2018 Reading Challenges

Back to the Classics 2018

Back to the Classics Challenge – Intro Post – Hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate

5 / 12

  1. A 19th century classic: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
  2. A 20th century classic: Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
  3. A classic by a woman author: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – Finished 7/17/2018
  4. A classic in translation: Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas – Finished 1/13/2018
  5. A children’s classic: The Secret Garden by Frances Burnett – Finished 1/31/2018
  6. A classic crime story: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  7. A classic travel or journey narrative: She by H. Rider Haggard – Finished 5/16/2018
  8. A classic with a single-word title: Lilith by George MacDonald
  9. A classic with a color in the title: The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson
  10. A classic by an author that’s new to you: Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
  11. A classic that scares you: The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O’Connor
  12. Re-read a favorite classic: Les Misérables by Victor Hugo – Finished 12/31/2018

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Charity Reading Challenge

Charity Reading Challenge – Intro Post – Hosted by Becky at Becky’s Book Reviews

For each book I read in 2018, I will donate $1 to Catholic Relief Services.

Raised to date: $38

  1. Pope Francis and the Joy of the Gospel by Edward Sri – Finished 1/2/2018
  2. Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas  – Finished 1/13/2018
  3. Tripwire by Lee Child – Finished 1/21/2018
  4. Prayer in the Digital Age by Matt Swain – Finished 1/22/2018
  5. The Drifter by William W. Johnstone – Finished 1/25/2018
  6. The Secret Garden by Frances Burnett – Finished 1/31/2018
  7. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson – Finished 2/7/2018
  8. Rumpole and the Golden Thread by John Mortimer – Finished 2/16/2018
  9. Captain Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte – Finished 2/19/2018
  10. The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne – Finished 2/20/2018
  11. These High, Green Hills by Jan Karon – Finished 3/4/2018
  12. Cries from the Earth by Terry C. Johnston – Finished 3/20/2018
  13. Notes from the Upside Down by Guy Adams – Finished 3/22/2018
  14. Collision Course: Ronald Reagan, the Air Traffic Controllers, and the Strike that Changed America by Joseph McCartin – Finished 3/25/2018
  15. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – Finished 4/2/2018
  16. Lost Stage Valley by Frank Bonham – Finished 4/7/2018
  17. Digital Leadership by Eric Sheninger – Finished 4/14/2018
  18. Classroom Leadership that Works by Robert J. Marzano – Finished 4/28/2018
  19. No Limits by John C. Maxwell – Finished 5/8/2018
  20. She by H. Rider Haggard – Finished 5/16/2018
  21. Sackett’s Land by Louis L’Amour – Finished 5/18/2018
  22. Good to Great by Jim Collins – Finished 5/21/2018
  23. To the Far Blue Mountains  by Louis L’Amour – Finished 7/4/2018
  24. BrandEd by Eric Scheninger – Finished 7/6/2018
  25. Running Blind by Lee Child – Finished 7/7/2018
  26. The One Thing by Gary Keller – Finished 7/7/2018
  27. To-Do List Formula by Damon Zahariades – Finished 7/8/2018
  28. The Principal: Three Keys to Maximizing Impact by Michael Fullan – Finished 7/11/2018
  29. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – Finished 7/17/2018
  30. Mindset by Carol Dweck – Finished 7/28/2018
  31. The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly – Finished 7/29/2018
  32. Powerless to Powerful: Leadership for School Change by Charles Salina – Finished 9/6/2018
  33. The October Country by Ray Bradbury – Finished 12/28/2018
  34. The Hardboiled Dicks edited by Ron Goulart – Finished 12/28/2018
  35. The Montanans edited by Bill Pronzini – Finished 12/28/2018
  36. Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy Sayers – Finished 12/28/2018
  37. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo – Finished 12/31/2018
  38. The Spy and the Traitor by Ben MacIntyre – Finished 12/31/2018

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Classics Club Titles for 2018

4 / 12

  1. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – Finished 7/17/2018
  2. The Secret Garden by Frances Burnett – Finished 1/31/2018
  3. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
  4. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  5. Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas  – Finished 1/13/2018
  6. She by H. Rider Haggard – Finished 5/16/2018
  7. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  8. Lilith by George MacDonald
  9. The Well at the World’s End by William Morris
  10. The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O’Connor
  11. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
  12. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

♦♦♦Mount TBR 2018

Mount TBR Challenge (Aiming for Mount Ararat, 48 books) – Intro Post – Hosted by Bev at My Reader’s Block

23 / 48

  1. Pope Francis and the Joy of the Gospel by Edward Sri – Finished 1/2/2018
  2.  Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas  – Finished 1/13/2018
  3. Tripwire by Lee Child – Finished 1/21/2018
  4. Prayer in the Digital Age by Matt Swain – Finished 1/22/2018
  5. The Drifter by William W. Johnstone – Finished 1/25/2018
  6. The Secret Garden by Frances Burnett – Finished 1/31/2018
  7. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson – Finished 2/7/2018
  8. Rumpole and the Golden Thread by John Mortimer – Finished 2/16/2018
  9. The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne – Finished 2/20/2018
  10. These High, Green Hills by Jan Karon – Finished 3/4/2018
  11. Cries from the Earth by Terry C. Johnston – Finished 3/20/2018
  12. Notes from the Upside Down by Guy Adams – Finished 3/22/2018
  13. Collision Course: Ronald Reagan, the Air Traffic Controllers, and the Strike that Changed America by Joseph McCartin – Finished 3/25/2018
  14. Lost Stage Valley by Frank Bonham – Finished 4/7/2018
  15. She by H. Rider Haggard – Finished 5/16/2018
  16. Sackett’s Land by Louis A’mour – Finished 5/18/2018
  17. The the Far Blue Mountains  by Louis L’Amour – Finished 7/4/2018
  18. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – Finished 7/17/2018
  19. The October Country by Ray Bradbury – Finished 12/28/2018
  20. The Hardboiled Dicks edited by Ron Goulart – Finished 12/28/2018
  21. The Montanans edited by Bill Pronzini – Finished 12/28/2018
  22. Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy Sayers – Finished 12/28/2018
  23. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (Donougher translation) – Finished 12/31/2018

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Non-fiction Challenge

Nonfiction Reading Challenge – Intro Post – Hosted by Katie at Doing Dewey

17 / 9

  1. Notes from the Upside Down by Guy Adams – Finished 3/22/2018
  2. Good to Great by Jim Collins – Finished 5/21/2018
  3. Mindset by Carol Dweck – Finished 7/28/2018
  4. The One Thing by Gary Keller – Finished 7/7/2018
  5. The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly – Finished 7/29/2018
  6. The Spy and the Traitor by Ben MacIntyre – Finished 12/31/2018
  7. Classroom Leadership that Works by Robert J. Marzano – Finished 4/28/2018
  8. No Limits by John C. Maxwell – Finished 5/8/2018
  9. Collision Course: Ronald Reagan, the Air Traffic Controllers, and the Strike That Changed America by Joseph A. McArtin – Finished 3/25/2018
  10. Powerless to Powerful: Leadership for School Change by Charles Salina – Finished 9/6/2018
  11. Digital Leadership by Eric Sheninger – Finished 4/14/2018
  12. BrandEd by Eric Scheninger – Finished 7/6/2018
  13. Pope Francis and the Joy of the Gospel by Edward Sri – Finished 1/2/2018
  14. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson – Finished 2/7/2018
  15. Prayer in the Digital Age by Matt Swaim – Finished 1/22/2018
  16. To-Do List Formula by Damon Zahariades – Finished 7/8/2018
  17. The Principal: Three Keys to Maximizing Impact by Michael Fullan – Finished 7/11/2018

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Read It Again Sam Reading Challenge

Read It Again, Sam Reading Challenge (Aiming for Déjà vu Level, 4 re-reads) – Intro Post – Hosted by Bev at My Reader’s Block

4 / 4

  1. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – Finished 4/2/2018
  2. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo – Finished 12/31/2018
  3. Captain Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte – Finished 2/19/2018
  4. Digital Leadership by Eric Sheninger – Finished 4/14/2018

♦♦♦Victorian Reading Challenge 2018

Victorian Reading Challenge (Option C – Do as many books from the checklist as you can) – Intro Post – Hosted by Becky at Becky’s Book Reviews

3 / 8

  1. A book that was originally published serially: She by H. Rider Haggard – Finished 5/16/2018
  2. A book published between 1837-1840: Oliver Twist (1838) by Charles Dickens
  3. A book published between 1841-1850: Twenty Years After (1845) by Alexandre Dumas  – Finished 1/13/2018
  4. A book published between 1861-1870: Crime and Punishment (1866) by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  5. A book published between 1881-1890: The Black Arrow (1888) by Robert Louis Stevenson
  6. A book published between 1891-1900: Lilith (1895) by George MacDonald
  7. A book published between 1902-1999 with a Victorian setting: The Secret Garden (1911) by Frances Burnett – Finished 1/31/2018
  8. A book with a place name in the title: The Well at the World’s End by William Morris

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Wild Wild West Challenge 2018

 

Wild Wild West Reading Challenge (Aiming to earn lasso, chaps, bandana, vest, saddle, horse, boots, spurs, six-guns, and stetson) – Intro Post – Hosted by me here at One Catholic Life

6 / 10

  1. Lost Stage Valley by Frank Bonham – Finished 4/7/2018
  2. The Nameless Breed by Will C. Brown
  3. From Where the Sun Now Stands by Will Henry
  4. Cries from the Earth: The Outbreak Of the Nez Perce War and the Battle of White Bird Canyon June 17, 1877 by Terry C. Johnston – Finished 3/20/2018
  5. The Drifter by William W. Johnstone – Finished 1/25/2018
  6. Hombre by Elmore Leonard
  7. Sackett’s Land by Louis L’Amour – Finished 5/18/2018
  8. To the Far Blue Mountains by Louis L’Amour – Finished 7/4/2018
  9. The Warrior’s Path by Louis L’Amour
  10. The Montanans edited by Bill Pronzini – Finished 12/28/2018

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Deal Me In Short Story Challenge 2018

Deal Me In Short Stories Challenge – Intro Post – Hosted by Jay at Bibliophilopolis

52 / 52

♦ Diamonds (From The October Country by Ray Bradbury)

A♦ “The Dwarf” – Read 3/4/2018
2♦ “The Next in Line” – Read 12/28/2018
3♦ “The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse” – Read 2/4/2018
4♦ “Skeleton” – Read 2/25/2018
5♦ “The Jar” – Read 7/29/2018
6♦ “The Lake” – Read 5/20/2018
7♦ “The Emissary” – Read 5/5/2018
8♦ “Touched with Fire” – Read 7/17/2018
9♦ “The Small Assassin” – Read 2/18/2018
10♦ “The Crowd” – Read 1/28/2018
J♦ “Jack-in-the-Box” – Read 12/28/2018
Q♦ “The Scythe” – Read 7/8/2018
K♦ “Uncle Einar” – Read 3/18/2018

♥ Hearts (From The October Country by Ray Bradbury and The Hardboiled Dicks, edited by Ron Goulart)

A♥ “The Wind” (from The October Country) – Read 12/28/2018
2♥ “The Man Upstairs” (from The October Country) – Read 1/3/2018
3♥ “There Was an Old Woman” (from The October Country) – Read 12/28/2018
4♥ “The Cistern” (from The October Country) – Read 7/8/2018
5♥ “The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone” (from The October Country) – Read 4/8/2018
6♥ “Don’t Give Your Right Name” by Norbert Davis – Read 5/12/2018
7♥ “The Saint in Silver” by John K. Butler – Read 7/8/2018
8♥ “Winter Kill” by Frederick Nebel – Read 1/21/2018
9♥ “China Man” by Raoul Whitfield – Read 8/5/2018
10♥ “Death on Eagle’s Crag” by Frank Gruber – Read 3/29/2018
J♥ “A Nose for News” by Richard Sale – Read 12/28/2018
Q♥ “Angelfish” by Lester Dent – Read 1/7/2018
K♥ “Bird in the Hand” by Erle Stanley Gardner – Read 12/28/2018

♣ Clubs (From Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy Sayers)

A♣ “The Abominable History of the Man with the Copper Fingers” – Read 12/28/2018
2♣ “The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question” – Read 12/28/2018
3♣ “The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager’s Will” – Read 12/28/2018
4♣ “The Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag” – Read 7/8/2018
5♣ “The Unprincipled Affair of the Practical Joker” – Read 12/28/2018
6♣ “The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention” – Read 12/28/2018
7♣ “The Vindictive Story of the Footsteps that Ran” – Read 4/28/2018
8♣ “The Bibulous Business of a Matter of Taste” – Read 12/28/2018
9♣ “The Learned Adventure of the Dragon’s Head” – Read 2/11/2018
10♣ “The Piscatorial Farce of the Stolen Stomach” – Read 7/8/2018
J♣ “The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face” – Read 12/28/2018
Q♣ “The Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba” – Read 12/28/2018
K♣ “Homecoming” (from The October Country by Ray Bradbury) – Read 12/28/18

♠ Spades (From The Montanans, edited by Bill Pronzini)

A♠ “The Lamb of the Flying U” by B.M. Bower – Read 7/22/2018
2♠ “Bannack Doctor” by Norman A. Fox – Read 12/28/2018
3♠ “Beyond the Frontier” by Dorothy M. Johnson – Read 7/8/2018
4♠ “Killers’ Country” by Dan Cushman – Read 12/28/2018
5♠ “Psychology and Copper” by W.C. Tuttle – Read 4/21/2018
6♠ “No-Fights” by T.V. Olsen – Read 12/28/2018
7♠ “Bargain” by A.B. Guthrie, Jr. – Read 3/12/2018
8♠ “All the Long Years” by Bill Pronzini – Read 4/3/2018
9♠ “Bet the Wild Queen!” by Norman A. Fox – 12/28/2018
10♠ “Blood Truth” by Ed Gorman – Read 7/8/2018
J♠ “Wooden Indian” by Jack Foxx – Read 5/20/2018
Q♠ “Buffalo Horns” by Arthur Winfield Knight – Read 1/14/2018
K♠ “Queen of Rustler’s Range” by Les Savage, Jr. – Read 12/28/2018

 

2018 Challenges Abandoned

In June of 2018 I began transitioning out of a job I had held for 27 years and into a new position as principal of a different school. That change led me to revise my reading challenges for the year and unfortunately I had to abandon the following reading challenges:

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British Book Challenge

British Books Challenge 2018 – Intro Post – Hosted by Chelley at Tales of Yesterday – Withdrew from challenge, July 1, 2018

4 / 15

  1. The Secret Garden by Frances Burnett – Finished 1/31/2018
  2. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
  3. The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany
  4. Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming
  5. She by H. Rider Haggard – Finished 5/16/2018
  6. Lilith by George MacDonald
  7. The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne – Finished 2/20/2018
  8. The Well at the World’s End by William Morris
  9. Rumpole and the Golden Thread by John Mortimer – Finished 2/16/2018
  10. A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters
  11. One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters
  12. Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy Sayers
  13. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
  14. The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson
  15. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

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Color Coded Challenge 2017

Color Coded Reading Challenge – Intro Post – Hosted by Bev at My Readers’s Block – Withdrew from challenge, July 1, 2018

4 / 9

  1. Blue: To the Far Blue Mountains by Louis L’Amour – Finished 7/4/2018
  2. Red: The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne – Finished 2/20/2018
  3. Yellow: The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee
  4. Green: These High, Green Hills by Jan Karon – Finished 3/4/2018
  5. Brown: From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon
  6. Black: The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson
  7. White: Cries from the Earth: The Outbreak Of the Nez Perce War and the Battle of White Bird Canyon June 17, 1877 by Terry C. Johnston – Finished 3/20/2018
  8. Any other color: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  9. Implied color: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

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European Reading Challenge 2018

1 / 5

European Reading Challenge (Aiming for Five Star Deluxe Entourage Level, 5 books) – Intro Post – Hosted by Gilion at Rose City Reader – Withdrew from challenge, July 1, 2018

  1. France: Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas  – Finished 1/13/2018
  2. United Kingdom: Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
  3. Italy: From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon
  4. Russia: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  5. Spain: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

♦♦♦Follow the Clues Challenge

Follow the Clues Mystery Challenge (Aiming for Capital Offense level, 12 books) – Intro Post – Hosted by Bev at My Reader’s Block – Withdrew from challenge July 1, 2018

3 / 12

  1. Tripwire by Lee Child – The title of this book is a thread of metal, which leads to a golden thread in the next title… – Finished 1/21/2018
  2. Rumpole and the Golden Thread by John Mortimer – There’s a color in this title, which leads to another book with a color in the title… – Finished 2/16/2018
  3. The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne – The book’s title has the initials T.R.H.M., and that is the clue that leads to another book with the exact same initials… – Finished 2/20/2018
  4. The Roman Hat Mystery by Ellery Queen – The author’s last name is a female royal, and that leads to a book with a female royal in the title…
  5. The Lost Empress by Steve Robinson – The book takes place in England, the native country of secret service agent 007, James Bond…
  6. Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming – Bond’s nemesis is SMERSH, a Russian counterintelligence unit, and the ties to Russia leads a book set in Russia…
  7. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoesvsky – Dostoevsky’s novel was translated into English, and this leads to a book translated into English from Spanish…
  8. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón – The main character’s name is Daniel, which links to the name of the author of the next book…
  9. The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva – Artists have taste, and kills artists have a morbid taste…
  10. A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters – The auth0r’s last name Peters connects with the name in the title of the next book…
  11. Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy Sayers – There’s a body in the title of this book, and a dead body in the title of the last book in the chain of evidence…
  12. One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters – Case closed.

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Monthly Keyword Challenge

Monthly Key Word Challenge – Intro Post – Hosted by Bev at My Reader’s Block – Withdrew from challenge, July 1, 2018

4 / 12

  1. January (keyword year): Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas  – Finished 1/13/2018
  2. February (keyword and): Rumpole and the Golden Thread by John Mortimer – Finished 2/16/2018
  3. March (keyword shout): Cries from the Earth: The Outbreak Of the Nez Perce War and the Battle of White Bird Canyon June 17, 1877 by Terry C. Johnston – Finished 3/20/2018
  4. April (keyword valley): Lost Stage Valley by Frank Bonham – Finished 4/7/2018
  5. May (keyword mountain): To the Far Blue Mountains by Louis L’Amour
  6. June (keyword live): Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming
  7. July (keyword desert): From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon
  8. August (keyword sun): The From Where the Sun Now Stands by Will Henry
  9. September (keyword school): The Purpose of Catholic Schooling by James Michael Lee
  10. October (keyword black): The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson
  11. November (keyword family): The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany
  12. December (keyword Christmas): A Christmas Story by Jean Shepherd

♦♦♦Reading Addict Challenge

Reading Challenge Addict (Aiming for In Flight Level, 11 Challenges) – Hosted by Reading Challenge Addict – Withdrew from challenge, July 1, 2018

  1. Back to the Classics Challenge – Intro Post
  2. British Books Challenge – Intro Post
  3. Charity Reading Challenge – Intro Post
  4. Color Coded Reading Challenge – Intro Post
  5. Deal Me In Short Stories Challenge – Intro Post
  6. European Reading Challenge – Intro Post
  7. Follow the Clues Mystery Challenge – Intro Post
  8. Monthly Keyword Challenge – Intro Post
  9. Mount TBR Challenge – Intro Post
  10. Nonfiction Reading Challenge – Intro Post
  11. Read It Again, Sam Reading Challenge – Intro Post
  12. Victorian Reading Challenge – Intro Post
  13. Wild Wild West Reading Challenge – Intro Post