2018 Reading Challenges

So generally, I only do the Goodreads Reading Challenge (the link takes you to my 2017 attempt) each year. For 2017, I failed pretty badly. I wasn't up to reading, everything was kind of "blah", and it just did not happen. I read about half of my aimed goal of 24 books, two a month. Ah, but I tried.

Reading is my whole world though, books always have been there for me. And I really feel the need to get back into reading. I'm trying to write (and not just when NaNoWriMo rolls around...) a novel and a screenplay this year. Two entirely different projects, each with very different plots. I think they'll be fun. But I've heard the old adage that a writer should read. And it's true, if you don't read ever, how can you know what is good writing?

So this year I'm going to be trying two (at least! If I find more, I might join them too!) reading challenges. One put out by POPSUGAR and one put out by Book Riot (both those links take you to the official pages) which should get me to read well over 70 books this year. Not including ones that I read that aren't part of any of their categories. I am tempted to put my Goodreads challenge for this year at 100, but I think 75 is a good start. Then if I manage to go over, it'll look great, eh? I'll be tracking my progress on this blog, here and here, as well as on Goodreads and my Instagram account, because it's more fun when you're doing something with a group.

I just bought a bunch of books from Book Outlet since in store, they were having a 50% off everything Boxing week sale, and how can I say no to that? So I think I'll have a good head start. Not to mention, I'm doing book reviews and have a few in the wings from Net Galley, ready to go.

Good luck to anyone else taking part in the challenges, and hopefully I manage to complete at least one of them this year!!

Book Riot's 2018 Read Harder Challenge

And here's the Book Riot's 2018 Read Harder Challenge list (link goes to the official page), which is shorter, but looks (and sounds, heh) a bit harder than the POPSUGAR challenge.

Again, going to be interesting, and hopefully I can complete it before the end of next year!

Good luck to anyone else on the same path as me!

• A book published posthumously 
• A book of true crime 
• A classic of genre fiction (i.e. mystery, sci fi/fantasy, romance) 
• A comic written and illustrated by the same person 
• A book set in or about one of the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, or South Africa) 
• A book about nature 
• A western 
• A comic written or illustrated by a person of color 
• A book of colonial or postcolonial literature 
• A romance novel by or about a person of color 
• A children’s classic published before 1980 
• A celebrity memoir 
• An Oprah Book Club selection 
• A book of social science 
• A one-sitting book 
• The first book in a new-to-you YA or middle grade series 
• A sci fi novel with a female protagonist by a female author 
• A comic that isn’t published by Marvel, DC, or Image 
• A book of genre fiction in translation 
• A book with a cover you hate 
• A mystery by a person of color or LGBTQ+ author 
• An essay anthology 
• A book with a female protagonist over the age of 60 
• An assigned book you hated (or never finished)

2018 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge

So... This is the list put out for the 2018 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge (click link to go to the official page) and I'm going to try my best to complete it!! I already have a few books in mind, but some are going to be a bit of a challenge (what IS Nordic Noir anyway?) though I'm hopefully up for the challenge.

Good luck to everyone else that takes part as well!!

• A book made into a movie you've already seen -
• True Crime -
• The next book in a series you started -
• A book involving a heist -
• Nordic Noir -
• A novel based on a real person -
• A book set in a country that fascinates you -
• A book with a time of day in the title -
• A book about a villain or antihero -
• A book about death of grief -
• A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym -
• A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist -
• A book that is also a stage play or musical -
• A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you -
• A book about feminism -
• A book about mental health -
• A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift -
• A book by two authors -
• A book about or involving a sport -
• A book by a local author -
• A book with your favorite color in the title -
• A book with alliteration in the title -
• A book about time travel -
• A book with a weather element in the title -
• A book set at sea -
• A book with an animal in the title -
• A book set on a different planet -
• A book with song lyrics in the title -
• A book about or set on Halloween -
• A book with characters who are twins -
• A book mentioned in another book -
• A book from a celebrity book club -
• A childhood classic you've never read -
• A book that's published in 2018 -
• A past Goodreads Choice Awards winner -
• A book set in the decade you were born -
• A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn't get to -
• A book with an ugly cover -
• A book that involves a bookstore or library -
• Your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenges -

ADVANCED

• A bestseller from the year you graduated high school -
• A cyberpunk book -
• A book that was being read by a stranger in a public place -
• A book tied to your ancestry -
• A book with a fruit or vegetable in the title -
• An allegory -
• A book by an author with the same first or last name as you -
• A microhistory -
• A book about a problem facing society today -
• A book recommended by someone else taking the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge -