SA Book & Challenge Lovers discussion

Here are some suggestions! Feel free to ask if you need help thinking of another book :)

1. Read a book with your Name (Tie in with http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/3...)

Example:
Lauren - Fallen by Lauren Kate
Jill - Jack & Jill by James Patterson
Fraser - Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser

2. Read a book with the word "love" in the title

Example:
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
Love in the Time of Cholera
Marley & Me: Love and Life with the World's Worst Dog
PS, I Love You

3. Read a author with a colour as a surname

Example:
Dan Brown
Sandra Brown
Holly Black
E.B. White
Kiersten White

4. Read a book that was released in 2010

Example:

There are tons!



5. Read a book by a author who's name and surname starts with the same letter

Example:
Rick Riordan
Sara Shepard
Marie Morin
Jean Johnson
Ginger Garrett
Mari Mancusi
Sydney Salter
Fannie Flagg

6. Read a book by a South African author

Example:

Lauren Beukes
Antjie Krog
J.M. Coetzee
Deon Meyer

7. Read a book to learn something new (this can be fiction or non-fiction, eg. you could read a novel or a non-fiction work about Victorian England.) Emphasis on NEW - choose a topic you know little or nothing about.

Example:

8. Try a genre you normally avoid (I've tried this, and it can be really cool, especially if you 'swap' genres with someone else, and you chat about what you thought of each others books)

Example:

Chick-Lit
Classics
Crime
History
Memoir
Philosophy
Science fiction
Self help

Anything :)

9. Read a random book - pick a book that you've never heard of, by an author you don't know of.

Your own choice

10. Read a book with an unusual narrator - a young child, an animal, an AI, a group narrator, etc. Vampires, werewolves, fairies, etc. DO NOT count.

Example:

11) Favourite Colour- That predominant colour of the book cover should be your favourite colour. e.g. red is my favourite colour.

Example:



12) One Word- The title of the book should only have one word in it

Example:

Wings
Fluke
Lolita
Fallen
Covet
Fame
Gone
Burned
Twilight

13) Double Title- Find two books by different authors with the same name.

Example:

Scandal, Scandal
Dreamcatcher, Dreamcatcher
The Awakening, The Awakening
Great Expectations, Great Expectations

14) Set in a City- The story is set and revolves around 1 major city e.g Chicago Land Vampire Series or Sex and The City

Example:

Some Girls Bite
Sex and the City
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A Tale of Two Cities

15) Dear Diary- Book written in the form of someone’s diary or has the word diary in the title.

Example:

Bridget Jones's Diary
The Nanny Diaries
Suzanne's Diary for NicholasDiary
The Princess Diaries
The Awakening and The Struggle
The Clue in the Diary

MORE IF YOU SCROLL DOWN

I can't edit the above post, so I'll give some suggestions here:

2. Read a book with the word 'love' in the title
There must be thousands, so it might be a good idea to do a keyword search in the library on someone who has the same taste as you.

6. Read a book by a South African author
Suggestions in Lu's post above, but it's also easy to search for, and you can browse the SA section in bookshops. Feel free to ask for a recommendation if you want something in a specific genre though.

7. Read a book to learn something new (this can be fiction or non-fiction, eg. you could read a novel or a non-fiction work about Victorian England.) Emphasis on NEW - choose a topic you know little or nothing about.
Your choice, but you can always ask for a book recommendation if you're stuck :)

8. Try a genre you normally avoid
Your choice, but once again you can ask for recommendations. I suggest doing this challenge with someone else, who loves the genre you avoid, and who avoids the genre you love. For example, I did this challenge on LibraryThing with people who like chick lit, westerns, and hard sci fi (all genres I avoid). In return I picked books for them from my favourite genres. Each challenge had its own thread, and we discussed what we liked and disliked about each others books. Even if I didn't like the book (which only happened once), it was great to talk about it, and it made the challenge fun.
Sub-genres included, also books about a specific topic, eg. books about American history.

9. Read a random book - pick a book that you've never heard of, by an author you don't know of.
Your choice. You can read the blurb first to see if the plot sounds interesting, but just be sure you've never heard of it before.

10. Read a book with an unusual narrator - a young child, an animal, an AI, a group narrator, etc. Vampires, werewolves, fairies, etc. DO NOT count.
Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife by Sam Savage About a rat who learns to read by eating books. Can also be used for the challenge with an author whose name and surname start with the same letters.
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. Group narrator
Cracks by Sheila Kohler. Group narrator. Also a South African author, although she now lives in the USA.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. Young child
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. Teenager with Aspergers
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. A paedophile.

Thanks for the suggestions Lauren :)

No problem :) I unlocked this topic, hope that's ok? I wasn't sure why it was locked.

Thats fine :)

I just locked all the threads while i was working on them :)

16. Author's debut: read the first book published by an author

Example:

17. Read a non-fiction book;

Example:

A Short History of Nearly Everything
On Writing
Schindler's List
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time

18. Read a book written by a woman for woman;

Example:

19. Read a autobiography;

Example:

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Running with Scissors
Angela's Ashes
Reading Lolita in Tehran
The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

20. Read a book with a Country name in the title.

Example:

Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt: A Novel
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
A Passage to India

21. Read a classic

Example:

Harper Lee
Jane Austen
William Shakespeare
J.D. Salinger
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Charles Dickens

22. Read an award winning book (e.g. Man Booker, Orange, Newbery, Costa, Pulitzer)

Example:

See Lauren's post down

23. Read a book whose author shares your birth month (e.g. I was born in April; so were William Shakespeare and Barbara Kingsolver)

Example:

24. Read a book from the BBC Big Read top 100 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/bigread/top100.shtm...)

Example:

25. Read a book not originally written in English - read the book in English or in the language in was written in (e.g. Anna Karenina (Russian), Triomf (Afrikaans))

Example:

26. Read a sports themed book. (about sports, on the cover or in the title)

Example:

27. Read 1 books with 2 elements on the front cover. E.g. The ocean and sky= water and air

Example:

28.Read 1 book with 2 types of animals on the cover

Example:

29. Read 1 book that has "his" or "her" in the title

Example:

30.Read 1 book from the Victorian era

Example:

What exactly are we classifying as a country?

Also need some help with Read a book written by a woman for woman

For a country, the common sovereign state definition should suffice. Here's a list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_...

Hmm, woman for a woman... To me that would be chick lit or romance, as it's specifically marketed to women. A book that just happens to be about a woman or women wouldn't count, even if it's mostly women that read it. If a book was about a man you wouldn't say it was written for men.
Otherwise, I guess self-help books on women's issues would count, but I don't see many of us wanting to read those :)
This one is a bit restrictive. As far as chick lit is concerned, I'd read Bridget Jones Diary, but there's nothing else I can think of. I doubt any guys would want to do this, but as far as I know Crusader is our only active male, so that might not be a problem.

For number 22, I'll just add some sci fi and fantasy awards to the list:
Nebula
James Tiptree Award
World Fantasy Award
Arthur C. Clarke Award
British Science Fiction Association (BFSA) Awards
Hugo Awards

Click on the links or google the awards for reading lists. These and other award sites will list longlisted and shortlisted titles, as well as short stories, movies, etc. that won the awards. Be sure to pick only winners and only novels.

By the way, do novellas and novelettes count?

Thanks for the help Lauren! I'll add some suggestions at the top :)

I think Crusader has to nominate a male book challenge :P

As far as the novellas and novelettes go I would say as long as the book has a decent amount of pages (above 150!) you can read it :)

Hmm, I wouldn't put a page count to it, although I'm biased because I add Pocket Penguins to my reading challenge/goal lists, especially when I'm in a bit of a reading rut. Maybe count out novelettes, but include novellas?

I agree with you.

I doesn't have to be strictly to the number of pages as long as nobody reads a 20 page essay and calls it a book :)

For number 30: must the book be written IN the Victorian era (1837-1901) by a Victorian era author or can it also be ABOUT the Victorian era, eg. a novel set in that time, or non fiction about the period.

I'm taking it as a given that whatever you read must be about the Victorian era (ie. the UK) in some way. For example, you can't read an American novel that just happens to be written at that time, because the Victorian era is a British thing.

For task 3 - Author whose surname is a colour - would "Greene" be acceptable for "green"?

I don't see why not :)
In a similar vein, should a surname like Blackwell be acceptable?

Lauren wrote: "For number 30: must the book be written IN the Victorian era (1837-1901) by a Victorian era author or can it also be ABOUT the Victorian era, eg. a novel set in that time, or non fiction about the ..."

A book written about the Victorian era or set in it is fine!

Shannon wrote: "For task 3 - Author whose surname is a colour - would "Greene" be acceptable for "green"?"

As long as the colour is in the surname its fine :)

Another one - I'm a pest! - for task 2 would the word "loving" in the title be acceptable?

I thought about that, and fortunately no :(
Its supposed to be a challenge :P

Okay, off to the bookshop I go!

Have fun! And don't buy too much :)

No, buy lots! You can't have too many books!

Lol true, but you can run out of money :P

Would anyone say Undead and Unwed counts as a book for woman by woman?

BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top...

I'm having trouble with award winning books :(
Also books about sport, would ballet count?

For award winning books, choose one of the awards (you might like one of the fantasy ones), google it or click on one of the links I provided, and look through the list of winners. Or go to the profile page of any of the books you want to read and see if its won an award.

I wouldn't count ballet as a sport, but sport doesn't have to be the subject of the book - it can also be in the title or on the cover.

Oki doki, thanks Lauren :)

WOuld loved then also not qualify as a book with Love in the Title??

Lauren, I have many MANY Mills & Boon's to suggest, BUT you'll have to read two because they are very short! Hehe! Would you like me to suggest some?

Thats just what I wanted to ask now, cause I noticed mine says loved :)

Hmm, technically "loved" has the whole word "love" in it (whereas "loving does not), so I suppose it counts, but it still seems weird to allow "loved" but not "loving".

Sonette: ack, if I have to read two I'd rather go with Nicholas Sparks! Is it ok if we do our challenge in September or later? I'll re-read whichever book you choose for the challenge (I don't think I finished No Logo anyway).

Hehehe! That's fine Lauren. I will have to look for the books first anyway! We can even leave them for last!

Naz let me see what i come up with for you :)

Sorry guys, only LOVE in the title :(
Might it be a ploy to win the challenge? Maybe :P

Ok Naz, you can try this one Stealing Nasreen, or something with Nasrin.
But if you really struggle something with Wild Rose will work, as that is what your name means :)

Beautiful name by the way!

Have fun choosing a book :)

Thanks Lu :) It means white rose actually but I've seen it meaning wild rose often I think its got something to do with the pronunciation not the spelling.

I found Stealing Nasreen also but I couldn't find a place to download it (yes I know its illegal..) but I'll keep looking maybe EB has it. Thanks :)

Hey am I right that the challenge is out of 31 because unlucky number 13 is TWO books with the same name. Or can I find another book with the same title as one of the books on my list?

Please help! I have read His Dark Materials and it is the only book I can find that has 2 animals on it!! Seriously I have looked hard!!

Naz this thread is useful for you! :P
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/3...

Yip 30 challenges but 31 books. You have to read 2 books to finish nr 13!

Ok Lauren let me have a look at the animal thing. Otherwise we might have to reduce it to 1 animal

The cover challenges have a loophole though - you can look at all the different editions of the book you're reading, and if any one of them correspond to one of the cover challenges, you can count it towards that.

I'll probably read a Terry Pratchett novel for the animal cover one - those Josh Kirby covers always have loads of creatures on them, there have to be plenty with two or more animals.

THESE ARE THE ONES THAT I'M MISSING. COULD ANYONE HELP! PLEASE!

22. Read an award winning book -
23. Read a book whose author shares your birth month -
25. Read a book not originally written in English read the book in English or in the language in was
written in -
26. Read a sports themed book -
28. Read 1 book with 2 types of animals on the cover

22: For sci fi and fantasy, click on one of the links I provided in message 10. Check out the past novel winners of the award for something you like. Otherwise, google the other awards mentioned (Man Booker, Orange, Pulitzer, Orange, Newbery, Costa) and check out the past winners. Again, only novels, not novellas or short stories.

23: What month were you born in? For this one, I checked which months my favourite authors were born in. When I didn't get any results, I googled "authors born in May". I only managed to get a list of celebrities, but there were a few authors among them.

24: For this one, I'm checking out authors I like who didn't write in English: Arturo Pérez-Reverte (he wrote The Club Dumas, which I think I mentioned to you a while back), Jostein Gaarder, Milan Kundera, José Saramago, Albert Camus. Also check out Sergei Lukyanenko's vampire series (it was translated from Russian).

26: I'm not much help here, since, to be honest, I don't give a crap about any sport, but the other day I found The Fencing Master by Arturo Perez-Reverte at my library. He writes historical mysteries and adventures, I think. If The Club Dumas is anything to judge by, he's very very good.
Also wondering if there's a Pratchett novel about a sport?

28: I'm going to read Pratchett for this. The Josh Kirby covers are full of creatures, there must be a few with more than one animal.

Thanks Lauren! I was born in July and the only author I could find who was mildly interesting was Rowling and I have read the Harry Potters and Bronte and I just recently read Wuthering Heights. Anyone else you guys know about.

Thanks for the Club Dumas suggestion. Meaning to read that anyway so it will fit nicely at number 24.

Hehe with the new Jeaniene Frost out today, I'll probably lose the challenge caus I have to read that first!

No problem :)
Here's a list of people born in July from the same site I used: http://www.saidwhat.co.uk/quotes/month/7

A few good ones are:
Alexander Dumas (The Club Dumas might make you want to check him out :)
Franz Kafka
Hunter S. Thompson (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream)
E.B. White (Charlotte's Web

But I only took a quick look, there should be others.

Sonette wrote: "Hehe with the new Jeaniene Frost out today, I'll probably lose the challenge caus I have to read that first!"

LOL, I don't think you need to worry, you have a whole year!

ANNOUNCEMENT: Nr 28: As long as the book has a animal on the cover its fine :) Its really hard finding one that has 2 on it. I searched and only find 2 in total.

Ooh, I found a good one for the colour name task (no.3): by Scarlett Thomas

It could also work for the cover colour task, if you like red.

I found it at the Exclusive Books sale where it's going for R30 if you have a chance to check it out :)

Hye everyone... Wow Lauren, that cover looks so cool!
I am so into this challenge you guys, I'm reading 4 books at once and I want to read them as quick as I can to win hehehe, no but this is a really cool challenge, something different :)

Yeah, it's a very cool looking book. The edges of the pages are also dyed black, makes it very eye-catching.