Fourth Quarter Check-In/Wrap-Up: 2023 Plans and Challenges

Well…this doesn’t look the way I want it to. But here goes:

My plans this year focused on the two series that I’ve started—Literary Locals and Grandpappy’s Corner—both of which went well last year.

Then there’s the perennial, “Cut down on my Goodreads Want-to-Read list and the unread books that I own.” How did I do on that?

Let’s move right along to see how I did with the Reading Challenges…
2023 Book Challenges

Goodreads Challenge

It should show a few more read, but Goodreads doesn’t have them in the list, and I’m too lazy to bother submitting them. Still, there I’m success.

and now, it’s time for the less than successful marks

12 Books
I got behind in March and never got back to this. It really drove me crazy, because I wanted to read these, but the idea of being behind ended up being a mental block. I’m working on this for next year. And I only wrote about one of the three I managed to read.

2023 While I was Reading

I finished this one…although #4 isn’t probably what Ramona was going for. This is the last time I’ll be participating in this challenge, as Ramona’s retiring her blog. I feel bad that I didn’t do better for this last go-round. But…eh. I gave it a shot.

1. A book with a protagonist over 40.: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
2. A book considered a classic.: The Existence and Attributes of God by Stephen Charnock
3. A graphic novel.: Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith, Boulet (Illustrator)
4. A book that has been banned or challenged.: The Freedom of a Christian: A New Translation by Martin Luther (proscribed by the Edict of Worms in 1521…yeah, it’s a stretch, but I ran out of time for the more contemporary titles I picked)
5. A book set in a place on your bucket list.: Blood Runs Cold by Neil Lancaster
6. A book published before you were born.: On the Apostolic Preaching by Irenaeus of Lyons
7. A book related to a goal you have for 2023.: Church History in Plain Language, Fifth Edition by Bruce Shelley, Revision Editor Marshall Shelley
8. A book by an author of color.: The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian
9. A book with a clever title.: Kneading Journalism: Essays on Baking Bread and Breaking Down the News by Tony Ganzer
10. A book by a famous author you’ve never read: The Last Dance by Mark Billingham
11. A non-fiction book about a topic you love.: The Worst We Can Find: MST3K, RiffTrax, and the History of Heckling at the Movies by Dale Sherman
12. A novella: Bad Memory by Jim Cliff

Your TBR Reduction Book Challenge

I’m on-target for this one (as much as I can be), and have even got a couple of the Stretch Goals accomplished.
January – End to end temptation I give you permission to read the most recent book you have got on top of your TBR. For many this is one we only get to read eventually but for now I want you to pick up the newest book in Mount TBR and read it. Can you remember the last time you did that? It’s a good habit to get into and January is all about starting good habits: The Perception of Dolls by Anthony Croix, Edited by Russell Day
Stretch Goal – Read the oldest book in Mount TBR it has waited long enough: Bartleby and James: Edwardian Steampunk Chronicle by Michael Coorlim
February – Short steps For the shortest month of the year I want you to read 28 short stories. This can be a TBR collection, anthology or even backlog of magazines that you have. Life is fast but use this challenge to appreciate the skill of the short story writer. Play your skills right you may get more than one book read this way. eh…I get partial credit for this, Noirville contained every short story I had unread, but it’s only fifteen stories. I did read extra novellas for the Stretch Goal, though. So I’m calling this okay?
Stretch Goal – Read four novellas one for each week of the month. Bad Memory by Jim Cliff, Anna and the Vampire Prince by Jeanne C. Stein, and Broken by Don Winslow (which is six novellas).
March – Fresh Starts This time for the beginning of spring you need to start a series you have never read before. Release this work from Mount TBR! Justice Calling by Annie Bellet
April – Open and Shut Case For the month named after the latin for ‘to open’ you need to read a standalone book with no sequel or links to any other book. Something new and something you can let go after reading it: The Winter of Frankie Machine by Don Winslow
May – Crowning Glory? the UK has a lot of bank holidays including a coronation this month so suitably let’s pick a book about revolution or a change of those in power. Questland by Carrie Vaughn
June – long reading days or longest nights Irrespective of your hemisphere you have time for reading either in the joys of summer or depths of winter. Your challenge here is to find the largest tale on Mount TBR and finish it. Let that monster get off your back: Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith
July – Holidays are coming! let’s go travelling find a book by the author who lives the furthest from you on the globe. I give you seven months to do the maths! Let’s explore the fiction of places very much not like our own: Eternity Fund by Liz Monument (Australia)
August – Holiday Treats reward time you get to choose the book in your TBR pile no Themes, clues of queries to ask. Just take one off the list!: Lemon Man by Ken Bruton
September – Seven Deadly Tempts read a book linked however you want to one of the seven deadly sins. Booktempting I stress is not one of them. Indulge yourselves: Cash Rules Everything Around Me by Rob Gittins. If that title doesn’t scream Greed, I don’t know what does (the other 6 show up as well in the book)
October – Spooky Season cometh read a book with a spooky or dark theme. Unsettle yourself prior to Halloween: Evil Embers by Cristelle Comby
November – Small Press Big Stories read a book that is published by a printing house that is not connected to the auk/US Big Five publishers: Evil Valley by Simon Hall
December – Don’t forget to say thank you it’s been over a year treat yourself to a book someone else gifted you. If you liked it tell that person!: Vicious Dogs by Henry Brock

Beat the Backlist Reading Challenge;

I’ve got 16 of the 24 categories taken care of. So, I guess I’m okay-ish here. I’ll have a few others accomplished by the end of the year, but I think this is going to be an incomplete challenge.

Basically, 2 out of 4 (the Goodreads challenge isn’t really much of one). Not really my best. But…these things are for fun and to make me think about reading in a slightly different way. It succeeded there, as much as I didn’t.

(Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay)