Mr. Whiffle by the wonderful Patrick Rothfuss, and illustrated by Nate Taylor. Full review

I started the group read of Fragile Things but although I read and enjoyed a fair few of the stories I never got the whole way through. Hopefully I’ll get back to them at some point. All the stories I read & reviewed can be found tagged with Fragile Things

I did manage to complete the other RIP group read, which was of Deborah Lawreson’s The Lantern. A tale of ghosts and hauntings it fit the bill perfectly. You can read my posts here

What better fit for the RIP challenge than a book about gods, heroes, and the end of the world. So A. S. Byatt’s Ragnorak was just the perfect book to finish this year’s challenge on. (full review here).


for the past five years or so Carl over at Stainless Steel Droppings has been hosting this wonderful challenge to read around the subject of fantastical literature, from fairy tales to epic fantasy and everything in between.

This year for the challenge I read :

  • The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie – My first by this author, it was a good solid read, but a tad too depressing for me to love. Would be curious about more by him though. My review
  • A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness – Aaawwww. Just read it, you have to! My review
  • The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss – Awesome. The 2nd of The Kingkiller Chronicles & I can’t wait for the third. My review
  • Beauty and the Beast , the Disney dvd – Part of the On-Screen quest. And it is cute and adorable. And I really liked the character of Beauty. My review
  • The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss – The first in the Kingkiller Chronicles, and the first book I read for the challenge this year. And wasn’t it a perfect start. Brilliant book, one that I reckon will totally reward a reread too when the time comes. My review

    My Goodreads 52 books in a year challenge:

    2011 Reading Challenge

    2011 Reading Challenge
    Fence has

    read 20 books toward her goal of 52 books.

    hide



    The Sci-Fi Experience 2011

    The Sci-Fi Experience 2011

    The Sci-Fi Experience is one of Carl’s challenges. The purpose of The Sci Fi Experience is two-fold, as Carl says:

    1. To spend the winter months (my favorite time of year to read science fiction) sharing my love of science fiction with others who love the genre as well.

    2. To gently encourage those who have either never read science fiction, only rarely read science fiction, or have read science fiction and had a bad experience to give it a chance.

    I never got any further than the one book, Harry Harrison’s The Stainless Steel Rat, My Review.


    A year of Feminist Classics - button

    A year of Feminist Classics

    The reading schedule is as follows:

    • January: A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollestonecraft – Amy (read 15 Jan, My review
    • February: The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor Mill – Ana
    • March: A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen – Emily
    • April: Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman – Iris
    • May: A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf – Ana
    • June: God Dies by the Nile by Nawal Saadawi – Amy
    • July: The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir – Iris
    • August: The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston – Emily
    • September: The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf – Amy
    • October: Ain’t I a Woman? by bell hooks AND Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism Anthology – Iris
    • November: Gender Trouble by Judith Butler – Ana
    • December: Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde – Emily

    I’ve read none of those, so hopefully will get a few under my belt in 2011.


    Graphic Novels ChallengeI’ll also be continuing with the Graphic Novel Challenge:
    1. The challenge starts January 1, 2011 and ends December 31, 2011. You can start anytime you want to especially if you want to start early.
    2. The level of participation: Beginner (3 comics or graphic novels), Intermediate (3-10 books), or Expert (10+)
    3. Overlaps with other challenges is definitely okay
    4. Re-reads count
    5. Feel free to post your list at any time
    And I’ll be trying out for the intermediate this year. Fingers crossed.


    I’ll also be continuing with my personal challenge of reading at least one non-fiction book a month:
    Rainbow Pie by Joe Bageant – v interesting memoir/social history.
    Delusions of gender by Cordelia Fine – fascinating look at how we make boys masculine & girls feminine
    Inside of a dog by Alexandra Horowitz – Enjoyable look at how dogs’ minds work.
    Writing Horses by Judith Tarr – for any authors who need to write about horses.
    A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollestonecraft.

    I’m also going to try and reread a few old favourites. We’ll see how that goes.

1 Response

  1. Vasilly says:

    Thanks for joining the Graphic Novels Challenge! If you need any suggestions or anything, please let me know.