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Track your progress here!

Challenge Categories:
1.One Mythic Fiction novel from the Endicott list
2.One Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list
3. One Young Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list
4.A book with an LGBTQA character
5.A book that makes use of the stories surrounding one of the world's major religions (i.e. Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam)

A book or collection set in or using mythology/tales/folklore from:
6. (i.e. China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, etc)
7. and & (i.e. India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, Polynesia, Micronesia, etc)
8.
9.
10. or
11.North America & (Non-European based tales only)
12.

Okay, guess I'll be first.

Challenge Categories:
1. One Mythic Fiction novel from the Endicott list Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
2. One Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list
3. One Young Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list The Phoenix Dance by Dia Calhoun
4. A book with an LGBTQA character Xanadu 2 by Jane Yolen
5. A book that makes use of the stories surrounding one of the world's major religions The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

A book or collection set in or using mythology/tales/folklore from:
6. East Asia The Tale Of The Shining Princess by Sally Fisher
7. Oceania and South & Southeast Asia Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
8. Middle East
9. Africa
10. Central or South America
11. North America & Caribbean Zorro by Isabel Allende
12. Europe The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Challenge Categories:
1. One Mythic Fiction novel from the Endicott list - Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter, Tex and Molly in the Afterlife by Richard Grant, Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock
2. One Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list - The Complete Tales of Ketzia Gold by Kate Bernheimer, Fitcher's Brides by Gregory Frost
3. One Young Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list - Napoli? Yolen?
4. A book with an LGBTQA character - Kiernan?
5. A book that makes use of the stories surrounding one of the world's major religions (i.e. Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam) - Ben Hur? Maybe?

A book or collection set in or using mythology/tales/folklore from:
6. East Asia - Fudoki or Eight Skilled Gentlemen or Binu and the Great Wall
7. Oceania and South & Southeast Asia - The Bone People by Keri Hulme
8. Middle East - The Arabian Nights II: Sindbad and Other Popular Stories or Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights
9. Africa
10. Central or South America-
11. North America & Caribbean - Hopkinson?
12. Europe - Cannongate?

� 1.One Mythic Fiction novel from the Endicott list: Bear Daughter, Nights at the Circus , or Green Grass, Running Water .
� 2.One Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list: Possession
� 3. One Young Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list: The Rose and the Beast: Fairy Tales Retold
� 4.A book with an LGBTQA character: The Drowning Girl The Darkest Part of the Forest
� 5.A book that makes use of the stories surrounding one of the world's major religions (i.e. Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam): Lion's Honey: The Myth of Samson , Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry , The Book of Heaven: A Novel

A book or collection set in or using mythology/tales/folklore from:
� 6.East Asia (i.e. China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, etc): Salt Fish Girl or The Woman Warrior
� 7.Oceania and South & Southeast Asia (i.e. India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, Polynesia, Micronesia, etc): The Palace of Illusions
� 8.Middle East: Tales of the Marvellous and News of the Strange , Throne of the Crescent Moon, or Stranger Magic: Charmed States & The Arabian Nights .
� 9.Africa: The God Who Begat a Jackal: A Novel or The Icarus Girl , or Redemption in Indigo.
� 10.Central or South America: Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was
� 11.North America & Caribbean (Non-European based tales only): The New Moon's Arms or Roof Walker.
� 12.Europe: The Priest's Soul, Beauty and the Beast

�1. Endicott Mythic Fiction: Love in the Time of Cholera �The Ice Queen and
�The Night Circus
�2. Endicott Adult Fairy Tale: �Sleeping in Flame and Daughter of the Forest; �Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins
�3. Endicott Young Adult Fairy Tale: �Mirror Mirror and �The Goose Girl
�4. An LGBTQA character: �The Drowning Girl and �The Darkest Part of the Forest
5. Stories using world's major religions: Lambs of God (also on the Endicott Mythic Fiction list)
6. East Asia: JAPAN - The Fox Woman (also on the Endicott Adult Fairy Tale list)
�7. Oceania and South & Southeast Asia: PHILIPPINES - �When the Elephants Dance
�8. Middle East: IRAQ - Folktales of Iraq (originals); �A Fistful of Pearls (retelling)
�9. Africa: �Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales (originals)
�10. Central or South America: �Eva Luna
11. North America & Caribbean: The Antelope Wife and The Grass Dancer (also on the Endicott Mythic Fiction list)
�12. Europe: IRELAND - Impossible skipped due to overwhelming negative response from group members �Celtic Tales: Fairy Tales and Stories of Enchantment from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, and Wales (originals); �The King of Elfland's Daughter (inspired by); �Reluctantly Charmed (inspired by)
UKRAINE - �The Mitten: An Old Ukrainian Folktale; �The Mitten: A Ukrainian Folktale; �The Magic Egg and Other Tales from the Ukraine; �Ukrainian Folk Tales: Tales about Animals

Melanti said, "5. A book that makes use of the stories surrounding one of the world's major religions (i.e. Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam) - Ben Hur? Maybe? "

Brilliant idea! I read this about 10 years ago, and enjoyed it, ranking it about with Robert Louis Stevenson (although, if I recall aright, it features some of the expected 19th century attitudes towards the Arab Magus character).

I have also earmarked the Angela Carter novel for my Endicott myth fic entry, but am otherwise trying to dwell in the land of YA/NA and even MG for this year's challenge. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

Thanks for listing your options for reading. Now it will give me some ideas.

Most of the books have not been selected, but here are some I want to read for sure.
1. Mythic Fiction: Green Grass, Running Water
2. Adult Fairy Tale Retelling:
3. YA Fairy Tale Retelling
4. Book with a LBGTQA Character: Salt Fish Girl
5. Book that makes use of one of the Worlds Major Religions:
6. East Asia:
7. Oceania,South and South East Asia
8. Middle East
9. Africa
10. Central South America
11. North America and Caribbean Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival
12. Europe Dreamer's Pool

Jalilah wrote: "Most of the books have not been selected,"

I'll probably end up changing some of mine (I already think I'll change #4 based on what I'm currently reading, though I still want to read The Drowning Girl), but I like making a list so that I have something I can refer to when I want to read something for the challenge.

Susan wrote: "but am otherwise trying to dwell in the land of YA/NA and even MG for this year's challenge. Any suggestions would be welcomed. "

I am currently reading The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black, a YA fairy tale novel, and the protagonist's brother is gay, so it would count for #4. I'm really enjoying the book, and will probably end up using it as #4. It's an interesting dynamic between brother and sister because they're close in age, and often end up liking the same boy.

Margaret wrote: "I am currently reading The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black, a YA fairy tale novel, and the protagonist's brother is gay, so it would count for #4."

Thanks for sharing that info. I've wanted to read Holly Black for years, so I may end up reading this one too.

Jalilah wrote, "I am currently reading The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black, a YA fairy tale novel, and the protagonist's brother is gay, so it would count for #4. I'm really enjoying the book, and will probably end up using it as #4. It's an interesting dynamic between brother and sister because they're close in age, and often end up liking the same boy."

The book's blurb had me at cruel, absolute sense of justice. Off to sample it now. Thanks for the rec, Jalilah.

Time to post a place-holder list:

Challenge Categories:
1. One Mythic Fiction novel from the Endicott list Nights at the Circus
2. One Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list Lambs of God
3. One Young Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list Fire and Hemlock
4. A book with an LGBTQA character (maybe The Darkest Part of the Forest )
5. A book that makes use of the stories surrounding one of the world's major religions The Red Tent
A book or collection set in or using mythology/tales/folklore from:
6. East Asia (maybe) The Shadow Hero
7. Oceania and South & Southeast Asia (maybe Ash Mistry and the Savage Fortress )
8. Middle East
9. Africa (maybe Akata Witch )
10. Central or South America--I'll take Margaret's suggestion and try Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was
11. North America & Caribbean
12. Europe Impossible

Leah wrote: "Thanks for sharing that info. I've wanted to read Holly Black for years, so I may end up reading this one too. "

I'm almost finished, and it's my favorite Holly Black, though I've yet to read her series starting with Tithe. I will say some plot elements could've been better developed earlier, but it's still good. It avoids the melodrama a lot of YA books have--it doesn't feel like a teenage soap opera. The characters feel real and complex, and the plot is fun, if underdeveloped sometimes.

Margaret wrote "
am currently reading The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black, a YA fairy tale novel, and the protagonist's brother is gay, so it would count for #4. I'm really enjoying the book, and will probably end up using it as #4. It's an interesting dynamic between brother and sister because they're close in age, and often end up liking the same boy".

"I'm almost finished, and it's my favorite Holly Black, though I've yet..."

I am delighted to know that Holly Black has another Faerie Tale series out! I absolutely loved Tithe, Valiant and Ironside! They were my introduction to these types of modern fairy tale retellings. From what I understood, her newer series that came after it was about witches and zombies, so interested me less.
Although he's not the lead character, there is also an important character in Tithe and Ironside who is Gay.

Susan wrote: "
The book's blurb had me at cruel, absolute sense of justice. Off to sample it now. Thanks for the rec, Jalilah"

Thanks to Margaret and not me!

I really need to put some Holly Black on my list! Ikeep hearing good things about her, but haven't read anything yet.

Jalilah wrote: "I am delighted to know that Holly Black has another Faerie Tale series out! I absolutely loved Tithe, Valiant and Ironside!"

I plan on reading these soon as well. I'm going to a conference in March that she's attending (as one of the guests on honor), so I want to try and read a lot of her books before attending (as well as Terri Windling and Cristina Bacchilega, the other guests on honor).

Leah wrote: "I'm still working on putting my reading list together for this year's challenge, but I do plan to read at least two books per category. The "around the world" selections are taking me the longest t..."

We have very similar tastes when it comes to the Endicott lists! You chose the same two "mythic" fiction books that I did -- I read The Night Circus last year and this year am reading Love in the Time of Cholera. I've found both to be a little over-rated. I'm also planning to read Daughter of the Forest for my adult retelling, and I've already read Mirror Mirror (but wouldn't have classified it as YA) and The Goose Girl. I haven't decided yet what I'm going to read for my YA Endicott retelling -- I own several of the books on the list.

Lacey wrote: "mythic" fiction books that I did -- I read The Night Circus last year and this year am reading Love in the Time of Cholera. I've found both to be a little over-rated. .

I enjoyed Love in the Time of Cholera the first time I read it, but when I read it the second time years later I enjoyed it a lot less. The leading character, I can't remember his name, started really bothering me. Over all I think 100 Years of Solitude is better. When The House of the Spirits first came out some critics said Isabel Allende was copying One Hundred Years of Solitude , but personally I way prefer Allende to Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez!

Lacey wrote: "Leah wrote: "We have very similar tastes when it comes to the Endicott lists!"

:) By picking two for each I was hoping, if I read one and was like meh, then maybe the second choice would make up for it. Hedging my bets lol. And my biggest factor in choices was reading first what I already owned. Trying to put a dent in the ol' owned-not-read shelf which has a current count of, ahem, 598 books.

Jalilah wrote: "Over all I think 100 Years of Solitude is better. When The House of the Spirits first came out some critics said Isabel Allende was copying One Hundred Years of Solitude , but personally I way prefer Allende to Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez!"

The House of the Spirits was the last book I finished in 2015 and I loved it. Work has dominated my life the past two weeks so I'm behind on posting reviews - I think I have three left to write. But yeah, I loved it as I suspected I would ;) I have not read One Hundred Years of Solitude yet. It's on the neverending TBR list.

Jalilah wrote: "I enjoyed Love in the Time of Cholera the first time I read it, but when I read it the second time years later I enjoyed it a lot less. The leading character, I can't remember his name, started really bothering me."

Yes, he kind of rubs me the wrong way, too! I feel like Marquez wants him to come across as charming and romantic, but he reads kind of creepy and stalker-ish to me. When I was out walking my dog with my husband this week, I asked him whether he thought pining for one person throughout your whole life, even after she had moved on, was "romantic" or "pathetic." He said he didn't think it was either, but that it was certainly unhealthy. I'm pretty sure this will just end up being a 3-star book for me.

I read The House of the Spirits when I was in college and was not a huge fan. We read quite a bit of literature from Latin America in that class and none of it really did much for me -- I guess it's just not my style. Although I did really like Rosario Ferré's work -- I did my final paper on her short story retelling of "Sleeping Beauty," which was wonderful. I really liked most of her short stories in that collection -- The Youngest Doll. If I could find another copy of that collection at one of the book sales I frequent, I would snatch it up.

Leah wrote: ":) By picking two for each I was hoping, if I read one and was like meh, then maybe the second choice would make up for it. Hedging my bets lol. And my biggest factor in choices was reading first what I already owned. Trying to put a dent in the ol' owned-not-read shelf which has a current count of, ahem, 598 books. "

Ha, I hear you there. I am not even willing to state publicly how many books I own that I have not read -- I do book recommendations for a website for middle grade girls, so MG and YA publishers send books straight to my house in hopes of being featured -- it's like delivering a case of beer every day to an alcoholic! Not to mention my addiction to used book sales ... so, yes, suffice it to say, I am trying to select most of my challenge books out of my "owned-but-not-read" collection, too. :)

I'm drowning in books from working almost a decade at a used bookstore. I can't possibly keep up with how many are unread! I like to think it's under 600...but honestly, it could be more!!!! Surely not though...I'm resisting a sudden urge to count. I only finished unpacking my books last week. I always look first at what's on my bookshelf when I nominate books.

I keep picking up 100 Years of Solitude, reading a few pages, not being in the mood and putting it aside for later.

Nothing against the book or author. Just wasn't in the mood. Repeatedly. I kind of feel bad that I haven't read it yet.

(And now I feel very restrained regarding the size of my owned but unread book stash.)

Lacey wrote, "Ha, I hear you there. I am not even willing to state publicly how many books I own that I have not read. . . ."

Ditto, except I bought all my TBR books, retail.

I'm trying to train myself to read e-samples before buying any book, even if I plan to read it in print.

If anyone is looking, Three Day Road would count for #11. North America & Caribbean. I did not originally read it for the challenge, however it does make use of the "Windigo" legend. Overall it's a more realistic book taking place in WW1. I was wanting to read either Green Grass, Running Water or Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival. Or maybe something from the Caribbean.

Oh, Velma Wallis! I knew there was another author/book from a group or buddy read in 2015 that I wanted to add to this year's list. It was Bird Girl & the Man Who Followed the Sun: An Athabaskan Indian Legend from Alaska. But now I see that Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival was written first. Hmm... decisions, decisions.

Margaret wrote: "I'm drowning in books from working almost a decade at a used bookstore. I can't possibly keep up with how many are unread! I like to think it's under 600...but honestly, it could be more!!!!"

I have found LibraryThing to be a huge asset in managing my book collection, because I can go to it to search on a publication date, author, year, etc. to see what I might have in my collection that fits a particular theme. It's quicker than browsing my actual shelves! My sister and my mom also added their books to my account, so I know what they own that I can borrow rather than go out and find, and it's kept me from picking up duplicates on multiple occasions. The "free" version of LibraryThing only lets you add up to 300 books, I think, so I paid for the lifetime membership, which has no limit. $25 well spent!

Can you add books by scanning the bar code with your phone? That is my favorite thing on the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ app.

Lacey wrote: "I have found LibraryThing to be a huge asset in managing my book collection, because I can go to it to search on a publication date, author, year, etc. to see what I might have in my collection that fits a particular theme."

Hmm, I'll check it out!

I had a Librarything account for awhile but never used it. It's a 200 book limit for a free account.

Out of the box, it just isn't as user friendly as Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. I understand you can customize it out the wazoo, and do all sorts of cool stuff with it but I never actually any of that.

I agree with everything Lacey shared. LT has saved me lotsa moolah from buying the same book twice (or three times; yes, I did that). The $25 lifetime membership for an unlimited library is worth every cent. Keep in mind, though, LT is free up to 200 books. So there's no cost to set up an account and test out its features.

Kathy wrote: "Can you add books by scanning the bar code with your phone? That is my favorite thing on the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ app."

Yes, go and scroll down to "Can I use a barcode scanner to enter my books?" You can also export your GR books and them into your LT account. Just be sure to read the instructions and use a cleaned up import file for the best results; the best results being the least amount of cleanup after the import.

They've also just released their first iOS app, but I've never had any issues using the desktop version of their site on my phone. Their programmers really are top notch. And the owner, Tim, is a regular participant over at LT. I can't believe how much they do and get done being as small a company as they are.

Melanti wrote: Out of the box, it just isn't as user friendly as Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. I understand you can customize it out the wazoo, and do all sorts of cool stuff with it but I never actually any of that."

LT's interface for adding books is the clunkiest thing about their site. It is where, in my opinion, GR trumps them. The thing that LT trumps GR with is the power of their catalog features. You can't beat LT if you're looking to house a complete catalog of your books. There is a bit of a learning curve but it's SO worth it.

My current adventure is to catalog the individual short stories from the many collections I own. Goal #1 being I can look at my Author page on LT and see everything I own by that author, not just their novels. Goal #2 when I'm out shopping and find a collection, I can pull up my Library and see if I already own a significant number of the stories in the collection I'm thinking of buying or if there are enough unique stories in it to justify a purchase. I expect this will take me anywhere from 1-2 years to complete. Time consuming but fun.

It honestly sounds like too much work. Maybe when life slows down a little I'll try LT out.

Leah wrote: "LT's interface for adding books is the clunkiest thing about their site. It is where, in my opinion, GR trumps them. The thing that LT trumps GR with is the power of their catalog features...."

See, the thing that got me was I don't care too much if a book has 250 pages or 252. Or if my copyright page says 1992 or 1993. Or, really, if it has my exact cover art...

So, I would add a book by ISBN, then go and look for the page count and all of that stuff, and it wouldn't be there - that's all manually entered, from what I understood, cause there's so many things that can be slighty off copy-to-copy.

Which would be great if I cared about a 100% accurate catalog - but I really don't care much as long as things are generally in the right ballbark... And luckily I have Librarian privileges here on GR, so if I ever run across something way off, I can just fix it.

But cataloging short stories would be a neat feature.

Melanti wrote: "So, I would add a book by ISBN, then go and look for the page count and all of that stuff, and it wouldn't be there - that's all manually entered, from what I understood, cause there's so many things that can be slighty off copy-to-copy."

Works info pulls from the main works page which is auto-populated from the source. So if the book was added through, say, Amazon as the source, it pulls in the data that Amazon has for that ISBN. Data in green tells you it's coming from the source and hasn't been confirmed. This generally only happens for books that aren't on many peoples shelves.

I totally get it, though; LibraryThing definitely isn't as snazzy or general user friendly as GR.

It could just be that I didn't dedicate enough brain power to figuring out where things were, too.

Funnily, Bookriot published a piece on LibraryThing and cataloging books today! Here it is:

Hi there!

I'm new here (forced to move from shelfari, but beginning to enjoy myself) and I'd like to be in on the challenge. Here's my (slightly tentative) reading list:

1.One Mythic Fiction novel from the Endicott list: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

2.One Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list: Dreaming Frankenstein... by Liz Lochhead

3. One Young Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list: I Was a Rat! by Philip Pullman or Wolf by Gillian Cross

4.A book with an LGBTQA character: The Drowning Girl by Caitlín R. Kiernan

5.A book that makes use of the stories surrounding one of the world's major religions: Job: The Story of a Simple Man by Joseph Roth

6.East Asia (Japan): Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki or: Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide by Hiroko Yoda

7.Oceania and South & Southeast Asia: The Mahabarata

8.Middle East: Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie

9.Africa: Anubis by Wolfgang Hohlbein (if the title should prove misleading, "The Prophecy" by the same author might be an alternative)

10.Central or South America: The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

11.North America: Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore

12.Europe: Ovid's Metamorphoses or A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

I really hope I will read all of them, apart from the YA Endicott list choices (surprisingly enough, I don't own a single book from that list!!) I wanted to (re-)read these books for ages and I'm looking forward to finally doing it and maybe talking about them with you.

Wolf wrote: "Hi there!

I'm new here (forced to move from shelfari, but beginning to enjoy myself) and I'd like to be in on the challenge. Here's my (slightly tentative) reading list:

1.One Mythic Fiction nov..."

Great list, and welcome! Please do share your thoughts here as you read. A lot of my TBR list comes from recommendations from this group.

Welcome to the group, Wolf!

I hope you (and the other Shelfari people) find things to like around here.

You have several books on my list that I've really enjoyed.

Thank you both!

My plans have already gone astray and I read Politically Correct Bedtime Stories in the category Europe. I might still read the ones I originally planned, but I feel good about having started on this challenge. :)

I rarely end up reading the ones I pick out! That's why I have multiples in each category this year, so there's room for me to change my mind.

Me too! It would be funny if we all posted our first lists and final lists to compare.

I read my first book for #12 Dreamer's Pool which takes place in Ireland. Honestly if that had been the first book I'd ever read by Juliet Marillier I would have never counted her among my favorites! Parts were quite slow but I can't mention what I found really disturbing without giving away spoilers!

I usually list whatever I own for each category. Or, at least, several that I own...

That way when I'm looking for things to read, I have lots of options and I'm less tempted to go hunt down new books to buy.

I still do it anyway, but I like to pretend I can control my buying habits.

Melanti wrote: "I...but I like to pretend I can control my buying habits ..."

Hahahahahaha

Jalilah wrote: "Me too! It would be funny if we all posted our first lists and final lists to compare.

I actually go back to my placeholder post, the one in which I listed all my first picks, and edit that as the year progresses. This way I can see what I stuck with, what I added/ substituted/ moved to another year.

Melanti wrote: "I still do it anyway, but I like to pretend I can control my buying habits.

Really, the only form of denial/delusion I happily allow in my life :)

I decided to read Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival for #11 North America


I am wondering if our group read tale The Priest's Soul would count for #5. Any thoughts?
It's short, so I would also read other tales from the same collection.

I think there are enough religious tales in that collection that it should count. Good idea -- I have that book, I may use it also.

Hmm, that's a good idea! I'll add it to my list for #5 as well (actually, I think I only have 1 book listed there right now).