2012 Challenge Omnibus

Happy New Year!

And now that 2012 has begun, we have much challenge business to attend to.  First off, the Read Your OWN Library! Challenge is rolling on, especially since I received books for Christmas and now need to chip away at my backlog of reading material more than ever.  Here, as a refresher, are the outlines of the challenge.  (More details are available at the link above, which will take you to the RYOL headquarters.)

1.  The goal is to read books we've owned for more than 6 months, but still have not read for some reason.
2.  There are three levels to the challenge, but each requires that we read one such book each month, write a post about it, and link up to it here at The Beauty of Eclecticism.
3.  When you have completed the first month of the challenge, you will receive the code for a lovely and talented badge, crafted by yours truly, to place on your blog and announce your achievement to the world.  You only get this badge once, however, unless you switch to a different level for the next month, in which case, you can collect them all!

In the December just past, my chosen book was The Chimes by Charles Dickens, one of his famous Christmas Books.  The link will take you to my full review of the book, which was actually my least favorite of the three Dickensian Christmas Books I read in 2011.  Since it still got three stars from me, that should indicate the high overall quality of the series.  (Because the jury was still out on whether or not Dickens was a skilled writer, yeah?  *pardon my eye-roll*)

My chosen book for January's read-my-own is Jane Austen's Mansfield Park.  It will be the last title in my quest to complete the Regency and Victorian Reading Challenge, so as usual for me, let's here it for double-dipping!

Let us also remember that the 2012 Medieval Challenge has officially begun, and will last throughout the year.  (It also has its own HQ page, if you click the link above.)  This challenge has three levels, as well, and depending on which you choose, you'll be reading as many as twelve works written between the years of 400-1550 CE.  There will be a linky post here on the last day of each month, where those who have finished a medieval book that month can link up their reviews.  At the end, we'll all see how we fared, and whether those legendary and hallowed tomes lived up to their lofty reputations.