It’s BiblioBuffet’s second birthday this week, and I couldn’t be prouder. BiblioBuffet began as an undefined idea, a kind of “what about a literary web site” sort of  thing that a dear friend, herself an author, suggested when the paper for which I was writing was in its death throes. I resisted her suggestion for several months, but eventually succumbed.

What makes this web site so special has less to do with me than with its contributors. Three of them have been with me from the beginning: Daniel Jaffe, Anne Michael and Nicki Leone. Laine Farley, my co-writer for “On Marking Books,” took a while to respond to my recruitment attempts, but ultimately came around. Henry Carrigan came to us via Nicki when he found one of her essays and followed her trail back to the site. Paul Clark is a member of Readerville as I am, and when he posted a story about cleaning out his bookshelves I was sufficiently enthralled to work on getting him to join the team. Amanda Joseph astonished and thrilled me when she contacted me from Australia to ask about joining. And the latest contributor, Lisa Guidarini, was a tremendous gift at the perfect time.

There have also been one-time and occasional contributors to whom I am equally grateful. Frank X. Roberts joined the bookmarks team for a while—and contributed fabulous essays on the history of bookmarks—but gave up the regular gig when retirement travel called. Nevertheless, he is a valued member and still contributes as the spirit moves him as does Kat Warren, another occasional contributor.

From all of us to all of you—our readers and supporters: Thank you! Thank you for reading our work and for making BiblioBuffet a regular stop. The champagne and strawberries on are us.

CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners of BiblioBuffet’s and Mirage’s bookmark contest, but especially to the top winner, Rachel Green of the UK. Rachel’s entry is a brilliantly written short story titled “The Collector’s Mark. ” For her effort, Rachel wins not only a beautiful brushed stainless steel bookmark from Mirage, but publication of her story on both BiblioBuffet’s and Mirage’s web sites. (She will even find a special gift tucked inside her envelope, which will be winging its way to her very soon.)

Thanks to everyone who entered, making this contest a most enjoyable one. Your gifts will be coming as soon as I receive your mailing addresses.

Last week I posted my list of books that stood out for me off-beat categories. This week—the first of the new year—I’d like to offer up some reading challenges for any BiblioBuffet reader who might be interested in taking one or more of them up in 2008. I got this idea from Wendy over at A Novel Challenge who says, “I love great literature, reading challenges, making lists and setting goals.” If you agree, here are fifteen ideas. Most of them are on the modest side because I think goals like this are more likely to be successfully met when they are small. After all, there will be enough new books to distract you. 

Read three novels that have the number “3” or “three” in the title (not including volume number).

Read one book from each continent: Australia, Europe, Antarctica (you can read a book about this particular continent), South America, North America, Africa, Asia.

Make up a name; if there is an author by that name, read her or his book.

Read a book each month that corresponds to an observance for that month. Here are links: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

Read one book published in each of the following centuries: 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th.

Read a book that was first published in each of the twentieth century’s decades (00s, 10s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s).

Read, with an open mind, two diametrically opposed political books on the same subject.

Read one fiction and one nonfiction book on the same subject.

Read a fiction or nonfiction book (not a guide) about a place you never want to visit; read another book about a place you have always wanted to visit. You can be general (i.e., jungle) or specific (i.e., Moscow) in your choices.

Read a book that is less than 100 pages. Read another book that is at least 1,000 pages.

Reread a book you remember hating in high school.

Read a book each month whose title has the name of that month in it.

Read a book in a genre you wouldn’t dream of being caught dead reading.

Take to the air or sea by reading four books whose main plot or theme revolves around them. These can be fiction, nonfiction or a mix.

Read a book each month by an author whose birthday is in that month. You can find a list here and another one here.

The beginning of a new year always has most of us savoring the joy of a fresh, unmarked calendar. This week, in On Marking Books, Laine Farley looks at calendar bookmarks. Most of them are more decorative than practical, but there are some surprisingly beautiful and unusual bookmark-calendar combos, both old and new.

He calls it “the biggest cocktail party in town,” but the annual meeting of the Modern Language Association is not nearly so rowdy as you might imagine. Nevertheless, it is a productive time for an acquisitions editor who sees it as “still a hothouse of ideas and for publishers. Enjoy his behind-the-scenes perspective this week in Readings.

Good food, good sex and good books have something in common—hints of their forthcoming pleasures. For a book, the hints include the various elements loved by the reader. Sadly, it is when the promises made by those elements go unfulfilled that it can be a vast disappointment. In A Reading Life, Nicki Leone shares her views on one popular author’s book that promised much and in the end delivered little. 

You know those books we all think we ought to read. In this week’s Reviews & Reflections, Lisa Guidarini discovers that a heretofore unknown urge to clean out not only the usual parts of her house but those parts rarely seen. At the same time it also meant an urge to clean out her bookshelves that represented the underlying and now forfeited commitment to the western canon of literature in favor of literary temptation.  

What does Hamlet have in common with raisins? Only Anne Michael could find a connection—and it is one imbued with surprise and an unexpected tenderness of memory. This week, in Seasoned Lightly , join Anne in her exploration into having a “reason to be.”

Research has always been fascinating to me. Good thing too. It’s an important part of nonfiction writing, and I use it constantly in my pieces on bookmarks. A site I came across a few months ago is one of the most astonishing ones I’ve ever seen. It has links to numerous sites on an incredible array of subjects. Even if you don’t need it for research you may find that information on 17th century English coinage, toilet paper timeline, health and hygiene, worst jobs in history, old sketches, the safety pin, menstruation in the 19th century and before, finding a wife in 15th century England—is nothing short of fascinating. Deb’s Historical Research Page appears to be limited to the UK, but this is one mind-blowing site!

Until next week, read well, read often and read on!

Lauren