1.
A book with more
than 500 pages (The Art of
Fielding—Chad Harbach, 512 p.)
2. A classic romance
(Wuthering Heights—Emily Brontë)
3.
A book that became a
movie (Cold Mountain)
4. A book published
this year (The Sculptor—Scott
McCloud)
5.
A book with a number
in the title (Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1:
No Normal)
6. A book written by
someone under 30 (Relish)
7.
A book with nonhuman
characters (Bone: The Great Cow
Race)
8.
A funny book
(Hyperbole and a Half—Allie Brosh)
9.
A book by a female
author (Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No
Normal—G. Willow Wilson)
10. A mystery or
thriller (The Yiddish Policemen’s
Union)
11. A book with a
one-word title (Trillium—Jeff Lemire)
12. A book of short
stories (Africa39)
13.
A book set in a
different country (Behind the
Beautiful Forevers)
14. A nonfiction book
(Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent
and Christmas)
15. A popular author’s
first book (Cinder—Marissa
Meyer)
16. A book from an
author you love that you haven’t read yet (Shadow Hero—Gene Luen Yang)
17. A book a friend
recommended (In the Open)
18. A Pulitzer-Prize
winning book (Delights and Shadows—Ted
Kooser)
 |
| I actually read this earlier in the year, but I forgot it had won the 2004 Pulitzer for Poetry. |
19. A book based on a
true story (Gaijin: American
Prisoner of War)
20. A book at the bottom
of your to-read list (At Home—Bill Bryson)
21. A book your mom
loves (Boundaries—Henry
Cloud and John Townsend)
 |
| A long-time favorite. She also recommended A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd, but I haven't gotten around to that one yet. |
22. A book that scares you (Through the Woods)
23. A book more than 100
years old (Wuthering Heights—first
published in 1847)
24. A book based
entirely on its cover (Mister
Orange)
25. A book you were
supposed to read in school but didn’t (The Diary of a Young Girl—Anne Frank)
 |
| It sat on a shelf in my parents' house for years. And I always intended to read it, but I never got to it until now. Waiting didn't make it any less heart-shattering. |
26. A memoir (Relish)
27. A book you can
finish in a day (Return of the
Dapper Men)
28. A book with antonyms
in the title (Alpha Zulu—Gary
Copeland Lilley)
29. A book set somewhere
you’ve always wanted to visit (Griffin and Sabine Trilogy)
 |
| Portions of the trilogy take place in Dublin, as well as other locations I'd like to visit. |
30. A book that came out
the year you were born (American
Primitive—Mary Oliver)
 |
| It feels like an accomplishment to share a year with this book. |
31. A book with bad
reviews (Wuthering Heights)
32. A trilogy
(Griffin and Sabine Trilogy: Griffin
& Sabine, Sabine’s Journal,
and The Golden Mean—Nick Bancock)
|
| It's almost like I did Google search for "really short trilogies. . . ." |
33. A book from your
childhood (Frog and Toad Together—Arnold Lobel)
 |
| Frog and Toad friendship = life goals. |
34. A book with a love triangle (Wuthering Heights)
35. A book set in the
future (Trillium—Jeff
Lemire)
36. A book set in high
school (Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No
Normal)
37. A book with a color
in the title (Little White Duck)
38. A book that made you
cry (The Secret Remedy Book—Karin Cates and Wendy Anderson Halperin)
 |
| The only solution I could think of to the whole "Bethany doesn't normally cry when she reads" problem was to re-read a book that had made me tear up in the past. And yes, I was an adult when I first read this. |
39. A book with magic (How Mirka Met a Meteorite—magic not
explicitly mentioned, but a witch turns a meteorite into a person)
40. A graphic novel
(Relish)
41. A book by an author
you’ve never read before (Ms.
Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal—G. Willow Wilson)
42. A book you own but
have never read (The Yiddish
Policemen’s Union)
43. A book that takes
place in your hometown (Gemini—Carol Cassella)
 |
| Parts of this book take place on the Olympic Peninsula and include familiar locations like Port Townsend. |
44. A book that was originally
written in a different language (Mister
Orange—Dutch)
45. A book set during
Christmas (Watch for the Light:
Readings for Advent and Christmas)
46. A book written by an
author with your same initials (At
Home—Bill Bryson)
 |
| Since I gave up on finding an author with same middle initial, it's been much easier to meet this challenge. |
47. A play (The Winter’s Tale—William Shakespeare)
 |
| Famous for the stage direction "exit, pursued by bear." |
48. A banned book
(July’s People—Nadine Gordimer)
 |
| Banned in South Africa during apartheid. |
49. A book based on or
turned into a TV show (Frog and
Toad Together)
|
| Does anyone else remember the Long Ago and Far Away television series? It was hosted by James Earl Jones. The Frog and Toad stories were claymation. |
50. A book you started
but never finished (Absalom, Absalom!
by William Faulkner)
 |
| It had been unfinished for at least a year and a half. Most books are bit confusing if you wait that long to pick them up again, but I almost think Faulkner made more sense this way. |
In my next post, I'll list all the books I read for 2015 and my new reading goals for 2016. But what are your goals (reading or otherwise) for 2016?
Images from Copper Canyon Press, Boundaries Books, Penguin Random House, Amazon.com, Hatchette Book Group, Amazon.com, Scholastic, Scholastic, Simon and Schuster, BillBryson.co, Penguin Books Australia, Bloomsbury, Scholastic, and Collecting the Modern Library.