Reading Challenges 2012


READING CHALLENGES 2012





I'm heading for Super Sleuth
(Reading 13 or more mysteries)

Cruisin' Thru The Cozies

13/13 books

1) A Cookie Before Dying - Virginia Lowell
2) Swinging in the Rain - Eileen Davidson
3) A Spirited Gift - Joyce and Jim Lavene
4) Cat Sitter Among the Pigeons - Blaize Clement
5) English Tea Murder - Leslie Meier
6) Scrapbook of Secrets - Mollie Cox Bryan
7) Ghoul Interrupted - Victoria Laurie
8) A Fitting End - Melissa Bourbon
9) The Last Word - Ellery Adams
10) Mobbed - Carol Higgins Clark
11) The Ken Ken Killings - Parnell Hall
12) Sudden Death - David Rosenfelt
13) Shoe Done It - Grace Carroll





I'm going for: SHAMUS WHO HAS SEEN IT ALL:
(1 in each sub-genre)

Merely Mysteries

7/12 books

The Whodunnit: THE CASE OF THE BIGAMOUS SPOUSE by Erle Stanley Gardner
Locked Room MysteryDEATH OF THE PARTY by Carolyn Hart
Cozy: BURIED IN A BOOK - Lucy Arlington
Hardboiled/Noir:
Inverted Detective Story:
Historical Whodunnit: ANTHEM FOR DOOMED YOUTH by Carola Dunn
Police ProceduralDEATH OF A THOUSAND CUTS by Barbara D'Amato
Professional Thriller:
Spy Novel:
Caper Story:
Psychological Suspense: I'D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE by Laura Lippman
Spoofs & Parodies: THE HIGHLY DEFECTIVE DETECTIVE PLAYS THE FOOL by Richard Yancey



2012 Men in Uniform Reading Challenge


MEN IN UNIFORM Challenge

I'm aiming for "Chief"
(16+ books)

Men In Uniform

11/16 books

1) Death of a Chimney Sweep - M.C. Beaton (Hamish MacBeth- Police Sergeant)
2) Diagnosis Murder - The Double Life - Lee Goldberg (Mark Sloan - doctor)
3) Silks - Dick Francis and Felix Francis (jockey)
4) Diagnosis Murder - The Dead Letter - Lee Goldberg (Mark Sloan - doctor)
5) Dead Heat - Dick Francis and Felix Francis (chef)
6) Shattered - Dick Francis (glassblower - (white string singlet))
7) Death of a Kingfisher - M.C. Beaton (Hamish MacBeth - Police Sergeant)
8) The Talk Show Murders - Al Roker (Chef)
9) The Herring Seller's Apprentice - L.C. Tyler (writer) rumpled clothing - yeah, it's a reach!
10) Ten Little Herrings - L.C. Tyler (writer) ditto
11) The Herring In The Library - L.C. Tyler (writer) ditto
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Challenge is to read a book set in a different state
(50 states = 50 books)

50 States

24/50 books

  1) Alabama -
  2) Alaska - Restless In The Grave - Dana Stabenow
  3) Arizona - Death by the Dozen - Jenn McKinlay  
  4) Arkansas -
  5) CaliforniaFlipping Out - Marshall Karp
  6) Colorado - Taking the Wrap - Dolores Johnson
  7) Connecticut -
  8)  Delaware -
  9) Florida - Murder Buys a T-shirt - Christy Fifield
10) Georgia - Die Job - Lila Dare
11) Hawaii - Murder in Hawaii - Steve Allen
12) Idaho -
13) Illinois - Death Of A Thousand Cuts - Barbara D'Amato
14) Indiana -
15) Iowa -
16) Kansas -
17) Kentucky -
18) Louisiana - Cake On A Hot Tin Roof - Jacklyn Brady
19) Maine - Berried to the Hilt - Karen MacInerney
20) Maryland -
21) Massachusetts -
22) Michigan -
23) Minnesota - Buttons and Bones - Monica Ferris
24) Mississippi - Classified as Murder - Miranda James
25) Missouri - Death on a Platter - Elaine Viets
26) Montana -
27) Nebraska -
28) Nevada - Ink Flamingos - Karen E. Olson
29) New Hampshire -
30) New Jersey - Bury the Lead - David Rosenfelt
31) New Mexico -
32) New York - Double Booked for Death - Ali Brandon
33) North Carolina - The Bootlegger's Daughter - Margaret Maron
34) North Dakota -
35) Ohio -
36) Oklahoma -
37) Oregon - Thread Reckoning - Amanda Lee
38) Pennsylvania -
39) Rhode Island -
40) South Carolina - Death Comes Silently - Carolyn Hart
41) South Dakota -
42) Tennessee - The Highly Effective Detective Crosses the Line - Richard Yancey
43) Texas - Stay at Home Dead - Jeffrey Allen
44) Utah -
45) Vermont -
46) Virginia - Quickstep to Murder - Ella Barrick
47) Washington - All The Pretty Hearses - Mary Daheim
48) West Virginia -
49) Wisconsin - Scared Stiff - Annelise Ryan
50) Wyoming -



What's In a Name 5?


4/6 books

A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title: Black Hills, Purgatory Ridge, Emily of Deep Valley:
A book with something you'd see in the sky in the title: (Moon Called, Seeing Stars, Cloud Atlas):
Buffalo West Wing - Julie Hyzy
A book with a creepy crawly in the title: (Little Bee, Spider Bones, The Witches of Worm):

A book with a type of house in the title: (The Glass Castle, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Ape House): The Rabbit Factory - Marshall Karp

A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title: (Sarah's Key, The Scarlet Letter, Devlin Diary): BUTTONS AND BONES- Monica Ferris

A book with a something you'd find on a calendar in the title: (Day of the Jackal, Elegy for April, Freaky Friday, Year of Magical Thinking): JUNE BUG - Jess Lovrey




Book Titles starting with the Letters of the Alphabet

A-Z

26/26 books

A) An Appetite for Murder - Lucy Burdette
B) Burglars Can't Be Choosers - Lawrence Block
C) Cut, Paste, Kill - Marshall Karp
D) Dog Tags - David Rosenfelt
E) Explosive Eighteen - Janet Evanovich
F) Fingerprints & Facelifts - Rick Copp
G) Gone West - Carola Dunn
H)  How To Party With A Killer Vampire - Penny Warner
I)  Icy Clutches - Aaron Elkins
J) Juror Number Eleven - Terry Devane
K) Killer Crullers - Jessica Beck
L) Little Shop of Homicide - Denise Swanson
M) Mr. Monk on the Couch - Lee Goldberg
N) Notoriously Neat - Suzanne Price
O) Old Haunts - E. J. Copperman
P) Powdered Peril - Jessica Beck
Q) Quickstep To Murder - Ella Barrick
R) Royal Blood - Rhys Bowen
S) Southern Discomfort - Margaret Maron
T) Twice As Dead - Sue Ann Jaffarian
U) Under Orders - Dick Francis
V) V Is For Vengeance - Sue Grafton
W) Who Do, Voodoo? - Rochelle Staab
X) The BordeauX Betrayal - Ellen Crosby
Y) You Might As Well Die - J.J. Murphy
Z ) Zoned For Murder - Evelyn David




Vintage Themes:  You're supposed to pick 1 category & read 8 books in that category.  I chose the last category:  Choose your own theme.  My 'theme' will be to read 1 book in each of the categories!

Qualifying books should have an original publication date pre 1960.

Vintage Mystery


1/10 books

1. Colorful Crime: book with colors in the title

2. Murder by the Numbers: book with a number in the title

3. Occupational Hazards: book with a "detective" who is not a P.I.; Police Officer; Official Investigator (Nurse Keate, Father Brown, Miss Marple, etc.) The Case of the Footloose Doll - Erle Stanley Gardner (1958)

4. Perilous Policemen: book with a policeman as the primary investigator

5. Lethal Locations: book that are all about place (for instance: country houses, hospitals, schools or even particular cities/countries)

6. Dangerous Beasts: books with an animal in the title (The Bat; The Canary Murder Case; etc.)

7. Deadly Decades: one book from 1920-1929 or 1930-1939

8. Golden Age Girls: book by female author OR book with female detective

9. Cherchez le Homme: book by male author OR book with male detective





2012 EBOOK CHALLENGE

Any genre, any length book.
I'm going for CD level
(just to get used to my e-reader!)

2012 Ebook Challenge


1/10 books

1) Moonlighting At The Mall - Evelyn David
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