Semi-Charmed Summer 2016 Challenge

photo via @megtristao

After participating for a number of rounds, I missed the last few installments of the Semi-Charmed Book Challenge series. But now it's time for the Summer 2016 edition and, after checking my stacks for books that will work, I found books for most of the categories and I'm in. I'll just have to visit the library for a couple of titles.  The challenge starts on June 1 and runs through August 31. If you'd like to join in, hop on the link for full details and to sign up. 

Here are the categories and the books I intend to read (subject to change). I will confirm with a review link and a date once I've read them.

5 points: Freebie! Read any book that is at least 150 pages long. The Cinnamon Murder by Frances Crane [214 pages] (6/6/16)

10 points: Read a collection of short stories or essays. They may all be written by the same author, or the book may be an anthology from different writers; your choice! Bodies & Souls edited by Dann Herr & Joel Wells (6/28/16)

10 points: Read an adult fiction book written by an author who normally writes books for children. Examples: J. K. Rowlins, Judy Blume, Suzanne Collins, Rick Riordan, etc. - Submitted by SCWBC15 finisher Kelly E. The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne (7/15/16)

15 points: Read a book set in Appalachia. - Submitted by SCWBC15 finisher Ericka B. (Try this list or this one for inspiration. And here’s a map if you have a book in mind and want to know if it fits the setting.) Midnight in Lonesome Hollow by Kathleen Ernst [178 pages] (6/4/16)

15 points: Don’t judge a book by its cover! Read a book with a cover you personally find unappealing. The Poet's Funeral by John M. Daniel (7/12/16) [This cover is just so blah.]

20 points: Read a book that you have previously only seen the film (movie) of. - Submitted by SCWBC15 finisher Bevchen. The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins (6/19/16)

25 points: Read a book with a punny title. The title can be a play on another book title, movie title or a common expression. Examples of such titles include Southern Discomfort, We'll Always Have Parrots or Bonefire of the Vanities. - Submitted by SCWBC15 finisher Jamie G. High Rhymes & Misdemeanors by Diana Killian (6/30/16)

30 points: Read a microhistory. (Try this list or this one for ideas.) A Is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Harkup

30 points: Read one book with a good word in the title, and one with a bad word. Note: This category is reeeeeeeally open-ended! Maybe you like turtles, so The Pearl that Broke Its Shell is a title with a "good" word. Similarly, the "bad" word could be a swear word or a literally negative word like “not” or “none,” or it could just be something you don’t like. Have fun with it! (Remember, you must read both books to get 30 points; this category is not worth 15 points per book.) Too Good to Be True by J. F. Hutton (7/20/16) and  The Devil in Bellminster by David Holland (7/13/16)

40 points: Read two books that contain the same word in the title, but once in the singular and once in the plural. For example: Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter and The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer, or Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff and The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner. (Remember, you must read both books to get 40 points; this category is not worth 20 points per book.)  The Mystery Woman by J. U. Giesy & Junius B. Smith (6/12/16) and The Silent Women by Margaret Page Hood (6/13/16)

Total Points (so far): 200