2012 Challenges

Okay, rather than do individual posts for the challenges I want to join in 2012, I'm going to do one BIG post...Keeps things simpler for my brain.

First up, I'm going to rejoin the Historical Fiction Challenge over at Historical Tapestry. This year I 'competed' at the Severe Bookaholism level (20 books), but fell just shy of that mark. So for 2012, I'm going to participate on the Undoubtedly Obsessed level - which means I will read at least 15 historical fiction books. I'm really excited about revisiting this challenge, because I love Historical Fiction and a lot of the books on my To Read list are applicable!

Another challenge I'm excited about is hosted by Laura of Laura's Reviews. The Victorian Challenge 2012 is what I'd consider a "wide-open" challenge in that so many things count towards the challenge! From books to plays to movies! So long as it applies to the Victorian period (1837-1901), it counts. The reading level is super easy, and I'm hoping to actually do more than the 2-6 items.

I don't have a concrete list of things I want to read for this, but I will definitely be visiting Louisa May Alcott and Mark Twain, as well as probably reacquainting myself with George Eliot and the Brontes. I'd also like to finally sit down and read some more biographical stuff on Queen Victoria herself - she fascinates me. Yay!

And of course, anyone who frequents this blog knows I'm a fan of Jane Austen and all the Austenesque literature that has developed. So imagine how psyched I was to discover this challenge: Explore the Many Genres of Jane Austen Spinoffs 2012, hosted by Existing's Tricky!

This one's pretty sweet and simple: just read (at least) one book from each of the 8 categories of Jane Austen spinoff:

• Variation
• Sequel
• Jane Austen as a Fictional Character
• Paranormal
• Modern Adaptation
• Mystery
• Supporting Characters
• Books by Jane Austen

I've got a whole slew of Austenesque books to read, so this is going to be fun!

And the other challenge I'm really looking forward to for 2012 is the Completely Contemp Challenge hosted by Chick Loves Lit! I absolutely love YA literature, and the thing I really like about this challenge is it covers the last three years of publishing: 2010, 2011, and 2012 contemp YA releases are all fair game. Definitely good for working on that To Read list! I have decided I'm going to participate on the "5-level"...so I will read 5 books published in 2010, 5 books published in 2011 ad 5 books published in 2012.

There ya have it: 4 totally awesome challenges to help stretch and encourage my reading for 2012...Am I crazy? Maybe. But I'm also practical: I've picked challenges that meet my reading interests and goals -- and there's definitely some overlap involved too, which helps. What about you? What challenges are you totally psyched about? Are you joining me for any of these?