December 19, 2012 / Leslie

2012 Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

2012 Challenge

Each year I join a few challenges to encourage myself to stretch into a variety of genres, formats and it’s fun to take part in a community experience. I did well in most of the 2012 challenges and finished all except one.

Audiobook Challenge

Hosted by Theresa’s Reading Corner.

Success! I committed to 25+ audiobooks and am currently on my 60th audiobook this year. That’s double the number I listened to last year and way more the handful I listened to in previous years.

A list of the books I read with links to the reviews for the past two years can be found HERE.

What’s in a Name 5

Hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

Success! This is my favorite challenge. Between January 1 and December 31, 2012, I read one book in each of the following categories:

1. A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title:
The Cove by Ron Rash

2. A book with something you’d see in the sky in the title:
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

3. A book with a creepy crawly in the title:
The Year of the Gadfly by Jennifer Miller

4. A book with a type of house in the title:
Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling by Michael Boccacino

5. A book with something you’d carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title:
The Crossley ID Guide by Richard Crossley

6. A book with a something you’d find on a calendar in the title:
Blue Monday by Nicci French

Read Dystopia

Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Success! I committed to the Leader of Your District level: 7-10 books, and finished with 7 books read and I’ll be finishing up the 8th one this week. I’ve always enjoyed science fiction but I’m also finding myself more drawn to dystopian books.

Neuromancer by William Gibson
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

The Stephen King Project

Hosted by Natalie from Coffee and a Book Chick and Kathleen from Boarding in My Forties.

I chose A Lil Bit of King: 3 books. I did read three books but only reviewed two of them. I listened to The Gunslinger as an audiobook and had a terrible time following the plot. I think this is a book I need to read again in print so I can understand what the heck happened.

1. Mile 81
2. In the Tall Grass
3. The Gunslinger (not reviewed)

TBR Pile Challenge

Hosted by Adam at Roofbeam Reader.

Fail! The goal was to select 12 books from your TBR pile that had been there for a year or more and read them in 2012. Sounds simple but I didn’t read any of them! I read over 100 books in 2012 and not one from the list I made for this challenge. I did learn something from this challenge: I can’t choose what I will feel like reading a year in advance. My mood changes and what I thought I would read back in December wasn’t what I wanted a few months later. Plus all those shiny new books are much more alluring. I need a more flexible TRB challenge.

Perpetual Challenges

Amy Einhorn Challenge

The Amy Einhorn Challenge is hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

Success! The goal is to read two books from the imprint each year. I read three.

1. A Good American by Alex George
2. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
3. City of Women by David R. Gillham

Reagan Arthur Books

Reagan Arthur Books Challenge hosted by Kathy/Bermuda Onion and Julie/Booking Mama.

Success! The goal is to read two books from the imprint each year. I read three this year.

1. The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan
2. Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand
3. Bossypants by Tina Fey

Looking forward to 2013

Besides the perpetual challenges, I have only signed up for one other challenge next year and that is the What’s in a Name Challenge. I haven’t decided yet whether I want to add any more.

Are you participating in any challenges next year?