I've been struggling through the good-but-lengthy Middlemarch since the beginning of the year and wondering if prioritizing some things around the house is going to rob me of the opportunity to re-educate myself in some areas this year.
Translated: Am I going to be able to actually read eight books in eight categories before the end of the year? Is the 8-8-8 Challenge out of reach?
My friend Paprika at the Frugal Families forums (a steal at $10 a year -- come over and join in the fun!) had a solution I can embrace: FIVE books in FIVE categories (so we still have FIVE minutes a day to post at FFs?).
Now, I could easily read 56-64 mysteries, kid books, school books or the like in a year, but my personal challenge was to read meaty, educational books after which I would be improved in some way, or at least more solid in my ideals. So if I set the goal of reading through all of Charlotte Mason's personal writings in the original language, I'm likely not going to be able to read through all of Shakespeare's tragedies, so some of my 8-8-8 categories were likely to be gimmes.
So here is my new and improved list of categories for my new and improved 5-5-5 challenge:
1. Classics by women
2. Classics by men
3. Charlotte Mason
4. Memoirs, diaries, biographies and autobiographies
5. Poetry
My personal rules are that none can be re-reads, all have to be completed in this calendar year and all have to have some substance. So there it is: 5 books in 5 categories so I can have 5 minutes a day to post on FFs.
Thanks again, Paprika!
