Book Themes

Summer is well under way--and that means more time for reading! So remember that if you're behind on the MAD Book Challenge, now is the time to catch up. Last month was a nice and easy Choose-Your-Own-Themes month, while we were all doing our final exams--but now it's time to get down to business.

With that in mind, here are the themes for the next couple weeks, starting tomorrow:

• July 6-12: TRILOGY WEEK
  For a couple of years now, I've had this tradition of reading Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy at the beginning of July. Anyone who wants to read along with me gets bonus points--however, feel free to read any trilogy.
• July 13-19: HARRY POTTER WEEK
  In honor of the 6th HP movie, which comes out on the 15th, I've set aside a whole week for Harry Potter! 10 bonus points if you read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (I'll be rereading it for the squigajillionth time, in anticipation of the movie).
  
  ONE MILLION TRILLION SQUIGAJILLION BONUS POINTS and my eternal respect and admiration to anyone who reads the entire series in just seven days. If you do this, you deserve a medal. It's very much possible--none of the books took me more than a day to read--but absolutely ludicrous. If you manage this, please, please email in at themadpodcast@gmail.com and tell us how awesome you are.
  
• July 20-26: CHRISTMAS IN JULY WEEK
  Read a Christmas novel! I know, I know--you're probably wincing. Ugh--it's all learning lessons and sappy family get-together stuff. If you're not too happy with this theme, allow me to recommend three awesome Christmas novels: Let It Snow, a collection of three stories by Marueen Johnson, John Green and Lauren Myracle, respectively (worth it if only for John Green's story, although I'll admit that this one is a bit sappy); The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore (not sappy in the slightest--it involves a Christmas miracle gone wrong, and a legion of holiday zombies. And it is exactly as hilarious as that sounds); and Hogfather by the always funny Terry Pratchett (in which Santa Claus mysteriously disappears and Death takes over the job). Bonus Points for reading any of those three.
• July 27-August 2: MUSIC WEEK
  For it to be considered "about music", the plot must not make sense if music is removed. Example: Terry Pratchett's Soul Music. It can be about a musician or band, or someone whose life is changed by music, or... Doesn't matter. Bonus Points if it involves violins :)

There you have it--you're all set for the next month. I just finished Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped, which was my 52nd book, making me an official MAD Book Challenge winner. When you cross the finish line, email in and tell us!

Happy reading!

Panicpanicpanic (and oh yeah, May Themes)

So, if you still think we're just being lazy about releasing a new episode after reading Deborah's post, perhaps this will cause you to reconsider:

Things Which Staci Is Doing This Month

1. Five AP exams
2. One two-part IB exam
3. Seven EOCs
4. One 50,000 word NaNoWriMo
5. Obtaining a medical internship
6. Hopefully sleeping a little bit

This is a RIDICULOUS month for all of the MADers, and it's going to be a miracle if we manage to get everything we have to do this month done. The podcast, unfortunately, is temporarily on hold.

But neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night can put an end to the MAD Book Challenge, and after April's "Choose-Your-Own-Themes" month, I couldn't skip out on coming up with themes again. But since this is exam month for most students, I'm going with fun, hopefully easy themes. Here they are:

1. Week One: Movie Book (means was originally a book, then made into a movie. BP if you watch the movie in addition to reading the book. I'm not sure if I'm repeating this theme by accident, but if I am, I apologize.)
2. Week Two: Stack of Small Books (As opposed to reading one large sized book, read a bunch of super small kid books. 3-4 novels about as long as Goosebumps, Boxcar Children, American Girls... You get the idea. Alternatively, if for some reason you're not a fan of children's literature, read a collection of short stories. I, for example, will be reading some HP Lovecraft this week. Join me if you dare.)
3. Week Three: Book With An Orange Cover (The cover only has to be mostly orange. IF you're stumped, I recommend The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time by Mark Haddon or Intensity by Dean Koontz (yes, that counts as orange).)
4. Week Four: Pirate Book! (Defined as a pirate book if removing the pirates from the plot would make the book no longer make sense. I'll be reading one of my favorite books ever, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, if anyone cares to join me.)

There you have it. This month was originally slated for both "Classic Literature" and "A Book About a Dog", but I changed it last minute for you because absolutely none of us has time for tackling a classic - and dogs always die in books, but I'd prefer something more uplifting at the moment. Happy reading!

Attention BP seekers:

For the Book Challenge, you can get ten bonus points every time you read one of the same books that I read. I've mentioned the books I read for the Challenge on my vlogs, but now that they're down here's a record of what they are, in case anybody wants them:

1. Book by a Hot Author: "Looking for Alaska" by John Green*
2. New Book by an Old Favorite Author: "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green
3. Humorous Novel: "Jingo" by Terry Pratchett
4. Dinosaur Novel: "Anonymous Rex" by Eric Garcia*
5. Winner of a Printz Award: "The Book Thief" by Marcus Zusak
6. Romance Novel: "Fulk the Reluctant" by Elaine Knighton*
7. Old Favorite: "The Truth" by Terry Pratchett
8. Fantasy Book (Classical Fantasy): "Wizard's First Rule" by Terry Goodkind
9. Vampire Novel: "Guilty Pleasures" by Laurell K. Hamilton*
10. Movie Book: "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" by CS Lewis
11. Horror Novel: "Cell" by Stephen King
12. Title Contains Food: "War and Peas" by Jill Churchill

That takes you through the end of March. Email themadpodcast@gmail.com with any questions about the Challenge--just put "MAD Book Challenge" or my name in the subject line.

*Note concerning novels marked with an asterisk:

I'm just putting a warning label on these for anybody who's concerned. Very mild warning for Looking for Alaska, only because there's been some discussion on banning it from schools and I'm probably obligated to say so. However, please don't let that dissuade you; it is truly a fantastic book and the scene in question is (a) not that bad (you ever read Fulk the Reluctant?) and (b) actually serves a purpose and makes a statement in the novel. You can check out John Green talking about this on his video project (username vlogbrothers on YouTube). I really recommend this book, and if you can read it without crying you have no heart.

Anonymous Rex deserves a warning more than Alaska. It's... ah... very weird. To the immature and those whose parents might disapprove of a book about inter-species...um...procreation, beware of this book. On the other hand, the protagonist is a crime-fighting velociraptor that dresses up in a latex human suit, so if you think you can handle it you should check it out just for the humor.

Fulk the Reluctant is as bad as it sounds. I've read worse fan fiction, but there is still plentiful bath scenes and stallion metaphors, so here is my official warning. Also, I thought it was terrible, so I don't recommend it anyway.

Guilty Pleasures sounds and looks like it would be bad (it has one of those pulp romance covers), but I promise you that it isn't. This warning is more for graphic violence, to any who might not want to read that. However, this is an amazing book (aaaugh I must not spoil it at all, but the ending is freaking EPIC) with really fascinating characters and a well thought out plot. Marshall recommended it to me and I, in turn, recommend it to all of you. It's also the first in a bajillion-book series, so there's plenty more to read for fans.

March Themes

Here are the themes for the MAD Book Challenge this March:

1. (Mar. 2-Mar.8) Vampire Novel
   Defined as a novel where, if the vampires were removed from the plot, it would no longer make sense. Bonus Points for all you creative people who don't read Twilight.
2. (Mar.9-Mar.15) Movie Book
   Meaning a book that has a movie based off of it (not the other way around). Bonus Points if you read the book first and then watch the movie (only applicable if you have not watched the movie before.)
3. (Mar.16-Mar.22) Horror
   No debating this one: you must be able to find it in the horror section of a library. Bonus Points if you read all of it during the nighttime (I'm choosing to define this is after nine o'clock).
4. (Mar. 23-Mar.29) Title Contains Food
   Means exactly what it sounds like. Examples include "Just Desserts" by Mary Daheim and "Just Plain Pickled to Death" by Tamar Myers. (In other words, names of meals and food words used to mean other things--in this case, 'pickled'--work as well). Bonus Points, however, if you read one with an actual food item in the title--an example would be "War and Peas" by Jill Churchill.

By March 29th you're due to have 12 books read (assuming you started the Challenge with us at the beginning of the year). If not, welcome to the Challenge--and for everybody, Good Luck!

Happy reading!

February Themes

In just three days, Week Five of the MAD Book Challenge will begin--which means it's time to release the next batch of themes. Here they are:

Week 4: (Feb. 2-Feb. 8): Winner of a Printz Award
. No trying to sneak around this one. There better be a Printz sticker on that book!

Week 5: (Feb. 9-Feb. 15): Romance Novel
. In honor of Valentine's Day, which takes place during this week. As far as this theme goes, I mean that the book should have a sticker saying "romance" on the side. However, if you really, really don't think you can stomach it, I'll let you read any book that has the word "romance" in the description on the back cover, no matter what the genre.

Week 6: (Feb. 16-Feb. 22): Old Favorite
. Remember that you're only allowed 26 re-reads during the Challenge.

Week 7: (Feb. 23-Mar. 1): Classical Fantasy Book
. There are many different types of fantasy novels, and scattered throughout the Challenge I'll post themes of the different kinds. This week it's the classical variety--that means in the style of JRR Tolkien. I want to see elves and dragons galore. And before you ask: no, Harry Potter does not count (although HP readers should keep their eyes open for a very special theme sometime in the future!) Break out your LOTR and Chronicles of Narnia.



We're almost done with the first month of the Challenge! If you've been with us since the beginning: Only 11 months and 48 books to go! If you're a newcomer: Welcome, and good luck! Either way, I hope you're staying on schedule. If not, don't get stressed: there's still time, and you can't be that far behind. Now get back to reading!

January themes

January first is here, and the MAD Book Challenge is officially up and running! From this day on, you may start the Book Challenge any day you wish! (Refer to the Book Challenge Rules for more information--link in the sidebar).

That means it's time to release the THEMES for the month of January. The first "week" of the year will begin today but end on Sunday the 11th of January, giving you a little extra time to get those first couple of books. However, from that point on, a week will go from Monday to the following Sunday (with the exclusion of the final week of the year, which will run from 28th December to 31st December--so keep in mind that you have a shortened week to read the last book of the year if you're starting on a day OTHER than Monday).

Keeping that in mind, here are the Themes for the first four weeks of the Book Challenge:

1. (Jan. 1 - Jan. 11) Book by a hot author
   ----[Definition of "hot" author has been extended to "cute"]
2. (Jan. 12 - Jan. 18) New book by an old favorite author
3. (Jan. 19 - Jan. 25) Humorous book
   ----[May be comedy, parody, satire]
4. (Jan. 26 - Feb. 1) Dinosaur(!) book
   ----["Dinosaur" book defined as a book where, if you remove dinosaurs from the story, the plot no longer makes sense]

Any and all questions can be emailed to me at themadpodcast@gmail.com. Just make sure to use the subject line "MAD Book Challenge" and I'll get back to you right away.

Important Book Challenge news

I just made some important changes to the rules post about the Book Challenge. If you've already read the post and don't want to go searching through it to find the changes, here they are:

• Originally I said that any book over 1000 pages would count as two books. This has been changed to 800 pages, after I realized that, holy crap, books over 1000 pages do not exist.
• If you read the same book two times during the course of the year, it still only counts as one book toward the challenge. This is to prevent people from just rereading the Harry Potter series like eight times to win the challenge.

Remember, the Challenge begins TOMORROW!!! (If you want to start at the same time as me and the other MADers. You can technically start the challenge whenever you want, as long as you set the deadline exactly one year after the day you start. But still.)

So get those books together, because tomorrow I'll be announcing the themes for the month of January.

MAD Book Challenge

Remember how, a couple of posts ago, I told you that some very important announcements were coming up? Well, here it is: the mother of all announcements.

I'd like YOU to participate in a little program I've come up with, called the MAD BOOK CHALLENGE. Here's the essentials--in one year, we're going to read 52 books. That's one book a week.

Now, depending on how much of a reader you are, that may or may not sound difficult. So I've come up with a set of RULES AND REGULATIONS to make sure nobody cheats at the Challenge, and to give you an opportunity to prove your amazing reading skillz.

The Book Challenge will start on January 1st, 2009, but will continue indefinitely (meaning it won't end at the end of 2009--it starts over in 2010) and you can join at any time. You get exactly 52 weeks from the day you join up to read all 52 books. In order for a book to be counted toward the challenge, it must meet the following requirements:

1. It must be FICTIONAL, unless otherwise specified by the Challenge Leader (me).
2. It must be a minimum of 150 pages in length. However, use your judgement here: certain factors, like size of the text and difficulty of the reading make some books count more or less.
3. You must not be obligated to read the book for some other reason--for example, a book that you read for your English class does not count toward the Challenge, unless you read it a second time outside of class.

(NOTE: Any book over 800 pages will count as two books.)

Of the 52 books that you read for the challenge, AT LEAST TWENTY SIX must be books that you have never read before. This is all about expanding horizons, so you are NOT allowed to only do re-reads. If you read the same book twice over the course of the year, it still only counts as one book (meaning you can't just re-read the Harry Potter series over and over, for example).

You do NOT have to read one book per week--this is only recommended. I acknowledge that there will be some weeks when you don't have the time--so you only need to have 52 done by the end of the year. If that means you do most of your reading in the summer and hardly any in the school year, that's what works for you and you're still a winner.

By finishing all 52 books by the end of the year you gain the status of MAD READER. We're considering creating some kind of certificate or something (but that's it, I'm afraid. You're going to have to do this for the love of reading).

However, I am also going to offer some bonus stuff for those of you who find reading 52 books unchallenging. Every week (note that a "week" in the challenge starts on a Monday and ends on a Sunday. This means that the first official "week" of the challenge, if you start on January 1st with me, will be 11 days long, and the final "week" will only be four. Make sure you schedule appropriately for this) I will announce a THEME. If you manage to read a book from each theme that I announce, you'll earn a special gold ribbon status as a MAD READER.

Each "week" I'll also be announcing opportunities for Bonus Points, sort of mini-challenges. Some Bonus Point opportunities that will be available year-round are the following:

1. For every new book (one that you haven't read before) that you read OVER the required 26, you get five bonus points.
2. For every books that you read OVER the required 52 (new or re-read regardless) you get 25 bonus points.
3. For every book that you read in another language, you get 50 bonus points. (Clarification: if you are bilingual, a book in your second language does not count. "Another language" here refers only to a language that you began studying seriously in middle or high school)
4. Those MADers who are participating in the Challenge will tell the title and author of the book they're reading each week. You get five bonus points each time you read one of the books a MADer is reading.

If, by the end of the year, you manage to not only read a book for each of the 52 themes, but also earn 1000 bonus points, you will achieve the sort of platinum level status of a MAD READER and my infinite respect.

So, I will (obviously) be participating in the Challenge, and I know for certain that Marshall and Sarah will. I think Deborah and Sarita are going to give it a try, as well. I want as many people as possible to get involved in this project, so invite your friends!

And start preparing a stack of books to read for 2009, so that you'll be ready when the Challenge begins at midnight on New Year's.

Good luck!

[If at any point during the challenge you have a question about the rules & regulations, make sure you e-mail me at themadpodcast@gmail.com for clarification. Just put the words "MAD Book Challenge" in the subject line and I'll take care of it as soon as possible. Thanks!]