I’m a few days late to the party, but I definitely need to participate in the annual Vintage Mystery Challenge at My Reader’s Block! This year we’re playing Scattergories again, in which participants must read at least eight books in various categories. As usual, I’ll be focusing on the Golden Age, which is the pre-1960 period. I hope to read more than the required eight, but we’ll see how it goes! A detailed explanation of the rules and a list of the categories can be found here.
Every year for the past 10 (!) years, Bev at My Reader’s Block has hosted a vintage mystery challenge. I love a good Golden Age mystery, so I’m always happy to participate. But this year, Bev has brought back my personal favorite iteration of the challenge — Vintage Mystery Scattergories! Challenge participants are asked to read at least eight books to fulfill eight different categories, from books set in academia to books with a number in the title to locked room/impossible crime stories. I’m choosing to do the Golden Age version of the challenge, which means all books must have been published before 1960. For more info on challenge rules, plus a complete list of all the categories, click here!
Well, the entire month of January has gotten away from me, so I’m just now signing up for the annual Vintage Mystery Challenge hosted by Bev @ My Reader’s Block! As usual, the goal is to read Golden Age (or Silver Age, or both) mysteries within the bounds of a specific theme. And this year’s theme is delightful — it’s based on the so-called Rules of Murder concocted by Ronald Knox and S.S. Van Dine! Participants are asked to read at least five books that involve the Rules in some way. Check out the challenge post to learn more and to sign up for the challenge!
The more things change, the more they stay the same: time for another Vintage Mystery Challenge at My Readers Block! As in last year’s challenge, the goal is to read at least 6 vintage mysteries that answer the questions “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and “how,” according to the various categories on the Detective Notebook.
As you can see, I’ve chosen the “gold” challenge, which means the mysteries must have been originally published before 1960. My goal will be to reach the “constable” level and read 6 books — one from each category — although I may read a few more! For more information on the challenge and to sign up, click here.
New year, new vintage mystery challenge at My Reader’s Block! This year there’s a new format: the books we read must answer the questions “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and “how,” based on the detective notebooks provided. As you can see, I’ll be using the Golden Age notebook, which is for mysteries published before 1960.
I’m signing up for the minimum commitment of six books, one for each question. But if I read more, maybe I’ll level up! If you’re participating in this challenge, what book(s) are you most looking forward to? I’m most excited to read Lois Austen-Leigh’s The Incredible Crime — the author is a descendant of Jane Austen!
Looks like it’s that time again — time to sign up for another Bout of Books readathon! For those who don’t know, here’s what it entails:
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team
My goals are (1) to read at least two books and (2) to participate in at least one Twitter chat. I’ll create another post at the beginning of the readathon to keep track of my progress and my challenge entries. One of my New Year’s resolutions is to be more active on the blog, and Bout of Books is the perfect opportunity to start 2017 on the right foot! If you’re interested in participating as well, click here to sign up, and keep your eye on the Bout of Books website for more information.
It’s that time of year again — time to sign up for next year’s challenges! I don’t want to overcommit myself, especially because 2016 was a pretty slow reading year for me, but of course I have to do Bev’s Vintage Mystery Challenge again! Just like last year, the challenge is a scavenger hunt: participants are asked to read at least six vintage mystery novels, and the cover of each book must contain an item on the scavenger hunt list.
As you can see, I’m signing up for the Golden Age challenge (books published before 1960). Click here to learn more about the challenge and to sign up!
Once again it’s time for Dewey’s 24-hour readathon, which will take place this Saturday, October 22! If you’ve never participated in the readathon before, it’s pretty self-explanatory — bookish folks around the Internet set aside 24 hours to do as much reading as possible. Of course, many people don’t participate for all 24 hours. I’ll definitely be taking some breaks, and I will probably go to bed at a decent hour because I have stuff to do on Sunday. But I’m really excited about giving myself some time this weekend to avoid chores and simply read! Here’s my readathon stack, although I definitely don’t expect to read all of these books:
Sound like fun? If so, it’s not too late to sign up! There are fun interactive challenges, a chance to win prizes, and numerous opportunities to connect with fellow book lovers! On Saturday I’ll create a new blog post where I’ll track my readathon progress, and I’ll also be chatting on Twitter @YouBookMe. Are you participating in this weekend’s readathon? If so, what are you planning to read?
I’m pretty late to the party, but autumn is FINALLY on the horizon, which means it’s time for the annual R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril challenge at Stainless Steel Droppings! The challenge simply asks participants to read at least one book that fits within one or more of the following genres:
The challenge has several tiers depending on how much you feel like reading, and there are also options to watch movies or play games (video or tabletop) that fit into the challenge genres! Personally, I’m going to tackle Peril the First and attempt to read four books.
I’ve already read one mystery in September, The Darkness Knows by Cheryl Honigford (review to come). Other potential reads include Nevernight by Jay Kristoff, Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. I may also attempt Peril on the Screen by finally checking out “Stranger Things”!
Are you participating in this challenge? If so, what are you planning to read? If not, what kinds of books and movies get you in the mood for Halloween?
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 22nd and runs through Sunday, August 28th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 17 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team
It’s time for yet another round of Bout of Books! I have several books checked out from the library, and they’re all due back soon, so I figure this is the perfect opportunity to tackle them! Here’s what I’m hoping to read this week:
I’ll be chronicling my progress in another post, so stay tuned! Are you participating in Bout of Books this time? If so, what are you planning to read?
An ex-literature student who can't quite kick the habit.
Classic detective fiction and impossible crimes
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