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2011 Romance Reading Challenge

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2011 Romance Reading Challenge

What: 2011 Romance Reading Challenge
When: 1 January – 31 December 2011
Who: Naida (The Bookworm)
Rules: Read a total of 5 books in twelve months. For details and sign up, go here.

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Naida doesn’t set limits on what type of romance qualifies for her challenge.  To quote:

“As long as the story has romantic love between the two main characters your selection will fit this challenge. The novels do not need to have a happy ending either, there can also be unrequited love.”

However,  I like to add a little to the challenge for myself. This year, I’m striving to read as many new to me authors as I can (yeah, it will help with LE’s New Author challenge). This is what I’ve come up with for 2011:

  1. Paranormal Romance –  Must be 1st in a series and from a new-to-me author.  No young adult or category romance.
  2. Historical Romance –  Must be a new-to-me author.  Category romances acceptable.  No fantasy elements or young adult.
  3. Contemporary Romance – Must be a new-to-me author.  Category romances acceptable.  Can be romantic suspense. No fantasy elements or young adult.
  4. Young Adult w/Romantic Elements – Any sub-genre or combination of sub-genres is acceptable.
  5. The Semi-Wild Card – Must be a non-category book and new-to-me author. Any sub-genre acceptable.

Why did I get so specific this time? Because I’ve been reading more and more romances over the years, and it would be so easy to slot the next book from a favorite author into each spot instead of trying someone new. The paranormal would be either Deborah Cooke’s dragons, Sharon Ashwood’s Dark Forgotten, or Jessica Andersen’s Nightkeepers instead of the one of the many 1st-in-a-series I already own. Under the historical category, it would be a Louise Allen or a Christine Merrill Harlequin Historical instead of one of the many other books I’ve accumulated over the years, both category and non-category. Same with the contemporary (a Kelly Hunter or a Janice Kay Johnson, in this case).

This doesn’t mean I won’t be reading my favorite authors. I’ll still visit Ashwood’s world, and get my dragon and Mayan doomsday fixes — potentially in multiple doses, since I’m a wee bit behind on those series. The Regency Silk & Scandal mini-series features books by both Allen and Merrill (two each!). And I will be saying good-bye to the Hunter’s Bennett series in 2011 when I finally read Jake’s book.

As to specific books, I haven’t selected those yet. However, I’ve signed up for so many challenges, I’m bound to have come across books that fit multiple challenges.

As usual, I’ll track my progress here.

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