Monday, January 4, 2010

The Complete Booker 2010 Challenge


I wasn't going to participate in a reading challenge this year. I did two last year - Support Your Local Library and New Authors. Neither one was much of a challenge (and that was by design), so the whole thing was kind of pointless, really. All I really accomplished was one more thing to keep track of and organize. I'm really good at adding things to organize to my life. Not sure there's a lot of value in that. As 2009 came to a close, I did a little looking around other book blogs to see if there was a challenge that was interesting and actually challenging in some (small) way. Until yesterday, I didn't find anything that interested me. Then I visited The Boston Bibliophile and she posted about The Complete Booker 2010 Challenge. I'm embarrassed to admit that I am not very well versed in book awards (gasp!). I've read some Pulitzer Prize winners and usually I don't like them. This award caught my attention however because I just read a book, Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, that I loved and the cover said that Toibin was a past Booker Prize winner. So when I saw The Complete Booker Challenge it piqued my curiosity. I checked out the website and the list of books and it looks like a good challenge for me. I have read some of those books and some I loved and some I hated. I think these books are a "stretch" for me. And I'm ready to be "stretched" in my reading. My TBR list is woefully short right now and I'm finding that I'm at a crossroads in my reading. The type of books that I've been drawn to for the past 8 years or so are starting to be less appealing. I feel as though they are all starting to be the same. Does this make sense? This has happened to me in the past and it's always been a good thing. It's led me to broaden and deepen my reading horizons. So what better way to expand my reading than to read award winning books. If you are interested in joining you can find all the information at The Complete Booker 2010 Challenge. I am going to participate at the Winner's Circle level (I will read at least 6 winners). I haven't chosen which books I will read, but I will keep you all updated on my progress through book reviews. Hopefully, I will like the books I choose. Keep your fingers crossed.

2010 Complete Booker Challenge

1. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
2. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

14 comments:

IonnKorr said...

Nice Blog!

Greetings by Greece

Laura said...

Thanks for joining the challenge! I'm glad to have you on board and hope you enjoy reading Booker winners.

Sue Jackson said...

Hi, Pam -

I have never signed up for a challenge - for all the reasons you said. I really don't need another to-do on my never-ending list or more pressure. The Booker Prize one does sound interesting, though. I'm not sure I've read any Booker Prize winners. I still have an overwhelming TBR stack, though, and two book group meetings this month, so I think I'll continue to sit out the challenges for now. Maybe when things slow down - ha ha ha!

Happy New Year!

Sue

Andrea said...

Sounds cool! Definitely keep us posted.

Shirley said...

Good luck in your challenge! I'm always looking for new things to read. Maybe I'll check it out, since I've read everything I own. Twice.
Hello from SITS!

kel said...

I don't usually do book challenges because I don't like to pressure myself.. I may check this one out though.. or maybe start one of my own.. I love the idea!

Unknown said...

So you will read 6 books from last year's winners? I think I'm confused, but I like broadening my reading taste
Brooklyn is on my list.........I"m glad you liked it.

Karen M. Peterson said...

That sounds like a great challenge! I'm going to have to check it out. Although, honestly, between 3 reading groups and periodic book reviews, I don't know if I'll have time to read any others!

Sandy said...

Wow, I'm impressed by these readers. I always to be aware of what you're reading so I'll be watching this, too. But I don't read well on demand so I might not officially sign up!

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

Pam....I've joined the same one as you...winners circle. This is my first year participating in this one.

Stephanie said...

I'll look forward to your reviews!

Melissa B. said...

So much easier to enter a book challenge than a weight-loss challenge, isn't it? I find that I'm losing a lot of reading time by investing so much of my time in blogging. Oh, well. Good luck to you...SITS sent me by, and I'm glad they did!

It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere

Helene said...

Good luck in the challenge! I would just be thrilled if I could read more than one paragraph of a book in one week.

Marie Cloutier said...

Yay! :-) I'm so glad you'll be participating in the Complete Booker Challenge!! can't wait to read your reviews!

 

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