Sunday, January 3, 2016

Ultimate Book Challenge of 2016

I've been wanting to to take on an extensive book list like this one since I graduated a few years ago (since I have so much extra time now that I'm not in school). I finally decided this was the year, and thought I'd share with anyone who may want to take it on with me. I know it's a few months into the year, but there's still plenty of time! This list technically has 52 books on it, since one of the categories is a trilogy, so that comes out to one book a week. However, your options are limitless, so it's easy to pick books that are shorter if you so desire!


A book with more than 500 pages: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
A classic romance: Emma, by Jane Austen
A book that became a movie: The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
A book published this year: The Girl from Everywhere, by Heidi Heilig
A book with a number in the title: Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher
A book written by someone under 30: Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
A book with nonhuman characters: Animal Farm, by George Orwell
A funny book: Yes, Please, by Amy Poehler
A book by a female author: Between, by Jessica Warman
A mystery or thriller: The Shining Girls, by Lauren Beukes
A book with a one-word title: Ash, by Malinda Lo
A book of short stories: Vampires in the Lemon Grove, by Karen Russell
A book set in a different country: The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield
A nonfiction book: Beneath the Surface, by John Hargrove
A popular author’s first book: Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery
A book from an author you love that you haven’t read yet: The Body in the Library, by Agatha Christie
A book a friend recommended: Once and Future King, by T. H. White
A Pulitzer Prize-winning bookL The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt
A book based on a true story: An Invisible Thread, by Laura Schrod and Alex Tresniowski
A book at the bottom of your to-read list: Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson
A book your mom loves: The Scarlet Thread, by Francine Rivers
A book that scares you: House of Leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski
A book more than 100 years old: The Secret Garden, by Francis Hodgson Burnett
A book based entirely on its cover: The Magician’s Lie, by Greer MacAllister
A book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t: The Club Dumas, by Arturo Perez-Reverte
A memoir: Girl at the End of the World, by Elizabeth Esther
A book you can finish in a day: We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson
A book with antonyms in the title: Noughts & Crosses, by Malorie Blackman
A book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit: The Danger Game, by Kalinda Ashton
A book that came out the year you were born: The Diamond Lane, by Karen Karbo
A book with bad reviews: Barry Trotter and the Unauthorized Parody, by Michael Gerber
A trilogy: The Magicians, by Lev Grossman
A book from your childhood: Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O’Dell
A book with a love triangle: I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
A book set in the future: Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
A book set in high school: The Swan House, by Elizabeth Musser
A book with a color in the title: Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard
A book that made you cry: Bridge to Terebithia, by Katherine Paterson
A book with magic: A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray
A graphic novel: The Encyclopedia of Early Earth, by Isabel Greenberg
A book by an author you’ve never read before: The Language of Flowers, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
A book you own but have never read: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson
A book that takes place in your hometown: The Shunning, by Beverly Lewis
A book that was originally written in a different language: The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
A book set during Christmas: Shadow Season, by Tom Piccirilli
A book written by an author with your same initials: The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, by Laurie King
A play: Love Labour's Lost, by William Shakespeare
A banned book: The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
A book based on or turned into a tv show: Deja Dead, by Kathy Reichs
A book you started but never finished: The Wednesday Tales, by Jon Berkeley