August and September are a favorite time of year for me — back to school season! I love the early apples, store displays of school supplies, and my first sighting of a big yellow school bus. I would love to send each of you a bouquet of sharpened pencils. My reading orientation turns from the purely pleasurable beach book to another kind of pleasure: learning something new. To give myself and others a little structure during this transition, I’m starting the Back to School Reading Challenge and Wednesday Book Club to run during the months of August and September.

No one fails at the Back to School Reading Challenge, so choose a level that works to challenge you but not so much it causes stress. Here are the levels:

Freshman: 1-2 books
Sophomore: 3-4 books
Junior: 5-6 books
Senior: 7-8 books

Read books on one topic or eight different ones or anything in between. Fiction is fine. I’ve learned a lot of history from novels set in other times and a lot about other cultures from novels set in other places. As long as you’re reading the book to learn something new, it counts for the Back to School Reading Challenge.

A sign-up post is not required, but it does help spread the word. If you write one, link it below so we can all see who is playing. Feel free to grab the logo and to ask for suggestions for books in your categories of study.

There will be a new post each Wednesday in August and September with a link list for any discussions or reviews related to the Back to School Reading Challenge. On four Wednesdays, there will also be a Twitter Chat. More about that later. We may also do a read-along if there’s interest.