2013 Online Reading Challenge Round-up, Part II: Title challenges, lists and number of books

Here you will find two related types of challenges: those that have something to do with titles and ones were you read books from a specific list. I have also updated the list from the original posting to include challenges to finish a certain number of books. Starting with the title challenges we first have:

The fabulous What's in a Name Challenge, 6th edition. It's being hosted on the Beth Fish Reads blog. To participate, you pledge to read one book in each of six categories. The categories consist of titles having a specific type of word in them:

• up or down (or equivalent)
• something you'd find in your kitchen
• a party or celebration in the title
• fire (or equivalent)
• an emotion in the title
• lost or found (or equivalent)

The challenge runs throughout 2013 and you can join up at any time. The challenge can overlap other challenges, reviewing is necessary (in a blog post or comment) and you are encouraged to be creative when choosing books. Further rules and sign-up can be fond by following the link. 157 participants had signed up the last time I looked. I will almost definitely join this one.

A related challenge is the Monthly Key Word Reading challenge at Bookmark to Blog. The task is to read one book each month whose title includes one or more of the key words for that month.Variation is encouraged, so that, for example, you can interpret "snow" to mean, e.g. "snowflake" or "snowball" and you can tweak the key words so that "family" can mean a family member, like "mother" or "son". No sign-up deadline is mentioned, but you'll need to sign up before the end of January because each month's book must be read within that month. You seem to be expected to review or at least write something about the books. 86 participants so far.

And now for something more specific: The Color Coded challenge is being hosted by Bev of My Reader's Block. Should you accept the challenge, you will need to read 9 books, each with a specific color or variation thereof in the title. The challenge runs all year, the sign-up deadline is November 30th, and overlap with other challenges is allowed. Reviewing is expected and can be done by  blogging, commenting or through your Goodreads account. Everyone who finishes gets entered in a prize drawing.




The final challenge in this category is an alphabet challenge: The A to Z Book Challenge on Babies, Books and Beyond.

The aim is to read books with titles containing key words beginning with all the letters of the alphabet (see examples given in the challenge starter post). The challenge is year-long, you can join at any time and some kind of tracking is expected, e.g. links to blog posts or a website. There will be a mini-challenge each moth. 46 participants so far.

And now for the list challenges.

The first is the Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge. Basically, you choose books from a list of 105 books, recommended by 12 bloggers, and pledge to read a certain number of these books before the end of 2013. Levels range from 5 to 20+ books, you can sign up at any time and reviewing is not mandatory, but is appreciated. 28 people have already accepted the challenge.

The second list challenge is the “I’ve Always Meant to Read That Book” Challenge hosted by Carrie of the Books and Movies blog. This is a read-along challenge. Carrie has published a list of 12 books, one of each month of the year, that she has always wanted to read, and is inviting others to join her in a read-along. Reviewing is a must, but you don't have to read all the books. Further rules can be found at the hosting blog.



I'm sure there are other list challenges out there, e.g. to read books shortlisted for specific awards or books that have won awards, lists of "worthwhile" books.

Of those, there is one I would especially like to mention: The 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die challenge.

 This is not a one-year challenge but rather an ongoing reading project/challenge. The host is merely giving people who are tackling this massive reading list a chance to connect with others who are doing the same and to post and read reviews.





I decided to add two more challenges to this post - the ones for finishing a certain number of books, simply because they don't really fit in well anywhere else. While I do not feel a need to push myself to read a certain number of books - I feel that around 150 books a year suits me just fine - I think it's a fine challenge for someone who doesn't read that much to push themselves to read more. These challenges are for you.


First there is the Outdo Yourself challenge. This is hosted by the Book Vixen, along with several other challenges (click on the 2013 challenges menu on the host site to check out the rest).

This is a yearlong challenge and the goal is simply to read more books in 2013 than you did in 2013. You can join up at any time, re-reads and crossovers from other challenges are allowed, as are audiobooks and ebooks. There are 4 levels, ranging from 1-5 books to 16+ books, so this is an ideal challenge even if you only want to finish one single book in 2013.

So why not join the 131 others who have already signed up?



The other challenge is rather more extreme. It's the 150+ Reading Challenge, hosted on the My Overstuffed Boohshelf blog.

The goal is, as you can see, to read more than 150 books in 2013. You can join at any time and all kinds and formats of books are allowed. Reviewing seems to be expected, but can be done e.g. on Goodreads if you don't have a blog.Crossovers from other challenges are allowed. 66 people have joined up already.