Challenge: Historical Fiction

 Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional. Writers of stories in this genre, while penning fiction, attempt to capture the spirit, manners, and social conditions of the persons or time(s) presented in the story, with due attention paid to period detail and fidelity. - Wikipedia

Another one! Now, I don't know about you, but I just love historical novels. If done well, they give you a real flavour of the time and place in which they're set - which is something you just don't get in books set in the modern world, because it's taken for granted that we all know what a Blackberry is, and that you access the internet through your computer. Historical novels bring a whole new dimension to the story, which is something I really love.

So what better than the Historical Fiction Challenge hosted by YA Bliss?

Here's how it works.

You choose your level:

Level 1: 5 YA HF books in 2011

Level 2: 10 YA HF books in 2011

Level 3: 15 YA HF books in 2011

 Rules:

• All Historical Fiction books must be YA or MG
• Books don't have to be 2011 releases.
• Anyone can join. Please link to a public (web) place I can find you.
• You can join at anytime. The challenge runs from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011

And that's it! Easy, huh? I think so too. I'm going to attempt Level Three, although thinking of 15 historical novels I haven't already read is a bit tricky, to be honest... ! I'll keep y'all updated =]

Challenge: 100 Novels in a Year

Okay, I know I'm probably going slightly overboard on the whole challenges thing, but hey. I read a lot. 100 books shouldn't be too much of a problem for me!


Hosted by Book Chick City, the aim is to... Wait for it... Read 100 books in 2011. You already guessed, huh? Well, whaddya know?!

Challenge: Dusty Volumes

So, the folks over at Midnyte Reader had a brilliant idea: the 2011 Dusty Volumes Challenge! The point is, there are heaps of really classic novels that I've never really managed to get round to - including things like Frankenstein, Dracula, The Woman In White - that kind of thing. And in the Dusty Volumes challenge, I finally get an excuse to read them!

Here's how it works:

• Write a post about this challenge on your blog with a link back to the original Dusty Volumes post at http://www.midnytereader.com/2010/12/dusty-volumes-reading-challenge.html.  
• Include a list of the Dusty Volumes you hope to read in 2011.  They should have a publishing date before 1960 (find lists at The Pulse.org and Goodreads).  You can add, subtract or change the list at anytime.
• Grab a button from Midnyte Readers and add it to your post or sidebar.
• Sign up on the original Dusty Volumes page (link above).  Please enter the link to the Dusty Volumes post on your blog, not your main blog page.  (If you link to your main blog page, unfortunately it will be deleted.)
• When you write a review on one of your Dusty Volumes, leave a comment with a link to your review on the original Dusty Volumes page.  Or, you can leave a comment on one of their Dusty Volumes reviews when they post them. Also, if/when you write your review it would be great if you could mention that it is part of the Dusty Volumes Reading Challenge.
• If you don't have a blog:  you can just sign up using your name.  You can link to Goodreads, Amazon, Shelfari, etc.  Or, instead of linking to a review you can leave a comment with your thoughts. 
  
  

I'd also love to know when you join in and see your reviews, so stick a link up in a comment on this post too!

Okay, so here's the list of book's I'm planning to read:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham (yes, I'm also doing this for the dystopia read)
1984 by George Orwell (ditto this one)

And anything else I can think of. Stay tuned!

Challenge: Dystopia

I love all genres. Or most of them, anyway. But recently I've got into a dystopia mood... For anyone who's confused:

dystopia (n) : an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one. Opposite of utopia.

Dystopian, science fiction and post-apocalyptic novels are often one and the same. Although not always. Some famous ones are:

1984 by George Orwell
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (recently made into a film starring Keira Knightly and Carey Mulligan)
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

To mention just a few!

Anyway, I decided I might as well make use of my dystopian mood, so I'm climbing on the band wagon started by BA Reading Challenges. Here's how the challenge works:


How To Participate

    1.    Decide which challenge level you'll be doing (see below).
    2.    Grab the code for the badge down below and post it on a side bar or in a signature.
    3.    Create your own post to let all your readers know you’re taking part in the challenge and at what level. Make sure to link back to this page with either one of the buttons or a text link.
    4.    Use the link form below to enter into the challenge by sharing your challenge post URL and your name (either your name, blog name, or both).Please don't use the comment form to participate, only to comment on the challenge or something else.
    5.    Submit your reviews (if you choose to review them, but that's optional) on the review page.
    6.    When you’ve completed you’re challenge let us know on the completion post. If you're using a tag or category I recommend sharing the link back to that so everyone can find them

Challenge Levels:
    1.    Asocial–  Choose 5 books to read
    2.    Contagion – Choose 15 books to read
    3.    Soldier – Choose 30 books to read
    4.    Drone – Choose 50 books to read
    5.    Conditioned – Choose 75 books to read

For Extra Hard Challenges:
    1.    Brainwashed – Choose 76-125 books to read
    2.    Totalitarian – Choose 126-200 books to read

I'll be doing Contagion, I think. Seeing as I'm not that amazing, and I don't think I can even list 30 dystopian novels!!

These are the novels I'll be doing (I think):
1) Lord of the Flies by William Golding
2) 1984 by George Orwell
3) The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
4) Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
5) Animal Farm by George Orwell (this may or may not count as dystopian... I hope it does!)
6) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
7) The Time Machine by H.G Wells
8) The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
9) Armageddon's Children by Terry Brooks
10) The Running Man by Stephen King (under the pen-name of Richard Bachman)
11) The Iron Heel by Jack London
12) The Neuromancer by William Gibson
13) The Children of Men by PD James (perhaps, although I'm not sure about this one... )
14) ??
15) ??

Ug. I think I'll go get reading... !!