Reb's 2016 Academic Reading Challenge

Hello reading friends.  If you're arriving here from my Facebook page, you may have already done one or more of my academic reading challenges last year, and you may have even voted on categories for this year. If you found this challenge through some other path, here's a bit of an explanation.

I created these reading challenges for academics after I did someone else's online reading challenge for fiction in summer 2014. While I enjoy and still participate in an  online challenge for general readers, I thought that I, and perhaps my friends, would enjoy a challenge with academic books even more.  Being a professor with significant administrative responsibilities has made my reading life increasingly stressful, as I am tormented by the knowledge of the number of books I ought to - but don't really have time - to read, whether as part of my ongoing research project, or just to keep up with my field. 

That means that until 2 years ago, I rarely gave myself the time to read anything I just wanted to read, with the logic that if I had time to read a fat novel, I had time to read a 400 page book about my research subject. I worried quite a bit over the last year that doing these reading challenges was dangerously distracting me from that reading for work, but it turns out that it's just made me a happier person and a faster reader, since the number of books I've read has increased in general, and the number I've read for  work has gone up significantly during the time I've done reading challenges, despite my adding so many not-obviously-related-to-work things to my reading each year. 

   
 This challenge is for any academic who feels that his/her reading has become over-specialized and possibly joyless, who wants to read more literature for pleasure, who wants to keep up with the field, who likes to talk about reading with other academics on social media, who is interested in interdisciplinary reading, and who wants to support friends and colleagues by reading their books. It could also work for non-academics who miss reading academic books now that school is over. If you are not sure what counts as an "academic book" the most likely sign is its publication by a university press. Feel free to ask if you are not sure. I think there are quite a few books written by professional scholars that are accessible enough to be read by general audiences, and I would also like to promote the idea of reading these kinds of books outside the university.

The challenge starts on January 1^st and goes till Dec. 31, 2016. There are a total of 14 regular categories in the challenge with two “extra credit” categories for over-achievers.  

Rules:

The academic books must be at least 175 pages long (not including footnotes).

Novels must be at least 200 pages long

Books of poetry or special issues of journals must be at least 100 pp. long

Any book on the list, except where specified by category, can be a novel or a complete journal issue as long as it fits the general category

Books can only count for one category, but you can switch them from one category to the other before you’re done if you like.

Only one book can be something you’ve read before

Audiobooks are fine as long as they are unabridged and the print edition is at least 200 pages long.

Books must be started no earlier than midnight 1/1/16 and finished no later midnight 12/31/2016.

POINTS and the Point: There are a total of 200 possible points if you do 1-14.  If you do double-points for books bought at conferences and read both “extra credit” categories,  you can get up to 250 points.  I'm not really keeping score, but it can be a motivator.  If you're joining in, say hello in the comments and say something about what you're planning to read.  

Category	Author	Title	pages	Dates started- finished	points
1. Book by a friend or colleague					20
2. A Book of theory					20
3. Classic in your field or book that you see cited but haven’t read					20
4. A novel or book of poetry related to a subject you study					10
5. An academic book that’s been on your to-read shelf for a year or more (double points if you bought it at a book exhibit)					10 (20)
6. An academic book that you acquired within the last six months(double points if bought at a book exhibit)					10 (20)
7. A graphic novel /or memoir					10
8. A book about a country outside the U.S. which has featured in US foreign policy discussions					20
9. A book about an indigenous culture / A book in indigenous studies (worldwide)					20
10. A book that won an academic book award during the last ten years					10
11, A historical or biographical study about music, sports, or a single town/city.					10
12. An ethnographic study of the same general topic as #11 (music, sports or in the same city or town)					10
13. A book you chose because of the cover design					20
14. A novel published before the 20th century					10
15.  Extra Credit:  A book recommended or received as a gift from a family member					20
16. Extra, EXTRA credit : a book of fiction related to the same general subject as 11 and 12. (music, sports or the same single town/city).					10