2011 Off the Shelf Challenge

Posted on by October 23, 2010
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What: Off the Shelf Challenge
When: 1 January – 31 December 2011
Who: Dutchie (Bookish Ardour)
Rules: Read books that you own, but haven’t gotten around to reading, for whatever reason. Only books you own prior to 1 January 2011 count toward the challenge. There are several levels to choose from:

  • Tempted– 5 books
  • Trying –  15 books
  • Making A Dint – 30 books < — I’m doing this one!
  • On A Roll – 50 books
  • Flying Off – 75 books

For the truly adventurous:

  • Hoarder – 75-125 books
  • Buried – 125-200 books

(I’m going to assume that “Hoarder” level probably starts with the 76th book, and “Buried” starts with the 126th. If you only read 75 books, it would still be the “Flying Off” level, no?)

I really liked the sound of this challenge. Flexibility, for one; there is no requirement to have a list up front. Crossovers to other challenge is always a plus, since new challenges pop up throughout the year.

Though there is no requirement for a list up front, I do have a general idea of the books I plan to read. Before hearing about this challenge, I had been working on a personal challenge I was calling “Sweet Sixteen”. It was basically a sort of “New Years resolution-type” list of sixteen books — or series — that have been malingering on my shelf.  I probably would have listed them in an end of year/goal for the new year post had I not come across this challenge. Of course, I’ll have to expand the list, due to the fact I’m doing the “Making A Dint” level:

  • 2 Georgette Heyer novels
  • 2 Star Wars novels
  • 2 “In Death” (J. D. Robb) novels
  • 2 Midnight Breed (Lara Adrian) novels
  • 2 Psy/Changeling (Nalini Singh) novels
  • 2 Ghostwalkers (Christine Feehan) novels
  • 1 Gaslight Mystery (Victoria Thompson)
  • 1 Meg Langlow Mystery (Donna Andrews)
  • 1 Captain Lacey Mystery (Ashely Gardner)
  • 1 “Ice” novel (Anne Stuart)

There you have it. I’ve got plenty of “slots” left to fill, based on my mood and other reading challenges that I might want to participate in throughout the year.

As far as tracking my progress, normally I would list the challenge on my 2011 Reading Challenges page; however, as the list is 30 entries, I’ll will create it’s own sub-page under “2011”.

To learn more about the challenge, and sign up, go here.

Related posts:

  1. 2009 Chunkster Challenge
  2. 2009 Chunkster Challenge Wrap-Up
  3. Back to History Challenge – Incomplete
  4. Random Reading Challenge
  5. Challenge Update – April 2009
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Comments

2011 Off the Shelf Challenge — 4 Comments

  1. Hey Christina,

    Thanks for signing up!

    To answer your question yes 75 books would still be Flying Off. The Hoarder and Buried are more for people to choose a number in between those two. Now looking at I should probably change that to 76 and 126… I figure some people might want a bigger challenge, but everyone reads at a different pace so it’s really a personal choice with those two rather than a fixed number.

    I hope you enjoy the challenge and I look forward to see how you go!

    • Thanks for stopping by! 🙂 I think this will be an enjoyable challenge – Looking forward to starting.

  2. I’m participating at Making a Dint too! Good luck to you! I’ve decided to NOT cross-over with any of this challenge and I’ve personally told myself I will not buy one new book until I’ve gone through at least two books that I already own (just personal books, not review books). Have fun!

    • Wow! Not cross-over? 😯 I don’t think I could limit myself that way. I plan to read plenty of 2011 books, which won’t count toward this challenge and that, in itself, will be enough of a hindrance without going that far.