I mentioned in the Fall Into Reading 2010 launch post that every Tuesday this fall, I will post a question about reading. Why am I doing this? Well, for one thing, I love reading and talking about reading with others. And for another, I thought it would be a great way to keep Fall Into Reading participants connected throughout the course of the challenge.

So without further ado, here’s your first question, and my answer.

What do you think is the biggest obstacle to your reading? What prevents you from reading as much as you’d like?

My answer: At first, I was tempted to say, “not enough time.” After all, if there were an additional four hours or so in every day, surely I’d get a lot more reading done! But if I’m honest, I have to admit that if I were more careful and deliberate with the way I spend my existing 24 hours, I could get a lot more reading done that way, too.

I think my biggest obstacle is actually two obstacles:

First, I am not good at tuning out surrounding noises. Some people (ahem — my husband) can tune out kids, grown-ups, TV, police sirens — pretty much any and all noises — in order to focus on something he’s doing. I, however, can not. I’m easily interrupted, easily distracted, and easily thrown off my reading game. I need quiet for reading…peace and quiet. And life doesn’t always make that possible.

But the thing is, when I have some peace and quiet, I often squander too much of it on the Internet. E-mail, Amazon.com, blog-reading, mindless browsing…I can sit down at the computer to “quickly check my email,” and the next thing I know, 45 minutes have flown by. Imagine if I could be more disciplined with my Internet usage — and dedicate the wasted time to reading!

So there you have it — my biggest obstacles to reading are distractibility and time-squandering.

What about you? What is your biggest reading obstacle? OR, if you feel like you already read as much as you want to, what choices have you made to make that happen?

Welcome to Fall Into Reading 2010! Apparently, our local weather doesn’t realize today is the first day of autumn (Highs in the 80s? Not quite the crisp-and-cool feel I was looking for…), but it’s true. Fall begins today! And so — hooray! — does Fall Into Reading 2010!

I have to attend a preschool function for moms this morning, but rest assured that once I get home, I plan to spend the majority of the day checking out your posts and getting to work on my own Fall Into Reading stack-o-books.

I hope you’re ready to read, too! And 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 Fall Into Reading 2010:

• Make a list of books you want to read (or finish reading) this fall. 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.

• Get reading! The challenge goes from today, September 22nd, through December 20th.

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

• Write a post about your challenge experience in December, telling us all about whether you reached your goals and how Fall Into Reading went for you. But remember: this is a low-pressure challenge that should be fun. As long as you do some reading this fall (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 Fall Into Reading 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 autumn beverage, and check out all the other bloggers who love to read as much as you do!

Oh, and one more thing. Every week (beginning next Tuesday), I’ll be posting a question relating to reading — there will be questions about your reading habits, reading memories, or current reading experiences.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on reading, so be sure to check back or subscribe to my feed so you don’t miss a question. Thanks!

For more information about Fall Into Reading 2010, check out these previous posts:

• The Basics
• Posting Guidelines
• Prizes & Giveaways

Note: There is NO limit to when people can sign up to participate in Fall Into Reading 2010. You’re welcome to join in any time between now and December! The “deadlines” mentioned in the prize/giveaways post are only for prize eligibility.

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

Was your link deleted? Check the Posting Guidelines to make sure you followed the rules. If you think your link was deleted by mistake, feel free to contact me.

There is always a little part of me that thinks, “For THIS challenge, I’m going to read 20 books! I can do it!” But then the more sensible part of me kicks in and reminds the more ambitious part of me that no, I probably can’t read 20 books. Holidays, helping with homework, volunteering at schools, and, well…life in general will take up lots of time. It’s probably best to set a more reasonable goal. And hey — if I happen to breeze through my initial list, I can always add more, right? Right.

So with the goal of challenging myself, while still setting an attainable goal, here are the books I decided to tackle this fall.

Non-fiction

Surprised by Grace by Tullian Tchividjian. I’m already 1.5 chapters into this book, since I’m going through it alongside these ladies. So far, it’s very good. I’m learning new things, I’m feeling more than a bit convicted, and I’m looking forward to learning more about God’s amazing grace.
Discipline by Elisabeth Elliot. Look familiar? Um yeah, this book was on my Spring Reading Thing list. Though I started it, I just never finished it. But I have some accountability this time around, since I’ll be reading through Discipline with my friend, Jennifer.
What Did You Expect? Redeeming the Realities of Marriage by Paul Tripp. It’s been a long time since I read a marriage book, but I fully believe that we need to continually work on our marriages (and on our attitudes about marriage!) in order to keep the relationship strong. I’ve heard great things about this book and look forward to seeing what it has to say.
Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God by John Piper. Piper’s books always make me think, and it looks like this one is going to make me think about thinking.
The Glamour of Grammar by Roy Peter Clark. Because, when you get right down to it, I’m a geek.  I can’t escape it.
The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum. I’m a bit fascinated by forensics. Maybe it’s because of all the mystery novels I like to read…I don’t know. But I heard a radio interview with this author and knew that at some point, I’d have to read her book.

Fiction

Ends of the Earth by Tim Downs. I’ve enjoyed all of Tim Downs’ “Bug Man” novels, but for some reason, just never got around to reading this one.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. I initially bought this book for my mom last spring, after hearing good things about it. She passed it on to me, and it has been on my bookshelf for several months. A quick look at Amazon.com reviews showed one reader complaining there was too much “cruelty and hatred” in the beginning and another reader lamenting that the book is “too flowery and light.” So I’m not sure what to expect at this point!
Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo. This is one of those books I stumbled across during one of my marathon random browsing sessions on Amazon.com. (What? You don’t have marathon random browsing sessions there?) It has great reviews and it’s a mystery, so I’m going to give this new-to-me author a try.
The Fiddler’s Gun by A.S. Peterson. I don’t read much historical fiction, but I’ve seen this book recommended on a number of blogs. I actually downloaded the ebook for my tween to read first, and though he liked the story, he eventually put it down because some of the language was bothering him. So I decided that I would give it a try and see what I thought.
His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik. Wait a minute. I just said I don’t read much historical fiction, yet here is another historical novel. Except this one intermingles real history…and dragons. My husband has read (or listened to the audiobooks for) this whole series and really enjoyed it. So when this first book in the series was available for $0.00 for the Kindle recently, I snatched it up. I haven’t quite brought myself to read it yet, but Chad assures me that I’ll like it.
Rooms by James Rubart. This book has been on my bookshelf for a very long time. And I’m finally going to read it.

So there you have it: 12 books, evenly divided between fiction and non-fiction.

Don’t forget to visit the official launch post for Fall Into Reading 2010 to check out all the other participants!