Wednesday, January 06, 2016

2016 Reading Challenges

Yet another bookish post.  Sorry I will get them out of the road an be done real quick here.  I do like to have a record for myself so that is why I am posting all this and it just is coming all in this week.  So after a real challenging challenge (ha) in 2015, I am ready for one that is a bit more easy going.  I liked how last years challenge forced me to get out of some comfort zones, though I did find I left quite a few of the uneasier ones for last anyway and never did get to them because time ran out.  Categories such as "a book set in the future", "a book more than a hundred years old", "a book with magic", and"a graphic novel" were not anywhere near my interest radar so it was really hard to motivate myself to get to them.   I couldn't always find a book I wanted to read to fit a certain category and at the end I found I was cramming in a book not because I wanted to read it but because it fulfilled three categories.

With that in mind the challenge I have chosen to do  year is:



Perfectly simple.  Right? The time frame given is books purchased from June 2015 - December 2016.  I can't emphasize how perfect this is for me right now.  I have a huge back log of books to June of last year (and even farther back than that but those won't count) that I purchased which is around the time I discovered BookOutlet.ca.  And some of those orders did not fit into the categories of last year, so I'm looking forward to getting into these purchases!  I also got several book store gift cards for Christmas so this challenge will fit like a glove.  For this challenge, hosted by The Book Dateshe wants us to choose one of the percentage goals from the list below that we want to accomplish reading out of the books purchased, list the books we purchase in a post and then cross them off as we read them.  There will be a couple link up posts in the year, I believe, where we can share how we are progressing.  You can read the full rules at her link.

20% or less      Money Sitting on the Shelf.

20 - 40%          Making Inroads.

40 - 60 %         Moderately Successful

60 - 80 %        Maximising  Returns

80 - 100%       Mission Accomplished

 I am going to choose the 60-80% category.  Hopefully I can get that many of the books purchased in the stated time frame of June 2015 - December 2016 read and enjoyed.  So here we go with my list so far:

Purchased June - December 2015



The Titanic Enigma by Tom West

The Curiosity by Stephen P. Kiernan


Every Last One by Anna Quindlen

Man Alive by Mary Kay Zuravleff

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan

Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin

Where the River Ends by Charles Martin

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson

The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules by Chatharina Ingelman-Sundberg

Keep Quiet by Lisa Scottoline

The Offering by Angela Hunt

The Truth Teller by Angela Hunt

The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler

The Aloha Reef Series (4 Books) by Colleen Coble

One Good Thing by Kevin Alan Milne


The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain

**new additions for 2016 will be added at the end of the post**

I know!!!!  Don't even talk to me!  And these are all just ones  that I've bought since June of 2015 and haven't yet read.  Addiction much?!    And those gift cards are seriously burning a hole in my pocket but I'm going to try really hard to not use them till the last half of the year.

But you know what else I love about being a part of a hosted challenge once again?  Going and reading the participant's reading lists! Although that can create a conundrum because I'll want to add a whole bunch more to my tbr list.  LOL.  Ahhh, the dilemma's of a book lover.

I'm also joining in on Carrie's (Reading to Know) Lucy Maud Montgomery Challenge.  The rule: Read as much Montgomery as you can during the month of January.  Another perfect one.  I had purchased the whole set of "Anne of Green Gables" from Costco, 8 books, after Christmas last year and still haven't got to them.  But Carrie does this as a yearly challenge so I'm going to try to knock a couple of those off this month.  


**new additions**

January 2016

-The Lake House by Kate Morton

-Remember Mia by Alexandra Burt


Are you doing any reading  challenges this year?



6 comments:

Deb J. in Utah said...

Great challenges. I am also participating in the L.M. Montgomery challenge as well as the Mount TBR challenge which is similar to the one you are participating in. I have to read at least 12 books I already own. Reading challenges are always fun, but I totally agree with you about last year's challenge. Some of the categories were kind of hard to complete. Have a great day!

Barbara H. said...

I know what you mean - I've felt like I've written about nothing but books with wrap-up posts from last year and reading plans for this year. But now that those are done, we can move on. I just posted my reading plans yesterday.

I don't think this particular challenge would work for me because I don't know when many of my books on hand were purchased. But I found the Mount TBR challenge which is designed to help us read some of those books on hand. I am always amazed at how many I have that I haven't read yet.

Your list reminded me that I've wanted to read something by Fannie Flagg. I keep hearing about her but haven't read her so far. Of the authors you have listed, I have only heard of Hunt, Martin, Coble, Quindlen, and of course Flagg. Looking forward to hearing about some of these! Happy reading!

Faith said...

The only books I buy are Bible study ones (I'm a small group leader). Seriously. I stopped buying books a few years ago as we are totally into purging and simplifying here. I now only go to the library, borrow from my sisters (and vice versa) or get them as gifts (and give as gifts like for my daughters who are collecting the British classics). BUT...my own challenge this year is to read two non fiction books that have been in my "to read" basket near my bed (Unbroken and the latest Philip Yancey book, i forget the title but I believe it is about prayer). It takes me a LONG time to get through non fiction. Good luck with your new challenge Susanne!!

Gattina said...

No FFF anymore ??

I read so many books I would be busy the whole day to do reviews, lol !

nikkipolani said...

Boy, do I agree with reading books out of my interests. I feel like there's little enough time to read the things I like! Enjoy this year's challenge -- at least you don't have to worry about library lending limits.

Paula said...

I am a book fiend as well, but I've started reading ebooks a lot more over the last year. I've exhausted the book selection at our small library, and we don't have an inter-library loan program because we live in such a rural area. I'm keeping track of my reading on Goodreads this year. My goal is to read 100 books.