I know, I know – it is only the second week of December, so this may seem like an early wrap-up post. BUT BUT BUT!! I have about 18(19?) challenges to wrap up for, and for some of them I have already passed my goals, so to avoid making a loooooong post about it on the 31st, I thought it may be better to have the post split over the three remaining weeks, and along with wrapping up I will also be signing up if I will continue with it next year.
Some of these can still be considered ‘actively’ doing as some of my December books also qualify for it, but since they are (1) complete (2) and will be wrapped-up in December’s monthly wrap-up for final tally, these will be the official ones.
Beat the Backlist
Progress: 102/52 books published before 2018
Initially setting a target of 52 books (which was like 1 book a week), I had passed that earlier and proceeded to an unofficial target of 100, and well, I crossed that, too, by the end of November! Current count is at 102 books and I am looking at 118 books by the end! (hint: best ones get top spots)
Along with that, there were 27 books I reread (so far) – mostly to remember things in the series, or just because I love to reread them, or because I wanted to hear the audio book.
Will I do it again in 2019?
Heck yeah I am! In fact, sign-ups are open now, so I am going ahead and adding myself
In case you want to know about it and join, here’s the short and sweet:
- Beat the Backlist is for reading backlist books (published 2018 and earlier). If you want to read more backlist books this coming year, sign up!
- OPTIONAL Hogwarts mini challenge. Read books. Earn points for your house. WIN.
- Lots of book community involvement. Join in with the partner blogs, share your own posts each week, and start spreading the backlist book love!
I am setting the goals at 100 books, as I hoping to read some older books to complete series (I say this every year, don’t I?) as well as books of 2018 I didn’t read. As for the mini-challenge, I am participating for my house, Hufflepuff!
Contemporary Romance reading challenge
Progress: 42/21+ contemporary romances
I started the challenge with only 6 books as the goal but I ended up raising it to the highest (21+) goal during the year, and now it is up to 42 books! (Pretty high for someone who was like “I am so over contemporary books”)
Will I do it again in 2019?
You know, why not?
Details to join, as on the challenge page:
- The goal is to read as many Contemporary Romance books as you’d like. See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you. You can move up a level as often as you’d like but no moving down. Remember, the idea is to challenge yourself.
- Books that qualify for this challenge can be young adult, new adult, or adult. Books can be M/F, M/M, or F/F. Books must be a work of fiction (sorry, nonfiction does not qualify for this challenge).
- Romances with the following elements do not qualify for this reading challenge: paranormal, historical, time-travel, fantasy, science fiction, or mystery/suspense/thriller.
- Books can be any format (print, ebook, audio).
- Novellas that are 100 pages in length (give or take), as well as full-length novels, will count for this reading challenge.
- Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
I am not a contemporary romance person, but it is nice to read once in a while. Plus, I have some on my TBR so I might as well motivate myself to get to them. Setting the goals at Grand Slam: read 21+ books
AtoZ reading challenge
Progress: 26/26 books
I thought the challenge would be easy, and it was for the first few months when the easy letters were getting crossed out, but I didn’t complete it until November, so it wasn’t as easy as I thought.
Will I do it again in 2019?
Yep!
Rules are pretty simple to join – read one book for each letter of the alphabet, the/an/a can be ignored.
Cloak and Dagger challenge
Progress: 27 books
This was also a good challenge, mainly because I thought I read enough mystery books but it seems like I really don’t. A lot of these were contemporary but I had some historical fiction and sci-fi in the mix, too.
Will I do it again in 2019?
Heck yeah! I want to read more mystery books!
The rules to join are simple enough:
- You can read any book that is from the mystery/suspense/thriller/crime genres. Any sub-genres are welcome as long as they incorporate one of these genres.
- You don’t need a blog to participate but you do need a place to post your reviews to link up. (blog, goodreads, booklikes, shelfari, etc.)
- Make a goal post and link it back here with your goal for this challenge.
- Books need to be novellas or novels, please no short stories. (At least 100 pages +)
- Crossovers into other challenges are fine.
- The Challenge will be from Jan. 1st to Dec. 31st. (Sign up ends March 15th)
Since I had challenged myself to the Detective level (16-25 books) last time, I am aiming for Inspector (26-35 books) this time.
New Release challenge
Progress: 185 books
I honestly didn’t think I was going to nearly double it, but I did. That may have been because I was focusing extra hard on reading more galleys this year.
Will I do it again in 2019?
Definitely!
As the name suggests, it is for 2019 releases read during 2019.
- Books have to be released and reviewed in 2019.
- Other challenges can be used as well, if you are participating in the Netgalley / Edelweiss challenge or in the COYER challenge, books can count towards more than one challenge, as long as the ones you use for the 2019 New Release Reading Challenge qualify to the other rules.
- The minimum length for a book to qualify is 100 pages, it can be in any format though, physical, e-book, ARC or audiobook.
- The New Release Challenge is open from January 1st through December 31st 2019, and sign-ups are open until September 1st 2019.
I had participated as a New Release Enthusiast (101-200 books), so I am going for New Release Obsessed (200+ books) this time around to really challenge myself.
Book to Movie reading challenge
Goals: 19/8 books
This one was also a toughie. I didn’t really plan out a TBR so it was mostly like – hey, did this book I just read have an adaptation?
Will I do it again in 2019?
Nah, I have my eye on some other interesting challenges, and this one wasn’t as fun to do anyway, so I will be skipping it next year.
Paranormal reading challenge
Goals: 89/24 books
Okay maybe I underestimated how many urban fantasies I read in a year, which is why I more than tripled on the challenge goal….
Will I do it again in 2019?
I think it is pretty clear that I read enough paranormal fiction to make up a quarter of my reading list, so it doesn’t really make it a challenge. Also, even if I wanted to, the blog page doesn’t exist anymore so I am ending this here.
Diversity challenge
Goals: 153/31 diverse books
One cannot read enough diverse books, to be honest, but I more than made up for my initial goals.
![かくりよの宿飯 あやかしお宿に嫁入りします。 1 [Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi: Ayakashi Oyado ni Yomeiri shimasu. 1] (Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits [Manga], #1)](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1514945872i/37801274._UY200_.jpg)
Will I do it again in 2019?
Again, not really a challenge since I read plentiful diverse books. Also, since I now include information about the rep in each review, as well as have Diversity Spotlight Thursday posts, I think that already helps get the word out about diverse reads. So not doing it in 2019
And so, that’s all for this week! Next week, I will have wrap-ups and sign-ups (hopefully) for some more of the year-long challenges.
YA on my Mind 
Wow, that is impressive! You read so many books this year and completed so many challenges. Congrats!
Thanks 😅
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