2011 Challenges

See those little icons, (actually called “buttons” in the book blogging world) on the right-hand column of my blog ? Those refer to different reading challenges I’m participating in this year. Some of you might ask, “what is a challenge” ? A challenge is an opportunity for various book bloggers to read a collection of books all associated with a certain theme. Commonly after posting reviews of this particular books, bloggers will then post a link to their reviews on a group website so other bloggers can access those reviews from one central location. Experience has shown me it’s a convenient and intellectually stimulating way to both learn about various subjects and authors in addition to meeting new book bloggers.

Here is a brief run-down on my reading challenges for 2011.

Hosted by Helen’s Book Blog, this challenge is pretty self-explanatory. It encompasses any fiction and non-fiction books devoted to the people, leaders, history, religion etc. of this region. For this challenge, Helen has defined the boundaries of this region as the nations surrounding the Arabian peninsula and I’m cool with that. Plus, since I’m gonna read these kind of books ANYWAY, why not sign up for the challenge ?

2011 Global Reading Challenge

Since I tend to read mostly non-fiction, The 2011 Global Reading Challenge hosted by Danish book blogger Dorte is a great excuse to venture out of my comfort zone and read more fiction. I took part in last year’s challenge and as a result, the best fiction I read in 2011 was by foreign or foreign-born authors. I’m hoping this pattern holds in 2011. There are numerous levels to this challenge and if you would like to know more, drop by the challenge’s homepage.

For me anyway, this has to be my favorite and easiest challenge of all. Why ? Like I’ve said before, I’m gonna read these kind of books ANYWAY ! So why not take part in this challenge. Hosted by Jamie on her blog The Broke and the Bookish, it like the above-mentioned Global Reading Challenge, comprises numerous categories and levels. If you would like to know more, drop by homepage Jamie is hosting.

Old Books Reading Challange

OK, this challenge is solely a creation of my own. I have a huge personal library of books. Many of these are over 30, 40 and 50 years old. Year after year they just sit there just waiting to be read. And what do I do about it-nothing. I keep going to the public library to get new ones or worse, buy more. This must change. Therefore, I’m hoping this challenge I’ve created will somehow force me into reading some of the books I already own. It’s also an effective way to spotlight a few old and forgotten books that have still have considerable merit, despite not being on the New York Times notable book list or talked about on NPR.