Category: reading challenge

Monthly Wrap-Up: January 2020

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259 of 448 pages 557 pages (🎧)432 pages (🎧)162 pages (🎧)
—★★★☆☆★★☆☆☆★★★★☆
388 pages (🎧)384 pages303 pages (🎧)320 pages (🎧)
★★★☆☆★★☆☆☆★★★★☆★★★☆☆
208 pages (🎧)256 pages (🎧)336 pages (🎧)336 pages (🎧)
★★★★☆★★★★☆★★★☆☆★★☆☆☆
403 pages (🎧)369 pages (🎧)337 pages (🎧)320 pages (🎧)
★★☆☆☆★★★★☆★★☆☆☆★★★☆☆
345 pages
★★★★☆

DNFs

none in January!

Total pages: 5,715
Total books: 16 full + 1 partial
Average rating: 3.27 stars

  • BEST ADULT: It has to be Stiff by Mary Roach. This book was funny and informative!
  • BEST YA: It was a tough decision, but I think Together We Caught Fire by Eva V. Gibson is the winner. I read most of this book in one sitting because I had to know how everything would end.
  • BEST MG: In December it was Small Spaces, and in January it’s Dead Voices, both by Katherine Arden. I love this series.

2020’s reading challenges are off to a great start!

Monthly Motif is a reading challenge hosted by girlxoxo.

January’s theme was winter wonderland, or, more specifically, “a book set in a truly wonderful place – somewhere you’ve always thought was beautiful, somewhere with a wonderfully rich culture, a snowy setting, or maybe even a magical realm.” I think a lot of books I read could qualify for this, but the first one I used toward the prompt was:

I finished a total of 16 books in January, putting me off to a great start!

What’s in a Name is hosted by Andrea @ Carolina Book Nook.

I crossed off three of the six prompts in January:

The Audiobook Challenge is hosted by Hot Listens & Caffeinated Reviewer.

I set a goal of listening to 50 audiobooks in 2020, and I listened to 14 in January. If I can keep listening at this rate, I’ll have no problem completing this challenge!

(The 🎧 on my page count shows all my audiobook listens.)

How did January go for you? Are you doing any reading challenges? Let’s talk in the comments!

Find me all over the internet: Goodreads | Twitter | Bloglovin’

Monthly Wrap-Up: December 2019

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I’m trying something different for 2020 and, instead of doing a bunch of separate posts about the previous month, I’m just doing one big one!

419 pages (🎧)152 pages296 pages (🎧)357 pages (🎧)
★★☆☆☆★☆☆☆☆★★★★☆★★★☆☆
371 pages (🎧)784 pages (🎧)221 pages (🎧)224 pages (🎧)
★★★★☆★★☆☆☆★★★☆☆★★★☆☆
218 pages (🎧)400 pages (🎧)448 pages (🎧)320 pages (🎧)
★★★★☆★★★☆☆★★★★☆★★★☆☆
392 pages (🎧)450 pages (🎧)222 pages60 of 287 pages
★★★☆☆★★★★☆★★★★★—
262 of 312 pages229 of 305 pages
★☆☆☆☆★★★☆☆

DNFs

8 pages (🎧)32 pages (🎧)9 pages (🎧)24 pages (🎧)

Total pages: 5,898
Total books: 15 full + 3 partial + 4 DNFs
Average rating: 3.06 stars

Fun fact! In 2019 as a whole, I read 47,140 pages!

  • BEST OF THE MONTH: 100%, without a doubt, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? by Caitlin Doughty. This was the exact right mix of funny and informative and I loved it.
  • BEST YA: Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy! I read a bunch of Julie Murphy at the end of 2019 and I loved everything, but Dumplin‘ was definitely my favorite.
  • BEST MG: I’m not into spooky stuff, but Small Spaces by Katherine Arden was just the right amount of spooky for me! (Which makes sense, I guess, since it’s middle grade.) This was so much better than I’d expected.

I’m happy to share that I finished all of my reading challenges with plenty of time to spare!

Monthly Motif is a reading challenge hosted by girlxoxo.

December’s theme was last chance, meaning finally getting to any books that you’ve been putting off for one reason or another. I decided to just go with it and see what library holds came in. I ended up reading:

I finished a total of 17 books in December, bringing me to a total of 177 books in 2019.

Popsugar hosts a reading challenge every year.
You can find out more information on their website.

I made the executive decision to forgo one of the Popsugar prompts (a reread of a favorite book) because I don’t like rereading things and I’m an adult, so I can do what I want. I did cross off all of the other prompts, though.

I used the Gilmore Girls book list for help with that prompt, because I legitimately had no idea. I hardly ever watch things.

Romanceopoly is a reading challenge hosted by
Under the Covers and Peace Love Books.

I didn’t think I’d be able to do it, but I did it. All of the romanceopoly prompts are checked off! In December, I checked off:

I also made the decision not to do the photo challenges with this one.

I think this will be the last Killing the TBR update for a while since I’m going to pause this challenge for the foreseeable future, but I did finish Make Me Bad and The Boyfriend App, both of which I’ve had for a while.

How did December go for you? Did you meet all of your goals? Let’s talk in the comments!

Find me all over the internet: Goodreads | Twitter | Bloglovin’

2020 Reading Goals!

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I’m mixing things up in 2020 by not doing most of my usual reading challenges! I looked through a ton of challenges that seemed like they’d be fun and I even contemplated creating my own challenge, but in the end, this is what I decided to go with.

As usual, I’m going for 100 books in 2020! I think this will be the fifth year that I’ve set this goal for myself.

What’s in a Name is hosted by Andrea @ Carolina Book Nook and it’s pretty simple! You can read a book in any format (print, ebook, audio) at any point in 2020 that fits the following categories:

  • an ampersand
  • an antonym
  • 4 letters or less
  • a given/first name
  • reference to children
  • one of the four natural elements

I’m really excited for this one!

I’ve done the Monthly Motif reading challenge a few times, and I’m excited to do it again in 2020. This is a challenge hosted at girlxoxo that just involves reading at least one book per month that fits the given prompt. 2020’s prompts include:

  • winter wonderland
  • seeing red
  • sub-genre sound off
  • classics or currents
  • author introduction
  • name or number
  • around or out of this world
  • creature feature
  • when text just isn’t enough
  • thrills and chills
  • dynamic duos
  • sugar, spice, everything nice

The Audiobook Challenge is hosted by Hot Listens & Caffeinated Reviewer, and I figured it would be perfect because I listen to a ton of audiobooks at work! I don’t want to stress myself out over this one, so I’m aiming for Marathoner (50+ audiobooks).

Are you doing any reading challenges in 2020? Do we have any of the same goals? Let’s talk in the comments!

Find me all over the internet: Goodreads | Twitter | Bloglovin’

Reading Challenge Update

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I really buckled down on my challenges in November, so I’m excited to take a look at my progress.

Monthly Motif is a reading challenge hosted by girlxoxo.

November’s theme was seasons, elements, and weather. Specifically, the instruction was to “embrace a winter wonderland setting, pick a beach read, or read about a natural disaster. As long as a season, element, or the weather plays a key role in the story or is part of the title, it counts.” I really had no idea where I was going with this one, but it turned out that the first book I read in November was set on the water! I also ended up reading a couple more books that I think should count.

December’s theme is last chance. I’ve been meaning to read The Bride Test ever since it was announced and my library hold finally came in, so I’m currently working my way through that one.

I finished a total of 26 books in November, bringing me to a total of 158 books this year.

Popsugar hosts a reading challenge every year. You can find out more information on their website.

I crossed off a ton of prompts in November. I think I only have two left!

Romanceopoly is a reading challenge hosted by Under the Covers and Peace Love Books.

Hoopla really came in handy for me in November. I might not have enjoyed a lot of what I read (or, probably better said, attempted), but I crossed off a bunch of prompts.

This challenge is still on hold, probably indefinitely. But I did finish Roommates, which I got over a year ago, and We’ll Fly Away, which I had DNFed over the summer.

How are you doing on your reading challenges? Do you have any recommendations for me? Let’s talk in the comments!

Reading Challenge Update

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Well, here we are again. Time to take a look at my reading challenge progress!

Monthly Motif is a reading challenge hosted by girlxoxo.

October’s theme was tricks and trades. Specifically, the instruction was to “read a book set in a theater, an amusement park, a circus, or a book involving magic, illusions, or characters with special powers.” For a book set in an amusement park, I was going to go with Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan, and for a book featuring characters with special powers, I was finally going to read Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t completely derail my own plans, so instead, I ended up reading two totally different books!

November’s theme is seasons, elements, and weather. I’m not even going to make a tentative TBR for this one. We’ll just see what ends up happening.

I finished a total of 19 books in September, bringing me to a total of 132 books this year.

Popsugar hosts a reading challenge every year. You can find out more information on their website.

Okay, I finally did it. I crossed off some more Popsugar prompts! I think I may have a chance at finishing this thing! In October, I crossed off:

Romanceopoly is a reading challenge hosted by Under the Covers and Peace Love Books.

I actually crossed off two prompts for Romanceopoly too! I’m not sure that I’ll finish this challenge, but if I can find some good romance audiobooks to listen to while I’m at work, I might get close. I crossed off:

This challenge is still on hold. I did finally finish Permanent Record, though, which I feel should count for something.

How are you doing on your reading challenges? Do you have any recommendations for me? Let’s talk in the comments!

Reading Challenge Update

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Well, here we are again. Time to take a look at my reading challenge progress!

Monthly Motif is a reading challenge hosted by girlxoxo.

September’s theme was animal, number, color, name. I really had no idea what to do with this one (it’s so broad!) but I ended up reading MCMLXXV by Joe Casey for this prompt.

October’s theme is tricks and trades. I’m trying to decide between finally reading Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray and Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan.

I finished a total of 8 books in September, bringing me to a total of 113 books this year.

Popsugar hosts a reading challenge every year. You can find out more information on their website.

I had hoped that September would turn out better than August for this challenge, but nope. Another month with zero prompts checked off. (Oh well.)

Romanceopoly is a reading challenge hosted by Under the Covers and Peace Love Books.

Same with Romanceopoly! And for the second month in a row, I read no romance novels. Maybe that’s why I’m in a slump. Maybe I just need something cute and fluffy to bring me out of it.

This challenge is still on hold. I did, however, read a couple ARCs that needed to be finished:

How are you doing on your reading challenges? Do you have any recommendations for me? Let’s talk in the comments!

Reading Challenge Update

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Well, here we are again. Time to take a look at my reading challenge progress!

Monthly Motif is a reading challenge hosted by girlxoxo.

August’s theme was mode of transportation, and to expand on that, its official description is “a book where the mode of transportation plays a role in the story.” I went with The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett for this prompt, mostly because I had started it in July, but also because it takes place over the course of a trek through Europe and how the characters get around ends up being a big part of the story.

September’s theme is animal, number, color, name and I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to read, but I am 100% sure that I have some book in some box somewhere that will fit this prompt!

I read a total of 9 books in August and finished my reading challenge! I’m at 105 books read now.

Popsugar hosts a reading challenge every year. You can find out more information on their website.

I read literally nothing that counted for this reading challenge in August! Next month will be better.

Romanceopoly is a reading challenge hosted by Under the Covers and Peace Love Books.

Surprisingly, I did not read even one single romance novel in August! Who even am I?

This challenge is still on hold for now. I’ll probably pick it back up at some point this fall. I did, however, read two ARCs that have been hanging around for a bit:

How are you doing on your reading challenges? Do you have any recommendations for me? Let’s talk in the comments!