Semi-Charmed Summer 2013 Book Challenge

It's been quite a while since I last posted in English and participated in a challenge this year. My spirit went up when I saw Megan's Summer Reading Challenge. I participated this challenge last year and did better than I expected. It was great fun to pick up the books and then try to read them all.

There are various categories in this challenge and with each step you accomplish, you get points. The maximum you can reach is 200 points. My personal aim is to pass 100 points. The challenge runs from July 1 to September 30). Here comes my list of what I plan to read:

1.  The Windup Girl / Paolo Bacigalupi to get 5 points for reading any book I like.
2. Jamilia / Chingiz Aytmatov to get 5 points for reading a book that is less than 150 pages long.
3. Fifty Shades of Grey / E.L. James to get 10 points for reading a book with a colour in the title.
4. The Ghost Brigades / John Scalzi to get 10 points for reading a book that is not the first in a series. (The Ghost Brigades is the second book of Scalzi's The Old Man'a War serie).
5. The City and the City / China Miéville to get 15 points for reading a book it seems everyone but I has read.
6. Brave New World / Aldous Huxley to get 15 points for reading a banned book.
7. I need to find a book written by a celebrity to get 20 points!
8. A-Bomb: A City Tells Its Story / Yoshiteru Kosakai to get 20 points for reading a book that is non-fiction.
9. Life of Pi / Yann Martel to get 20 points for reading a book that doesn't take place in Turkey.
10. Contact / Carl Sagan to get 25 points for reading a book that is at least 400 pages long.
11. I need to find a book with a main character that shares my first name to get 25 points but I don't think I will ever find it. (@Megan: As our host, if you give me any American name/nickname, maybe I'll give it a try :)
12. A Walk Across The Sun / Corban Addison to get 30 points for reading a book written by an author who was born in my birth year, 1979.

I really liked this challenge. It's gonna be fun :)

One final question for Megan, the great host: I want to see if Turkish book bloggers would be interested in this challenge if I hosted it in Turkish. I need to get your consent first of course. Book bloggers are pretty new in Turkey and reading challenges are not really common. I'd like to give it a try if you let me. Thanks :)

"Reading Challenge" Nedir? Ben 2013'te Hangilerine Katıldım?

Blogosferde kendi gezegenimi yarattığım 2010'dan bu yana en sevdiğim etkinlikler olmuştur "reading challenge"lar. Blogumu sadece İngilizce tuttuğum dönemde keşke "Türkiye'de de olsa, ben de katılsam, Türkçe kitap yorumlasam" diye içimi geçirdiğim zaman çok olmuştur ama yine de bu tip etkinlikler için Türkiye'deki kitap blogu sayısının halen yeterli olduğunu düşünmüyorum.

"Reading Challenge"a katılmak demek bir veya birkaç blogun ev sahipliğini yaptığı, belirli bir temada ve/veya zamanda belirli bir sayıda kitap okumaya kendi kendinize söz vermeniz demektir özünde. "Reading Challenge"ı düzenleyen ev sahibi kuralları da belirler. Kurallar bazen çok esnek, bazen katıdır ama ABD'de bu konuda o kadar farklı challenge var ki eminim herkes kendi zevkine uyan bir tane bulur. Ben bu kitap oburluğumla her zaman birden fazla buluyorum kendime ama bazen aynı kitabı birden fazla challenge için okuyorum. Hafif bir çakallık durumu da söz konusu yani. Gelelim bu yıl katıldıklarıma:

2010'dan beri okuduğum yerli, yabancı kitapları takip ettiğim bence en kaliteli kitap takip sitesi Goodreads'te 2011'de 50 kitap okumayı hedeflemiş ve 60 kitap okumuştum. 2012'de hedefi önce 50'ye koydum, yıl ortasında 65'e yükselttim ve 67 kitap okudum. 2013 için kitap okuma hedefimse 70 kitap. Kitap adetleri yanında günde 50 sayfa okuma hedefim de var hep benim. İncecik kitaplar okuyup kolaya kaçıp kendimi kandırmıyorum yani.

Bu sene benim de ilk kez katıldığım ve temasını sevdiğim ilk challenge Bookmark to Blog tarafından düzenlenen, her ay için okuyacağınız kitabın adında veya konusunda önceden belirlenmiş, her ay değişen 10 kelimeden birinin olacağı 12 kitap okumak. Evde okunmayı bekleyen onlarca kitap olunca mevcut kitaplarımdan bu challenge için okumayı planladıklarımı buradan görebilirsiniz.

Bir diğer challenge evdeki kitap dağını eritmeye dönük. My Reader's Block dünyadan 8 dağ adı seçmiş. Kitap dağınızdan ne kadar çok kitap okumak istiyorsanız dağınız da o kadar yüksek oluyor. Ben mevcut kitaplarımdan 48 tane okumayı planlıyorum 2013'te ve bu seviyeye gelen dağ da Ağrı Dağı. Ne güzel bir tesadüf :)

Hiç aklımda yokken Maphead'in sitesinde gördüğüm bu challenge kitap raflarım arasında dolaştırdı beni ve neticesinde de bir baktım, katılmışım. Burada da maksat Ortadoğulu ve Kuzey Afrikalı yazarlar tarafından yazılmış belirli sayıda kitap okumak. Hazır ev sahipliğini yaptığım Yazar Ayları etkinliğimizde bu ay Necib Mahfuz okurken, ben de 7 kitap okumaya karar verdim. Listemi buradan görebilirsiniz. Buna benzer Rose City Reader'ın Avrupalı yazarlardan kitap okuma etkinliği de var. Onun içinde bu 5 kitabı okuyacağım.

Tüm bu challengelar içinde benim en çok keyif aldığım, geçen sene de katıldığım ve tamamlamayı başardığım Working for the Mandroid tarafından düzenlenen, bilim kurgunun 16 alt türünde kitap okuma challenge'ı. Bunun için kitapları seçerken ayrı, okurken ayrı, yorumlarken ayrı keyif alıyorum. Okumayı planladığım bilim kurgu kitaplarım için ise buraya tıklayın.

Özet olarak, 2013'te okumayı planladığım 70 kitabın yaklaşık yarısının adını koydum bile. Kalan yarısının ne olacağını ise ben de bilmiyorum :) Ev sahipliğini yaptığım Yazar Ayları etkinliğimizi de katılımcı sayısı (ben dahil) 3 olduğu sürece devam ettireceğim. 2013'te daha farklı etkinlikler de olabilir (!) bu blogda.

Keyifli okumalar :ve bizi izlemeye devam edin )

2013 TBR Pile Challenge

Well, actually I am a bit late to participate in this challenge (The deadline was yesterday) and I'm not sure if the host, Roof Beam Reader will let me join but still I challenge myself. I have a big TBR pile at home so I will try to read the books that have been sitting on my shelves for over 15 months. Here is my list of 12 books and 2 alternates:

1. The Wind in the Willows / Kenneth Grahame (First published in 1908; on my shelves since 2010)
2. The Painted Bird / Jerzy Kosinski (First published in 1965; on my shelves since 2008)
3. The Sand Fish / Maha Gargash  (First published in 2009; on my shelves since August 2011)
4. Demian / Hermann Hesse  (First published in 1919; on my shelves since 1996)
5. Obabakoak / Bernardo Axtaga (First published in 1989; on my shelves since 2010)
6. The Windup Girl / Paolo Bacigalupi (First published in 2009; on my shelves since April 2011)
7. Paper: The Dreams of a Scribe / Bahiyyih Nakhjavani (First published in 2003; on my shelves since 2010)
8. Manual of Painting and Calligraphy: A Novel / José Saramago (First published in 1977; on my shelves since 1999)
9. The Last Book in the Universe / Rodman Philbrick (First published in 2000; on my shelves since April 2011)
10. Predator's Gold / Philip Reeve (First published in 2006; on my shelves since April 2011)
11. Baba Yaga Laid an Egg /  Dubravka Ugrešić (First published in 2009; on my shelves since June 2011)
12. Tower of Dreams / Jamil Nasir (First published in 1999; on my shelves since 2010)

Alternates:
1. Kidnapped / Robert Louis Stevenson (First published in 1886; on my shelves since 2010)
2. Amagansett / Mark Mills (First published in 2005; on my shelves since July 2011)

2013 Science Fiction Reader Challenge

When I discovered the website of Working for the Mandroid and the challenge they were hosting last year, I was amazed. I immediately joined the challenge and I managed to read 12 sci-fi books before the year end. As I like reading sci-fi and the challenge was asking partcipants to read from different subgenres of sci-fi, I ended up discovering gorgeous authors and sci-fi classics. This year Working for the Mandroid is hosting 2013 Science Fiction Reader Challenge and it is a little bit harder and more fun this year.

This is my favourite challenge of all times. I don't know what I like most about this year's version: Discovering the new subgenres or going through my shelves to see if I had books matching with all genres or the fun I will have when I'm reading them.

You can find the rules of the challenge here and the books I have chosen for this year are as follows:

1. YA/MG Science Fiction: Predator's Gold / Philip Reeve
2. Adult Science Fiction: Brave New World / Aldous Huxley
3. Hugo Winner: The Windup Girl / Paolo Bacigalupi
4. Sci-Fi Classics (Pre 1950s): We / Yevgeny Zamyatin
5. Sci-Fi Modern Classics: The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress / Robert A. Heinlein
6. Steampunk: Un Lun Lun / China Miéville
7. Robots / Cyborgs / Androids: Robopocalypse / Daniel H. Wilson
8. Spaceships: The Centauri Device / John Harrison
9. Aliens: Contact / Carl Sagan
10. Time Travel: The Forever War / Joe Haldeman
11. Alternate History / Parallel Universe: The Gods Themselves / Isaac Asimov
12. Post-Apocalypse / End of World: Never Let Me Go / Kazuo Ishiguro
13. Dystopia / Utopia: The Dispossessed / Ursula K. Le Guin
14. Cyberpunk: Dune / Frank Herbert
15. Mad Scientist: The Year of the Flood / Margaret Atwood
16. Military Sci-Fi: Old Man's War / John Scalzi

If you love sci-fi, you must join this challenge :) 

2013 European Reading Challenge

For the past three years I read many novels written by Turkish, American and British authors and I read so many sci-fi and fantasy novels. This year I'm trying to optimize the genres I read and discover more from world literature so I decided to join Rose City Reader's 2013 European Reading Challenge. 

At first I thought it would be easy to find books from my TBR pile to challenge myself to be a Five Star (Deluxe Entourage). That means I will read 5 books from 5 different countries. I excluded Turkey to challenge myself a bit further. When I went through my TBR pile, I managed to find 5 books but I also realized that my TBR is still dominated by Turkish and American authors. When I'm out or go online for buying books, I'll be more careful in 2013.

Here are the books I will read for this challenge:

1. The Wind in the Willows / Kenneth Grahame / Scotland
2. Night Train to Lisbon / Pascal Mercier / Switzerland
3. The Unbearable Lightness of Being / Milan Kundera / Czech Republic
4. I, Robot / Isaac Asimov / Russia
5. The Golden Volcano / Jules Verne / France

If you want to join this challenge as well, please click here.

The 2013 Middle East Reading Challenge

This year I challenged myself to read 70 books and being a sci-fi fan, I will also try hard to diversify the books I read. Otherwise, I keep reading sci-fi books and forget the other joyful genres of literature. When I came across Maphead's "2013 Middle East Reading Challenge", I decided to go through my shelves to see how many Middle Eastern authors I already had. I was happy to find 7 books. Almost all of the books have been on my shelves for over a year and non of those books are sci-fi. In addition to this, I'm also hosting a monthly event in my blog for Turkish book bloggers. Every month we choose an author and the participants read whichever book they want written by that author. For this month the author we chose is Naguib Mahfouz, an Egyptian author. In short, all was set for me to join the challenge.

Well, I challenge myself to be a diplomat for this challenge and here are the books I intend to read:

1. The Thief and the Dogs / Naguib Mahfouz / Egypt
2. Khan al-Khalili / Naguib Mahfouz / Egypt
3. Leo Africanus / Amin Maalouf / Lebanon
4. İhtiyara Suikast / Abdelrahman Munif / Saudi Arabia (I'm not sure if this book has an English translation)
5. Paper - The Dreams of A Scribe / Bahiyyih Nakhjavani / Iran
6. Rooftops of Tehran / Mahbod Seraji / Iran
7. The Sand Fish: A Novel from Dubai / Maha Gargash / United Arab Emirates

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2013

My TBR mountain has never been this high. 2012 was a great year for me. I attended four big fairs in total: three real and one virtual. I spent a good amount time in both first hand and second hand book stores. I received loads of presents so it is time for me to join this challenge. The challenge is hosted by My Reader's Block. You can find the challenge levels and guidelines here.

I can read 50-70 books per year and I know I will keep buying or receiving books in 2013 as well. What a nice coincidence that I am Turkish. What I'm trying to say is my level for this challenge is Mount Ararat, meaning I'll read 48 books from my TBR pile. I must admit that I'm not really sure whether I'll be able to climb that high but at least I'll try.

Monthly Key Word Challenge 2013

As I was going through the challenges of 2013, this is the first one I am attracted to. The challenge is hosted by Bookmark to Blog. There are 10 key words associated with each month and the task is to read one book each month whose title includes one of the key words of that month. You can find the key words, how you can tweak key words and further guidelines here.

As I have almost 200 unread books waiting to be picked on my shelves, it was nice to go through all of them to choose the books to be read for this challenge. I'll be reading Turkish translation of almost all of the books so I checked whether the Turkish title includes one of the key words but I guess there is no problem with that. Down I'll be posting the Turkish title of the books as well and I'll underline the key words in both English and Turkish titles. Here is my list:

January: The Wind in the Willows (Söğütlükte Rüzgar) / Kenneth Grahame / Scottish Lit
February: Life, A User's Manual (Yaşam Kullanma Kılavuzu) / Georges Perec / French Lit
March: Predator's Gold (İhanet Altını) / Philip Reeve / English Lit
April: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Kar Çiçeği ve Sırlar Yelpazesi) / Lisa See / American Lit
May: The Painted Bird (Boyalı Kuş) / Jerzy Kosinski / Polish Lit
June: The Sand Fish / Maha Gargash / Arab Lit
July: Night Train to Lisbon (Lizbon'a Gece Treni) / Pascal Mercier / Swiss Lit
August: Uzaydan Gelen Konuk / Isaac Asimov / Russian Lit
September: Siyah Hatıralar Denizi / Mehmet Açar / Turkish Lit
October: Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Sevgiden Öte Sürekli Ölüm) / Gabriel Garcia Marquez / Colombian Lit
November: Brave New World (Cesur Yeni Dünya) / Aldous Huxley / English Lit
December: The Famished Road (Aç Yol) / Ben Okri / Nigerian Lit

I'm really glad I came across this challenge. It has diversified my reading list and I ended up choosing books from world literature :)