Once Upon a Time IX Progress Page

It’s Spring! Carl’s Once Upon A Time IX reading challenge starts today, for the ninth year running, ending on June 21. This encompasses four broad categories: Fairy Tale, Folklore, Fantasy and Mythology, including the seemingly countless sub-genres and blending of genres that fall within this spectrum.

(Art by Kimberly Kincaid. Used with Permission)

As always this challenge has a few fun and very flexible rules:

Rule #1: Have fun.

Rule #2: HAVE FUN.

Rule #3: Don’t keep the fun to yourself, share it with us, please!

Rule #4: Do not be put off by the word ‘challenge’.

While this event retains the word – challenge – from its earliest days, the entire goal is to read good books, watch engaging television shows and films, play immersive games and most importantly, visit old friends and make new ones.

There are several ways to participate, starting with

once9journey

This is really as simple as the name implies. It means you are participating, but not committing yourself to any specific number of books. By signing up for The Journey you are agreeing to read at least one book within one of the four categories during March 21st to June 21st period. Just one book. If you choose to read more, fantastic!

So, in my year of relaxed reading I’m sure I can manage to read one book! And if I read more I’ll carry on to Quest the First:

Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time categories. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology€¦or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.

I have several books to choose from:

Helen of Sparta by Amalia Carosell – A new take on an ancient myth, the story of one woman determined to decide her own fate.
Shadowland by C M Gray – historical fantasy set in Dark Ages Britain.
Dreamwalker (The Ballad of Sir Benfro) by James Oswald – fantasy fiction – Welsh mythology and folklore. Read
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain – fantasy fiction in which a Yankee engineer is accidentally transported back in time to the court of King Arthur.
Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife by Sam Savage – the tale of a literary rat who develops the ability to read.
The Children of Hurin by J R R Tolkien – tales of Middle-earth from times before The Lord of the Rings, set in the country that lay beyond the Grey Havens in the West.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum – I’ve seen the film, but never read the book. Read