The retellings Reading Challenge is a pretty straightforward thing. You pick your own number of books that retell a story. That could be a complete reimagining of the original (The Diaries of the Family Dracul), or it could be a prequel (Heartless, Wicked) or Sequel (Dorothy Must Die) to a story. It could also be a fictional retelling of a real person's life. Or a retelling where the main character is a different gender from the original (A Study in Scarlet Women).


Because I am doing so many challenges this year, I'm going for a modest number in the 5-8 Medium range.


Check out the challenge, here.


Here's a list of things that I'm considering reading for the challenge. Let me know if you have suggestions or comments about the books I've listed. I have not read any of them before.


A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas
Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
Beastly by Alex Finn
A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Ash by Malinda Lo
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Page
Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd
The Fall by Bethany Griffin
Ophelia by Lisa M. Klein
Illyria by Elizabeth Hand
Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon
The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White
Frost by Wendy Delsol
Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson
A True novel by Minae Mizumura


I may add more to this list later, and I'll definitely edit this list with the books I actually read.

 

 

I am participating in a number of Reading Challenges this year. I'm off to a bit of a slow start, but I'm hoping that I'll do better now that I have a place to collect them.

 

Book Riot's 2017 Read Harder Challenge

Here's the list. The links are to lists to help you fulfill the challenge. This is my favorite challenge, and the one that I'm most excited about, because I think it will push me further out of my comfort zone than any other challenge I'm doing, and really, that's kind of the point.

 

1. Read a book about sports.
2. Read a debut novel.
3. Read a book about books.
4. Read a book set in Central or South America, written by a Central or South American author.
5. Read a book by an immigrant or with a central immigration narrative.
6. Read an all-ages comic.
7. Read a book published between 1900 and 1950.
8. Read a travel memoir.
9. Read a book you’ve read before.
10. Read a book that is set within 100 miles of your location.
11. Read a book that is set more than 5000 miles from your location.
12. Read a fantasy novel.
13. Read a nonfiction book about technology.
14. Read a book about war.
15. Read a YA or middle grade novel by an author who identifies as LGBTQ+.
16. Read a book that has been banned or frequently challenged in your country.
17. Read a classic by an author of color.
18. Read a superhero comic with a female lead.
19. Read a book in which a character of color goes on a spiritual journey (From Daniel José Older, author of Salsa Nocturna, the Bone Street Rumba urban fantasy series, and YA novel Shadowshaper)
20. Read an LGBTQ+ romance novel (From Sarah MacLean, author of ten bestselling historical romance novels)
21. Read a book published by a micropress. (From Roxane Gay, bestselling author of Ayiti, An Untamed State, Bad Feminist, Marvel’s World of Wakanda, and the forthcoming Hunger and Difficult Women)
22. Read a collection of stories by a woman. (From Celeste Ng, author Everything I Never Told You and the forthcoming Little Fires Everywhere)
23. Read a collection of poetry in translation on a theme other than love. (From Ausma Zehanat Khan, author of the Esa Khattak/Rachel Getty mystery series, including The Unquiet Dead, The Language of Secrets, and the forthcoming Among the Ruins)
24. Read a book wherein all point-of-view characters are people of color. (From Jacqueline Koyanagi, author of sci-fi novel Ascension)

 

Pages of Starlight Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge

Okay, so I probably really don't need any excuse to read more Speculative Fiction, but if I'm going to read it anyway, I might as well be able to check things off of a list. There are still things on this list that I wouldn't normally read, like Manga.

 

1. A Fairytale Retelling
2. A Historical Fantasy
3. A Book From NPR's Top 100 SF/F List
4. A Non-British Steampunk
5. Crossed With Another Genre (like a sci-fi mystery)
6. A Manga
7. A Comic Book
8. An Urban Fantasy
9. A Classic
10. About Superheroes
11. A Western (Space Western or Cattle Punk)
12. An Earth-Based Sci-Fi
13. A Sci-Fi With Aliens
14. Based Around a Non-White Culture
15. With a Main Character of Color
16. With a LGBTQIA Main Character
17. With an Aro or Ace Character
18. Witten By a POC Author
19. Has a M/M Romance
20. Has a  F/F Romance
21. Published Last Year
22. Published Before 2000
23. A Novella

2017 Diverse Reads Book Challenge

This is the challenge that I probably most need to do, because I do tend to settle into comfortably reading a lot of books by White Americans, mostly straight, and probably over half male. There aren't a lot of rules, to this challenge. I'm going to try to meet their monthly challenges, though possibly not all in the correct month.

 

1. January– diverse folklore/mythology (e.g. South Asian mythology, Russian folklore, Japanese folklore, Greek mythology, Chinese folklore, etc.)
2. February– POC Main Character / Biracial / Multiracial
3. March– main characters with a disability
4. April– mental health
5. May– religious diversity
6. June & July– sexuality and gender identity
7. August– non-Western setting
8. September– #ownvoices
9. October– Intersectionality
10. November– diverse retellings
11. December– 2017 Releases

Website Here

 

I love classics. I'll be attempting to read only things I have not read before for this challenge. This one is also a nice one, because people who complete at least 6 challenge tasks may be entered into a drawing for an actual prize.

 

1.  A 19th century classic - any book published between 1800 and 1899.

 

2.  A 20th century classic - any book published between 1900 and 1967. Just like last year, all books MUST have been published at least 50 years ago to qualify. The only exception is books written at least 50 years ago, but published later, such as posthumous publications.

 

3.  A classic by a woman author. 

 

4.  A classic in translation.  Any book originally written published in a language other than your native language. Feel free to read the book in your language or the original language. (You can also read books in translation for any of the other categories). Modern translations are acceptable as long as the original work fits the guidelines for publications as explained in the challenge rules.

 

5.  A classic originally published before 1800. Plays and epic poems are acceptable in this category. Translations can be modern in this category also.

 

6.  A romance classic. I'm pretty flexible here about the definition of romance. It can have a happy ending or a sad ending, as long as there is a strong romantic element to the plot.

 

7.  A Gothic or horror classic. For a good definition of what makes a book Gothic, and an excellent list of possible reads, please see this list on Goodreads. 

 

8.  A classic with a number in the title. Examples include A Tale of Two Cities, Three Men in a Boat, The Nine Tailors, Henry V, Fahrenheit 451, etc. An actual number is required -- for example, Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None would not qualify, but The Seven Dials Mystery would. 

 

9.  A classic about an animal or which includes the name of an animal in the title.  It can be an actual animal or a metaphor, or just the name in the title. Examples include To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, The Metamorphosis, White Fang, etc. If the animal is not obvious, please clarify it in your post.

 

10. A classic set in a place you'd like to visit. It can be real or imaginary: The Wizard of Oz, Down and Out in Paris and London, Death on the Nile, etc.

 

11. An award-winning classic. It could be the Newbery award, the Prix Goncourt, the Pulitzer Prize, the James Tait Award, etc. Any award, just mention in your blog post what award your choice received.

 

12. A Russian classic. 2017 will be the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, so read a classic by any Russian author. 

 

 

2017 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge

This one just looked fun and relatively simple.

1. JANUARY – Diversify Your Reading - Kick the reading year off right and shake things up. Read a book with a character (or written by an author) of a race, religion, or sexual orientation other than your own.
2. FEBRUARY – Undercover Thriller -  Read a book involving spies, detectives, private investigators, or a character in disguise.
3. MARCH – Time Traveler - Read a book set in a different dimension, a book in which time travel is involved or a dystopian or science fiction book where reality looks very different than what we’re used to.
4. APRIL – Award Winners - Read a book that has won a literary award or a book written by an author who has been recognized in the bookish community.
5. MAY – 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.
6. JUNE – Destination Unknown - Read a book in which the character(s) take a trip, travel somewhere, go on a quest, or find themselves on a journey toward something.
7. JULY – Believe the Unbelievable - This month it’s all about fantasy. Epic fantasy, urban fantasy, fairytales, magic, etc.
8. AUGUST – Seasons, Elements, & Weather - Read a book in which the season, the elements, or the weather plays a role in the story.
9. SEPTEMBER – Creepy, Chilling, & Frightful - Cozy mystery ghost stories, paranormal hauntings, murder mysteries, weird and scary creatures- it’s up to you!
10. OCTOBER– Games, Challenges, & Contests - Read a book that involves a game of some sort. Video games, war games, psychological mess-with-your-mind games, characters who participate in a contest, or a story in which the character takes on a challenge.
11. NOVEMBER – Last Chance - Read a book you’ve been meaning to get to all year but haven’t yet or read the last book in a series you started.
12. DECEMBER – Picking Favorites - Read a book by one of your favorite authors or read a book that Girlxoxo has recommended this year.

 

 

Retellings Reading Challenge 2017

 

 

So, this one doesn't have any set guidelines. It's just a matter of reading retellings of:

• Classics & Children's Classics
• Fairy Tales
• Myths and Legends
• Folk Tales
• Retellings of real, well known people's lives - I.E. Becoming Jane by Kevin Hood about a young Jane Austen, and And I Darken by Kirsten White, a gender bent retelling of Vlad Dracul's teen years, both count 
• I will also accept origin stories/prequels/sequels - I.E. Dorothy Must Die series by Danielle Paige is a sequel series to The Wizard of Oz, Heartless by Marissa Meyer is a prequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the origin story of the Queen of Hearts, and both would count.
• Reimaginings that aren't strict retellings would also count - I.E. Kody Keplinger's novels Shut Out and A Midsummer's Nightmare are both reimaginings, the first of the Greek play Lysistrata by Aristophanes, and the second of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, both of which would count. 

There are levels of difficulty. Because I am doing so many other challenges, I'm going with the medium level, hoping to read 5-8 retellings this year.

 

2017 Christian Reading Challenge

Okay, so this one might be the hardest for me to complete, because I want to do all of the levels, and I don't know that there will be a whole lot of books that I can use here and for other challenges (and to complete all of these, I'm counting on being able to use some titles for multiple challenges). I'm going to do my best though. The plan doesn't specify reading in order, but does say, you should read all of the books for the light challenge before adding in the next level and finish those before adding the next level. We'll see.



The Light Reader

1. A Biography
2. A Classic Novel
3. A Book About History
4. A Book Targeted at your Gender
5. A Book about Theology
6. A Book with at least 400 pages
7. A Book your pastor recommends
8. A Book about Christian Living
9. A Book more than 100 years old
10. A book for Children or Teens
11. A book of your choice
12. A Book about a current issue

The Avid Reader

1. A book written by a Puritan
2. A book by or about a missionary
3. A book about Christian Living
4. A commentary on a book of the Bible
5. A book about the Reformation
6. A book about theology
7. A book recommended by a family member
8. A book with a great cover
9. A book on the Current New York Times list of bestsellers
10. A book about Church History
11. A book of 100 pages or less
12. A book of your choice
13. A book that won a prize

The Committed Reader

1. A book from a theological viewpoint you disagree with
2. A book about Christian Living
3. A book about apologetics
4. A book of your choice
5. A humorous Book
6. A book based on a true story
7. A book about prayer
8. A book of poetry
9. A book with a one-word title
10. A book by Sinclair Ferguson
11. A novel by an author you have never read before
12. A book Aabout Christian living
13. A memoir or audobiography
14. A play by Wiliam Shakespeare
15. A book of your choice
16. A book wirtten by an author with initials in their name
17. A book by a female author
18. A book about theology
19. A book published by Crossway
20. A self-improvement book
21. A graphic novel
22. A book you own, but have never read
23. A book targeted at the other gender
24. A book about Christian living
25. A book of your choice
26. A book about race or racial issues

The Obsessed Reader

1. A book you have started but never finished
2. A book about church history
3. A book about holiness or sanctification
4. A book about science
5. A book used as a seminary textbook
6. A book on the ECPA bestseller list
7. A book about productivity or time management
8. A book of your choice
9. A book about spiritual disciplines
10. A book about parenting
11. A book about Christian living
12. A book by Iain Murray
13. A book about business
14. A book about theology
15. A book about marriage
16. A photo essay book
17. A book of comics
18. A book about the Second World War
19. A book by a Puritan
20. A book about preaching or public speaking
21. A book of your choice
22. A book about suffering
23. A book about evangelism
24. A book by your favorite author
25. A book you have read before
26. A Christian novel
27. A biography of a Christian
28. A book about the natural world
29. A novel for young adults
30. A novel longer than 400 pages
31. A book about history
32. A book about the Bible
33. A book recommended by a friend
34. A book published by P&R Publications
35. A book with an ugly cover
36. A book by or about a martyr
37. A book of your choice
38. A book about Christian living
39. A book about church history
40. A book about money or finance
41. A book about leadership
42. A book by John Piper
43. A book about theology
44. A book for children or teens
45. A book about sexuality
46. A book about writing
47. A book about current events
48. A biography of a world leader
49. A book about the church
50. A book of your choice
51. A book about a hobby
52. A book written in the twentieth century