2013 Challenges

2013 Challenge Announcement!

2013 Back to the Classics ChallengeI have finally got my act together and sorted out my 2013 Challenges! I managed to keep the same three challenges (Mount TBR Reading ChallengeTea & Books Reading Challenge and Back to the Classics Challenge) while only officially signing up for 14 books! And as an added bonus 12 of the 14 books will qualify for The Classics Club!

2013 Tea & Books Reading ChallengeFirst, I hope the challenge hosts don’t think I’m coping out! I really wanted to participate in all of the challenges again for the lovely people I’ve met, but didn’t want to over extend myself this year and thus this magnificent feat. I will definitely be upgrading for the Mount TBR challenge as I’m planning on spending the majority of this year reading books I already own, but I’m only committing to the lowest level for now. I plan

2013 Mount TBR Reading ChallengeSecond, I hope all you readers appreciate just how much this took! I seriously negotiated with myself, most often out loud, for over a week about what books I should and shouldn’t include! It’s quite funny when you think about it. I would add a book to the list and then immediately remove it because I knew I could find a book to meet another challenge requirement!

A few unique things about the lists:

  • I am participating at the following levels:
    • Back to the Classics: 11 books Full – All 6 required and 5 optional.
    • Mount TBR: 12 books – Pike’s Peak (will probably end up near Mt. Ararat)*
    • Tea & Books: 4 books – Berry Tea Devotee
  • Every book qualifies for more than one challenge.
  • Two books are re-reads: To Kill A Mockingbird and Wuthering Heights
  • One book qualifies for all three challenges: Les Misérables
  • There are seven each of physical and Kindle books (Check out that symmetry!)

And without further ado, click here to visit my 2013 Challenge Lists!

*I most certainly will be upgrading on the Mount TBR challenge. MY MAJOR GOAL FOR THE YEAR IS TO READ PRIMARILY BOOKS I ALREADY HAVE. On December 31st I plan on taking a snap shot of my ‘bookshelf’ list on here and using that as my official 2013 Library.

37 thoughts on “2013 Challenge Announcement!”

  1. Oh nice! I’m trying to work things out pretty much along these lines, though with an extra couple of challenges or four. Am off to check out your list!

    1. Good luck with that! I probably could’ve squeezed a few more challenges in. But I felt like I was cheating having so much overlap already. Who knows, maybe I’ll meet other challenge requirements throughout the year.

  2. Excellent! I’m usually something of a challenge junkie, but I know I won’t be able to concentrate on those next year… so I’m just doing my Back to the Classics Challenge. I really appreciated doing the Mount TBR Challenge this year though – there is something so satisfying about reading books you already own! Good luck with them all!!

    1. There really is! That’s why I’m trying to read mostly from home this year 🙂 And I’m glad I was able to fit the same three I did last year in.

      But my stance is already being challenged! I’ve seen two additional challenges (Ireland Challenge and Books into Movies) that I’ve considered joining! I might join them retroactively as I’m pretty sure I have enough books on my shelves to qualify for those and will read them anyway. But I’m trying to stand strong!

  3. I’m thinking about moving my site from my slightly broken host to just a free WordPress blog or something, so I’ve been dragging my feet on signing up for challenges (since the URL might change). Gah, time’s running out…

    I’ll definitely be in Back to the Classics again, and I’m going to do the TBR Pile Challenge, so maybe I’ll throw in Mount TBR as well, since they’ll be quite compatible. I’ll figure it all out in the next couple of weeks.

  4. Ohhh … it’s so good to have you back, Geoff! And admit it, changing the rules for the challenge a bit will make the whole thing even more fun – especially the 1.300-pages-count-as-two-books comes in handy with a tome like Les Miserable, am I right?

    1. I just saw in your challenge list that your edition of Les Miserable is shorter than I thought it would be. According to Goodreads most editions come in at about 1.400 pages … you obviously own the small-smaaaaall-print version! 😀

      1. I was replying to your other comment when this one came in! I definitely like the new rules and might be able to slip an über book in or two and upgrade, but who knows.

        I will definitely have to look into my version as I’m concerned if it’s over 300 pages shorter than the others. It’s the pre-1923 Kindle version.

        1. I’ve been asked before about the page count when it comes to eBooks and generally I’d say that you may go by the matching print version … unless you have an abridged version?

      2. I’ve just checked and it’s apparently an abridged version. I will be purchasing an unabridged version before the end of the year!

            1. As much as I’ve come to appreciate my Kindle, that drives me crazy too and somehow almost all my eBooks are “page-less”, argh!

  5. Good planning so that you read as little as possible! Just kidding! 😉 Smart thinking though to plan your challenges so that they work FOR you and not against you. There’s nothing wrong with that!

    1. Haahaa, that’s what I don’t want the challenge hosts to think! I just wanted to reduce commitments and still participate. I mean I finished all my challengers this year but it just earn relaxing.

  6. Look at you! What a great thought process, though I’m sure it took some time to figure it all out!

    I think, when I look at the different challenges out there, if I choose any that have different levels, I’ll just choose the most basic level to start, so I don’t stress out. And I’m still debating on whether to choose the books ahead of time or not… I started that way and then kept updating my lists when I found something else that would fill the requirements for more than one challenge… I guess I have a about 2 weeks left to figure it out 🙂

    I haven’t determined which challenges I want to do, but instead of Mount TBR, I’ve set up my own personal challenge to read the first 15 books ever added to my Goodreads “to read queue” over the course of the year.

    1. I like that Goodreads goal. I only started to use Goodreads for my to-be-read list this year when I scanned in all the books on my shelf. So I have all of them and those are on my list to read this year 😀

      1. Awesome! I’m constantly adding books based on blog posts I read, so my To Read list keeps growing; I honestly don’t think I’ll ever actually catch up to it (I have over 600 on it right now!)

          1. Oh wow! That’s a lot!
            I have way more books on my to read list that I would need to buuy or borrow than I actually own. Between what’s on my actual shelf and everything I’ve purchased on my Kindle, I probably have about 50 or so books that I haven’t read yet.

  7. Good luck with the challenges. My goal this year is to only read what I own or what I can check out of the library. No buying books–that will be hard, but I need to save some money for trips. Happy holidays!

    1. Thanks! And that’s pretty much my goal too. There will be a couple of small book buying exceptions most of which are at the end of the calendar year. So that means I’ve got the majority of my year to start clearing off my to-be-read shelves!

  8. I am not even gonna bother with challenges this year. Congratulations for still being in the running and your successes with the 2012 challenges.

    1. Haahaa I don’t blame you! That’s why I stuck to so few in numbers. I’ve seen more I want to sign up for but I’ve resisted so far.

  9. Geoff: Hadn’t stopped by yet to say welcome back to Mt. TBR….so here I am! So glad I’m one of the few and the proud and the privileged to have you join my challenge. Good luck reading off your current stacks this year.

    1. Thanks Bev! It’s funny I’ve already read three books (and I’m on my way through the fourth) for the Mount TBR challenge, but only one of them is one I’ve specifically listed so far 😀

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