BLOG ENTRY: Reading Challenge 2015 Wrap-Up and 2016 Look-Forward

So my first year in participating in an actual reading challenge besides the usual GoodReads number one has passed. In 2015, I participated in the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge hosted @ Passages to the Past. I strived for the Prehistoric level, 50+ books and made it a personal challenge to myself to read all those books in the WWII-era. I knew that I usually only historical fiction stuff anyways, so just putting any historical fictions towards the count seemed like cheating to me. I wanted to challenge myself.

And challenge I did! I barely made it under the count, posting my last review on December 31st. So I learned that putting that much focus on the challenge was a mistake; I burned myself out on the WWII era. I found myself looking for alternatives all the time and really having to work to meet the 50+ goal.

So this year, I'm taking it MUCH easier. I'll be participating in challenges that will bring me pretty close to that 50+ count in total, but in a much varied scope. I'll be participating in 4 challenges, two of them personal to me alone.

Challenge 1

My first challenge will be the 2016 historical fiction challenge hosted @ Passages to the Past again.

Join up!!

This year, I'm only striving for about 12 books, a book a month, so between the Renaissance and Medieval levels. I'll be adding the extra kink in that the only books I'll be counting towards the challenge are those that are "new" to me: in an era I've not read before or very little, about a little known historical personage unknown to me, from an area of the world fairly new to me, or a little known aspect of a bigger historical event. I've already got some titles I'm eyeballing for this one so I'm looking forward to participating this year!

Challenge 2

My second challenge seems right up my alley! I've got so many books I've bought and just put on the bookshelf or let rot on my Kindle's backlog that I could read only what I've got for the rest of my life and never finish. So Challenge TRB Pile (though in my case it's TBR basement!) hosted @ Bookish Lifestyle by Evie is just the challenge for me.

Join us!!!

Like challenge 1, I'll be trying for the book a month format, so I'll be shooting for the "friendly hug" level, 11-20 books. I'm not comfortable posting a list of books 'cause I usually read wherever the mood strikes me as time goes by. So I got no idea right now which books will be counting towards this challenge but I look forward to putting at least a teensy-weensy dent in the books sitting in my basement for years.

Challenge 3 & 4

These challenges are my own personal ones. I want to read 12 books, a book a month, for both.

Challenge 3 will be all contemporary fiction, from any genre. I read so much historical stuff that it's sometimes easy to miss the good contemporary stories. I've already got a few I'm eyeballing for this one.

Challenge 4 will be 12 books of non-fiction. Sometimes, it's just nice to read up on something completely true and learn something. More than likely, these will mostly be historical in nature, since that's where my main interest lie, but we'll see what happens.

So there you have it, my reading goals for 2016. Very varied so I've got lots of room to explore a variety of things. Here's looking forward to a great reading year!!