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Mia's 2024 Buffet Challenge
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COMPLETED
Only six of the 12 books selected are required be Classics based on the Groups definitions, they do not have to come from the groups bookshelf. At least 3 books from the Old School category (published before 1900) and 3 books from the New School category (published between 1900 & 1999). The other six and your three alternates can be any genre or age you wish to read. Yes, even post 2000.
You can post your list and make all the changes you want until then, but no changes after midnight 12/31/2023.
1899 and earlier/Old School
✔︎1. Kurjat by Victor Hugo (1862) 5 stars
✔︎2.ÌýVanhurskaan syntisen yksityiset muistelmat ja tunnustukset by James Hogg (1824) 5 stars
✔︎3.ÌýBen-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace (1880) 3 stars
1900-1999/New School
✔︎4.ÌýPoems by Hermann Hesse (1953) 4 stars
✔︎5.ÌýGardener's Year by Karel ÄŒapek (1929) 5 stars
✔︎6. The Bell by Iris Murdoch (1958) 4 stars
Wildcard
✔︎7. Stoner by John Williams (1965) 4 stars
✔︎8.ÌýA Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell (1951) 3 stars
✔︎9.ÌýKevyt kantamus by Tove Jansson (1987) 4 stars
✔︎10.ÌýSeitsemän veljestä by Aleksis Kivi (1870) 3 stars
✔︎11. The Roots of Heaven by Romain Gary (1956) 2 stars
✔︎12. °ä²¹Ã²Ô by José Saramago (2009) 4 stars
Alternates
✔︎´¡1. The Tin Drum by Günter Grass (1959) 4 stars
✔︎´¡2.ÌýInho by Jean-Paul Sartre (1938) 3 stars
✔︎´¡3.ÌýTaikatalvi by Tove Jansson (1957) 5 stars

COMPLETED
Go back through the groups past polls and select Four (5) total books that are of interest to you but lost the poll and to date has never made it to our group bookshelf. Pick one book from New School, one from Old School, two from Short Story/Novella, and one from the Quarterly Long
New School
✔︎1. Rabbit Redux by John Updike 4 stars
Old School
✔︎1. The Red and the Black by Stendhal 3 stars
Short Story/Novella
✔︎1. Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam by Omar Khayyám 5 stars
✔︎2. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco 4 stars
Quarterly Long Read
✔︎1. Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle by Vladimir Nabokov 3 stars

COMPLETED
Only one version of the challenge is required to participate. For those exceptional readers, over achievers, or competitive eating gluttons, feel free to increase the difficulty of the challenge by taking on 2 or all 3 versions. There are three ways to participate. First, read one book per year for 10 consecutive years, one-decade total. Second read one book from 10 consecutive decades, one century total. Third, read one book from 10 consecutive centuries, one millennium total.
Decade Challenge
✔︎1950 - Barabbas by Pär Lagerkvist 5 stars
✔︎1951 - A Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell 3 stars
✔︎1952 - The Complete Poems and Plays of T. S. Eliot by T.S. Eliot 3 stars
✔︎1953 - Poems by Hermann Hesse 4 stars
✔︎1954 - I'm Not Stiller by Max Frisch 2 stars
✔︎1955 - The Quiet American by Graham Greene 3 stars
✔︎1956 - The Roots of Heaven by Romain Gary 2 stars
✔︎1957 - Taikatalvi by Tove Jansson 5 stars
✔︎1958 - The Bell - Iris Murdoch 4 stars
✔︎1959 - The Tin Drum by Günter Grass 4 stars
Century Challenge
✔︎1890-1899Ìý- Compassion by Benito Pérez Galdós 4 stars
✔︎1900-1909 - Tono-Bungay by H.G. Wells 3 stars
✔︎1910-1919 - The 39 Steps by John Buchan 3 stars
✔︎1920-1929 - The Tower by W.B. Yeats 3 stars
✔︎1930-1939 - Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh 4 stars
✔︎1940-1949 - °Ã¤Ã¤±è¾±Ã¶ by Pär Lagerkvist 3 stars
✔︎1950-1959 - The Bell by Iris Murdoch 4 stars
✔︎1960-1969 - Promise at Dawn by Romain Gary 4 stars
✔︎1970-1979 - The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein 4 stars
✔︎1980-1989 - Auta armias by Arto Paasilinna 3 stars
✔︎1990-1999 - The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi 3 stars
Millennium Challenge
✔︎21th Century - Syksy by Ali Smith 3 stars
✔︎20th Century - Hornankattila by Nick Hornby 3 stars
✔︎19th Century - Vanhurskaan syntisen yksityiset muistelmat ja tunnustukset by James Hogg 5 stars
✔︎18th Century - The Expedition of Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett 3 stars
✔︎17th Century - Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 3 stars
✔︎16th Century - Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit by John Lyly 1 stars
✔︎15th Century - La Celestina by Fernando de Rojas 2 stars
✔︎14th Century - The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio 3 stars
✔︎13th Century - The Epic of Gilgamesh by Anonymous 4 stars
✔︎12th Century - Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam by Omar Khayyám 5 stars

COMPLETED
✔︎1. 19th Century - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie 4 stars
✔︎2. 20th Century - Baselin kellot by Louis Aragon 3 stars
✔︎3. 21st Century - 14. heinäkuuta by Éric Vuillard 4 stars
✔︎4. A book originally written in a language other than your own, - Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle by Vladimir Nabokov 3 stars
✔︎5. An Author never read before, - Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy 3 stars
✔︎6. Diversity Classic, read a book from a religion, culture, country, or race different than yours. - Men in the Sun by Ghassan Kanafani 4 stars
✔︎7. Science Fiction/Fantasy, - The Plot Against America by Philip Roth 4 stars
✔︎8. Action/Adventure - King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard 2 stars
✔︎9. Childrens/Young Adult, - Parrakas nainen by Bjarne Reuter 3 stars
✔︎10. Nonfiction Memoir/Biography - Tove Jansson � Tee työtä ja rakasta by Tuula Karjalainen 4 stars
✔︎11. Mystery/Thriller - Koskinen ja raadonsyöjä by Seppo Jokinen 2 stars
✔︎12. Horror or Humor - Satavuotias joka karkasi ikkunasta ja katosi by Jonas Jonasson 2 stars

Read 24 short stories. This equates to only two per month for the year. Read them all at once or spread them out; it's up to you.
COMPLETED
✔︎1. The Teeth of the Comb & Other Stories by Osama Alomar 3 stars
✔︎2. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco 4 stars
✔︎3. Kirjeenvaihtoa - Kevyt kantamus by Tove Jansson 4 stars
✔︎4. Kahdeksankymmenvuotispäivät - Kevyt kantamus
✔︎5. Kesälapsi - Kevyt kantamus
✔︎6. Vieraassa kaupungissa - Kevyt kantamus
✔︎7. Muistoja lainaksi - Kevyt kantamus
✔︎8. Kevyt kantamus - Kevyt kantamus
✔︎9. Paratiisi - Kevyt kantamus
✔︎10. Shoppaamassa - Kevyt kantamus
✔︎11. Metsä - Kevyt kantamus
✔︎12. Voimisteluopettajan kuolema - Kevyt kantamus
✔︎13. Lokit - Kevyt kantamus
✔︎14. Kasvihuone - Kevyt kantamus
✔︎15. Kivipelto - Kevyt kantamus
✔︎16. Old-Fashioned Farmers - The Overcoat and Other Short Stories 3 stars
✔︎17. The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarrelled with Ivan Nikiforovich - The Overcoat and Other Short Stories
✔︎18. The Nose - The Overcoat and Other Short Stories
✔︎19. The Overcoat - The Overcoat and Other Short Stories
✔︎20. The Appearance of Man - Signs & Wonders by J.D. Beresford 3 stars
✔︎21. The Appearance of Man - Signs & Wonders
✔︎22. As the Crow Flies - Signs & Wonders
✔︎23. The Barrage - Signs & Wonders
✔︎24. The Barrier - Signs & WondersÌý
✔︎25. The Cage - Signs & Wonders
✔︎26. The Convert - Signs & Wonders
✔︎27. A Difference of Temperament - Signs & Wonders
✔︎28. Enlargement - Signs & Wonders
✔︎29. The Hidden Beast - Signs & Wonders
✔︎30. The Perfect Smile - Signs & Wonders
✔︎31. The Introvert - Signs & Wonders
✔︎32. A Negligible Experiment - Signs & Wonders
✔︎33. The Miracle - Signs & Wonders
✔︎34. Young Strickland's Career - Signs & Wonders
✔︎35. Reference Wanted - Signs & Wonders
✔︎36. Signs and Wonders - Signs & Wonders
✔︎37. The Night of Creation - Signs & Wonders

COMPLETED
The challenge is to read 12 total books/stories from this year's group poll winners or Buddy Reads, in any combination. Your reads can be from the upcoming 53 poll winners, or from the 2024 Buddy Reads thread. Between New School, Old School, Short Story/Novella, Revisit the Shelf, Quarterly Long Read, and Buddy Reads there should be plenty of choices.
✔︎1. Rabbit Redux by John Updike 4 stars
✔︎2. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy 3 stars
✔︎3. The Overcoat and Other Short Stories by Nikolai Gogol 3 stars
✔︎4. Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy 3 stars
✔︎5. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 3 stars
✔︎6. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie 4 stars
✔︎7. °¾±²õ²õ²¹²Ô²õ¾±±ô³¾Ã¤ by Margaret Atwood 3 stars
✔︎8. Kurjat by Victor Hugo 5 stars
✔︎9. The Immortal by Jorge Luis Borges 3 stars
✔︎10. The Garden of Forking Paths by Jorge Luis Borges 3 stars
✔︎11. Ivanhoe by Walter Scott 3 stars
✔︎12. Kuolema ilmoittaa lehdessä by Agatha Christie 4 stars

COMPLETED
Seek out at least six (6) authors that you have never previously read, from any genre or era you want.
✔︎1. A Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell 3 stars
✔︎2. The Complete Poems and Plays of T. S. Eliot by T.S. Eliot 3 stars
✔︎3. Pomes All Sizes by Jack Kerouac 2 stars
✔︎4. Vanhurskaan syntisen yksityiset muistelmat ja tunnustukset by James Hogg 5 stars
✔︎5. The Teeth of the Comb & Other Stories by Osama Alomar 3 stars
✔︎6. King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard 2 stars
✔︎7. Promise at Dawn by Romain Gary 4 stars
✔︎8. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco 4 stars
✔︎9. The Tin Drum by Günter Grass 4 stars
✔︎10. Kaima by Jhumpa Lahiri 4 stars
✔︎11. The Crime of Father Amaro by Eça de Queirós 4 stars
✔︎12. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert 3 stars
✔︎13. Ranskan suuri vallankumous. 1, Kuningasvallan tuho by Octave Aubry 3 stars
✔︎14. The House in Paris by Elizabeth Bowen 3 stars
✔︎15. 14. heinäkuuta by Éric Vuillard 4 stars
✔︎16. Koskinen ja siimamies by Seppo Jokinen 4 ststs
✔︎17. Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis 3 stars
✔︎18. Barabbas by Pär Lagerkvist 5 stars
✔︎19. Garden, Ashes by Danilo Kiš 3 stars
✔︎20. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? by Horace McCoy 3 stars
✔︎21. Compassion by Benito Pérez Galdós 4 stars
✔︎22. Billiards at Half-Past Nine by Heinrich Böll 4 stars
✔︎23. Living and the Dead by Patrick White 4 stars
✔︎24. Alastalon salissa by Volter Kilpi 4 stars
✔︎25.The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy 3 stars
✔︎26. Cain by José Saramago 4 stars
✔︎27. Inho by Jean-Paul Sartre 3 stars

COMPLETED
Locate and list 10 books that most interest you from the year of your choice. The challenge is to read five 5 books from that list. You can use the year of your birth, the birth year of a family member, or friend, or any random year you choose.
/book/popula...
NOTE: click on the link above then change the date to the date you wish to search.
1991
✔︎1. Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder 3 stars
2. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang
✔︎3. Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett 4 stars
✔︎4. Time's Arrow by Martin Amis 4 stars
5. Regeneration by Pat Barker
6. The Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson
✔︎7. The Revenge of the Baby-Sat by Bill Watterson 4 stars
✔︎8. Mao II by Don DeLillo 3 stars

COMPLETED
Select five different subjects of interest to you and read a fiction book and a non-fiction book about that subject. Total number of books for this challenge is ten.
France
✔︎Fiction - Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert 3 stars
✔︎Non-Fiction - Ranskan suuri vallankumous. 1, Kuningasvallan tuho by Octave Aubry 3 stars
Tove Jansson
✔︎Fiction - Näkymätön lapsi ja muita kertomuksia by Tove Jansson 4 stars
✔︎Non-Fiction - Tove Jansson � Tee työtä ja rakasta by Tuula Karjalainen 4 stars
Poetry
✔︎Fiction - Runot 1970-2006 by Tommy Tabermann 4 stars
✔︎Non-Fiction - Lasimaalauksen läpi: Päiväkirja vuosilta 1944-47 by Aila Meriluoto 3 stars
Football
✔︎Fiction - Hornankattila by Nick Hornby 3 stars
✔︎Non-Fiction - Jalkapallo valossa ja varjossa by Eduardo Galeano 3 stars
World War I
✔︎Fiction - Under Fire by Henri Barbusse 4 stars
✔︎Non-Fiction - Verdun 1916 by Alistair Horne 4 stars

COMPLETED
Select five books from five different centuries, using the same decade for each century you select. They do not have to be consecutive centuries but must be the same decade.
✔︎20th Century - 1970-1979 - 1978 Meri, meri by Iris Murdoch 4 stars
✔︎19th Century - 1870-1879 - 1874 ³Û³ó»å±ð°ì²õä²Ô°ì²â³¾³¾±ð²Ô³Ùä°ì´Ç±ô³¾±ð by Victor Hugo 3 stars
✔︎18th Century - 1770-1779 - 1771 The Expedition of Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett 3 stars
✔︎17th Century - 1670-1679 - 1678 The Princess of Cleves by Madame de La Fayette 3 stars
✔︎16th Century - 1570-1579 - 1578 Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit by John Lyly 1 stars

COMPLETED
Select five categories of your choice or use some of these sample categories. Once you make your category selections, link the categories by finding and reading an Old School (1899 or older) and a New School book (1900-1999) that contains some part or is all about your selected categories. It will be more interesting and more varied if you come up with your own categories.
Finnish Classic
✔︎Old - Seitsemän veljestä by Aleksis Kivi 3 stars
✔︎New - Alastalon salissa by Volter Kilpi 4 stars
English Murder Mystery
✔︎Old - The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins 3 stars
✔︎New - Lentävä kuolema by Agatha Christie 3 stars
Coming of Age
✔︎Old - Great Expectations by Charles Dickens 3 stars
✔︎New - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark 4 stars
Women Author
✔︎Old - The Princess of Cleves by Madame de La Fayette 3 stars
✔︎New - Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky 4 stars
Family Saga
✔︎Old - Kurjat by Victor Hugo 5 stars
✔︎New - Billiards at Half-Past Nine by Heinrich Böll 4 stars

COMPLETED
A Dance to the Music of Time
✔︎ A Question of Upbringing 3 stars
✔︎A Buyer's Market 3 stars
✔︎The Acceptance World 3 stars
✔︎At Lady Molly's 3 stars
✔︎Casanova's Chinese Restaurant 4 stars
✔︎The Kindly Ones 3 stars
✔︎The Valley of Bones 3 stars
✔︎The Soldier's Art 3 stars
✔︎The Military Philosophers 3 stars
✔︎Books Do Furnish a Room 2 stars
✔︎Temporary Kings 2 stars
✔︎Hearing Secret Harmonies 3 stars

COMPLETED
Select a book or an author from each of the seven world continents, *Antarctica is optional, I understand that most around the world challenges are much longer in both time and number of books required. Our challenges only run from January 1-December 31. So, this seems more doable.
✔︎Africa - Valkoinen naarasleijona by Henning Mankell 3 stars
✔︎Asia - Half of Man Is Woman by Zhang Xianliang 3 stars
✔︎Australia - Living and the Dead by Patrick White 4 stars
✔︎Europe - Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens 3 stars
✔︎North America - A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving 2 stars
✔︎South America - Winter Garden by Pablo Neruda 3 stars
*Antarctica

COMPLETED
Some of us reread regularly, others reread rarely if ever. We have all read books that we found fantastic. We finish the last page, set it aside and think someday I would like to reread this again. Let us know the titles of five books you found worthy of rereading. This year’s challenge is, reread two of your selections.
1. A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
✔︎2. Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam by Omar Khayyám 5 stars
✔︎3. Taikatalvi by Tove Jansson 5 stars
4. Animal Farm by George Orwell
✔︎5. Näkymätön lapsi ja muita kertomuksia by Tove Jansson 4 stars

COMPLETED
I find this to be a very difficult challenge, many others consider it one of their favorites. For those who really enjoy this challenge in its pure form use all 26 letters. For those of us who struggle, with this challenge consider it successful by using only 23 letters. There are 4 optional letters marked with an (*), you only need to use one.
✔︎A - As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner 3 stars
✔︎B - Barabbas by Pär Lagerkvist 5 stars
✔︎C - Collected Poems by Dylan Thomas
✔︎D - Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh 3 stars
✔︎E - Eläköön tuonenkielo! by George Orwell 4 stars
✔︎F - Fingerpori by Pertti Jarla 3 stars
✔︎G - Germinal by Émile Zola 3 stars
✔︎H - The House in Paris by Elizabeth Bowen 3 stars
✔︎I - The Immortal by Jorge Luis Borges 3 stars
✔︎J - Jalkapallo valossa ja varjossa by Eduardo Galeano 3 stars
✔︎K - Kaima by Jhumpa Lahiri 4 stars
✔︎L - Lentävä kuolema by Agatha Christie 3 stars
✔︎M - Meri, meri by Iris Murdoch 4 stars
✔︎N - Napoleon by Herman Lindqvist 3 stars
✔︎O - Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens 3 stars
✔︎P - Pomes All Sizes by Jack Kerouac 2 stars
✔︎*Q - A Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell 3 stars
✔︎R - Ranskan suuri vallankumous. 2, Tasavallan aika by Octave Aubry 3 stars
✔︎S - Satavuotias joka karkasi ikkunasta ja katosi by Jonas Jonasson 2 stars
✔︎T - Tulella kypsennetty: Miten keittotaito teki meistä ihmisiä by Richard W. Wrangham 2 stars
✔︎U - Under Fire by Henri Barbusse 4 stars
✔︎V - V. - Thomas Pynchon 3 stars
✔︎W - The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks 3 stars
✔︎*X - Xingu by Edith Wharton 3 stars
✔︎*Y - ³Û³ó»å±ð°ì²õä²Ô°ì²â³¾³¾±ð²Ô³Ùä°ì´Ç±ô³¾±ð by Victor Hugo 3 stars
✔︎*Z - Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis 3 stars

COMPLETED
I find this to be a very difficult challenge, many others consider it one of their favorites. For those who really enjoy this challenge in its pure form use all 26 letters. For those of us who struggle, with this challenge consider it successful by using only 23 letters. There are 4 optional letters marked with an (*), you only need to use one.
✔︎A - The Kindly Ones by Anthony Powell 3 stars
✔︎B - Signs & Wonders by J.D. Beresford
✔︎C - The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins 3 stars
✔︎D - Mao II by Don DeLillo 3 stars
✔︎E - The Little Mountain by Elias Khoury 4 stars
✔︎F - As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner 3 stars
✔︎G - The Quiet American by Graham Greene
✔︎H - The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi 3 stars
✔︎I - A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving 2 stars
✔︎J - Tilinteon hetki by Robin Jarvis 3 stars
✔︎K - Garden, Ashes by Danilo Kiš 3 stars
✔︎L - °Ã¤Ã¤±è¾±Ã¶ by Pär Lagerkvist 3 stars
✔︎M - Valkoinen naarasleijona by Henning Mankell 3 stars
✔︎N - Shepherd of Solitude: Selected Poems 1979-2004 by Amjad Nasser 3 stars
✔︎O - Ranskan suuri vallankumous. 2, Tasavallan aika by Octave Aubry 3 stars
✔︎P - V. - Thomas Pynchon 3 stars
✔︎*Q - The Crime of Father Amaro by Eça de Queirós 4 stars
✔︎R - La Celestina by Fernando de Rojas 2 stars
✔︎S - The Red and the Black by Stendhal 3 stars
✔︎T - Collected Poems by Dylan Thomas
✔︎U - Rabbit Redux by John Updike 4 stars
✔︎V - Runoja 1958�1977 by Dylan ThomasVäinö Kirstinä 3 stars
✔︎W - Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh 4 stars
✔︎*X - Half of Man Is Woman by Zhang Xianliang 3 stars
✔︎*Y - The Tower by W.B. Yeats 3 stars
✔︎*Z - Germinal by Émile Zola 3 stars


I'll be watching to see what you think of it. Maybe you can inspire me ;)
I'm also interested in Irish Murdoch's The Bell, and I hope you enjoy Stoner as much as I did. It's one of my very favorites :)
Happy Reading!

I'll be watching to see what you think..."
Thank you, Terris. I'll let you know what I thing about Ben-Hur.
Stoner is a book I've wanted to read for so long, so I'm excited. And Murdoch.. I just discoverd her this year, and I can't await to read her more.

I'll be watching to see..."
Thanks for the info, Mia. I'll be watching for your reviews, especially of Stoner and The Bell :)



Thank you, Wobbley. It has been really great reading year so far.
WoW. An impressive amount of reading this year, Mia. You are inches away from completing every single challenge category. Awesome!

Books mentioned in this topic
Collected Poems (other topics)Collected Poems (other topics)
Kuolema ilmoittaa lehdessä (other topics)
The Decameron (other topics)
Xingu (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Dylan Thomas (other topics)Dylan Thomas (other topics)
Giovanni Boccaccio (other topics)
Edith Wharton (other topics)
Anonymous (other topics)
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Challenge #1 - New & Old TBRChallenge #2 - Second Place or WorseChallenge #3 - Decade/Century/MillenniumChallenge #4 - Members ChoiceChallenge #5 - Short StoryChallenge #6 - Group Reads and/or Buddy ReadsChallenge #7 - Expand Your Horizon with New AuthorsChallenge #8 - Most Popular Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Books Listed by YearChallenge #9 â€� Fiction/Non-FictionChallenge #10 - The Half a Millennium Challenge with a Sour Lemon Twist of DifficultChallenge #11 - Old and New Linked CategoriesChallenge #12 - Series Books â€� Start, Continue, CompleteChallenge #13 - Travel the World One Continent at a Time.Challenge #14 - Rereading Some do Some don'tChallenge #15 - A-Z AuthorChallenge #16 - A-Z Title