Ellie's Mixing It Up Challenge

With Christmas approaching - it's not just retail people who are preparing for the festive season, now, but normal people too - and the new year following on its heels, I've started thinking about blogging challenges for 2012. Now, I'm well aware of how I've neglected the challenges I set myself this year, but, hey, a new year means a new start, doesn't it? One challenge that has really caught my eye is the Mixing It Up challenge, the brainchild of Ellie the Bookshop Girl. (If you haven't come across her blog before, check it out!)

Ellie explains:

"It's all about mixing up your reading, pushing your boundaries and exploring new genres.  Take a look at the categories below, and choose one book for each category.  It's that easy!  You can choose to try anything from a gentle 4 to the full 16 different genres, and the book you pick for each is entirely up to you!"


I am going to be ambitious and go for ALL THE TRIMMINGS AND A CHERRY ON TOP, aiming to read something of every category listed. Many won't prove much of a challenge as I'm quite a wide reader anyway - at least in the realms of fiction. Other categories, such as science, both the natural and social varieties will be nearly new to me, and reading something of everything in the twelve months could be a challenge. I'm putting a few ideas down here, though they are subject to change.


So, the categories:

1. CLASSICS

Initial ideas: Dombey and Son or Our Mutual Friend - Dickens

Vanity Fair - Thackeray

2. BIOGRAPHY

The Brontes - Patricia Ingham

The Fry Chronicles - Stephen Fry

Confessions of a Conjuror - Derren Brown

3. COOKERY, FOOD AND WINE

I saw something about The Real Mrs Beeton in the stockroom at work that caught my interest. Any other suggestions would be welcome.

4. HISTORY

The Battle of Britain - Patrick Bishop

Wedlock - Wendy Moore

5. MODERN FICTION

As this is my most-read genre, I think I won't have much trouble finding something that fits this category.

6. GRAPHIC NOVELS AND MANGA

I plan to continue Neil Gaiman's Sandman series.

Scott Pilgrim

7.  CRIME AND MYSTERY

Dexter in the Dark - Jeff Lindsey

Anything in the Dalziel and Pascoe series by Reginald Hill

8. HORROR

I'm sure I can find something about werewolves or suchlike, although there is less of the outright horror in the shops now, and more "urban fantasy" or "paranormal romance." Maybe I'll reread Sarah Waters' The Little Stranger. That scared me all right!

Any suggestions or recommendations welcome.

9. ROMANCE

Oh gosh. I watched Love Actually recently and enjoyed it - isn't that enough of the mushy stuff for the next thirteen and a half months? No?

Well, I might be able to find something.

Duchess By Night by Eloisa James, perhaps? That looks fun!

10. SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY

It seems a safe bet I will be rereading some Pratchett and Gaiman at some point during the year, as well as Harry Potter. Possibly Tolkien, too. 

Maybe I'll venture into some science fiction, to take me out of my comfort zone. Or Game of Thrones, or Terry Goodkind. 

11. TRAVEL

Bill Bryson, probably. 

12. POETRY AND DRAMA

So much Shakespeare, so little time! Perhaps I will venture away from my favourite tragedies and read one of the historical plays - I've never read any of them, to my shame.

13. JOURNALISM AND HUMOUR

Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops, Jen Campbell.

14. SCIENCE AND NATURAL HISTORY

The only scientist who's been able to hold my attention since I did the coloured-flame experiment about ten years ago at school, is Professor Brian Cox. It's got to be him.

15. CHILDREN'S AND YOUNG ADULT

I have a whole bookshelf just of the classic kids' books - Enid Blyton, L. M. Montgomery, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Elinor M. Brent-Dyer, Lois Lowry, etc. etc. Plenty of scope for rereads.

16. SOCIAL SCIENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Hmmm... another fairly new genre for me. Maybe that Delusions of Gender thing I saw in the shop recently, or The Invisible Gorilla.

I welcome any suggestions and recommendations for all of these genres. For more info on the challenge and its rules, see Ellie's post.

My Blog Takes A Holiday

Looking at my blog posts over the last few months I notice my reviews and even meme posts have become very few and far between. The autumn months at work are the most tiring of the year, as the "Christmas season" in retail begins as soon as the kids have gone back to school after the summer holiday. My inclination to read, and to write about what I've been reading, has slowed down. Books have taken me longer than usual to finish, and more often than not I haven't found anything to say about them - not enough to turn into a review, at any rate. I've been wanting to blog, but just haven't found the words.

The less I've been reviewing, the more I feel guilty. And the harder I scour books for something to write about, the less I actually enjoy reading them. That's not what blogging ought to be about. It's certainly not what reading should be about.

As November dawns, my workload gets heavier and I made the decision to compete in NaNoWriMo - to write a novel in a month, or, in my case, add another 50 000 words to an existing story. Seeing that the blog is likely to suffer even further from neglect, I've made the difficult decision to send it on holiday for a month, to give myself permission not to update. Knowing my contrary mind, and the creativity of NaNoWriMo procrastination, the chances are I may end up blogging anyway, with mini-updates or short thoughts. But I'm not going to force myself to do this.

I will still be reading other people's blogs and can be contacted through email at kae.bookworm at gmail dot com or found on Twitter under the name of KatieWhoCanRead.  I'll also be haunting the NaNoWriMo website and forums - finding endless ways of not writing my novel - where I'm ScribblerK80. (Fellow NaNo-ers feel free to say hi!)

Have a great November and I'll see you next month!