Off the Shelf: 2013

So I've chosen my books for Off the Shelf. There are different levels for the challenge, starting at 5 books from your shelf and going up to 200! I'm going to keep it simple and go with Tempted: 5 books to read.

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I know, a bit of a modest attempt but I don't want to commit to 15 books and there is no level for 10 books. So I picked 6 books I most want to read. Hopefully, it will spur me to read some other ones off the shelf as well. They are: 

1. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson
   This is the third book in the Millennium trilogy. I have really enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire. I don't read many thriller style novels and these books have really got me hooked. The plots are complex and really gripping. I've been meaning to finish off the trilogy for a while now, just haven't gotten around to it!
   
2. Steve Jobs: A Biography - Walter Isaacson
   I really like reading biographies and have had this book for a while now. This is a MASSIVE book and 2013 is the year I conquer it!
   
3. The Sea of Poppies - Amitav Ghosh
   Amitav Ghosh is one of my favourite authors. I first read Hungry Tide by him, many years ago and absolutely loved it. Many, many people have since told me how good Sea of Poppies is. I bought a copy of the book on my trip to India in 2010 and I am ashamed to say I am yet to read it!
   
4. Hell's Angels - Hunter S. Thompson
   I bought this book soon after reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in 2007 and never actually got around to reading it. Gotta be done!
   
5. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
   A frequent pop culture reference and a classic I am embarrassed to say I haven't read. Yet.
   
6. The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga
   Been meaning to read this one since it won the Booker prize. But again, books sit on your shelf and you forget.

Ok, time to start reading then!

Reading Challenges: 2013

For the last few months, I have used tiredness as an excuse many a time and didn't bother reading. And as mentioned in this post, got more sucked into watching mindless, crappy telly and read less and less. To combat my embarrassing lack of reading, I am signing up for a couple of reading challenges this year.

I signed up for the Good Reads reading challenge a couple of days ago and set myself a modest goal of reading 30 books in 2013. Then I read Psych Babbler's post on the reading challenges she is doing and found the Off the Shelf Reading challenge. In short, this challenge commits you to reading those books you enthusiastically bought but have since been gathering the proverbial dust. Perfect.

The best part is both challenges work together as the ultimate goal is simply to read more. Besides, less TV also works very well with more reading.

I am yet to pick my books for Off the Shelf, so I will do another post later this week outlining the deets of what books I must convert from unread to read on my shelf.

Wish me luck! :)