So I’ve never been much for reading challenges, but they are a big part of the Litsy community (are you guys on Litsy yet? You NEED to be on Litsy!), and I’m finding myself drawn to all of them. While I doubt that I’ll be able to complete them all, I am looking forward to seeing if I can find books from my TBR to fit some of the categories. I’m not looking for new books to read as much as I am looking for creative ways to choose what books I knock off my already-huge TBR next!
I’ll probably be posting updates for these challenges on each month’s Rearview Mirror for my own records.
#ReadingUSA2020
Can I read a book set in every state in the US? Bigger question: Is there a book set in every state in the US in my personal collection here in this very house?? I’m still working on pulling together the list, but I think that I am going to be at least at 75% just from books I own. We’ll see.
#ReadingEurope2020
So technically the original ReadingUSA challenge was last year, so the people on Litsy who completed that one are starting a new challenge of reading a book set in every European country this year. While I’m going to focus on USA (so much easier), I’m also seeing if I can check off books for Europe as well. This all ties into my overall goal of entering/tagging all of my books in LibraryThing (an ongoing project that may last years). So far I’m through the “H” authors on my shelves and have found books for Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. It should be pretty easy to check off the major countries, but I don’t anticipate just stumbling across a book set in, say, Slovenia. I’ll keep my eye out, but since I’m mostly focusing on books that are already on my TBR, I’m not sure how far I’ll actually get with this challenge.
#Booked2020
This is a random challenge with six categories for each season. The categories for winter are:
- Millennial Author
- Hat/Head Covering on the Cover
- #LiveandLearn – Subject Mostly New to You
- Set in Hollywood
- #CoverCrush
- Finish in a Day
Again, I think I can find books either on my shelves or on my TBR list to fit all of these categories.
#AuthoraMonth
The host for this challenge gave everyone the opportunity to vote on what authors they would like for this challenge, and the top twelve were chosen. January’s author is Fredrick Backman, so I may finally get around to picking up Beartown. The idea is to read at least one book by the month’s author as a way of discovering some new authors.
#ReadWithMrBook
MrBook is a major member of Litsy and an active promoter of the community there. He chooses one category a month and encourages everyone to read a book from it and let him know what has been read. January’s category is “One-Word Title” – should be a pretty easy one to find on my shelves!
#YearoftheChunksters
The hosts for this challenge are encouraging everyone to check off some of those 500+ page books from their TBRs. I don’t get myself embroiled in ridiculously long books very often, but I am going to see what’s on my shelves. One chunkster a month may be a good goal.
Book Log
At the beginning of this year I started using an Excel spreadsheet to track my reading, and it’s been fantastic. It lets me geek out on my personal stats, which I love, and has helped me keep track of what books have been reviewed. However, I really have been wanting a physical book to use as well. When I’m traveling and such, it’s nice to have something with me where I can jot down a few notes while I am still having all the book feels. Plus, what happens if my computer crashes and I lose all my spreadsheets?? However, I’ve had trouble finding a book journal that reflects what I want. Most of them have a lot of stuff for future planning, or try to be a combo book log and daily planner. I finally found one on Amazon that is less than $6, has space for 100 books, and asks the exact questions I want to track. I’ve been using this one for the month of December and it’s fantastic. The first few pages are an index, and then each number links to a full page for that book. It’s simple and does just what I need it to and no more:
I’m mostly passing this on in case any of you are looking for a book log also. The price is so reasonable that it seemed worthwhile to mention it. Here’s the link on Amazon (I get literally nothing out of you purchasing this; this is just me personally liking something, not me getting rewarded to plug an item) – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1695289064
The cover choices are kind of meh, but you can’t have everything!
So, do any of you participate in any kind of reading challenges? Have any of you joined Litsy yet? Let me know if you do!