Reading Challenge

Last year, a friend sent me a reading challenge on Pinterest,"The 26-book 2017 reading challenge."  I like to read and I've been trying to read more (and spend less time in front of a screen) so I decided to go for it.  Full confession:  I "might" have finished the challenge during the first week in 2018 instead of  by the last day of 2017.  So here's the challenge and what I read:
1.  A book you read in school--To Kill a Mockingbird.  I read it in junior high school, I definitely think I appreciated it more now.  Now I want to see the movie too.
2.  A book from your childhood--Number The Stars  I remember friends of mine reading this in elementary school and I always thought it sounded great, but I never got around to reading it, until 2017.  It was sad in parts, but I liked it.
3. A book published over 100 years ago---Sense and Sensibility  I was a little slow reading this, but I was glad I read it.
4.  A book published in the last year--Lost and Found by Andrew Merton; this was written by a former univeristy professor of mine.  It wasn't  my usual type of book (a book of poems about his life), but it was interesting.
5. A non-fiction book--The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw; I have been meaning to read this for around a decade.  Years ago I went to Belize and one of the women I went with recommended this book--it is about a zookeeper in Belize.  I finally read it last February. It was an interesting book.  I enjoyed it, though parts of it made me angry.
6,  A book written by a male author--Rogue Laywer by John Grisham.  I like Grisham's books and I haven't read one in a while so I was glad to read this.
7.  A book written by a female author--I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella; I enjoy Sophie Kinsella's books and I enjoyed this one too.
8.  A book by someone who isn't a writer--Rockhopper Copper by Conrad Glass.  This book is about the island of Tristan da Cunha, the most isolated populated island in the world.  He is a police officer and he writes some interesting information about the island and its people.  A tiny part of me wants to visit the island, but that is no easy task and I imagine it is an expensive task too.  There is no airport and weather can make it hard for ships to dock there. 
9.  A book that became/is becoming a film--Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban;  I finally gave in to peer pressure and started reading the Harry Potter books.
10.  A book published in the 20th century--And There Was Light by Jacques Lusseyran; this is the true story about a blind Frenchman who survived a Nazi concentration camp.  I saw and purchased this book when I visited a concentration camp in Germany this past July.
11. A book set in your hometown/region--Change of Heart by Jodi Piccoult
12.  A book with someone's name in the title--Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict  a funny book my friend Kate suggested I read
13.  A book with a number in the title--Sizzling Sixteen; a Stephanie Plum novel, I've read the previous 15 so 16 was next.
14.  A book with a character with your first name--My Not So Perfect Life; another Sophie Kinsella book, which I enjoyed
15.  A book someone else recommended to you--Confessions of a Jane Austin Addict; recommended by my friend Kate who also recommended Rude Awakenings of a Jane Autin Addict.  I enjoyed them both.
16.  A book with over 500 pages--Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire; it was a long one
17. A book you can finish in a day--Shopaholic to the Rescue; I spent the whole day reading this book (it was not a work day).  I think I did work out, but otherwise, I read all day.  I like the Shopaholic books and I liked this one too.
18.  A previously banned book--Alice in Wonderland; according to google, it was banned in China and other parts of the world.
19.  A book with a one-word title--Falling by Jane Green; I like her books and this was no exception
20.  A book translated from another language--A Man Called Ove;  I really wasn't sure I was going to like it, but I liked it a lot.  It was pretty funny.
21.  A book that will improve a specific area of your life--The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up; I have been doing some serious decluttering as a result of reading this book.
22.  A memoir or a journal--Try to Make Your Life by Margot Friedlander is about a woman who survived Nazi occupied Germany, a concentration camp and then moved to America with her husband and lived here for many many years before eventually writing this book and later returning to Germany
23.  A book written by someone younger than you--Life in Motion by Misty Copeland was an interesting autobiography about ballerina Misty Copeland.  The dancer in me enjoyed it.
24.  A book set somewhere you'll be visiting this year-- The Good German
I have had this book for a few years and just never read it.  I wanted to read it last year (2017) since I was going to Germany.  Now I want to see the movie.  The book was good. 
25.  An award-winning book--The Glass Castle; I enjoyed this book and I want to see this movie too.
26.  A self-published book--Down to You--this was a little raunchier than I usually read, but it still held my interest. 

All in all I enjoyed the challenge.  I read some stuff I would normally read, some new things, and some books I've been meaning to read for a while.  (I read a couple of other books too, but you'll have to wait for the next post for that.)