Category: Reading Challenges

Book Challenges, Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Gen Lit, Literary Criticism, Reading, Reading Challenges

2011 Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge

by The Lit Bitch2 Comments on 2011 Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge

I thought this would be a good way for me to add some eastern ‘flair’ to my reading lists for the year and it seems like Haruki Murakami is a very good writer so I am looking forward to this challenge. Just so I don’t over extend myself I am only going to read one book but who knows I might really like this guy and start devouring all his books!

All the info for this challenge is listed here and the book I am going to read is Sputnik Sweetheart (info on the book can be found here). If you are interested in joining the challenge or want to check out more info click here to see the blog and challenge info.

Here is the challenge info:

Continue reading “2011 Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge” →

Book Challenges, Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Gen Lit, Literary Criticism, Reading, Reading Challenges

2011 Gothic Reading Challenge

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on 2011 Gothic Reading Challenge

I have decided to add one more challenge this year, and only because I am an absolute Gothic Fiction fan…..I couldn’t resist. The challenge is being hosted by gothicreadingchallenge.blogspot.com.

Here is the info about their challenge which I listed below. Here is a list of classic Gothic elements and the list of books which are being used for the challenge.

I have read lots of these books already but since many are classics which I love and therefore I don’t mind reading them again and again…..that’s the beauty of classics…..I can read them over and over again but get something new out of them every time!

Check out the challenge and be sure to follow my progress as I will be posting my responses in my blog!

Here is the challenge info again or just check out the site here:

January 1 – December 31 2011

There is nothing better than a great Gothic read – crumbling old castles, mysterious legends, shadowy characters, supernatural beings and unexplainable events, make for some of the most haunting and captivating reading imaginable.

There are four levels of participation to choose from:

  • A Little Madness – Read just 1 novel with Gothic elements.
  • The Darkness Within – Read 5 novels with Gothic elements.
  • A Maniacal Frenzy – Read 10 novels with Gothic elements.
  • Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know – Read 20 novels with Gothic elements

For this challenge, I’m going for five books- The Darkness Within

I’ll be reading:

  • Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Bronte or Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
  • Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
  • Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
  • The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
  • And if I get really ambitious……I might even read The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

Click here to join me if you’re interested!

Book Challenges, Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Gen Lit, Literary Criticism, Reading, Reading Challenges

2011 Victorian Literature Challenge

by The Lit Bitch11 Comments on 2011 Victorian Literature Challenge

2011 Victorian Literature Challenge (Starts Jan 1, 2011)

Selected Level: Desperate Remedies: 15+ books.

Here is the list of books I’ll be reading over the next year as part of the 2011 Victorian Literature Challenge. I will try to blog and post about each one. Many of these I have read and many I have not but have wanted to and thought this would be the perfect excuse. All of these books were written during the specified Victorian timeline (1837-1901).

These books are in no special order and I will not be reading in this order but I will post what I am reading.

Challenge starts Jan 1 2011! Here’s the list!

  1. Wuthering Heights/ Emily Bronte
  2. Great Expectations/ Charles Dickens
  3. The Moonstone/ Wilkie Collins
  4. The Woman in White/ Wilkie Collins
  5. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes/ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  6. The Picture of Dorian Gray/ Oscar Wilde
  7. Middlemarch/ George Elliot
  8. The Mill on the Floss/ George Eliot
  9. Silas Marner/ George Elliot
  10. Agnes Grey/ Anne Bronte
  11. Les Miserables/ Victor Hugo
  12. The Importance of Being Earnest/ Oscar Wilde
  13. Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass/ Lewis Carroll (since they are both short)
  14. A Christmas Carol/ Charles Dickens
  15. Vanity Fair/ William Thackeray
  16. The Purloined Letter and other short stories/ Edgar Allan Poe
  17. Tale of Two Cities/ Charles Dickens
  18. The Turn of the Shrew or The Portrait of a Lady/ both by Henry James
  19. The Return of Sherlock Holmes/ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  20. His Last Bow (Sherlock Holmes)/ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle