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2013 Online Reading Challenge Round-up, Part VI: Mixed bag of genres

This is the final genre post, a collection of all the genre challenges remaining on my list.

The Cruisin' thru the Cozies challenge is in its third year, and is being hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. There are three levels, ranging from 6 to 13+ books. It runs all year long and I did not see a sign-up deadline. Reviewing is not required but is encouraged, and if you don't have a blog you can post about the books you read in the comments to the appropriate post on the hosting blog. 63 participants so far - why not become the 64th?



Another re-run is the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge, hosted by My Reader's Block. Any book read for this challenge must have been written pre-1960 and must of course be a mystery of some kind.

The sign-up deadline is November 30. You must choose 8 categories from a list of 37 and read one book in each category to be eligible for a prize drawing at the end of the year. 40 people have signed up so far. More rules can be found in the sign-up post.




The Fairy Tales Retold challenge/read-a-thon is hosted by Deb's Bookshelf. It runs all year long and there does not seem to be a sign-up deadline.

The aim is to read retellings of fairy tales or "original" fairy tales at the young adult and middle grade reading level. There are six imaginatively named levels and you can read anything from 1 to 16 plus books.

54 participants so far.


The Telling Tales challenge is hosted by An Armchair by the Sea and the aim is to read books of any genre that relate to fairy tales and/or mythology. It runs all year long and you can sign up at any time. Rereads are allowed, reviewing seems to be expected and there are 7 levels. The first six are about the number of books you read (from 2 to 30) and the seventh level is about reading any number of books and watching the film adaptations of the stories. More rules can be found on site. 26 participants so far.


The Historical Fiction challenge is exactly what it says on the label: a challenge to read historical fiction of all kinds. It is hosted by Historical Tapestry and runs all year long.

I could not find a sign-up deadline.

Reviewing is not necessary, but you need to keep some kind of track (online) of the books you read, even if only in comments on the hosting blog.

There are five levels, ranging from 2 to 25+ books.

This is a popular challenge, with 219 participants so far.



The Nerdy Non-Fiction challenge is hosted by Bookmark to Blog. This is a year-long challenge to read a wide range of non-fiction and has both levels and categories.

To meet the challenge, you must read at least 4-6 books in 2-3 of  categories. The number of both increases through three more levels. No sign-up deadline is given, cross-overs are allowed and reviewing is encouraged. Information on the levels and categories at the sign-up post. 68 participants so far.


The year-long  Genre Variety challenge is hosted by A Daydreamer's Thoughts. Sign up is open until December 1st. You have five levels to choose from, ranging from 6 books in 6 different genres to 30 books in 30 different genres. Genres/categories are suggested, but you are free to add any the host has forgotten to include. Sub-genres are allowed, as are novellas. Blog ownership is not required (you can post about the books you read in comments in monthly posts), and there will be a giveaway at the end of the year. 49 participants so far.

The Narrative Poem challenge is hosted by Half-Filled Attic. This is, as the title suggests, a challenge to get the participants to read poetry, but not just any poetry: it must be narrative, i.e. tell a story. You can make this challenge as easy or hard as you please, since a narrative poem can be as short as Poe's The Raven, or as long as Spencer's Faerie Queene or Homer's Ilyad. There are four levels, the challenge runs all year long and reviewing is expected. More rules in the sign-up post. 13 participants so far. As a matter of fact, I think I might just join this one. 

I think that's enough challenges for now - the cross-genre theme challenges (classics, food and more) will have to go in the next post.
















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