Quick aside - 2011 Self-Challenge Recap

I opted not to officially sign up for any challenges in 2011, instead setting aside a shelf and starting what I called my "One Shelf at a Time Self-Challenge." Anybody want to place bets on how well that went?

Let's just say there won't be a big party with streamers and champagne. Of the books pictured above (my self-challenge shelf), I only finished the following:

Far Afield by Susanna Kaysen

True Grit by Charles Portis

Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

All three were wonderful books. I also dipped into and rejected a few:

The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald - probably just not the right moment,

Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda -whose book of short stories, I Wish Someone Were Waiting For Me Somewhere is one of my all-time favorite short-story collections, and

Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs - did not like the way she fictionalized the Biblical account of Eve and couldn't talk myself into going on to the next character, not knowing whether or not I'd know the real story well enough to get anything out of the fictionalized retelling.

One book was taken off the challenge shelf by its owner (my eldest son), who said he couldn't wait any longer for me to read it because he had a friend who wanted to borrow it:

A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick

The rest just sat there, eventually forgotten as I became overwhelmed by review books. It wasn't till November that I realized I'd forgotten about the shelf entirely, probably somewhere around July because I do recall thinking, "I should do a 6-month recap" and not getting to it. By the time I remembered I had a challenge shelf it, was obviously too late to read all those books; however, I did read Garlic & Sapphires and attempted Hunting & Gathering because they were borrowed books and I didn't think I should keep them beyond the end of the year.

This is a good example of why I don't join in on challenges. I'm a challenge failure. But, apart from the books I've rejected, I still do want to read all the remaining books on that shelf. During 2011 I managed to read The Goose Girl, which was published prior to Enna Burning (both by Shannon Hale) and therefore needed to be read first, anyway. So, there Enna will sit until her time comes.

I have some Christmas cookies to work off. Must dash, for now. I may inundate you with more reviews, later.

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