Opinion Poll! Would you participate in a Genreflecting reading challenge?

I'm sure most of you are wondering what the heck Genreflecting is exactly. Genreflecting is a wonderful book used to help YA librarians (and readers in general) find more books in a particular genre they like. It also explores what it means to be in the genre, how it has changed, and what some of the challenges/situations that might appear within the specified genre.

I love this book so much because it helped me to discuss so many more books that I had not considered reading. It really opened my eyes to several more choices that I had ruled out because I "didn't like it" or "that's just not my preferred style." Needless to say, I have expanded some since the beginning of this blog and while I haven't enjoyed everything I've read, I have enjoyed the experience of saying "I tried and will continue trying."

So back to the question at hand. I have this idea rolling around in my head about doing a challenge surrounding the chapters in the latest Genreflecting book (c2011). This is the rough breakdown I currently have ready:

For each month of 2013, there will be a specific genre that will be analyzed. Each week there will be a post about the specific genre of the month on Friday. The schedule will be as follows:


Week 1 Monday: Definition of genre with example of subgenres. There will also be a quote from an author (or authors) in the genre or one of its subgenres. This will be the day that the book choices will be unveiled. The goal is not only to understand the genre, but to see how the genre has changed over the years. In order to do this, TWO books will be selected from a list of at least six books. Three choices will represent older books and three choices will represent newer books; you will need to choose ONE from each set. While not absolutely required, it would make the discussion of the genre easier if we’ve all read the same books. If you’ve already read the listed books or you have difficulty finding them, simply choose something more accessible.

Week 1 Friday: A link up post will be generated so that you can share your book selection choices. If you have chosen to participate and do not have a blog, simply leave a comment with your selections. We will read the older book first and the newer book second.

Week 2 Friday: This day we will discuss some of the common elements of books in this genre and explore the subgenres that fall under the larger genre heading. There will be examples and a discussion about the subgenres.

Week 3 Friday: This is the day we’ll discuss the older book and how well it fits into/represents the genre.

Week 4 Friday: This is the day we’ll discuss the newer book and how well it represents the genre and how it compares to the older book.

The genres of the month will be as follows:

January- Contemporary life
February- Romance
March- Issues
April- Adventure/Thrillers
May- Mystery & Suspense
June- Fantasy
July- Science Fiction
August- Multicultural Fiction
September- Historical Novels
October- Paranormal & Horror
November- Alternate Formats (verse, diaries, etc)
December- Christian Fiction

By the end of the challenge you will have read 24 books in 12 different genres and have attained a clearer understanding of your reading choices! 

So how does that sound? Does it sound like too much? Is there a better way to present the material? Would participation levels (Newbie 1-3 genres, Intermediate 4-6 genres, etc) affect people joining up?
I was planning to work on this over the majority of my Christmas break (lining up authors, gathering materials, etc) but I don't want to do all that without some hope that there will at least be a few people playing along.

Sound off in the comments to let me know how you feel!