One of my bookish goals this year was to work on this reading challenge. I didn't really intend on finishing it, but it seemed like a fun idea. About a month or so ago, I realized that I had checked off most of the items, and that if I chose my next few books carefully, I would actually complete the challenge. So here are the fifty books that I read for the prompts! {By the way, I'll be doing my usual end-of-the-year book post in a couple of weeks, but I wanted to do this one separately.}
1. A book with more than 500 pages. Wildwood, by Colin Meloy, which is 560 pages long. (Actually, any of the Wildwood trilogy could have worked for this one.)
2. A classic romance. Emma, by Jane Austen.
3. A book that became a movie. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Three movies, actually...
4. A book published this year. Like a Flower in Bloom, by Siri Mitchell.
5. A book with a number in the title. The Secret of Platform 13, by Eva Ibbotson. I loved this book!
6. A book written by someone under 30. The Reptile Room, by Lemony Snicket. Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) was 29 when this book was published.
7. A book with nonhuman characters. In a Glass Grimmly, by Adam Gidwitz. Two of the best characters in this book are nonhuman: Frog and a giant salamander named Eddie. :)
8. A funny book. The Lost Continent, by Bill Bryson. His books are supposed to be hilarious. I think Bill Bryson can be genuinely funny, but he can also be too sarcastic and crude and mean-spirited. I didn't love this book, but it did make me laugh several times near the beginning.
9. A book by a female author. Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery.
10. A mystery or thriller. A Murder is Announced, by Agatha Christie.
11. A book with a one-word title. Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier. So, so good.
12. A book of short stories. The Fairy's Return, by Gail Carson Levine.
13. A book set in a different country. Anne of Avonlea, by L.M. Montgomery. It's set in Canada, so I didn't venture very far from the US.
14. A nonfiction book. A Jane Austen Devotional, by Steffany Woolsey.
15. A popular author's first book. Go Set a Watchman, by Harper Lee. This was technically Harper Lee's first book, though it wasn't published until this year.
16. A book from an author you love that you haven't read yet. And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie. This is my favorite Christie novel so far.
17. A book a friend recommended. How Green Was My Valley, by Richard Llewellyn. I'm bending the rules on this one a bit. A friend didn't actually recommend this to me, but it's one of this BookTuber's favorite books and she's always recommending it, and that's why I picked it up.
18. A Pulitzer Prize-winning book. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.
19. A book based on a true story. Burial Rites, by Hannah Kent. This is a novel about an Icelandic woman who was convicted of murder and executed in the 1800s.
20. A book at the bottom of your to-read list. Harry Potter's Bookshelf, by John Granger. I liked the idea of this book, but didn't end up enjoying it very much. I just wasn't in the mood for it at the time.
21. A book your mom loves. The Bible. My mom isn't a big reader, but she does read the Bible. I've been reading it through again this year, too, and while I won't actually finish until December 31st, I went ahead and included it on the list.
22. A book that scares you. We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson. This book has a really beautiful, creepy cover. Before I started it, I was worried it might scare me. (It didn't, though it was wonderfully eerie and unsettling.)
23. A book more than 100 years old. Persuasion, by Jane Austen. It was published 197 years ago.
24. A book based entirely on its cover. Summer and Bird, by Katherine Catmull.
25. A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. This one wasn't included in my homeschooling curriculum, but it seems like the sort of book I would have had to read in public school.
26. A memoir. Normally, This Would Be Cause For Concern, by Danielle Fishel. This memoir was a bit disappointing, unfortunately. I wanted to read about her years on Boy Meets World, but she hardly even discussed the show!
27. A book you can finish in a day. Fairest, by Marissa Meyer.
28. A book with antonyms in the title. The Sinister Sweetness of Spendid Academy, by Nikki Loftin. I'm going to consider "sinister" and "sweetness" to be antonyms.
29. A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit. Notes From a Small Island, by Bill Bryson. England is definitely the place I most want to visit.
30. A book that came out the year you were born. Neither Here Nor There, by Bill Bryson. When I was browsing through a list of books published in 1991, this one was on the list. After reading it, I found out that it was actually published in 1992...but I'm still going to count it. :)
31. A book with bad reviews. Going Vintage, by Lindsey Leavitt. This one has mixed reviews, and I ended up being disappointed with it, too.
32. A trilogy. A Tale Dark and Grimm trilogy, by Adam Gidwitz.
33. A book from your childhood. The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket. I love this book just as much now as I did when I was a kid.
34. A book with a love triangle. To All the Boys I've Loved Before, by Jenny Han.
35. A book set in the future. Winter, by Marissa Meyer.
36. A book set in high school. Since You've Been Gone, by Morgan Matson.
37. A book with a color in the title. One + One = Blue, by M.J. Auch.
38. A book that made you cry. Lizzy and Jane, by Katherine Reay. This one definitely made me tear up, though not nearly as much as her first book.
39. A book with magic. Wildwood Imperium, by Colin Meloy. There's quite a bit of magic in this book.
40. A graphic novel. A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness.
41. A book by an author you've never read before. Paris In Love, by Eloisa James. This is a memoir, but Eloisa James typically writes romance novels, so nope...I've never read any of her other books. (And don't plan to, ha.)
42. A book you own but have never read. Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltkskin, by Liesl Shurtliff. Well, I did own this book, but after reading it, I decided to donate it. (It was okay, but not worth keeping.)
43. A book that takes place in your home state. The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater. Originally, this prompt was a book set in your hometown, but I'm pretty sure there aren't any books set in my little hometown. So I just picked one set in Virginia.
44. A book that was originally written in a different language. The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke. It was originally written in German.
45. A book set during Christmas. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, by Alan Bradley.
46. A book written by an author with your same initials. Never Have I Ever, by Katie Heaney.
47. A play. The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde. It turns out that I don't enjoy reading plays.
48. A banned book. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling. Supposedly one of the most challenged/banned books ever?
49. A book based on or turned into a TV show. A Study in Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle. The first episode of one of my favorite shows, BBC's Sherlock, is an adaptation of this book.
50. A book you started but never finished. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman. I started reading this book about eight or nine years ago but got so bogged down at the beginning that I never finished it. So I finally read it this year. (It was good, but the film is so much better.)