The 2011 Book Challenge

I've never taken much interest in New Year's Resolutions.  None of the popular ones ever appealed to me.  Um, refrain from chocolate for a year?  I don't think so.  I want 2011 to be a GOOD year, thank you very much!  Perhaps because of all the torture-inducing resolutions out there, I felt inspired to embark on a goal for 2011 that would be fun!  That I would actually enjoy!  Sadly, the end result of eating a pound of chocolate every day would not give me the desired effect on my life for which I am seeking, so I racked my brain.  Suddenly, in a moment of insanity that has still carried me forth until this moment, it came to me!  I've decided to tackle a challenge that will have my children screaming, my mister protesting, and will cause my favorite TV shows to fall into serious neglect.  For 2011 & 2012, I will read 100 books.  In other words, 50 books in 2011, 50 in 2012.

Not just any books, mind you.  Scouring my recipe book every night for dinner ideas isn't what I'm talking about here.  I will be reading the very best books of all time.  At least, ahem, according to literature expert and former Wesleyan University dean, Daniel S. Burt.  He also wrote a nifty little book called, The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time.  Check out his list here.

My goal is to start at the bottom and leave the very, very best for last.  As you can see, the first on my list is Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, and that's running at about 850 pages, according to my copy.  Now, my calculations tell me that I'm going to have to read approximately 50 pages a day in order to reach my reading goal by 2013.  Pretty crazy for a woman with two kids and a day job?  I know, I know.  I'm sure there will be many a night when my house is the last in the neighborhood with a light still shining into the wee hours of the morning, and I will be reading on, trying to ignore the fact that my whole family hates me.

This ain't gonna be easy.  But I'm surely looking forward to this year (and next)!  And anyway, what serious reader can claim to not have read every single book on this list?

So, don't call me, don't email me, and don't ask me to go out for dinner (just kidding).  If all goes well, you will hear from me again in about 8 days when I'm finally finished with this monster of a book, Gone With the Wind.  Wish me luck!