My Bookshelf Challenge

I enjoy reading. I really do. But since I started working in the copy editing/design world (where reading literally is my job), I've been slacking. It's hard to read for pleasure when you have to read, comprehend, and make changes to someone else's (usually boring, mediocre, and lifeless) work for 8ish hours a day. Not to mention that the goal of my job was to ensure errors were caught before the pages went to print, so we wouldn't get a million emails and calls for accidentally running, say, the "annual poopy sale."

Yes, that really happened.

Anyway, while I'm on the hunt for a sweet new gig, I plan on keeping my mind sharp and indulging in three of my favorite things: reading, writing, and crosswords.

I still have to motivate myself to read, especially when there's a brand new episode of The Bachelor or some awful ABC family teen dramady calling to me from my TiVo. So I invented a game. Without further ado, here is by bookshelf challenge:

My challenge is the middle shelf. The bottom shelf is every book Jason owns. I know. We're working on it, okay?

I'm really good at collecting books. So good, in fact, that I probably have 50 books (at least) that I haven't read yet. My goal is to fill up one of these shelves with books I a) haven't read yet or b) haven't read since high school (so anything that I've read pre-2008 is up for grabs). Each month, I'll take a picture of my progress and write a little ditty on each selection. What's my reward for filling up a shelf, you ask? A book shopping spree on Amazon. I really couldn't have planned it any better. *pats self on back*

I only read a few books this month, but they're all goodies.


1-3. Part of the "Among the Hidden" series

"Among the Hidden," "Among the Imposters," and "Among the Betrayed" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

I read the first two of these bad boys sometime in fifth grade. I loved the idea of these kids who were my age hiding and changing their identities in order to survive. I remembered them from time to time, but it wasn't until I saw a blog post from my fifth grade teacher showing off his classroom library that I needed to read them again. Plus, I needed something that I could easily put down to tend to Jason while he was in and out of the hospital. The second time around, the books are just as good, but for a different reason. Get ready for some seriously dated internet jargon, and a lot of jumping to conclusions by an 11-year-old. I would not recommend these to my literary pals, but if you're a teacher or have kids in the 8- to 12-year-old range, check them out. So much fun.

4.  Whimsically religious book about Mormons

"The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance" by Elna Baker

I picked this book up at least a year ago because it was in the "cheap books bin" at B&N. I'm a sucker for memoirs. I'm a sucker for humor and whimsy. I lover the underdog, especially if the underdog is an oddball with a moral dilemma. And, I have to admit, my favorite memoirs tackle the idea of religion in such a human way that I cannot help but empathize with them (insert shout out to Beryl Singleton Bissell's "The Scent of God" here). I do not consider myself a religious or faith-filled person, and I'm okay with that. But I like to think and question and learn, and this book allowed me to examine Mormonism (and how, for some, it's not just a "crazy" religion that involves "magic" underwear") in a new way. And I can honestly say that two weeks after finishing it, I still think about it. So there's that.

5. Harry Potter. Need I say more?

Do I even need to caption this? Probably not. That's our cat, Fuji, by the way.

I started reading the Harry Potter series when I was 10ish, maybe 11. I got the first three books for Christmas and plowed through them. And I plowed through each new book when it hit the shelves. I would have races with my other Harry Potter reading friend to see who would get done first...so I'm not sure how much I actually comprehended. I bought book seven, but I never got around to reading it...probably because my boyfriend at the time was too cool for Harry Potter. Or the Beatles. Or drinking. But whatever -- I've seen recent pictures. I know he's balding.

I don't need to go over this with you. We all know what Harry Potter did to our age group. We all had a crush on/dated/kissed/married a scrawny kid with glasses and brown hair in a constant state of disarray. We identified with these characters, pretended our broomsticks were enchanted, and recited Latin phrases hoping to turn our siblings into toads. The magic is still there after 12 years of separation from this book, and I cannot wait to finish the rest of the series...this time with a sense of wonderment, knowledge, and understanding of what J.K. Rowling and The Boy Who Lived did for a generation of people -- from casual readers to bookworms.


Now if you'll excuse me, my heat's out again and I need to check into a hotel.