2015 Challenge Wrap-ups: Books in Translation, Chunkster, and Outdo Yourself Challenges

Although 2015 was a pretty good reading year for me, I didn't do terribly well when it comes to reviewing or linking up the reviews I did write. I've been sort of holding off on challenge wrap-ups, hoping to get a few more reviews posted, but that's really a little doubtful at this point. The rest of the year is looking pretty busy right now -- not a lot of time for reading or reviewing. So I think it's time to go ahead and start wrapping up my challenges for 2015 and get ready for new challenges in 2016. Here go the first three....

I think this challenge gets my award for the best "button" of the year. Isn't that gorgeous?

Many thanks to Vassily for hosting the 2015 Chunkster Challenge. I set myself a goal of two chunksters for the challenge, but only managed one: The Quick, by Lauren Owen. I think my days of reading really long books might be over. Too many books, not enough years left.

The Books in Translation Reading Challenge was hosted by Jen @ The Introverted Reader. (Thank you, Jen!) I signed up at the Beginner Level (1-3 books), and read four books that would qualify. (Only one review so far -- possibly more to come in the next couple of days.)

1. Vertigo. Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac (trans. from the French by Geoffrey Sainsbury)
2. The Truth and Other Lies. Sascha Arango (trans. from the German by Imogen Taylor)
3. South of the Border, West of the Sun. Haruki Murakami (trans. from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel)
4. Backstabbing in Beaujolais. Jean-Pierre Alaux, Noël Balen (trans. from the French by Anne Trager  

I'm not sure what happened to this year's Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge after The Book Vixen gave up on blogging. Every time I've tried to reach her old blog, my computer hangs up and then shuts everything down. So, anyway -- I did outdo myself: in 2015 I read at least five more books than I read in 2014, depending on how I count it (I read several children's picture books that I'm lumping together). If you're curious, you can see the list of this year's reads over on my challenge blog (HERE).

2015 Chunkster Challenge

2015 Chunkster Challenge

Hosted by: Vasilly

Dates: throughout 2015

OK, I probably really shouldn't be signing up for yet another reading challenge, but Vasilly has made this one so easy -- no levels, read as many or as few weighty tomes as you please. To read all about the challenge and sign up, see the announcement page.

I'm just going to commit to two chunksters for now, but I've got many, many more on my TBR list.  During the year, I'll be tracking my progress on my challenge blog, and here too (if I can remember). 

Books read:
1.
2.

Challenge Wrap-Up: 2014 Chunkster Challenge

The 2014 Chunkster Challenge was hosted by Vasilly, and the goal was to read books with 450 (or more) pages.

When I signed up, I intended to read at least a couple of chunksters, but ended up only finishing one -- Ten Lords A-Leaping, by C.C. Benison (490 pages). I think it's extremely unlikely that I'll read another 400-page tome before the end of the year (OK, it's definitely NOT gonna happen), so I'm wrapping this one up now. Thanks so much to Vasilly for hosting.

2014 Chunkster Reading Challenge

I was going to give this one a miss this time around, since I'm pretty much committed to reading shorter books this year.  But there are two or three massive tomes I'd like to get through, too.  So I'm signing up for the 2014 Chunkster Reading Challenge, hosted this year by Vasilly.

For the purposes of the challenge, a chunkster is a book with 450 or more pages; it can be fiction or nonfiction, and e-books and audiobooks are allowed.  If you need inspiration, you can find some good chunkster suggestions over on the challenge blog. 

One really nice thing about this year's challenge is there are no set levels of participation - you can set your own level without being locked into a predetermined number of books.  I'm going to aim for just two big books this year: 

1. Ten Lords A-Leaping. C.C. Benison (490 pages)
2.

Hoping to do a little better than that, but two might just be all I can handle. 

Chunkster Reading Challenge 2013

One more challenge I just couldn't pass up.  (You knew there'd be more.)

Haven't taken part in the Chunkster Challenge for the last couple of years, but I have several big books on my TBR list this year and I'm hoping this challenge will help me remember to read them.  The Chunkster Challenge is hosted by Caribousmom and Vasilly, and runs through December 2013.  There's a dedicated blog HERE, and a sign-up page HERE with all the details.

I'll be joining in at the "Chubby Chunkster" level, so I'll be reading four books of at least 450 pages each.  I'll probably change my mind several times, but I have a long line of chunky tomes on my Possibilities List for this year.  These are just some of them:

• Angle of Repose. Wallace Stegner
• Anna Karenina. Leo Tolstoy
• The Book Thief. Marcus Zusak
• Buddenbrooks. Thomas Mann
• The Children's Book. A.S. Byatt 
• The City of Dreaming Books. Walter Moers 
• A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books. Nicholas A. Basbanes
• Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte
• Labyrinth. Kate Mosse
• The Lost Symbol. Dan Brown
• The Mists of Avalon. Marion Zimmer Bradley
• The Moonstone. Wilkie Collins
• North and South. Elizabeth Gaskell
• The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism. Megan Marshall
• The Perpetual Curate. Margaret Oliphant
• The Secret History. Donna Tartt
• The Secret Keeper. Kate Morton
• The Technologists. Matthew Pearl
• Texas. James A. Michener
• 11/22/63. Stephen King

And the list goes on and on.... Whatever I end up reading, I'll be tracking my progress over on my challenge blog HERE.