I've decided to launch myself straight into another of Megan's Reading Challenges. My mum is visiting for a little while, and it's been great fun to discuss the potential books I might read for each category with her. She's a librarian and avid reader herself, and she has always helped me to choose my books, so much so that I often get a little bewildered if I have to choose a book all by myself from the huge selection that's out there.
Again, I've additionally challenged myself to limit myself to what's on my bookshelves at the minute. There are some categories I can't do this for so I'll be treating myself (on my Kindle most likely!) Chocolat by Joanne Harris will be a reread. I don't often do these but I'm already looking forward to sampling that lovely book again.
Here are my ideas, though I'm not always good to sticking to a plan, so these may well change as we go along.
5: Read a book that does not have "the," "a" or "an" in the title. — Confinement, Katherine McMahon (368 pages)
10: Read a book that has been featured in Oprah's Book Club. — The Book of Ruth, Jane Hamilton (328 pages)
10: Read a book that takes place in the country where you currently live. — The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery (322 pages) (France)
15: Read an epistolary novel. — The Diary of Anne Frank, Anne Frank (352 pages)
15: Read a book first published in 2013. — Life After Life, Kate Atkinson (480 pages)
15: Read a book with something spooky in the title. — Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror, Chris Priestly (241 pages)
20: Read a book with "air," "water," "earth" or "fire" in the title. — Late Nights on Air, Elizabeth Hay (276 pages)
20: Read a book on which a television series has been based. — Orange is the New Black, Piper Kerman (298 pages)
25: Read a fiction book that has someone’s first and last name in the title. — The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Rachel Joyce, (338 pages)
30: Read two books by the same author. — White Nights and Red Bones, Ann Cleeves (412 and 406 pages)
35: Read a fiction and non-fiction book about the same topic. — Chocolat Joanne Harris (382 pages) and
The Chocolate Connoisseur: For Everyone with a Passion for Chocolate, Chloe Doutre-Roussel (224 pages)
This time there is the added incentive that if I am an early finisher, I get to choose a category for the next challenge. Nothing spurs me on like a reward so I'm already reading every chance I get. But in addition to this challenge, I'm attempting to knit my daughters a Christmas present, and trying to squeeze in some French lessons. The hall is half stripped of wallpaper and I'm about to embark on an introductory course to landscape gardening. My littlest is teething and not sleeping as a consequence. Time is not something I feel I have to hand at the moment. But reading is something I love to make time for so we'll see how I go.
