Finished!

There is a great feeling that comes from accomplishing a goal (especially ahead of schedule). Just in case you missed it, here is a visual representation of my completion of the "Read 'em All" challenge.

If you followed any of my 2011 Whitney Award Finalist reviews, you'll see that I didn't love all of the books. But, the majority of the books were well written, even if they weren't a genre I cared for. I was happy to discover some authors to keep my eye on (and a few to avoid-although that wasn't a happy thing, but rather something helpful to know).

I am excited to hear who wins each of the Whitney Awards.

Romance Category Finished!

Borrowed Light marked the last book I needed to read in the Romance category. Assuming I can get my hands on a copy of all of the 2011 Whitney Award Finalists, I think I'm going to make this goal by the "Read 'em All" deadline!

*And, if anyone was wondering, this challenge has effected my resolution of reading as a reward after I accomplish other things. At least I still remember that I set the goal, right?

A (HUGE) Reading Challenge

It's no secret that I love reading, and I'm always looking for great books to read. Earlier this week I received an email from LDSWBR (a blog I'm subscribed to) about a reading challenge.

I have heard about books being nominated or winning Whitney Awards, but until the other day I hadn't looked into the details of a Whitney Award. From the WA website:

The Whitneys are an awards program for novels by LDS authors. Elder Orson F. Whitney, an early apostle in the LDS church, prophesied “We will yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own.” Since we have that as our goal, we feel that we should also honor those authors who excel and continually raise the bar.

As I mentioned in my review of Olivia, I am always happy to find books written by LDS authors (especially if they're for a national audience). My excitement stems from hoping that I've found a good book that is clean (so many iffy books out there).

Anyway, I decided to take a huge plunge and join this challenge. It is to read all 35 books by April 23, 2012. You also need to become a member of the Whitney Academy (I was accepted!), and then you can vote on the best novel of the year.

This is a huge undertaking. I have already read 8 of the 2011 Finalists, so I think this goal is possible. Although, I am going to try to complete one category at a time (you can vote for the best in any of the 7 categories if you've read all 5 of the books in each category), because it is very possible that life will get in the way of meeting the goal by the deadline. But, I am definitely in for reading all 35 books.

So, there will be a couple of reviews posted on other books that I just finished reading, but then be prepared for Whitney Award Finalist reviews!