Saturday, Jun 20, 2009

Weekly Geeks: You & Your Reading Challenges…

Do You Love Your Reading Challenges?

Well, yes, as a matter of fact… I do! 

There are two challenges that have really made a huge impact in my reading.  The first is Book Awards Reading Challenge. 

If it weren’t for this reading challenge, I would have never read either Life of Pi or The Road.  In fact, I had never even heard of them before.  Life of Pi is now one of my favorite books of all time.  Although I didn’t love The Road, I am glad that I read it.  I plan on seeing the movie when it comes out and I enjoy engaging in discussions about this book.   If I think about the caliber of the books that I read for this challenge… I smile… it makes me feel good.  Check it out:

Love in the The Time of Cholera  Nobel Prize

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings  Nobel Prize & Chubb Fellowship Award

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini  Boeke Prize & Alex Award

The Glass Castle:  Jeannette Walls   Alex Award

The Road, Cormac McCarthy -  James Tait Black Memorial Prize & Pulitzer Prize

Life of Pi, Yann Martell  Man Booker Prize

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz  National Book Critics Circle Award & Pulitzer Prize

Of Mice & Men, J. Steinbeck  Nobel Prize

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee  Pulitzer Prize, Public Library Literary Award & Presidential Medal of Freedom

Atonement by Ian McEwan National Book Critics Circle Award

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt National Book Critics Circle Award & Pulitzer Prize Winner

All of these books were so substantial and important in their own way.  Of the list, I can say that I LOVED most of them.  And, I can say about all of them that I’m glad I read them.   So, I decided to join the next Book Awards Reading Challenge III.  I’m one book down and have several to finish by the end of the year!  I cannot wait!

My second most loved reading challenge EVER is J. Kaye’s 100+ Books Reading Challenge.  I have NEVER in my life read 100 books in a year.  What an amazing challenge to say that you’ve accomplished that!  So, I signed up.  I’m so driven by its completion that I have really increased my reading speed.  So far, I have read 83 books YTD.  That’s crazy.  I cannot believe it, myself.  83 books!  Please don’t mistake my excitement as pride… it is coming from this place of sheer joy about it.  I didn’t waste those hours watching television… I expanded my vocabulary and jumped into stories and met characters.  I mean, how freaking exciting is that?  For me… very! 

Another thing that this challenge provided me is an increase in the number of book reviews that I post weekly.  I’ve gone from one, maybe two book reviews a week to 3-4 book reviews a week.  I attribute this increase 100% to J. Kaye’s challenge. 

I’m confident that I’m going to conclude this challenge by the end of the summer.  It will be a milestone in my life that I will never forget and a challenge that I will be very proud of.

So… YES, I DO LOVE MY READING CHALLENGES!  They have impacted me in a very positive way.  I love them so much that I hosted Just For The Love Of It Reading Challenge this year.  It was a great way to link up to other bloggers and share reviews.  I’m going to renew the challenge next year and hopefully meet more great book reviewers via the challenge. 

How about you… Weekly Geeks… do you love your reading challenges?

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