Reading Plans for October

I had a semi-productive day regarding the blog yesterday, so I'm feeling optimistic enough to lay out some goals for the month. I finally got my review copies and reading commitments organized by designing and filling in two new spreadsheets (I do so love spreadsheets). One lists all of the review copies I have received; the other is an actual schedule of reading including both specific due dates and suggested timelines to catch up.

I had started a schedule already here on the blog, but the spreadsheet allows me greater freedom to add details. Plus, sometimes doubling up the to-do list helps my procrastinating soul. And tripling up can help even more... What's coming this month? Well, I hope to read the following:

• The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis: I'm reading this one for the Classics Circuit which is featuring Gothic Lit this month. I am almost finished and absolutely loving it!
• The Call of Cthulu by H.P. Lovecraft: Jill from Fizzy Thoughts chose this one for Dueling Monsters, the annual face-off between scary books hosted by Jill herself and Heather from Age 30+ (who chose The Island of Dr. Moreau, which I will definitely read if I have time).
• Ain’t I a Woman? by bell hooks: The Year of Feminist Classics has this scheduled for October, and since I have had this on the shelves for quite some time, I am really hoping I get around to it!
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs: I received this one from the publisher, and it's been languishing on the shelves due to my sudden absence from the blogging world. If the other blogger reviews are to be believed, I will not regret taking the time to dive into this one.

So those are the books I hope to get to this month. Four wouldn't be so bad, but I am already reading:

• The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry: I've posted about this one twice already and I'm not even 1/4 done. While I am definitely enjoying this journey into poetry, I can definitely see this taking a back seat to the other reading.
• Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It by Kelly Gallagher: Reading and education are - obviously - important to me both as an avid reader and professor. I firmly believe that the way grade school and high school teaches English is antithetical to true learning and really harming students as far as collegiate education. I'm hoping this book will offer some new insights.
• Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen: We are covering this play in my Intro to Lit class, so I will be reading and re-reading it as well as researching the book and the author.

Powering through books is not my only bloggish goal for the month. I want to get organized again, start scheduling posts in advance, return to daily blog reading, update my stats spreadsheet, and get back to a comfortable feeling here on the blog.

And of course, I fully intend on taking part in the Readathon! The 24 Hour Readathon is one of my favorite blogging events. I've participated three times. Obviously, I won't be able to stay up the full 24 hours (apparently that's frowned upon when you are pregnant), but I'm still really looking forward to it. My big plan this year is to just read. I usually participate as a reader, a cheerleader, and a mini-challenge host. This time around I am cutting back and focusing plain and simply on plowing through some books. My goal, as of right now, is to get 10 hours of reading in. I figure I can also put in about 5 hours of blogging/commenting. Then I shall sleep.

So those are the primary plans for October here on eclectic / eccentric. What are your big plans for October?