Reading Challenges: 2011 and 2012

On the one hand, reading challenges don't make much sense for me.  I tend to read what I feel like, and I don't want to make reading into another chore.  Currently, with dear husband out of town for the third week in a row, and with the gloomy weather we've had this week, I'm cheering myself up by reading The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett

[I started this post last week.  Currently, I'm 3/4 of the way through The Fifth Elephant, and this week has been sunny and warm.  Dear husband gets back at midnight - the fourthe week in a row of traveling.]

On the other hand, I find reading challenges to be an interesting... not focus for, but maybe comment on my reading.  For instance, I started The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear, by Walter Moers, in November.  It's an episodic book, and very imaginative so I don't want to rush through it.  It's also 700   pages.  Near the end of the year, it was tempting to read shorter books so that I could reach the 100 books in a year challenge that I set for myself.  I didn't give into temptation or change the way I read, but I reached 100 anyway. 

Usually, 100 books in a year wouldn't be difficult for me since it's only about 2 books a week.  However, last year's summer musical was the most intense yet, and I was reading a trilogy of long books (Inkheart/Inkspell/Inkdeath, 2000 pages altogether) at the time.  My book rate went way down.

I also did a library challenge - 50 library books in a year.  Since in past years, I've gotten a majority of my reading from the library, I didn't think this would be a challenge at all.  However, dear husband gave me a box of Regency Romances for Christmas last year, and also I've been reading lots of fantasy recommended by older and younger son from their bookshelves.  I only read 37 library books last year, which, for me, may be an all-time low (well, all-time since about 2nd grade... or maybe earlier)!

This year, I'm going to do a few challenges.  First, I'm going to do the 100 books challenge again.  I'm also going to do the "Read X books from your shelves" - for me, that would be not counting Regencies, and from my shelves, not my sons' shelves (though, obviously, I'm still going to read from theirs too).  That challenge is for those of us whose bookshelves languish while we read the latest library find.  I think I'll try 15 of those.  Lastly, I'm going to read 10 essays - in books, not online.  This challenge is from the blog, Books and Movies.  I love reading essays so the challenge for me with this one will be actually getting around to posting about the essays.

I finally finished up my list of books read in 2011.

Comments

[Carrie K.]

Welcome to the Essay Challenge! I hope you do post about the essays you read - that's one of the things I love most about the challenge. :)

[M Light]

Thank you!