Saturday, January 30, 2016

Books... Are you up for a Challenge?

N has had the flu all week, so we've done a whole lot of nothing this week.  I've spent hours on the couch cuddling my boy, and you know what the worst part was?  (Other than him being sick, of course!)  The book I'm in was too heavy to manage holding while I was holding him.  And I didn't have a bunch of other ones to pick from, either.  So sad. 

The reason I don't have a big library stack to pick from is that I have whittled my home library down - I donated what I was not going to read again and what I had been keeping to read and yet never got around to - and only kept those I will read soon. 

I've seen Reading Challenges before and never been interested, but this year, because I was already in purge-mode, when I looked at this list, I could right away think of half a dozen on my shelf that would fit.  This one is from Anne Bogel, who writes the blog Modern Mrs Darcy; I've found over the years it has been a great source of book ideas that I actually enjoy.

On the 2016 Reading Challenge (and some of my picks):

a book published this year
a book you can finish in a day
a book you've been meaning to read
     Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (had it from the library when I saw this list - read it!)
a book recommended by your local librarian or bookseller
a book you should have read in school
     Riel - A Life of Revolution by Maggie Siggins (Had it on my shelf on loan from my Mom - this is the big one I'm 1/3 of the way through.)
a book chosen for you by your spouse, partner, sibling, child, or BFF
a book published before you were born
a book that was banned at some point
a book you previously abandoned
     A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (Bookmark still in it at page 106 of 390... I will have to start again, though.)
a book you own but have never read
     The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd (This was in a pile of books a friend was giving away - I liked the other ones by this author so thought it was worth a try.)
a book that intimidates you
     Crime and Punishment by Fydor Dostoyevsky (on my shelf forever - oh those Russians!)
a book that you've already read at least once
     Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery (was M's & was on my shelf - read it!)

I'll have to keep my eyes open for ones that fit the other categories, but I've got all year.  I like this for the same reason I like book club - It stretches me to look for books outside the same authors and genres I'd normally gravitate to. 

You can find this list as a printable and join up if you want at Modern Mrs Darcy.

What about you?  How do you choose your books?  Have you ever done a challenge?

No comments: