Interesting People, Amazing Places, and Good Food

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I’ve been thinking about whether or not I want to do the Expanding Horizons Challenge again next year. And… I think not. Before you get all depressed (like you would. Really.), I’m not doing away with it entirely. I just came up with another idea for a challenge instead. It was born out of my love of food books, my missing Lesley’s Armchair Traveler Challenge this year (I don’t think she did it at all…), and my desire to host a challenge, but not the exact same one I did last year.

This year, I give you the Well-Seasoned Reader Challenge.

Here’s how it works:

Rule #1: The challenge runs from January 1 to March 31. (No cheating and starting before!)

Rule #2: You must read three books. After that, it’s up to you how much you want to read.

Rule #3: The books must:

have a food name in the title
OR
be about cooking/eating
OR
have a place name in the title
OR
be about one (or more) person’s travel experience
OR
be about a specific culture
OR
be by an author whose ethnicity is other than your own (see, I squeezed it in!)

I’ll leave it up to you to choose how the three books you read fit the criteria.

Rule #4: They must be middle-grade on up, but can be either fiction or non-fiction.

The purpose, this winter, is to take yourself someplace out of the ordinary, to go on a literary trip, whether that be challenging your expectations, discovering a new place, or enjoying the experience of reading about good food, places, and people.

Sign up using the Mr. Linky below. I’ll probably set up a blog for the challenge sometime before January. This post will stay up until the challenge starts.

http://www.blenza.com/linkies/autolink.php?owner=megcateali&postid=27Oct2008

59 thoughts on “Interesting People, Amazing Places, and Good Food”

  9. This sounds very yummy. The first book that comes off my mind is The Debt to Pleasure by John Lanchester. Recipes and annecdotes of food making piece together a novel.

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  11. Unknown's avatar W7 says:

    I was pretty bad with the Expanding Horizon Challenge and missed it by one book. But I would like to try this challenge. I’m hoping to have some holidays about that time of year so it should work out nicely.

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  13. You’re right, I didn’t offer up the AT challenge this year – maybe I will revive it again next year. But yours sounds like a great challenge, and one that I am definitely signing up for!

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  16. Stacey – I so understand. Beth – looking forward to seeing your list. Booklogged – I hope you do get brave. I’d love to have you join us. Matt – I’ll have to see if I can find that one; it sounds delicious. W7- I’d love if you could join me again. I did enjoy hearing your thoughts. Lesley! – so glad you’re not put out that I sort of co-opted your challenge and are willing to join me here. Looking forward to seeing your list. Bybee – yes, you can! 🙂

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  17. This looks fun. Too bad I already read “Animal, Vegetable, Mineral” by Barbara Kingsolver. Loved that book she is a character. Any more ideas of books like that I’d love to hear them.

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  19. Three seems easy enough. =) Almost all the books I read are probably written by authors who are a different ethnicity from me anyway, so I’ll leave that criteria out unless it’s an emergency. LOL! I’m in!

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  21. Jenny — have you read In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan? You might like that one if you liked Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Herschelian, Betty and Kelly (and anyone else I forgot): thanks so much for joining up!!

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  23. Ooooo a challenge with only 3 books. I bet I can do that!! I have Chez Moi on my list to read with my book club for January, so I’ll just need to think of two more. Oh, if anyone wants a suggestion or two: Ruth Reichl’s books- Garlic and Sapphires, and Tender at the Bone are awesome ‘foodie’ books!

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  30. J.C. and Lilly: welcome! I’ve tried to leave comments on your blogs, but am having problems. (Lilly, your’s won’t even come up when I click the link…) Even so, I’m glad you’ve joined up.

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  31. It looks like my profile comes up when you click on my name but for now you would have to type the link in your browser (which you must have figure out since i got your comment).Anyway, can’t wait till January!

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  33. I’m so glad you visited my blog! because I would have never have seen the challenge. I’m already thinking of books to add to my pile that fit the criteria. Coffee counts as food in my book, does it in your’s? 🙂

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  39. Hi!I was blog hopping and found your challenge. I would love to join in. I have got a post telling about this challenge and linked everything up. Haven’t gotten my list of books yet, but be getting around to that this weekend. Looking forward to this reading challenge. Sherrie

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  45. I’m in! This is the first challenge I’ve participated in and I see it the beginning of many more. I am happy there is flexibility since I live somewhere overseas where there is no public library (gasp!) and a limited selection, but I can do it!

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