Welcome to the 2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - Monopoly Edition!

It begins January 1, 2024 and ends December 31, 2024.  Happy reading!

Squire - Collect 15 categories

Landlord - Collect 25 categories

Mogul -  Collect all 39 categories

GO!

1.   Mediterranean Avenue:   

                - A book set in a country bordering the Mediterranean Sea  (LIST)

2.  Community Chest:

                -  A book someone on PBS has recommended in the HF forum

3.  Baltic Avenue:

                - A book that features woods in the story, or woods on the cover

4.  Income Tax:

                - A book published in 2024

5.  Reading Railroad:

                - A book with books on the cover, or a book featuring a librarian or academic setting or profession

6. Oriental Avenue:

                - A book set in Asia, or an author of Asian descent

7.  Chance #1:

                - A new to you author

8.  Vermont Avenue:

                - A book set in winter, or a cover that features snow

9.  Connecticut Avenue:

                - A title that contains consecutive double letters (ex: All Quite on the Western Front)

10.  Visit Jail:

                - A book that features a jail or prisoner

11.  St. Charles Place:

                - A book that features a religious person or institution, or a book featuring a character with the name of Charles

12.  Electric Company:

                - A cover that features lightning, or a book that takes place after 1882 (this was the year Edison helped form the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of New York)

13.  States Avenue:

                - A book set in a state you live in or wish to visit

14.  Virginia Avenue:

                - A book featuring Queen Elizabeth I, or a book set during her reign 1558-1603

15. Pennsylvania Railroad:

                - A book with a train on the cover or train travel is featured in the story, or features a Dutch character

16.  St. James Place:

                - A book set in London, England, or a book featuring a character with the name of James

17. Community Chest #2:

                - A book you received via PBS

18. Tennessee Avenue:

                - A book whose author’s name has double consecutive letters  (ex: James Clavell)

19. New York Avenue:

                - A book set in NYC, or any large city

20.  Free Parking:

                 - Read any book of choice

21. Kentucky Avenue:

                - A book with horses on the cover, or horses are featured in the story

22.  Chance #2:

                - A book with 2024 or fewer reviews on Goodreads

23.  Indiana Avenue:

                - A book featuring Native Americans, or any indigenous group

24. Illinois Avenue:

                 - A book set during the roaring twenties

25. B&O Railroad:

                - A book whose title starts with B or O, or a cover that is mostly white

26. Atlantic Avenue:

                - A book set in a country that borders the Atlantic Ocean (LIST)

27. Ventnor Avenue:

                - Title or author’s name has a V in it

28.  Water Works:

                - A book featuring a ship, either in the story or on the cover

29.  Marvin Gardens:

                - A story that features a garden, or plants/ flowers on cover, or author’s name or a character has a botanical sounding name (Rose, Lily, ….)

30.. Go To Jail:

                 - A book featuring law enforcement or an amateur sleuth

31.  Pacific Avenue:

                - A book involving exploration or a book featuring or set on an island

32.  North Carolina Avenue:

                - A book featuring mountains, either in the story or on the cover

33.  Community Chest #3:

                - Read a book featured on a Goodreads HF Listopia (Suggested List)

34. Pennsylvania Avenue:

                - A book set during the Revolutionary War, or a book with mostly green on the cover

35.  Short Line Railroad:

                - A book with less than 300 pages

36. Chance #3:

                - A book that has been on your TBR shelves for over 5 years

37.  Park Place:

                 - A book with a wealthy character

38. Luxury Tax:

                - Read a book from your local library, either physical or digital

39.  Boardwalk:

                 - Read a book set during an empire or dynasty

Hmmm....I seem to be having a problem loading the image of the Monopoly board into the post :(

Carolyn, what a clever concept!  Thank you so much for putting this together yet again.  We appreciate you!!!  I might do something a bit different this year.  Every other year, I've gone through the list and pre-planned my books (or at least noted several books I had that would fit the categories).  However, I find that sometimes I really want to read a book, but it's not on my list of books that would work for any of the challenges or it's a book I can't make fit into any of the categories.  As a result, I sometimes get resentful.  (Because I am just Type A like that and until I finish the challenge, it's tough for me to read a book that doesn't fit a category.  Yes, very uptight that way.  LOL!) This year, I'm just going to pick up and start reading any book I am drawn to.  If it fits into one of the categories, great! (I appreciate the many broader categories!) If not, c'est la vie.  Where the challenge will really come in handy is when I just cannot decide what to read.  In those cases, I will pick a category from the list and then choose whatever book I have that fits that category,  I won't be reaching my reading goal of 50 books this year, but perhaps 2024 will be my year.  

Yoou're welcome, Shelley!  I hot such a reading slump this year, it's quite pathetic. :(   I did try to make some open to interpretation, so hopefully everyone will find something to their liking.

Do oyu happen to know how to add graphics to posts?  I had a picture of Monopoly board (not necessarily tailored for the challenge) but it won't post.

Carolyn, when I first read your post and saw that you were having trouble getting an image inserted, I tried to add a Monopoly board image to a post, and I couldn't do it either.  I'm not sure how it works here.  At my knitting site (Ravelry), it is super easy to add an image to a post, and there are several ways to do it.  Not sure here.  Hopefully someone else can help. 

I was kind of in a slump with reading too this year, and I was worried that I was losing my HF mojo. Years ago I went about 2 years without reading any book (other than self-help type stuff or magazines), and the thing that finally broke that was picking up a HF book.  It was The Other Bolyen Girl by Philippa Gregory (my sister-in-law had read it and gave it to me).  I was hooked on the book and on the HF genre.  Since then I've rarely read anything else.  It made me really sad to thing I was losing my enthusiasm for it. However, upon reflection, I don't think that I'm losing my love for HF.  It's more like I watch and listen to too many podcasts which occupy my time.  I knit, crochet, embroider, sew, quilt, etc. a LOT, so I try to listen to audio books while I'm doing those things, but often a shiny new podcast pops up and distracts me.  LOL!  I only ever read (as in reading a paper book) when I go to bed at night, so often I only get 15 minutes in before I start getting sleepy.  I am telling myself in 2024, I am going to tear myself away from the crafting and podcasts (or TV watching) earlier each night so I can get in 30 minutes to an hour of reading each night.  We shall see how that goes.  LOL! 

I was just looking at the list, and I see the Community Chest category requires we read a book that was recommended by someone here on PBS, so . . . how about we all mention what books we read in 2023 that we heartily recommend?  I'll go first.  These are the books I really enjoyed in 2023- 

The Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks

Tears of Amber by Sofia Segovia

The House is On Fire by Rachel Beanland

The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont 

I recommend The Passenger by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz (a bit too apropos for our current times) and Sharpe's Tiger by Bernard Cornwell