2011 Challenge Sign-Ups/Wrap-Up

Despite my challenges with challenges last year, I am at it again!  I have selected my challenges for 2011 (although the door doesn't seem to close for me!) and here are my sign-up posts:

TBR DARE is hosted by Ready When You Are, CB and challenges participants to only read from their own shelves for the period you commit to in your sign-up post.  This is a much needed challenge for me - my shelves are overflowing with books I really want to read but I get distracted with new books so I am excited to dig into these books on my shelf.  I will make exceptions for book club books but other than that the books I read will be those on my shelf (and iPad) as of now.  I am going to try for April.  

What's In a Name 4 hosted by Beth Fish Reads challenges readers to read books to satisfy the following categories:

1. book with a number in the title
2. A book with jewelry or a gem in the title
3. A book with a size in the title
4. A book with travel or movement in the title
5. A book with evil in the title
6. A book with a life stage in the title

I did What's In A Name 3 in 2010  and had fun slotting books into the categories so I am looking forward to this one!

Speaking of categories, I am signed up for The TwentyEleven Challenge hosted by Darren at Bart's Bookshelf.  This challenge has 11 categories and you read 2 books in all but 2 categories of your choice in which you read only 1.  That makes for a total of 20 books.  I attempted this one last year and missed by a few weeks but I liked how it made me stretch in terms of what I read so I am in again!

I consider myself a bit of a anglophile so of course I am signed up for the British Books Challenge (BBC).  I did this one last year too and since books by British authors always feature in my reading, I am signed up for 2011.  This year there are essentially two challenges - one for those living in the UK and one for those of us that are overseas (and perhaps wished we were across the pond?).  There are two levels  - Winston Churchill (6 books) or Royal Family (12 books).  Since I have a habit of over committing myself, I have holding at 6 and see if I end of exceeding that.  I have already read 2 - One Day  by David Nicholls and I Remember You by Harriet Evans.  What else is on the shelf for this challenge? An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell and Mini Shopaholic: A Novel by Sophie Kinsella.  Mmmm, a lot of Brit Chick Lit - anyone have some other recommendations from UK authors?

Another country near and dear to my heart is Ireland - I love a good book set in the Emerald Isle or written by an Irish author.  So I will definitely be doing the Ireland Reading Challenge again.  Hosted by Books and Movies, the challenge requires participants to read a book by an Irish author or set in Ireland (fiction and non-fiction both qualify).  I am in at the Kiss the Blarney Stone level (6 books).




I started 2010 with a trip to India so  S. Krishna's South Asian Authors Challenge seemed like a perfect fit.  I didn't make my target of 8 books by South Asian Authors last year (I read 3 -yikes) so I am joining again but at a reduced level - South Asian Explorer (5 books).  I have many books by South Asian authors on my shelves but Swapna has a review database that is an excellent resource if you are looking for suggestions

Memorable Memoirs is being hosted again this year by The Betty And Boo Chronicles; this is another repeat for me.  I like a good memoir (don't get me started on that NYT article!) and I always seem to read several a year.  You can set you own target for this one - I am going for 5 which is one more than I read last year. 

Last year I did Rose City Reader's Battle of the Prizes - British Version so this year I am signing up for the American version.  The challenge asks that you read one National Book Award winner, one Pulitzer Prize winner and one book that has won both. I like this challenge because the books to meet it are high quality, often classic, novels that have been on my TBR for far too long. 

My last two challenges revolve around the format of the book - The E-Books Challenge  (hosted by Ladybug Reads and the 2011 Audiobook Challenge (hosted by Teresa's Reading Corner).  I got an iPad at the end of 2010 and finally got into e-books while I was on vacation (suitcases were so much lighter!)  - I still have a lot of paper books but I know e-books will feature in my selections this year.  I really got into audiobooks last year  - I like them for the walk to work and whenever I rent a car to go somewhere.  Both challenges have a "fascinated" level (6 books) and I am going for that level on both challenges.

And last but not least  - I am, of course, signing up for the challenge I am hosting this year - The Immigrant Stories Challenge. I hope you will consider joining too!

Are you challenging yourself this year?