2015 Reading Challenges - Part 3, Finishing the Series and Eclectic Reader Challenges

A challenge that I love to take on each year is to finish series. The goal is to complete a series from wherever you are up to until the last published book. In 2014, I picked three series to focus on, with a combined total of 18 books. I completed two of the series and have one book left to finish the third one—with plenty of time in December to take care of it. And, I also completed 28 other series, many of which needed only a single book to close out. So, in 2015, I think I'll do the same thing—select 3 or 4 series to focus on and then enjoy myself reading as many series books as I wish.

This challenge originates from the BookObsessed online community as well as from Socrates' Book Reviews. If you want to join in, set your goals and then sign up. I'm challenging myself at Level 3: complete 3 series.

My series are:

Elm Creek Quilts by Jennifer Chiaverini

8. The Christmas Quilt
9. Circle of Quilters
10. The Quilter's Homecoming
11. The New Year's Quilt
12. The Winding Ways Quilt
13. The Quilter's Kitchen
14. The Lost Quilter
15. A Quilters' Holiday
16. The Aloha Quilt
17. The Union Quilters
18. The Wedding Quilt
19. Sonoma Rose
20. The Giving Quilt

Brother Cadfael by Ellis Peters

5. The Leper of Saint Giles
6. The Virgin in the Ice
7. The Sanctuary Sparrow
8. The Devil's Novice
9. Dead Man's Ransom
10. The Pilgrim of Hate
11. An Excellent Mystery
12. The Raven in the Foregate
13. The Rose Rent
14. The Hermit of Eyton Forest
15. The Confession of Brother Haluin
16. The Heretic's Apprentice
17. The Potter's Field
18. The Summer of the Danes
19. The Holy Thief
20. Brother Cadfael's Penance

Kris Longknife by Mike Shepherd

6. Kris Longknife: Intrepid
7. Kris Longknife: Undaunted
8. Kris Longknife: Redoubtable
9. Kris Longknife: Daring
10. Kris Longknife: Furious
11. Kris Longknife: Defender

An intriguing challenge that I'm going to take on in 2015 is the Eclectic Reader Challenge hosted at Book'd Out. Shellyrae has given participants 12 categories. We then select, read and review one book from each category, choosing our books as we go or creating a list in advance. Books can be read in any order, the only goal being to finish all twelve by the end of 2015. The categories are:

1. Retellings (of fairytale, legends or myth)
2. A book set in a country starting with the letter S (eg. Sweden, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Slovakia)
3. PI Crime (fiction featuring a private investigator)
4. A novel published before you were born
5. Contemporary romance
6. Fiction for foodies (fiction featuring food/food related business)
7. Microhistory (Non Fiction)
8. Science Fiction set in space
9. Sports (Fiction or Non fiction)
10. Featuring diversity
11. Epistolary Fiction (fiction written in the format of letters/emails/diary entries)
12. Middle Grade/YA Adventure

I'm going to have to think about some of these and I may not have the book for any category selected in advance. I do know that for the microhistory category, I'm planning on listening to Longitude by David Sobel. Other than that, I don't know that I'll do much advance planning. This also reminds me that I need to create a page to keep track of the various challenges.