BTT + 2009: A Challenging Year...

...reading challenges, that is. As for the rest of it, 2009 will be the best year any of us have known for a long time - at least the last 8 years. The economy may be in shambles (heckuva job, George) but we finally have some leadership in this country, not a bunch of incompetent cronies helping each other stuff their bank accounts.

But I digress. I am gathering all my reading challenges together in this post, so between this and my handy dandy spreadsheet, I can keep track of my plans and progress.

I swore I wasn't going to get involved with a bunch of challenges! But these are so much fun and most of the books I want to read will fit into at least one of these. And, with my overall reading goal at 125 for the year, I still have ~60 books left over to read just for fun!

My challenges:

What's in a Name:

This is a challenge that anyone can join, no matter what types of books they like to read. You should be able to find books from any genre that will work. Dates: January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009

*The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories.

1. A book with a profession in its title.
2. A book with a time of day in its title.
3. A book with a relative in its title.
4. A book with a body part in its title.
5. A book with a building in its title.
6. A book with a medical condition in its title.

*You may overlap books with other challenges, but please don't use the same book for more than one category.

Website

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Decades '09

1. Read a minimum of 9 books in 9 consecutive decades in ‘09.
2. Books published in the 2000s do not count.
3. Titles may be cross-posted with any other challenge.
4. You may change your list at any time.

Website

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Dewey's Books

"Read 5 books that Dewey reviewed. These can be from any year and I’m guessing that each of us has at least 5 books on our TBR list because of Dewey!"

Website

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The Pub Challenge

Read a minimum of 9 books first published in 2009. You don’t have to buy these. Library books, unabridged audios, or ARCs are all acceptable. To qualify as being first published in 2009, it must be the first time that the book is published in your own country. For example, if a book was published in Australia, England, or Canada in 2008, and then published in the USA in 2009, it counts (if you live in the USA). Newly published trade paperbacks and mass market paperbacks do not count if there has been a hardcover/trade published before 2009. Any questions on what qualifies? Just leave a comment here, and I’ll respond with the answer.
*No children’s/YA titles allowed, since we’re at the ‘pub.’
*At least 5 titles must be fiction.
* Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
*You can add your titles as you go, and they may be changed at any time.

Website

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Essay Reading Challenge

Here are the details:

~ Join anytime, but don’t start reading until January 1, 2009. The challenge ends December 31, 2009.
~ If you read a book of essays, that book can also apply to any other challenges you are working on.
~ Choose a goal of reading 10, 20, or 30 essays during 2009, and then write a challenge post, linking back to this post.

I'm choosing to read 20 essays.

Website

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I'm also setting a goal of reading 25 short stories. I have several compilations that I've been wanting to read and should easily reach that. And my intention is to read at least 6 classics.

I'm continuing my participation in the perpetual Orange Prize Project and The Complete Booker Challenge and I'm considering starting to track my Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize reads, but I won't do that officially this year. Orange January and Orange July will get me much farther along on the Orange trail!

I have a general idea which books I'm going to read for the challenges, but for some I have a lot to choose from, so they may be quite spontaneous. I don't want to lock myself in to too rigid a plan, then it isn't fun anymore!

Edit: after I posted this, Deb posted the Booking Through Thursday meme:

So … any Reading Resolutions? Say, specific books you plan to read? A plan to read more ____? Anything at all?

I figure I've got it covered with this post.

Happy New Year, one and all!!! And Happy Reading.

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