Summer Beach Reads Challenge

Jessica over at A Fanatic's Book Blog is hosting the Summer Beach Reads Challenge.  Here are the details:

• You do not have to select your books ahead of time, unless you choose to. You can just pick and choose as you go if that works better for you! We fully support you using these books as crossovers to other challenges, so feel free to participate even if you're currently in another challenge!

• If you choose to participate, please take the button below and put it in your "Challenge" section or on your sidebar. That way anyone else who wants to join can find their way here!

• If you choose to participate, please create an Introduction Post and link it to the Mr. Linky at the bottom of the page, so that we can come and say hi!

• You may join at any time, even if there are only a few weeks left. Welcome amazing readers!

• Prizes will be awarded through mini giveaways and contests throughout the challenge, and a bigger prize pack will be awarded at the end of the challenge!

To get credit for the final giveaway you'll need to link your Intro Post to the Mr. Linky below and link your reviews on the Welcome Post.

You will receive one entry for your Intro Post, one for each review, and if you post your Wrap-Up post on the indicated day you'll receive an extra 5 entries!

There are 4 different levels:
* Tadpole - Read 4 books in this challenge.
* Minnow - Read 8 books in this challenge.
* Dolphin - Read 12 books in this challenge.
* Shark - Read 16+ books in this challenge.


I think I am going to go for the Shark level.  

1% Well Read Challenge

I have decided to participate in the 1% Well Read Challenge.  You can sign up and find the list of books here.   I have currently read 99 books on the list which I think is pretty good.  Here is the list of books I currently own and am going to read:

1. Moby Dick
2. Half of a Yellow Sun- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
3. Everything is Illuminated- Jonathan Safran Foer
4. The Corrections- Jonathan Franzen
5. Atonement- Ian McEwan
6. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay- Michael Chabon
7. White Teeth- Zadie Smith
8. Cryptonomicon – Neal Stephenson
9. American Pastoral- Philip Roth
10. Alias Grace- Margaret Atwood
11. American Psycho- Bret Easton Ellis
12. Possession- A.S. Byatt
13. Cat's Eye- Margaret Atwood
14. Midnight's Children- Salman Rushdie
15. The Crying of Lot 49- Thomas Pynchon

Summer Book Challenge

I belong to an online forum that does seasonal book challenges.  These challenges are a fun way to expand reading choices.  Here are the categories for the summer book challenge and what I plan on reading for each one.

5 points
Book set in a place you never want to visit- City of Beasts

Book about girlfriends- Nights of Rain and Stars

Book with one word title- Possession

Book set in a major city- Age of Innocence

Mystery or Thriller- Daughters of Juarez


 Book set at the ocean- Moby Dick

Romance novel- Death of the Heart

Dystopian/Utopian- Oryx and Crake

Book read on a picnic blanket or with a picnic word in the title- The Sheltering Sky

Book you haven't read yet by a favorite author- Alias Grace, Margaret Atwood

10 Points
Book with a black cover- Darkness at Noon

Historical Non-fiction- Black Dahlia

Book where the main characters do an outside activity- Cold Mountain

Book where the title or author's name starts with "J", "A", or "S" (using "A" as an article does not count)- Anthem

Book with a Native American character or written by a Native American

Memoir, Biography, or Autobiography- 101 Days

Book for adults by an author who also writes for children- The Opposite of Fate

Book written in diary form- Kidnapped

Book about flying or travelling- Charlotte Grey

Book about an execution or someone who was executed- First They Killed My Father

15 Points

Book with a ghost or a character with psychic powers- Ruined

Read a book and watch the movie/tv show- Deep End of the Ocean

Book by an author whose name you can't pronounce- Out of Africa

Book about finances or a main character who has your dream career- The Art Thief

Book of the month for July, August, and September and participate in discussion
Virgin Suicides

Book about the paranormal- Let the Right One In

Book with a cover that makes you laugh or a humor book- I Like You

Book recommended by a book blogger during the challenge - post a link to the blogger's review

Book you keep looking at and putting down - post about why you are a drawn to it and why you haven't read it yet- Atonement

Book by an author who has only released one book at the time of the challenge - post about whether or not you'll read more by the author - Those Who Save Us

25 Points


Read a book and then contact the author via email or snail mail.  Try to get a reply by asking questions/telling author how you felt about the book.  You can also go to a book signing and talk to the author there. 



Read 2 books, both written by immigrants into the US from different countries, where immigration is a subject of the book (i.e. one of the characters is an immigrant). Comment on difference of experiences that immigrants from different countries have in the US.