1. Title beginning with A 2. Author beginning with A 3. Title beginning with B 4. Author beginning with B 5. Title beginning with C 6. Author beginning with C 7. Title beginning with D 8. Author beginning with D 9. Title beginning with E 10. Author beginning with E 11. Title beginning with F 12. Author beginning with F 13. Title beginning with G 14. Author beginning with G 15. Title beginning with H 16. Author beginning with H 17. Title beginning with I 18. Author beginning with I 19. Title beginning with J 20. Author beginning with J 21. Title beginning with K 22. Author beginning with K 23. Title beginning with L 24. Author beginning with L 25. Title beginning with M 26. Author beginning with M 27. Title beginning with N 28. Author beginning with N 29. Title beginning with O 30. Author beginning with O 31. Title beginning with P 32. Author beginning with P 33. Title or Author beginning with Q 34. Title beginning with R 35. Author beginning with R 36. Title beginning with S 37. Author beginning with S 38. Title beginning with T 39. Author beginning with T 40. Title or Author beginning with U 41. Title or Author beginning with V or W 42. Title or Author beginning with X or “Ex” 43. Title beginning with Y 44. Author beginning with Y 45. Title or Author beginning with Z 46 children's book published in the 1860s 47. children's book published in the 1870s 48. children's book published in the 1880s 49. children's book published in the 1890s 50. children's book published in the 1900s | 51. children's book published in the 1910s 52. children's book published in the 1920s 53. children's book published in the 1930s 54. children's book published in the 1940s 55. children's book published in the 1950s 56. children's book published in the 1960s 57. children's book published in the 1970s 58. children's book published in the 1980s 59. children's book published in the 1990s 60. children's book published in the 2000s 61. children's book published in the 2010s 62. children's book published in 2019 63. a Newbery Winner 64. a Newbery Honor 65. nonfiction 66. poetry 67. graphic novel 68. first in a series 69. any book in a series 70. last book in a series 71. science fiction 72. fantasy 73. mystery 74. animal fantasy 75. realistic/contemporary 76. coming of age 77. action, adventure 78. historical fiction 79. historical fiction, world war I 80. historical fiction, world war II 81. historical fiction, civil rights 82. historical fiction, civil war 83. historical fiction, great depression 84. reread 85. library 86. free choice 87. another free choice 88. biography or autobiography 89.written in first person 90. written in third person 91. verse novel 92. illustrated "notebook" or diary 93. out of print 94. anniversary reprint of a children's book 95. favorite author 96. new-to-you author 97. YOUR pick for Newbery 2019 98. multiple authors 99. happy, happy 100. oh the sads |
I've got a few more reading challenges I wanted to sign up for this year, and they're all kid book related. I have a toddler and a baby, so I read tons of picture books. And I love reading middle grade just for fun for myself, so these challenges are right up my alley! Well, you had to know this one was coming, since I'm the one who hosts this challenge! It helps me work on my long-term goal of reading all of the Newbery winners (and ideally all of the Honor books, too). I'm signing up for the Avi level, which means I need at least 45 points. I'm hoping to get through a lot of recent Honor books, since I've been reading more ebooks and audiobooks lately, and my library seems to have a lot of these through the Libby app. There is never a shortage of picture books in my house. Our shelves are full, and we have a constant rotation from the library. This challenge is hosted by Becky's Book Reviews, and she has a couple of options of how to complete it. I'm aiming for two of the checklists. One is to read 4 books each month - something old, something new, something borrowed, and something true. The other checklist I'll work on is an A-Z list, for author, illustrator, and title. So much fun! This challenge is also hosted by Becky's Book Reviews, and it also involves a giant checklist. I love reading middle grade books. It's the most dangerous section for me in a library or a bookstore. I know I won't come anywhere close to finishing this huge list, but I'll get as many checked off as I can!
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One of my main goals this year is to relax and enjoy what I read - but I just can't resist signing up for reading challenges! (And probably more than I should.) I tried to pick ones that overlapped with my goals or wouldn't be too difficult to complete. I'm really aiming for a no-stress reading life this year, so I'm going to keep my reading challenges fun! My personal goal this year is for 33% of the books I read to be ones I own. I'm hoping to get higher than that, so to give me a little extra push, I'm signing up for the Mount TBR Challenge hosted by My Reader's Block. I'm aiming for the Mount Blanc level, which is 24 books from my own shelves (bought before January 1, which makes it a little harder). I've participated in this challenge every year I've been blogging, except for last year. I love reading books set in Europe, so I've decided to join again this year. This challenge is hosted by Rose City Reader, and I'm aiming for the Five Star level, reading books set in five different European countries (at least!). This challenge, hosted by Bunny's Girl, just happened to overlap with my own plans for the year. I'm planning to reread all of Jane's novels by listening to them on audio. I've never done them as audiobooks before, and I'm pretty excited. I listened to Pride & Prejudice in December and just finished Sense & Sensibility this week. I've also got a few Austen-related fiction and nonfiction reads lined up, so I think this challenge will be a cinch to complete! Okay, this is the one that is going to be the most challenging to complete, and therefore it's the one I'm most excited about. The Connect Five challenge is hosted by Book Date. The concept is to read five books that have some sort of connection, whether it's by the same author or about the same theme or something else entirely. We get to pick the connection, and we can have as many groups of 5 as we would like. I've got a few ideas, but the one I'm absolutely commited to is 5 books continuing a series. I have so many series that I've started, but never gone beyond the first or second book. In fact, just looking at my own shelves, I compiled a list of eleven books I could read for this category. I'm also hoping to read 5 books that start a new series, 5 travel books, and 5 books that I bought in 2019. I'll probably come up with some more connections as I read more books this year, but that's what I'm starting with!
It's a new year! Time to set some goals for myself! However, I am going to be much more laid back this year - or at least, I'm going to try to be. I usually set myself some pretty ambitious goals, but I'm discovering that having two little kids is finally catching up to me. I just don't have the amount of reading time that I used to, especially since their napping schedules don't match anymore. I try to remind myself that this is just for a season of my life and I will soon be reading as much as ever, but it's hard when all I want to do is escape for an hour and read. Someday! Finish My TBR BingoSo yes, this was also one of my plans last year, and I didn't complete it. I made the bingo card in August 2017 and read 6 books off it by that December. In 2018, I read another 13. That means I have 6 left to go. I'm hoping to read one book a month and have the bingo card completed by the end of June. But if it takes me longer than that, then that's okay! My Yearly Newbery GoalsI have a long-term goal to read all of the Newbery winners (and hopefully all of the Honor books). I'm chipping away at this little by little. Each year, I read one decade of winners (this year, I'm reading the 1960s). I read all of the books that win in the current year, which will be announced on January 28 this year. And I read at least one year of Honor books (2013 this year). It'll take me a while, but I'll read them all eventually! Read My Own BooksFor the past two years, I've set myself a goal of having at least 50% of the books I read be ones I own. I achieved that goal both years, but it has been occasionally stressful - especially towards the end of the year when it's coming down to the wire. I'm trying to eliminate stress from my reading this year, but I still want to make sure I'm reading my own books. So I'm aiming for 33% of the books I read being ones I own. That's one book I own for every two library books. That should be doable and pressure-free. And hopefully I can end up with a higher percentage than that! Relax and Enjoy What I ReadYou've probably gotten the gist from the rest of my post, but I'm making this an official goal this year. No pressure to read all the books. No shame for not fulfilling reading challenges. No guilt for taking my time or reading only a couple books a month. My reading time is shorter than ever, which is why I want to be able to enjoy every bit of it!
It's surprising how fast a year can go by with a new baby in the house! (Especially when those sleep-deprived days seem to last forever!) But 2018 is officially over, and it's time to take a look at my reading for the year. I read way more than I thought I would be able to, and audiobooks really helped with that. I also read a few e-books, which is a method of reading I never thought I would like. But I have to admit that being able to pull up a book on my phone when I'm nursing or in those few moments when the two-year-old is playing contentedly by himself has been really nice. E-books might just become a more regular part of my reading life in this next year. . . 2018 Stats
My Top Reads of 2018Favorite fiction books: The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay & Can't Help Falling by Kara Isaac (So I like bookish love stories. What can I say?)
Favorite nonfiction books: Mail Obsession by Mark Mason & West with the Night by Beryl Markham Favorite children's books: The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser & Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman Favorite series: The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (I have her next trilogy sitting on my shelf, ready to read. But they're quite thick, so I just need to find the time somehow!) Last January, I posted about my personal goals for my reading in 2018. It's time to look back and see how I did. Finish My Classics Club List - Complete!My five-year deadline was the end of August 2018. I was really hoping to finish my list before my daughter arrived in June. With planning and persistence, I finished my last book (Daniel Deronda by George Eliot) on May 3!! I wrote a post about my Classics Club journey with plenty of fun stats, if you'd like to read more about it. Finish my TBR Bingo - Still in ProgressI created my TBR Bingo card in August 2017. At the beginning of 2018, I still had 19 books to read. I made great progress during the year, and I'm now down to 6. Maybe by the end of this year? Read My Own Books - Success!I made a goal that 50% of the books I read would be books I own. I (just barely) succeeded in reaching this goal in 2017, so I knew it was possible. This year, I didn't count audiobooks and ebooks, since the only way I could access those was through my library and that seemed to unfairly tip my number towards library books. So just counting physical books, 52% of the books I read this year were books I owned. Yay!
Since we're five days into a new year, I figure I should probably post my wrap-up of my remaining 2018 reading challenges. I was a little disappointed that I didn't quite complete my Mount TBR Challenge. However, the rules of that challenge state that it only includes books bought before January 1, 2018. I read more than my goal of 36 books that I own last year, if I include the ones that I bought during the year. I was pretty pleased that I read 9 books that I bought. It sounds small, but that's a better number for me than normal! So even though I didn't technically complete the Mount TBR Challenge, I think I'm satisfied. Hosted by My Reader's Block Goal: Mt. Vancouver (36 books) 1. Mail Obsession by Mark Mason 2. Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand 3. Mr. Lemoncello's Great Library Race by Chris Grabenstein 4. Torrent by Lisa Tawn Bergren 5. Love Comes Calling by Siri Mitchell 6. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri 7. A Devil to Play by Jasper Rees 8. A Necessary Deception by Laurie Alice Eakes 9. The Interrupted Tale by Maryrose Wood 10. A Flight of Fancy by Laurie Alice Eakes 11. The Maiden's Bequest by George MacDonald 12. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart 13. Edward Trencom's Nose by Giles Minton 14. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck 15. Daniel Deronda by George Eliot 16. It Happened at the Fair by Deeanne Gist 17. The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan 18. Birth of the Chess Queen by Marilyn Yalom 19. The Pirates! in an Adventure with Communists by Gideon Defoe 20. A Reluctant Courtship by Laurie Alice Eakes 21. Drenched in Light by Lisa Wingate 22. Dreaming in Code by Scott Rosenberg 23. An Alphabetical Life by Wendy Werris 24. The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure 25. Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis 26. The Unmapped Sea by Maryrose Wood 27. Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley 28. Love on Assignment by Cara Lynn James 29. The Journey that Saved Curious George by Louise Borden 30. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt 31. An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor 32. The Further Adventures of Ebenezer Scrooge by Charlie Lovett Hosted by Doing Dewey Goal: 15 nonfiction books 1. Mail Obsession: A Journey Round Britain by Postcode by Mark Mason 2. A Devil to Play: One Man's Year-Long Quest to Master the Orchestra's Most Difficult Instrument by Jasper Rees 3. Efronia: An Armenian Love Story by Stina Katchadourian 4. Full Moon Over Noah's Ark: An Odyssey to Mount Ararat and Beyond by Rick Antonson 5. Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber 6. Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck 7. Writer to Writer: From Think to Ink by Gail Carson Levine 8. Into the Heart of Borneo by Redmond O'Hanlon 9. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson 10. The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific by J. Maarten Troost 11. Birth of the Chess Queen: A History by Marilyn Yalom 12. Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software by Scott Rosenberg 13. How To Talk So Little Kids Will Listen by Joanna Faber 14. The Read-Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie 15. The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure 16. An Alphabetical Life by Wendy Werris 17. Me, Myself & Bob by Phil Vischer 18. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick 19. West with the Night by Beryl Markham 20. I'd Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel Hosted by Becky's Book Reviews Goal: As many of the 104 categories as I can complete
70 out of 104 categories complete
(It helped that you could count one book for two categories, but I was still pleasantly surprised by this number!) |
My name is Julie, and I own a lot of books. As in, they are stacked on the floor because I've run out of room on the shelves. And those shelves? There are so many books on them that they smile -- not sag; smile. This blog will cover book reviews and all manner of other bookish things.
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