2011 To Be Read (TBR) Pile Challenge

I'm joining the 2011 TBR Pile Challenge!

The Goal:

To finally read 12 books from your "to be read" pile, within 12 months.

Specifics:

1. Each of these 12 books must have been on your bookshelf or "To Be Read" list for AT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2010 or later (any book published in the year 2009 or earlier qualifies, as long as it has been on your TBR pile - I WILL be checking publication dates).Caveat: Two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books end up in the "can't get through" pile.

2. To be eligible, you must sign-up with Mr. Linky below - link to your list (so create it ahead of time!) and add updated links to each book's review.  Every listed book must be completed and must be reviewed in order to count as completed.

3. Your list must be posted by Friday, December 31st, 2010.

4. Leave comments on this post as you go along, to update us on your status. Come back here if/when you complete this challenge and leave a commentindicating that you CONQUERED YOUR 2011 TBR LIST!  Every person who successfully reads his/her 12 books and/or alternates (and who provides a working link to their list, which has links to the review locations) will be entered to win a $50 gift card from either Amazon.com or The Book Depository!

5.  There may be mini-challenge "check-ins" throughout 2011, to award and recognize those participants who are progressing through the challenge, such as a "Spring Break Check-In!" or a "6 Month Pit Stop!" Participants who are making equal progress to-date (6 books at the 6 month check-in, for example) could win a prize! 

6. Crossovers from other challenges are totally acceptable, as long as you have never read the book before and it was published pre-2010! 

*Note - You can read the books on your list in any order; they do not need to be read in the order you have them listed. As you complete a book - review it, and go back to your original list and turn that title into a link to the review - that will keep the comments section here from getting ridiculously cluttered.  For example, I have completed #09. on my list - so I have crossed it out as completed, and linked it to my review. 

This probably is the best way lessen my unread, just idling by and so so lonely books. Some of the books here, I've mentioned before that I planned to pick up but still haven't read. Sometimes I just can't get through some books, like A Hundred Years of Solitude which I'm not including because I will fail this challenge if I do, so I picked the ones I feel like I can finish. So, here's my list:

1. Animal Farm, George Orwell (Thanks Kirby!)

2. Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll (Thanks Bea!)

3. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

4. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
5. The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway

6. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

7. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi

8. Wicked, Gregory Maguire

9. A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini

10. Absurdistan, Gary Shteyngart

11. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (Thanks Jomax!)

12. Waiting, Ha Jin

Alternates:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon

The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas

There are two things you may have observed in my list. First, Persepolis. I have to say including Persepolis was a big decision because it's a graphic novel. But I placed a comment on the challenge post and the moderator agreed, so that's settled. Second, you can see that half of my list are classics and half are more contemporary. I just wanted to read in equal parts so to speak, I don't know if that makes sense but it somehow does to me. Hehe

Too bad I can't include Mockingjay and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest in the books I'll be reading for the challenge, but hopefully I can squeeze them in. After all, I have tons of time to read after graduation. I think all depends on how long it will take me to land a job. :p

Note: I created a stand alone page to keep track of my reading. I will link my reviews there. (See tab beside Home labelled TBR Checklist.)