2012 TBR Pile Challenge

I don't easily commit to reading challenges, because usually it goes like this: I love to make up my mind about the books I want to read for a particular challenge, I enjoy coming up with a list of books I want to read, I am overly enthusiastic about reading the books in the next year. BUT as soon as it comes to reading I get distracted, something different strikes my fancy and I wander off reading everything else except the books on my list.

It's no big secret that this is the same with books I bought with the intention to read them "next". What I need is this challenge hosted by Adam. I commit myself to reading 12 determined books I owned for more than one year but have not read yet. Here is my list (incuding 2 alternates and year of publication):

1. The Rain Before it Falls by Jonathan Coe (2007)
2. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood (2009)
3. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen (2010)
4. Blindness by José Saramago (1995)
5. The Gathering by Anne Enright (2007)
6. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (2006)
7. I know why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (1970)
9. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (2000)
10. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (2009)
11. The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant (2003)
12. Lizard by Banana Yoshimoto (1993)

My two alternates:
1. Two Caravans by Marina Lewycka (2007)
2. Wildthorn by Jane Eagland (2009)
As I make progress I will link the titles to my reviews. Wish me luck because I will give away one book from those I managed to read in 2012. Egligable for winning will be readers of my blog who comment on my reviews of those books as I go.