2017 Reading Challenges Wrap-Up

I participated in three reading challenges this year (other than the usual GoodReads challenge) and while I barely squeaked by on one of them, I totally dropped ball on the other two. #ReaderShame

I blame this on two factors: 1) I got myself completely bogged down with ARC's, therefore June through September was spent reading and reviewing those and 2) an epic reading slump hit in October (probably brought on by reading/reviewing all those ARC's even when they weren't necessarily what I wanted to be reading at that time) and is still in full effect. *sobs loudly over reading slump*

So here's a quick look at how I failed two challenges and succeeded at the third by the barest of margins. 

In 2016 I slam-dunked the #ShelfLove Challenge so I was gung-ho to do it again. I set the same goal for myself: to read 31-40 books that I already owned (physical or Kindle). Nope, didn't happen. Instead that number is a paltry 18. The others consisted of new releases, ARC's, library books and new purchases. *sigh*

Then came the Reading Assignment Challenge. Where I pre-assigned myself twelve books to read throughout the year, one per month. I started off strong but then fizzled out. (Again, ARC's... reading slump... blahblahblah.) I actually got back on track in the fall and managed to end the year with 7 of my 12 books read. Not bad, but again, a challenge fail. *double sigh*

That brings us to the Contemporary Romance Challenge. This one seemed like a no-brainer since contemporary is my jam. It's what I read so why not make life easy and join a challenge I'm sure to ace? To be honest, up until this morning I thought I had failed this one, too. I signed up for the Grand Slam level which meant 21+ contemporary romance books read/reviewed/linked up. You get credit for this one by linking up your reviews each month and somehow that proved to be too challenging after the first few months. By summer I wasn't reviewing a book immediately after reading it (I blame those #$@&%*! ARC's) so either I was too late to make it into that month's link-up or I forgot about it completely. But... this morning when I went back and checked the link-up for every month, I saw that I actually managed to get 25 reviews linked up! Thank goodness for a strong start in January and February: 11 contemporary romances read and reviewed in just those two months helped me meet this goal.

Based on these less than stellar results I'm still contemplating what challenges, if any, I'll join for 2018. It's not that I'm bothered by failing two of my challenges (it's all for fun, after all), but maybe I'm better off just reading what I want to read, when I want to read it and leave it at that. What a concept! :)

How about you? How did you do with your 2017 challenges? 

What challenges are you joining in 2018? Let me know!

#2017HW Report Card - 3rd Quarter

Last December I signed up for the 2017 Reading Assignment Challenge and pronounced it the easiest challenge of all. I mean, I chose the number of books I would read (12), I chose which books I would read (all ones I was excited for), and all I had to do was read one per month. How simple is that, right? Well, join as me as I eat my words...

This 3rd quarter check-in is a chance for me to update my progress for July, August and September. Also known as, That Time Tanya Was An Epic Fail. Yep, I completely hit the skids in the 3rd quarter. July was about the time that I got myself bogged down with ALL THE ARCs and I am only now digging myself out of that hole. So it was basically Summer of the ARCs and I read NOTHING off my reading list. Progress = total face plant.

So, sad to say, my report card shows a big, fat F for this quarter. I started out the year strong but definitely fizzled out over the summer. The upside? I can still finish the year strong and have a great 4th quarter. Surely I can read three of these books by the end of the year, right? Right??

2017 Reading Assignment Challenge

How are you doing with your reading challenges 

(whatever they may be)? 

Tell me I'm not the only one struggling!

#ShelfLove 2017 Mid-Year Check-In

For the second year in a row, I'm taking part in the #ShelfLove Challenge. 

The focus is on reading the books you already own - and I'm all about that!

The discussion topic for the mid-year check-in: 

How are you doing with the challenge? 
Look back at your January post and share your progress.

I started off the year strong - purposely choosing books that were already on my shelves (or my Kindle). But, somewhere along the way, I became distracted by all the shiny new releases and a few arc's and, well... it's time to get back on track. The goal I set at the beginning of the year was to read between 31-40 books this year that I already owned (before the start of the year). With the year almost half over, I feel like I should be a little further along in this goal. Sooo, time to get focused and get back to reading all the awesome books already on my shelves! 

My #ShelfLove Challenge Progress:

If you're taking part in any reading challenges, how's your progress?

2017 Reading Challenges

Last week I posted about the Reading Assignment Challenge I'll be taking part in and I've decided to join in two others as well. 

C O N T E M P O R A R Y  R O M A N C E 

2 0 1 7  R E A D I N G  C H A L L E N G E

This challenge is hosted by Andi at Andi's ABCs and with the spotlight on contemporary romance it seems custom made for me. Adult, new adult and young adult contemporary romance all count toward the yearly goal, in any format (print, ebook, audio), including rereads and crossovers from other challenges. There will also be monthly discussion topics (which are optional). I'm going the Grand Slam level which means reading 21+ contemporary romance books within the year. I think I can manage that. :)

#S H E L F L O V E

2 0 1 7  R E A D I N G  C H A L L E N G E

This will be my second year participating in the #ShelfLove Challenge and I'm excited to take part again! This one is hosted by the ladies at Chapter Break and Terri at Second Run Reviews. As with last year, I'm not particularly concerned with the whole "book budget" or book buying ban" aspect of the challenge. Instead, my focus is on reading all the awesome books already on my bookshelves. I'm sticking with the same level I did this year: reading 31-40 books that I already own. I found this challenge to be a great motivator this year so I'm excited to be taking part again.

So that's three challenges in 2017 (including the Reading Assignment challenge) and the common denominator that drew me to these particular challenges? I get to read what I want. I choose whatever I feel like at the time. No list of dictates about when the book was released, where the author is from, what color is on the cover, how many pages it has. Yes, the contemporary romance challenge narrows it down to a specific genre but since that's the mainstay of my reading anyway... no worries. :)

How about you? Participating in any challenges in 2017? 

Do you enjoy them or do they not work for you? 

#2017HW Reading Assignment Challenge | Sign-Up and Reading List

I'm taking part in the Reading Assignment Challenge in 2017 and it's going to be awesome. This one kicks it old school with a reading assignment... except way cooler. Because you get to assign your own books. Sweet!

This challenge is run by Berls @ Fantasy is More Fun and Michelle @ Because Reading. You can get all the details at their sites but here are the basics.

* The challenge runs between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017.

* You can only participate for the months *after* you sign up.

* Make a list of specific books you'll read in 2017. Commit to reading 1,2,3 or 4 of those books each month.

* You can ready from any genre or format (must be over 100 pages and published before January 1, 2017).

* Post a quarterly report card and link it up at the host's blog.

I'm easing into this challenge by choosing Reading Level 1 - which means I am committing to reading one book from my reading list per month. Totally doable, right? And here are the 12 books that make up my assigned reading list.

Have you already signed up for any 2017 reading challenges? 

Do you have favorites that you participate in year after year?