18 Dec 2016

ANNOUNCING THE FIRST BOOK OF THE YEAR AND THE WHAT'S IN A NAME CHALLENGE 2017.

Thank goodness 2016 is coming to an end. A bit like Queen Elizabeth a few years ago, this year has proved to be an annus horribilis. Still, determined not to be totally miserable I do have the ......


..... to look forward to.

Honoured to have been featured reading my First Book Of The Year 2016 I'm delighted to have been asked again.

Then there's the .....




 (Details and sign-up here)


Hosted by Charlie over at The Worm Hole, the 2017 categories are (Charlie's suggestions in brackets) ...


  • A number in numbers (84, Charing Cross Road; 12 Years A Slave; 31 Dream Street)
  • A building (The Old Curiosity Shop; I Capture The Castle; House Of Shadows; The Invisible Library; Jamaica Inn)
  • A title which has an ‘X’ somewhere in it (The Girl Next Door; The Running Vixen)
  • Compass direction (North and South; Guardians Of The West; The Shadow In The North; NW)
  • An item/items of cutlery (The Subtle Knife; Our Spoons Came From Woolworths)
  • A title in which at least two words share the same first letter – alliteration! (The Great Gatsby; The Luminous Life Of Lilly Aphrodite; Gone Girl; The Cuckoo’s Calling).
Hmm!Always one to challenge myself that bit further. As well as 'the challenge rules', I like to make things that bit more difficult for myself (and indeed Mr Terry who if you remember was dispatched to local charity is search of suitable books for this year's challenge) by using books we already have in the house soooo, with this in mind, which books might I find myself reading?

  • Number in numbersHmm, looks like Mr T will be paying a trip to the charity shops after all. Oh, hang on, I've just found a copy of 11th Hour by James Patterson tucked away on my TBR pile 
  • BuildingThe Far Pavilions by M.M Kaye, To The Holy Shrines by Richard Burton
  • 'X' in itWessex Tales by Thomas Hardy, Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
  • Compass directionAll Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, Hunt For the Southern Continent by James Cook
  • CutleryThe Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
  • First same letterGone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Jaguars And Electric Eels by Alexander von Humboldt

Any plans to be joining in with the 2017 What's In A Name Challenge? If so, any clues as to what you might be reading?

7 comments:

Suko said...

Tracy, I am planning to participate in The First Book of the Year, if I can get my act together by then (fingers crossed). Best of luck to you regarding both of these reading endeavors! :)

Brian Joseph said...

This is a neat idea and challenge.

Some of these categories are so clever and they lend themselves to clever book choices.

Happy reading in 2017.

Kelly said...

I love comparing notes for the WIAN Challenge. I read The Far Pavilions decades ago and loved it, if I'm remembering correctly. I'm choosing a book that's been sitting in my Kindle awhile for that one: The Abbey by Chris Culver. In fact, it might be my first book for the year. I'm thinking outside the box for the cutlery choice and going with something I saw in a review of yours. I'll just wait and let you see. :) I did consider Middlesex, which I've had since Jenners reviewed it ages ago, but I think I'll read a sci-fi my brother recommended instead. The only two I've bought for the challenge are the direction and the cutlery, and both were books already on my wish list.

Yes. Looking forward to a much better 2017!!

Shooting Stars Mag said...

Definitely sounds like a fun challenge! I like these types of challenges, where you can ultimately read what you want but with stipulation.

Melissa (Books and Things) said...

I always like your challenges. I'm not sure if I'll do any in the coming year... I guess we shall see... :)

DMS said...

Sounds like you will be having lots of fun! I am not signed up for any challenges yet, but you never know. :)
~Jess

Literary Feline said...

Good luck with the What's In a Name Challenge, Tracy. I failed miserably this year. I've decided not to do challenges this coming year. I need a break. We'll see if I can keep to my resolve. That may be a challenge in and of itself. :-)