MAD Book Challenge

Remember how, a couple of posts ago, I told you that some very important announcements were coming up? Well, here it is: the mother of all announcements.

I'd like YOU to participate in a little program I've come up with, called the MAD BOOK CHALLENGE. Here's the essentials--in one year, we're going to read 52 books. That's one book a week.

Now, depending on how much of a reader you are, that may or may not sound difficult. So I've come up with a set of RULES AND REGULATIONS to make sure nobody cheats at the Challenge, and to give you an opportunity to prove your amazing reading skillz.

The Book Challenge will start on January 1st, 2009, but will continue indefinitely (meaning it won't end at the end of 2009--it starts over in 2010) and you can join at any time. You get exactly 52 weeks from the day you join up to read all 52 books. In order for a book to be counted toward the challenge, it must meet the following requirements:

1. It must be FICTIONAL, unless otherwise specified by the Challenge Leader (me).
2. It must be a minimum of 150 pages in length. However, use your judgement here: certain factors, like size of the text and difficulty of the reading make some books count more or less.
3. You must not be obligated to read the book for some other reason--for example, a book that you read for your English class does not count toward the Challenge, unless you read it a second time outside of class.

(NOTE: Any book over 800 pages will count as two books.)

Of the 52 books that you read for the challenge, AT LEAST TWENTY SIX must be books that you have never read before. This is all about expanding horizons, so you are NOT allowed to only do re-reads. If you read the same book twice over the course of the year, it still only counts as one book (meaning you can't just re-read the Harry Potter series over and over, for example).

You do NOT have to read one book per week--this is only recommended. I acknowledge that there will be some weeks when you don't have the time--so you only need to have 52 done by the end of the year. If that means you do most of your reading in the summer and hardly any in the school year, that's what works for you and you're still a winner.

By finishing all 52 books by the end of the year you gain the status of MAD READER. We're considering creating some kind of certificate or something (but that's it, I'm afraid. You're going to have to do this for the love of reading).

However, I am also going to offer some bonus stuff for those of you who find reading 52 books unchallenging. Every week (note that a "week" in the challenge starts on a Monday and ends on a Sunday. This means that the first official "week" of the challenge, if you start on January 1st with me, will be 11 days long, and the final "week" will only be four. Make sure you schedule appropriately for this) I will announce a THEME. If you manage to read a book from each theme that I announce, you'll earn a special gold ribbon status as a MAD READER.

Each "week" I'll also be announcing opportunities for Bonus Points, sort of mini-challenges. Some Bonus Point opportunities that will be available year-round are the following:

1. For every new book (one that you haven't read before) that you read OVER the required 26, you get five bonus points.
2. For every books that you read OVER the required 52 (new or re-read regardless) you get 25 bonus points.
3. For every book that you read in another language, you get 50 bonus points. (Clarification: if you are bilingual, a book in your second language does not count. "Another language" here refers only to a language that you began studying seriously in middle or high school)
4. Those MADers who are participating in the Challenge will tell the title and author of the book they're reading each week. You get five bonus points each time you read one of the books a MADer is reading.

If, by the end of the year, you manage to not only read a book for each of the 52 themes, but also earn 1000 bonus points, you will achieve the sort of platinum level status of a MAD READER and my infinite respect.

So, I will (obviously) be participating in the Challenge, and I know for certain that Marshall and Sarah will. I think Deborah and Sarita are going to give it a try, as well. I want as many people as possible to get involved in this project, so invite your friends!

And start preparing a stack of books to read for 2009, so that you'll be ready when the Challenge begins at midnight on New Year's.

Good luck!

[If at any point during the challenge you have a question about the rules & regulations, make sure you e-mail me at themadpodcast@gmail.com for clarification. Just put the words "MAD Book Challenge" in the subject line and I'll take care of it as soon as possible. Thanks!]