Challenges!

This is my first year participating in challenges. I was careful not to join any huge challenges because I want to be able to have a lot of time just to read books I randomly found and want to read. I am also going to treat the coming year as the last year I will be able to read a lot (but hope it is untrue) so I plan to read a ton!

I am challenging myself to read one classic a month. This started last month when I read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This month I am reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.

My Year of Reading Dangerously (http://dangerouslychallenge.blogspot.com/):

Requires you to read 12 books you consider "dangerous." I could complete this just with reading classics, but I am not going to do that. Any book that I consider dangerous other than books I have to read for school (if I choose to read it for school and it fits in the category, that is fine) will fit into one of these categories.

-Poetry

-Fantasy
-Sci Fi

-Graphic Novels

-Classic

-Shakespeare

-Play

-Over 500 pages

-Written by Jane Austen

-Written by Charles Dickens

-Written by a Russian author

-Caused a lot of controversy (ex: The Satanic Verses, A Million Little Pieces)

-Written by one of the Bronte sisters

-Was a selected book in Oprah's book club (I know this sounds bad, but her books have a reputation of being kind of horrible)

-Written by Toni Morrisson

-Nonfiction, but not a memoir or biography

-Written in the stream of consciousness

-A Book I have attempted to read more than twice but never succeeded (ex: Black Beauty, Little Women)

-Been sitting on my shelf for over 2 years

Dewey's Books (http://deweysbooks.wordpress.com/2008/12/08/introducing-deweys-books-reading-challenge/):

I chose to read any 5 books Dewey has read. I made a list of possible books. I got many from a meme she filled out of what books she has read.

The Little Prince

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

The Graveyard Book

Pride and Prejudice

Gone with the Wind
The Lovely Bones

Wuthering Heights

The Red Tent

The Grapes of Wrath

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Brave New World

Emma

The Secret Life of Bees

Support Your Local Library Callenge:

I am reading 25 books from the library this year. I will probably do more than that, but 50 sounded like too many. A Majority of the books I read come from the library.

Chick Lit Challenge 2 (http://bookaddict4life.blogspot.com/2008/12/2009-chick-lit-challenge.html):

Read 10 Chick lit books. I like to read chick lit every once in a while, but hopefully with this challenge I will be able to read something light like this without feeling guilty!

National Just read More Novels Month (http://livebythefoma.blogspot.com/2009/01/fourth-annual-najuremonomo.html): Only for the month of January. There are four different levels and I'm trying for silver, which is 10 novels.

Chunkster Challenge 2009 (http://feelinchunky.blogspot.com/2009/01/chunkster-challenge-2009.html): I'm going with the last option. I am going to read two chunksters this year, The Grapes of Wrath and Gone With the Wind.

100 Shots of Short: Read 100 short stories in any amount of time. (see bottom of blog for the most current list of stories read)

1% Well-Read Challenge (http://1morechapter.com/1percent/?p=9): I'm going to go with reading 10 books from the new list.

This post is subject to change at any time. I can add challenges or edit the booklists as I see necessary, but within the challenge guidelines.

If something is small it means that it is completed!