The summer is officially over. Kids are either back in school or heading back next week. University students are flocking back into town this weekend. It's been getting dark earlier. But the real sign that summer is over is that I'm thinking about ghoulish, ghosty and gothic reading I need to do for the annual RIP Challenge. Yes, that time of year where you will find Reader's Imbibing Peril all over the blogosphere is here.

I'm sure it's a lovely book, possibly even a fantastic book. Set it down and think - when's the last time you bought a book? How many have you bought recently? Have you read them all yet? How many unread books are there in your house? If the answer to any, or all, of these questions scares you perhaps you need to join the Ban on Spending Book Challenge.

I was cruising around BlogHer the other day and happened upon MC's spring reading list. Wait a minute? It's really almost spring? I mean, I know that I've complained that this winter is unending (repeatedly) but it's really almost spring? Seriously? A new season it a good time to reassess any reading goals you made at the beginning of the year or set some new ones.

It's a shiny new year, sitting and waiting for us to fill it up with ideas and events. Many of us do that by listing resolutions or setting goals for how we want our year to shape up. Perhaps one of your goals for the year to read more books. As you know from Kristy's excellent Good Health-a-thon post if we want our goals to be successful it goes a long way if we make them S.M.A.R.T. Something that could help you on reading path is a reading challenge (or two or three...).