Reading Challenge 2009

On Christmas, my uncle brought up the question, “Do you read for enjoyment?” To me, this is like asking, “Do you eat?” The thought of not reading would be equivalent to forgetting breathe. My cousin lamented that she loves to read but hasn’t done so since her sons were born. Here is where the reading challenge was born. I revealed that I too had gone through a reading dry spell. I love to read. I love to take long periods of time to read. Certainly, anyone who has children knows that personal time and young children do not go together. So for years, all I would read was periodicals and non-fiction books. When personal time started to creep in my life, I grabbed for a life preserver or in this case a reading preserver. I needed an excuse to read. I needed a reason to make the time. I joined a book club, but I will admit that sometimes it is hard to be sure that on X date at X time that I can be anywhere. So, I think this reading challenge may help us all get through 2009 and get back in the habit of reading.

Let’s set a goal of reading 12 books in 12 months. We will try to revive our love for reading.
Each book must come fulfill one of the following categories:

1. Book written by a long lost lover i.e. an author you enjoyed pre-kids.

2. A book that allows you to travel to a place of your dreams.

3. A book that brings you back to a place you’ve been before by location, character, job, or some other way.

4. A book recommended by your librarian (If you haven’t met him or her yet, it is time to get reacquainted).

5. A book that is or was on the NY Times Best Seller list.

6. A biography of a person that interests you.

7. A book that is found in the Children’s or Young Adult section.

8. A book on which a movie is based. Then plan an evening to watch the movie too.

9. A book of historical fiction.

10. A book recommended on any blog.

11. A book that claims it will make your life better because you read it.

12. A book that is recommended by someone else in the comments of this blog (hopefully the list will be longer toward the end of the year).

When you are done, come back to this entry and let us know what you read and if it is worth us and our very short time.