Looks like lots of fun again! Read 40/40 + 10/10 + 25/25
Finished 2/12/20
MAIN 40 BOOK CHALLENGE1. A book with more than 500 pages
Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates, 2/4/20
2. A dual-timeline novel
My Policeman by Bethan Roberts, 7/3/20 - 1950s and now
3. A book that became a movie or TV programme
4. A book published in 2020
Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith, 16/10/205. A book with a number in the title
Three Novellas by D H Lawrence, 12/4/20
6. A book with a “date” in the title – this could be day of the week, month, season or a specific holiday or annual event
Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck, 21/4/20
7. A book with a celestial body in the title (sun, moon, planets etc)
Maria in the Moon by Louise Beech, 31/3/20
8. A book set mainly in a particular building (eg a hotel/hospital/prison/museum/ factory etc)
Truth or Dare by Celia Rees, 9/3/20 - set in Josh's grandmother's house
9. A book with food or drink in the title
I, Coriander by Sally Gardner, 4/4/20
10. A mystery or thriller
With a Bare Bodkin by Cyril Hare, 13/6/20
11. A book written under a pseudonym
The Life and Death of Harriett Frean by May Sinclair, 30/5/20
12. A book with a one-word title
Worthy by Catherine Ryan Hyde, 8/4/20
13. A book set in a different country
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker, 27/5/20 - Turkey
14. A book with a long title (5+ words)
Don't Look At Me Like That by Diana Athill, 29/3/20
15. A fictional book with a character who is/was a real person
After the Party by Cressida Connolly, 17/2/20 - Oswald & Diana Mosley
16. A book written by more than one author
The Library Book edited by Rebecca Gray, 19/2/20
17. A title which is a quote from another work, ie a line from a poem, play or song
The Heather Blazing by Colm Toibin, 2/3/20 - from the song Boolavogue quoted in the book: "A rebel hand set the heather blazing"18. A book set in North or South America
Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, 10/6/20
19. A book with a question in the title
Are You Experienced? by William Sutcliffe, 5/5/20
20. Title of book does not contain the word “The”
Goodbye To All That by Robert Graves, 11/2/20
21. A book you’ve owned for over 2 years
The Interesting Narrative by Olaudah Equiano, 22/5/20 (owned since Jan 2018)
22. A book which is on loan (from a library or from a friend)
At Lady Molly's by Anthony Powell, 16/4/20
23. A book with a colour in the title
Olive Again by Elizabeth Strout, 4/2/20
24. A book written for children or young adults
The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge, 29/5/20
25. A book that has an alliterative title
The Misses Mallett by E H Young, 27/5/20
26. A book by an author you’ve never read before
Nobody's Fault by Terry Tyler, 24/2/20
27. A book originally written in a different language
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante, 4 June 20
28. A debut novel
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun, 24/2/20
29. Strong Female Lead
Pompomberry House by Rosen Trevithick, 6/4/20
30. A story involving travel
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa, 17/4/20
31. A book with a place name in the titleWashington Square by Henry James, 23/5/20
32. A book with a red cover
Diamond Boy by Michael Williams, 23/6/20
33. A book you bought brand new
Earth and High Heaven by Gwethalyn Graham, 12/5/20
34. A book with a person’s name in the title
Claudine at School by Colette, 14/4/20
35. A book you can finish in a day
The Mysterious Affair At Styles by Agatha Christie, 9/4/20
36. A book with a title which refers to one of the 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, sloth)
Gluttony by Francine Prose, 29/7/2037. A book set in the past (ie over 200 years ago)
The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth, 8/1/20 - set in the 11th century
38. A book with a profession or job in the title
The Lion Tamer Who Lost by Louise Beech, 4/7/20
39. A prize-winning book
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, 10/5/20
40. A book with fire (or equivalent) in the title
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, 25/5/20
EXTRA 10 FOR THE INTREPID CHALLENGERS41. A book published before you were born
The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck, 27/4/20
42. A book based on a true story
The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray, 23/1/20
43. An alternate history book
Ark Baby by Liz Jensen, 6/10/20
44. A book with a subtitle
Keeper: A Book About Memory, Identity, Isolation, Wordsworth and Cake by Andrea Gillies, 26/3/20
45. A book published posthumously
The Allingham Minibus by Margery Allingham (1973, she died in 1966), 24/7/20
46. A book with an LGBTQ theme
Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman, 7/6/20
47. An epistolary fiction (fiction told in the form of diary or letters)
The Untouchable by John Banville, 4/5/20
48. A book which has does not have conventional chapter numbers
Arthur & George by Julian Barnes, 10/4/2049. A book which is part of a series
Casanova's Chinese Restaurant by Anthony Powell, 19/5/20
50. A book written by someone famous for something other than being an author
Finding Sanctuary by Christopher Jamison - the abbot in the TV series The Monastery
EXTRA 25 FOR THE LUNATICS (thanks to Mr P & elliej84 for their choices... I think!)
51. A book written by a Japanese author or set in Japan
The Master Key by Masako Togawa, 14/2/20 - both52. A book set in the 1920s
Slippery Creatures by K J Charles, 22/6/20
Never Mind the Bullocks by Vanessa Able, 19/7/20
54. A book that involves a robot, cyborg or AI character
The Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum, 28/4/20 - the Tin Man is a cyborg
55. A book with a map in it
Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh, 1/6/20
56. A book with an author who has the initials EB
Trent's Last Case by E C Bentley, 21/5/20
57. Book title contains at least four words and all these words have a single syllable
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, 5/2/20
58. The author has the same first name as one of the Queen’s great-grandchildren
The Female Quixote by Charlotte Lennox, 7/7/20
59. Book title contains a word from the NATO phonetic alphabet
Now In November by Josephine Johnson, 20/5/20
60. The title contains an item of jewellery
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, 6/3/20 - ring
61. The author’s surname is a type of bird
Miss Julia Lays Down the Law by Ann B Ross, 29 May 20 - Ross's gull
62. The title contains an adverb (usually a word ending in ly)
A Perfectly Good Man by Patrick Gale, 22/1/20
63. The title is a single word that has the same first and last letter
Nation by Terry Pratchett, 17/10/20
64. The letters Q and Z appear in the title/The letter, Q, Z or X appear in the title
Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz (Q in title and Z in author)65. The title includes a capital city
Claudine in Paris by Colette, 28/4/20
66. A book with 'the' in the title and 'a' or 'an'
A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore, 18/6/20
67. The title includes the name of a chess piece
I'm the King of the Castle by Susan Hill, 15/1/20 - Two chess pieces!
68. The title/cover includes a mode of transport
Death on the Cherwell by Mavis Doriel Hay, 5/1/20 - punt on the cover
69. Author's first name or surname is the surname of a US president
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, 21/2/20 (Andrew Jackson, 7th president)
70. Book with a door/entrance/to somewhere on the cover
Etta Mae's Worst Bad-Luck Day by Ann B Ross, 22/2/20
71. Neither title or author's name contain the letter E
Waiting by Ha Jin, 8/5/20
72. A book that was banned
Despised and Rejected by Rose Allatini, 7/4/20
73. A book genre you wouldn't usually read
Ghost Stories by M R James, 16/5/20
74. Title includes north, east, south or west
Five Children on the Western Front by Kate Saunders, 2/12/20
75. Title includes a character from the bible
The Devil in the Valley by Castle Freeman Jr, 26/8/20