Must reads

Okay, so I have been doing some reading, not much writing... which does not get my book written.
Sooooo... I am going to give some recommendations for books to read and announce my intent to set a deadline by which I must have something written.
The books:
"Goodness and Mercy" by Esther Davison
"The Ballad of Abu Ghraib" and "A Cold Case" and "We regret to inform you that tomorrow we will all be killed with our families" all by Philip Gourevitch
"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
You must take time to read these books! Worth the time and effort of finding them and reading them.
Now for the deadlines -
I want to enter a contest for the Wyoming Writers Inc. 3,000 words by the end of March (yes, of this year).
Can be part of a novel and I have an idea. So, I plan to begin and submit, then keep writing so it is done and edited by a friend (fiend :) ) who is leaving me in a year or so.
Not knowing the exact departure date means I have to get the work DONE! ASAP!
There. I have thrown the gauntlet down on my self. Now, get to work!