This week was very busy, and a little depressing. But most importantly it was the start of NaNoWriMo 2018! I’m pleased to say I’ve managed to keep my word count so far, and the story seems like it will be a lot of fun. I’m excited!
That’s right you beautiful somebodies. The big day is here, the wait is finally over. The categories are being revealed so you can go out and stockpile your books ready for next year.
Before anything else, a request. Please, please, PLEASE spread this about, I’d love for people to get involved. Share it anywhere you like (as long as you link it back here, or to @RagdollReads on twitter). If you or somebody you know decides to take up the challenge, let me know. Now back to what you came here for.
The reading challenge is in three parts. Light Reading, Regular and Serious Book Dragon editions.
12 categories – one book for each category. (Plus a special WILDCARD category for the holidays)
That’s one book per month, and one bonus book for the holiday season.
24 categories – one book for each category. (Plus a special WILDCARD category for the holidays)
That’s one book every twoweeks. Or two books per month if you prefer. Or roughly 0.00204918 books every 45 minutes if you want to be completely absurd about it! (I think!)
That’s 59 books for those of you who can’t be bothered to work it out. 1 read a week, plus a few extras thrown in. Finish this, and you can consider yourself a Serious Book-Dragon!
Please enjoy the challenge. I hope you’ll spread it around (remember to tag me here or @RagdollReads on twitter). Enjoy your reading ❤ Much love all!!!
Book 3 in the Redwall series. The young mouse, Mattimeo and his friends are captured by an evil fox, and must be rescued. Exciting fantasy for young and old.
Rating: 5/5 Buttons
A classic book or a book published over 100 years ago.
The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne (1874)
Four men and a dog find themselves stranded on a deserted island after a mishap with a hot air balloon. This is the story of how they survived.
Rating: 5/5 Buttons
A book that you’ve started before and never finished.
Ring for Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (1953)
The continuing hilarious adventures of everybody’s favourite valet, Jeeves..
Rating: 4/5 Buttons
A book you should have read in school, but didn’t.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (1892)
Another short story collection, featuring the worlds most famous detective duo.
Rating: 5/5 Buttons
A Book you’ve already read – time for a re-read!
Stonehenge by Bernard Cornwell (1999)
A tale of war, betrayal, murder and temples. An epic novel worked around the building of stonehenge.
Rating: 5/5
A book that you’ve put off reading.
The Stonehenge Legacy by Sam Christer(2010)
An ancient cult, and a murderous conspiracy. Can Gideon expose the cult that murdered his father, or will they get to him too!?
Rating: 4/5 Buttons
A banned book.
1984 by George Orwell (1949)
“Orwell’s nightmare vision of a totalitarian, bureaucratic world and one poor stiff’s attempt to find individuality.” (Goodreads)
Rating: 4/5 Buttons
A book by an author you’ve never read.
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett (2018)
Sancia is offered the job of a lifetime – steal one item for more money than she could ever hope to see in her lifetime. She takes the chance, and then her world falls apart.
Rating: Exceptional (Book of the Month August 2018)
A popular author’s first book.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1900)
“Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first person she meets and then teams up with three strangers to kill again.” (Newspaper clipping…do I really need to tell you what this is about?)
Rating: 4/5 Buttons
A book turned movie you’ve seen but haven’t read.
The Maze Runner by James Dashner (2009)
A group of boys are trapped in a colossal maze, filled with murderous machines. One day, a girl is dumped in their midst and then everything goes wrong, fast!
Rating: 5/5 Buttons
A book turned TV show you’ve seen but haven’t read.
Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death by James Runcie (2012)
If you like the whole “Sleepy little town has more murders than small countries” genre, and you like priests you’ll probably like this book.
A book about Gods, their dwindling power and the coming war. This book is cleverly crafted, brilliantly written and endlessly entertaining. Once again Gaiman delivers a cracking read! A must have for fans of fantasy and myths.
A team of pioneering paleontologists set out to discover new and interesting fossils. But William Johnson gets separated from the group and is left to fend for himself in the wilds of the west.
Rating: 5/5 Buttons
A book chosen for you by a friend.
Buddhist Meditation by Kamalashila (2013)
This book is a great guide for any meditation practitioner – from the absolute beginner to the more advanced users
So there we have it. Badass Books Reading Challenge #3 is complete. I’m only 8 books away from completing Reading Challenge: Around the World 2018, and 16 books away from 100 books total, which I reckon I should manage by the end of the month.
Last thing before I go:
Top 3 of the Challenge:
You gotta pick a top three, so here are mine (Drum roll please):
You should go out and read these books immediately!!
Finally, a big thank you to mehawkins.com for writing the reading challenge in the first place.
We are mid-way through the year, the sun is shining (although I don’t encourage that sort of thing) and there is a whole world of books just waiting – begging – to be read.
I’ve already started writing the official Ragdoll Reads Reading Challenges for next year, but that seems like such a long way away and there is so much reading to be done. Hence this super special reading challenge, just for you special somebodies who have stumbled upon my humble blog.
The challenge is seven to ten books long, so it should be manageable for most people.
So let’s crack on the with Ragdoll Reads ‘Around the World‘ Reading Challenge 2018!!!
Warning!! Completing this challenge may expand your mind.
Around the World:
First, pick a location:
Africa
Asia
Antarctica / At Sea*
Australia/Oceania
Europe
North America
South America
Think about the author, the story or the characters. Perhaps your author is from a country in Asia, or the story is about a town in some part of Africa, maybe the main character in the book is from Australia – fairly simple.
*This one seemed prohibitively difficult as just Antarctica, so I added At Sea for ease of use.
Then pick a category:
Author From The Same Continent
Author or Story based in a Developing Nation*
LGBTQIA+ Author, characters or themes
Female Author
P.O.C Author
Pick any of these five categories – they should be fairly self explanatory. These categories will be applied to our location choices and hopefully narrow down our choices a bit. Also, they should help us find authors from demographics we might miss out on normally. You can use any category for any continent, you don’t have to use them all.
*within the continent you picked. If you aren’t sure which countries count as ‘developing’, click here for a link to the United Nations classifications.
Then pick a book that fits both!!
For example:
Asia + Female Author = Wandering Son by Shimura Takako (Japan)
Africa + Developing Nation = Links by Nuruddin Farah (Somalia)
When you’ve finished one, move on to the next continent until you’ve read one from all seven!!
If you finish those and still want more, here are some bonus locations. Pick a bonus location and a category, find a book and read it.
Bonus Locations:
At Sea
In Space
A Made Up Land
You can download a neat little chart (.pdf) so you can keep track of your progress!
So there is is, the Ragdoll Reads Around the World Reading Challenge 2018. I really hope you enjoy it – it’s definitely worth doing!!
If you feel like giving this challenge a go, leave me a comment below. If you’re feeling really lovely, share it with your friends – the more the merrier. Oh, and if you find something really amazing let me know so I can give it a read!!
12 categories – one book for each category. (Plus a special WILDCARD category for the holidays)
An Argumentation of Historians by Jodi Taylor (2018)
Mattimeo by Brian Jacques (1990)
The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne (1874)
Ring for Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (1953)
Stonehenge by Bernard Cornwell (1999)
The Stonehenge Legacy by Sam Christer (2010)
1984 by George Orwell (1949)
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett (2018)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1900)
The Maze Runner by James Dashner (2009)
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Romantics by Gideon Defoe (2012)
Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana (1992)
American Gods by Neil Gaiman (2001)
Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton (2017)
Buddhist Meditation by Kamalashila (2013)
The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder (1992)
Ragdoll Reads 
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