“Italy in books” - reading challenge 2011

Why this challenge? This year I’ve decided to host a reading challenge because I think that they are a brilliant idea. They help to make reading a more collective experience and are a great way to find out more about any particular author / genre / topic and get to know about books you might never have come across. I chose this topic because - as an Italian who has been living abroad for many years now - I feel the need to learn more about my home country and I’m curious to see the difference between the way it is portrayed by native Italians and others.

The details of the challenge

• The challenge will run from January, 1st 2011 to December, 31st 2011.
• The aim of the challenge is to read at least 12 books that are set in Italy. Whether written by Italian authors or not, it doesn’t matter. They don’t have to be set exclusively in Italy but this country needs to play a significant role in the book. The challenge can include non-fiction books about Italy. You can also review Italian learning books but this is limited to a maximum of two titles. See the section “Resources” below for some suggestions.
• The challenge is open to bloggers and non bloggers alike.
• There will be monthly prizes for participants.

How to sign up

• If you are a blogger: create a post about taking part in the challenge and link back to this post. After that, click here and register. In the URL field you need to indicate the URL of the challenge-related post, not the general URL of your blog.
• Also for bloggers: display on your sidebar the challenge-related image that you can also find on my sidebar. To do this, copy and paste the following code.
<a href="http://bookafterbook.blogspot.com/2010/12/italy-in-books-reading-challenge-2011.html"><img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x249/Sil0107/italychallenge2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a>
• If you are not a blogger: click here and register. In the URL field, just put n/a.
• I will constantly update the list of participants.

What to do once you’ve read a book

• If you are a blogger: write a review on your blog and link back to the challenge-related monthly post that I will create at the beginning of every month. After that, click on the relevant link to send me your review. In the URL field you need to indicate the URL of the relevant post, not the general URL of your blog.
• If you are not a blogger: click on the link in the challenge-related post that I will create at the beginning of every month to send me your book review.
• Everyone who sends in their reviews during a specific month will be entered into a prize draw. Details to follow at the beginning of every month.

Resources

• You don't need to select your books at the beginning of the challenge. You can choose them as you go. If you do want to make a list of the books you aim to read, don’t feel bound to it.
• Need ideas?
  a) Visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/, enter “Italy” (or Tuscany, Italian etc.) in the search box. On the left-hand column of the results page, you will find a box called Listmania! Enter your keyword again in the “Search Listmania!” box and click “go”. You will be directed to a page containing lists of relevant boos compiled by users of the website.
  b) Visit http://www.whichbook.net/ and select “Italy” as the setting. If you’ve never used this website, you can find a useful demo on the homepage.
  c) Visit http://www.packabook.com/ and choose “Italy” on the left-hand column.