2021 Reading Challenges

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2021 Reading Challenge Progress

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Book Voyage: Read Around the World Challenge Progress

Read a book from each of twelve regions around the world.

  1. January: Arctic & Antarctic: The Arctic Fury, Greer Macallister (Arctic Canada)
  2. February: Europe – West: The Mirror and the Light, Hilary Mantel (England)
  3. March: Europe – East: Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy (Russia)
  4. April: Asia – North: Pachinko, Min Jin Lee (Japan, Korea)
  5. May: Asia – South: The Mountains Sing, Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai (Vietnam)
  6. June: Books Set on an Island: A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James (Jamaica)
  7. July: Australia & New Zealand: In a Sunburned Country, Bill Bryson (Australia)
  8. August: Middle East: Salt Houses, Hala Alyan (Palestine, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel)
  9. September: Africa: The Death of Vivek Oji, Akwaeke Emezi (Nigeria)
  10. October: South America
  11. November: North America: The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, Dawnie Walton (USA)
  12. December: Books Spanning Multiple Continents: World Travel: An Irreverent Guide, Anthony Bourdain 

Sign up for the challenge here.

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Southern Literature Reading Challenge

Read Southern literature, either fiction or nonfiction. Level 2—Pull up a seat and stay a while! (Read 3-4 books)

  1. Petty: The Biography, Warren Zanes (Tom Petty is from Gainesville, FL. and strongly identified as a Southerner)
  2. Book 2
  3. Book 3
  4. Book 4

Sign up for the challenge here.

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Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Read books set at least 20 years before the year in which they are published (that is my definition of historical fiction, not the challenge host’s). Renaissance Reader (10 books).

  1. The Arctic Fury, Greer Macallister (the 1850s, Victorian-era Arctic exploration)
  2. The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead (1850s United States, mostly the South)
  3. The Mirror and the Light, Hilary Mantel (1536-1540 England)
  4. Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell (1580s-1590s England)
  5. The Mountains Sing, Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai (1920s-1970s Vietnam)
  6. Pachinko, Min Jin Lee (1930s-1980s Japan/Korea)
  7. Fool, Christopher Moore (medieval Britain)
  8. A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James (1970s-1990s Jamaica and New York)
  9. The Serpent of Venice, Christopher Moore (medieval Venice)
  10. Salt Houses, Hala Alyan (1960s-2014 Middle East)

Sign up for the challenge here.

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Monthly Motif Challenge

Read one book each month based on that month’s theme.

  1. January: Once Upon A Time. Read a book from the Fantasy, Fairytale, Mythology, or Folklore Sub Genres.—The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead (speculative fiction/fantastic elements)
  2. February: Laughter and Love. Read a relationship story, romance, comedy, or feel-good contemporary.—If Beale Street Could Talk, James Baldwin (relationship/romance)
  3. March: Countries and Cultures. Read a book set in a country, or about a culture, that’s different than your own and that you’d like to learn more about.—Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
  4. April: Books on the Menu. Read a book that features food, restaurants, cafes, cooking, or baking, on the cover or in the story.—The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, Jennifer 8. Lee
  5. May: Magnificent Middle Grade. Read a Middle-Grade book – a book that is marketed toward ages 8-14. Crazy Horse and Custer: Born Enemies, S. D. Nelson
  6. June: The Great Outdoors. Read a book featuring a garden, nature, country, or harvest setting or plot.—A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson (hiking the Appalachian Trail)
  7. July: Short But Fabulous. Read a novella, comic, graphic novel, manga, or short book of poetry.—Don’t Call Us Dead, Danez Smith
  8. August: Bag of Tricks. Read a book featuring any kind of magic, illusion, superpowers, or enchantments.
  9. September: Back to School. Read a book with a school setting, featuring a student or educator OR read a book to educate yourself on a topic you’re interested in learning more about.
  10. October: Lurking in the Shadows. Read a book that has a gray, black, and/or white cover OR a book that shows a shadow on the cover. 
  11. November: In the Library with the Candlestick. Read a mystery—cozy, detective, spies, true crime, whodunnit, or the like.
  12. December: That’s History. Read a historical fiction book or a book about a true historical event.—Never a Dull Moment: 1971—The Year That Rock Exploded, David Hepworth

Sign up for the challenge here.

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Map

Map of settings for all the books I read in 2021.

 


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