Five-Year Reading Challenge: A Non-Fiction Adventure

Michelle at The True Book Addict has created another Five-Year Reading Challenge.

Here are the details from Michelle's blog that she has set up specifically for this challenge:

Here are the guidelines:

• Choose 50+ non-fiction books; the number is up to you. Choose 50, 75, 100, 200. It's entirely your choice

• Books must be non-fiction--biography, autobiography, history, memoir, cooking, travel, science, etc.

• List them at your blog (or on Goodreads or another social media site, if you do not have a blog)

• Choose your completion goal date five years in the future and make note of it with your list of titles (like this: reading goal--50 books goal dates--March 20, 2012 - March 20, 2017)

• Come back here and post the link to your list in the linky below

• Write a review (or a short summary) on the book when finished and link it to the title in your list (or link to your review on Goodreads, again, if you don't have a blog)

• There will be pages posted at the top of the blog for you to link your reviews

• When you have completed the challenge, come add your link to the Completed Challenges page

• There will be a blog roll in the sidebar where I will list you/your blog linked to your lists

• Grab the button in the right sidebar and link it back to this blog

• Check out this PAGE which contains links to various online sources with lists of reading ideas

• I might host a read-a-long from time to time. If you are hosting one, or an event or challenge surrounding a non-fiction title, post about it at this PAGE

A couple more important details:

• This challenge can be crossed over with any other challenges
• Your link in the linky below must lead to your list, not just your main blog address. Any links that are blog links only will be deleted

Updates:

*I was asked if the list has to be made in advance. The idea is to work toward reading non-fiction that you've been wanting to read so the list is mandatory. However, the list does not have to be set in stone. You can change out titles as the mood suits you.

I hope I haven't forgotten anything. If you think I missed something, please let me know. I'm aiming to make this challenge as low maintenance as possible. There will be no mini-challenges or prizes. This challenge is all about challenging ourselves to read more and to expand our horizons. I truly hope you will join me on this adventure.

If you would like to join me in the challenge, just click on the challenge badge at the beginning of this post.

 

My challenge period will run from April 5, 2012 to April 5, 2017.

Reading Goal: 50 books

Here is my list of some non-fiction books from my bookshelves (I know I have more than 50 books on my list, and I'm sure that I'll be swapping titles out as other topics pique my interest, so my goal will be to read 50 from my list):

1. Walk Away the Pounds by Leslie Sansone 
2. Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia by Margaret Cousins (Landmark Books, Book 28) 
3. The Story of Eli Whitney by Jean Lee Latham
4. If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution by Elizabeth Levy
5. Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers by Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D. and Gabor Maté, M.D.
6. The Winter at Valley Forge: Survival and Victory by James E. Knight (Adventures in Colonial America)
7. American Indian Prayer Guide by Danette Maloof 
8. First Encyclopedia of Seas & Oceans by Ben Denne 
9. Mysteries & Marvels of Nature by Elizabeth Dalby
10. The Usborne Science Encyclopedia by Annabel Craig and Cliff Rosney 
    
11. Can't You Make Them Behave, King George? by Jean Fritz 
12. And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? by Jean Fritz 
    
13. What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? by Jean Fritz 
14. You Wouldn't Want to Be at the Boston Tea Party! by Peter Cook (You Wouldn't Want to... series) 
15. Water by Trevor Day (See for Yourself series) 
    
16. The Story of the U.S.A., Book 1: Explorers and Settlers by Franklin Escher, Jr. 
17. Real Science-4-Kids: Biology, Level I by Dr. Rebecca W. Keller
18. Lyrical Life Science, Volume 1 by Doug C. Eldon
19. William Wilberforce: God's Politician by John Holzmann
20. Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman by Dorothy Sterling (Scholastic Biographies)
21. Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman 
22. The Separation Guide by David R. Greig 
23. You'll Get Through This by Max Lucado 
24. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
25. Unbroken: An Olympian's Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive by Lauren Hillenbrand
26. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
27. A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage
28. Blessed in the Darkness: How All Things are Working for Your Good by Joel Osteen
29. Invisible Darkness: The Horrifying Case of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka by Stephen Williams

1. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
2. 'Tis by Frank McCourt
3. Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
4. Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson
5. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
6. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
7. The Way They Learn by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias
8. How Children Learn by John Holt
9. How Children Fail by John Holt
10. The Duggars: 20 and Counting!: Raising One of America's Largest Families—How They Do It by Michelle Duggar and Jim Bob Duggar
11. The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper
12. Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet
13. We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Change Their Lives Forever by Benjamin Mee
14. Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo
15. I am Hutterite: The Fascinating True Story of a Young Woman's Journey to Reclaim Her Heritage  by Mary-Ann Kirkby
16. Triumph: Life After the Cult - A Survivor's Lesson by Carolyn Jessop with Laura Palmer
17. Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife by Irene Spencer
18. Cult Insanity: A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement by Irene Spencer
19. Arctic Homestead: The True Story of One Family's Survival and Courage in the Alaskan Wilds by Norma Cobb and Charles W. Sasser
20. Robert Fulton Boy Craftsman by Marguerite Henry
21. Sarah Whitcher's Story by Elizabeth Yates
22. The Lewis & Clark Expedition by Richard L. Neuberger
23. The World Wars: An Introduction to the First & Second World Wars by Paul Dowswell, Henry Brook, Ruth Brocklehurst
24. Helen Keller by Margaret Davidson
25. Bruchko: The Astonishing True Story of a 19-year-old American-His Capture by the Motilone Indians and His Adventures in Christianizing the Stone Age Tribe by Bruce Olson
26. The Wright Brothers by Quentin Reynolds
27. George Washington Carver by David Collins
28. The Story Of Thomas Alva Edison by Margaret Davidson
29. The Story of Inventions by Anna Claybourne
30. Diary of an Early American Boy by Eric Sloane
31. Your Body's Many Cries for Water by Fereydoon Batmanghelidj
32. Water: The Shocking Truth That Could Save Your Life by Patricia Bragg
33. Boost Your Energy Naturally by Beth MacEoin
34. The Virus and the Vaccine: The True Story of a Cancer-Causing Monkey Virus, Contaminated Polio Vaccine, and the Millions of Americans Exposed by Debbie Bookchin and Jim Schumacher
35. The Vaccine Guide: Making an Informed Choice by Randall Neustaedter
36. What Vets Don't Tell You about Vaccines by Catherine O'Driscoll
37. Natural Immunity - Why You Should Not Vaccinate by Pat McKay
38. Reigning Cats and Dogs: Good Nutrition, Healthy Happy Animals by Pat McKay
39. If Cats Could Talk: A Holistic Approach to Our Feline Companions by Lorena Elke
40. The Healing Power of Pets: Harnessing the Amazing Ability of Pets to Make and Keep People Happy and Healthy by Marty Becker and Danelle Morton
41. Master Your Debt: Slash Your Monthly Payments and Become Debt Free by Jordan E. Goodman and Bill Westrom
42. Debt-Free Forever: Take Control of Your Money and Your Life by Gail Vaz-Oxlade
43. The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey
44. Talking to Heaven by James Van Praagh
45. Healing Grief by James Van Praagh