New commenter John clued me in to a really cool-sounding challenge: New Notions Five. Here’s what it’s all about:

The challenge is to pick 5 books that you believe will challenge your thinking about any topic. For me, it was rethinking some religious issues that led to this idea. For you, it might be tackling a political viewpoint, a stance on a social issue, and notions about a color of skin, a creed, or an “ism”. You might challenge your notions about science, the world, or economics. You might want to read a book about something you already agree with that presents a whole new take on it. Anything that YOU believe is outside your normal viewpoint or that will make you rethink your preconceptions or assumptions is fair game.

Sounds like a great challenge. I’ll be signing up as soon as I get to the other side of The Brothers Karamazov, which I began this week. I’ll be blogging it in chunks, reporting at the conclusion of each section, rather than waiting until the end–because I know all you Superfast Reader readers need your fix at a pace a bit less leisurely than Mr. Dostoyevsky.

In the meantime, I’ve added John’s blog to my Kindred Spirits list–and there have been some new additions in the last few weeks so please check them out and support the litbloggers I admire.