All the Libraries Are Mine! Extreme Reading Challenge!

Now that I've got most of my books lined up for my primary library system, it is time to turn my eyes south. Tacoma has its own very interesting library system, and I have a card there as well thanks to the wonders of reciprocal systems, a wonderful invention of the modern age. And they have their own yearly challenge -- the FIFTY BOOK Challenge! (They take two weeks of at the end and the beginning of the year, which is why I think it's only fifty books.) It started January 4 and end December 17th. 

I did it last year and it was fun, so clearly it is now a tradition! Welcome to THE TACOMA LIBRARY EXTREME READING CHALLENGE 2022! 

2022 Extreme Reader Categories 

1. A book about an historical figure Curse of the Mummy, Candace Fleming 4/30/22, opens a new window
2. A book about or including a wedding, opens a new window The Guinevere Deception, Kiersten White 2/22/22
3. A book about starting over, opens a new window Love Code, Ann Aguirre 3/14/22
4. A book cover that has your favorite color on it Ice Planet Barbarians, Ruby Dixon 1/27/22
5. A book cover that shows a person from behind, opens a new window In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers, Don Brown 2/3/22
6. A book from a genre you don’t normally read Everybody Fights, Kim & Penn Holderness 3/13/22
7. A book from ALA’s Challenged Books lists , opens a new window  Gender Queer, Maia Kobabe 4/4/22

8. A book from one of these two celebrity book clubs: Oprah’s Book Club or the Read with Jenna Book Club, opens a new window  (The Sun does shine?Underground Railroad?)

9. A book of your own choosing Chaos Reigning, Jessie Mihalik 2/28/22
10. A book published in 2022 Hunt the Stars, Jessie Mihalik 7/6/22
11. A book published in 2022 (Non-fiction)
12. A book published more than ten years ago Chalice, Robin McKinley 5/4/22, opens a new window
13. A book set in a restaurant, opens a new window Measuring Up, Lily Lamotte 5/22 (weak)
14. A book set in a school Of Curses and Kisses, Sandhya Menon 2/9/22, opens a new window
15. A book set in the Caribbean, opens a new window
16. A book set on the East Coast of the United States One For the Books, Jenn McKinlay 2/27/22, opens a new window
17. A book set outdoors Spear, Nicola Griffith 7/19/22, opens a new window
18. A book set somewhere you want to visit A Colorful Death, Carola Dunn 5/8/22
19. A book that begins with a disappearance, opens a new window Strange Love, Ann Aguirre 2/24/22
20. A book that centers a refugee’s experience , opens a new windowValley of the Shadow, Carola Dunn 5/20/22
21. A book that discusses body positivity, opens a new window Being Seen, Elsa Sjunneson 4/28/22
22. A book that focuses on mental health Ancestral Night, Elizabeth Bear 7/1/22, opens a new window
23. A book that fulfills a category from a previous Extreme Reader challenge year, opens a new window Grave Reservations, Cherie Priest 4/4/22 (Bechdel test, 1st in series)
24. A book that involves time travel, opens a new window Jukebox, Nidhi Chanani 2/19/22
25. A book that makes you think, “Just one more chapter!” Harbinger, Wen Spencer 1/14/22
26. A book that takes place in a country that starts with the letter A, opens a new window
27. A book that takes place in a magical world, opens a new window  Royal Airs, Sharon Shinn 4/1/22
28. A book with a beverage in the title, opens a new window
29. A book with a cardinal direction (north, south, east, west) in the title, opens a new window
30. A book with a character who works in a library, opens a new window  A Place to Hang the Moon, Kate Albus 7/14/22
31. A book with a day of the week in the title, opens a new window
32. A book with a five-star rating in the TPL catalog, opens a new window (access link for directions!) Lore Olympus, Rachel Smythe 1/10/22 
33. A book with a heart, club, diamond, or spade shape on the cover:, opens a new window Life's Too Short, Abby Jimenez, 5/17/22
34. A book with a number from one through twelve in the title One Good Deed, David Baldacci 1/30/22, opens a new window
35. A book with a protagonist who has a pet cat, opens a new window Night Broken, Patricia Briggs 5/2/22 
36. A book with a protagonist who has your dream job The Steerswoman, Rosemary Kirstein 5/25/22
37. A book with a robot, cyborg, or artificial intelligence TheWild Robot, Peter Brown 4/14/22, opens a new window
38. A book with a snake on the cover , opens a new window Phoenix Extravagant, Yoon Ha Lee 7/11/22 (supposed to be a dragon, but that looks like a snake to me)
39. A book with a star on the cover, opens a new window Light From Uncommon Stars, Ryka Aoki 1/19/22
40. A book with a title structure of “The _____’s _____” , opens a new window The Outskirter's Secret, Rosemary Kirstein, 5/27/22
41. A book with best friends  Front Desk, Kelly Yang 3/7/22, opens a new window
42. A book with the name of a color in the title  Mexican Whiteboy, Matt de la Pena 2/17/22, opens a new window
43. A book written by an Asian American author, opens a new window The Empress of Salt and Fortune, Nghi Vo 2/11/22
44. A book written by an author whose first or last names begins with T, P, or L, opens a new window Salt Magic, Hope Larson 2/26/22
45. A book written by an author whose last name is six letters or more, opens a new window The Language of Power, Rosemary Kirstein  5/30/2022
46. A book written by one of your favorite authors Smoke Bitten, Patricia Briggs 1/24/22
47. A book written by multiple authors, opens a new window The Sentinel, Lee Child & Andrew Child, 2/21/22
48. A book written by someone who is no longer living Straight, Dick Francis 1/21/22, opens a new window
49. A fantasy book inspired by the Middle East, Southeast, or South Asia, opens a new window Fireheart Tiger, Aliette de Boudard 5/10/22
50. A horror or paranormal story, opens a new window Child of Fire, Harry Connolly 2/10/22
51. A Jane Austen novel, or a retelling or adaptation of one, opens a new window
52. A locked-room mystery, opens a new window
53. A philosophical literature or philosophy book The Past Is Red, Catherynne Valentine 6/28/22, opens a new windowhe Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky 2/13/22

54. A southern gothic novel

, opens a new window55. A space opera Foundation, Isaac Asimov 4/18/22

46/55

Tacoma Library Extreme Reading Challenge

I've been accumulating library cards for the past year, as a way of traveling without actually leaving my house. If I can't go to new libraries, I can at least visit them online. And that's how I found out that the city to my south does a reading challenge that I'm am probably going to fail: THE TACOMA LIBRARY EXTREME READING CHALLENGE. 

It's fifty books from fifty categories (well, I guess 49? or we read more than one a week?) and it ends just before the end of the year, so there's not even a chance for frantic reading from Christmas to New Year. Here's the list, and I'm trying to preserve the links to suggestions:

2021 Extreme Reader Categories 

1. A book about climate change The Case for Climate Capitalism, Tom Rand 3/6/21
2. A book about music or musicians The Chai Factor, Farah Heron 2/6/21
3. A book about or involving social media use Take a Hint Dani Brown, Talia Hibbert 1/28/21
4. A book about or with art or museums: The Plain Janes, Cecil Castellucci 1/8/21, The City We Became N.K. Jemisin 8/6/21
5. A book about or written by a journalist One Giant Leap, Charles Fishman 2/11/21
6. A book about or written by a woman in STEM Arcadia, Tom Stoppard 5/24/21
7. A book about social justice Stolen Justice, Laurence Goldstone 1/25/21
8. A book about the American Civil War Blood and Germs, Gail Jarrow 3/8/21, 
9. A book in which a natural disaster takes place Into the Volcano, Don Wood 4/4/21, The Nine Tailors, Dorothy Sayers 7/4/11 
10. A book of your own choosing  Storm Cursed, Patricia Briggs 1/29/21
11. A book published in the year you were born 
12. A book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics La Perdida, Jessica Abel 2/7/21 
13. A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent  Northanger Abbey, Jane Austin 4/30/21
14. A book set in Ireland  
15. A book set on a mode of transportation Stars Beyond, S.K. Dunstall 5/16/21
16. A book that passes the Bechdel Test  Louisiana Longshot, Jana DeLeon 5/16/21
17. A book that takes place during the 1920s : Subtle Blood, K.J. Charles 7/16/21
18. A book that takes place during the Middle Ages  Absolution By Murder, Peter Tremayne 7/24/21
19. A book that takes place during winter  Fake Dating the Prince, Ashlyn Kane 5/26/21
20. A book where the characters save (or attempt to save) the world The Fold, Peter Clines 2/27/21 
21. A book with a book on the cover The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, Kim Michele Richardson 4/5/21
22. A book with a character who is older than you Nightshades, Melissa Olson 2/20/21
23. A book with a glyph in the title Sal & Gabi Save the Universe, Carlos Hernandez 2/20/21, Patience & Esther, Sarah Winifred Searle 7/8/21
24. A book with a heist in it Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel, Eoin Colfer 3/4/21
25. A book with a map Beyond the Hundred Kingdoms, Rod Espinosa 4/24/21
26. A book with a medical professional  Shadows in Death, J.D Robb 1/16/2021
27. A book with a metallic cover Black Sun, Rebecca Roanhorse 8/22/21
28. A book with a person’s name in the title: The Unexpected Mrs Pollifax, Dorothy Gilman 5/15/21
29. A book with a royal moniker in the title  Fake Dating the Prince, Ashlyn Kane 5/26/21
30. A book with a skull on the cover Rattle His Bones, Carola Dunn 5/30/21
31. A book with a title featuring repeating words A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky, Lynell George 6/28/21
32. A book with an unlikely pair The House in the Cerulean Sea, T.J. Klune 4/24/2021
33. A book with crafting or related to the Do-It-Yourself “DIY” movement The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion: A Chapter by Chapter Guide, Annette Whipple 3/15/21, How to Raise an Honest Rabbit, Amy Lane 7/9/21
34. A book with military personnel  Spies, Lies and Disguise, Jennifer Swanson 1/23/21, Ghost Talkers, Mary Robinette Kowal
35. A book with one of the four elements (Fire, Water, Earth, Air) in the title Punching the Air, Ibi Zoboi & Yusef Salaam 2/13/21
36. A book with only words on the cover America For Americans, Erika Lee 7/2/21
37. A book with parents or parental figures in it Elatsoe, Darcie Little Badger 3/20/21
38. A book written by a South American author 
39. A book written by an author that uses an initial(s) in their name  A Case of Possession, K. J. Charles 2/5/21
40. A book written by an author you’ve never read before Something That May Shock or Discredit You, Daniel Mallory Ortberg 5/18/21
41. A book written in the first person The Marrow Thieves, Cherie Dimaline 2/6/21 
42. A book you finished in one day  Piranesi, Susanna Clarke 6/21/21
43. A Goodreads Choice Awards winner Vanishing Half, Brit Bennett 4/1/21
44. A legal thriller  Reckless, Selena Montgomery 4/25/21
45. A magical realism book Temporary, Hilary Leichter 5/1/21
46. A play  Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare 4/25/21
47. A prequel or a sequel to another book or series Fugitive Telemetry, Martha Wells 4/30/21
48. A Pulitzer Prize winning or finalist book from the non-fiction category 
49. An Afro Futurism book Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, Damian Duffy & Octavia Butler 6/11/2021
50. An alternate history book Sunshine, Robin McKinley 7/10/21
51. An anthology book  Flight Vol 3, ed. Kazu Kibuishi 3/2/21
52. An antiracist book What the Eagle Sees, Elder Yellowhorn, Kathy Lowinger 1/25/21,You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey, Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar 8/4/21
53. Reread a favorite book Network Effect, Martha Wells 4/6/21
54. Two books that share the same title (Title A) Switchback, Melissa Olson 4/29/21
55. Two books that share the same title (Title B) Switchback, Clair M. Poulson 8/21/21

51/55

OK, I officially Won!

I mean, I'm pretty sure I forgot to turn my results in, but I just do it for the fun of the list.