As I have started.

Just for the record, I finished my first book of 2024 this morning:

Yes, it's a slim one, but I thought I'd follow on last year's and select a self-improvement book as the first one to read.  This is a keeper, although I probably won't follow all his instructions.

I also finished the first knitting project:

  

I started the hat during the online New Year's Eve party I attended, thinking that with bulky yarn and fat needles, I might have it done by midnight.  But I wanted to do something more interesting than just a plain beanie, so between trying the stitch and restarting (twice) because it was too big, I didn't get it done.  The beehive stitch required more focus than I could manage during the Rose Bowl yesterday, so I finished this morning.

Since I had just one ball of the yarn, I wanted to try to use up every inch, or as close as I could get.  After running in the ends, I have 5.25 inches remaining.  I think I managed it well.

This morning I went to the public library because the January bulletin said they were starting an Adult Reading Challenge today.  You pick up a list of challenges and then read a book - library or otherwise - for each one, or as many as you can finish by the time the challenge ends on March 31st.  Because it was a work day I just took the pamphlet and read it when I got home.  The topics include "Banned Book", "A Title From a Library Display", "Pick a Book Solely For Its Cover", "A Title That Has Won An Award Within the Last 10 Years", "A Book Recommended by a Blog, Website, or App", and "Read or Re-read a Book From Your Favorite Author".  I can think of a few that would qualify for two or three categories - but I've already read them!

Because it's Science Fiction Day, I wanted to start something in the genre.  However, all my books by favourite authors are still packed.  Then I saw the "Read a Novel in Translation" challenge, and remembered that I hadn't read the Jules Verne assignment from my "Emergence of Science Fiction" class, because it arrived after that session.  Perfect!

[Science Fiction Day is on January 2nd because that was the birthday of famed science fiction writer Isaac Asimov, born Isaak Yudovich Ozimov on January 2, 1920 in Petrovichi, Russia. His family emigrated to the USA when he was quite small and he became a Boston University professor of biochemistry, although he is best known for his works of science fiction, his book about the Bible, and his popular science books.  I might select one of those for the "Non-Fiction Title About Science", category.]

You get prizes for each three challenges you complete.  I wonder whether you can accomplish it by reading a single book that could fall into multiple categories, but I am going to try to only have one category per book.  And if I accomplish this, I'll also have met my Goodreads challenge number for the year!