TSS and Weekly Geeks: Challenges

I’m going to start this Sunday Salon post (as I have before) with an apology. I haven’t been around much lately. I haven’t been reading or thinking about book other than my thesis books. I am once again deeply buried in thesis land and it isn’t pretty. Add to that the holiday season and job hunting (since I graduate in January) and I have been super busy. I have an interview for a job that would be great on Tuesday and I have been offered a job that is good but not perfect so I will definitely be working in the spring. The thesis is finally back on a track of sorts, so I am hoping to get my reading back on track in the next week or so (this week is going to be super busy).

I have slowly started planning my reading for the next year though and thus also the challenges I plan on taking part in. That makes this weeks Weekly Geeks topic perfect since it asks for our challenges for next year and why we do them!

First off there is my own challenge:

Nordic Challenge 2011 where you read authors from the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden).

Then there are, in no particular order:

What’s in a Name 4 This challenge looks like fun both because you can choose any genre, you just need to try and fit in the books

Shakespeare Reading Challenge I’m (almost) an English teacher but to be honest I’ve not read that much Shakespeare. I do own the complete works of Shakespeare so I have really no excuse. I have decided to aim for quite a low level and only read 4 plays, but you know, baby steps (most of the Shakespeare plays I have read I’ve read more than once).

GLBT Challenge 2011 I did this challenge this year and I want to continue with it as I’ve enjoyed it. This challenge doesn’t have any levels instead we set our own. I haven’t quite decided what my levels are going to be.

South Asian Author Challenge Again this is a repeat challenge for me but one that I enjoyed and one where I already know most of the books I want to read.

Mystery and Suspense Challenge This one was a no brainer for me, I read a lot of mystery books so this one fits perfectly with my current reading patterns.

All of these challenges allow you to use a book for more than one challenge and that is important to me. I have some books who fit into 3 or 4 challenges.

I will also (as I’ve said before) be taking part in the Year of Feminist Classics. I don’t know if I will be reading all the books but my aim is to read a fair chunk of them.

I take part in challenges because they challenge me to read books I would otherwise not consider, and this goes for challenges which genres I normally read as well. Plus I love making lists . I’ve also joined some challenges that shine a light on issues that I find important such as the GLBT Challenge and the Year of Feminist Classics. These challenges, with their focus allow me to consider aspects of the books that I might otherwise not have thought about.

I am also pretty sure I’ve signed up for a couple of Read A-Longs (Carin are we still doing that?) Plus I am reading War and Peace at a pace of a chapter a day.

Look out for my lists for my reading challenges over the next few days as well as my round-up posts for completed challenges this year!

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