The last couple of years I’ve barely joined any challenges. I’ve done a few here and there but nothing like back in 2009 when I joined 11 challenges. What was I thinking? Well, I was probably thinking of all the fun and of course expanding my reading horizons. So, I haven’t gone crazy and joined 11 challenges but I’m joining the following four:

The Romance Reading Challenge hosted by Naida. I don’t read a lot of romances of the Harlequin variety but I do enjoy love stories. Gimmie some Jojo Moyes, Georgette Heyer, etc. I even like my mysteries with a bit of romance.

Surely I can read five books throughout the next year that would fulfill the requirement for this one right?

If you’ve got a good love story for me to add to my list let me know.

Next up is The Chunkster Reading Challenge hosted by Vasilly. I love the idea of reading big, chunky books but in reality I tend to put the books longer than 500 pages back on the shelf. Too tired, not enough time, etc. but really I have to get over that.

I have so many big books that are just waiting to be read. Villette, Vanity Fair, The Moonstone. Hmm, lots of classics. Which would be a good thing too!

For this challenge a chunkster is any book longer than 450 pages. There are no levels of participation but I am going to aim for three!

A new to me challenge is the Vintage Mystery Bingo Challenge hosted by My Reader’s Block. The goal is to play a Gold or Silver Mystery Bingo Score Card. I love a good mystery but most of my mysteries are modern reads and I think it would be great to mix in some from the Golden Age of mystery.

I’m selecting a Gold Score Card which means all mysteries have to have been written before 1960. I see some Agatha Christie’s in my future but I’d also love to read some Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham.

The mystery also lasts all year and a valid bingo requires filling six spaces on the card. You do get a free space. This is going to be fun!

Finally I love letters so when I heard about the Postal Reading Challenge hosted by The Indextrious Reader I couldn’t pass it up. The key is to read books with a postal theme. It could be a non-fiction book on the subject of letter writing or it could be a novel in epistolary form (which I love).

This challenge does have some levels of participation, and I’ll go with the Postcard level which requires reading four books. I don’t have any books in mind for this one yet but I’m going to have fun finding some that meet the requirements.

I’m sure there will be more challenges to join, readalongs and readathons. I see lots of good reading ahead. Now if you have some great books to recommend for any of these do let me know. How about you, have you gone challenge crazy too? Which ones are you joining?

It’s the weekend and it’s also the start of my holiday break from work. YAY! The last few weeks have been crazy busy at work so needless to say I’m very happy to have some downtime to look forward to.

First though I still have to finish some Christmas shopping, catching up with friends, and some holiday decorating. I better make a list if I’m going to get to all of my to-dos. Maybe I’ll do that tonight while we spend some quality time at the bookstore! Ooh and I have a coupon so I think a treat is in order.

I also haven’t forgotten that I told you I was going to join in some challenges. I think I’ve made my selections so I promise to tell you about those soon!

So just a quick post to say happy weekend everyone and more book talk soon. Tell me what you are up to and what good stuff you are reading this weekend.