2015 Reading Challenge [Closed] discussion

I'm not planning on doing my books in order, so I planned out as many as possible ahead of time thinking I will be more likely to stay on track if I have a solid list to choose from. I found most of these books from my own to-read shelf and the “Books Everyone Should Read At Least Once” list under listopia.

1. a book with more than 500 pages
My sister-in-law got this book for Christmas and piqued my interest
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

2. a romance
I stuck with "classic romance" for this one
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

3. a book that became a movie
I had a friend in college who loved this book
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

4. a book published this year
I decided to go with a 2015 book for this one, so I have to wait until this book comes out in March
The Mapmaker's Children by Sarah McCoy

5. a book with a number in the title
1984 by George Orwell

6. a book written by someone under 30
Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

7. a book with nonhuman characters
Animal Farm by George Orwell

8. a funny book
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

9. a book by a female author
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

10. a mystery or thriller
The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

11. a book with a one-word title
Beloved by Toni Morrison

12. a book of short stories
A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O'Connor

13. a book set in a different country
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (England)

14. a nonfiction book
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

15. a popular author's first book
The Thomas Berryman Number by James Patterson

16. a book from your favorite author that you haven't read yet
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

17. a book a friend recommended
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

18. a Pulitzer-prize winning book
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

19. a book based on a true story
Maybe this a a memoir, but close enough, right?
Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam

20. a book at the bottom of your to read list
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

21. a book your mom loves
This is one the few I haven't decided on yet. Mostly because my mother doesn't read and when she does, she reads crap. Currently my choices are:
Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus by John Gray
Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Kill me now. Maybe I'll gift her a book and hope she loves it.

22. a book that scares you
I don't know if this will scare me, but I found this on a list of ghost books
The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco

23. a book more than 100 years old
This was my favorite movie as a kid. Funny, I remember always wanting to watch it, but I don’t remember it at all.
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

24. a book based entirely on its cover
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

25. a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

26. a memoir
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

27. a book you can finish in a day
The Stranger by Albert Camus

28. a book with antonyms in the title
Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman

29. a book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit
Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder (Norway)

30. a book that came out the year you were born
The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf (1990)

31. a book with bad reviews
The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair: A Novel by Joël Dicker

32. a trilogy (the first)
Crank by Ellen Hopkins

33. a trilogy (the second)
Glass by Ellen Hopkins

34. a trilogy (the third)
Fallout by Ellen Hopkins

35. a book from your childhood
Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech

36. a book with a love triangle
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

37. a book set in the future
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

38. a book set in high school
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

39. a book with a color in the title
The Color Purple by Alice Walker

40. a book that made/makes you cry
This is one I'm still deciding on as all the books I can think of that made me cry I've read multiple times already.

41. a book with magic
I saw this book in the checkout line at Fred Meyer a while back and almost bought it multiple times. I never even read the jacket, it just drew me in. Excited to see how I like it.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

42. a graphic novel
The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg

43. a book by an author you've never read before
I'm on the fence on this one because it is part of a series, but my husband has been trying to get me to read a Stephen King novel forever.
The Gunslinger by Stephen King

44. a book you own but have never read
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

45. a book that takes place in your hometown
Lean On Pete by Willy Vlautin (Portland, OR)

46. a book that was originally written in another language
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (Translated to English)

47. a book set during Christmas (or similar holiday)
Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien

48. a book written by an author with your same initials
I'm excited about this one, but it was hard to find
The Boys Club by Angie Martin

49. a play
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

50. a banned book
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

51. a book based on OR turned into a tv show
This is from the Rizzoli & Isles series. I've never seen the TV show.
The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen

52. a book you started but never finished
Burning Bones by Christopher Golden

Wow. I agree with Elizabeth. Wonderful list.

Haha, my mom hasn't the same tastes as me for books, but reading you I'm just happy she at less likes thrillers :p I was thinking to cheat a little and go with Arsenic and old lace for this one, as she really liked the movie and I'm curious about the book. If I don't succeed to find it, I'll read a thriller author she likes.

I don't think the Gunslinger is the best way to discover King, as for me it's one of his average book, but well, I totally love the 2 next books of the Dark Tower and this one is short. I hope you'll like it enough to continue the serie :)

Thanks, guys! I felt if I wasn't organized at the start I'd end up failing miserably. Though, truth be told, I'll be lucky if I make it through all of these- I think I read 4 books last year. I work full time and my husband is a full time student, plus we got a puppy this past June so reading was at the bottom of my to-do list. I'm excited to challenge myself to read again, though. I miss it.