2012 Reading Challenges

Once again, I'm signing up for some reading challenges. In 2011, I broke my record for books read (64) and completed the Chunkster Challenge (six books with more than 450 pages). But I pretty much fell down on most of the others. So here are the ones I plan to try this year:

1. Chunkster Challenge: Once again, I'm going for the Plump Primer -- six books of more than 450 pages each.
Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2011
The Troupe by Robert Jackson Bennett
Glass Book of the Dream Eaters Vol. 1 by Gordon Dahlquist
The Confusion by Neal Stephenson
The System of the World by Neal Stephenson
Backward Ran Sentences by Wolcott Gibbs
Hide Me Among the Graves by Tim Powers
Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
In Sunlight and in Shadow by Mark Helprin
Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon
Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel

2. 2012 To Be Read challenge: This one is a little more forgiving than the one I signed up for last year (I read only four of the 12 books I was planning on reading). So here I'm signing up for the 21-30 level (a sweet kiss). Here is a partial list of th books I now own that I plan to read this year:

Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2011
Chicken Dreaming Corn
Descent Into Hell
Age of Dreaming
The Rebels by Sandor Marai
Sacred Dust
Freedom
Wolf Hall
The Yiddish Policeman 's Union
Kingdom Come
Brendan
The Book of Bebb
All Other Nights
The Man in the Wooden Hat
The Confusion
The System of the World
Living, Loving, Partygoing
The Complete Novels of Flann O'Brien
Several books for the British, European, Eastern European and Southern challenges.

3. Mount TBR Reading challenge: A little less demanding than even No. 2 on this list; I'll commit to reading 20 books currently on my shelves.
Yiddish Policeman's Union
Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy
All Other Nights
The Confusion
Kingdom Come
Chicken Dreaming Corn
The System of the World
Descent Into Hell
Backward Ran Sentences
Age of Dreaming

4. European Reading Challenge: I always read a lot of books set in Europe, so I will sign up to read five (five-star) books that qualify from different authors in European settings.
Some Hope by Edward St. Aubyn
Kingdom Come by J.G. Ballard
Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos
The System of the World
Descent Into Hell
Shadow of Night
Young Henry of Navarre
Noughties by Ben Masters

5. Short Story Challenge -- I'll sign up for "Tell Me a Story," which is one to three short-story collections.
Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2011
Farewell, Navigator
Backward Ran Sentences (contains several short stories)

6: World War I Challenge: I'll "dip" here -- I'll read one to three books with a World War I theme. (It's too bad I didn't do this one in 2011, as I read The Indian Clerk, Sunnyside and Regeneration, all with WWI themes.)
Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos
The Rebels by Sandor Marai
The Eye in the Door by Pat Barker
The Absolutist by John Boyne

7. 52 Books in 52 Weeks: As I read 64 books in 2011, I should be able to do this one.

8 Eastern European Reading Challenge: I like Eastern European books as a subset of European books, so I'll commit to reading four titles.
Partial History of Lost Causes by Jennifer DuBois
The Rebels by Sandor Marai

9. British Author Reading Challenge: This may be difficult, as it requires reading 12 titles by British authors, but I know there will be some overlap with other challenges. Here are the titles I plan to read:

Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantell
The Stranger's Child by Allen Hollinghurst
The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam
Good to be God by Tibor Fischer
The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde
Dodger by Terry Pratchet
Derby Day by D.J. Taylor
Noughties by Ben Masters
Descent into Hell by Charles Williams
At Last by Edward St. Aubyn
Some Hope by Edward St. Aubyn
Snuff by Terry Pratchett
The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin
Kingdom Come by J.G. Ballard
The Islanders by Christopher Priest


10. Southern reading challenge: I live in the South, so I suppose I should read more books set in the South. I'll do Level Four -- four books from my TBR stack.
All Other Nights by Dara Horn
Safe From the Neighbors by Steve Yarbrough
Sacred Dust by David J. Hill
Chicken Dreaming Corn by Roy Hoffman

OK, that should suffice.