Is is possible to plan out an entire year of reading? It seems that the challenges we join certainly makes it a possibility!! I seem to fail miserably at them, but I do enjoy trying. AND it makes finding something to read that much easier. I like having a ready list when I go to the library or the book store (although the spur of the moment books are great too!) I've already finished 4 books for the RIP II challenge, and by Wednesday I should have 2 more complete. So although I didn't read all the book I wanted, I guess I could say I DID complete what I set out to do!
For 2008, I have already signed up for a couple of challenges. I hope to do a little better with them this time!!
Becky, from Becky's Book Reviews, has put out a couple of challenges that I want to participate in next year. The first is the Cardathon Challenge, and it has it's own blog. The trick is to read Orson Scott Card's works or books that he has reviewed or liked. My list has already been posted here. Becky also set up 2 mini-challenges that I'd like to participate in. One is to read at least 2 Jane Austen novels. I've only read Persuasion, so I'd like to actually read the other 5.
- Sense and Sensibility
- Pride and Prejudice
- Mansfield Park
- Emma
- Northanger Abbey
The other mini-challenge is to read C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. I think I will read the Lord of the Rings books for this one.
Becky is also hosting the Celebrate the Author challenge. It is designed to Celebrate authors birthdays. Each month, read a book whose author has a birthday that month. My list is forthcoming!
Michelle at 1 More Chapter, is hosting another By the Decades Challenge 08. I participated this year, although I haven't come close to finishing!! I really like this challenge. Just read 8 books (or however many you choose) from 8 consecutive decades. My list is forthcoming!! I'm hoping to have it solidified today!
Sharon, at Ex Libris, is hosting the Russian Reading Challenge 08. I love Russian History. I just find myself very UN-read in Russian Literature. It's a 12 month challenge, with it's own blog, but the minimum amount of books is 4. I choose 12, although that may be pushing it quite a bit. But I added some Classic Lit, with just a couple of new titles:
- The Fiery Angel by Valery Bryusov
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- The Overcoat and Other Tales of Good and Evil by Nicolai Gogol
- Lady Macbeth of the Mtensk District by Nikolai Leskov
- Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabakov
- Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
- We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
- A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov
- The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
- Day Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
I'm still thinking about the 888 challenge. I love the idea, I just don't know whether or not I have nearly enough time to complete it. If you don't know what it is, it is to read 8 books from 8 Different Categories in 08. We'll see!!
John, at The Book Mine Set, is hosting the Canadian Reading Challenge. It actually goes from now until July 1, so I really need to get started on this one! I don't know much about Canadian authors, so this is going to be a new one for me!! So far, this is the list I have chosen. I tried to pull books from all the provinces:
- The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
- Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald
- Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill
- A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
- A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence
- The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay
- The Studhorse Man by Robert Kroetsch
- Generation X by Douglas Copeland
- Yellowknife by Steve Zipp
- Consumption by Kevin Patterson
- Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
- Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler
There is also a Young Adult Challenge hosted by Joy from Thoughts of Joy, a Romance Challenge hosted by Naida at The Bookworm, and the Expanding Horizons Challenge hosted by Melissa at The Book Nut that I'm also considering.
So many books, so little time!! Oh well.....it's food for thought. I'm also hoping Carl hosts another Once Upon A Time challenge and another RIP challenge next year too!!
Any more challenges I'm missing out on? Just let me know!!
