Christian Fiction Bloggers discussion

10 Days in the USA Reading Challenge

Duration: June 10, 2013 - September 30, 2013

Some of my favorite games are the ones in the 10 Days series, so I wanted to make a reading challenge based on them. I decided to start with 10 Days in the USA, since I think it will be the easiest to do.

How This Challenge Works
For those of you who are familiar with the game, this challenge will work almost the same - except you won't have to worry about states being taken by other players :)

Make a 10 day trip by connecting ten states (one book for each state) border to border. They have to connect on the map, with a few exceptions. For the purpose of this challenge Alaska will "connect" with Washington and Hawaii will "connect" with California.

If you read a book with 400+ pages, you will earn a wild. Only two wilds can be earned per trip. A wild can be used in two different ways:

☞ In place of a state: say you were traveling from California to New Mexico, you could use the wild instead of reading a book for Arizona.
☞ As a plane: the way a plane works is the two states between the wild must be the same color on the map (below).

You cannot start or end with a wild. Wilds can only be used between two states.

Here are two trip examples:

Example using no wilds
Day 1. Book set in California
Day 2. Book set in Nevada
Day 3. Book set in Idaho
Day 4. Book set in Montana
Day 5. Book set in South Dakota
Day 6. Book set in Iowa
Day 7. Book set in Illinois
Day 8. Book set in Kentucky
Day 9. Book set in Virginia
Day 10. Book set in North Carolina


Example using two wilds
Day 1. Book set in Texas
Day 2. Wild (being used as a plane)
Day 3. Book set in Ohio
Day 4. Book set in Pennsylvania
Day 5. Book set in New York
Day 6. Wild (being used in place of Rhode Island)
Day 7. Book set in Massachusetts
Day 8. Book set in Vermont
Day 9. Book set in New Hampshire
Day 10. Book set in Maine

All formats of books are allowed for this challenge.
Books must be at least 150 pages long (if reading an ebook, please check the paperback or hardcover edition for page count).
You may not use the same state more than once.

UPDATE
There are two levels you may choose from for this challenge. Here's how the levels work:

EASY - books may be read in any order and changed around as needed.
HARD - books used for this challenge must be used in the order you finished them and cannot be moved around. The first book you finish would be place in Day 1's spot, the second in Day 2's, etc.

You may use any book(s) you may have started before the beginning of this challenge and are currently reading - the finish date must be June 10th or later.

Rereads are allowed as well, as long as you read the whole book and don't just skim it.

Participants


Amanda - Post 8
Dawn - Post 8
Megan - Post 4
Melanie - Post 5

I'm in...of course! ;)


10 Days in the USA Reading Challenge
Duration: June 10, 2013 - September 30, 2013
Level: Hard Easy

Day 1. ILLINOIS:

The Invention of Sarah Cummings by Olivia Newport
★★★★★ Read from September 14 to 23, 2013 REVIEW

Day 2. WISCONSIN:

Opening Moves by Steven James
★★★★★ Read from July 06 to 12, 2013 REVIEW

Day 3. WILD: ( Opening Moves by Steven James - 512 pages)

Day 4.MARYLAND:

Love's Denial by Tamela Hancock Murray
★★ Read on August 04, 2013 REVIEW

Day 5. WEST VIRGINIA:

A Bride Idea by Yvonne Lehman
★★★★ Read from July 07 to 08, 2013 REVIEW

Day 6. VIRGINIA:

On Distant Shores by Sarah Sundin
★★★★★ Read from August 13 to 25, 2013 REVIEW

Day 7. NORTH CAROLINA:

The Pawn by Steven James
★★★★★ Read from July 12 to 13, 2013 REVIEW

Day 8. SOUTH CAROLINA:

Virals by Kathy Reichs
★★★★ Read from August 01 to 02, 2013 REVIEW

Day 9. GEORGIA:

Dangerous Passage by Lisa Harris
★★★★ Read from September 24 to 25, 2013 REVIEW

Day 10. FLORIDA:

The Promise by Dan Walsh
★★★★★ Read from August 27 to September 17, 2013 REVIEW

Sign me up. :)


10 Days in the USA Reading Challenge
Duration: June 10, 2013 - September 30, 2013
Level Easy

Day 1: North Carolina (Hurt - finished 6/26/2013, 400+ pages)
Day 2: Wild (from "Small Town Girl" - being used in place of Tennessee)
Day 3: Kentucky (Small Town Girl - 7/3/2013, 400 pages)
Day 4: Illinois (Into the Whirlwind - 8/24/2013
Day 5: Indiana (Barefoot Summer - 8/5/2013)
Day 6: Wild (from "Hurt" - being used as a plane)
Day 7: Washington (Mistaken: First Impressions Are Never What They Seem - 7/29/2013)
Day 8: Idaho (A Vote of Confidence - 8/02/2013)
Day 9: Oregon (Strangers in the Night - 8/14/2013)
Day 10: California (Legend - 7/13/2013)

10 Days in the USA Reading Challenge
Duration: June 10, 2013 - September 30, 2013

Day 1: Petals on the Wind (South Carolina)
Day 2: Once Upon a Prince (Georgia)
Day 3:
Day 4:
Day 5:
Day 6:
Day 7:
Day 8:
Day 9:
Day 10:

Update: I'm still pursuing this challenge, but first I'm trying to wrap-up a series I started. After that I'll begin reading towards this challenge again.

I've never done this, but I want to follow along to see how you all do and maybe get in the next one. Looks like fun!

I'll play. It looks like fun.


Getting my list ready.

Level Easy.
10 Days in the USA Reading Challenge
Duration: June 10, 2013 - September 30, 2013
Day 1. Path Less Traveled (Texas)
Day 2. Widow of Gettysburg (Pennsylvania)
Day 3.My Foolish Heart (Minnesota)
Day 4. Sweet Sanctuary (New York & Mass)
Day 5. His Yanke Bride (South Carolina)
Day 6. The Officer and the Bostoner (Oklahoma)
Day 7. Prairie Song (Missouri & Kansas)
Day 8.
Day 9.
Day 10.

ok this sounds like fun but I also have never done this. so I just started a book in New Mexico. when I finish this one I would need to start on one set in a state that borders NM????

I also meant to say I will try. Do we post when we finish one book & go to another

Jan, from what I understand yes. Next book to read towards the challenge could be in Arizona, Texas, or whatever is above NM... Colorado? I'm on my phone so I can't look at map lol!

Jan wrote: "so I just started a book in New Mexico. when I finish this one I would need to start on one set in a state that borders NM????"

Hi Jan, thanks for joining! Yes that is how it works, unless the book you are reading has 400+ pages, then you would earn a wild and could use that if you wanted...or save it for later. A wild can be used in two different ways:

☞ In place of a state: since your book is set in New Mexico, you could use the wild instead of reading a book set in any of the states that surround it (view spoiler)[Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas (hide spoiler)].
☞ As a plane: the way a plane works is the two states between the wild must be the same color on the map. So for New Mexico you could use the wild and travel to any other green-colored state.

You cannot start or end with a wild. Wilds can only be used between two states.


Jan wrote: "Do we post when we finish one book & go to another"

Sorry about not covering this - I totally forgot about it! What I was planning on doing was having two different levels, easy and hard, that way people can challenge themselves with whichever level works best. Here's how the levels would work:

EASY - books may be read in any order and changed around as needed.
HARD - books used for this challenge must be used in the order you finished them and cannot be moved around. The first book you finish would be place in Day 1's spot, the second in Day 2's, etc.

Some people may only be able to read a little over 10 books within this time frame, so the easy level would work best for them - while still being challenging.

Also, you may use any book(s) you may have started before the beginning of this challenge and are currently reading - the finish date must be June 10th or later. Also, rereads are allowed as well, as long as you read the whole book and don't just skim it.

Amanda wrote: "Jan, from what I understand yes. Next book to read towards the challenge could be in Arizona, Texas, or whatever is above NM... Colorado? I'm on my phone so I can't look at map lol!"
Thanks for answering Amanda! :D

Finished the challenge!! :)

10 Days in the USA Reading Challenge
Duration: June 10, 2013 - September 30, 2013
Level Easy

Day 1: North Carolina (Hurt - finished 6/26/2013, 400+ pages)
Day 2: Wild (from "Small Town Girl" - being used in place of Tennessee)
Day 3: Kentucky (Small Town Girl - 7/3/2013, 400 pages)
Day 4: Illinois (Into the Whirlwind - 8/24/2013
Day 5: Indiana (Barefoot Summer - 8/5/2013)
Day 6: Wild (from "Hurt" - being used as a plane)
Day 7: Washington (Mistaken: First Impressions Are Never What They Seem - 7/29/2013)
Day 8: Idaho (A Vote of Confidence - 8/02/2013)
Day 9: Oregon (Strangers in the Night - 8/14/2013)
Day 10: California (Legend - 7/13/2013)