Reading Challenge 2011: 111 in '11

Life is Short. Read Fast.'s 111 in '11 Reading Challenge

I used to read hundreds of books a year.  Back when free time was more than a myth, I mean.  Working a full time job and my other, less studious hobby (video games and World of Warcraft) seem to keep me preoccupied and I read between maybe 50-70 books a year.  This seems like the perfect challenge to get me back into the swing of reading more than a hundred novels annually!  Not to mention, my TBR list sneakily grows larger every time I think about it.  So I'm taking on several challenges and going to get my way up to one hundred and eleven (!!!) books by the end of 2011!

Reading Challenge 2011: Dusty Volumes

Midnyte Reader's Dusty Volumes Reading Challenge

There have been quite a few older books that I've been meaning to read.  So, in accordance with a couple other challenges I'm taking on this upcoming year, this seems perfect to help decrease my ever-growing-and-quite-hefty-as-is to-be-read list!  For now, I'm going to try to read around ten but may add more.

o1. Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

o2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

o3. Candide by Voltaire (French)

o4. Dracula by Bram Stoker

o5. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

o6. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

o7. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

o8. Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

o9. Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo (French)

1o. Nana by Zola (French)

Numero Un

Well, lately, I have been obsessed with book blogs.  I knew things such as book blogs existed, but I never took the time to sort through half-assed ones and find some worth reading.  However, after reading a few (Hey Lady!, Life is Short. Read Fast., Midnyte Reader), I decided, "Hey! These are pretty neat!"  And then an idea struck.  "I like to read!" I said to myself.  "I like reading challenges and reviewing books and talking to authors and stuff!"  And so... duh da duh duhh, Book Maggots.  Because worms are a little gross and don't sound as intense as maggots and I am very intense about reading.  (You will find that I try to be funny but rarely succeed.)  So welcome to Book Maggots!  

Happy holidays, by the by!  I am hopefully getting an e-reader on the 31st as my gift from my husband-to-be and while a part of me is childishly elated, another part feels a tad bittersweet.  It will save time on going to bookstores and save a little money on purchasing books (which bought in bulk is often quite expensive) but there is absolutely nothing as exhilarating as the smell of a bookstore or a freshly bought book and nothing quite like curling up in a chair with a hefty volume in one's hands... Nothing will replace my love for bookstores or "real" books but an e-reader might be a little bit more economical!