Sunday 5 December 2010

TSS and Weekly Geeks: Challenges

The Sunday Salon.com

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).

WG Relaxing_thumb[3]

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

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

Then there are, in no particular order:

whatsinname4

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 Smile

Shakespeare Reading Challenge 2011

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 11

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.

A year of feminist classics

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 Smile. 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.

war and peace vintage classics

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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6 comments:

Amanda said...

There are so many people reading War and Peace next year!! Amazing. I don't think I will read that one. :D

Thanks for signing up with the GLBT challenge again!

gautami tripathy said...

Will not get into many challenges. Only three. I say that here in my Weekly Geeks post!

I read three books in November. Two of those are Tintin albums and the third carried over from October!

Right now I am happy to be back in the reading mode, although a bit slower!

Here is my Sunday Salon post!

Ana S. said...

Why must everyone keep tempting me with such excellent sounding challenges? :P

Also, so glad you're joining our reading project :D

Melissa said...

We have several challenges in common - What's in a Name and GLBT. I'll be looking forward to seeing what you read for these.

Good luck with the thesis and the job hunt!

*ೃ༄ Jillian said...

Is there a War and Peace challenge anywhere, or are you going solo? I'm doing a chapter a day starting in January (because it's exactly 365 chapters long) and hosting an extremely casual readalong. You're welcome to join, if you like. :-)

Amy said...

What a list of challenges! I'm trying to be good and avoid entering too many next year... but we'll see what happens ;) Hooray for your joining in on the Year of Feminist Classics!