Jill & Rebecca’s 2017 Bookish Challenge

As a reader, I find that sometimes I get comfortable in a genre, and then realize that I haven’t read anything different in ages. I have my little comfort zone, and quite honestly, somebody may have to drag me out of it kicking and screaming. But, if you’re always comfortable, then you aren’t actually growing, and you might just miss the beauty of the unknown.

So Rebecca and I decided that this year we will broaden our horizons, but we both accept that it won’t be an easy task – I may need more than a small push to get started. In order to challenge ourselves and keep focused, we crafted our goals into a challenge…

Jill and Rebecca’s 2017 Bookish Challenge

1. A book written by an author from the state in which we live

I am a firm believer in supporting local artists. During our travels, we always strive to find something from a local artisan to bring back into our home. We should seek to nurture the art-form of local authors as well. Rebecca will be looking at local authors in Utah – Rebecca Ethington (I’m going to exert my influence here!) – while I will be on the search for a fellow Alabamian.

2. A classic

High school and College Lit covered many of these, but there are still many waiting to be discovered.

3. A book recommended by a librarian or book seller

Librarians and book sellers have a veritable fountain of information that is often overlooked. It’s also a good way to meet new people with common interests – because I excel at introverting!

4. A book that has been made into a movie

Ok, I will admit it…I am a book snob. My husband loathes watching movies with me if I have read the book. Apparently, I like to point out exactly where the movie-maker totally screwed it all up. So usually, I either avoid the movie or don’t read the book. I guess it’s time for me to open my heart to all forms of artistic interpretation. *insert heavy sigh of resignation here*

5. A biography or autobiography

I am a lover of fiction so this is a genre that doesn’t come up (in my comfort zone) much. I can see where this genre could be very interesting, and quite possibly as entertaining as fiction.

6. A book recommended by a friend that we wouldn’t have chosen ourselves

While I do have my beloved book comfort zone, there are also some genres that I consciously avoid. My overactive imagination tends to shy away from True Crime, Horror, and Criminal Suspense, but this year we will embrace our book fears!

7. A book written by an author that we haven’t read before

As we step out into the world of the unknown, this challenge will probably take care of itself easily. To a book junkie, finding a new author to love is kind of like finding the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow!

8. A book recommended by one of our favorite authors

I stalk my favorite authors on social media like any good fan-girl should, and occasionally they mention other books that have impressed them. I’ll be grabbing one of those up.

9. A book that has been on our Kindle for over a year

This challenge should be cake because my TBR is OUT OF CONTROL…

10. A book chosen without reading the blurb and based on cover appeal alone

I am guilty…I judge books by their covers. I understand this isn’t reasonable, but I can’t really help myself. Covers are IMPORTANT! However, I always read the blurb to see if it sounds intriguing. This challenge might actually be more interesting to go in the other direction entirely. Maybe I should choose a book with a cover that is unappealing to me – because most times I don’t even give them the fair shot of reading the blurb. I just move right along. Hmm…maybe I’ll do this challenge both ways and test my “cover appeal” theory!

Do you have your own challenge planned? We would love to hear about it. We also welcome you to follow along with us during our challenge. We will need new book recommendations for some of our challenges as well. Do you have a book that you think we should read?