2011 Reading Challenges

It’s the new year and that means new reading challenges.  Last year, I made a failed attempt at a bunch of reading challenges, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try any this year.  However, I’m not going to be doing as many.  In fact, I’ve narrowed it down to two that are not only doable, but should be fun too.

The first one is LE’s own New Author Challenge.  Considering the challenge involves reading authors I haven’t before, it should be pretty easy to combine with other challenges.  Here’s the details:

The idea behind this is to find new authors that you’ve never tried before.  They can be in your genre of choice or be brave and try something new.  You never know what you’re going to like until you try it.  If you’re looking for some suggestions, you can check out the Author page here at Literary Escapism or the 2009 and 2010 Challenge pages.  With over 1000 reviews posted, I’m sure there will be something there for everyone.

  1. The challenge will run from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011.
  2. Since this is an author challenge, there is no restriction on choosing your novels. They can definitely be from other challenges. However, the authors must be new to you and, preferably from novels.  Anthologies are a great way to try someone new, but only a third of your new authors can be from anthologies.
  3. I want this to be an easy challenge, so you can pick to do either 15, 25 or 50 new authors.  It all depends on how fast you read and how adventurous you want to be.
  4. After reading your new author, write your review and then go to the challenge page and add your link to Mr. Linky.  Make sure you include your name and the author, but adding the title is completely up to you.
  5. Bloggers or Non-Bloggers alike are welcome

Here’s the sign-up page if anyone would like to join me in this challenge.

The second challenge I’m signing up for is the Book Vixen’s Outdo Yourself Challenge and it’s really simple.  The idea is to read more than you did the year before.  In 2010, I read 60 novels (don’t ask me how it ended up being an even number), so this year, my goal is to read more than that.  There are different levels to the challenge and I don’t know if I want to say which level I’m going to aim for.  I would like to read as many novels as I did in 2009 (which was over 100 if I’m not mistaken), and that would be the I’m on Fire level, but realistically, with two kids, I’m not sure if I’ll get that high.  Although, considering that level is merely reading 16+ over last year, I think I can do that. Here are the guidelines:

Outdo YourselfI think there’s a little bit of self-competition in everyone. So I decided to turn this into a fun reading challenge. I want to read more books in 2011 than I did in 2010. Plain and simple. What about you – are you game?

  • Runs January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011 You can join at anytime.
  • The goal is to outdo yourself by reading more books in 2011 than you did in 2010. See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you. Nothing is set in stone; you can change levels at any time during the challenge.
  • Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are fine.
  • You do not have to be a book blogger to participate. You can keep tabs on books you’ve read for this challenge on Goodreads or LibraryThing if you’d like (maybe make a shelf for “Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge”). If you are not on either of those sites then you can list the books you read for this challenge in the comments on my wrap-up post, which will be up at the end of 2011.

Levels:
Getting my heart rate up – Read 1–5 more books
Out of breath – Read 6–10 more books
Breaking a sweat – Read 11–15 more books
I’m on fire! – Read 16+ more books

Here’s the sign-up page if anyone would like to join me in this challenge.

So those are the two challenges I’m thinking of at the moment. I may add one or two more as the year progresses, but I really don’t want to over extend myself.  So what challenges is everyone joining in?

Updated: Alright, I’m adding a couple more challenges, thanks to Drey, as they will work with what I’m already planning on doing.  The third one I’m going to do is found over at Book Soulmates and it’s the Full Steampunk Ahead Challenge.  Steampunk really started getting hot last year – at least it popped up on my radar more – and I’ve been wanting to delve into it for awhile.  So this will not only make sure I get to at least 10 novels but it’ll also work wonderfully with the New Author Challenge.  Here’s the details:

Full Steampunk AheadALL ABOARD!! FULL STEAMPUNK AHEAD! This year we thought we’d do something a little different. Seeing as Steampunk is pretty new to us, we thought it’d be fun to challenge ourselves as well as you guys! I’m adding my GoodReads LIST of Steampunk books as a guide. There are close to 200 books!

  • Challenge STARTS January 1, 2011 and ENDS December 31, 2011
  • Sign up by filling your info in the Mr. Linky {If you don’t have a blog, you can use your FB, Goodreads, etc}
  • Read at least 10 Steampunk books this year. Remember, the more the merrier!
  • The books can be print, ebooks, and audio books.
  • Reread books ARE allowed, BUT, the review must be rewritten. You cannot use old reviews.
  • I’ll have a post up each month with the Mr. Linky to have the reviews posted.
  • Challenges are open to non-bloggers. A review must be written and posted on a literary site, such as GoodReads, Amazon, etc.

Here’s the sign-up page if anyone would like to join me in this challenge.

And if it can be found, the last one I’m going to join is the Read Your Own Books Challenge because quite honestly, I really need to get my TBR stack down.  I would love to get it back to the point where there’s only 5 books waiting to be read.  I know there’s a ton of great novels out there I want to read, but having them all stacked around me is really intimidating.  I’m almost wondering if that’s why my reading count was down this year – too much pressure to read.  Anyway, as soon as I find who is hosting this challenge, I’m joining it.

Updated: And because I’m not overwhelmed enough yet, I’m adding two more reading challenges for this year and then that’s it.  No more.  These next two are both hosted by Dark Faerie Tales and should ensure that I don’t spend all year reading novels that have been published for awhile (not that there’s anything wrong with that).  The Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy reading challenges have a goal of reading 24 new PNR/UF titles (each) over the next 12 months.  It shouldn’t be too hard to read 48 PNR/UF novels this year, especially since that’s my genre of choice.  *grin* Here’s the details:

Urban-Fantasy-Challenge-2011Urban Fantasy: Participants should choose any 24 urban fantasy novels released in 2011.  I’ve already started a list below and will make updates every couple of weeks.

Paranormal Romance: I want to do a little something different with this challenge.  Participants can choose any 12 novels released prior to 2011.  You should also select 24 novels released in 2011.  I’ve already started a list below and will make updates every couple of weeks.

  • The reading challenge is open to everyone.
  • You don’t need a blog to participate.
  • Paranormal-Romance-Challenge-2011If you don’t have a blog – you can leave a comment with your book selection in this post.
  • If you don’t have a blog and would like to write a review – you are welcome to do a guest review on my blog.
  • You can join at anytime to participate in this challenge.
  • If you are going to participate in this challenge, please post about it on your blog and add a link back to this post.
  • You can grab the challenge button on my sidebar to use on your blog.
  • eBooks, Audio, and already read all count.
  • The 2011 Selection List will be continuously updated.
About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

7 Comments

    • @Drey – I had forgotten about the Support Your Local Library and Read Your Own Books challenges. I am totally doing the Read Your Own Books – I so need to get my TBR stack down!

  1. Loving the new author challenge – and the lists from 2009 and ’10 will help me find those new ones! Looking forward to reading all the reviews! Happy New Year everyone!

  2. heh heh! Got you into another… ;)

    I haven’t found the Support Your Local Library one, do you know who’s hosting it? And I’d do the Read Your Own Books, except that I have two piles–the books I’ve won (so no hurries!) and the books I need to review (yikes!). Actually, make that 3 piles–the books I buy… Sigh! I kinda need a ban-on-spending-unless-you’ve-read-five-books-from-the-pile-next-to-you challenge. ;)

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