Bibliofreakblog

Summer Vacation Reading Challenge

Well, not all of us teach or in school, so we don’t have an actual Summer Vacation (very sad for us and we are constantly jealous of the rest of you) but who doesn’t love lying in the grass or the sand in warm weather with a good book?  And since many of us are not able to travel the world literally, we an still do it literarily.  Molly at My Cozy Book Nook is hosting a Summer Vacation travel-themed challenge.  Here’s the skinny:

Dates: Friday, May 22 – Monday, September 7, 2009 (Memorial Day weekend – Labor Day weekend)

Requirements: Summer vacations are meant to be relaxing and fun – not stressful. However, some people interpret “fun” by doing nothing but going to the beach and vegging out — while others like to maximize their sight-seeing adventures. To that end, I have developed two different levels of participation:

• Beach Bumb: you will read 3 books during this time frame (a leisurely book-a-month); cross-over book selections from other challenges may count; and you do not have to list books in advance — after all, summer vacation is a time for spontaneity.
  
• Globe Trotter: you will commit to reading 6 pre-selected books during this time frame, but you may substitute up to 3 books due to changes in travel plans. Cross-overs for 5 out of the 6 books are allowed, but ideally one book will be read for this challenge alone.

 I’m joining the journey at the Globe Trotter level.  The books I’ve selected are:

1. Poland by James Michener (Poland, duh)
2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Germany)
3. Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding (England)
4. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie (India)
5. The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano (Mexico)
6.  The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Russia)

I’ve already started the Savage Detectives, and Poland will count for another challenge (which I’ll post about as soon as I have my whole list down).