A Novel Challenge Yahoo Group – 2008 Mini Challenges

The Mini Challenge 2008
Sponsored by group owner, Wendy (aka: ME!)

October 31, 2008: CHALLENGE COMPLETED! This was fun to do – simple little mini-challenges throughout the year. I will most likely come up with a similar challenge for 2009!

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1. Complete all 12 mini-challenges from January 1st through December 31st of 2008. DO NOT start this challenge prior to January 1, 2008.
2. Challenges may be completed in any order and may overlap other challenge. Work through them at your own speed.
3. Participants must post their progress (and reviews if appropriate) to their blog with links to the group (or if they don’t have a blog, they should post directly to the group).

Here are the challenges:

1. Read a short story – review it.

COMPLETED January 21, 2008 – Black Ice, by Cate Kennedy; rated 3.5/5; read my review.

2. Read a children’s book – review it.

COMPLETED January 1, 2008 – The Giver, by Lois Lowry; rated 4.5/5; read my review.

3. Read a poem – tell us about it.

I have a wonderful little Everyman’s Library Edition of Robert Frost Poetry. Last night I read several poems: Stars, The Sound of Trees, An Old Man’s Winter Night and my favorite of all time…The Road Not Taken. I love Frost’s poetry which is almost always evocative of nature and our place within it.

4. Read a banned book – review it.

COMPLETED February 25, 2008 – Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison; rated 4.5/5; read my review

5. Give a book away (donate to charity, give a book to a friend, leave a book “in the wild” to be found by another reader…as long as you don not sell it!) – post why you chose the book you did and where it went.

COMPLETED February 18, 2008; read my comments here.

6. Read two (2) articles from any one magazine – tell us about them.

COMPLETED January 12, 2008 – read my comments here.

7. Read a classic (for this challenge a classic is defined as a piece of literature which has stood the test of time, has literary merit, is widely read, and was published prior to 1970) – review it.

COMPLETED January 25, 2008 – Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens; rated 3/5; read my review.

8. Go to a book event and then tell the group about your experience (book events may be library events, author readings, seminars/lectures pertaining to books or reading, etc…)

I attended the San Jose Book Group Expo on October 25-26, 2008. Read my post about who I met there, Day One events, and Day Two events.

9. Read an essay – tell us about it.

COMPLETED March 30, 2008 – Utopia, Dystopia, Messtopia! by Cynthia Ozick; read my post.

10. Read something inspirational – tell the group why it inspired you.

COMPLETED October 28, 2008 – Gift From The Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh; read my review; this book inspired me to be better to my inner self, to find time to replenish my spirit and nourish my creativity.

11. Read a book written by a “new to you” author – review it.

COMPLETED January 9, 2008 – The House at Riverton, by Kate Morton; rated 4.5/5; read my review.

12. Participate in a group or buddy read and discussion (this can be either a face to face book club, an on line group, or a blog/buddy read). Tell the group what you read and with whom; give us a review.

I read Life and Times of Michael K, by J.M. Coetzee with the Booker Prize Yahoo group; read my review.