52 Books Later: 2015 Reading Challenge Recap, Tips & Would I do It Again?

Dec 30

The first thing I felt after finishing my last reading challenge book was relief. When I started this challenge at the beginning of 2015 I decided to choose what I thought was a pretty simple and straight forward challenge.

The Popsugar 2015 list contained 50 challenges that would require me to read a total of 52 books. At the beginning it was peachy because I definitely read a lot more than 50 books a year. I did a calculation in my head where I think it came down to 4-5 books a month which is about a book a week. It started out great but the later half of the year was definitely rough.

What I've learned:

At the early months I picked and chose challenges that fit the books that I want to read. So for example I picked Separated @ Birth because I knew that it would qualify as one of the challenges, Fables as a graphic novel, and ... This method worked well in the beginning but then I ended having to figure out books for challenges that to me were harder to read (a book over 100 years old, a book over 500 pages, etc).
Because I committed myself to reading new or unfinished books, I really had to plan out in advance what I want to read so that I have the book available.
At the later months when I knew I was reading books that I had to read for the challenge, I tend to procrastinate and read books that are on the top of my To-Be-Read list instead. I started to worry that I wouldn't finish the challenge in October. I'm relief that I finished it but I don't know if a 50+ theme specific reading challenge is something that I would take on again. I take pleasure in reading and having to read books that I was really just really not into at the end felt like I was back in school.

So will I do another Reading Challenge in 2016? Yes, I will do a reading challenge in 2016. I love to read obviously, but I will not be participating in the PopSugar Challenge. If you want to take on the reading challenge Popsugar does have the 2016 list available.

3 Tips for Taking on any Reading Challenge:

Figure out how many books you read in a year and see which reading challenge realistically fits your life. Let's say that you read a book every two weeks (not counting books that you have to read for school or work) so 2 x 12 is 24. Maybe a 25-35 books reading challenge is more feasible than a 50. From my experience it's just not possible to read more than twice the amount you usually read in any given time.
After you decide the amount you want read, you can decide if you want to just do a number challenge like what Goodreads has on the homepage or a specific theme reading challenges. There are a ton online other than the PopSugar ones; there are monthly challenges where you only have to read one book per month for a total of 12/year.
Do you want to read more non-fiction books, mystery, thriller? Want to dip in some YA series? If you can't find one you like, set your own reading challenge goals! There's 0 reason to not read more books :)

November & December Update (I use the Goodreads star rating)

A book that scares you:
Boyfriend Glasses (Greta Bell Psychological Thriller Vol. 1) by Livia Harper

A book more than 100 years old:
Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (1874)

A book with antonyms in the title:
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes 4/5 stars
Review by The Drowsy Reader

A book with more than 500 pages:
The Cuckoo's Calling by J.K. Rowling as Robert Galbraith 3/5 stars

A classic romance:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 4/5 stars

A book with nonhuman characters:
Vampire Most Wanted by Lynsay Sands 3/5 stars

A book set somewhere you always wanted to visit:
A Royal Pain by Megan Mulry 3/5 stars

A book set during Christmas:
Yours for Christmas by Susan Mallery 3/5 stars

A book you started but never finished
The Life Changing Art of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo 5/5 stars

What now?

There are a lot of books that I read this year that didn't fit any of the challenges so I will create a list that will go up sometime in the beginning of 2016. Also keep an eye out for a collaboration I am doing with my friend The Drowsy Reader. As always, thanks for reading!

Until next time,