2013 Challenges

Hello! Hope everyone had (or is still having!) a fabulous holiday! I know I did. I had my parents come visit for a few days, and the BF's fam was in town too! We had a lovely time, and I even got a few fantastic prezzies to show off to! Now the holidays are normally a great time to get down to reading and blogging without a pesky job getting in the way, but I didn't get any of either done! I have just been too busy! But, as I mentioned in my last post, I wanted to set up some reading challenges for myself. I'll write a post with them now, but I'm still on the look for more! If you are doing any or know of ones I haven't picked, let me know!

I will add these to my challenges tab once I know that I'm done adding them. Also, in the next few days I'm going to pre-write a ton of posts, so hopefully I will have tons of new content in January! Warning: This is a really, really, long post!

Challenge #1:  2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

I did the 2012 one, and even though I totally dropped the ball on it around August or September (with the monthly wrap-ups, etc.) I still thought it was awesomely fun! I will definitely be creating a new list this year, and I'm going to choose more realistic books so I might complete it! Super excited about this one! Check out the challenge hosted by some amazing bloggers here! The books I'm adding to my 'official' list (I will surely read others though) are: 1) Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver 2) The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkin 3) Matched - Ally Condie 4) Life of Pi - Yann Martel 5) Remember Me? - Sophie Kinsella 6) Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen 7) The Constant Princess - Phillipa Gregory 8) Something Borrowed - Emily Giffin 9) Gone - Michael Grant 10) The Maze Runner - James Dashner 11) Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor 12) Twenties Girl - Sophie Kinsella 13) Forever - Judy Blume 14) Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk 15) Uglies - Scott Westerfeld 16) The Nanny Diaries - Emma McLaughlin 17) The Guernsey Literacy and Potato Peel Society - Annie Barrows 18) One For the Money - Janet Evanovich 19) On the Jellicoe Road - Melina Marchetta 20) Learning to Fly - Victoria Beckhan I'm only picking 20 this year for the official list, but like I said, I will have more. I'm shortening it because I know other challenges will have books that I could have put here. (Not to say you won't see the same book on more than one list, but I'm trying to avoid a lot of that happening).

Challenge #2: A-Z Book Challenge This challenge is fun, last year I did it with character names, but this year I found one with book titles, which I prefer because I want to make my reading list in advance! Check out the rules and sign up over here!
My list is:
A: The Adoration of Jenna Fox - Mary E. Pearson B: Blue Bloods - Melissa de la Cruz (double points!..Scattergories, anyone??) C: City of Ashes - Cassandra Clare D: The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank E: Eragon - Christopher Paolini F: Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk G: Girls in White Dresses - Jennifer Close H: Hourglass - Myra McEntire I: I am Number Four - Pittacus Lore J: Juliet, Naked - Nick Hornby K: The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness L: The Luxe - Anna Godberson M: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs N: The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith O: Outlander - Diana Gabaldon P: The Princess Bride - William Goldman Q: Quidditch Through the Ages - J. K. Rowling R: Rise of the Evening Star (Fablehaven #2) - Brandon Mull S: Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi T: A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini U: Under The Never Sky - Veronica Rossi V: The Virgin Sucides - Jeffrey Eugenides W: Wanderlove - Kristen Hubbard X: Elixir - Hilary Duff Y: Yearbook - Ally Condie Z: Zombie Queen of Newbury High - Amanda Ashby
This is a hefty list, but I'm feeling pretty optimistic! There is a lot here that I have really wanted to get to!

Challenge #3 - 2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge

Details here, but basically they have set out a topic for each month, and these are the books I'm going to read :)

January - Vampires - Marked by P.C. Cast 

February - Angels/Nephilim - Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare 

March - Fey - The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa 

April - Demons - I'm going to have to come back to this one... 

May - Aliens - I am Number Four by Pitticus Lore 

June - Zombies - Feed by Mira Grant 

July - Witches and Wizards - Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia 

August - Mermaids - Aquamarine by Alice Hoffman 

September - Dragons - Eragon Christpoher Paolini 

October - Ghosts - Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendra Blake 

November - Werewolves/Shape-shifters - Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater 

December - Time Travel - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

I can't find a good one for Demons, so I'm going to wait and peruse other peoples lists to see if something draws me.

Challenge #4 - 2013 Sequel Challenge

This is another challenge hosted by Auntie Spinelli, with the details here. I'm only going to officially declare 10 books, but I read a lot of sequels, so I'm betting I will get more than that! The 10 are:

1) City of Ashes - Cassandra Clare

2) Clockwork Prince - Cassandra Clare

3) Shadow Kiss - Richelle Mead

4) A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin

5) Glory In Death - J.D. Robb

6) The Last Little Blue Envelope - Maureen Johnson

7) Shadow Souls - L.J. Smith

8) Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers - Louise Rennieson

9) Rise of the Evening Star - Brandon Mull

10) Isla and the Happily Ever After - Stephanie Perkins

Challenge #5 - 2013 Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge

I have been reading these books for a little while, and I have the first 3 reads. I'm going to participate in this to get a few more done. I'm declaring a Level 1, as I;m hoping to get through books 4, 5 & 6 this year.

Challenge #6 - Monthly Key Word Challenge

This sounded too fun not to try, check it out here.

My books are:

January: Shiver - Maggie Steifvater

February: PS I Love You - Cecelia Ahern

March: Be Careful What You Wish For - Alexandra Potter

April: Shadow Kiss - Richelle Mead

May: Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi

June: Under The Never Sky - Veronica Rossi

July: Shadow Souls - L.J Smith

August: A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess

September: Blue Bloods - Melissa de la Cruz

October: Glory In Death - J.D. Robb

November: Forever - Judy Blume

December: The Princess Bride - William Goldman

Challenge #7 - Goodreads

Last, but not least... I;m going to declare 75 books on my Goodreads reading challenge this year :)

Happy reading in 2013 to you all, and may you have great luck with all challenges you chose to participate in!! Happy New Year!!