Reading

I’m going to try doing something in 2010 that probably won’t work out.  Actually, I’m going to do a few hundred things that won’t work out, but this one is planned in advance.  There’s a thing in the world of blogs-about-books called a Reading Challenge.  You find a challenge that suits you and then you sign up.  Essentially it is a way of setting a goal for your reading for one year.  I quite like goals, in the same way that I like making a rod for my own back (“See this rod? I made it myself.  Isn’t a beautiful? What I – Ow! – What are you doing with that rod? I – Ow! – Stop that!”).  I think a Reading Challenge is the reader’s equivalent of a normal person’s New Year’s resolution to go jogging, or quit smoking.

There are dozens of these reading challenges on the internet, but I have decided to do two.  One  is about books and movies, and the other one is about essays.

Click on the picture to see the post about this challenge.  I think I can manage ten books/movies a year.  I want to do this challenge because I think that I said on Steve’s blog that a blog that looked at adaptations would be cool and, voila, here it is.  I know myself too well to actually make a list of ten in advance.  I will make it up as I go along.

In case you’re interested, here is a site that has a pretty comprehensive list of books that have been turned into movies.

Again, click on the picture to find the link.  I think I will commit to read twenty essays during the year.  Essays are relatively short, and this level of commitment is about one essay every two to three weeks.  This is actually fairly challenging, but I think only doing ten is too easy.

Why this challenge?  During 2009 I briefly decided I would try to read more essays.  In the end I only read a few by Orwell and a few by Forster, but even these few inspired me to write two posts that I am quite proud of: one about potty training, and one about being a teacher.  I am a big fan of essays, and think they are an undervalued form; I suppose they are the non-fiction equivalent of the short story.

Two final things.  Firstly, I am telling you this as a way of applying a bit of pressure to myself.  The few goals I have achieved in life have been thought through, and spoken out loud.  Shame is a strong driver.

Secondly, if you are new to this blog and have come here via a link from one of the reading challenges above then I apologise: this isn’t really a blog about books.