BLOG ENTRY: 2016 Reading Challenge Review/2017 Reading Challenge Look Ahead

Well, this posting is a little late; yet, I always say better late than never! Figure I’d do an analysis posting for my reading challenges this year and a look ahead to next. Since I flubbed so bad this year on this topic, this coming one will be mighty interesting. :D

I started out 2016 with very good intentions. Three reading challenges started and by February or so, I had made good headway. Yet about March-May, I actually left reading books to concentrate on fanfiction. So let's just say that departure put a hole in my reading challenge boat. By the time I dove into books again, we were almost halfway through the year, and I just didn't feel like trying to cram in three reading challenges and feel the pressure. After all, reading is my hobby, not my job.

So about midway through the year, I decided to just concentrate on one reading challenge, and that was my favorite historical fiction challenge. My special challenge to myself for that one was to concentrate on historical fiction works about people, locations, or historical events that were new to me, as that's where my heart really lay that year. And I succeeded with that challenge, diving into some good titles and overshooting my number for that particular challenge.

So safe to say, 2017 I'll be taking a lot lighter. I'll only be concentrating on the historical fiction challenge again; I think I set myself about the prehistoric level at 25 books. I vaguely set myself a personal challenge to concentrate on books set in American history (as I don't tend to read that as much) and historical fantasy, a personal subgenre favorite of mine. But you know what? I'm just going to count every historical fiction book I read this year towards the overall goal and just use those personal challenges aspect for myself as vague guidelines and not an absolute challenge.

I plan on starting a second job this year so my time will be even more limited than in previous years. So the overall total I set for myself on GR of 50 will be hard enough. The prehistoric level of 25 for the historical fiction calendar will also be more of a challenge. Will have to see as the year plays out what happens and how successful I am with the historical fiction challenge and the overall book total on Goodreads this year.

So there you go, a little analysis on how not well I did on reading challenges for 2016 and maybe a glimmer of hope for 2017, depending on how much time Sarah actually has to read. We’ll see where my sanity lies in December. XD

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!!