I have been seeing this challenge all over BookTube, and I thought it was too fun to pass up! I’m a couple of months late to this trend, but hopefully that means I won’t be spamming your feed with a challenge that everyone else is doing right now! See – I’m winning 😉
This challenge was created by Keeping Tabs and Current Chapter over on YouTube. I believe a lot of people did this challenge timed, but I just did it at my own pace because I don’t need that kind of anxiety in my life 😂 The only challenge I chose to do for myself was to choose only books that I have on my physical shelves (no audio, no e-books).
Also, I’m going to add an * to each book that I haven’t actually read yet, and we will see how many I have when I get to the end. This should be an exercise in sadness haha
1: Do you have a book with a fox on the cover or part of the plot?
Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa *
I got this book in an OwlCrate box a long while back, and have yet to read it. Maybe part of this challenge will be for me to read all of the books that I pull that I haven’t yet read…interesting *strokes chin in deep contemplation*
2: Do you have a book that was published the year you were born, or within a 3 year radius?
The Berenstain Bears and the Slumber Party by Stan and Jan Berenstain
I couldn’t find anything from my office shelves, so I went digging in my daughter’s bookshelf and found this book from my childhood. It was published in 1990, so it is within the 3 year radius of 1987 (my birthday is on December 29, so it is almost my birthday!)
3: Do you have a book with music as a weapon or magic?
Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
I’m fairly certain that Liesl uses her music as magic in this book. I mean, she is in the Goblin King’s world and she is playing/composing her music in a magical realm, so surely the music is used as magic, yes? It’s been a while since I read this one, and I still need to read the sequel! It is going on the ‘to read’ stack!!
4: Do you have a series with mismatched covers?
The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
I’m definitely stretching this one a little bit, but it really bothers me when my series are not all the same book style. So, while the covers match, my copy of The Hunger Games is a paperback, while the second two are hardbacks. This drives me crazy, so I’m counting it!
5: Do you have a book with a shapeshifter?
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
No one that I have seen do this tag picked this book. It was honestly the first one that came to mind for me. Jacob shifts from being a human to being a werewolf. That is shapeshifting, yes? This challenge is making me feel very insecure about my answers 😂
6: Do you have a book signed by the author?
What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera *
Boy, do I! I have so many books that are signed that it was hard to choose one *humble brag* I chose this one because I have it signed by both authors, so I think I should get bonus points 😉
7: Do you have a book with a mostly red cover?
Vicious by V.E. Schwab *
Oh, I have been meaning to read this book for so long!! Maybe I will actually get around to it in 2021. Oh, and this one is signed too 😘
8: Do you have a book between 287-306 pages?
Royals by Rachel Hawkins *
This book is 293 pages. This is another one I have been intending to read for forever. I believe it even has an entirely different cover and title now than the one that I own. It is also signed!!
9: Do you have a book with a main character who wears glasses?
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
I refused to use a Harry Potter book for this prompt because that just felt too easy. Then I remembered Cath from Fangirl and got so excited! I absolutely loved this book!! Maybe it is due for a re-read, actually.
10: Do you have a book with a title that has the same number of letters as your first name?
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Oh, how I love this book!! If you have never read this, it is one of those classics that feels contemporary and has a delicious amount of suspense. Please pick it up! Whitney=Rebecca ❤️
11: Do you have a book with cybercrime/technology?
No 😭
I have some audiobooks that would fit this description, but nothing on my physical shelves. I just don’t read that much sci-fi, and I feel like that is really what best fits this prompt. *hangs head in shame*
12: Do you have a book written in another language or translated to English?
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
This was originally written in French. I read this earlier this year, and I highly recommend this to anyone who loves graphic novels and memoirs.
13: Do you have a book written by an Asian author?
The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee
I have a ton of books by Asian authors, but I really wanted to pick this one because I loved it so much! This is one of my favorite reads of the year, and I don’t feel like it gets talked about nearly enough!
14: Do you have a book with a moon on the cover?
The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw *
This book has been on my shelf, staring at me, enticing me for far too long. I need to kick my booty into gear and read it already! Also, isn’t it so pretty? 😍
15: Do you have an illustrated children’s book?
Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, illustrated by Vashti Harrison
We have so many illustrated children’s books in our house. This was the first one I grabbed. It is so sweet, and the illustrations are so beautiful.
16: Do you have a collection of fairy tales or myths?
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Oh, I know I am hardcore cheating on this one, but it is as close as I could get! This is a novel, but it is completely riddled with Chinese folktales woven into the plot. I feel like this should count. Also, it is a lovely book and I wanted to include it, so there!! 😜
17: Do you have a sci-fi/fantasy with an alliance between races?
Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston
So, I feel like many of the Shadowhunters books could work for this prompt, but I couldn’t remember which book actually talks about those alliances, so I didn’t want to risk it. This is another book that doesn’t get talked about very often. The main character’s best friend is an android, and their spaceship pilot is of another race, so I think this works on many fronts.
18: Do you have a book with a narrow front cover? (A paperback with a front cover that is slightly trimmed shorter/narrower than the rest of the book)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon *
There are so many people that hate covers like this, but I honestly don’t mind them. This book has also been unread on my shelf for an embarrassingly long time. (Also, my husband pointed out that this is technically his book, but I have it on my shelf so I’m counting it, so THERE Nathan!!!!)
19: Do you have a book that includes the first chapter of the sequel?
Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
This includes the first chapter of book 2 in the series, Hunting Prince Dracula. I adore this series, and I’m sad it is over. This is also a series that I own where the first book is paperback and the rest are hardbacks, and it bothers me greatly 😤
20: Do you have a book with a broken spine?
Emma by Jane Austen
It is pretty much guaranteed that most of my Austen books have broken spines, but this one was very obvious. It is well loved ☺️
Bonus Question: Do you have a book that covers 3 or more of the above prompts??
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Yes, I do!! I was so excited that I had one for this! It has a red cover, the main character wears glasses, and it is 303 pages (between 287-306)!! It also has the first chapter of another book by Becky Albertalli, so it kind of fits 4 prompts. 😏
So, I only ended up having 6 books on this list that I haven’t read yet. That’s way better than I originally thought. I do think they will be moving to the very top of my TBR pile though. That’s a good way to pick what you are going to read next, right? 😉
Btw, I’m still smarting from not having a book for the cybercrime/technology question 😩
Have you done this challenge? What books did you choose? Do you have any books that you love that fit any of the prompts above? Please give me recommendations!! Let’s chat in the comments!
Love and happy reading,
Whit Reads Lit 