After failing at every reading goal I set in 2011, I kept things pretty simple for 2012 – read 50 books. That was it, and I managed to achieve my goal. (Though sadly, not by much!) This year I was originally going to increase that number a bit, but after some thought, I decided against it. I find that I tend to read lighter books because I want to get through them quickly to ensure I meet my target number of books read.  But I think it’s time I started venturing into some meatier stories. So I’ve decided to keep the amount of books the same, but add a few other goals to work on.

Here are my 2013 Reading Goals:

1. Read 50 books
2. Read more adult books than YA
3. Read 2 classics
4. Reduce TBR pile (currently 40 books)

I know that’s a really short list, and my goals aren’t very lofty but I’m trying to be realistic. Reading is supposed to be fun and if I’m forcing myself to try and accomplish unrealistic goals it stops being fun.

Did you make any goals for 2012? Did you meet them? What are your 2013 reading goals?

Hey! Here’s a challenge I actually completed successfully. Yay me!

I had so much fun with the 2010 YA Reading Challenge, that I couldn’t wait to sign up for it again in 2011. This year, the 2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge was hosted by Jamie at For the Love of YA.

There are four levels to choose from in the YA Challenge:

1. The Mini YA Reading Challenge – Read 12 Young Adult novels.
2. The “Fun Size” YA Reading Challenge – Read 20 Young Adult novels.
3. The Jumbo Size YA Reading Challenge – Read 40 Young Adult novels.
4. The Mega size YA Reading Challenge – Read 50+ Young Adult novels.

Here are my 20 books:

1. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
2. Gone by Michael Grant
3. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
4. Subject Seven by James A. Moore
5. Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull
6. Eona by Alison Goodman
7. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
8. Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer
9. The Final Warning by James Patterson
10. Marked by PC Cast
11. Betrayed by PC Cast
12. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
13. Where She Went by Gayle Forman
14. Matched by Ally Condie
15. The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell 
16. The Dark City by Catherine Fisher
17. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
18. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
19. Crossed by Ally Condie  
20. The Warlock by Michael Scott

Hosted by The Ladybug Reads, the 2011 E-Book Reading Challenge challenges you to read more e-books. This was the challenge I was most excited about since I’m always trying to convince people of the wonders of e-reading.

I didn’t fail miserably at this one, but I still didn’t meet my goal. I did manage to read more books than the level below the one I choose required, so I don’t think I did too badly. Although, I would like to be reading at least half of my books electronically, so I will try this challenge again next year.

There are seven levels to the challenge:

1. Curious – Read 3 e-books
2. Fascinated – Read 6 e-books
3. Addicted – Read 12 e-books
4. Obsessed – Read 20 e-books
5. Possessed – Read 50 e-books
6. Fanatical – Read 75 e-books
7. Monomaniacal – Read 100 e-books

I’m going for level four – Obsessed – Read 20 e-books.

I’ll be listing my 20 e-books here as I go:

1. Sweet Spot by Susan Mallery
2. The Death of Joan of Arc by Michael Scott
3. Up In Smoke by Katie MacAlister
4. Gone by Michael Grant
5. Divine By Mistake by P.C. Cast
6. Calling for Angels by Alex Smith
7. Marked by P.C. Cast
8. Betrayed by P.C. Cast
9. Death’s Excellent Vacation by Charlaine Harris & Various
10. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
11. The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell
12. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
13. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
14. The Warlock by Michael Scott
15. Book Title by Author
16. Book Title by Author
17. Book Title by Author
18. Book Title by Author
19. Book Title by Author
20. Book Title by Author

The 2011 Page to Screen Reading Challenge (hosted by Christina at Reading Extensively) was my first reading challenge of 2011. As an avid movie and TV lover, I thought this one sounded perfect for me!

The rules for the reading challenge were:

• Read books that were made into movies or T.V. shows
• Books must be read between January 1-December 31, 2011
• Rereads count!
• Books that are currently being made into movies also count as long as the movie will be released sometime in 2011
• You can also watch the movies/T.V. shows as part of the challenge but it is not a requirement

I’m decided to try Level One – Read 5 books that were made into movies/T.V. shows.

While I did read a few books that that belong to series which have movies out, I only read one book that is the basis of an already released movie/show.

1. He’s Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt & Liz Tuccillo (Review posted)

I did  also read The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell which is currently being adapted for a 2012 TV show, but that doesn’t really count since the show didn’t come out this year. Either way, I still failed miserably at this challenge!

I’m now 2 for 2.

As we approach the end of 2011, I thought I’d take some time to look at my reading goals and challenges for the year. At the beginning of the year I was unaware of the changes my life was going to take, and as a result I was a little too optimistic when setting my goals.  I’m ashamed to admit that I think I have failed on all my goals and challenges this year.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks to see just how badly I did on my challenges this year!

The 2011 1st in a Series Challenge hosted by Katy at A Few More Pages seemed like an easy one to me.  I am a series lover. I really enjoy getting to know characters and following their stories for a long time.

There are four levels for this challenge:

• Series Novice: Read 3 books that are the first in any series.
• Series Lover: Read 6 books that are the first in any series.
• Series Expert: Read 12 books that are the first in any series.
• Series Fanatic: Read 20 books that are the first in any series.

I didn’t fail too miserably at this one, since I did start 9 new series out of the 12 I was aiming for. I will definitely try this one again next year!

Here are the 9 new series I started this year:

1. Gone by Michael Grant (Gone #1)
2. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (Kane Chronicles #1)
3. Divine By Mistake by P.C. Cast (Partholon, #1)
4. Subject Seven by James A. Moore (Subject Seven #1)
5. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (Heroes of Olympus #1)
6. Marked by PC Cast (House of Night #1)
7. Matched by Ally Condie (Matched #1)
8. The Dark City by Catherine Fisher (Relic Master #1)
9. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Chaos Walking #1)
10. Book Title by Author (Series)
11. Book Title by Author (Series)
12. Book Title by Author (Series)

Unfortunately out of those 9 series I did start, only 3 of them were enjoyable enough to keep me reading the next books in the series. So here’s where I ask my fellow book lovers for helpful suggestions… what new series did you start – and really enjoy – this year? I’ll be needing some new series to follow in 2012.

We’re one month into the new year and I think I’m doing pretty good on my Frugal Reader Challenge. I’ve bought only one book so far this year, and it was our bookclub selection for January, so it wasn’t even an impulse purchase. I used gift cards for the majority of the cost, but the cards I had with me came up a bit short so I ended up having to spend $3.25. Which is not so bad, but then I actually made that back (see below).

This challenge is not only to save money, but also to reduce the book pile. I’ve succeeded on this front in two ways. First, I read three books off the TBR pile – two of which had been on the shelf for over a year! And I’m now reading my fourth. Second, I did my first big purge and took 15 books to the used book store, and set 5 books aside to give to friends. The Book Market only ended up taking six of the books, but I did get $4.20 so I am now ahead in the savings dept! Yay me. I then took the remaining books to the library, which takes used books as donations and re-sells them in their own used book store. There were a few books from the TBR pile among the donations, so after 3 weeks here’s where I’m at:

• TBR pile down 6 books!
• 1 new book acquired.
• 20 books off the shelf.
• 0$ spent.

My bookshelf space is likely to be reduced by about half, so I still have a long way to go, but so far so good. How are you doing on your reading goals this year?

As I mentioned last week, I’ve decided to add a personal challenge of my own to the other reading challenges I’ve joined this year.  Some major life changes have resulted in a need to free up shelf space and to reduce my growing debt. I’ve been cutting back all over, but the big pile of books always seems to be growing.  So, it’s time to make a change! And thus a challenge was born…

The challenge is this: Until my very large pile of unread books is reduced to single digits, I am not allowed to spend any more money on books.

But, this does NOT mean I can’t acquire new books by other means… because that would be unrealistic, and I’d just be setting myself up to fail. But I have quite a collection of book gift certificates to use up, and I have a library card and friends who share books, not to mention review copies. Any of these means are acceptable. As long as I don’t spend any $$. Granted, allowing myself new books won’t reduce the TBR pile as quickly, it will ensure I don’t have to miss out on those books I’ve been waiting for.

I know there are other TBR pile reading challenges out there, but I didn’t want to force myself to read a specific number of books, I just wanted to stop adding to the pile and save some money.

My TBR piles is big enough to keep me going for a while (including e-books and the ones I forgot to put in the pile, it’s about 46 books), but I got all those books because I wanted to read them, so it’s time to stop jumping to the next book I want and read the ones I already have.

This is a challenge I came up with to fit a personal need, but if you like the idea, feel free to join in! I’m sure a support team will be a big help! I have no idea how to use Mr. Linky, so if you want to try the Frugal Reader Challenge yourself, then join in in the comments below. Feel free to grab the badge above and add your own post on your blog if you so desire! I’ll update this post and add my progress from time time, and do a write up post at the end of the year. (Or if I happen to beat the pile. Whichever comes first.)

If at first you don’t succeed… Take the challenge again! The TwentyTen Challenge was the one challenge that I didn’t complete last year, but the point of a challenge is to challenge yourself right? Once again this challenge is being hosted by Bart’s Bookshelf, but this year the challenge becomes The TwentyEleven Challenge.

The Rules:

• You must read a total of  20 books from 11 categories. (You can choose two of the categories where you only need to read one book.)
• The categories are intended to be loose guidelines only, if you decide it fits, then it fits!
• Each book can only qualify for one category.
• Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
• Books read from 01/01/2011 – 31/12/2011 are eligible.

The categories for TwentyEleven are:

1. To YA or not YA: This one works like this… Tend to read more Young Adult than Adult Fiction books then read one or two adult fiction titles, vice-versa if you don’t tend to read much Young Adult. I’m going for 2 non-YA books here.
   1.  Spinning by Michael Baron
   2. Electric Blue by Nancy Bush
   -
2. …With a Twist: This one focuses on sub-genres, read a lot of chick-lit, then try a paranormal romance! Fantasy? Why not give some Steampunk a go, like a bit of Space-Opera in your Sci-Fi then pick up a military Sci-fi book.
   1.  Sweet Spot by Susan Mallery
   2. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
   -
3. Hot off the Presses: Read a book published (in your country) in 2011? Then it counts for this category.
   1. The Summer of Permanent Wants by Jamieson Findlay
   2. The Warlock by Michael Scott
   -
4. It Wasn’t Me! (aka Bad Bloggers*) Books in this category, should be ones you’ve picked up purely on the recommendation of another blogger count for this category (any reviews you post should also link to the post that convinced you give the book ago). *Bad Bloggers is hosted by Chris of Stuff as Dreams are Made on.
   1. Crossed by Ally Condie
   2. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
   -
5. Show it Who is Boss! Tackle that overflowing T.B.R. pile! Books for this category must be already residents of your bookshelves as of 1/12/10.
   1. Subject Seven by James A Moore
   2. The Final Warning by James Patterson
   -
6. Bablefish: Read books that are translated from a language that is not your own.
   1.
   2.
   -
7. Will-Power? What Will-Power? Bought a book NEW during 2011? Then it counts for this category. Second-hand books do not count, but books bought for you as gifts or won in a giveaway do count.
   1.  The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
   2. Death’s Excellent Vacation by Various Authors
   -
8. Mind the Gap: Need just one more book to compete that duology/trilogy/series then read it for this one! (This is for that final book you need to complete the series, so you can’t read two books from the same series!) Because not everyone reads a series in order, this is for the last book you need to read, not necessarily the last book in the series…
   1. Sucker Bet by Erin McCarthy  – Vegas Vampires #4
   2. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
   -
9. Back in the Day: Re-read an old favourite or two for this category.
   1.
   2.
   -
10. Way Back When: Read books that were published before you were born for this one, whether that be the day before or 100 years prior!
    1.
    2.
    -
11. Slim-Pickings: Got a novella you want to read? Then this one is the one for you! Any books between 90-150 pages count.
    1. The Death of Joan of Arc by Michael Scott
    2.

The Dewey Decimal Challenge is hosted by Jen at The Introverted Reader. This challenge is designed for fiction addicts who want to add some non-fiction into their reading but need a little push.

The rules are pretty simple: Read any non-fiction books. That’s it… Absolutely anything that is classified as non-fiction counts for this challenge.

There are four levels in The Dewey Decimal Challenge:

Dilettante–Read 1 non-fiction book.
Explorer–Read 2
Seeker–Read 3
Master–Read 4

I’m going to go all out and try for the Master level!  I know.  Big words for a girl who only finished 2 of her 3 challenges last year, but I’m already reading a non-fiction book now, so I figure I have a good start.

Here are my four non-fiction books:

1. He’s Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt & Liz Tuccillo (Review posted)

2. The Big Ten of Grammar by William Bradshaw

3.

4.

As promised, here’s my 2010 book wrap up! So, after achieving my goal of 50 read in 2009, my goal for 2010 was to read 75 books. As mentioned in my final Read by Jody of 2010, I did not make my goal, but I’m OK with that.

I did manage to read 69 books in 2010, so I wasn’t too far off my goal.

Some stats…

Only 11 of my books were e-books this year, which actually disappoints me because it’s DOWN from 2009. I love my e-reader and have found e-books actually more enjoyable to read than traditional books, and I try very hard to be environmentally friendly, so I want this number to go up instead of down! I blame the backslide partly on review books, which are mostly still coming as hard copies, and a large gift certificate for a bookstore that couldn’t be used for e-books. I’m really hoping this number will increase significantly in 2011.

A whopping 42 books of my 2010 reads were YA books! This is up significantly from just 15 in 2009. I’m not sure what this says about me, but I think I should really try and incorporate some more adult books into my reading this year!

40 of my 2010 reads fell into the Science Fiction & Fantasy genre, which is no surprise since this is where my heart lies. But since my overall book count went up, I actually managed to read more non-fantasy books this year than last, so I’m happy about that.

Highlights of the year…

1. Definitely The Hunger Games trilogy! I love me a great epic adventure that sticks with you. Add in a strong female heroine and I’m in love. It’s been weeks since I read Mockingjay and I still can’t stop thinking about Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch and Gale. And I’m coveting Hunger Games merchandise, so clearly this one has struck a chord with me!
2. Some great starts: I read a few gems that I really loved which all look like promising starts to new series. Anyone who has been following this blog for any length of time knows I’m a series addict. I like to get attached to my characters and follow their stories for years to come. And that’s why these awesome books stand out for 2010: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer, EON by Alison Goodman, The Iron King by Julie Kagawa, and The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller.
   I’d also like to give a shout-out to Graceling by Kristin Cashore because I really loved it, but unfortunately Fire, book 2 in the Seven Kingdoms series was a very poor follow-up.
3. Percy Jackson and the Olympians. While not every book in this 5 volume series is a 5 star book, I enjoyed them all and it had a fantastic 5 star ending. Ending a series satisfactorily is a big deal as far as I’m concerned!
4. Netgalley. A site that offers plenty of great review books and all in e-book format! Big win.
5. Real life YA. I don’t know if that’s the best name for it, but I read some absolutely amazing stories about teens dealing with real life issues that resonated with me on every level. If you’re ever looking for a book to really make you feel, check out The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, As She Grows by Lesley Anne Cowan, God is in the Pancakes by Robin Epstein or The Second Trial by Rosemarie Boll. All are amazing.

The Challenges

I signed up for three challenges in 2010, but unfortunately I only completed two of them.

I actually surpassed my goal for the 2010 YA Reading Challenge hosted by J. Kaye’s Book Blog (now known as Home Girls book blog). I signed up for The Mini YA Reading Challenge, which requires you to read 12 Young Adult novels, but completed the Just My Size YA Reading Challenge, which requires you to read 25 Young Adult novels.

I just barely finished The What’s in a Name? Challenge, hosted by Beth at Beth Fish Reads. My final book for that challenge was completed on Dec. 26 and it wasn’t until after I read it that I learned that Nightshade was a plant name and qualified for the last book in the challenge!

I did not however manage to complete the TwentyTen Reading Challenge hosted by Bart’s Bookshelf. I was close, but only managed to get in 17 of the 20 books required. I do think this one was a fun challenge, and it was a good one for getting me to select books I may not normally have picked.

(To see any of my challenges just follow the links above.)

So there you have my 2010 book year in review. I’d love to hear some of your highlights from the year! Please share some of your faves from 2010 in the comments below.