Beastmomma

I love the idea of this challenge and even though I did not finish for the last three years, I am hoping that the third time will be the charm. 

As in the past, the Global Reading Challenge (GRC) challenges you to expand your reading boundaries, go where you haven't been before, move a little outside your comfort zone.

The Easy Challenge
Read one novel from each of these continents in the course of 2013:

Africa: The Geneva Option by Adam LeBor. Some of the action takes place in Africa. I finished the book on June 3, 2013. You can find my review here. 
Asia: The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan: The novel takes place in India. I finished the book on April 10, 2013. You can find my review here. 
Australasia/Oceania: 
Europe: Broken Harbor by Tana French: The novel takes place in Ireland. I completed the book on January 22, 2013. You can find my review here. 
North America: (1) Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead: The novel takes place in the United States. I completed the book on February 1, 2013. You can find my review here.  (2) Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple The book takes place in Seattle, Washington. I finished the book on February 8, 2013. You can find my review here. 
South America (please include Central America where it is most convenient for you)

The Seventh Continent (here you can either choose Antarctica or your own ´seventh´ setting, eg the sea, the space, a supernatural/paranormal world, history, the future – you name it):Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh The book takes place in many countries.  I finished the book no August 23, 2013. You can find my review here. 

From your own continent: try to find a country, state or author that is new to you.

I failed to complete this challenge last year, but I am excited to try again.  The details of the challenge and my commitment are below. 

Definition of a chunkster:A chunkster is 450 pages or more of ADULT literature, whether non-fiction or fiction. A chunkster should be a challenge.
If you read books in large print, your books will need to be 525 pages or more. The average large type book is 10-15% larger or more so it’s a fair estimate.
The rules:

• No audio books. (There are exceptions to this rule.)
• No e-books allowed. This was discussed in much detail in the 2011 challenge. The short version: a chunkster isn’t a challenge if you’re reading it on an e-reader. (There are exceptions to this rule.)
• Essay, poetry, and short story collections will be allowed. Collections have to be read in their entirety to count. If you’ve needed a reason to finally pick up your copy of The Collected Works Of ____ now is the time.
• Books may crossover with other challenges.
• Anyone may join. (If you don’t have a blog, just leave a comment on this post with your challenge level and your progress throughout the challenge.) 
• You don’t need to list your books ahead of time.
• Once you’ve picked a level, that’s it. You’re committed to it!

You must pick a level of participation:

1. The Chubby Chunkster – this option is for the readers who want to dabble in large tomes, but really doesn't want to commit to much more than that. FOUR Chunksters is all you need to finish this challenge.
2. The Plump Primer - this option is for the slightly heavier reader who wants to commit to SIX Chunksters over the next twelve months. 
3. Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? - this option is for the reader who can't resist bigger and bigger books and wants to commit to SIX Chunksters from the following categories: 2 books which are between 450 - 550 pages in length; 2 books which are 551 - 750 pages in length; 2 books which are GREATER than 750 pages in length (for ideas, please refer to the book suggestions pagefor some books which fit into these categories).
4. Mor-book-ly Obese - This is for the truly out of control chunkster. For this level of challenge you must commit to EIGHT or more Chunksters of which three tomes MUST be 750 pages or more. You know you want to.....go on and give in to your cravings.

My level of participation is the Chubby Chunkster.   The books I completed for the challenge are listed below: 

• Broken Harbor by Tana French: The book is 450 pages which makes it just barely a chunkster :) I completed the book on January 22, 2013. You can find my review here. 
• Possession by A.S. Byatt: The book is 555 pages. I completed it on March 31, 2013. You can find my review here. 
• Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh: The book is 528 pages. I completed the book on August 23, 2013. My review is here. 

Last year, I missed my goal by one book. I have been successful with this challenge in the past and I am hoping that I will have success in 2012.  I am committing to the Chubby Chunkster Level. The details are below. 

The Challenge runs from January 1, 2012 to Decemeber 31, 2012

Definition of a chunkster:

A chunkster is 450 pages or more of ADULT literature, whether non-fiction or fiction. A chunkster should be a challenge.

The rules:

You must pick a level of participation:

1. The Chubby Chunkster – this option is for the readers who want to dabble in large tomes, but really doesn't want to commit to much more than that. FOUR Chunksters is all you need to finish this challenge.
2. The Plump Primer - this option is for the slightly heavier reader who wants to commit to SIX Chunksters over the next twelve months. 
3. Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? - this option is for the reader who can't resist bigger and bigger books and wants to commit to SIX Chunksters from the following categories: 2 books which are between 450 - 550 pages in length; 2 books which are 551 - 750 pages in length; 2 books which are GREATER than 750 pages in length (for ideas, please refer to the book suggestions pagefor some books which fit into these categories).
4. Mor-book-ly Obese - This is for the truly out of control chunkster. For this level of challenge you must commit to EIGHT or more Chunksters of which three tomes MUST be 750 pages or more. You know you want to.....go on and give in to your cravings.

Want Suggestions of what to read? 

Check out the Chunky Book Suggestions page. Throughout the year, we will be adding new books to this page.

To review or not to review, that is the quesion...Reviews are not mandatory, but they are strongly encouraged. We will be putting up a Mr. Linky at the beginning of the challenge for links to your reviews. We will also be posting a Mr. Linky for wrap up posts at the end of the challenge.

My selections: 

1. Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult : 496 pages. Completed in March 2012.  My review is here. 

2.  Lighter Shade of Grey by Devon Pearse: 470 pages. Completed in July 2012. My review is here. 

From Swapna's site, here are some basics:

There are two ways for a book to qualify for the South Asian Challenge

(1) A book must be by a South Asian author.  For these purposes, South Asia includes the following countries: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and the Maldives. 

2) A book must be about South Asia.  In this case, it can be set in a South Asian country or be about South Asians living abroad.  It can also be a biography or memoir of a South Asian, or of a non-South Asian traveling or working in South Asia.  In this case, the authordoes not need to be South Asian, as long as the subject matter focuses on the region, peoples, or cultures in some way.

Any type book qualifies, as long as it meets one of the two guidelines above - a cookbook, short story or essay collection, travel guide - I’m not picky!

What dates does the challenge run?

January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012

What are the levels?

I can choose how many books I want to read. I am hoping to match my number last year, so I will pick three. 

My books: 

1. Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil You can find my review here. 

I love the idea of this challenge and even though I did not finish for the last two years, I am hoping that the third time will be the charm. 

As in the past, the Global Reading Challenge (GRC) challenges you to expand your reading boundaries, go where you haven't been before, move a little outside your comfort zone.

The Easy Challenge
Read one novel from each of these continents in the course of 2012:

Africa
Asia: Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil Most of the book takes place in India. You can find my review here. 
Australasia/Oceania: March by Geraldine Brooks The author was born in Australia and still spends some time there. My review is here. 
Europe: The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht. Book takes place in Croatia. You can find my review here. 
North America: Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult  The book takes place in the United States. My review is here. 
South America (please include Central America where it is most convenient for you)

The Seventh Continent (here you can either choose Antarctica or your own ´seventh´ setting, eg the sea, the space, a supernatural/paranormal world, history, the future – you name it): The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins The book takes place in the future. You can find my review here. 

From your own continent: try to find a country, state or author that is new to you.