South Shore Readers discussion

As usual many sites are publishing 2019 reading challenges. Many blogs, instagrammers, goodreads groups also have their own reading challenges.

Do you plan to participate in any reading challenges in 2019?

I will link to a few below.

Feel free to post info about other reading challenges in this thread.

Also, feel free to create your own challenge tracker post in this thread.

Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge for 2019.
https://bookriot.com/2018/12/12/2019-...

Editable pdf to track challenge progress: https://s2982.pcdn.co/wp-content/uplo...

1. A epistolary novel or collection of letters
2. An alternate history novel
3. A book by a woman and/or AOC that won a literary award in 2018
4. A humor book
5. A book by a journalist or about journalism
6. A book by an AOC set in or about space
7. An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America
8. An #ownvoices book set in Oceania
9. A book published prior to Jan. 1, 2019 with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads
10. A translated book written by and/or translated by a woman
11. A book of manga
12. A book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point-of-view character
13. A book by or about someone that identifies as neurodiverse
14. A cozy mystery
15. A book of mythology or folklore
16. An historical romance by an AOC
17. A business book
18. A novel by a trans or nonbinary author
19. A book of nonviolent true crime
20. A book written in prison
21. A comic by an LGBTQIA creator
22. A children’s or middle grade book (not YA) that has won a diversity award since 2009
23. A self-published book
24. A collection of poetry published since 2014

Popsugar 2019 Reading Challenge

The challenge has 40 prompts this year and plus a 10 prompt ADVANCED challenge option.

https://www.popsugar.com/entertainmen...

Printable Checklist for the challenge:https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/fi...

1. A book becoming a movie in 2019
2. A book that makes you nostalgic
3. A book written by a musician (fiction or nonfiction)
4. A book you think should be turned into a movie
5. A book with at least one million ratings on Goodreads
6. A book with a plant in the title or on the cover
7. A reread of a favorite book
8. A book about a hobby
9. A book you meant to read in 2018
10. A book with POP, SUGAR, or CHALLENGE in the title
11. A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover
12. A book inspired by myth/legend/folklore
13. A book published posthumously
14. A book you see someone reading on TV or in a movie
15. A retelling of a classic
16. A book with a question in the title
17. A book set on college or university campus
18. A book about someone with a superpower
19.A book told from multiple POVs
20.A book set in space
21.A book by two female authors
22.A book with SALTY, SWEET, BITTER, or SPICY in the title
23.A book set in Scandinavia
24.A book that takes place in a single day
25.A debut novel
26.A book that's published in 2019
27.A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature
28.A book recommended by a celebrity you admire
29.A book with LOVE in the title
30.A book featuring an amateur detective
31.A book about a family
32.A book author from Asia, Africa, or South America
33.A book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in title
34.A book that includes a wedding
35. A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter
36.A ghost story
37. A book with a two-word title
38.A novel based on a true story
39.A book revolving around a puzzle or game
40.Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading challenge

ADVANCED
41.A "cli-fi" (climate fiction) book
42.A "choose-your-own-adventure" book
43.An "own voices" book
44.Read a book during the season it is set in
45.A LitRPG book
46.A book with no chapters / unusual chapter headings / unconventionally numbered chapters
47. Two books that share the same title
48 .Two books that share the same title
49. A book that has inspired a common phrase or idiom
50. A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent

2019 Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge
This one has a lot fewer prompts than the previously 2 posted challenges.
https://modernmrsdarcy.com/reading-ch...

1. A book you've been meaning to read
2. A book about a topic that fascinates you
3. A book in the back list of a favorite author
4. A book recommendation by someone with great taste
5. Three books by the same author
6. A book you chose for the cover
7. A book by an author who is new to you
8. A book in translation
9. A book outside your (genre) comfort zone
10. A book published before you were born

Some other challenges I've seen on instagram:
- Read 1 classic per month
- Read a set (by you) number of books that have been sitting unread on your to read shelf (i.e. books you own but haven't read yet)
- Read books from the 1001 books to read before you die List

2019 Reading Women Challenge
from Reading Women podcast

https://www.readingwomenpodcast.com/r...

Downloadable Booklist tracker PDF:https://static1.squarespace.com/stati...

1. A mystery or thriller written by a woman of color
2. A book about a woman with a mental illness
3. A book by an author from Nigeria or New Zealand
4. A book about or set in Appalachia
5. A children's book
6. A multigenerational family saga
7. A book featuring a woman in science
8. A play
9. A novella
10. A book about a woman athlete
11. A book featuring a religion other than your own
12. A Lambda Literary Award winner
13. A myth retelling
14. A translated book published before 1945
15. A book written by a South Asian author
16. A book by an Indigenous woman
17. A book from the 2018 Reading Women Award shortlist
18. A romance or love story
19. A book about nature
20. A historical fiction book
21. A book you bought or borrowed in 2019
22.A book you picked up because of the cover
23. Any book from a series
24. A young adult book by a woman of color
25. BONUS: A book by Jesmyn Ward
26. BONUS: A book by Jhumpa Lahiri

So far I've decided to do the Modern Mrs. Darcy Challenge and The Reading Women Challenge. I'm also doing the "A Book For All Seasons" task list (5 with an optional 6) to be done from 12/21-3/20-Solstice to Equinox but a lot of things overlap with other challenges so it shouldn't be too hard. There will be a new set of tasks in March so I feel like that will keep be busy enough. I'm planning to follow along with the monthly Unread Shelf challenge tasks and just try to read more of what I own in general.

Lastly I keep saying my goal is to read more and listen less since I feel like with audiobooks my attention to actual books is waning a bit. Then I realize that I love being able to listen to books while I drive and cook and clean and is it really a problem anyway? I don't know. I may set a goal of reading one physical book a month where I only read (instead of half reading/half listening as I often do.) I just feel like my reading muscle is getting a little lazy plus just sitting and reading allows you to do nothing else but that which I sort of nice and something I don't do often enough.

I am doing:
-Reading Women
-Read Harder
-trying to read at least 20 books that I already owned (as of Jan 1 2018 I had 111 unread books on my shelf at home. Ugh).
-trying to read at least 12 books from the 1001 books to read before you die list.
-trying to read a bunch (no specified #) of books that I haven't read that a lot of my friends seem to have read. :)

I *Might* pick up the Mrs. Darcy Challenge too. There seems to be some overlap between that and the Reading Women/Read Harder.

I let books count for more than one challenge of they can.

I have a mega-Google Sheet of Doom to help track, along with using GoodReads, of course.

Impressive and ambitious goal. Good luck.
I'm just trying not to add anymore books on my TBR list and try to read what's on it. It's getting too long as it is. I hope to read a few of the 100 Best Book lists from the "Great American Read". Every time I listen to WSIRN I'm adding another on my TBR shelf. Any kind of challenge just stresses me out so I tend to avoid those but I am interested in the recommendations that are posted here.
I got rid of most of the books on my bookshelves. Donated them after reading the Marie Kondo Book "Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" (I guess nothing "sparked joy"). Now I enjoy my trips to the library for books and audio books.
Happy reading!

I just joined this group - and I can see that my TBR list is going to get even bigger!
I have done different reading challenges and also Book Bingo that the "Books on the Nightstand" podcast used to do .
This year, I just set a goal of 60 books on Goodreads. I set it at 50 last year but read 63. I'm not allowing myself to choose really short books, unless they are for one of my library book groups.
I'm also going to look into books written the year I was born - 1957. Maybe a book a month - but I haven't started that yet.

We are about 1/3 of the way through the year and here's my reading stats...according to my super-nerdy book spreadsheet.

As of May 1st, how the books I read stack up...
Fiction 80% Non-Fiction 20%
Female Authors: 60% Male Authors: 40%
Print: 74% Audio: 16% Digital: 10%
Adult: 60% YA: 17% Kids/Middle-Grade: 23%
Format: (only listing top 3) Novels: 41% Graphic Novels: 36% Non Fiction Prose: 12%
Books by POC: 30% Books by White Authors: 70%

Read Harder Challenge: Finished 16 of 24 tasks
Reading Women Challenge: Finished 13 of 26 tasks

Yesterday they posted a Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge. You can view it here:https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/1...

Two Levels: Beginner and Advanced (Beginner + additional tasks)

Beginner Tasks/Prompts:
-Good as gold: Read a book that won a Goodreads Choice Award.
-The book is better: Read a book being adapted for TV or film this year.
-Short & sweet: Read a book with less than 100 pages (or a book you can finish in one sitting).
-On the bandwagon: Read one of the most read books right now on Goodreads.
-Actually want to read: Read a book that's been on your Want to Read shelf for more than a year.
-Not from around here: Read a book set in a different culture from your own.
-In the friend zone: Read a book that a friend has recommended.
-It takes two: Read a coauthored book.
-Wheel of format: Read a book in a format that you don’t normally read in (­a graphic novel, poetry, a play, an audiobook, etc.).
-New voices: Read a debut novel.
-Past love: Reread a book you loved when you were younger.
-Armchair traveler: Read a book set in a destination you want to visit.


Expert-Level Additions
-Stay awhile: Read a book with more than 500 pages.
-Stranger than fiction: Read a nonfiction book published this year.
-Tongue-tied: Read a translated book.
-No place like home: Read a book that appears in your Goodreads newsfeed.
-Continental drift: Read a book set on every continent.
-Genre explorer: Read a book from a genre you've never read before.
-Reading roulette: Read the third book you see on your Want to Read shelf.
-Primary reading: Read a book with a number or color in the title.
-Back to school: Read a book about a subject you don't know much about.

Almost done with both challenges. I think I have 4 books left.

Reading Women Challenge:
1. A mystery or thriller written by a woman of color-Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson
2. A book about a woman with a mental illness-Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
3. A book by an author from Nigeria or New Zealand-My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
4. A book about or set in Appalachia-Dopesick by Beth Macy
5. A children's book-The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
6. A multigenerational family saga-The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin
7. A book featuring a woman in science-Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
8. A play-For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange
9. A novella-Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
10. A book about a woman athlete-The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman
11. A book featuring a religion other than your own-The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner
12. A Lambda Literary Award winner-Tipping The Velvet by Sarah Waters
13. A myth retelling-The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
14. A translated book published before 1945-Heidi by Johanna Spyri
15. A book written by a South Asian author-Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
16. A book by an Indigenous woma- Heartberries by Terese Marie Mailhot
17. A book from the 2018 Reading Women Award shortlist-Educated by Tara Westover
18. A romance or love story-The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
19. A book about nature-Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
20. A historical fiction book-Sea of Memories by Fiona Valpy
21. A book you bought or borrowed in 2019-Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered:The Definitive How To Guide by Karen Killgariff and Georgia Hardstark
22.A book you picked up because of the cover-Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow
23. Any book from a series-Force of Nature by Jane Harper
24. A young adult book by a woman of color-To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
25. BONUS: A book by Jesmyn Ward-Sing Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
26. BONUS: A book by Jhumpa Lahiri-Interpreter of Maladies

Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge:
1. A book you've been meaning to read-A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
2. A book about a topic that fascinates you-The Manson Women and Me by Nikki Meredith
3. A book in the back list of a favorite author-Mercy by Jodi Picoult
4. A book recommendation by someone with great taste-Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
5. Three books by the same author-Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch all by Stephen King
6. A book you chose for the cover -(Same as above, The Ten Thousand Doors of January)
7. A book by an author who is new to you-Ineritance by Dani Shapiro
8. A book in translation-Waves by Ingrid Chabbert and Carole Maurel
9. A book outside your (genre) comfort zone-The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
10. A book published before you were born-Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

Woohoo! YOU CAN DO IT!


I've finished the Book Riot Read Harder challenge tasks and I only have one more left in the Reading Women Challenge. I have to read a translated book (written by a woman) published before 1945. I plan to read The Wreath by Sigrid Undset.

Update, on my last book! Almost done with Ten Thousand Doors of January-love it, definitely recommend!

I still haven't started my last book...but I still have time!! :D

I finished both the Reading Women and Book Riot challenge in 2019. Now, on to 2020. :)


My breakdown of what I read in 2019:

79% Fiction 21% Non-fiction

68% by Female Authors 32% by male authors

61% in print, 28% audio, 11% digital

68% adult, 16% YA, 15% kids

68% of the books I read were from the library, 21% were ones I owned, 10% were ARCs.

40% of what I read was published in 2019; the rest were backlist

My most read genres: General/Contemporary Fiction 43%; SciFi/Fantasy 22% and Historical Fiction 8%

27% of the books I read were graphic novels.

31% of the books I read were by Authors of Color

7% of the books I read were by LGBTQ+ authors

Question... does this month’s book count as an author from India? I’m ICD!