Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Day One, The Mind, Body, & Soul Challenge


This October I'm participating in Annie's The Mind, Body & Soul Challenge. And while most of the reviews will be posted on my blog, Becky's Book Reviews, I'll be featuring at least one review here. I'd like to post about my progress here on this blog.

I'm in for:

Mind: Option 2
Do you have a classic novel sitting on your bookshelf you've always wanted to read but have never gotten around to? Great! Time to pick it up this month and finally read it! When you've finished, read a follow-up novel to your classic written by a different author. This could be a sequel to Pride and Prejudice or a modern novel modeled on your classic.
Body: Option 1
Combine reading and workouts. How you say? NOT by reading on the treadmill. You WILL fall off and it WILL hurt. Trust me, I know. Opt for a safer option and listen to your favourite audio book while your exercising. Set a daily exercise goal and use reading to get you through it!
Soul: Option 1
Read something inspirational. Choose an autobiography of someone whom you really admire, a self-help book you've been wanting to read or a spiritual novel. Read something that you hope will light the fire in your belly.

Today I decided that I'd read Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. I've joined the Go Gothic project/event at Austenprose. Which means that my modern retelling will be Old Friends and New Fancies. That book was written in 1913, it is the FIRST Jane Austen sequel ever created. Perhaps more interesting than that little tidbit is the fact that is a sequel to ALL SIX of her novels.

Revision: I'm still thinking about this. You see, I'm tempted to read William Shakespeare's Macbeth and then read Alan Gratz's Something Wicked. But the challenge does say "classic novel" and not "classic book" so I don't know if this one could technically count. It probably does though, right? Maybe?

For the "body" portion of the challenge...I am using one of those walking machines (swinging legs) and I'm trying to listen to an audio book. However, I'm indecisive at this point. You might say I'm being too picky. Earlier in the week, I tried walking while listening to Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced it soon after. So I went with Tamar by Mal Peet today. But we're not clicking that well. So chances are that I will probably choose another book to officially read for this portion of the challenge. I just don't know what yet. I'm just not sure I'm meant to read and exercise at the same time.

For the soul portion, I still haven't done much of anything. I should probably at least find the book I'm going to be reading it. Hey, I should probably actually open it up and read a chapter or two too. We'll see.

I'll be back tomorrow hopefully with more news on how this challenge is going.

1 comment:

Miss K said...

Hi Becky

Of course you can read Macbeth if you want! I think it's a great idea. Just go with whatever you feel like.

I'm just about to start reading David Starky's Elizabeth for the challenge but I too am having trouble deciding on an audio book. I think I'll be doing Cross Stitch by Diana Gabaldon but it may be a little too long. It's just too dangerous to read while walking on the treadmill :-)

Thanks for joining me in this one.