 |
| 1 January 2012 - 31 December 2012 |
The majority of the mysteries I read are either cozies or historicals (and mostly both). Since I'm already planning to participate in Yvonne's (from
Socrates' Book Reviews)
Cruisin' Thru the Cozies Reading Challenge, I thought I would design a personal challenge for my "historical" bent.
For the
Death by Gaslight Reading Challenge, the goal is to read mysteries set in or written during the Victorian and Edwardian eras (1837 - 1910). I'll probably be reading mysteries set in England (since those are the ones I'm most interested in), but any location is acceptable, as long as the time frame fits. No more than 3 titles can be from the same series (except for the first special challenge, listed below).
There are 4 levels to choose from:
1.
The Merry Widow of Windy Nook: 5 books
2.
Palmer the Poisoner: 10 books
3.
Burke and Hare, Body Snatchers: 15 books
4.
Jack the Ripper: 20+ books
Additionally, there are 4 "special challenges". Books which are read for any of these mini-levels
do not count towards the main reading levels. These are "extra credit" and are purely optional.
1.
Serial Killer: Read an entire series (re-reading if necessary) from the first book until the last (or most recently published). There is no limit on the number of books, so a series could consist of 2 books or 20.
2.
The Great Detective: Read 5 (or more) books featuring Sherlock Holmes, at least one of which must be an original story by Arthur Conan Doyle.
3.
Arsenic and Air Ships: Read 5 (or more) books which are steampunk mysteries.
4.
Penny Dreadfuls: Read 5 (or more) non-fiction books that detail Victorian or Edwardian crimes.
All the regular rules apply:
* cross-overs between challenges are more than okay
* any format counts - audio, ebook, etc., as well as any level (adult, children, YA)
* you don't have to have a blog to participate (since I technically don't - I post reviews at Goodreads)
* feel free to change levels at any time
* re-reads are fine, but books must be read in the 2012 calendar year to count
Reading challenges are suppose to the challenging (hence the name)...but we don't do this for a living, we do this for fun!
Some sites for ideas...
19th Century British Mysteries (at HistoricalNovels.com)
19th Century European Mysteries (at HistoricalNovels.com)
If you're interested in participating, I'd love the company! ;) Please leave a comment with your name, link to your challenge post (if you have a blog/site), and what level(s) you'd like to participate at. I'll add everyone to the paticipant's list below. Also, there is a
separate post for linking reviews. Thanks!
Participants:
1. Jenn from
Simply...Challenging - 15 books plus non-fiction mini-challenge
2. Neer from
a hot cup of pleasure - 10 books
3.
The Lit Bitch - 5 books plus (maybe) Sherlock Holmes mini-challenge
4. Bev from
My Reader's Block - 15 books plus Sherlock Holmes mini-challenge
5. Amanda from
Fig and Thistle - 10 books
6. Susan from
Avid Series Reader - 5 books
7. Rummanah from
Books in the Spotlight - 10 books plus (maybe) Sherlock Holmes mini-challenge
8. Srivalli from
Valli's Book Den - 10 books
9. Samantha from
Booked On a Feeling - 5 books
10. You're next!