Announcing my first hosted reading challenge: The Blogging Authors Reading Project

I am going ahead with my first original reading challenge, and I’d like to invite you to join me! However, because so many of us have stated that we couldn’t possibly join another challenge this year, I’m calling it a “Reading Project” instead.

The Blogging Authors Reading Project is pretty much what it sounds like: reading books by authors whose blogs you also read. In some cases, I read one of the author’s books first and then learned he or she had a blog, which I checked out and liked enough to follow; I’ve come to know others as bloggers first, and then sought out their books. Such books are becoming a notable chunk of my TBR collection, and I’d like to make some headway with them this year.

Since this is my first hosted challenge, I’ll make it pretty simple:

  • Go through your blog subscriptions, feed reader, or bookmarks, and note which of the blogs you read regularly are written by published authors.
  • Check your TBR collection and/or wish list to see if you have unread books by any of those authors.
  • Commit to reading a certain percentage (not number) of those books by December 31, 2010.
  • Your reading list should be based on the author blogs you read and books you have at the time you sign up for the challenge, with one exception (see below*). You may find new author blogs during the year – I’m sure I will. The authors whose blogs you read may publish new books during 2010 – I know at least a couple of my own blogging authors have books coming out this year. While you’re more than welcome to read those blogs and books, they will not count toward your challenge commitment – otherwise, you’d have to revise that throughout the year. (I had to draw a line for myself, so it will apply to other participants too!)
  • Crossover with other challenges is allowed and encouraged!

The authors whose blogs and books you include in the challenge are totally up to you, but here’s my own list of candidates, from the blogs on my “author blogs” blogroll:

The Bright Side of Disaster and Get Lucky, both by Katherine Center
Notes from the Underwire: Adventures from My Awkward and Lovely Life, by Quinn Cummings
Why Is My Mother Getting a Tattoo? And Other Question I Wish I Never Had to Ask, by Jancee Dunn
ShapeShifter: The Demo Tapes, Year 2, by Susan Helene Gottfried
Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman
Janeology, by Karen Harrington
Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (on Kindle)
Nothing but Ghosts and Undercover, both by Beth Kephart
Bitter Is the New Black; Bright Lights, Big Ass; and Such a Pretty Fat, all by Jen Lancaster
Outtakes from a Marriage, by Ann Leary
Zoe’s Tale, by John Scalzi
Best Friends Forever, by Jennifer Weiner

I’d love to say I’ll read every one of these books before the end of the year, but I’ll set my goal at 70% (12 out of 17 books listed). Since some of them will be options for other challenges I’m doing – they’ll all count for the Read Your Own Books Challenge, for example, and several will qualify for the Memorable Memoirs Challenge as well – I think that goal might not be too far-fetched.

*The one exception to the “books on hand” rule is this: the rockin’-in-every-way Susan Helene Gottfried has offered a free e-book of her latest Demo Tapes to participants in the Blogging Authors Reading Project. If you’d like one, mention it in comments when you sign up!

Speaking of signing up…I really hope you will! I’ll be doing this anyway, but I’d love to have company. I’m not setting up a Mr Linky yet, so if you’re in, here’s what to do: Make a sign-up post on your own blog, link back to this post within it, and come back here to leave me a comment. (If you don’t have your own blog, just leave me a comment.) And if you have any questions about the Blogging Authors Reading Project, please leave those in the comments here too – I’ll answer them in the same place.

UPDATE: I’ve created the Twitter hashtag #bloggingauthors for this challenge, if anyone wants to tweet about it!

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14 comments

  1. A question: For me, there's a huge difference between the number of such books I own and the number on my wish list. And yet you used a slash…. Does that mean it's up to me, I can interpret that however I want?

  2. Wordlily – It's open to interpretation. In my case, "TBR" only applies to books that I own, and "wishlist" to those I want to read but don't own yet. But I know a lot of people use the library more than I do, and I wouldn't want them to be limited because of that (or feel forced to buy books).

    Does that clarify things? If not, leave a follow-up comment and I'll respond to that!

  3. Susan – It's a goal, that's all – just to get focused :-). And thank you again for the free downloads – I hope we get some takers, too!

    Robin – I'm so glad you're joining me. Thank you!

  4. This is a fanatstic idea, and I'm so excited to see two of my books on the list! I hope you like them–and thank you so much for reading my blog! And I have to say about Jancee Dunn: She's awesome! We were on a panel together last fall at the Texas Book Festival, and she was as funny and gracious as they come. Love her!
    Good luck with the "project" and I'd love to hear about how it goes!
    Warmly,
    Katherine Center

  5. Katherine – Thanks so much for coming by! I've had one of your books for awhile, and will be reading the other for its TLC Book Tour in April; I'm really looking forward to getting to both of them.

    And I have to say that I'm envious that you had the chance to hang out with Jancee Dunn :-). I love her writing – she sounds like someone I'd really enjoy talking to.

  6. I posted a page with ALL current reading challenges. Let me know if you want me to add any other information to your challenge. I hope it brings even more readers to your challenge!

    Reading Challenges.

    Rachelle (Bibliobabe)