TBW - My 'To Be Watched' Challenge

When I finished University, I set myself a number of reading challenges (which you can see here) to encourage me to read more fiction after three years of sticking to reading lists. Before I went to University, not only did I used to read lots of fiction, but I also used to watch lots of films. I did watch the occasional film at University, but as they were usually with others, they had to be films everyone would enjoy (so lots of the time ended up being big Hollywood Blockbuster movies). So, I have set myself a number of challenges to force me to watch a wider variety of films, TV shows, and to go to the theatre.

1. Watch the entire IMDB Top 250
2. Watch at least 10 more films in a foreign language
3. Watch a silent film
4. Go to the National Theatre and watch a play
5. Watch a film I have never heard of
6. Go and see a musical
7. Watch 2 TV shows in a foreign language
8. Watch all the Studio Ghibli films
9. Watch some of the classic Disney films I didn’t watch as a child
10. Go to a midnight showing of a film
11. Go to a cinema with a bar in it to watch a film
12. Watch all Stanley Kubrick’s films
13. Watch all Alfred Hitchcock’s films
14. Watch at least 5 documentaries
15. Watch every Best Picture Oscar winning film.

My goal is to have made a serious dent in these by the end of the year, but I haven’t really set myself a deadline. Lots of these I have already made a start on – I have seen 166 of the IMDB top 250 already, been to the National Theatre before, seen a musical in a theatre and seen lots and lots of films in a foreign language for example, but I have put them on the list to encourage me to continue or repeat some of the things I enjoyed.

Anyway this became a much longer post than I intended it to be so I should probably stop here. One more thing is that if you’re curious as to how many of these goals you have already completed, this website is a pretty easy way to take a look.

I won’t blog about every single thing I watch but I will post about anything that I come across that is particularly interesting. Have you got any suggestions for my list? 

Beth x

The Reading Challenge

Having studied History and Classics at university, I haven’t really had time to read many recently written novels in the last few years (note that as a history student, anything written during or after the 20^th century counts as recently written!). So, now that I can read whatever I want to and not feel guilty about it, I have set myself a few reading challenges to try and complete. Some of these will be to read books I have been meaning to for a really long time and some will be designed to make me go outside of my comfort zone and read things I have never heard of or a genre I have never really tried before.

Anyway, cutting to the chase here are some of the ones I have thought of so far:

1. Read at least 5 Booker Prize winners
2. Read at least 5 Pulitzer Prize winners
3. Read a at least 5 ‘Classic’ books
4. Read at least 5 non-fiction books
5. Read a graphic novel
6. Re-read a book I have forgotten most of the plot of!
7. Read a book released this year
8. Read a book series
9. Read a book that came out in the year I was born
10. Read about a period of history I know little about
11. Read a piece of Childrens’ Literature I never got round to reading
12. Read a Sci-Fi novel
13. Read a YA novel
14. Read a ‘Bestseller’ I have never heard of

So there we go! I have actually already started on the list by reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, which I will hopefully post about soon.

What are your reading goals? Do you have any or do you just read whatever you are feeling like at the time? I feel like my categories are broad enough for me to be able to do that anyway really, at least at this early stage.

If anyone is reading this and has any suggestions of reading goals I could add to my list, or books I should read to help me complete the goals, then let me know :)

Beth x

First Post.

I’m not very good at introductions. I’m also not a particularly talented writer, so if you’re reading this, you’re going to have to bear with me.

Like lots of people, I have a mental bucket list of things to do ‘one day’. These include learning a language, travelling various parts of the world, joining a gym to get in shape, learning to drive (which I never quite got around to…), reading challenges and writing a blog. 2015 is the year I have decided to actually try to achieve some of these goals. While some of them will have to wait for a while (I am 22 and have recently graduated from university so don’t have the funds to travel everywhere I want to go just yet!), starting a blog is one that I can get started on. It’s something I have wanted to do for a really long time but have never been able to pluck up enough courage to put something out there. Picking a name was daunting enough so I will have to see how it goes. I’ve gone with Miscellaneous Musings for the moment as I can’t really think of anything that sums up what this will be more accurately.

If anyone reads this: great. If nobody ever sees it: it will be nice to come back to in a few years and remind myself of the things I read, things I saw, places I went and people I met.

The plan is to keep track of the progress of my goals and to keep things as short and sweet as possible.

Now that the awkward first post is over, I can get started with recording the first few things I have achieved so far in the very early stages of 2015 (aside from starting this blog, of course).

Beth :)