The Nerd Daily 2020 Challenge – completed, sort of

One of the challenges I took part in this year was The Nerd Daily Challenge with 52 prompts – one for each week of the year. As with some of my other challenges, I did use the same book a couple of times, especially towards the end of the year when I knew I wasn’t going to be able to fill in each category with a different book.

Unlike my other challenges, there was one category I was unable to fill. I was not able to complete the 2019 Goodreads Choice Winner. There were a few reasons for this, such as not being able to find the two I had noted down to look for – the pandemic lockdown made this harder. The second, most of the books available I had never heard of and had a very narrow American slant – this too made it hard, as not all of these options were necessarily available in Australia. Thirdly, this was a very prescriptive category and I think a better option would have been to change winner to nominee to give people more scope rather than sending people into a spin trying to find something or slogging through something that they feel obligated to read.

Of course, nobody has to do these challenges – and nor do you have to complete the challenges. Yet I do like to, and I have found in the last few years that the challenges have become more and more prescriptive each time. I think this makes them more stressful and limiting in a way. Challenges are said to be there to push us in our reading and beyond our boundaries and comfort zones. Yet as a reviewer as well, being able to use books I read for reviews or quiz writing work is something I factor into quizzes. It is one reason I prefer the challenges with very open categories, or categories that aren’t so specific, one could go bankrupt trying to find the books to fit the category or get so stressed trying to find books somewhere that the rest of their reading suffers. So next year, I will review the available challenges, and if I go with any, I will go with ones that give me a little more wiggle room so I can use what I have to complete these challenges.

The Nerd Daily 2020 Challenge

1. Author Starting with A: Shark Out of Water by Ace Landers
2. Female Author: The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernan
3. Purchased on Holidays: Withering-by-Sea (A Stella Montgomery Intrigue) by Judith Rossell
4. 2020 Film Adaptation: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
5. Fantasy or SciFi: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling (Ravenclaw Edition)
6. Recommended by Us: The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte
7. Under 200 pages: Ella at Eden: New Girl by Laura Sieveking
8. Six Word Title: The Binder of Doom: Speedah Cheetah by Troy Cummins, Death at the Ladies’ Goddess Club by Julian Leatherdale
9. Written by two authors: The Soldier’s Curse by Meg and Tom Keneally (Monsarrat Series Book One)                                                                                            
10. Mystery/thriller: A Testament of Character (Rowland Sinclair #10) by Sulari Gentill
11. Green Cover: The Soldier’s Curse by Meg and Tom Keneally (Monsarrat Series Book One)                                                                                                                                           
12. Recommended by a friend: Any Ordinary Day be Leigh Sales
13. Set in the past: Josephine’s Garden by Stephanie Parkyn
14. 2019 Goodreads Choice Winner:
15. A book you never finished: The Louvre by James Gardiner (Never finished in time to review for release date, managed to finish after)
16. Protagonist starting with H: The Soldier’s Curse by Meg and Tom Keneally, Hapless Hero Henrie by Petra James (House of Heroes)
17. Reread: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
18. Non-fiction: The Nine Hundred: The Extraordinary Young Women of the First Official Jewish Transport to Auschwitz by Heather Dune McAdam
19. Released in February: Ella at Eden: New Girl by Laura Sieveking, The Binder of Doom: Speedah-Cheetah by Troy Cummins
20. Part of a duology: The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley
21. New York times best seller: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling (Ravenclaw Edition)
22. Recommended by family: The Champagne War by Fiona McIntosh (Author recommended by Mum
23. Over 500 pages: Moonflower Murder by Anthony Horowitz
24. An award-winning book: Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales – Walkley Book Award 2019
25. Orange cover: Trials of Apollo: The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan
26. Bookstore recommended: The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Rome by Katrina Nannestad
27. A number in the title: Alice-Miranda at School (10^th Anniversary Edition) by Jacqueline Harvey
28. An audiobook: Radio National Fictions (various short stories)
29. Debut author: The God Child by Nana Oforiatta Ayim
30. Inspired my mythology/folklore: Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan, Dragonfly Song by Wendy Orr,
31. A retelling: Jane in Love by Rachel Givney
32. A one-word title: Liberation by Imogen Kealey
33. Bought based on cover: Friday Barnes: Girl Detective by R.A. Spratt                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
34. Author that starts with M: What Zola did on Monday by Melina Marchetta and illustrated by Deb Hudson
35. Start a new series: Ella at Eden: New Girl by Laura Sieveking
36. A book released in 2019: The Last Firehawk: The Cloud Kingdom by Katrina Charman
37. Male author: Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan, Death in the Ladies’ Goddess Club by Julian Leatherdale
38. 2020 TV Adaptation: Baby-Sitters Club: Kristy’s Big Day by Ann M Martin
39. A book gifted to you: Captain Marvel Hero Storybook by Steve Behling
40. Author with a hyphenated name: Elephant Me by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees
41. Released in September: The Wild Way Home by Sophie Kirtley, A Girl Made of Air by Nydia Hetherington
42. Purchased years ago: Emma by Jane Austen
43. A standalone: The River Home by Hannah Richell
44. Author with the same initials: Baby-Sitters Club: Kristy’s Big Day by Ann M Martin
45. Told from two perspectives: The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte
46. Romance or thriller: Liberation by Imogen Kealey, The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte
47. A protagonist starting with S: Withering-by-Sea (A Stella Montgomery Intrigue) by Judith Rossell (Stella Montgomery)
48. Two-word title: Dragonfly Song by Wendy Orr, Esme’s Gift by Elizabeth Foster
49. Set in a foreign country: Josephine’s Garden by Stephanie Parkyn, The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernan
50. Animal featured in cover: Dolphin Island: A Daring Rescue by Catherine Hapka
51. Written by your favourite author:  The Paris Secret by Natasha Lester                                   
52. Based or inspired by a true story: Museum Kittens: The Midnight Visitor by Holly Webb, The Lost Jewels by Kirsty Manning

You will notice too that some categories have multiple books assigned to them – and I do that sometimes, so that means that I read 57 books in this challenge, but only filled 51 categories. It is still an achievement. Award winners are always hard, and there are some that I have for Australian lists and awards for another challenge – and I am hoping in the next five days I can get through those. One challenge has bonus for reading one of each of state awards. I will do my wrap up for that challenge as soon as I can.

Onto 2021 and more reading!