Themed Reading Challenge

Wendy is hosting this challenge. We are to read at least 4 books with the same theme from Jan 1 to Jun 20 08. My idea actually was to read something of interest to me which are books about books. After reading the captivating The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield and Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, I've been wanting to find similar stories. I was really excited to explore more books about books but it would mean adding to my already high pile of books!

So I decided to read what's already in my pile and came up with the theme Thrillers. I have 5 thrillers in hand:

Blood Memory by Greg Iles

The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill

Out by Natsuo Kirino

London Bridges by James Patterson and

The Innocent Man by John Grisham

I might or might not read all but at least it helps to reduce my TBR pile! Also I think I'll add The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke as an alternative or as an extra. We'll see how it goes.

Numbers Challenge

Callista is hosting this challenge. The challenge is to read 5 books whose titles have a number in them from Jan 1, 2008 to June 1, 2008 This includes written numbers like "one" or "forty."

So I thought of joining. Here's my list for Numbers Challenge:

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

1984 by George Orwell

Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

Some alternatives (in case my mood changes):

Catch-22 Joseph Heller

1st to Die or others in Women's Murder Club series James Patterson

100 Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Ok time to sign up!

Read It Again Challenge

Twiga started this as a personal challenge but has invited anyone to join her. There is no time limit. The idea is to read some books you've read before for a second (or more) time around.

I love to reread books. If it is a really captivating book, I'll revisit it when the story and the characters of a book still linger in my mind or else that desire to reread will pass. There's no time to reread as new books keep me interested. So I'd love to set aside time and do it again.

For now, a few books I would like to re-visit:
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
March by Geraldine Brooks
Atonement by Ian McEwan
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

I'll add to the list if there's more!

Speculative Fiction Challenge.

Since I need to sign up by Dec 1 for this challenge, I need to think about the book list first. Read 6 books till Apr 08. My list of speculative fiction: (may be subjected to change)

• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
• Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
• Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

Alternative readings:

• 1984 by George Orwell
• Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
• Sophie's World by Jostein Gaardner
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• Waterland by Graham Swift
• The Hours by Michael Cunningham
• A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury
• The Child in Time by Ian McEwan
• Ben Okri The Famished Road
• Toni Morrison Song of Solomon
• Haruki Murakami End of the World
• Isabel Allende House of Spirits

Yay! Already have the list and all I need to do now is to sign up. Will do very soon!

Interesting Book Challenges

There are a few challenges I'm interested in. I think I'll list them here.

1. 1st in a Series: Jan 1 to Dec 31. Read 12 books that are first in a series. I have around 20 possibilities. I need to shortlist them if I'm interested. JOINED
2. Jane Austen Challenge: Read and/or watch at least two Jane Austen novels/movies in 2008. JOINED
3. Numbers Challenge: Jan 1 to Dec 31. Read 5 books with numbers in the title. JOINED
4. Themed Reading: Read at least 4 books that share a theme of your choice, eg historical romances, books with animals, books in a country/ family secrets. Sign up by Dec 31. Write review. I have some idea on this one. JOINED
5. Speculative Fiction Challenge: Sign up by Dec 1. Read 6 books till Apr 08. Some ideas of authors are Isabel Allende, Mikhail Bulgakov, Salman Rushdie, Yann Martel, Ben Okri, Ian McEwan The Child in Time, Graham Swift Waterland and Cornelia Funke Inkheart. JOINED
6. 888 Challenge: Runs from January 1 through December 31, 2008. Choose 8 categories of your own that you would like to read 8 books EACH in. You will be allowed 8 overlaps, for a total of 56 unique book titles. You may overlap these 56 titles with any other challenge. You may change your list or your categories at any time. You may update your lists by providing the link to books read. However, we will NOT be writing reviews here! Please use your name as a label, along with the book categories you're reading from. Check back here to see who is participating and cheer others on.
7. 2 New 2 U Challenge: Feb 1 to May 1 08. Sign up by Jan 1. Read 2 books out of comfort zone or by authors you've never read. I might cross read the 2 books with other challenges.
8. Celebrate the Author: Jan 1 to Dec 31. Read one author on their birthday month throughout the year. I have the list of authors I'm interested in. I'll put them up if I decide to join this one.
9. The Whitcoulls Challenge: Nov to Nov 08. Pick 12 books from list and read one a month.
10. Read It Again Challenge: No time. Reread fav books.
11. Outmoded Authors: end on 29 Feb. Membership till Jan 31. eg. DH Lawrence, GK Chesterton, W Somerset Maugham, Walter Scott
12. just4thehelluvit: Spontaneous reading, no time.
13. Book A Week Group Challenge: Join between Jan 1 and Feb 21 each year and read a book per week (52 per year)
14. TBR Challenge: Membership Dec 15.

Wow, 14! That's a lot! Might need to cut down and make my decision by Dec 1-5. Will be back!

I'm BookRelishing!

I really don't remember since when I've been relishing books but I'm soo addicted to books now. And I loan out books from the library more than what I'm able to read. I have some trouble because I'm quite a slow reader, but my list of books is ever-increasing! I've never tried book challenges before. But after discovering them and exploring a little, they're really tempting me! I'm not sure how I'd cope with them but I'm gonna give it a try. If I decide to join any, I'll see my progress. If I'm able to keep up, I'll stay but if not, I'll flex them and make them as my own personal challenges. Let's see!