Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Challenge-crazed Wednesday

So now I'm obsessed with reading challenges thanks to that evil Magic Lasso Mrs. Treme! But I'm not that crazy because many of the reading challenges that I signed up for can overlap...thereby maximizing my reading time (freeing up some time to still knit!)
So here are my current (and I'm sure not finalized challenge list for 2008):
1. My Year of Reading Dangerously: 12 books in 12 months that make you read outside your boundaries
2. Chunkster Challenge: read 4 books, one per quarter that is over 450 pages...I think that I read at least 6 that I know of last year that would have worked!
3. Mini-challenges: 12 mini challenges in 12 months that range form reading a banned book to an inspirational book with a lot in between. Incidentally, I have completed 2 already, which I will relate in a day or two.
4. A to Z Titles: self-explanatory
5. A to Z Authors: ditto
6. Themed Challenge: 4 books with a "you choose your own" theme completed by 6-30-08, and my choice was Merry Ole England...past and present.
7. Book Around the World: 4 books from anywhere in the world that allow you to truly learn about the country.
8. Notable Books: I'm challenging myself to read at least 6 from the list that is featured on this site.
9. Pub 2008 challenge: read a minimum of 8 books published in 2008 with at least 4 being fiction.
10. Short Story Challenge: I will probably combine option 1 and option 2 and read 10 short stories but not necessarily by 10 different authors but a good smattering by at least one....this is a genre that I know that I need to explore more.
11. Pulitzer Project: the ultimate goal is to read all 81 winners but for me in 2008, I want to read 6 more (having already read Empire Falls in 2003 and To Kill a Mockingbird in 2007.)



12. Back to History: 12 books in 12 months with a combo of historical fiction and non-fiction) and here are my 12:

Fiction
1. Burning Bright- Tracy Chevalier (18th century England)
2. Great Expectations- Charles Dickens (19th century England)
3. Paradise Alley- Kevin Baker (Civil War)
4. Electric Michelangelo- Sara Hall (1930s Coney Island)
5. Suite Francaise- Irene Nemirovsky (WWII France)
6. Fire in the Blood- Irene Nemirovsky (WWII France)
7. Dancing in Almedra-Mayra Montero (1950s Cuba)

Nonfiction
8. Journeys to the Mythical Past- Zecharia Sitchin (Egypt and its pyramids)
9. Unveiled- Deborah Kanafani (Middle East memoir)
10. Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier- Ishmaell Beah (Sierra Leone War)
11. Night- Elie Wiesel (Holocaust)
12. Until We Meet Again- Michael Korenbeit/Kathleen Janger (Holocaust)

Wish me luck!

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4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

LOL! You have gone nuts for the reading challenges. Welcome to this crazy world - it's so much fun.

=) Jill

January 9, 2008 at 9:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Welcome to the A ~ Z Reading Challenge, Phoebe! I'm so glad you found us. It'll be a lot of fun watching the lists grow, which in turn will most likely cause our TBR piles or lists to grow too. :) Happy Reading!

January 10, 2008 at 9:22 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Phoebe, Thanks for joining the themed challenge!! I like your theme :)

If you want an invitation to the Notable Books blog, you will need to provide me your email address. You can post it to the Notable books blog in the comment section where you last posted. I always delete comments with email addresses once I've sent the invitation :)

January 10, 2008 at 10:38 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh goodness! May the reading force be with you!

January 10, 2008 at 12:02 PM  

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