2017 Reading Challenges

Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge – Challenge complete!

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1. Apothecary Rose, The by Candace Robb – Finished 12/29/2017
2. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell – Finished 1/14/2017
3. Crucible, The by Arthur Miller – Finished 3/20/2017
4. Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol – Finished 11/25/2017
5. Emma by Jane Austen – Finished 9/27/2017
6. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy – Finished 4/8/2017
7. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M. R. James – Finished 11/19/2017
8. How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn – Finished 2/11/2017
9. Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu, The by Sax Rohmer – Finished 1/31/2017
10. Journal of the Plague Year, A by Daniel Defoe – Finished 6/17/2017
11. Killing Floor by Lee Child – Finished 7/15/2017
12. Lincoln Lawyer, The by Michael Connelly – Finished 10/24/2017
13. Mystery of the Yellow Room, The by Gaston Leroux – Finished 1/1/2017
14. Nineteen Eighty-four by George Orwell – Finished 1/5/2017
15. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather – Finished 7/16/2017
16. Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis by Mark Shriver – Finished 1/16/2017
17. Queen of England, The Last by Steve Robinson – Finished 10/27/2017
18. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier – Finished 12/6/2017
19. Sorrows of Young Werther, The by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe – Finished 2/8/2017
20. Trial, The by Franz Kafka – Finished 5/28/2017
21. Ultimate Gift, The by Jim Stovall – Finished 12/26/2017
22. Violent Land, The by Wayne D. Overholser – Finished 11/23/2017
23. Worm Ouroboros, The by E.R. Eddison – Finished 11/15/2017
24. The Autobiography of Malcolm X as Told to Alex Haley by Alex Haley – Finished 12/20/2017
25. Yellow Wallpaper, The by Charlotte Perkins Gilman – Finished 1/29/2017
26. Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm – Finished 5/22/2017

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Back to the Classics Challenge – Challenge complete!

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1. A 19th Century Classic: Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy – Finished 4/8/2017
2. A 20th Century Classic: Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset – Finished 12/18/2017
3. A classic by a woman author: O Pioneers! by Willa Cather- Finished 7/16/2017
4. A classic in translation:The Trial by Franz Kafka (translated from German) – Finished 5/28/2017
5. A classic published before 1800: A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe – Finished 6/17/2017
6. A romance classic:Emma by Jane Austen – Finished 9/27/2017
7. A Gothic or horror classic: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier – Finished 12/6/2017
8. A classic with a number in the title: Nineteen Eighty-four by George Orwell – Finished 1/5/2017
9. A classic about an animal or which includes the name of an animal in the title:The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison – Finished 11/15/2017
10. A classic set in a place you’d like to visit: Romola by George Eliot (Florence, Italy) – Finished 10/22/2017
11. An award-winning classic: The Autobiography of Malcolm X as Told to Alex Haley by Alex Haley (Winner of the 1966 Anisfield-Wolf Award) – Finished 12/20/2017
12. A Russian Classic: Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol – Finished 11/25/2017

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British Books Challenge – Challenge complete!

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1. Emma by Jane Austen – Finished 9/27/2017
2. Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm – Finished 5/22/2017
3. The Ballad of the White Horse by G.K. Chesterton – Finished 12/26/2017
4. 4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie – Finished 2/13/2017
5. A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe – Finished 6/17/2017
6. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier – Finished 12/6/2017
7. The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison – Finished 11/15/2017
8. Romola by George Eliot – Finished 10/22/2017
9. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy – Finished 4/8/2017
10. How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn – Finished 2/11/2017
11. Nineteen Eighty-four by George Orwell – Finished 1/5/2017
12. The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer – Finished 1/31/2017
13. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell- Finished 1/14/2017

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Classics Club Titles for 2017 – Challenge complete!

12 / 12

1. Emma by Jane Austen – Finished 9/27/2017
2. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather- Finished 7/16/2017
3. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier – Finished 12/6/2017
4. The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison – Finished 11/15/2017
5. Romola by George Eliot – Finished 10/22/2017
6. Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol – Finished 11/25/2017
7. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy – Finished 4/8/2017
8. The Trial by Franz Kafka – Finished 5/28/2017
9. How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn – Finished 2/11/2017
10. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry – Finished 7/11/2017
11. Nineteen Eighty-four by George Orwell – Finished 1/5/2017
12. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset – Finished 12/18/2017

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Color Coded Reading Challenge – Challenge complete!

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1. Blue:The Sapphire Rose by David Eddings – Finished 3/7/2017
2. Red:The Ruby Knight by David Eddings – Finished 2/27/2017
3. Yellow:The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux- Finished 1/1/2017
4. Green:How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn – Finished 2/11/2017
5. Brown:The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie – Finished 10/3/2017
6. Black:Black Beauty by Anna Sewell- Finished 1/14/2017
7. White: The Ballad of the White Horse by G.K. Chesterton – Finished 12/26/2017
8. Any other color:The Apothecary Rose by Candace Robb – Finished 12/29/2017
9. Implied color:To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey – Finished 1/11/2017

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eBook Reading Challenge (Aiming for the Megabyte level, 25 ebooks) – Challenge complete!

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1. The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux- Finished 1/1/2017
   
2. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell – Finished 1/5/2017
3. To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey – Finished 1/11/2017
4. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell- Finished 1/14/2017
5. The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox by Barry Hughart– Finished 1/28/2017
6. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman- Finished 1/29/2017
7. The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer – Finished 1/31/2017
8. The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe- Finished 2/8/2017
9. How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn – Finished 2/11/2017
10. 4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie- Finished 2/13/2017
11. The Crucible by Arthur Miller – Finished 3/20/2017
12. The Novel of the Century: The Extraordinary Adventure of Les Misérables by David Bellos – Finished 3/28/2017
13. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy – Finished 4/8/2017
14. Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm  – Finished 5/22/2017
15. The Trial by Franz Kafka – Finished 5/28/2017
16. A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel DeFoe – Finished 6/17/2017
17. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry – Finished 7/11/2017
18. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather- Finished 7/16/2017
19. Empire of the East by Fred Saberhagen – Finished 9/16/2017
20. Emma by Jane Austen – Finished 9/27/2017
21. The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie – Finished 10/3/2017
22. Romola by George Eliot – Finished 10/22/2017
23. The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly – Finished 10/24/2017
24. The Last Queen of England by Steve Robinson – Finished 10/27/2017
25. The Murder in the Vicarage by Agatha Christie – Finished 11/4/2017

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European Reading Challenge (Aiming for Five Star Deluxe Entourage Level, 5 books) – Challenge complete!

6 / 6

1. France: The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux – Finished 1/1/2017
2. United Kingdom: Far from the Madding Crowd by
   Thomas Hardy – Finished 4/8/2017
3. Italy:Romola by George Eliot – Finished 10/22/2017
4. Russia: Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol – Finished 11/25/2017
5. Germany:The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe- Finished 2/8/2017
6. Norway: Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset – Finished 12/18/2017

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Flights of Fancy Reading Challenge – Challenge complete!

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1. The Diamond Throne by David Eddings – Finished 2/20/2017
2. The Ruby Knight by David Eddings- Finished 2/27/2017
3. The Sapphire Rose by David Eddings – Finished 3/7/2017
4. The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison – Finished 11/15/2017
5. The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox by Barry Hughart– Finished 1/28/2017
6. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James – Finished 11/19/2017
7. Empire of the East by Fred Saberhagen – Finished 9/16/2017
8. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien – Finished 2/6/2017
9. The Ring Sets Out by J.R.R. Tolkien (LOTR Millennium Edition) – Finished 3/25/2017
10. The Ring Goes South by J.R.R. Tolkien (LOTR Millennium Edition) – Finished 4/29/2017
11. The Treason of Isengard by J.R.R. Tolkien (LOTR Millennium Edition) – Finished 5/25/2017
12. The Ring Goes East by J.R.R. Tolkien (LOTR Millennium Edition) – Finished 6/28/2017
13. The War of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (LOTR Millennium Edition) – Finished 7/31/2017
14. The End of the Third Age by J.R.R. Tolkien (LOTR Millennium Edition) – Finished 8/31/2017

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Follow the Clues Mystery Challenge (Aiming for Felony level, 10 books) – Challenge complete!

10 / 10

1. The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux- Finished 1/1/2017 – This book has an introduction by Otto Penzler, which is the clue that leads to another book with an introduction by Otto Penzler…
2. The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer – The cover of the Open Road edition has a clock tower on the cover, leading to another book with a timepiece on the cover… – Finished 1/31/2017
3. 4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie – This mystery involves a train, which leads to a book with a form of transportation on the cover, a ship… – Finished 2/13/2017
4. The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie – This book features a ship on the cover, which leads to a book that features another form of transportation, a Lincoln Town Car… – Finished 10/3/2017
5. The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly – The title of this book mentions Lincoln, a head of state. This clue leads to another head of state… – Finished 10/24/2017
6. The Last Queen of England by Steve Robinson – This book leads from the Queen of England to a book written by the Queen of Mystery… – Finished 10/27/2017
7. The Murder in the Vicarage by Agatha Christie – This book features a character who is a member of the clergy, leading to a mystery written by a member of the clergy, Jesuit priest Fr. Brad Reynolds… – Finished 11/4/2017
8. The Story Knife by Brad Reynolds – The title of this book features the word story, leading to a book that has the word stories in its title… – Finished 11/5/2017
9. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James – This collection of gothic tales leads to one of the most famous gothic books of all time… – Finished 11/19/2017
10. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier – Case closed. – Finished 12/6/2017

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The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (Millennium Edition) Read-along

7 / 7

1. February:The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien – Finished 2/6/2017
2. March:The Ring Sets Out by J.R.R. Tolkien – Finished 3/25/2017
3. April:The Ring Goes South by J.R.R. Tolkien – Finished 4/29/2017
4. May:The Treason of Isengard by J.R.R. Tolkien – Finished 5/25/2017
5. June:The Ring Goest East by J.R.R. Tolkien – Finished 6/28/2017
6. July:The War of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien – Finished 7/31/2017
7. August:The End of the Third Age by J.R.R. Tolkien – Finished 8/31/2017

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Mount TBR Challenge (Aiming for Mount Vancouver, 36 books) – Challenge complete!

36 / 36

1. The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux- Finished 1/1/2017 
2. To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey – Finished 1/11/2017
3. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell- Finished 1/14/2017
4. The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox by Barry Hughart– Finished 1/28/2017
5. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman- Finished 1/29/2017
6. The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer – Finished 1/31/2017
7. The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe- Finished 2/8/2017
8. How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn – Finished 2/11/2017
9. 4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie – Finished 2/13/2017
10. The Diamond Throne by David Eddings – Finished 2/20/2017
11. The Ruby Knight by David Eddings- Finished 2/27/2017
12. The Sapphire Rose by David Eddings – Finished 3/7/2017
13. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy – Finished 4/8/2017
14. Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm – Finished 5/22/2017
15. The Trial by Franz Kafka – Finished 5/28/2017
16. A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel DeFoe – Finished 6/17/2017
17. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry – Finished 7/11/2017
18. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather- Finished 7/16/2017
19. The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie – Finished 10/3/2017
20. Romola by George Eliot – Finished 10/22/2017
21. The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly – Finished 10/24/2017
22. The Last Queen of England by Steve Robinson – Finished 10/27/2017
23. The Murder in the Vicarage by Agatha Christie – Finished 11/4/2017
24. The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison – Finished 11/15/2017
25. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James – Finished 11/19/2017
26. The Violent Land by Wayne D. Overholser – Finished 11/23/2017
27. Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol – Finished 11/25/2017
28. Alfred Hitchcock’s Hard Day at the Scaffold edited by Alfred Hitchcock – Finished 12/3/2017
29. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier – Finished 12/06/2017
30. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset – Finished 12/18/2017
31. Hunted Down by Charles Dickens – Finished 12/21/2017
32. Alfred Hitchcock Presents: 12 Stories for Late at Night, edited by Alfred Hitchcock – Finished 12/23/2017
33. The Ballad of the White Horse by G. K. Chesterton – Finished 12/26/2017
34. A Spring Within Us by Richard Rohr – Finished 12/29/2017
35. The Apothecary Rose by Candace Robb – Finished 12/29/2017
36. Alfred Hitchcock Presents: 12 Stories They Wouldn’t Let Me Do on TV edited by Alfred Hitchcock – Finished 12/30/2017

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What’s In a Name Reading Challenge – Challenge complete!

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1. A number in numbers:4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie – Finished 2/13/2017
2. A building:The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie – Finished 11/4/2017
3. A title which has an ‘X’ somewhere in it:The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox by Barry Hughart– Finished 1/28/2017
4. A compass direction:Empire of the East by Fred Saberhagen – Finished 9/16/2017
5. An item/items of cutlery: The Story Knife  by Brad Reynolds – Finished 11/5/2017
6. A title in which at least two words share the same first letter:The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly – Finished 10/24/2017

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Wild Goose Chase Reading Challenge – Challenge complete!

7 / 7

1. A book with a word or phrase relating to wildness in the title: Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy – Finished 4/8/2017
2. A book with a species of bird (or the word “bird”) in the title: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry – Finished 7/11/2017
3. A book with an exotic or far-flung location in the title: To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey – Finished 1/11/2017
4. A book with an object you might hunt for in the title: The Diamond Throne by David Eddings – Finished 2/20/2017
5. A book with a synonym for chase in the title: Hunted Down by Charles Dickens – Finished 12/21/2017
6. A book with a means of transport in the title:The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly – Finished 10/24/2017
7. A book with an object you might take on a search or hunt in the title: A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe – Finished 6/17/2017

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Deal Me In Short Story Challenge

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♦ Diamonds (From Alfred Hitchcock Presents: 12 Stories for Late at Night – Review)

A♦ “Death Is a Dream” by Robert Arthur – Finished 8/27/2017
2♦ “The Whole Town’s Sleeping” by Ray Bradbury – Finished 12/23/2017
3♦ “Evening Primrose” by John Collier – Finished 4/9/2017
4♦ “The Cocoon” by John B. L. Goodwin – Finished 11/26/2017
5♦ “Vintage Season” by C. L. Moore – Finished 10/22/2017
6♦ “The Ash Tree” by M. R. James (also in Ghost Stories of an Antiquary) – Finished 8/6/2017
7♦ “Side Bet” by Will F. Jenkins – Finished 1/22/2017
8♦ “Second Night Out” by Frank Belknap Long – Finished 12/10/2017
9♦ “Our Feather Friends” by Philip MacDonald – Finished 8/27/2017
10♦ “Back There in the Grass” by Gouverneur Morris – Finished 10/8/2017
J♦ “D-Day” by Robert Trout – Finished 4/23/2017
Q♦ “The Man Who Liked Dickens” by Evelyn Waugh – Finished 5/14/2017
K♦ “Prolonged Visit” by Hal Dresner (From Alfred Hitchcock’s Hard Day at the Scaffold) – Finished 1/15/2017

♥ Hearts (From Alfred Hitchcock Presents: 12 Stories They Wouldn’t Let Me Do on TV)

A♥ “Being a Murderer Myself” by Arthur Williams – Finished 4/30/2017
2♥ “Lukundoo” by Edward Lucus White – Finished 1/29/2017
3♥ “A Woman Seldom Found” by William Sansom – Finished 7/16/2017
4♥ “The Perfectionist” by Margaret St Clair – Finished 12/30/2017
5♥ “The Price of the Head” by John Russell – Finished 7/30/2017
6♥ “Love Comes to Miss Lucy” by Q. Patrick – Finished 12/17/2017
7♥ “Sredni Vashtar” by H.H. Munro (as Saki) – Finished 5/7/2017
8♥ “Love Lies Bleeding” by Philip MacDonald – Finished 1/1/2017
9♥ “The Dancing Partner” by Jerome K. Jerome – Finished 10/1/2017
10♥ “Casting the Runes” by M.R. James (also in Ghost Stories of an Antiquary) – Finished 3/26/2017
J♥ “The Voice in the Night” William Hope Hodgson – Finished 4/23/2017
Q♥ “How Love Came to Professor Guildea” by Robert S. Hichens – Finished 4/4/2017
K♥ Wild Card – “Massinello Pietro” by Ray Bradbury from We’ll Always Have Paris – Finished 7/16/2017

♣ Clubs (From Alfred Hitchcock’s Hard Day at the Scaffold – Review)

A♣ “The Baby” by Jonathan Craig – Finished 5/28/2017
2♣ “Don’t Live in a Coffin” by Helen Nielsen – Finished 12/3/2017
3♣ “A Hundred Times” by Syd Hoff – Finished 2/12/2017
4♣ “Weep for the Guilty” by Henry Slesar – Finished 9/10/2017
5♣ “Point the Man Out!” by Duane Decker – Finished 9/3/2017
6♣ “Crooks, Satchels, and Selma” by Michael Brett – Finished 9/24/2017
7♣ “Not Exactly Love” by Fletcher Flora – Finished 5/21/2017
8♣ “The Swinging Sheriff” by Ed Lacy – Finished 6/4/2017
9♣ “One on a Desert Island” by Donald E. Westlake – Finished 8/27/2017
10♣ “Bite of Revenge” by James McKimmey, Jr. – Finished 3/5/2017
J♣ “Lily Bell” by Richard Deming – Finished 10/15/2017
Q♣ “Flora and Her Fauna” by C. B. Gilford – Finished 1/8/2017
K♣ “The Pulque Vendor” by Hal Ellson – Finished 7/9/2017

♠ Spades (From Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M. R. James – Review)

A♠ “Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book” – Finished 11/12/2017
2♠ “Lost Hearts”- Finished 2/27/2017
3♠ “The Mezzotint” – Finished 7/25/2017
4♠ “Number 13” – Finished 9/17/2017
5♠ “Count Magnus” – Finished 2/5/2017
6♠ “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad” – Finished 6/18/2017
7♠ “The Treasure of Abbot Thomas” – Finished 2/19/2017
8♠ “A School Story” – Finished 11/19/2017
9♠ “The Rose Garden” – Finished 7/2/2017
10♠ “The Tractate Middoth” – Finished 10/29/2017
J♠ “The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral” – Finished 3/13/2017
Q♠ “Martin’s Close” – Finished 3/19/2017
K♠ “Mr. Humphreys and His Inheritance” – Finished 11/5/2017