Wednesday, December 28, 2011

My Reading Challenge Adventures, Part 2 and A Day in Books Meme

Yesterday I talked about my first reading challenge chunk and today I want to talk about my overall reading challenge goals and general goals for the year.  The good thing about doing most of my challenges in themed chunks is that if April rolls around and I'm waaaaayyyyyy behind I can stretch out my list until May (or even longer if need be) and I just won't sign up for anymore challenges.  My yearly reading challenges will help shape my overall reading experience; sometimes I forget about short story collections, that novelist I always want to read again, or my ever-growing Virago collection.  Once again, my joy in challenges is that I'm reading more mindfully and I'm choosing books with a bit more care.  This post is very brief as I won't be listing quite so many titles, so I decided to follow it up with this fun little meme I found on A Work In Progress

The Challenges!
  1. GoodReads reading goal (50 books in a year)
  2. Tea and Books -- Chamomile Lover, read 2 books of 700+ pages.
  3. Short Story Reading Challenge -- Tell Me a Story, 1-3 short story collections
  4. Reading Challenge Addict -- On the roof, 6 - 10 challenges entered and completed!
  5. Support Your Local Library -- Level 2, read 24 library books
  6.  The TBR Pile Challenge -- Read 12 books on my TBR list (they all have been on my shelves for over a year!) within a year.  Each one must be reviewed!  My list of 12 titles and 2 alternates are listed below.
The TBR Pile Challenge!

  1. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
  2. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  3. Zelda: A Life by Nancy Milford
  4. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
  5. The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox
  6. The House in Paris by Elizabeth Bowen
  7. A House and Its Head by Ivy Compton-Burnett
  8. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
  9. Daniel Deronda by George Eliot
  10. Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu
  11. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
  12. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
  13. The Warden by Anthony Trollope (alternate)
  14. Summer will Show by Sylvia Townsend-Warner (alternate)

The Meme!

Simply insert titles of books you read this year into the following phrases:

I began the day with The Bad Seed.
On my way to work I saw Someone at a Distance
and walked by Hotel du Lac
to avoid The Woman in Black.
But I made sure to stop at Wolf Hall.
In the office, my boss said, "Whose Body?"
and sent me to research Lady Audley's Secret.
At lunch with Excellent Woman
I noticed The Man Who Loved Books Too Much
under Locke and Key
then went back to my desk, Wonderstruck!
Later, on the journey home I bought Fragile Things
because I have The Ruby in the Smoke.
then settling down for the evening, I picked up The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories
and studied The Small Hand
before saying goodnight to Little Dorrit.

What fun! 

    5 comments:

    Beth G. said...

    I just love the fact that there is actually a reading challenge that involves completing *other* reading challenges. :)

    Birgit said...

    Welcome to the Tea & Books reading challenge and HAPPY READING!

    Andi said...

    Great goals! I need to finish updating my 2011 challenges and add a blog page for 2012. Good luck to you in the new year!

    Laura at Library of Clean Reads said...

    Hi Amanda,
    Thanks for joining me on my Short Story Challenge! I look forward to reading your reviews.

    Roof Beam Reader said...

    Thanks for taking the 2012 TBR Pile Challenge with us!

    Oh, my. Your list is making me swoon. I'm reading Our Mutual Friend in 2012 also. This Side of Paradise was good, but probably my least favorite Fitzgerald novel. I'm interested to hear about Zelda: A Life. I've been wanting to read her "Save Me the Waltz" for some time.

    The Meaning of Night was fantastic. The House in Paris was okay (interesting.. a bit slow). I haven't read any Eco yet, but I own this one and another.. should cross him off my list at some point, eh?

    I've been meaning to read Trollope as well - own two of his, but haven't tried him out. Can't go wrong with George Eliot!

    Oh, gosh... you've got a great reading year ahead of you! Good luck!!