Reviewing our 2019 Reading Challenge

Were you happy with the number of books?

M: Originally, I thought it would be an easy target but getting behind schedule in the summer meant that I was constantly playing catch up.

C: After only just failing to complete fifty last year, I thought thirty-five books would be relatively easy. However, I finished the challenge in November, later than I expected.

How did the required reading lists affect your challenge?

M: I think the list made me struggle more than I have in previous years, putting too much emphasis on reading the books on the lists. I spent too much time struggling through the novels that were harder and put off the ones out of my comfort zone.

C: I actually managed to complete my list, but some of the books on Millie’s list were so daunting that I kept procrastinating reading them and just never got around to it. One day, I will sit down and read them.

How many rereads did you add to your list?

M: 8 out of 10 books on my list were ones that I had read quite recently meaning I had no motivation to finish them. On Claire’s list I had read 3 before, but all of them a long time ago.

C: On my list, I had only read 4 out of 10 books but I did take it into consideration how recently I had read them before adding them. It didn’t affect my motivation to read them. On Millie’s list, I had only read 2 books and attempted a third. I didn’t manage to reread them.

Would you do the mini-challenges again?

M: Every year I say I want to read more classics but never do. The mini-challenges were supposed to help but I still didn’t manage it. I never managed to complete the Over 500 Pages challenge but this was a very frustrating challenge because I kept reading books that were 20 or 30 pages short.

C: I completed all the challenges but I found they were a little forgettable. The only one I had to really think about what I read was the non-fiction book challenge.

Both: We are doing mini-challenges this year but obviously we’ve changed them to challenges we will actually have to think about.

Did you read outside of your comfort zone?

M: No.

C: I started off the year reading a book very far out of my comfort zone and managed to continue that for the first half of the year. In the second half of the year, I did fall back into reading a lot of YA fiction, but that was because my job kind of required me to.

How many books in your favourite genre did you read?

M: 11 of the books I have read this year have been within my favourite genre.

C: I’ve read 12 YA books but they were all different genres within the YA category (and some were read because of my job).

Have you made a dent in your TBR lists?

M: I have easily bought 15+ books this year that have been added to my never-ending TBR pile. I know I will get round to reading them eventually but should probably be thinking about my bank balance a bit more.

C: Nope, my TBR list is ever-growing and I keep buying more and more. I don’t think I’ll ever get to the end; it will continue to increase.