Sunday, December 29, 2013

Reading Challenges 2014 - Chunkster, Foodie and Eclectic

I have already signed up for two reading challenges for 2014:
 
 
I don't want to take on too many challenges, so I decided to settle with a nice number five.

Chunkster Challenge 2014


This year e-books and audio-books are allowed, so this is partly the reason why I am joining in, I will definitely be reading some big books on my Kindle reader.
 
Head over to this web site to learn about the challenge, sign up and see who else is taking part.
 
I will not be setting any goals for this challenge, but in the end of the year it will be nice to see how many chunksters I've tackled. I just made statistics on 2013 and based on the rules of the challenge (that a chunkster is book with 450 pages or more - 450 is not enough for me personally, it would have to be at least 500 pages), I read more than 20 chunksters (out of 64 books read), so hoping something similar for 2014.

1. Dead Souls, Nikolai Gogol (462)
2. The Lies of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch (537)
3. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (543)
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (734)
5. The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss (662)
6. The Final Empire, Brandon Sanderson (537)
7. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell (510)
8. The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon (487)
9. American Gods, Neil Gaiman (592)
10. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling (870)
11. Hyperion, Dan Simmons (482)
12. Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides (596)
13. Red Seas Under Red Skies, Scott Lynch (628)
14. The Fall of Hyperion, Dan Simmons (517)
15. The Little Stranger, Sarah Waters (499)
16. The Bone Clocks, David Mitchell (595)
17. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling (652)
18. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling (759)
19.
20.

Foodies Read Challenge 2014


More information on the challenge can be acquired from Foodies Read 2014 web page.
 
Although food related books are not only limited to non-fiction, I personally will be aiminig for those non-fiction foodie books I've been eyeing for a while. I will aim for the level 2: Pastry Chef (4-8 books).

1. Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley
2. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Eclectic Reader Challenge 2014


This one's not as straightforward as the other ones, so it will be fun to choose books for this challenge. Head over to this Book'd Out's post to learn more!
 
The categories for this challenge are:

1. Award Winning - Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (several awards - like Man Booker Prize for 2009)
2. True Crime (Non-Fiction) - The Devil in the White City by Lars Erikson
3. Romantic Comedy - The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
4. Alternate History Novel - Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next #4)
5. Graphic Novel - Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley
6. Cosy Mystery Fiction - The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
7. Gothic Fiction - Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
8. War/Military Fiction - War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
9. Anthology - no idea yet.
10. Medical Thriller Fiction - Symbiont by Mira Grant (Parasitology #2; expected to be published November 2014)
11. Travel (Non-Fiction) - Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson
12. Published in 2014 - The Martian by Andy Weir

A few categories were especially difficult to fill out, like Romantic Comedy and Medical Thriller fiction, or Anthology - which I have not payed much attention before.

If anyone has a recommendation of anthologies related to food, fantasy or sci-fi - please let me know!
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19 comments:

  1. Anonymous29 December, 2013 15:33

    Glad to have you joining me for the Eclectic Reader Challenge, I look forward to reading your reviews!

    Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out

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    1. Riv29 December, 2013 16:17

      I'm so glad to be able to take part - thanks for hosting :)

      Delete
  2. Lucy29 December, 2013 16:43

    Sounds like you're going to have a busy year! I'll definitely be keeping an eye on all the great books you read - these challenge seem so tempting!

    Lucy

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    1. Riv31 December, 2013 07:13

      Thank you, Lucy - the challenges are indeed tempting, but on the other hand I believe they will help me be more organised in my reading :)

      Delete
  3. Sam (Tiny Library)29 December, 2013 20:18

    I do like the look of the Eclectic Reader challenge, as it forces you to read genres you don't normally read. I think I would struggle with the Cosy Mystery Fiction!

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    1. Riv31 December, 2013 07:28

      I like the Eclectic Reader challenge for the same reason (I don't think I've read a romantic (comedy) or something similar in at least five years).

      Delete
  4. Melissa @ Confessions of an Avid Reader30 December, 2013 00:59

    Good choices for the challenges. I've decided not to take part in any in 2014, mainly because I miserably failed half of those I took part in this year and the one I rocked was one that's not really a challenge because I read so much in the genre anyway (historical fiction challenge). Of course, I may change my mind between now and the beginning of 2014 :-)

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    1. Riv31 December, 2013 08:00

      It's also one of my fears that I will fail miserably in challenges, but I didn't come up with anything too far away from my usual reading habits (like I read a lot of chunksters anyway), so I'm hoping to complete at least a few of them! :)

      Delete
  5. Sarah30 December, 2013 03:30

    You ROCK the chunksters! Whoa.

    Both your foodie picks are really good. And I have The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie on my shelf, I'm hoping to get around to that this year... Have fun with your challenges!!

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    1. Riv31 December, 2013 08:17

      I was surprised myself with the amount of big books I read! :)

      I think I'll read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie during Bout of Books (actually I already put it in the Bout of Books To Be Read Pile), it seems the kind of laid back cozy mystery type of book that would be a good choice.

      Thanks Sarah!

      Delete
  6. Riv31 December, 2013 07:47

    Thanks for hosting, Vicki :) Such a great challenge (who doesn't love food??)

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  7. Christine31 December, 2013 21:09

    I'm doing the Chunkster and Foodies challenges too, along with far to many others... challenges definitely bring out the eclectic reader in me since they all sound awesome and I want to read ALL the books :) Good luck & Happy New Year!

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    1. Riv01 January, 2014 11:37

      Yes, I also want to read ALL the books! (Almost :) ) I hope we both will do awesome in our challenges this year :) Happy new year to you too, Christine!

      Delete
  8. Anonymous01 January, 2014 02:25

    It must have been so much fun picking books for all those categories. Hope you find some interesting books to fill the rest. Enjoy and Happy New Year!

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    1. Riv01 January, 2014 11:38

      It is fun to pick books for challenges! :) Happy new year to you too, I've been enjoying your blog posts a lot this year :)

      Delete
  9. Ellie01 January, 2014 21:13

    This is a really good selection of challenges. The eclectic reader looks quite tricky, I know there are a few categories I'd struggle with. Good luck and enjoy :D

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    1. Riv02 January, 2014 07:22

      Thanks! Some of the categories in Eclectic Reader challenge are very tricky, but I also want to reach out of my "comfort" genres for a bit and see how it is :)

      Delete
  10. Joy15 January, 2014 01:30

    Terrific challenges! I'm also participating in Foodies and Chunkster. Good luck!

    Joy's Book Blog

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