"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. " -Helen Keller

Thursday, February 05, 2009

The Book Challenge (and Contest Announcement) for 2009

Jen J for *Navigating the Waters of Infertility and Beyond posted about setting a concrete goal to read a specific number of books this year. It can be any type of book. She said, "I'm going to try to mix mine up between easy reads and thought-provoking books. Also a good mix of non-fiction and fiction as well. It will be interesting to see if I can do it." The whole goal is to make sure you keep reading. And, rereading books is definitely allowed.

I think I want to keep track of my reads this year. I am setting my goal at 70 books. Its definitely doable but I could also fail spectacularly. I have a feeling my list will be heavily slanted towards fiction. While I do read to expand my mind, I primarily read for pleasure. I will put a link to this post in my sidebar so anyone who wants to can keep up with the list.

Who wants to join me? You can set the challenge at whatever total you want. If you put up a post like this and add your link in the comments section of this post, I will enter everyone who reaches their goal in a drawing at the end of this year.
  1. Your Heart Belongs To Me by Dean Koontz
  2. Dark Prince by Christine Feehan
  3. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
  4. Dark Desire by Christine Feehan
  5. Dark Gold by Christine Feehan
  6. Dark Magic by Christine Feehan
  7. Single White Vampire by Lynsay Sands
  8. Unravelled by Robyn Harding
  9. Remember When by Nora Roberts/JD Robb
  10. Dark Legend by Christine Feehan
  11. White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz
  12. Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz
  13. So Close by Tertia Albertyn
  14. Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs
  15. Dark Fire by Christine Feehan
  16. Dark Challenge by Christine Feehan
  17. Dark Dreamers by Marjorie M. Liu and Christine Feehan...(a)Dark Dreams by Christine Feehan (b)A Dream of Stone & Shadow by Marjorie M. Liu
  18. Wedding Belles by Haywood Smith
  19. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
  20. Dark Curse by Christine Feehan
  21. No Time For Goodbye by Linwood Barclay
  22. The Children of Men by PD James
  23. Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton
  24. Shadow Touch by Marjorie M. Liu
  25. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
  26. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
  27. Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. Liu
  28. Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs
  29. Cooked Goose by G.A. McKevett
  30. Christmas Cookie Murder by Leslie Meier
  31. One Perfect Day by Lauraine Snelling
  32. Santa Clawed by Rita Mae Brown
  33. Rock Star by Roslyn Hardy Holcomb
  34. The Lost Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini
  35. Knit Two by Kate Jacobs
  36. Navigating The Land Of IF by Melissa Ford
  37. Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
  38. Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs
  39. Many Bloody Returns by Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Kelley Armstrong, and more
  40. Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy by Geralyn Lucas
  41. Never Nosh A Matzo Ball by Sharon Kahn
  42. Marley & Me: life and love with the world's worst dog by John Grogan
  43. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (6/20/09)
  44. How To Marry A Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks (6/22/09)
  45. Vamps And The City by Kerrelyn Sparks (6/24/09)
  46. Basketball Jones by E. Lynn Harris (6/26/09)
  47. Matters of the Heart by Danielle Steele (6/27/09)
  48. Smoke Screen by Sandra Brown (7/5/09)
  49. Sugarplums and Scandal by Loria Avocato, Dana Cameron, Mary Daheim, Cait London, Suzanne Macpherson, and Kerrelyn Sparks (7/12/09)
  50. Be Still My Vampire Heart by Kerrelyn Sparks (7/14/09)
  51. Eat, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss
  52. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
  53. Dark Symphony by Christine Feehan (8/1/09)
  54. Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson (8/2/09)
  55. High Noon by Nora Roberts (8/4/09)
  56. Any Way You Want It by Kathy Love (8/6/09)
  57. Fantasy by Christin Feehan, Sabrina Jeffries, Emma Holly, and Elda Minger (8/8/09)
  58. Dark Melody by Christine Feehan (8/12/09)
  59. Dark Destiny by Christine Feehan (8/14/09)
  60. Men Of The Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong (8/23/09)
  61. The Fire King by Marjorie Liu (8/25/09)
  62. Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt Revealed by Craig Dirgo (8/28/09)
  63. Hot Blooded by Christine Feehan, Maggie Shayne, Emma Holly, and Angela Knight (9/7/09)
  64. Hidden Currents by Christine Feehan (9/9/09)
  65. The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood (9/10/09)
  66. A Bite To Remember by Lynsay Sands (9/12/09)
  67. The Last Twilight by Marjorie M. Liu (9/14/09)
  68. A Rogue of My Own by Johanna Lindsey (9/16/09)
  69. The Shadow Queen by Anne Bishop (9/20/09)
  70. Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke (9/22/09)
  71. Dark Slayer by Christine Feehan (9/23/09)
  72. The Red Heart Of Jade by Marjorie M. Liu (9/28/09)
  73. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (10/6/09)
  74. Soul Song by Marjorie M. Liu (10/8/09)
  75. The Renegade Hunter by Lynsay Sands (10/12/09)
  76. Colliding Forces by Constance O'Day-Flannery (10/14/09)
  77. A Quick Bite by Lynsay Sands (10/18/09)
  78. Blackwork by Monica Ferris (10/22/09)
  79. Love Bites by Lynsay Sands (10/25/09)
  80. Tall, Dark, & Hungry by Lynsay Sands (10/27/09)
  81. The Lottery by Patricia Wood (10/30/09)
  82. Vampire, Interrupted by Lynsay Sands (11/1/09)
  83. Shadow Game by Christine Feehan (11/5/09)
  84. Bite Me If You Can by Lynsay Sands (11/9/09)
  85. Knit The Season by Kate Jacobs (11/16/09)
  86. Vampires Are Forever by Lynsay Sands (11/17/09)
  87. The Accidental Vampire by Lynsay Sands (11/18/09)
  88. Mr. and Miss Anonymous by Fern Michaels (11/29/09)
  89. Just Take My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark (12/11/09)
  90. Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke (12/14/09)
  91. The Book of Useless Information by Noel Botham and The Useless Information Society (12/30/09
*Jen's blog is great but it is a read with permission only blog so if y'all want to read the blog of the fabulous lady who brought this to my attention, get in touch with her.

2009 Challenge Participants: Chris @ Muttering, Music,& More, Another Dreamer @ An Unwanted Path, Jo @ MoJo Working, Vicki @ An Abundance of Blessing, Barb @ Fertility Challenged in Florida, Delenn @ Slaying, Blogging, Whatever..., Jen J @ Navigating the Waters of Infertility & Beyond, Tammy @ Passion, Obsession or Insanity, Miss Tori @ The Winding Road to Parenthood, Nic @ Trying for a baby, Battynurse @ I want to be a mommy, Deb @ All Things Deb, A Mom in Jacksonville, FL @ Alana-isms, Ali @ Cyster A.C.T., TheWorm @ Inconceivable?!, Mrs. Gamgee @ Hobbit-ish Thoughts and Ramblings, Susan @ She's Becoming DoughMessTic

25 comments:

Shelly- Mom Files said...

I sure do wish you luck on your challenge. I am not a big reader at all (I know so sad).

Chris said...

I'll need to think on my goal. I REFUSE to count school books, but will need to take school into account when setting my goal.

AnotherDreamer said...

Good luck on your goal (I've read a couple of those too!)

I am an English major... I read lots of mandatory junk, and then revel in wonderful thoughtless excursions of fancy (Meaning, reading without thinking. Oh, it is so much more fun.)

You know what? You're on.

I am going to read... Can we re-read books? Does that count? Cause I re-read books over the summer, stuff I haven't re-read in awhile...

If so, I will see your 70.
If not... I better set my goal lower... how about 50?

Jo said...

I'm in. I am a reading teacher, so I read a lot anyway. Does it have to be "grown-up" books? I read a lot of juvenile fiction so that I can recommend it (or not) to my students. . . how about this?

Goal 1: To read 100 juvenile books.

Goal 2: To read 25 "grown up" books.

Now, I just have to figure out which category to put the "Twilight" series in. . . .

_ said...

I'll join you Kristin. I was planning on tracking my books this year anyway. I always wonder at the end of the year how many I've read so this should be interesting. Here's the link to my post...http://anabundanceofblessings.blogspot.com/2009/02/book-challenge-and-contest-announcement.html...and I'm going with your goal of 70. Seems doable to me...at least right at the moment. ;)

_ said...

Sorry Kristin..I forgot to mention your contest in my post. I've added that now and directed them to come here to post. :)

Barb said...

SO fun! I have SO many books saved on my Amazon wishlist to read. I will have to get back to you, but it's a loooong list. My problem is much like Chris's in that most of my reading has been a textbook and scientific articles lately. I miss reading for fun again. :(

Delenn said...

Funny, cuz I was thinking of tracking my books this year...this will be fun. Okay, I will say...um...100 books this year.

Delenn said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jen J said...

What a GREAT idea to post this and get people excited! I do have to say though that I can't take credit for this.... I found the idea last year (long after I'd forgotten how many books I'd read for the year) on Emilie's (Lemmondrops) blog. I think that she & one of her friends started it. I'm not really sure of the history, but it's a great idea!

I'm (of course) definitely in....

Another Dreamer~ I think that it's fair to re-read books. I know that there's a couple that I read previously that I want to read again with a different perspective.

AnotherDreamer said...

Jen J, I think so too. So... I suppose I am going to try and read 70. I know I've already read like twenty though, lol. I better go back through my books and see what I've already read this year...

Tammy said...

My goal for the last 2 years is to read 50 books and I fell short of that both years. First year I read 36 and 2008, I read 35 or 37, I think it was.

I will join in with another lofty goal of 50 books. Better get off the computer now and get reading!

Miss Tori said...

I will join in on this. Question though, does books on CD count as well? I often listen to them as I drive on long trips, as they keep me awake.

My goal will be 30 books. I know, kind of low, but it's quite good for me, considering how I go in spurts.

Nic said...

I shall join you. I plan to read 25 as I am studying and also dyslexic so a slow reader. Here is my link: http://trying-4-a-baby.blogspot.com/2009/02/book-challenge.html This goal will make reading even more fun and worth while I think!!

battynurse said...

I want to join too!! I too read mostly fiction as I also read for pleasure and escape. I'll go for 70 too as I know last year I hit 60 fairly easily.
ps. I love the new look

Deb said...

I will join in. My goal is 35 as I read 32 last year and so far have only finished 1 this year. Great idea!

AnotherDreamer said...

I've read "Never Let Me Go" and "Your Heart Belongs to Me." :) I didn't care too much for the latter, but "Never Let Me Go" was astounding. But so sad :(

Alana said...

Please count me in! I'm a reading teacher, so like Jo, I read a lot of Teen Lit... I'll put my goal (teen and adult lit combined) at 75 books for 2009. THANKS! :)

Anonymous said...

Is it to late for me to join ?!

Ok my target will seem low but I have dyslexia and am a very slow reader ..

I'm aiming to read at least one fiction book per month and one non fiction book every 2 months

thats 18 books total (eeps that does seem low )

Deb said...

How did you like "Deja Dead"? I have only read that one by Kathy Reichs I guess I should look up the rest of those books and add them to my library list since I do like the show "Bones" when I find time to watch it.

theworms said...

Hi - thanks for the invite :)
I <3 reading. My plan is to read 50 but I am more than 1/2 way there so I will say 60 books in 2009.

Mrs. Gamgee said...

Even tho I'm late to the party, I'm wanting to throw my name into the hat too...

I plan to read 100 books this year. I'm at 22 so far, and am planning on increasing my monthly target to reach it.

Great idea!

doughmesstic said...

Hey! Count me in. Thanks for the tweet! I am reading 52 books in 52 weeks, or at least that's the plan!
Susan - www.doughmesstic.com

Anonymous said...
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Barb said...

You are an ambitious lady! :) Thanks for the note! I'll probably put one up later this weekend. I like 36, 42 and 52. :)