Summer 2012 Book Challenge: The Preliminary List

Two weeks from today, I'll be posting the first weekly check-in for the Semi-Charmed Kind of Life Summer 2012 Book Challenge! Eek. This is so exciting for me; thank you to everyone who has provided positive feedback. I'm overwhelmed by the number of people who have expressed interest in participating, and I hope everyone who wants to is able to!

Source: lifeequotes.tumblr.com via Megan on Pinterest

Several people have already created their list of planned books for the challenge, so I've decided to do the same. I'm really impatient for May 1 to get here so I can start! (Note: This list is very tentative. Books subject to change without notice.)

• Read a book chosen for the 2012 World Book Night. — The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
• Read a book you were supposed to read in school, but either bailed on or Cliff-Noted. — Paradise Lost, John Milton Oops, it's not long enough. So instead, I'm going to read a book most people read in high school but I didn't: The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
• Read a memoir or narrative nonfiction book. — The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson
• Read a book in one day. — House Made of Dawn, N. Scott Momaday
• Read a book that you've always wanted to read but haven't gotten around to yet. — The Help, Kathryn Stockett
• Read a pair of books that have antonyms in the titles. — Odd Thomas, Dean Koontz, and Plainsong, Kent Haruf
• Read a book that is set in a place you've never been but want to visit. — The Red Tent, Anita Diamant (I would love to visit the Middle East one day.)
• Find a book written the year you were born that was later made into a movie. Read the book and watch the movie; compare. Or find a movie released the year you were born that was based on a book. Do the same thing. — The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (movie released 1990)
• Go into a bookstore or library. Pick any bookshelf. Read the third book from the left on the fourth shelf from the top. — TBD
• Read a book about which you’ve heard bad things. —The Alchemist, Paulo Coehlo (My mom only gave it one star on Goodreads, and we usually have similar literary tastes.)
• Read a trilogy. Total page count for all three books together must be at least 500 pages. — The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien

Also, a quick point of clarification: Several people have asked me about what will count for the trilogy challenge. Examples: If I've read the first book of a four-part series, can I read the final three books? Can I read a series that is longer than three books, e.g. Twilight or Uglies? (By the way, I realize I incorrectly listed Twilight as an example of a trilogy in my original post, and I apologize. I forgot it was actually four books.) In case anyone else had a similar question: For the "trilogy" category, I only ask that you read three subsequent books in a series. Maybe you've never read Harry Potter and want to read #1-3. Great! Maybe you started the books but never finished and want to read books #4-6. Great! As long as the three books are from the same series and consecutive, that's fine with me.

P.S. — If you are planning to participate and have a blog or Goodreads account, please link up with the Simply Linked tool at the bottom of this post. If you are linking to your blog, make sure you link to the specific post where you outlined your books or introduced the challenge. If you are linking to your Goodreads, make a specific shelf of your challenge books and link to that shelf. Feel free to check out everyone else's links, as well, and maybe get some new ideas for what you can read. This is not required, but it would be nice. :)