Happy New Year!

Now that all the celebrating and party-making is over, it’s time to get down to the business of this coming year.  I’m not talking about New Year’s resolutions, either.  No focus on healthy eating, organizing my home, or budgeting my money for me thank-you-very-much (although I would benefit from attending to all of those things, believe me).  No, I’m talking about something far more fun – a reading challenge!

I stumbled upon The Eclectic Reader Challenge 2014 while I was wandering around Goodreads the other day.  This challenge, hosted by Shelleyrae at Book’d Out, caught my eye for two reasons: 1) It only requires reading 12 books to complete the challenge and 2) each book is chosen from a specific genre.  I mentioned in my previous post that I’d begun graduate school on a full-time basis.  Even as strapped for time as I often feel now, I think I can manage a book a month for the next year.  And, I like the idea of reading different genres.  The exposure to books outside my particular tastes has the very real possibility of broadening my horizons when it comes to reading choices.  I’m feeling a little adventurous and open to new experiences.

Here are the pertinent rules (For a detailed description of the challenge, click here):

1. The challenge runs from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014.
2. Select, read, and review a book from each genre listed below during the year for a total of 12 books. A book may be in print, electronic or audio format.
3. A book may only be used for one category.  This means 12 different books must be read throughout the year.
4. The list may be completed in any order as long as all 12 categories are fulfilled by December 31, 2014.
5. To be eligible for the prize drawing, a blog post reviewing each book must be posted to the link found on the Book’d Out blog.

The Eclectic Reading Challenge 2014 Categories (and my possible choices)

• Award Winning – Wolf Hall, Snow Falling on Cedars, or Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell
• True Crime (Non Fiction) – In Cold Blood
• Romantic Comedy – Bridget Jones’s Diary
• Alternate History Fiction – Alleander Morning
• Graphic Novel – Persepolis
• Cosy Mystery Fiction – Maisie Dobbs (#1), One for the Money (Stephanie Plum #1), or A Red Herring Without Mustard
• Gothic Fiction – Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell, Interview with a Vampire, or The Haunting of Hill House
• War/Military Fiction – Killer Angels
• Anthology – A Mind Awake
• Medical Thriller Fiction – haven’t decided yet but I used to read a lot of Robin Cook books and enjoyed them
• Travel (Non Fiction) – Wild: Lost and Found or The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places on Earth or something by Bill Bryson
• Published in 2014 – to be determined

For the record, none of my choices are written in stone which means I am open to book suggestions for all of the categories.  If you have a suggestion for a great book, I’d love to hear it!  I haven’t read any of the books I’ve listed, but several of them are hanging around my home or in my Nook waiting patiently for some undivided attention.  This challenge is inadvertently encouraging me to chip away at my monumental to-be-read pile.

Sounds like fun, don’t you think?  My husband and kids thought so, too.  They’ve decided to join me in this reading challenge; it should be very intersting to see what they come up with to fulfill each of the categories.  I’m looking forward to getting started!  How about you?