Get Steampunked! 2012 Reading Challenge

I know, I know. Another challenge!? But I've been learning about this whole steampunk thing and I'm discovering it's something really, really cool. The clothes, the jewelry, the music, the art, the gadgets, and of course the literature, which I will focus on here. (All of the other sweet steampunk stuff I find you can view at my Tumblr.) I'm new to the genre so I think I'll stick with the Geared level (5 books).

The challenge is hosted by Bookish Ardour. Here's more info:

Here we are again with Get Steampunked!, the second year running and hopefully it will be just as good a year as last! There are some differences this time, thanks to a new year, new place, and some experience. Have a read below, if you have any questions ask away, and the most important part of it is to have fun.

What Is Steampunk?

If you’re not sure what Steampunk is think of stories that are Victoriana in style, but futuristic as well with steam powered gadgets and machines made out of the spare parts around you. Zephyrs, blimps, and steam trains are some of the vehicles you’d see, ladies and gents in Victoriana dress. Or the other extreme where it’s the industrial side of Steampunk, the dirty almost cyber side of it.

Check out these websites for a better idea – Steampunk Workshop, Steampunk Lab, Steampunk Emporium, Aether Emporium, and SteamPunk Magazine.

For ideas of what to read we have a list of 15 books to get you started or for inspiration.

The Deets

• Running Dates: 1st of January – 31st of December 2012
• When Can I Sign Up: All the way up to the last two weeks of December!
• Crossover Genres: Gaslight Fantasy (an example is His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman)
• Mr Linky: To use the Mr Linky you’ll need to click on the graphic then enter your link. These will be updated and posted into this page every couple of weeks or so.
• Further Details: Crossover challenges are fine, you can change levels at any time, this is eBook, short story, and graphic novel friendly, and you don’t need a blog to join in (read further for details).

The How To

1. Choose Your Level: These are listed further down and you can change levels at any time.
2. Grab The Badge: Place it somewhere on your blog, profile, or in a signature where possible and link back (main page or this page, it’s up to you).
3. Sign Up Post: Create a post on your blog, in a group, or on a forum (only if allowed) to let others see what you’re aiming for (a predefined list of books is optional).
4. Link Up: Grab the direct URL to your sign up post, not your blog, click the Mr Linky graphic and enter your link!
5. Blogless? Don’t worry, you can sign up with your social network profile (YouTube, Twitter, GoodReads, Shelfari included), just make sure you link to your review list, shelf, tweet, or category. If you don’t have any of those feel free to comment!

Afterwards

1. Your Reviews: Reviewing is optional! But if you do review we’d love for you to share them by submitting them on the Review Page.
2. Finished: When you’re done it’s completion post time and you can share these on the Completion Post page!

Challenge Levels

1. Geared – Choose 5 books to read
2. Cogged – Choose 15 books to read
3. Goggle Mad – Choose 30 books to read
4. Victorian Lord/Lady – Choose 50 books to read
5. Inventor – Choose 75 books to read
6. Zephyr Pilot – Choose 76-135 books to read
7. Steampunked! – Choose 136-200 books to read

Extra Challenges

If you feel like that extra kick to your reading challenges here’s several you can choose from.

• World: Choose a country as your theme, reading only books from that country or where it’s the setting. For how high you go you can choose more than one country;
  • Level Geared and Cogged: Choose one country
  • Level Goggle Mad and Victorian Lord/Lady: Choose two countries
  • Level Inventor to end of Zephyr Pilot: Choose three countries
  • Level Steampunked!: Choose four countries.
• Gender Battle: Read books only by female or male authors. Another alternative is to read equal amounts of both.