Tag: 2020 Reading Plans

2020 While I Was Reading Challenge

On December 31, 2020

I’ll talk more about the 2020 Reading Challenges I took part in soon, but I want to focus on the 2020 While I Was Reading Challenge today. And not just because it’s the only one I completed.

This was the third year for it, and the third year I participated and managed to complete. I really enjoy the categories that Ramona puts together, and a few times has made me think about books/titles in ways I wouldn’t normally. And yes, I’m coming back for the 2021 Challenge.

I finished the last one on this list Tuesday night (“A book that’s been on your shelf for more than a year” YES! One more off the TBR!!), a little closer to the 31st than I’d like, but…eh. Whatever. I’ve written at least a little about all but one of them (although, I thought I’d written about it, too, until about an hour ago), you can read that if you click the links.

2020 While I Was Reading Challenge Categories

A book with an emotion in the title: City of Hate by Timothy S. Miller
A young adult novel: Venators: Legends Rise by Devri Wells
A book translated from another language: Qualityland by Marc-Uwe Kling, Jamie Lee Searle (Translator)
A book that’s centered around a holiday: Silent Bite by David Rosenfelt
A novel based on a true story: Kopp Sisters on the March by Amy Stewart, Christina Moore
A book with song lyrics in the title: Back to Reality by Mark Stay, Mark Oliver, Narrated by Kim Bretton
A book that’s been on your shelf for more than a year: Light It Up by Nick Petrie
A book with a non-human narrator: Of Mutts and Men by Spencer Quinn
A book with a month in the title: May Day by Josie Jaffrey
A book you heard about on TV/Radio/a podcast: No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox (heard about on WTF with Marc Maron Podcast Episode 1176)
A book set in the state you live in: Rattlesnake Rodeo by Nick Kowalski (I actually read 5 books that would meet that this year, never read so many set in Idaho before. Maybe one a year, max. Very strange year)
A romance novel: Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan, Narrated by Ryan Gesell, Tara Sands

Quarter 2: #ARMEDWITHABINGO Check In

By HCNewton

On June 24, 2020

In Books, News/Misc.

I forgot to do a March Check-in, so I haven’t talked about this Reading Challenge since December. I’m not doing too bad—I’ve got 2 Bingos and am not that far from others/clearing the board. My other challenges aren’t doing so well, to be honest—but I’m not terribly worried about any of them. For this Bingo Card, several boxes could have many entries, by and large, I went with the earliest book I read that would fit (for the 1 or 2 of you who wonder how this sausage is made).

Here’s my Board:
ARMEDWITHABINGO June

For the less-graphically inclined (also, those who might want to read the categories…), here’s the list with links to whatever I might have written about the book.

✔ A Book Published in 2020—Burn the Dark by S. A. Hunt
An Anthology or Poetry Collection
A Book in the Middle of a Series
✔ A Book from the Last Decade (2010-2019)—Burning Bright by Nick Petrie
✔ A Book with Multiple POVs—The In Between (Audiobook) by Michael Landweber, Brittany Pressley (Narrator), Mark Boyett (Narrator)
A Book that a Friend Recommends
✔ A Book that has a Number in its Title—Hi Five by Joe Ide
✔ A Young Adult Novel—The Identity Thief by Alex Bryant
✔ A Dystopian Novel—A Beginning At The End by Mike Chen
✔ A Non-Fiction Book—The Poop Diaries by Abby Ross
✔ A Book Written in a Format Other than Third Person—The Starr Sting Scale by C.S. O’Cinneide
✔ A Memoir—Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic by Michael McCreary
✔ A Book of Your Choice—Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
✔ A Book about Friendship/Family Back to RealityBack to Reality: A Novel (Audiobook) by Mark Stay & Mark Oliver, Kim Bretton (Narrator)
✔ A Fantasy/Science Fiction—Highfire by Eoin Colfer
✔ A Book by an Indie Author—Not Dressed by Matthew Hanover
A Book with a Beautiful Cover
A Book You Saw Someone Else Reading
✔ A Book with a Color in its Name—The White Man’s Guide to White Male Writers of the Western Canon by Dana Schwartz, Jason Adam Katzenstein (Illustrator)
✔ A Bestseller Book—Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs
A Book Which Was a Gift/Borrowed
✔ A Book Longer than 500 Pages—The King of the Crows by Russell Day
A Book You Meant to Read Last Year
✔ A Book with a Food Included in the Title—Pub Day Post: Of Honey and Wildfires by Sarah Chorn

2020 Reading Challenges and Other Plans

By HCNewton

On January 2, 2020

In Books, News/Misc.

I don’t have a lot of reading plans for this year, but I’ve got a couple of things I want to tackle.

First, I’m going to finally read Tom Jones (more on this tomorrow).

Secondly, I’m going to re-read the first twelve Spenser novels by Robert B. Parker—I’ve been wanting to re-read the series for a while now, and I’m going to force it this year. I used to read the entire series over a three-day weekend each year, but once I got married, my wife seemed to want me to interact with her for those 3+ days, and I only sporadically read individual volumes since then. It should actually work out pretty well this way, I do one a month (should have no problem fitting that in) which allows me to cover the best of the series, ending with a transition point to the series.

Thirdly, I’m part of the Book Blogger Novel of the Year Award Panel. You’ll hear more about that later.

And that’s about it—otherwise, it’s just read whatever seems interesting that I can get to.

I’m tweaking my approach to Reading Challenges this year. Bookstooge asked in a comment section a few months ago why I did these things* and it got me thinking about it—I’m tired of just doing the “How Much of X Have You Read?” Challenges—they really don’t do anything for me other than getting me to track stuff that I don’t need to. I prefer the ones that make me think of book selection differently than I usually do—preferably the ones that have some sort of interaction between participants.

* Yeah, it may take me longer than it should, but I do try to respond to everything.

The two exceptions to this are the Goodreads Challenge, which takes no effort at all and the Library Love Challenge—yeah, it’s largely a “how much” challenge, but there’s good interaction over on Goodreads, and I like the idea of celebrating Libraries anyway.

So, here’s what I’m going to be up to:

The Fourth Annual Library Love Challenge
Hosted by Angel’s Guilty Pleasures & Books of My Heart.

The Third Annual While I Was Reading Challenge

Ramona Mead’s got some great categories this year, and while the Facebook group isn’t super-active, it’s an interesting little group. I’ve had plenty of fun with this challenge the last two years and figure I’ll keep it going.

2020 TBR Reading Challenge

I saw this one while blog hopping recently, and it looked like fun. Similar to the above, but it’ll stretch me in different ways.

I’m supposed to tag 5 people to go along with this…hmmm….Okay, I challenge kerrimcbooknerd, Witty & Sarcastic Book Club, happytonic, Kelly Curtis, and brainyjaney. You all should give this a shot.

#ARMEDWITHABINGO

Similarly, I saw this on Twitter a week or so ago and it also struck a chord.

So, some fun ways to track reading and think about what I’ll read, and some moderate goals. Leaving 2020 for a lot of “whatever seems like a good idea at the time” kind of reading.

All this needs to be taken with a grain of salt, obviously. Maybe a salt lick. Remembering all too well the poet’s lines:

But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!