The Bookworm's Challenge

It's really no secret by this point that I love to read. It's always been one of my favorite hobbies, even though I let it slip for a while during and right after college. Always up for a challenge, I took my mission to read more to a new level. I belong to one "real life" and two online book clubs, each group reading different types of books over a month or two months. I've also been reviewing books each month, which gives me a chance to read new works of fiction and non-fiction. These are all probably very tame, albeit ambitious, ways to increase the number of books I read, but the most fun I'm having is with reading challenges.

When I joined Goodreads a while back, I was excited to have a place to live up to my full bibliophile potential and I discovered that some groups participate in reading challenges. For example, one challenge is to read books mentioned in the t.v. show Lost, another is reading the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die, etc. But my personal favorites are the shelf-a-thon and the seasonal reading challenge.

The point of the shelf-a-thon is to read at least one book from all the popular categories and genres listed in Goodreads. This means that during the course of the challenge, which lasts a few months, you need to read historical fiction, books published in 2009, children's lit, erotica... the list goes on and on. The seasonal reading challenge is a bit harder to explain, but the idea is to read a book that fits a specific task. For example, Walt Disney's birthday is in December, so one of the winter tasks is to read a book related to your favorite Disney film.

In starting the new year, I'm participating in these challenges as a way to push myself to keep reading books I wouldn't normally read. There is also a certain level of competitive spirit, but mostly I'm competing with myself. The fun is in completing something I didn't think I could actually accomplish.