As a result of utilizing my employee discount as a Borders employee for over eleven years and buying books at library sales and other bookstores, my office is overflowing with books, the large majority of which I have yet to read. When I saw the Off The Shelf! reading challenge listed on A Novel Challenge, I perked up and knew that if I took on only one challenge this year (other than my own Willa Cather Novel Reading Challenge) it would be this one.

I’m signing up at that “Making A Dint – Choose 30 books to read” level.

My Goodreads goal for 2011 was to read 50 books and it looks like I’ll just make it in under the wire. My Goodreads goal for 2012 will be 50, so signing up for Off The Shelf at the Making a Dint level means that the majority of the books I read in 2012 will be ones I already own now in 2011. This makes me feel warm & fuzzy because although it usually makes me happy to look at the books on my shelves, it’s sometimes a little sad to see the unread books that I purchased with such enthusiasm just sitting there, patiently waiting, wondering if I’ll ever get around to reading them.

Check out the Off The Shelf! details at Bookish Ardour hosted by Bonnie at http://bookishardour.com/off-the-shelf/ and if you have a few unread books laying about, sign up!