Welcome to the Spring Reading Thing 2009! Are you ready to read? I sure am!

I’m looking forward to seeing what’s on everyone’s reading lists this spring, and finding some new and irresistible books to add to my TBR pile. I’m also looking forward to digging into my own spring-time pile of books, which has quite a bit of variety, I think.

Whatever you’re reading for this challenge, I hope you enjoy each and every book!

Here’s a brief recap of how to be a part of the Spring Reading Thing 2009:

• Make a list of books you want to read (or finish reading) this spring. Your list can be as long or as short as you’d like. (Also, feel free to modify your list during the challenge if it’s not working for you.)

• Write a blog post containing your list and submit it to this post using the Mr. Linky below. (Please do not put your name on the Mr. Linky before you have your post done, and please link directly to your Spring Reading Thing post. If you don’t, your entry will be deleted. Read this post for more information.)

• Get reading! The challenge goes from today, March 20th, through June 20th.

• Check out other participants’ lists and add to your own to-read-someday pile!

• Write a post about your challenge experience in June, telling us all about whether you reached your goals and how the Spring Reading Thing went for you. Oh, and if you don’t finish your books, or if you change your list half-way through, or if you only read two books…it’s OKAY. This is a low-pressure challenge that should be fun. As long as you do some reading this spring (and enjoy it!), that’s good enough for me.

There’s a Mr. Linky at the end of this post. Please use it to link to your blog post containing your Spring Reading Thing list. Remember to link to your specific post, not just your general blog homepage. People will be stopping by for days (or weeks!) and when you link to your specific post, it will make it easier for everyone to find your reading list. Also, if you don’t mind, please link back here from your post so that your readers can come check out all the other participants.

So post your list, grab a mug of your favorite beverage, and check out all the other bloggers who love to read as much as you do!

For information about Spring Reading Thing 2009 prizes and giveaways, please read this post from last Friday.

Note: There is NO limit to when people can sign up to participate in the Spring Reading Thing. You’re welcome to join in any time between now and June! The “deadlines” mentioned in the prize/giveaway post are only for prize eligibility.

Watch for a Spring Reading Thing Reviews post, which I’ll put up Monday. It will have a Mr. Linky where you can link up to any reviews you write about your Spring Reading Thing books. (And the review thing? Completely optional.)

That should cover all the details. Link up below and let’s get reading!

Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.

Okay, I decided to just make a big (for me) list of books to read this spring, knowing full well that I probably won’t get through all of them. I’d like to read them all, but realistically, I just don’t think it’s going to happen. So my personal challenge to myself is to complete as many of them as possible.

As I’ve done for past challenges, I’m dividing them into non-fiction and fiction. It’s always harder for me to finish non-fiction books (I love to start them, of course, but I tend to abandon them half-way through), but these reading challenges usually give me the kick in the pants to hang in there and complete a few of them.

Here’s what I hope/plan to read this spring:

Nonfiction

Sacred Chaos by Tricia McCary Rhodes (finish it) I’m already more than half-way through this book, but have been reading it forever. I tend to pick it up and read a chapter here and there, and then mull over those chapters for days or weeks before picking it up again. But I am determined to finish it this spring.

All I Need Is Jesus and a Good Pair of Jeans by Susanna Foth Aughtmon (finish it) I’ve read the first four chapters of this book, and I really like it so far. So why haven’t I just kept reading it? And why haven’t I finished it? I don’t have a good answer for that. But I will finish it this spring.

Clutter-Free Christianity by Robert Jeffress I’m reading this book for an upcoming blog tour and will be giving away a copy of it this spring. I’ve only read the introduction so far, but it looks like it’ll be a good book.

How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman This book was on my Fall Into Reading 2008 list and guess what? I never even started it. But it still looks interesting to me, so I’m going to give it another shot.

Looking for God by Nancy Ortberg I’ve enjoyed a few books by John Ortberg, and decided to check out this one, written by his wife. My friend Dianne read it recently and seemed to really like it, so I’m looking forward to diving in to this one.

The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment by Tim Challies I’m a regular reader of Challies.com, and have wanted to read Tim’s book for a while. I so appreciate the book reviews Tim does and I know there will be lots to learn from the slim but packed little book.

The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson This book comes with my usual disclaimer: I’m not a big memoir-reader. However, I do like Amy Dickinson, and when I was asked to read and review this book, I said “yes,” so I’ll give it a shot. I also have a copy to give away to one of my readers later this spring.

Revolutionary Parenting by George Barna This book has been on my shelf for over a year and I still haven’t read it. It looks good, and I always appreciate a helpful parenting book, so I finally took it off the shelf and put it on my spring pile.

I know what you’re thinking: Katrina, you’re crazy. That’s eight non-fiction books. You’ll never finish them all!

I know. Trust me, I know. This is nuts. Eight non-fiction books? Still, it’s not called a “challenge” for nothing. I’m going to give it my best and see how far I get.

Fiction

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen Again, this book was on my Fall Into Reading 2008 list and I didn’t even crack the cover. In fact, I’ve been waffling for years between wanting to read it (since good friends of mine, including Lisa, absolutely love this book) and avoiding it. Why do I avoid it? I don’t know… I tend to be picky about literary-type books, and maybe I’m just afraid that I’ll hate it, even though I really want to read it and love it. Regardless, I’ve decided that I will read it this spring. I’m thinking about watching the movie first (I’ve never seen it) to get myself started…



The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer I’ve heard good things about this book from several people, and it does look charming. Much slower-paced than my usual fare, but still, I’m curious.

The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver After all that literary stuff, I needed to include some books with murder, bad guys, and good guys who save the day. Jeffery Deaver’s books are always page-turners for me; he really knows how to do the twists-n-turns thing.

Sinner by Ted Dekker One of the few Dekker novels I haven’t yet read. I usually enjoy his books, but every now and then, one makes me scratch my head and conclude, “That was just plain weird.” We’ll see how it goes with this one.

Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis I last read Lewis’s Space Trilogy when I was in college, and I’ve been wanting to read them again. I’ll start this spring with the first book.

The Soul Hunter by Melanie Wells I have read Melanie Wells’s books completely out of order. I read the third one first, then went back and read the first one, and now I’m finally reading the second one, The Soul Hunter. They work just fine as stand-alone books, and I thoroughly enjoyed the other two, so I don’t doubt that this one will keep me up late at night as well (in a good way). Chad, however, prefers for me to keep these books cover-side-down, to hide the freaky-looking guy you can see there in the corner.

So, that’s 14 books total for my Spring Reading Thing list. More than one book per week. I know that for some of the participants, fourteen is a pitifully small number of books to read in three months, but for me, it will be a challenge. But it’s one I’m ready to take.

Don’t forget to visit the main Spring Reading Thing 2009 post and check out what everyone else is reading!