Monday, November 30, 2009

Welcome to the Challenge

The What's in a Name Challenge, hosted for its first two years by Annie, was the challenge that pushed me over the edge and got me into blogging. I've always had a soft spot for this one.

Annie, a young teenager, has decided to relinquish her hosting duties for this challenge. I just can't let it go. I hope people can find a place for this in their challenge schedules. There's a lot of room for flexibility and it's only six books!

Picking the categories was harder than I thought it would be. For inspiration I turned to Annie's challenge blog. Last summer, she asked participants to suggest categories, and people came up with some great ideas. I stole many of them.

So here's how it works: Between January 1 and December 31, 2010, read one book in each of the following categories:
  1. A book with a food in the title: Clockwork Orange, Grapes of Wrath, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
  2. A book with a body of water in the title: A River Runs through It, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, The Lake House
  3. A book with a title (queen, president) in the title: The Murder of King Tut, The Count of Monte Cristo, Lady Susan
  4. A book with a plant in the title: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Wind in the Willows, The Name of the Rose
  5. A book with a place name (city, country) in the title: Out of Africa; London; Between, Georgia
  6. A book with a music term in the title: Song of Solomon, Ragtime, The Piano Teacher
The book titles are just suggestions, you can read whatever book you want to fit the category.

Other Things to Know
  • Books may be any form (audio, print, e-book).
  • Books may overlap other challenges.
  • Books may not overlap categories; you need a different book for each category.
  • Creativity for matching the categories is allowed.
  • You do not have to make a list of books before hand.
  • You do not have to read through the categories in any particular order.
  • There will be a single prize at the end of the challenge. Readers who complete the challenge and write up a wrap-up post (or wrap-up comment) are eligible. I'll figure out a way to make it international.
On January 1, I'll publish 7 posts, each with a Mr. Linky (one for each category and one for your wrap-up post), on this blog so you'll have a place post links to your reviews (bloggers) or leave comments (non-bloggers) as you finish up each category.

To join in, sign up with Mr. Linky below. If you aren't a blogger, just add a comment. EDIT: Apparently some people cannot see Mr. Linky. If you can't see the box for adding your link, either try again later or click on "Email Me" in the side bar with your information and I'll add the link myself.

I hope you like the categories! Have fun and good luck.