Challenges for 2010

I signed up to my first reading challenges in 2009. Some I did well in and finish, some I didn’t manage to complete for various reasons. I’ll do a wrap up post for those challenges soon, most probably tomorrow (New Year’s Eve) or the next day (New Year’s Day).

Although I know I made sensible choices in my challenges, it was still hard work, mostly for health reasons which is the usual cause of problems for me.

So I have been even more picky this year and chosen just three challenges to try for the year.

2010 Flashback Reading Challenge

I’ve already posted about this one here, and that’s where you’ll find my list. I had already decided I wanted to do some serious rereading next year, so this was perfect for me.

I’ve already started well, getting caught up with the Beyond Reality group’s reading of Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan series. I’ve finished Brothers in Arms and I’m looking forward to Mirror Dance in January. I started to reread Anne Bishop’s Daughter of the Blood in December and got so caught up in the story and I had to keep right on reading to the end of the original trilogy. She has a new book coming out in March, so I’m hoping to reread the others before I read that. Of course, none of these ones will make the list as 2010 hasn’t started yet, but I hope to carry on with this as I have begun.

My list of books read for this challenge is here.

The Big Book Challenge 2010

Orannia over at Walkabout has set up The Big Book Challenge. It’s a nice, low stress one where the idea is to get one big book (over 500 pages) that’s been languishing on the TBR onto the night table and finally read. I admit that I have big-book-fear, especially big-fat-fantasy-book-fear. So I have a bunch of things I know are really good but the size scares me too much to take them off the shelf. Books currently on the TBR that qualify are:

1. Ship of Destiny – Robin Hobb (816 pages)
2. Prophecy – Elizabeth Haydon (736 pages)
3. The Summer Queen – Joan D. Vinge (688 pages)
4. This Alien Shore – C. S. Friedman (576 pages)
5. Son of the Shadows – Juliet Marillier (608 pages)
6. The Last Dancer – Daniel Keys Moran (594 pages)
7. Dragon Prince – Melanie Rawn (576 pages)

Wonderfully, Orannia doesn’t require us to set a list (the one above is a guideline), doesn’t require reviews and will consider us a great success if we finish just one book that qualifies. This is the nice, kind of no-pressure challenge I want, where it encourages me but doesn’t beat me over the head if I stumble.

My list of books read for this challenge is here.

The Science Fiction Experience 2010

I think this is the third year Carl over at Stainless Steel Droppings has hosted this challenge. Again, it is a low-pressure one. All Carl does is encourage you to read/watch/play in the SF arena in January and February. I have some SF books waiting in the TBR that I haven’t got to in ages, so I’m going to use this as an excuse to try to get some of them read. Books currently on the TBR that qualify are:

1. Doubleblind – Ann Aguirre
2. The Empress of Mars – Kage Baker
3. Mirror Dance – Lois McMaster Bujold (read January)
4. To Trade the Stars – Julie E. Czerneda
5. This Alien Shore – C. S. Friedman
6. Fledgling – Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
7. Agent of Change – Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
8. Dragonsdawn – Anne McCaffrey
9. Seeker – Jack McDevitt
10. The Last Dancer – Daniel Keys Moran
11. Valentine Pontifex – Robert Silverberg
12. Archangel – Sharon Shinn
13. Alien Taste – Wen Spencer
14. Endless Blue – Wen Spencer
15. City of Pearl/Crossing the Line – Karen Traviss
16. The Summer Queen – Joan D. Vinge

My list of books read for this challenge is here.

I have no idea how many – if any – of these I will read, but I’ve going to try to give it a go. Wish me well.

ETA: List updated 22-2-10