Of all the reading challenges, I have the most fun with What’s in a Name, hosted by The Worm Hole. I like browsing through my TBR stack to find titles that fit the challenge categories.
The challenge is simple – read one book that fits each of the five ‘categories’ –
A reference to time: The Violet Hour by Katherine Hill
A position of royalty: Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen by Alix Kates Shulman
A number written in letters: Ten Things I Learnt About Love by Sarah Butler
A forename or names: Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey; Tony Hogan Bought Me an Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma by Kerry Hudson; A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
A type or element of weather: Cold Spring Harbor by Richard Yates; Arctic Summer by Damon Galgut
The category I found the easiest was Names. In contrast, finding a book with a reference to royalty in the title was trickier.
The books I enjoyed the most out of those I read for this challenge – Tony Hogan Bought Me an Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma, A Man Called Ove and Cold Spring Harbor – at least one of these titles will appear on my favourite books for 2014 list.
The book I enjoyed least? Arctic Summer – I had so much looked forward to this book and it fell miserably short (but I know some people who have put it on their favourites list – what did I miss?).
I’m glad I finally got around to reading Jasper Jones and while I didn’t love it as much as some, the cricket match scene still lingers – brilliant writing. Likewise, the lists and the delicate nature of Ten Things I Learnt About Love also linger – I’ll look forward to reading more from Butler.
The categories have been announced for the 2015 What’s in a Name challenge – I’m already planning.