Sunday, November 20, 2016

2017 Cruisin' thru the Cozies Reading Challenge Sign Up


Welcome to the seventh annual Cruisin' thru the Cozies Reading Challenge! I'm changing things up a bit this year. Sometimes we get hooked on one type of genre or sub-genre and don't venture out of our comfort zone. Maybe some only read culinary cozies, maybe some only animals or crafts.

To find out exactly what a cozy mystery is, check out Cozy-Mystery.com. This site is dedicated to cozy mysteries and does a great job of defining them as well as giving a list of cozy mysteries. This challenge is NOT restricted to what is on their list, it's just to be used as a guideline in case you need some hints on what to read.

Whatever you might like, I thought it might be fun to read a bit of everything. So here is this year's cozy mystery reading challenge:

Level one (Snoop) - Read one book in each of these cozy sub-genres (total of 10 books)

- One from culinary (anything dealing with food:  restaurants, baked goods, etc.)
- One from animal related (cats, dogs, birds, etc.)
- One from craft related (any kind of hobbies - knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, etc.)
- One from paranormal (witches, vampires, etc.)
- One from British cozy mysteries (example:  Belinda Lawrence series)
- One career-based cozy mystery (housekeeping, wedding planner, etc.)
- One holiday based (set during any holiday - Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentines, etc.)
- One travel mystery (character could be on a cruise, touring another area, etc.)
- One historical mystery (any mystery not set in the present)
- One is your choice!  (freebie!)

Level two (Investigator) - Read all the books in level one plus an additional 10 cozy books of your choice (total of 20)
Level three (Super Sleuth) - Read two books from each sub-genre in level one plus an additional 10 cozy books of your choice (total of 30 books)
Level four (Sleuth Extraordinaire) - Read two books from each sub-genre in level one plus an additional 20 cozy books of your choice (total of 40 books)

Here are the rules...

1. The challenge runs from January 1, 2017 and ends December 31, 2017.

2. You don't have to choose your books in advance. If you do, you can change your list at any time during the year. Books can overlap with other challenges.

3. Books can be in any format - paper, audio, ebooks...it all counts!

4. You don't have to post a review, but I'm sure others would love to know about the books you are reading and may even want to add it to their reading lists.

NOTE: If you don't have a blog and want to participate, that's fine. You don't have to have a blog, just post in the comments section as you finish books. If you belong to a site like Goodreads and review the books there, that's fine too. Just leave us the link. I also have a group for this challenge on Goodreads and you can sign up here.

5. If you do have a blog, take the button above, put it on your blog and post about the challenge. Then add your name to Mr. Linky below. Please use the link of your challenge post, not the link to your home page.

6. I'm going to have one link for signing up, one link for completed reviews and one link for your wrap up posts. I won't be having a monthly link, just one for all reviews read for this challenge.

ADDENDUM:  (I'm adding one more thing for those who aren't sure they want to read some of the sub-genres.)

7.  If you can't find or don't want to read a certain sub-genre, you can switch it out for another one of your choice. However, this can only be done one time.

I'm going for Level One (Snoop) this year and these are my tentative choices:

1. Culinary - Murder and Marinara by Rosie Genova (Click here to read my review.)

2. Animal related - Literally Murder by Ali Brandon  (Click here to read my review.)

3. Craft related - Murder Wears Mittens by Sally Goldenbaum (Click here to read my review.)

4. Paranormal - Magick & Mayhem by Sharon Pape (Click here to read my review.)

5. British cozy mysteries - As the Pig Turns by M.C. Beaton

6. Career-based cozy mystery - A Fatal Twist by Tracy Weber (Click here to read my review.) (Career:  Yoga Instructor)

7. Holiday based - Haunted Hair Nights by Nancy J. Cohen (Click here to read my review.) (Halloween)

8. Travel mystery - High Seas Homicide by Danielle Collins (Click here to read my review.)

9. Historical mystery - Mrs. Odboddy Undercover Courier by Elaine Faber (Click here to read my review.)

10. Freebie - A Knit Before Dying by Sadie Hartwell (Click here to read my review.)

Sign up for this challenge below. Use this format:

Line #1: Your name (blog if you have one)
Line #2: Link to your sign up post (please post the direct link to your sign up post, not to your blog's homepage).



28 comments:

  1. Thanks for the invite. Looking forward to reading
    more cozies in 2017. I am going to go for Level 4.
    Carol Smith
    penelope223@yahoo.com

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  2. Thanks for the invite. I think I'll go for Level 2.

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  3. I love how you changed it up! It will definitely be a challenge for me to hit all those sub-genres. Thanks for hosting!

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  4. Thanks for the invitation to the 2017 challenge. I am going to try for level 3 this year. I like the new twists and it will be fun to read outside of my usual sub-genre's.

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  5. Oh wow, what a fun twist!! I love the changeup!!

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  6. Replies
    1. I too love the new format. It makes it more diverse and challenging.

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  7. Looking forward to doing this one next year, Hope to have my post up this weekend. I hope to get some recs for the subgenres as well. Thanks for hosting again!
    -Kimberly @ Turning the Pages

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  8. Yikes! Still looking forward to this challenge.

    . . . change is good, change is good . . . ;-)

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  9. I'll try this as well. Level One (Snoop).

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  10. I'm in. I hope I can keep up!! I'm going for snoop.

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  11. Thanks for hosting this! I'm going for Level 4 since I'm also doing the "Craving for Cozies" challenge this coming year. :)

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  12. Signing Up at Level 2. I love the changes you have made!

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  13. I'll try this challenge! (sorry, my reviews will be in Italian)

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  14. Great idea with the new format. I'm excited. :)

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  15. Just came back to link up, and saw the new bit about swapping out a book! I'm going to try to get through without doing that, but appreciate the flexibility nonetheless :)

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  16. I stumbled upon your challenge and couldn't resist!

    Simply Angela

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  17. I have a quick question about the animal-related category. Can that include books that have a prominent animal character like the Cat in the Stacks series by Miranda James or does it have to be things like pet-sitters, etc.?

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    Replies
    1. Absolutely it can have a prominent animal character. Cat in the Stacks definitely fits that category.

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  18. We've been discussing this for most of the year, and still haven't resolved it. Can books used in lower levels be counted in the next ones? For example, when I finish Level 1, do I read ten more books or 20 (another set of the categories plus 10)?

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    Replies
    1. I'm not sure exactly what you mean. For example, if you are going for level 2, then you'd read everything in level 1 and then an additional 10 of your choice as stated above in the rules. The additional 10 should be different than the ones you read in level 1. So by the end of it, you'd have read 20 different books. Is that what you mean?

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  19. I'll try to explain it better. If I have already completed level one and now want to do level two, do I start over or just add on?

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    Replies
    1. You can just add on...this is the rule for level 2

      Level two (Investigator) - Read all the books in level one plus an additional 10 cozy books of your choice (total of 20)

      So, if you've already read everything in level one, then you just need to add the additional 10 books to complete level two. I hope that explains it.

      Delete
  20. Joined near the end, but I'm happy I found this fun challenge!

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  21. Just found this. I think I've done level 2. I am not a blogger.

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  22. Sorry, I just found this.
    culinary- On the Chopping Block by Jenny Kale
    animal- Black Cat Crossing by Kay Finch
    craft - Etched in Tears Cheryl Hollon
    paranormal - Meows, Magic, & Wands by Madison Johns
    British - Beaches And Bodies by Nic Roberts
    career-based - Lions and the Living Dead by Ruby Loren
    holiday based - Twelve Slays of Christmas by Jacqueline Frost
    travel mystery - Hawaiian Hangover by Madison Johns
    historical - The Dead Among US by Carrie Marsh
    my choice - BONES TO PICK by Linda Lovely
    My ten additional books:
    Christmas Crazy by Kathi Daley
    Spell Disaster by Leighann Dobbs
    Reading Up a Storm Gates, Eva
    Rose and Helena Save Christmas (Ghost-in-Law #6.5)
    (Rose Gardner Mystery 4.5) by Jana Deleon &
    Denise Grover Swank
    Murder Plainly Read by Isabella Alan
    A Roux of Revenge by Connie Archer
    Murder, She Barked by Krista Davis
    The Long Quiche Goodbye by Avery Aames
    Spiced & Iced by Jenny Kales
    Kneading to Die by Liz Mugavero

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