Friday, November 03, 2006

the month of challenges

It seems that November is shaping up to be the month of challenges. There's this write-a-post-a-day challenge. There's the self-imposed get-back-running challenge. And as of 10 minutes ago, I've added the Reading Challenge. I stole this idea from J-love, who is taking up the challenge via Kate's Book Blog. Basically it asks one to take five books that one has already purchased but hasn't yet read, and read them before January 30th. Truthfully, this is exactly the type of challenge I need. For one, it's well-timed: I recently did some re-shuffling and re-shelving of my books, the result of the book shelf above my bed nearly falling on my head one night. I've since moved some of them to my dresser, as evidenced here:



(I have to admit, I didn't think that I'd be adding pictures so early in the month. I figured I'd be using them as props later in the month when I got tired of this blog challenge.)

I've also recently bought about 20 books from the various college book sales at the University of Toronto, so I'm not short of reading material. But I guess this challenge is one way to get rid of the backlog of books on my shelf - or as I like to call it, "the reading queue." (Once they get read, they move to a different bookcase, or are given away or traded. I'm trying to reduce the clutter in my life: physical, mental and emotional - that alone is worth another blog post...)

So I've chosen the books for the reading challenge. I've tried to include both lengthy ones (although no classic Russian novels or Dickens) and somewhat short-ish books. They are (and I'm not necessarily going to read them in this order):

- The Assault by Harry Mulisch (a book I've owned for about five years, I think, but have just never got around to reading; this challenge was made for books like this)
- Burning the Days by James Salter (a memoir from one of the most underrated American authors; if you haven't read his A Sport and a Pastime, go out now and pick it up)
- Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene (I hope to eventually read all of Greene's works; he epitomizes my mantra of reading books that are "literate yet accessible")
- To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (I picked this because I stole the challenge from J-love, and she said she's going to pick a Woolf)
- Deception by Philip Roth (this will probably be the easiest since Roth is probably my favourite author).

So there you go. And just to prove I have all these books at my ready disposal, another photo:



Of course I still have to finish the biography of Gwendolyn MacEwen before I start to think about what book I'll read first from that list. Not to mention I have another couple of books waiting for me at the library.

So who among you is going to join me in this challenge?

1 comment:

Unknown said...

glad to have you join in! great list.

michelle