Magical Readathon: The NEWTs 2019

NEWTs stands for Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests.  Seriously?  That doesn’t sound formal, but rather a joke of an official acronym.  Whatever it is, it’s in a month’s time so time to get the deets squared away. 

Please tell me I am not the only one.  I keep telling myself, this is a just a freaking readathon, my life doesn’t depend on it, my future happiness and material wealth and personal fulfillment does not depend on it, but I still couldn’t make up my mind about my career choice after Hogswart!

I browse the career guide; I am not sure I have the stuff for Auror or a medical career. Broom maker sounds janitorial to my muggle ears. Should I be a magizoologist? Hmmm…

I am most attracted to Aurologist. Years ago I was fascinated by someone doing Aura Reading at a New Age fair. May include travel to France, Japan and Nepal?  Sign me up!! It requires:

OWLs: Astronomy, Divination, and History of Magic
NEWTs: E in Astronomy, E in Divination

(Each subject has 3 pass grades. A for Acceptable, E for Exceeded Expectations & an O for Outstanding, the highest grade.)

Ha, so happened I did not pass Astronomy (book with star in title) and Divination (a book that takes place in the future) in my OWLs.  But I know I can do it Hermione style, talk Professor McGonagall into letting me take the NEWTs in those subjects anyway.

Here’s the curriculum for Aurologist, a easy-peesy four books, six for overachievers :

Astronomy 
A: Moon on the cover or anywhere in the title
E: Word “night” in book title or series name
0: Read a sci-fi book (or book with stars on the cover) 

Divination 
A: Read a white book
E: Read a short story or a collection of short stories
O: Read the last book you bought/took from your library 

The over achiever in me finds the curriculum for Metal Charmer, my second choice, much more challenging:
OWLs: Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration + 2 more subjects (I have History of Magic and Care of Magical Creatures)

NEWTS: O in Arithmancy, O in Charms, O in Transfiguration, E in Ancient Runes, A in Defense Against the Dark Arts

Arithmancy
A: Book that ends on an even page number
E: Read a standalone
0: Book that’s longer than 350 pages 

Charms 
A: Read a book that you think has a gorgeous cover
E: Read a comic/graphic novel/manga (or book under 150 pages)
O: Spongify (softening charm) – read a paperback book 

Transfiguration 
A: Read a book with LQBTQA+ representation
E: Read a book that’s not a first in the series
O: McGonagall does not mess around! Read a book over 500 pages

Ancient Runes 
A: Ehwaz (partnership) – read recommended by a friend
E: Book written in past tense
0: Book that has been on your TBR for ages 

Defence Against the Dark Arts
A: Book that’s black under the dust jacket
E: Gilderoy’s memory charm – (grab a pen! first book that you remembered just now from your TBR!
0:Cornish pixie! Swat it away with a book written by an English author or set in England

 

The Book Junkie Trails

Ok I stumbled upon the Book Junkie Trails Reading Challenge online…

Pretty cool… You get sorted into different groups, kind of like HP houses, and based on that, you have to complete different challenges.

I tested twice, and both times I am a scribe, so scribe I am!! I don’t understand though why we have to make up our TBR list ahead of time. But well, can’t complain as I am not the Queen.

As a Scribe my required five challenges are:

Dwarf Mount: You spot a fair tavern wench, however the Dwarf Mines, grimey and dusty, didn’t evoke a very romantic feeling. Read a book with a hint of romance to get you in the mood. ~ The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

Apothecary Towers: Where the wizards dwell. Tricksters. They have blind-folded you and randomised all your books, choose a book at random from your bookshelf. ~ Mountain Girl, River Girl by Ting-xing Ye

The Great Library: Ahh the great archives, find and read a book that has been on your TBR forever. ~ Swallow by Mary Capello (Have this since 2013, not oldest but old enough)

The Drowning Deep: The Whirlpool… is so…. mesmerising. Read a book with rich world-building that will suck you into its own world, instead. ~ The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

The Bookie Grail: Here you find a lost manuscript, delivered on this forgotten island by a fallen star. Read the group book: Stardust. ~While I love Stardust and have it on my permanent collection, I see that many people are going with an alternate, so I decide to opt for something new and help reduce my TBR by reading instead Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida. 

Ability
The ability to rewrite their tale.
Their unique ability is to read a book that wasn’t on their declared TBR
– as long as it still completes the challenge.
Weakness
As scribes spend so much time documenting their findings,
one of their challenges will take MUCH longer than normal.
They must read a book over 500 pages.

As I do read more than 5 books a month, I will try to do some of the other challenges as well…

Crimson Peaks: These peaks are about to blow! Re-read a favourite to soothe them into dormancy ~ Tin Tin
Queendom Stone: The stone of our Royal Majesty – what are the royal customs of other lands? Read a book featuring Royalty. ~ Malice in the Palace by Rhys Bowen
The Forgotten Forests: All those open series, the forest knows and feels your forgetfulness. It will sing a mounful lament, tormenting you until you read the next in a series. ~ The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Half by Catherynne M. Valente
The Weeping Falls: To pass through the rapids unscathed, you must give to the Falls. Read a tear-jerker. ~ Ceres, Celestral Legend vol 11-14
Orc Grove: Some say there is no talking to Orcs, but a good political relationship is needed. Learn some Orc customs by reading a book that is gruesome, gory, or gritty. ~ The Anatomist by Bill Hayes
Ol’ Pirate Cove: Shiver me timbers. You shall be walking the plank if you don’t learn how to sail better. Read a book that takes place, at least in part, on sea. ~ The Children of the Sea by Daisuke Igarashi
Glimmer: This Isle is alight with gems and crystals, one of the most picturesque spots in The High Queendom. Make sure you fit in with a beautiful or colourful book. ~ The Secrets of Pistoulet by Jana Kolpen
Draconic Isle: Oh My! This island is swarming with wyverns and dragons. Brush up on your draconic knowledge with a book that features dragons. ~ Blood of Tyrants by Naomi Novik
The Elven Guard are surprised by your visit, and are immediately on the offensive: Read a book with War, Military or Political Themes to learn how to help calm the situation. ~ Animal Weapons by Douglas J. Emlen
On the Hallow Isle, lurk incorporeal monsters and the ghosts of your past: Read an Atmospheric or Horror Book to pass this test of nerve. ~ Vampire Hunter D
Empty Barrel Inn, everyone deserves a swig or too, some say it even aids warming up those vocal cords: Enjoy An Indulgent Read. ~ Tall, Dark and Hungry by Lyndsay Sands
Giant Squid, a fearsome fellow: Read a book that intimidates you, and this foe shall be a doddle. ~ The Lost Daughter of Happiness

Magical Read-a-thon: the OWLs

While posting for the Dewey Read-a-thon, I noticed that some of my friends are hashtaging OWLSreadathon. I was really curious and tried to find more info about it, but it wasn’t as easy as I thought. Finally through another blog I found the Youtube video with links to the docs on Google where things are explained to me. I love the idea, but just wish they have posted the info on a blog or instagram directly.

The read-a-thons take place in April and August. April is the OWLs (Ordinary Wizard Level, a word play on the muggle’s O Level) exams and August is the N.E.W.T.s. We can select a career path, like herbologist, seer, wardmaker, etc, and based on that, select the classes, aka challenges, we want to focus on.

So happens I have been reading a ton of books in April for my trip to BookCrossing Readathon, and it was relatively easy to fit many of them into the categories.  The grades are: 2 passed exams – Acceptable, 6 passed exams – Exceeding Expectations, 9+ passed exams – Outstanding.

Useful link to people who can explain it better than I can:
OWLs Magical ReadAThon TBR 2019

ETA: Okay, Report card is out… Looks like I may have a bright future in magical zoology. As I was reading exclusively books to take to the convention, either on another BookCrosser’s wishlist or to release there, I didn’t look for books to fit the titles but rather see whether the books I read fit any of the courses. As I’ve read books in 9 subjects, I managed to get an Outstanding.  But of course, what would you expect from a Ravenclaw?

Really glad to find this reading challenge, I enjoy it a lot!  Look forward to NEWT in August!

Ancient Runes – Read a retelling


Arithmancy – Work written by more than one author

Astronomy – “Star” in the title
Care of Magical Creatures – Land animal on the cover



Charms – Age Line: Read an adult work

Defense Against the Dark Arts – Reducto: title starts with an “R”


Divination – Set in the future
Herbology – Plant on the cover


History of Magic – Published at least 10 years ago


Muggle Studies – Contemporary

Potions – Next Ingredient: Sequel
Transfiguration – sprayed edges or a red cover

Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-thon April 6, 2019

Stars haven’t really aligned for me to do many read-a-thons lately. I tried to get the day off but my boss said he “needs” me. I figure I’ll have the rest of the day to read but then my friends invited us to dinner and my hubby really wanted to go. He doesn’t do sad puppy eyes but I know he did, and I know he hated having nothing to do on a Sat and just stay home with a reading wife. So I agreed to go.

Turned out barely had I waken up, that I got a text message from work. Someone couldn’t come in so I had to head out asap. Bye bye books!

So… while I managed to read a little during my work lunch, while we drove to and from the dinner place, my reading time didn’t really start until after my dinner… which is more than halfway through the 24 hours.

I managed to read, in whole:

The Last Egret – a lovely children’s story based on the real life adventure of a pioneer family in South Florida, written by the great-grandson.
Buoy – a cute little illustrated tale about a small buoy out in the ocean.

And read in part:

My Jane Austen Summer – I am not exactly a JA fan, but reading this before I pass this on to a friend who is.
The Pun Also Rises – Totally brilliant book about puns. Puntastic!!
Alpha Beta – a book about the origin of alphabets. A bit dry so I had to slip in two books in between to keep from falling asleep.
Red Dust – a travelog of China by a “spiritually polluted” Chinese artist.

Needless to say, didn’t participate in any mini challenge.

Book Riot Read Harder 2019

My third year doing this challenge!

1. An epistolary novel or collection of letters
2. An alternate history novel – The Years of Rice and Salt
3. A book by a woman and/or AOC (Author of Color) that won a literary award in 2018
4. A humor book – Www.Free-Fudge-Download.Com
5. A book by a journalist or about journalism – And a Bottle of Rum
6. A book by an AOC set in or about space
7. An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America
8. An #ownvoices book set in Oceania
9. A book published prior to January 1, 2019, with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads – A Cultivated Life (just 34 reviews!)
10. A translated book written by and/or translated by a woman – The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
11. A book of manga
12. A book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point-of-view character – Firmin
13. A book by or about someone that identifies as neurodiverse – Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend
14. A cozy mystery
15. A book of mythology or folklore – Baba Yaga Laid an Egg
16. An historical romance by an AOC
17. A business book- How Would You Move Mount Fuji?
18. A novel by a trans or nonbinary author – Blue Boy
19. A book of nonviolent true crime
20. A book written in prison
21. A comic by an LGBTQIA creator
22. A children’s or middle grade book (not YA) that has won a diversity award since 2009 – Shooting Kabul
23. A self-published book
24. A collection of poetry published since 2014

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2019

This year there are a lot of fun categories. And I’ve added a few words to my vocab: I had no idea what is LitRPG or cli-fic.

1. A book becoming a movie in 2019
2. A book that makes you nostalgic – Just So Stories
3. A book written by a musician (fiction or nonfiction)
4. A book you think should be turned into a movie –
5. A book with at least one million ratings on Goodreads
6. A book with a plant in the title or on the cover – Sister of My Heart
7. A reread of a favorite book – Goose Girl
8. A book about a hobby – Tolstoy and the Purple Chair
9. A book you meant to read in 2018 – Baba Yaga Laid an Egg
10. A book with POP, SUGAR, or CHALLENGE in the title
11. A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover – My French Whore
12. A book inspired by myth/legend/folklore
13. A book published posthumously
14. A book you see someone reading on TV or in a movie
15. A retelling of a classic
16. A book with a question in the title – How Would You Move Mount Fuji?
17. A book set on college or university campus
18. A book about someone with a superpower
19. A book told from multiple POVs – Sister of My Heart
20. A book set in space
21. A book by two female authors
22. A book with SALTY, SWEET, BITTER, or SPICY in the title
23. A book set in Scandinavia – The Almost Nearly Perfect People
24. A book that takes place in a single day – Today Will Be Different
25. A debut novel – A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea
26. A book that’s published in 2019
27. A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature – Perdido Street Station
28. A book recommended by a celebrity you admire
29. A book with LOVE in the title – Island of the Sequined Love Nun
30. A book featuring an amateur detective
31. A book about a family – Green Island
32. A book author from Asia, Africa, or South America – The Gift of Rain
33. A book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in title – Paris to the Moon
34. A book that includes a wedding – Sister of My Heart
35. A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter – Crucible of Gold (Naomi Novik)
36. A ghost story – Strangers
37. A book with a two-word title – Red Dust
38. A novel based on a true story – The Realm of Shells
39. A book revolving around a puzzle or game – The Pun Also Rises
40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading challenge: A novel based on a real person – White Truffles in Winter

Advanced Reading
1. A “cli-fi” (climate fiction) book
2. A “choose-your-own-adventure” book
3. An “own voices” book – #NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women
4. Read a book during the season it is set in
5. A LitRPG book
6. A book from a genre/subgenre you’ve never heard of
7. A book with no chapters / unusual chapter headings / unconventionally numbered chapters
8. Two books that share the same title
9. A book that has inspired a common phrase or idiom
10. A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent – Women in Korean Zen

Book Riot Read Harder 2018 Challenge

I am happy that this year’s challenge is not as hung up on color and sexual-orientation like previous year’s. I am also doing Popsugar for the first year. Here is the Book Riot list. And I do spot a few items I like in their store so I definitely am going to complete this.

Well… I barely completed it in time. My last book is the Western. I am not a fan of cowboy and Indians, and I thought about reading a Western Romance, though that was barely more palatable. Then I noticed that I had a children’s book, Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie, which I figure fits the definition of western, with its pioneers, Native Americans and all that.

I was planning to read Green Island as my colonial read, the book starts as the end of Japanese occupation in Taiwan. Unfortunately I was 30 pages short of finishing it by the end’s year, and, scrolling through my read list, figured Brick Lane will likely qualify for the category.

One book that this challenge encouraged me to read is Cinder, which I likely won’t have picked up otherwise. I didn’t exactly love it, but it’s a really original story.

A book published posthumously – A Confederacy of Dunces
A book of true crime – Bones
A classic of genre fiction (i.e. mystery, sci fi/fantasy, romance) – Rebecca
A comic written and drawn by the same person – From Eroica with Love
A book set in or about one of the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, or South Africa) – Bones of the Master
A book about nature – In Bear Country
A western – Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie
A comic written or drawn by a person of color – Yakitate!! Japan
A book of colonial or postcolonial literature – Brick Lane
A romance novel by or about a person of color – When Dimple Met Rishi
A children’s classic published before 1980 – Pollyanna
A celebrity memoir – Siberian Dream
An Oprah Book Club selection – Wild
A book of social science – The Little Book of Hygge
A one-sitting book – Fortunately, the Milk
The first book in a new-to-you YA or middle grade series – Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians
A sci fi novel with a female protagonist by a female author – Cinder
A comic that isn’t published by Marvel, DC, or Image – Entangled Circumstances
A book of genre fiction in translation – Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder
A book with a cover you hate – A Confederacy of Dunces
A mystery by a person of color or LGBTQ+ author – Raiser of Gales
An essay anthology – Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit
A book with a female protagonist over the age of 60 – Wise Women
An assigned book you hated (or never finished) – Moby Dick

Popsugar 2018 Reading Challenge

My friends on BookCrossing led me to a new challenge, Popsugar Reading Challenge. Last year’s 666 was fun, but it was rather hard to find books from Oceania and South America, and I ended up reading a few books that I just read because I have to. I do not feel like doing it again so soon. Meanwhile, the Book Riot one which I have been participating every year, seems to get too hung up on color and sexual orientation. A new challenge is therefore most welcome.

Finished this in time. Though not the Advanced ones. I was too busy studying for the exam in November, and work didn’t help with a few people short in our dept… a management team of 5 left with only one… me.

Look forward to the 2019 challenge.

PopSugar Reading Challenge

1. A book made into a movie you’ve already seen – We Bought a Zoo
2. True Crime – Bones
3. The next book in a series you started – The Twelve Clues of Christmas
4. A book involving a heist – Artemis
5. Nordic noir – Mind’s Eye
6. A novel based on a real person – Come August, Come Freedom
7. A book set in a country that fascinates you – The Sweet Life in Paris
8. A book with a time of day in the title – The 6:41 to Paris
9. A book about a villain or antihero – Wickedly Charming
10. A book about death or grief – The Murderess
11. A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym – The Outsiders
12. A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist – Being Jazz
13. A book that is also a stage play or musical – The Grapes of Wrath
14. A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you – Lakota Woman
15. A book about feminism – The Help
16. A book about mental health – Truth & Beauty
17. A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift – When
18. A book by two authors – The Scalpel and the Silver Bear
19. A book about or involving a sport – Wild
20. A book by a local author – Swamplandia!
21. A book with your favorite color in the title – Lavender Blue and the Faeries of Galtee Wood
22. A book with alliteration in the title – Wine and War
23. A book about time travel – Flight
24. A book with a weather element in the title – The Summer They Came
25. A book set at sea – The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor
26. A book with an animal in the title – In Bear Country
27. A book set on a different planet – Ray Bradbury Chronicles #1
28. A book with song lyrics in the title – The River
29. A book about or set on Halloween – Pumpkin Pumpkin
30. A book with characters who are twins – A Quick Bite
31. A book mentioned in another book – Truth & Beauty
32. A book from a celebrity book club – Little Fires Everywhere
33. A childhood classic you’ve never read – Call of the Wild
34. A book that’s published in 2018 – We Fed an Island
35. A past Goodreads Choice Awards winner – Before We Were Yours
36. A book set in the decade you were born – The Outsiders
37. A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn’t get to – Stories From The Vinyl Cafe
38. A book with an ugly cover – A Confederacy of Dunces
39. A book that involves a bookstore or library – Mr Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore
40. Your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenges: A book that has been on your TBR List for way too long – Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

2018 Popsugar Advanced Reading Challenge

1. A bestseller from the year you graduated high school – Hatchet
2. A cyberpunk book – Cinder
3. A book that was being read by a stranger in a public place
4. A book tied to your ancestry – Fried Eggs with Chopsticks
5. A book with a fruit or vegetable in the title – The Grapes of Wrath
6. An allegory – Call of the Wild
7. A book by an author with the same first or last name as you
8. A microhistory – To Cork or Not To Cork
9. A book about a problem facing society today – The Devil’s Highway
10. A book recommended by someone else taking the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge – Artemis

Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-thon October 21, 2017

Time: 9:00 am
I went to nap at around 5, when I got too sleepy to read. I woke up to do my last book, and decided that I want to be able to finish one book cover to cover at least, so I picked Nzingha, a children’s book about a warrior queen in Angola.

Not a lot of pages read this time around, but I had the most fun with mini challenges this year.

Time: 1:00 am
More than 12 hours later. Been to work and back, managed to listen to The Girl with No Shadow (aka the Girl with Lollipop Shoes), the sequel to Chocolat, while commuting. And a little bit of reading during lunch time. Now, I’m all set to do some serious reading! Well, couldn’t resist first some fun with mini-challenges. To me that’s the best part of read-a-thon!

Time: 11:30 am

I am so glad that I can participate this time, as it’s Dewey’s 10th Anniversary! I wish I could say that I was here since the very first one, but all I say is every time I participated it was a lot of fun. Last year I couldn’t due to travels, but even though I have to work later today, I am reading what I can.

Set my alarm to ring at 7:30am, but didn’t roll out of bed till it’s 8, haha, as my plan to sleep early last night didn’t work well. In all honesty it had been a rather shitty time lately. There was hurricane Irma, my dear parrotlet passed away, and I am in my 3rd round of cold in a month. Really, I think I have snotted out half my brain at this point. And it feels like it, most of the time I was in a zombie mode. Not working out much doesn’t help either, but I don’t have enough energy for the gym, and I find out during downward dogs that gravity is bad for running noses.

Anyway, here I am. Finished the little bit of the book I’m on, and started my second.

Opening Meme
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Sunshine state of Florida, as usual.

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
All Things Good by Sarah Turnbull, about her time in Tahiti.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
Mochi! Got three boxes of them from Costco last month.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
Love reading since I was a child. Mom said I was such a easy child to raise, just give me a book and I’ll stay quiet for hours. And apparently I slept so soundly as a baby my dad had to wake me up just to be sure I wasn’t dead.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today?
Well, I started using Instagram, so I’ll be posting more there and on twitter instead of on my blog.

Total Pages read so far: 513

Plain Secrets pgs 136-202 (67)
The Tale of Kieu pgs 1-24 (24)
The Girl with No Shadow pgs 1-107 (108)
The Wives of Henry Oades pgs 230-363 (134)
All Good Things pgs 1-44 (45)
Nzingha pgs 1-133 (134)

Total Time spent reading so far: 6 hr

Mini-challenges I’ve entered:
Opening Meme

Traveler’s Log
Book and a Beverage
Time Flies

Really love this one, totally brilliant idea. It took me a while to figure out the covers. I would love to make my own clock but as my reading time is scant already I don’t have time to go hunting around for them.

1. First Frost
2. Two From the Heart
3. The Three Musketeers
4. Four Weeks, Five People
5. Fives and Twenty-Fives
6. Six Impossible Things
7. The Seventh Function of Language
8. Orphan #8
9. Sweetness #9
10. The Woman in Cabin #10
11. 11/22/63
12. The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore
Reading Buddy
Which of course is my dear Walle, who just passed away less than 2 weeks ago, after 9 years with us.

You’re Wearing That?

Books I have finished:

Other Readers I have visited:

@shaunesay
@MelissaVerasR

666 Challenge

I am not sure where this challenge originated in, but I found it on BookCrossing 666 Challenge.

Here are the rules:

You aim to read 6 books which are set in OR are written by an author from 6 different countries in each of the 6 continents within 2017.  You cannot count books of the same country twice and you cannot count one book for more than one country.

This sounds fun, and as I enjoy reading books from different parts of the world, this challenge is manageable, nudging me a slightly beyond my comfort zone.

AFRICA:

KENYA – Facing the Lion by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton
ALGERIA – The Attack by Yasmina Khadra (story set in Israel but author from Algeria)
TOGO – An African in Greenland by Tete-Michel Kpomassie
IVORY COAST – Aya of Yop City by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie
THE GAMBIA – Swing Time by Zadie Smith
ANGOLA – Nzingha: Warrior Queen by Patricia McKissack

EUROPE:

ITALY – Silk by Alessandro Baricco
U.K. – Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
GREECE – The Summer of My Greek Taverna by Tom Stone
FRANCE – The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
SWITZERLAND – Blue Pills by Frederik Peeters
SWEDEN – The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

ASIA:

INDIA – The Empire of Tea by Alan MacFarlane & Iris MacFarlane
ISRAEL – Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
JAPAN – With the Light by Keiko Tobe
NEPAL – Peak by Roland Smith
CHINA – From Point to Point by Xu Bing
VIETNAM – Silence by Thich Nhat Hanh

NORTH AMERICA (INCL. CENTRAL AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN):

USA – Still Alice by Lisa Genova
CANADA – Paddle to the Arctic by Don Starkell
MEXICO –  The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
ANTIGUA – Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

PACIFICA (INCL. ANTARCTICA):

NEW ZEALAND – The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Islands in the Clouds by Isabella Tree
AUSTRALIA – The Road From Coorain by Jill Ker Conway
HAWAII – Fluke by Christopher Moore
TAHITI – All Good Things by Sarah Turnbull

SOUTH AMERICA:

ARGENTINA – The Aleph by Jorge Luis Borges
VENEZUELA – Indulgence: One Man’s Selfless Search for the Best Chocolate in the World by Paul Richardson
CHILE – Zorro by Isabel Allende
COLOMBIA – One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
BRAZIL – The Zahir by Paulo Coelho
PERU – What Really Happened in Peru by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan

Book Riot’s 2017 Read Harder Challenge

1. Read a book about sports – Gothic Sports vol 1-2
2. Read a debut novel – The Girl Who Fell from the Sky
3. Read a book about books – The First Among Sequels
4. Read a book set in Central or South America, written by a Central or South American author.– One Hundred Years of Solitude
5. Read a book by an immigrant or with a central immigration narrative. – Goodbye, Vietnam
6. Read an all-ages comic – Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
7. Read a book published between 1900 and 1950 – Bread Givers
8. Read a travel memoir – Paddle to the Arctic
9. Read a book you’ve read before – Something Rotten
10. Read a book that is set within 100 miles of your location – How Sweet It Is!
11. Read a book that is set more than 5000 miles from your location – The Summer of My Greek Taverna
12. Read a fantasy novel – City of Lost Souls
13. Read a nonfiction book about technology – The Emperor of All Maladies
14. Read a book about war – All the Light We Cannot See
15. Read a YA or middle grade novel by an author who identifies as LGBTQ+ – Boy Meets Boy
16. Read a book that has been banned or frequently challenged in your country. The Book of Bunny Suicides
17. Read a classic by an author of color. – The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
18. Read a superhero comic with a female lead. – Bound Beauty
19. Read a book in which a character of color goes on a spiritual journey – The Conch Bearer
20. Read an LGBTQ+ romance novel – Trans-Sister Radio
21. Read a book published by a micropress – Hot Donut Salad
22. Read a collection of stories by a woman – Pilgrims
23. Read a collection of poetry in translation on a theme other than love.
24. Read a book wherein all point-of-view characters are people of color – The Golden Son

Reading the list, it feels like whoever makes the list are a bit obsessed with the color of the skin and sexual orientation.  I personally read all types of books, and being non-white I read plenty of non-white books anyway, but I don’t like the list is putting emphasis on the skin color of the author, when a well written book is a well written book.

Also, growing up, I have to say I didn’t consider myself as a “person of color.”
I am yellow, there are whites, and blacks, and browns, but white is a color too, isn’t it? Just a different spot on the spectrum of color. They most certainly are not colorless people. Using the term is so divisive, there is “white” and the rest of the world that do not qualify as “white”. It is white supremacy!

For the banned book, I didn’t realize that the banned book list is so extensive in the U.S., that in fact an average reader will actually have to make an effort not to read any. However, I found that The Bunny Suicides book was on one of the lists. A bit of googling told me that a mom in Oregon hated this book so much, she tried to get it banned from his son’s school, and planned to burn the book rather than returning it to the school. The school board said they would then be forced to spend money to buy a new copy to review it, and would have to bill the parent, as well as banning her son from future loans as he failed to return titles he checked out.

I also found out that in China they banned the book, because a few students attempted suicide. Now, the students didn’t try to kill rabbits after reading the book, and they suicided by jumping into the river or taking sleeping pills, not copy-catting any of the unusual ways depicted in the book. It’s a sad fact that students in Asia do get a lot of pressure to perform well in school, and news of suicide is sadly not uncommon. However, I do find the bunnies quite innocent. Therefore, of all the banned books I read, I decide to pick the Bunnies Suicide for my banned book title.

Book Riot Reading Challenge

I totally had fun with Book Riot’s challenge in 2015.  There are plenty of reading challenges out there, but this one just seemed perfect, the right amount of books, and a mix of some that I read all the time and some that stretches me slightly beyond my comfort zone.

The list for 2016:
Read a horror book – Slade House
Read a nonfiction book about science – Modified: GMOs and the Threat to Our Food, Our Land, Our Future
Read a collection of essays – Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls
Read a book out loud to someone else –
Read a middle grade novel – Endymion Spring
Read a biography (not memoir or autobiography) – A Thousand Miles of Dreams
Read a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel – Rut
Read a book originally published in the decade you were born – 2001: A Space Odyssey
Listen to an audiobook that has won an Audie Award – The boy in the suitcase 
Read a book over 500 pages long – City of Glass
Read a book under 100 pages – The Sleeper and the Spindle
Read a book by or about a person that identifies as transgender – Stuck in the Middle with You
Read a book that is set in the Middle East – I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced (Yemen)
Read a book that is by an author from Southeast Asia – The Bondmaid (Singapore)
Read a book of historical fiction set before 1900 – Cloud of Sparrows
Read the first book in a series by a person of color – With the Light
Read a non-superhero comic that debuted in the last three years –
Read a book that was adapted into a movie, then watch the movie. Debate which is better –
Read a nonfiction book about feminism or dealing with feminist themes – I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced
Read a book about religion (fiction or nonfiction) – A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants
Read a book about politics, in your country or another (fiction or nonfiction) – Blood Diamonds
Read a food memoir – Roasting in Hell’s Kitchen
Read a play – Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Read a book with a main character that has a mental illness – The Atlantis Complex

And, for record, my 2015 list:

1. A book written by someone when they were under the age of 25 – A Fine and Private Place
2. A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65 – The Tent
3. A collection of short stories (either by one person or an anthology by many people): Fantasy Gone Wrong
4. A book published by an indie press – Aaron’s Crossing
5.A book by or about someone that identifies as LGBTQ: Shanghai Tango
6. A book by a person whose gender is different from your own – Lego: A Love Story
7. A book that takes place in Asia: The Painter from Shanghai
8. A book by an author from Africa: The Almond
9. A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture (Native Americans, Aboriginals, etc.) – Morning Girl
10. A microhistory – Tilt
11. A YA novel – The Hunger Game
12. A sci-fi novel – Shades of Grey
13. A romance novel – The Inheritance
14. A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize winner from the last decade – The Inheritance of Loss
15. A book that is a retelling of a classic story (fairytale, Shakespearian play, classic novel, etc.) – Godmother
16. An audiobook – The Painted Girls
17. A collection of poetry – Voices from WahKon-Tah
18. A book that someone else has recommended to you: The Chaperone
19. A book that was originally published in another language – The Character of Rain
20. A graphic novel, a graphic memoir or a collection of comics of any kind – The Color of Earth
21. A book that you would consider a guilty pleasure (Read, and then realize that good entertainment is nothing to feel guilty over) – Bite Me If You Can
22. A book published before 1850 – Ourika
23. A book published this year – Vitamania
24. A self-improvement book (can be traditionally or non-traditionally considered “self-improvement”) – Doing What Matters

Dewey 24 Hour Read-a-thon ~~ October 17 2015

Time: 8:00 am
I did it!! Another year of Raed-a-thon! Can’t believe it’s over already and I have to wait another six month… sob…

It was kind of slow reading for a while, I finished The Inheritance and started on Just My Type, even though I know I won’t be able to finish the book. Glad I did, it was an interesting read.

This year I’ve read a lot of manga, which was a nice boost to my page count.

Time: 2:40 am
I finished vol 7 and 8 of Peach Girl in an hour, wanted to start on something new but my eyes couldn’t read a straight line. You all know how it’s like. So I took a quick nap, and now hopefully am ready for a thin quick book, The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott. Written in 1849 when she was 19, this book nicely fills two spots for the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge (written before 1850 and written by someone under 25.)

Time: 11:30 pm
I had a break for dinner, and by this time finished vol 6 of Peach Girl. Will continue on to vol 7 and 8 (I hope it ends at 8) and then get back to reading another book with more words.

Time: 7:50 pm
Progressing nicely – since I had a late start I’m still going strong.
Snacked a little on a Earl Grey Moonlight Tea chocolate bar from Adagio Teas. It is milk chocolate with some tea leaves and black sea salt in it. Quite delicious.

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now?
A manga series called Peach Girl.
2. How many books have you read so far?
4.5
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
Not sure if I’ll get to it but I have a book about type face: Not My Type. I know, an odd choice but I’m excited about it as I like fonts.
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Oh yes… getting groceries, meals, doing laundry. It’s life. Would love it if my hubby offers to do it all…
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
No big surprise, but it’s turning into a manga-a-thon for me! It feels real good to the ego to breeze through the volumes.

Time: 5:20 pm
Okay, I finished Sour Sweet. I thought I was really slow, but doing the math it was about a page a minute, so not too shabby.

Mini-challeng: Book Scavenger Hunt
From Sour Sweet by Timothy Mo
1. Something hard: The coffin the grandpa makes in his backyard
2. Something fast: the way Lily drives her car
3. Something sweet: the sweet cake the family enjoyed at new year
4. Something high: the aspiration Lily has for her son
5. Something funny: instead of getting a driver license, Lily stuffed some money into her card holder. Which worked as a bribe when she was stopped by a cop.

Time: 2:07 pm
So, finally… Ate breakfast, unpacked luggage, bought grocery, ate lunch. Now seriously starting my Read-a-thon in earnest. Will try to finish Sour Sweet, which I have been slogging through for a while. I must admit I suck at breaking up bad relationships… lucky for me I haven’t met many awful guys, but I have a hard time giving up a book even if I’m not enjoying it. Anyway, am hoping that I can just fast-read through it today.

Time: 10:56 am

Had breakfast.  That would be dinner in Hong Kong time zone.  Unpack my bag.  Good news: my beers from Hong Kong arrived safely.  I didn’t doubt they would but nonetheless it’s glad to open the suitcase and not see broken glasses and beer smelling clothes.  Bad news: American Airlines broke my luggage. They reduced their overhead bin size so much they hardly have space for everybody to fit their carry ons, so they made me check in mine.  Grrrrrgh!!

Ok, my goal for this read-a-thon: I hope I get to read some manga, and one or two mico-history books, as I have both bookboxes coming to my doorstep soon, and need to read up to have some AVLs for trading.

Total Pages read so far: 2160

Sour Sweet pgs 100-279
Hats (160 pgs)
Peach Gril Vol. 1 (180 pgs)
Peach Gril Vol. 2 (168 pgs)
Peach Gril Vol. 3 (176 pgs)
Peach Gril Vol. 4 (176 pgs)
Peach Gril Vol. 5 (179 pgs)
Peach Gril Vol. 6 (176 pgs)
Peach Gril Vol. 7 (174 pgs)
Peach Gril Vol. 8 (170 pgs)
The Inheritance (188 pgs)
Just My Type (1-232 pgs)

Total Time spent reading so far: 13 hr

Mini-challenges I’ve entered:
Mid-Event Survey
Book Scavenger Hunt
Accio Cinnamon Rolls
4 Seasons 4 Books

Who am I?
Blanket Fort

 

Books I have finished:

(Not finished)

Other Readers I have visited:

@shaunesay
@MelissaVerasR
@gee_elsi
@Beczenbooks
@estellasrevenge
@LittleBookOwl
Deb @ ReadWriteTell
Chris

Dewey Read-a-thon October 17, 2015 Opening Meme

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

I’m in Miami, Florida

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Hmm… I don’t know yet… just woke up, ha hah.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
Tim Tam!!  Always!  The Unofficial snack of BookCrossing

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

Love to read, love to eat, likes wine and beer.  Enjoy travelling, love a good massage.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

Well, this is most certainly different from my previous read-a-thons!!  Usually I have everything all set up days before and am up and ready for the event!

This year – well, I didn’t even think I would be able to participate.  I was in Asia the past few weeks, and was scheduled to fly back to the U.S. on Friday afternoon.  So I most naturally think that I would be up on the airplane the most of the read-a-thon.  I may do some reading on my own but not able to participate socially.  Until my husband pointed me to the miracle called time difference.  The same wondrous thing that allows Fogg to win his wager in Around the World in 80 Days.

So, I arrived home in time, but it wasn’t till 1am Saturday morning that we got home. Good thing was I was so tired I slept through the night without jet lag, but I barely woke up now.  Will have some breakfast and get started.

I will attempt to read some today, but also need to unpack, do laundry, get grocery, etc. all the boring things one have to go through after a good time away.  But going from not able to participate to being able to, it’s a lovely thing.

Dewey Read-a-thon April 25, 2015

Time: 5:40 pm

So, finally got home from work, ate a quick late lunch (by mistake, grab the wrong container from my fridge… so didn’t have a proper lunch at work) and started reading. With my late start at Hour 9, I am happy to report that I finished my first book.  Actually, it’s half a book, I think I started on it during another read-a-thon and then didn’t finish.  I guess you can say it’s not a page-turner, but I’m the commited type who tend to stay in a relationship till the end, unless it’s really hopeless.  I was looking on my shelf for my TBR books for RAT, and saw this and figure it’s about time to end the affair.

Time: 9:02 pm

Took a quick nap at 7pm for half an hour, then woke up and helped hubby prepare dinner.  He was nice enough to do the cooking and washing, while I offered some token help, like mincing the garlic and laying the forks out on the table.

Time: 9:54 pm

Finished Brewing Up a Business, written by Sam Calagione, the head of Dogfish Head.  It’s a shame that I was reading about beer but I couldn’t drink any!  Sadly, experience taught me that I would get too giddy and sleepy to continue reading much.  This book was autographed by the author when he came to Funky Buddha Brewery a few weeks ago.

Time: 12:10 am

Finished The Tent.  A easy, beautiful and enjoyable read. Not really sleepy yet but as I goes to work at 6am not sure if I can do much more.  Maybe something short or a manga.

TIme: 1:38 am (hour 18)

Another book done! I picked Earth and Ashes up at a Booklegger shelf, thinking that this thin book is perfect for read-a-thon.  Snack: Tim Tam!

Time: 3:42 am (hour 20)

As it’s late it’s perfect time to pick up from manga!!  A marshmallowy high school romance. First love, first kiss. Ah, beautiful youth! Now time for bed as I have to be leaving for work at 6am.

While I did not read as much as I’d want, I had a great time this read-a-thon.  I have joined a few mini challenges, and have great fun joining the chat on Twitter, “meeting” other readers from different cities and countries: Denmark, Dominican Republic…

Total Pages read so far: 955

Tone Deaf in Bangkok:  pg 73-155
Brewing up a Business: pg 168-269
The Tent by Margaret Atwood pg 1-155
Earth and Ashes by Atiq Rahimi pg 1-54
We Were There vol 1-3 by Yuki Obata pg 186, 186, 186

Total Time spent reading so far: 9 hr

Other Readers I have visited:

@shaunesay
@Atrixareads
@DNWilliams2 www.giz-blog.dk
Alysha @lilpocketbooks
@xenia.ej
@MelissaVerasR

Mini-challenges I’ve entered:

In 100 Years… 

Which contemporary books will become classic in a 100 years? It’s a fun mini-challenge, and wish there is some way I could really know what books will still be around and read by students in a 100 years. After some quick consideration, my votes are: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Bookish Brews

It’s funny I am reading a book about Dogfish Head Brewery, and up pop this challenge. While a bottle of beer would be my “choice of beverage”, sadly, experience taught me that I don’t read too well under influence. So the next best thing is the butter beer. Found it at Whole Foods a few years back and it simply screams Harry Potter without infringing any copyright.

Sadly books and beer don't mix for me but butter beer is my official #readathon drink. #bookishbrews http://t.co/4PbHDk2rvT—
Crystal S. P. (@CrystalSP) April 26, 2015

Six Words Story

Tired eyes conquering Mt TBR… not #DeweySixWordStory #readathon

— Crystal S. P. (@CrystalSP) April 26, 2015

Books I have finished: