Reading challenges that I have now completed are listed below.
Completed in 2012
War Through the Generations: WWI
1 January 2012 – 31 December 2012
Hosted by War Through the Generations
For this challenge I have committed to reading 4-10 books with World War I as the primary or secondary theme.
Books read:
1. War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
2. The Last Summer by Judith Kinghorn
3. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
4. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2012
1 January 2012 – 31 December 2012
Hosted by Historical Tapestry
I’m planning to read 20 books in my favourite genre, historical fiction.
1. Treason by Meredith Whitford
2. The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett
3. The Virgin Queen’s Daughter by Ella March Chase
4. The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau
5. Queens’ Play by Dorothy Dunnett
6. The Glovemaker by Stacia Brown
7. The Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett
8. Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett
9. The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich
10. The Ringed Castle by Dorothy Dunnett
11. Checkmate by Dorothy Dunnett
12. The Secret Life of William Shakespeare by Jude Morgan
13. The Sultan’s Wife by Jane Johnson
14. Niccolo Rising by Dorothy Dunnett
15. The Adventures of Alianore Audley by Brian Wainwright
16. Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman
17. The Secret Keeper: A Novel of Kateryn Parr by Sandra Byrd
18. The Second Empress by Michelle Moran
19. The Spring of the Ram by Dorothy Dunnett
20. In a Treacherous Court by Michelle Diener
21. Race of Scorpions by Dorothy Dunnett
22. The Conductor by Sarah Quigley
23. The Autobiography of Mrs Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin
24. The Kingmaker’s Daughter by Philippa Gregory
25. The English Monster by Lloyd Shepherd
26. To Defy a King by Elizabeth Chadwick
27. Scales of Gold by Dorothy Dunnett
28. The Oracle Glass by Judith Merkle Riley
29. The Queen’s Confidante by Karen Harper
30. The Unicorn Hunt by Dorothy Dunnett
31. Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
32. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
33. Jasmine Nights by Julia Gregson
34. The Queen’s Promise by Lyn Andrews
A Classics Challenge
1 January 2012 – 31 December 2012
Hosted by November’s Autumn
Here are the seven classics I’ve read for this challenge:
1. The Professor by Charlotte Brontë
2. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
3. Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome
4. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
5. Sylvia’s Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
6. Emma by Jane Austen
7. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Victorian Challenge
1 January 2012 – 31 December 2012
Hosted by Laura’s Reviews
I’m hoping to read at least one book a month for this challenge. There should be some overlaps with the Classics Challenge too.
1. The Professor by Charlotte Bronte
2. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
3. Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome
4. Sylvia’s Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
5. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
6. The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
7. A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott
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Completed in 2011
Victorian Literature Challenge 2011
1 January 2011 – 31 December 2011
Hosted by Words, Words, Words
My sign-up post
Books read for this challenge:
1. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
2. Villette by Charlotte Bronte
3. The Moorland Cottage by Elizabeth Gaskell
4. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome
5. A House of Pomegranates by Oscar Wilde
6. The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells
7. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
8. The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens
9. Dr Thorne by Anthony Trollope
10. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
11. Therese Raquin by Emile Zola
12. Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope
13. Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu
14. Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy
15.
Gaskell Reading Challenge
1 January 2011 – 30 June 2011
Hosted by Gaskell Blog
My sign-up post
Books read for this challenge:
1. The Moorland Cottage by Elizabeth Gaskell
2. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Historical Fiction Challenge
1 January 2011 – 31 December 2011
Hosted by Historical Tapestry
My sign-up post
Books read for this challenge:
1. Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran
2. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
3. By Fire, By Water by Mitchell James Kaplan
4. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
5. The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor
6. Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
7. Far to Go by Alison Pick
8. The Creation of Eve by Lynn Cullen
9. Jamrach’s Menagerie by Carol Birch
10. Gillespie and I by Jane Harris
11. The Map of Time by Felix Palma
12. Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir
13. Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer
14. The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
15. Powder and Patch by Georgette Heyer
16. The Champion by Elizabeth Chadwick
17. The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark
18. Devil Water by Anya Seton
19. The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory
20. The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick
Completed in 2010
Rules: Read 8 books by British authors between January 1 2010 – December 31 2010
Books read for this challenge:
1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
2. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
3. Watership Down by Richard Adams
4. The Doctor’s Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
5. The Warden by Anthony Trollope
6. I’ll Never Be Young Again by Daphne du Maurier
7. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
8. The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer
Rules: Read 6 or more chunksters (450+ pages) or 3 books with 750+ pages from February 1 2010 – January 21 2011
Books read for this challenge:
1. The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye – 960 pages
2. Drood by Dan Simmons – 775 pages
3. In a Far Country by Linda Holeman – 640 pages
4. Wild Swans by Jung Chang – 650 pages
5. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy – 464 pages
6. The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox – 608 pages
Rules: Read 6 classics between April 1 – October 31 2010
Books read for this challenge:
1. The Doctor’s Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
2. The Warden by Anthony Trollope
3. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
4. Basil by Wilkie Collins
5. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
6. The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas
Rules: Read a minimum of 2 books by women writers written or published between 1700 and 1900.
Books read for this challenge:
1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
2. The Doctor’s Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
1930s Challenge
1. I’ll Never Be Young Again by Daphne du Maurier
On this page I will keep track of my progress in the reading challenges I’m currently participating in.
Women Unbound Reading Challenge
Books read for this challenge:
1. Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain (nonfiction)
2. The Moonlit Cage by Linda Holeman (fiction)
3. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte (fiction)
4. Wild Swans by Jung Chang (nonfiction)
5. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte (fiction)
6. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (fiction)
7. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (nonfiction)
8. The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski (fiction)
Year of the Historical
Books read for this challenge:
1. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
2. The Divine Sacrifice by Tony Hays
3. The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
4. Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
5. In a Far Country by Linda Holeman
6. O, Juliet by Robin Maxwell
7. The Unburied by Charles Palliser
8. The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer
9. The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale
10. The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer
11. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
12. The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
New Authors
Books read for this challenge:
1. Dimitri Verhulst
2. CS Richardson
3. Tony Hays
4. Betsy Connor Bowen
5. Anne Bronte
6. Willy Vlautin
7. Melanie Benjamin
8. Tamara Allen
9. Dan Simmons
10. Horace Walpole
11. Robin Maxwell
12. Michael T. Darkow
13. Anthony Trollope
14. Jung Chang
15. Thomas Hardy
16. Georgette Heyer
17. Michael Cox
18. Winifred Watson
19. Jane Borodale
20. Sarah Waters
21. Seth Hunter
22. Frank Baker
23. Marjane Satrapi
24. Barbara Euphan Todd
25. Mollie Panter-Downes
26. Lisa See
27. Willa Cather
28. Catherine Ryan Hyde
29. Steven Galloway
30. Sue Gee
31. Gayle Forman
32. Rosy Thornton
33. Julie Buxbaum
34. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
35. Curtis Sittenfeld
36. William Beckford
37. Alan Bradley
38. Matthew Lewis
39. Kazuo Ishiguro
40. Marghanita Laski
41. Bram Stoker
42. Kate Morton
43. Anna Dean
44. Belinda Bauer
45. Alan Bennett
46. Maria McCann
47. Sharon Penman
48. Tracy Chevalier
49. Elizabeth Speller
50. Sebastian Barry
Books read for this challenge:
1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
2. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
Books read for this challenge: (FAILED CHALLENGE)
A – Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
B – Basil by Wilkie Collins
C – The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
D – The Divine Sacrifice by Tony Hays
E – The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson
F – The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
G – The Glass of Time by Michael Cox
H – Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I – In a Far Country by Linda Holeman
J
K
L – Lean on Pete by Willy Vlautin
M – Madame Verona Comes Down the Hill by Dimitri Verhulst
N – Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
O – O, Juliet by Robin Maxwell
P – Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Q
R – The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
S – Spring Bear by Betsy Connor Bowen
T – The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
U – The Unburied by Charles Palliser
V – Vathek by William Beckford
W – The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
X
Y
Z
Books read for this challenge: (FAILED CHALLENGE)
1. The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
2. Watership Down by Richard Adams
What’s In A Name? 3 Challenge
Books read for this challenge: (FAILED CHALLENGE)
1. [Book with a Title in the title] The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
2. [Book with a Plant in the title] The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas
3. [Book with a Music Term in the title] The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
4. [Book with a Food in the title] The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
Books read for this challenge:
1. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
2. The Divine Sacrifice by Tony Hays
3. The Far Pavilions by M. M. Kaye
4. Whistling in the Dark by Tamara Allen
5. Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
6. Drood by Dan Simmons
7. In a Far Country by Linda Holeman
8. O, Juliet by Robin Maxwell
9. The Unburied by Charles Palliser
10. The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer
11. The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale
12. The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer
13. The Time of Terror by Seth Hunter
14. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
15. The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
16. The Glass of Time by Michael Cox
17. The Saffron Gate by Linda Holeman
18. The Wilding by Maria McCann
19. The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Penman
20. Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
Our Mutual Read: A Victorian Reading Challenge
Books read for this challenge:
1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
2. Drood by Dan Simmons (Neo-Victorian)
3. The Doctor’s Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
4. The Warden by Anthony Trollope
5. The Unburied by Charles Palliser (Neo-Victorian)
6. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
7. The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox (Neo-Victorian)
8. Basil by Wilkie Collins
9. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
10. A House to Let by Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell & Adelaide Anne Procter
11. A Rogue’s Life by Wilkie Collins
12. A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy
Gothic Novel Challenge
Books read for this challenge:
1. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
2. The Unburied by Charles Palliser
3. Vathek by William Beckford
4. The Monk by Matthew Lewis
5. Dracula by Bram Stoker
Daphne du Maurier Challenge
Books read for this challenge:
1. I’ll Never Be Young Again
2. My Cousin Rachel
3. The Scapegoat
RIP V Challenge
Books read for this challenge:
1. Vathek by William Beckford
2. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
3. The Monk by Matthew Lewis
4. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
5. The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski
6. Dracula by Bram Stoker
7. A Moment of Silence by Anna Dean
8. The Haunted Hotel & Other Stories by Wilkie Collins
Short stories – 1. The Vampyre by John Polidori
Completed in 2009
Rules: Read at least 1 Christmas book between November 26 2009 – December 31 2009
My Wrap-up Post
Books read for this challenge:
1. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
2. The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder
