My Inspiration and the Selection Process!!!

I'll be honest, watching "Julie & Julia" was the ticket!  

I do aim to learn how to meal-plan & cook better this year, however...Julie already had a passion for cooking when she tackled Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"...and it took me all of 3 seconds to zero-in on what I'm passionate about...BOOKS!!!

The Details: I knew that if I tackled a reading challenge, I would want to read a significant # of critically acclaimed literature...as I thumbed through the various Top 100 websites that I already had bookmarked on my computer, I found a compilation from a woman after my own heart! (See the link-list of all 16 websites I used below!)

FYI: I LOVE spreadsheets, so the next part was fun!!!  

Upon further thinking this challenge through...I decided that I did not want to read only classic literature...a mix of contemporary author's works would also be key...as not many of my close acquaintances read James Joyce for kicks on the weekend & may very likely be utterly uninterested in my opinion of "War & Peace"! 

I'm also obsessed with children's literature and am currently 4 1/2 months pregnant with our first child so including some classic kid's reads was also essential. To top off the selections, I also researched the most popular & influential Christian works as I never seem to read enough inspirational literature, including THE most important book...The Bible...watch-out Michelle, you've included it in the list as just ONE book!  

After narrowing down the list to include most of the books listed 3 or more times in the 15 websites, I did do some tweaking of my own...including a few options that I already have sitting around my house that I've been meaning to read & eliminating numerous works by the same author, etc.

The final selection of 100 reads includes: 

55 Classics, 20 Contemporary
15 Inspirational, 10 Children's 

Although it seemed logical to read them in alphabetical order...I believe I will mix the categories-up so as to not become overly weighed-down with several classic selections in a row...After every heavy read, I will likely switch to a non-classic piece to lessen the load! 

I aim to have a daily routine that will include readings from: The Bible, Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach & The Love Dare by Stephen & Alex Kendrick (at least for the first 40 days!)...

Wish me luck...I'm going to need it!!!