The 2012 To Be Read Pile Challenge by Jess Witkins

Welcome to Life List Friday here at More Cowbell! Today, I have the honor of hosting one of the founders of the Life List Club, Jess Witkins. She’s talking about BOOKS, a subject near and dear to my heart, while I’m at J.A. Bennett’s blog asking, Have You Discovered Your “Life’s Work?”

To find out more about the Life List Club, click here (my goals are there too!). To join in the blog hop, either click the link to my post above or on any of the names in my right sidebar under Life List Club.

Here’s Jess with an AWESOME post! (p.s. There’s a FAB announcement at the very bottom of this post, so be sure to keep scrolling. 🙂 )

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The 2012 TBR Pile Challenge
by Jess Witkins

It’s heeeeeeeeere! *cue horror flick scream*

Just kidding, this is an exciting challenge that is fast approaching with the new year. And it has nothing to do with underwear, a change for those of us who’ve been following Jenny’s blog. 🙂

Allow me to introduce to you the The 2012 To Be Read Pile Challenge! Many of us, myself included, have a stack of books that is waiting for you to turn the cover.

Read me. I'm lonely. (Source: Google images)

My problem this year was that even though I had a shelf full of amazing looking titles and authors, I still purchased a ton of other books or rented from the library to get ones for bookclubs.

Joining a bookclub was something new for me this year, and it started out being something I thought I wouldn’t stick with. I thought, I have so many books to read already! But sometimes reading a book you wouldn’t have otherwise picked up can be a great thing, not to mention the vast perspectives I’m privy to every time we meet. I love the discussions!

Along with my bookclub, I also challenged myself to read at least 2 books a month as part of my Life List goals. For some that may seem small, and for others that goal is big. I hadn’t read consistently for some time and I wanted to get back into it. I know what a crazy work schedule I have though, so 2 books a month is just the right goal, and where possible, I have stretched myself to complete 3. It’s made me make time for reading, a hobby both rewarding and educational as I also started up writing again.

I now use my break time to read, which means I have to stay very focused on when I complete my other work so I don’t have to work over my lunch hour. I also read before bed each night, which has made me speed up other duties to allow for time to do so.

I have absolutely loved reading through so many books this year, and yet my bookshelf only grows more cramped. That’s when I discovered the 2012 To Be Read Pile Challenge! (I like it in bold, I imagine an announcer reciting that every time I type it. Next, I’m adding horns!)

I first stumbled upon the challenge on Jillian’s blog A Room of One’s Own, and if you’ve never visited Jillian, she’s an excellent resource for classical literature. She’s got a long list to go through but provides well researched and interesting book reviews!

The original challenge comes from Adam at Roof Beam Reader and you can still officially sign up through December 31st.

The goal is to select 12 books you wish to complete throughout 2012, and upon successful completion, you are entered into a drawing for a $50 Amazon Gift Card. I don’t know about you, but if I win, I’m buying more books!

Here are the rules:

1. Each of these 12 books must have been on your bookshelf or “To Be Read” list for AT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2011 or later (any book published in the year 2010 or earlier qualifies, as long as it has been on your TBR pile – I WILL be checking publication dates). Caveat: Two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books end up in the “can’t get through” pile.

2. You must write an original review/response (it doesn’t have to be anything fancy) for each book, to help us ensure you are actually completing the books you say you are.

3. The link you post in the Mr. Linky AT ADAM’S SIGN-UP POST must be to your “master list.” This is where you will keep track of your books completed, crossing them out and/or dating them as you go along, and updating the list with the links to each review (so there’s one easy, convenient way to find your list and all your reviews for the challenge).

What I love about this challenge is it gives me a goal to work towards AND saves me money! I was beginning to feel awful for buying so many books I hadn’t yet even read, or worse, received as gifts and still couldn’t thank the gift giver for recommending it.

This challenge will help me to make time for the books that have sat on my shelf too long! I’m sure I’ll still be finding more good ones, after all, new writers are popping up everyday, but this will help me to read books I’ve intended to all along with the new ones I’m just learning about.

Here’s my list: (Can also be found on my 2012 TBR Pile Challenge page)

1. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
2. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
3. Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
4. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
5. Blessings by Anna Quindlen
6. The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
7. Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
8. The Lace Reader by Bromonia Barry
9. The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee
10. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
11. The Preacher’s Bride by Jody Hedlund
12. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters, Jane Austen

Alternates:

1. Persuasion by Jane Austen
2. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

So, will you be joining me this new year? What books will be on your 2012 To Be Read Pile Challenge? What are your favorites, just in case I need to edit my list before December 31st? 🙂

Jess Witkins claims the title Perseverance Expert. She grew up in a small Wisconsin town as the much younger youngest sibling of four, she’s witnessed the paranormal, jumped out of a plane, worked in retail, traveled to exotic locations like Italy, Ireland, and Shipshewana, Indiana, and she’s eaten bologna and lived to tell about it! She deals with it all and writes about it! Come along on her midwest adventures; Witkins promises to keep it honest and entertaining. Go ahead, SUBSCRIBE, you know you want to.

Follow on Twitter: @jesswitkins

ANNOUNCEMENT: At last, our Rock The Row Party prizes are up at the ROW80 blogsite – we’ve got photos and links and prizes…come visit!!!!