Another Reading Challenge

I've decided to join another reading challenge: The Harry Potter Reading Challenge hosted by Galleysmith. I'm looking forward to starting this one because I've been wanting to reread all the books for a while now.

Here are the details for the challenge (taken from Galleysmith):

What: Read or listen to all seven books in the Harry Potter series

• Sorcerer’s Stone
• Chamber of Secrets
• Prisoner of Azkaban
• Goblet of Fire
• Order of the Pheonix
• Half-Blood Prince
• Deathly Hallows

When: The challenge will run from August 1, 2009 to July 31, 2010. I know we’re all busy with life and work and other such fun things so join up whenever you want, there are no deadlines to the challenge besides the end date above.

Where: E-to the Everywhere! Post reviews on your blog, chat about it on messageboards, post vlogs or podcasts, comment on and converse about it in the monthly post I create here on Galleysmith. It’s entirely up to you, as long as there is some evidence of your having completed each book along the way you are good to go.

How: Sign up to join in and play, cause you know….Harry would want you to and all! Then, post a kick off post on your blog and link it back up according to the details on the monthly HPRC post also available here on Galleysmith.

101 books in 1001 days

I've heard of the whole 101 in 1001thing. I tried it and, failing miserably, gave up on it less than a month in. I was trying to be too ambitious with my goals and, to be completely honest, at least half of my goals were crap. You know, things that were on the list just to fill slots on the list. Well, now I've found a better way to complete the 101 in 1001things: read 101 books in 1001 days. Great idea, huh? (I found it at The Twiga Blog.) I'm not expecting this to be too difficult. I love to read and I'm sure I've managed to read a similar number of books within a similar time frame without even noticing. Who knows, if I can finish this maybe it will inspire me to actually complete the regular 101 in 1001.

So, to reiterate, between today (July 5, 2009) and April 1, 2012, I will read 101 books. My list is going to be made up of books I've ever never read or the ones I had to read for my college English courses that I would like to read at a more leisurely pace so I can try to understand them a bit more (Faulkner's A Fable, for instance). Oh, yeah, I can't forget all the used books I've bought with ever intention of reading that have been sitting unread ever since I brought them home.

Books read:

1. Emma, Jane Austen (July '09)
2. Twilight, Stephenie Meyer (July '09)
3. Through Thick and Thin, Alison Pace (July '09)
4. Wife in the Fast Lane, Karen Quinn (July '09)
5. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
6. My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult
   

I'm joining the Everything Austen Challenge

In my search for a book club, I came across a blog that led me to another blog that led me to Stephanie's Written Word and the Everything Austen Challenge. Back when I was still contemplating graduate school, my minor concentration was going to be British literature. (My main concentration was going to be technical writing, and still will be, because I plan on going back to school.)

Anyway, I have to pick six Jane Austen-themed things (reading her books, watching movies based on her books, reading books related to her or her books) and do them between July 1, 2009, and January 1, 2010. It's taken me a few days to figure out what I'm going to do (I started writing this post on June 27th if that tells you anything), but I finally decided.

What I'm going to do:
1. Read Mansfield Park and watch the film version.
2. Read Emma and watch the film version. (completed July 2009)
3. Read Northanger Abbey and watch the film version.
4. Read Persuasion and watch the film version.
5. Read The Jane Austen Book Club and watch the film version.
6. Either read Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict AND Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict OR read Bridget Jones's Diary and watch the film version.

This is what I plan on doing at this point. I may add things or change some things depending on how fast I'm getting things done. Who knows.