Challenged To Read

Been looking back at my reading history for 2007 and found that I only read 20 books this year. That's a rather disappointing number – not even two books a month. But it's even more disappointing to find that I read fewer than half that many in 2006!

I'm not generally the competitive type, but in order to spur myself on (and force myself to turn off the TV and READ, darn it!), I've decided to sign up for my first reading challenge. There are so many interesting ones out there, but I'm going with InkSplasher's 2007/2008 Winter Reading Challenge – mainly because it has the most flexible design: Choose any number of books, on any subject or in any genre you like, between now and March 19; post your list; write a recap at challenge end. And reviews are encouraged but not mandatory.

Piece of cake, right?

Well, maybe not when you read as slowly as I do.

Anyway, here's my list (all books I've been trying to get around to for quite a while):

1. Civil To Strangers (Barbara Pym) [see review]
2. The Flanders Panel (Arturo Perez-Reverte) [see review]
3. The Grand Complication (Allen Kurzweil) [see review]
4. Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez) [see review]
5. The Concord Quartet (Samuel A. Schreiner Jr.) [see review]

Adding and subtracting titles is allowed, so my list is subject to change, but at the moment I feel pretty good about it. Not too many books to get through in that amount of time, and a fairly diverse line-up. Now if I can just tear myself away from this computer screen and open a book!