Reading Challenges for 2020

If you find an interesting challenge, follow the link! There is probably more where this came from, more info, additional fun things etc.
Also, it's rude not to.

2020 Read Around the World

read a book written by an author from or set in a country starting with each letter of the alphabet.
The site has a list of countries starting with each letter of the alphabet :-)

Read Around The World in 2020 - Build Your Library

Read a translated book
Read a book based on your ancestry
Read a memoir or biography about a person from a country you have always wanted to visit
Read a travelogue
Read a book set in North America
Read a book set in Central America
Read a book set in South America
Read a book set in Europe
Read a book set in the Middle East
Read a book set in Northern or Northeastern Asia
Read a book set in Southern or Southeastern Asia
Read a book set in Africa
Read a book set in Australia/Oceania
Read historical fiction from an Eastern Hempisphere country
Read a story about refugees
Read poetry from a country not your own
Read a book of (or based on) fairy tales or folklore from a culture not your own
Read a book about an indigenous people group
Read a book that takes place in more than one country
Read a book about royalty
Read a book with a flag on the cover
Read a book set in a country that no longer exists on the current map
Read a book written in your language that has a foreign word in the title
Read a book that takes place at sea
Read a book with the name of a country in the title
Read a book that revolves around a holiday that you do not celebrate
Read a book that revolves around a holiday that you do not celebrate
Read a book about the immigrant experience
Read a book about a revolution
Read a book that includes a map
Read a book about food or cooking
Read a book written by a renowned author from a country not your own
Read a book about ocean lfie
Read an ownvoices book about a minority group from a country not your own
Read a non-fiction graphic novel that takes place in a country not your own
Read a book that has won an award
Read a book that is considered a classic from a country not your own
Read a book written by a person of color
Read a historical fantasy book
Read a book about a famous person from a country not your own
Read a book about space travel

2020 Diversify Your Reading Challenge

    JANUARY: Historical Fiction
    FEBRUARY: Romance
 (now, interesting here is that "romance" as literature has nothing to do with romance novels...)
    MARCH: Self-Help/How To
    APRIL: Young Adult
    MAY: Science Fiction
    JUNE: Non-Fiction (This, actually, too could be something different than most people think...)
    JULY: Suspense/Thriller
    AUGUST: Contemporary Fiction (do they mean literary fiction?)
    SEPTEMBER: True Crime
    OCTOBER: Fantasy
    NOVEMBER: Memoir & Autobiography
    DECEMBER: Mystery

I would add a real diversifying element to this: if your favorite genre is on this list, exchange it to your least favorite genre. With one distinction - my least favorite genre is slasher/splatter/bodyhorror/sadism and I will never read anything like that ever again. I'm still having nightmares about the cat abuse they had in Kafka On The Beach. Brrr... but there's plenty of genres I'm not interested in the least, like sport and military fiction.
But, seriously, choose genres you have never read, to REALLY diversify your reading, to make it challenging.

Uncorked 2020 Reading Challenge

Book That Changes Your World Perspective
Book Set In Iceland
Popular Mulan Retelling
International Indie Novel
Book Set In One Of The 50 States
Summer Book Perfect For The Beach
A Book Set In Your Upcoming or Bucket List Travel Destination
Women In Translation Read
WWII Historical Fiction
International Creepy Classic
A Cookbook To Inspire New Cuisine
Hygge Book

52 books in 52 weeks

A Reading Challenge for 2020

Several lists of books to read. Don't get upset about not being able to choose. Just give these books a try and if you don't like them, it's OK to DNF them. (Remember the 100 pages requirement - if the book hasn't caught you in the first 100 pages, just stop reading. There's too many books in the world that do, to give any time or attention to books that don't.)
The first challenge, around the world, has books from
Nigeria
Syria
Japan
South Africa
Zambia
England
Australia
Thailand
Senegal
South Korea
Saudi Arabia
China
Croatia
Germany
Egypt
France
Ireland
Colombia
Poland
Portugal
India
Kenya
Spain
Jamaica
Myanmar
Russia
Mexico
Panama
Cuba
Brazil
Ghana
Norway
Now, if you DNF one book, try to replace it with another book from the same country, or a neighboring country not on the list.

The banned books list (click to see more) is here
(I have read 39%, maybe more, but this time I just checked the books that I actually remember what they are about :-D)

2020 Logophile Reading Challenge by Linz the bookworm and Songs-Tress

Level 1
1.) Read a book with a title that starts with a "W"
2.) A book you got for under $3
3.) A book with a blue cover
4.) Read a book by your favorite author
5.) A book with the word "Light" in the title
6.) A book that is set in the future
7.) A book from Project Gutenberg
8.) Read a book of short stories or a novella
9.) Read a book you've had on your "to be read" shelf for more than a year
10.) Read a book that takes place in winter
11.) Reread a book you have recommended to a friend
12.) Free Space- Pick any book!
Level 2
13.) A book under 400 pages
14.) Read a book by Julie Garwood
15.) Read a classic fairy tale
16.) Read a retelling of the classic fairy tale
17.) Read a suspense or horror book
18.) A book you got for free (gift, found or book exchange)
19.) Read a book with a building on the cover
20.) Read a historical fiction from the World War II-era
21.) Read a book that was turned into a movie or tv show
22.) A book by an author named James/Jim or a variant
23.) Read a book recommended on your local library's website
24.) Free Space- Pick any book!
Level 3
25.) A book with the word "book" in the title
26.) Read an urban fantasy novel
27.) A book published in 2000
28.) A book recommended to you by a friend
29.) Read an author's debut novel
30.) Read a book from the BBC's list of Top 100 Books You Must Read Before You Die
31.) Read a book that is over 600 pages
32.) Read a book by Isaac Asimov
33.) Read a book with the word 'Star' in the title
34.) Read a book about a historical figure (fiction or non-fiction)
35.) Read a book about an assassin
36.) Free Space- Pick any book!
Level 4
37.) Book 1 of a Trilogy
38.) Book 2 of a Trilogy
39.) Book 3 of a Trilogy
40.) Read a book from NPR's favorite books of 2019
41.) Read a novel by an author using a pseudonym
42.) Read a graphic novel
43.) A book with a season in the title
44.) Read a book with exactly four words in the title
45.) Read a book about a writer (real or fictional)
46.) Read a book with a title that rhymes
47.) A book by an author named Elizabeth/Beth or a variant
48.) Free Space- Pick any book!
Level 5
49.) Read a motivational/inspirational book
50.) Read a book with two or more authors
51.) Read a book by John Creasey
52.) Read a book published in 1980
53.) Read a "rags to riches" story
54.) Read a book with an occupation in the title
55.) Read a book about travel or that involves travel
56.) A book that takes place in outer space/another planet
57.) Read a book that starts with the letter J
58.) Read a book that takes place in the Middle East or is inspired by Middle Eastern Culture
59.) Read a book about a video game or virtual reality
60.) Free Space- Pick any book!

Bring on the reading challenges, part I and part II

And, of course, THE MASTER LIST OF READING CHALLENGES :-D
I want to do all of them!!!

The Daily Telegraph 1899 List of The Best 100 Novels in the World

As posted in Rose City Reader

What I find interesting is not what's on the list, but what is not on the list... For example, only Charlotte of Brontes. Dombey and Son but not Christmas Carol or Tale of Two Cities?

The Tower of London by W. H. Ainsworth
Old St. Paul's  by W. H. Ainsworth
Windsor Castle by W. H. Ainsworth
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Pere Goriot by Honoré de Balzac
A Window in Thrums by J. M. Barrie
The Golden Butterfly by Walter Besant & James Rice
Robbery Under Arms by Rolf Boldrewood
Lady Audley's Secret by M. E. Braddon
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
The Deemster by Hall Caine
Valentine Vox by Henry Cockton
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
The Last of the Mohicans by J. Fenimore Cooper
The Pathfinder by J. Fenimore Cooper
The Prairie by J. Fenimore Cooper
Mr. Isaacs by F. Marion Crawford
Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens
Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens
Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
The Firm of Girdlestone by Conan Doyle
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Scenes of Clerical Life by George Eliot
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding VolI and VolII
Mary Barton by Mrs. Gaskell
The Aide de Camp by James Grant
The Romance of War by James Grant
Gabriel Conroy by Bret Harte
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Elsie Venner by Oliver Wendell Holmes
The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
Tom Brown's Schooldays by Thomas Hughes
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Toilers of the Sea by Victor Hugo
Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
Two Years Ago by Charles Kingsley
Alton Locke by Charles Kingsley
Hypatia by Charles Kingsly
The Recollections of Geoffrey Hamlyn by Henry Kingsley
Soldiers Three by Rudyard Kipling
Guv Livingstone by George Lawrence
Harry Lorrequer by Charles Lever
Charles O'Malley by Charles Lever
The Atonement of Learn Dundas by E. Lynn Linton
Handy Andy by Samuel Lover
Rory O'More by Samuel Lover
Last of the Barons by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Night and Morning by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Rienzi by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
The Caxtons by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
The King's Own by Captain Frederick Marryat
Peter Simple by Captain Frederick Marryat
Jacob Faithful by Captain Frederick Marryat
Midshipman Easy by Captain Frederick Marryat
Diana of the Crossways by George Meredith
John Halifax, Gentleman by D. M. Mulock
Under Two Flages by Ouida
It Is Never Too Late to Mend by Charles Reade
Peg Woffington and Christine Johnstone by Charles Reade
Hard Cash by Charles Reade
The Headless Horseman by Captain Mayne Reid
Virginia of Virginia by Amelie Rives
The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner
Tom Cringle's Log by Michael Scott
Cruise of the Midge by Michael Scott
Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott
The Bride of Lammermoor by Sir Walter Scott
Old Mortality by Sir Walter Scott
Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott
Guy Mannering by Sir Walter Scott
Woodstock by Sir Walter Scott
The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott
Frank Fairlegh by Frank E. Smedley
Roderick Random by Tobias Smollett
Peregrine Pickle by Tobias Smollett
On the Face of the Waters by Mrs. F. A. Steel
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Soapey Sponge's Sporting Tour by Robert Smith Surtees
The Wandering Jew by Eugene Sue
The History of Henry Esmond by William Makepeace Thackerary
The Newcomes by William Makepeace Thackeray
The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Oldey Farm by Anthony Trollope
Robert Elsmere by Mrs. H. Ward
£10,000 a Year by Samuel Warren
The Wide, Wide World by Elizabeth Wetherell
Market Harborough by G. J. Whyte-Melville
Inside the Bar by G. J. Whyte-Melville
East Lynne by Mrs. Henry Wood

POPsugar reading challenge 2020

POPsugar reading challenge 2020

A book that's published in 2020
A book by a trans or nonbinary author
A book with a great first line
A book about a book club
A book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics
A bildungsroman
The first book you touch on a shelf with your eyes closed
A book with an upside-down image on the cover
A book with a map
A book recommended by your favorite blog, vlog, podcast, or online book club
An anthology
A book that passes the Bechdel test (there's two named female characters in the book, who exchange at least a couple of words with each other about something else than men - I mean... which book does NOT pass this test?)
A book that shares a title with a movie or a TV show but is unrelated to it
A book by an author with flora or fauna in their name
A book about or involving social media
A book that has a book on the cover
A medical thriller
A book with a made-up language
A book set in a country beginning with C (it could also be a fictional country)
A book you picked because the title caught your attention
A book published the month of your birthday
A book about or by a woman in STEM
A book that won an award in 2019
A book on a subject you know nothing about
A book with only words on the cover, no images or graphics
A book with a pun in the title
A book featuring on of the seven deadly sins
A book with a robot, cyborg, or AI character
A book with a bird on the cover
A fiction or nonfiction book about a world leader
A book with "gold", "silver", or "bronze" in the title
A book by a WOC
A book with at least a four star rating on GoodReads
A book you meant to read in 2019
A book with a three-word title
A book with a pink cover
A Western
A book by or about a journalist
Read a banned book during Banned Books Week (last full week of September)
Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge

Advanced

A book written by an author in their 20s
A book with twenty in the title
A book with a character with a vision impairment or enhancement (a nod to 20/20 vision)
A book set in Japan, host of the 2020 Olympics
A book set in the 1920s
A book by an author who has written more than 20 books
A book with more than 20 letters in its title
A book published in the 20th century
A book from a series with more than 20 books
A book with a main character in their 20s

December news

So I didn't finish NaNoWriMo :-(

I got into a reading challenge, and by golly, I'm going to do even better this month. Even with Christmas and all. We were just 50 point short of winning!

And here's December list of "things I've learned"

mendacious - not telling the truth; lying
(The Grand Tour; Or, The Purloined Coronation Regalia)

vie, vied, vying.
to strive in competition or rivalry with another; contend for superiority
(The Golden Tulip) 

mollify - appease the anger or anxiety of (someone).

contrite - feeling or expressing remorse at the recognition that one has done wrong.
(The Haunting of Hill House)

attenuated - having been reduced in force, effect, or value.
(Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius)
 

Puddingstone

"Another stone used for early querns and picturesquely known as "pudding stone" is a conglomerate which derives its name from the rounded bits of quartzose rock, white and red, embedded like plums in the surrounding mass of finer silicious particles which form the main body of the "pudding".
(English Bread and Yeast Cookery)