Challenged

I'm feeling rather challenge challenged of late. So many good ones like the Winter Classics Challenge, the Chunkster Challenge, and of course, the one I am in the middle of and not doing well on, the From the Stacks Challenge. As you can see from my sidebar, I have only crossed off one of the five books on my Stacks Challenge list. I am reading On Beauty and Being Just, but even though it is a slim book, it is slow going and I wouldn't want it any other way. I started reading Moral Disorder recently and considered starting the others too as if reading them all at once would make them go faster or make more time materialize out of pure necessity. I have read three stories in the Atwood book and it is taking all my willpower to resist tossing everything else aside so I can wallow in the glory that is Margaret. I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up doing this anyway, wallowing that is, it is just a matter of time. I meant well when I signed up for the challenge, but I don't think I will actually manage to complete it. At least it doesn't look like it from my current vantage point. Maybe the time off I have over the holidays will change all that. But I am tempted by the other two challenges. I already plan on reading 13 classics in 2007, surely I can scrunch five of them into January and February? I don't think I'm going to be able to. Thinking about it makes me feel anxious, especially since there are new books waiting in a box to be opened on Solstice this Friday. And the Chunkster, piece of cake! I plan on reading a couple of them next year, but I want to try and finish the big brick affectionately titled Clarissa that I began over a year ago and haven't picked up since, um, since June? July? Been so long I can't remember. I do know I left Clarissa still trying to resist Lovelace and Lovelace still trying to get Clarissa to marry him so I'm not worried about being lost. I need to get the book off my little bedside shelf. Just looking at it makes me tired. When I finally manage to finish it, I will feel very accomplished. So I guess what I am saying is that I am already too challenged with my own regularly scheduled reading to be able to join up with the great creative challenges. I am enjoying reading the lists of those who are planning on participating. And I will enjoy following everyone's progress. But I will be lucky if I manage to read all the books piled on the edge of my desk by the end of next year. Maybe I should write to Santa and ask him for three extra reading hours a day like Litlove did. I've been soooo good this year he couldn't possibly refuse.