January 8, 2011

2011 Reading Challenges

Last year I read a total of 42 books. This year, I am participating in a few reading challenges to increase my numbers and provide more reviews for my bookhearts. Read below for the deets.


Goodreads 2011 Reading Challenge


I challenge myself to read at least 50 books this year. That is an average of four books per month. It is only a week into the new year and I've already finished 2.5 books. **fist pump** Let's hope I exceed my goal.


Quirky Brown Reading Challenge


This challenge is hosted by BrownGirl Speaks. It's about challenging the overly subscribed to depictions of the so-called "black experience" and discovering some of our lesser known contributions to American literature. The requirement is that the books are written by black authors depicting an offbeat black experience. I'm aiming for Level IV: 5+ books


The quirky books I plan to read so far are:

  • Coffee Will Make You Black by April Sinclair
  • The Broke Diaries by Angela Nissel
  • Orange, Mint and Honey by Carleen Brice
  • A Taste of Honey by Jabari Asim
  • Kinky Gazpacho by Lori Tharps

Colorful Chick Lit Challenge


This challenge is hosted by Reads4Pleasure. Chick lit is absolute fave genre. I just wish it would feature more brown girls as the main character and not a sidekick. Qualifying books have to be written by women of color about women of color, humorous, snarky, romantic, and a happy ending. There are four categories: Indian, Latina, Asian, and African-American. I'm aiming for the Queen of Chick Lit Level: 12+ books.


The colorful chick lit books I plan to read so far are:

  • Imaginary Men by Anjali Banerjee
  • The Girl Most Likely To by Poonam Sharma
  • Life Over Easy by Margo Candela
  • In Full Bloom by Caroline Hwang
  • Sweet Little Lies by Michele Grant
  • Heard It All Before by Michele Grant
  • Semisweet by Jill Brock

Show Me The Free Reading Challenge


This challenge is hosted by the Unread Reader. It's the perfect challenge since I'm the proud new owner of a NOOKcolor and also have Kindle for Mac. The only requirement is to have an eReader and to actually read the countless amount of free eBooks I've downloaded. I'm aiming for the Coupon Clipper Level: 12+ books.


The free eBooks I've already downloaded are:

  • Long Time Coming by Vanessa Miller
  • Delivered with Love by Sherry Kyle
  • Whatever You Like by Maureen Smith
  • Love Like This by Sylvia Hubbard
  • Sisters by Kathleen Norris
  • The Potluck Club by Linda Evans Shepherd
  • Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
  • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • Always the Baker, Never the Bride by Sandra Bricker
  • The Rumors Swirling About James Patterson by Stefano Boscutti
  • Money Girl's Smart Moves to Deal with Your Debt by Laura Adams

Whew! I don't think I'll have a problem reaching my goal of 50 books read in 2011 since my lists for reading challenges alone account for 46%. To learn more about the reading challenges I'm participating in and for sign-up, click the Reading Challenges link in the title bar above. In the meantime, share the challenges you are participating in. Happy Reading!

5 comments:

  1. Marie!

    *fist pump* Yay! Thanks for joining the Show Me the Free challenge.

    Library e-books?! Hmmm... I suppose they would work, but not all libraries offer e-books, like my local library.

    There are several Support your Local Library challenges. This one is more for the Free e-book downloads we collect yet never get around to reading.

    I guess I would say it is your call. I want to make things as easy as possible for the participants. :D

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  2. Missie, thanks for offering such a cool reading challenge. So many of us download free eBooks and then forget to read them.

    Without counting library books, I'll still make my goal of Coupon Clipper. So to be fair, I won't include them.

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  3. Thanks for joining and pimping my challenge! :-)

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  4. Reading challenges... hummm, interesting literture. Love the mixture. Due to a very challenging school term, I will only try to commit to at least 30 books this year.Happy reading...

    "Rumors swirling about James Patterson" ?

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  5. Thanks for offering the challenge, BrownGirl.

    Gabbys, these challenges are right up my alley. I can't wait to track my progress. "Rumors Swirling about JP" will HAVE to be one of your 30 books read this year. Let me find out he's a cousin.

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