2019 Reading Wrap Up: The Challenges

I am a reading challenge addict. It's just one of my fatal flaws. I like having a list of fun things to try and achieve in my reading and I enjoy the creative prompts that are generated by all of the great readers out there.

Today, I'm sharing the results of my 2019 reading challenges as well as the progress I made in my longer reading challenges during the year. This does not include any challenges that took place through the year via read-a-thons. I'll be including links to the individual pages for my challenges so you can take a peek at how I've done over the years, the books I've read, and decide whether any of these fun challenges would also be right for you.

Disclaimer: I have been struggling to get my act together and get this post completed. So...I'm going to streamline it a bit here and there so that I can get it out to you. If you want more information on anything I talk about here, follow the respective link for the entire history of a given challenge. 

Reading Challenge Results / Progress

Last year, I created a TBR for the year in January based on the challenges I had, ARCs I needed to read, and books I just wanted to get to in the year. I wasn't super successful in this task, but it was a good start and I am continuing this approach this year. Last year's TBR started with 73 books.

Percent of original TBR completed: 39.7%% (29/73 books)

Out of the books I aimed to read, I completed 29. 12 are rolling over into this year's TBR and another 10 are ones that I still hope to read this year, but aren't on the official TBR.

Lifetime Reading Goal

I don't recall where I originally heard of the 1,000,000 Pages Challenge. There are several sources out there. This is a lifetime reading challenge that I wish I would have come across sooner. I started officially tracking for this one in 2011. For reads before that, I pulled from my Goodreads "read" shelf and totaled up all of the pages there as a base.

I made some great progress on the challenge this year and put a decent dent in the overwhelming amount of pages remaining. I started the year with 195,503 pages read and 804,497 pages remaining, so 19.6% of the challenge complete. In 2019, I added an additional 37,008 pages. This brings my total pages read to 232,511, my remaining pages to 767,489, and my challenge to 23.3% complete.

If I keep up this pace, I should complete this challenge in 2041. Since I originally expected that I would be in my 90s before I could complete this challenge, I'm pretty pleased with this. I've cut more than 30 years off of my original estimate. Amazing.

52 Books in 52 Weeks

I've participated in 52 Books since 2015. The goal is pretty straightforward...just read 52 books in a year's time. In 2019, I finally completed the entire challenge for the first time.

1001 Books to Read Before You Die

This is an ongoing life challenge with a terribly long list of books, a good portion of which are classics. I completed 2 of these books in 2019, bringing my completion number to 51/1000.

Alphabet Soup Challenge

This is one of my favorite challenges. The goal is to read books with a titles that start with each letter of the alphabet. Last year I almost made it for the first time, finishing 2019 with 24/26 completed. That's 92.3%. The only letters I didn't complete were X and Y.


Alphabet Soup Author Challenge

Last year was the first time I tried the Alphabet Soup Challenge's little brother, the Alphabet Soup Author Challenge. This is still based on books from A to Z, but the letters are based on authors' names, using either first or last at your own discretion. I did pretty well, completing 21/26 (80.8%) of the challenge. I was left with unfulfilled slots for I,Q,U,X,and Y.

Century of Books

The concept for my Century of Books challenge came from one conceived by Simon at Stuck in a Book. In my version, I'm aiming to read a book published every year for a period of 100 years. The "century" I've chosen for my challenge is 1911-2010. I started this challenge in June 2014 and I've given myself 10 years, until May 30, 2024, to complete it.

In 2019, I completed 3 reads toward this challenge, which brings my current completion to 34/100.

Chunksters Challenge

For the purpose of my challenge, a chunkster is a book with 450 pages or more. My goal is to read 50 chunksters in the 10 year period between June 1, 2014 and May 31, 2024.

I competed 12 chunkster reads in 2019, bringing my total challenge progress to 25/50.

Classics Spin

My current classics spin is a list of twenty books and runs from January 1st, 2018 - December 31st, 2022. It's my 3rd round and I'm hoping to be successful for the first time with this go round. I currently sit at 50% with 10/20 finished. Five of these reads were completed in 2019.

Classics Won't Kill You

Another 10 year challenge running from June 2014 to May 2024, the goal is to read 50 classic novels. I completed 12 of these books in 2019, getting my challenge total up to 29/50.


Color Coded Challenge

Another favorite, this challenge has prompts based on books with colors in their titles. Last year was my best year yet, meeting 7/9 (77.8%) of the prompts. I'm hoping to finally conquer this one in 2020. The Color Coded Reading Challenge is hosted by Bev over at My Reader's Block.

Deal Me In Challenge

The Deal Me In Challenge was originally a short story challenge created over at Bibliophilica. Since I don't read short stories, I repurposed it for myself. I have not set a time frame for this challenge yet since I'm revamping it, but the basic idea is to read one book per quarter based on a predetermined list set to playing cards. A card is randomly chosen from the deck and that determines that quarter's read.

Last year, I completed 3 reads on the Deal Me In list.

The Great American Read

Based on the list generated by the popular PBS series, 2019 was my 1st year working on this personal goal. I currently sit with 32/100 of these books read, with 4 completed 2019.


I Dare You Reading Challenge

This is an open time limit challenge with a list of prompts. I started it back in January 2015 and I am almost done. I finished 15 books toward the challenge in 2019, leaving me at 103 / 105 completed. I should be able to (hopefully) complete this challenge in 2020.


Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge

I've participated in the Modern Mrs. Darcy challenge since 2017. It's typically a more streamlined challenge that is designed to give a bit of a push without adding stress to the weight of your reading. Last year was my first year to complete all 10 of the prompts and 100% complete the challenge.


Monthly Keyword

2019 was my first year of the Monthly Keyword Challenge. It's a fun and relatively simple one, and added a few interesting (otherwise perhaps not considered) books to my TBR. I completed 9/12 (75%) of the prompts.

Monthly Mix-Up Mania

Monthly Mix-Up Mania was based on a now defunct blog. The goal is to read a book for each letter from each month of the year, that's a total of 74 books. A two-year challenge, my current round runs from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2021.

Between April 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019, I completed 46 out of the 74 prompts. The remaining prompt letters are titles beginning with E, J, O, R, U, and Y.


Monthly Motif 

Like the Keyword Challenge, 2019 was my first year taking on the Monthly Motif challenge. I really enjoyed it and completed 12/12 (100%) of the prompts in my first attempt. YAY! I will be taking this one on again as there are new prompts for 2020.


PopSugar Challenge 

The PopSugar is an oldie, but a goodie. I've been participating with this one since 2015. 2019 was my best participation year yet with a completion score of  33/50 (66%). That seems low as I write this, but there are some very obscure and odd prompts, so I suppose that's not so bad.

Read the World Challenge

This is a ten-year challenge, based on attempting to read books set in 50 countries around the world. I started this one on June 1, 2014 and it ends on May 31, 2024. I completed 3 additional books in 2019, bringing my total to 24/50.

Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge

Another long challenge, this one is based on books read and mentioned in Gilmore Girls. I complted 2 books on this list in 2019 and now have 64/339 finished.

State by State Challenge

This round of the State by State Challenge (an attempt to read books set in each of the 50 United States), was set to run from 2017 - 2020. By the end of the year I had 26/50 read and decided that I needed to overhaul the plans. So...it has been cut short and has restarted as a 5-year challenge effective January 1, 2020.


Aaaaaand...I think that's it. Not a bad year in the challenges, I completed a bit here and there. I have a different approach for 2020, with a TBR plan that should make these numbers grow a bit quicker. I'll lay that all out next month. Next up, an end of year survey... Until then, happy reading!

2019 Reading Wrap Up: All the Stats & Pretty Graphs

For those of you who have been around for a while, or who know me in person, it should come as ZERO surprise that I love statistics and charts. Side note: for those who are Harry Potter fans...yes...I am (appropriately) a Ravenclaw.

In 2019, I went all in on the statistics nerdery and built myself a spreadsheet after scouring the bookternet and picking up pieces of ideas from several similarly nerdy readers. Spreadsheet lovers, UNITE! Today's post is a culmination is all of that tracking and graphing fun. So...let's take a look at my reading year in numbers and graphs.

3, 2, 1...GO!

Books by the Quantity

Total Books Read: 116

ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies): 50

Books in Translation: 7

Rereads: 4

I more than DOUBLED my prior highest tracked reading year. That's insane. I attribute a good portion of this to the addition of audiobooks into my repertoire.

Best reading month: October (14 books)

Slowest reading month: February (4 books)

Series Reads

Series Reads: 32

Standalones: 79

Uncertain: 5 (These books may end up with sequels in the future. The authors have been noncommittal.)

Started the series: 22 (Why do I do this to myself?)

Series finished this year: 1

Apparently I really need to focus on finishing series. I already have the knack for starting them...


Authors Read

Total Authors Read: 105
Most Read Author: Rick Riordan (3 books). 10 authors had 2 books represented in my 2019 reads.

New to Me Authors: 83

Pages Read / Minutes Listened

Total Pages Read: 37,008

Most Read: August (4,078)

Least Read: February (1,394)

Most Prolific : August (131.5 pages per day)

Least Prolific: February (49.8 pages per day)

Average Pages per Book: 319 

Longest Book: The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia (543 pages)

Shortest Book: And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman (97 pages)

Total Time Listened: 284:58:11

Most Listened: September (39:55:44)

Least Listened (after audio usage was started): May (20:28:00)

       

Average Days per Book: 6

Average Days per Physical Read: 5

Average Days per Audiobook: 7

Ratings

Average Rating: 3.86

Highest Rating Month: April (4.32)

Lowest Rating Month: March (3.42)

(I'll share the full list of 4, 4.5, and 5 star books in a later post.)

Successful Books: 102

Books by the Details

Average Year Published: 2004

Most Read Genre: Contemporary

Highest sources: (1) Borrowed (Library), (2) NetGalley

Diversity

And there you have it! The basic numbers and distribution of everything I read in 2019. I'm sure it will be interesting for a few, boring for some, and just a colorful mess for everyone else.

I'll be doing additional evaluations of my 2019 reading with upcoming posts. Coming soon: my 2019 Reading Challenge Success & Progress, the 2019 Book of the Year Bracket, and my results to Perpetual Page Turner's End of the Year Survey.

December Reading Wrap Up: The Stats

Welcome to 2020! I hope you all had wonderful holidays. We enjoyed our Christmas break, but unfortunately rang in the new year in the emergency room getting stitches for our oldest. Never a dull moment around here. January is now in full swing and I've been working on getting some things together to prep for the reading year ahead.

But...I still have some 2019 things to wrap up as well. This post is the start of that completion. Today, the stats for my December reading. After this, there will be posts for my December reviews, my 2019 full year statistics, and my annual Book of the Year Bracket to find my best book of 2019.

Now...let's jump into the stats for the last month of last year!

Reading Stats

I'm surprised, but at the same time not surprised by this graph. December was a bit of a slower reading month thanks to the holidays and all of the madness that entails. However, I still managed to finish 11 books...not too shabby. The surprise was that despite this, the majority of my reads were physical/e-book reads, NOT audio. That seems crazy to me.

2019 BLEW my reading stats for the last decade out of the water. I finished up with a completion of 116 books. That's more than DOUBLE any of the prior years' numbers. I'm incredibly proud of that and I really hope to keep that level of reading up in 2020. I attribute some of this to the fact that I've made reading more of a priority for myself (call it self care if you like), but it's also largely because of my decision to embrace audiobooks. You guys...best. decision. ever.

Like a lot of readers, I was hesitant because I struggled with myself over whether or not audio is "really reading". And let me tell you...I've decided that the answer is ABSOLUTELY. Your mind still has to work in a way to imagine the setting, the characters, and the action. Your eyes may not be doing the work, but your ears are picking up the slack. And I freaking love audiobooks (as long as the narrator isn't one that gets on my nerves...which has only happened a couple of times).

December had fewer books than November, but more pages. This is mostly due to the near strict adhesion to middle grade reads in November and the return to a more wide range of reads in December. Also...in full disclosure...I do include the pages in the books I "read" via audio in these stats because...well, because I want to.

If you're curious what this audio component is, well...fear not, I have a new graph! In December, I listened to about 26 hours of audiobook...around 45 minutes per day. These hours are mostly accumulated when I am getting reading in the mornings (20-30 min) and on our near weekly drives to Bemidji (40 min both ways). It's a great way to pass the driving time (though I do now have to make sure my audio reads are somewhat PG thanks to the two little parrots I have sitting in the backseat).

Looking at this graph, I'm feeling really crummy about my January reading thus far. Man, I really need to take it up a notch. Anyway, I averaged about 118 pages per day. (I'm at around half that right now for this month. Ugh.)

This makes me feel so happy. Look at that pretty bar! Over 35,000 pages. Amazing. I've set 35,000 as my official page goal for this year, but to be honest, I really want to see the graph hit 40,000 in 2020.


TBR Completion

I mentioned last month that I'm going to start keeping track of my TBR completion rate via spreadsheet in 2020. I actually just updated that portion of the spreadsheet this afternoon, so it is working as we speak. As for December, I set my TBR at 13 print/e-books and 7 audiobooks, a total of 20 reads. For the second month in a row, I was near half that. At 11 reads for the month, I had a TBR completion of 55%. That is up from 50% in November. It not a lot, but it's something. I'm also happy to say that ALL of my reads for December were on my original TBR...so that's something.

As far as the breakdown: out of my 13 print/e-books, I completed 7; out of my 7 audiobook selections, I finished 4. These lead to completion rates of 53.8% and 57.14%, respectively. I like that they are fairly close together, but I wish the rates were both higher. Regardless, the print rate of completion is SOOOO much better than the 30.8% rate I had in November.

Here's hoping for better TBR completion rates in 2020. (I'm not sure that's going to happen in January...oops.)


Book Stats

My average rating for December was 3.68, pretty much smack dab in the range for the year. That's certainly not a bad reading month.

Readings consisted of: 6 ARCs, 2 middle grade carryovers from November, 1 was a continuation of a series, 1 was an audiobook I picked up based on reading that author's prior works, and 1 was a book I'd been meaning to pick up all year.

In that group, the ratings were as follows:

DNF : 0 books          1-star: 0 books          1.5 star: 0 books

2-star: 0 books          2.5 star: 1 book          3-star: 2 books          3.5 star: 2 books

4-star: 3 books          4.5 star: 3 books          5 star: 0 books

Not the greatest reading month, but still respectable.

There were:

1 Classic
3 Fantasies
3 Magical Realisms
2 SciFi
1 Women's Fiction
1 General Fiction

When it comes to age distribution: 3 books were Middle Grade reads, 4 books were New Adult, and 4 were intended for an adult audience.

Books I Read

The Invisibles by Rachel Dacus (Adult Magical Realism) - 3.5 stars

The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White (Middle Grade Classic) - 4 stars

The Magic in Me by Kelly Zimmer (New Adult Magical Realism) - 4 stars

Dying to Return by Kelly Zimmer (New Adult Magical Realism) - 3.5 stars

The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan (Middle Grade Fantasy) - 4.5 stars

Athena's Choice by Adam Boostrom (Adult Fantasy) - 4 stars

The Giver by Lois Lowry (Middle Grade Fantasy) - 4.5 stars

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff (New Adult Fantasy) - 4.5 stars

No Judgments by Meg Cabot (Women's Fiction) - 3 stars

Finding Henry Applebee by Celia Reynolds (Adult General Fiction) - 3 stars

Dorothy in the Land of Monsters by Garten Gevedon (New Adult Fantasy) - 2.5 stars

You'll be able to see a bit more of my thoughts on these reads in the next post...I'll give you a some mini-reviews that may help you find a few reads to add on to your own TBR.

October Reading Wrap Up: Part 2...Sixteen Mini Reviews!

Welcome to November! Yesterday I posted the stats for my October reading, which consisted of a record making 16 books for the month! Since there were so many books to consider, I've separated my usual single post wrap up into two halves. Today, I'll be doing a mini-review for each of the books I completed last month.

Books I Read

 

My first read of the month was the creepy dystopian novel, Maternal Instinct by Rebecca Bowyer, where birth is state sanctioned and being one to raise a child is only possible if that is your qualified career. This ARC was an amazing read that felt like something of a blend between The Handmaid's Tale and 1984. It was fantastically written and I just did NOT want to put it down. I finished it in it's entirety in just a few days while I was on a family vacation. I squeezed in reading time every evening because I just HAD to know what was going to happen.

I continued my dystopian reading with Conclusion by Peter Robertson. This was a combination of sci-fi and mystery/thriller. An ARC with a very intriguing premise, it unfortunately left me unfulfilled. Individuals in this society are frequently given predetermined death dates, or "conclusions", after a medical procedure called a "weld". However, it seems that perhaps not all of society is adhering to these dates and perhaps there are some who have been said to have died who still remain. The writing was good and I did enjoy the read somewhat (DNF was never a consideration), but it didn't seem like the premise that so captivated me was used to its full possibility. As with the plot, the supporting characters needed more development and I didn't feel that the book moved in a cohesive and believable way. Things just fell a little flat for my tastes.

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert was well on its way to being my favorite of the month. Unfortunately it was beaten out near the very end. Regardless, the was a FANTASTIC book that I adored all the way through. I listened to it on audio and it was the perfect creepy read/listen for October. This YA fantasy read is a something like a quirky fairy tale retelling, but the fairy tales are all dark and evil. It read very easy but was full of magnificent world-building and detail with magical writing. There is a sequel set to release in January 2020 and I CANNOT WAIT to be able to read that one as well!

I needed Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander (J.K. Rowling). After the disaster that is The Cursed Child, I required some restoration in my faith for the Harry Potter universe. This did it. Fantastic Beasts provides a full display of Rowling's creativity and the magic she can weave with her imagination. It was short, sweet, and entertaining.

Unfortunately, this ARC with the pretty cover was one of my lowest rated books of the month. Drica Pinotti's My Crazy (Sick) Love irritated me more than it entertained me. The premise sounded promising, but within a chapter I was already annoyed by the main character and the little supplementary title. The title felt pretentious (it also proved incorrect). If you aren't sure what I'm talking about, the subtitle for this book is "A Delightful Laugh-Out-Loud Romantic Comedy". The main character, Amanda, is a hypochondriac, and she gave me severe anxiety. It was probably a rather accurate portrayal, but was NOT pleasant to read. Though the writing style was good and there were some good bits of creativity, there were too many places where it felt the plot wandered off into nothingness and then randomly picked up somewhere else. Nope. This one was not for me.

The good news is that, with such a busy reading month, I was pretty well assured that things would come along to rescue me from potential bad reads. Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott was one of those rescue books. Something reminiscent of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, this YA contemporary centers on teenage cystic fibrosis patients. Based on a real couple, albeit loosely, this story feels well developed, with emotional reactions and dialogue true to the age of the characters. The narrative paints a realistic picture that isn't overly fluffy, nor does it stray into being too dramatic or hard to believe. It is a very good and balanced emotional read.

The Weaver by Heather Kindt is the first in a new adult fantasy trilogy. I received it as an ARC after I became interested in its premise, wherein the protagonist is a weaver, a writer whose works can create bridges with the real world. The narrative was smooth, though (as other readers have observed) there is a bit of unoriginal trope approach to the interactions between characters. Something of a mean girls presence does make the plot feel slightly more juvenile than I would have liked. In addition, there was a bit more of a romance element to the plot than I am typically interested in. However, I did enjoy the fantastical element of the plot and the writing enough that I am interested in the upcoming sequels.

I started When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore back in September. Unfortunately, I was unable to finish it due to some other commitments. I returned to the read in October and finished it up easily. This magical realism novel wasn't as powerful for me as McLemore's The Weight of Feathers, but it was still a beautiful story. Drawing on McLemore's personal experiences as well as those of her spouse, this story deals with some hard-hitting topics in a beautifully developed setting. Her writing continues to be melodic and fantastical with a well-developed story and thoroughly constructed primary characters. The ending is wonderful, with immense emotional content. Though not a perfect read, it was pretty darned good.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green was my biggest surprise read of the month. Unless it's dystopian, I typically don't do sci-fi. In addition, I'm not a big fan of space reads. But I freaking loved this book. I listened it on audio, which I think made the experience even better, as it is told in a kind of journal style. The narrative is entertaining and thought provoking, using a fantastical event to explore and evaluate some modern situations. There was a lot to think about throughout the story and I found the book sticking with me throughout the day, even when I had put it down hours prior. The characters were so realistic and well thought out and the plot was super immersive with great writing. I enjoyed the ending quite a bit and I am looking forward to the sequel, which should be coming out sometime in the next year or so (he has just finished the first draft). This one needs to find a home on my shelf and will be a good candidate for a reread in the future.

It's always unfortunate for the books that follow 5-star reads, having so much to live up to after a great read. But sometimes it really doesn't matter what they follow, they just aren't my style. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes was one of those books. This was a book club read and I just did NOT enjoy it. I found it pretentious and boring and would have DNF'd it had it not been a book club book. And apparently, my other book club members felt the same. It wound up getting a group wide average of 3.5 out of 10 stars. One woman in the group actually gave it a -2. I actually had a good chuckle at that. It's really just one of those books that I could only see being a book for a literary analysis class. It isn't an enjoyment type of book (at least not in my mind), it's instead one to ponder and dissect. It wasn't interesting enough for me to put in the time or effort that would be needed to get something more out of its pages. No thanks.

The good news is that the remainder of the month made up for the abysmal book club read. Scars Like Wings by Erin Stewart was a beautiful YA contemporary that had my heart in my throat. Following Ava Lee's "reintegration" into high school life after a house fire that left her orphaned and heavily scarred, the story is written like a more mature Wonder. The writing was perfect for the teenage voice and I felt the emotions displayed on the page as Ava experienced her day-to-day life. I was very impressed by the realistic approach to the topic, not shying away from the realities of high school experience or physical disfigurement and its effect on a teenage psyche. I read this in two days' time because I could not put it down. It's wonderful and I will be on the lookout for more from Erin Stewart.

Hold on to your hats, people! This one was the winner for the month. The Grace Year by Kim Liggett was amazing! I was originally slated to read it this month, but I just couldn't wait. And it was well worth moving it up the queue! If you put Lord of the Flies, The Crucible, The Handmaid's Tale, and The Hunger Games into a blender, the result might give you an idea of what you're in for with this one. Dark in the best of ways, this follows a group of sixteen-year-old girls who are sent away from their village for their Grace Year, the year when young women must be isolated in order to rid themselves of their magic, which can entrance and ruin the men around them. It is pretty graphic, so I would move it up to the new adult classification, but I found the writing to be incredibly atmospheric and interesting. I think I may have held my breath for a good portion of the reading. I am seriously crossing my fingers that the author decides to write a sequel because this was just great. The perfect October read.

I grabbed The Dutch House by Ann Patchett on a whim. I wasn't initially interested, but put myself on the audio hold list from my library after hearing it come up in several literary conversations. That was a seriously good decision. The audiobook is narrated by Tom Hanks and he did a great job with it. Though the story itself is really well done, Hanks as the protagonist, Danny (who narrates the entire story), just made everything better. The writing and the dialogue are excellent and the narrative is a sweeping family drama told in a non-linear fashion. Some readers may have issue with this approach and could potentially get lost in the story because of this, but I personally found that this shifting narrative added more layers to the narrative and made it even more intriguing. It was very much worth the read and is particularly great for anyone who loves a character-driven plot with family drama.

And then I was gutted. I picked up The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris as my last read of October so I would be ready to read her sequel, Cilka's Journey, this month. I had previously put off this book several times, never feeling prepared for a heavy emotional read. And I was right to be worried. This was a soul crusher. Discovering that the story is actually largely based on the true story of one man's experiences just made reading this novel even more involved. The pages are full of beautiful writing with moments of levity and love. Yes, there are atrocious horrors in gut-wrenching detail, but there are also moments taking place that just filled me with wonder at the humanity that can still remain even in the most horrible circumstances. This book broke my heart and put it back together again with lasting damage from its impact. There is no preparing for this one.

And there you have it, the sixteen books of October. The best and the worst, running the gamut of genres. There are a lot of good books in this bunch. Hopefully you can find one that will make your TBR. What books have caught your eye?