Part 1 of 3: Year in Review of 2017 Reading Challenges

This is Part 1 of a 3-part series of posts reviewing the year-long reading challenges I participated in 2017. In this post, you will see a recap of my progress on the Goodreads Reading Challenge and also My Personal Reading Challenge.

In Part 2, you will find a recap of the 2017 Audiobook Challenge, hosted by Hot Listens and Caffeinated Book Reviewer. I posted about my progress back in May, at roughly the half-way point when I first learned about this challenge.

In Part 3, you will see a recap of my progress on 2 challenges from the Goodreads group called Read Women. Those challenges are aptly called Read Women 2017 and Read Women Around the World. 

In March, I participated in a challenge that was only for the month. That was the Take Control of Your TBR Pile, and won't be recapped in this series which is focused solely on my year-long challenges.

Goodreads Reading Challenge

Summary: If you remember my 2017 Reading Challenge post from January, I set myself a pretty lofty goal of reading 55 books this year on Goodreads. As much as I love to read, 55 is a high number for me.

Challenge progress: I'm at 17 books out of 55, with 9 that I'm currently reading. See below for my read list, and currently reading list. Some readers will change their goal throughout the year. I'm not changing my goal this close to the end of the year because that's just not fair and I'd feel like I'm cheating. I had a year to complete this goal or adjust it as needed and since I failed to do either, I'll do the best I can to get as close as possible to it. I also just really want to see how close I can get to reaching this 55 goal with 2 weeks left.

Goal for remainder of 2017: I'm shooting for 25 total for this year, or 8 books in the next 2 weeks!

2018 Goal: I'll set the bar a little lower to a yet to be determined number that I think will be a bit more attainable, and I also won't limit myself to specific books. Reading is supposed to be fun!

Check my Goodreads 2017 Year in Review to see my progress: https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2017/

My Personal Reading Challenge

Summary: I challenged myself to read a set list of books that I currently own, plus the selections for book club. View the complete list here: 2017 Reading List Challenge. This set list ended up being a detrimental to my success because it made reading become a chore. Having "assigned" reading was like homework hanging over my head so I procrastinated on reading or didn't enjoy it.

Challenge progress: 15 out of the 17 books I've read this year were on the list, or 15 out of 55! Only 2 were unplanned. I could say that 8 were unplanned, but that 8 counts the book club ones that I knew I'd read but didn't know the titles of yet since we pick about a month ahead.

Goal for remainder of 2017: however many of my currently reading pile I can complete.

2018 Goal: Lesson learned! I won't be doing "assigned reading" any more!

Read as of 12/14/17 - This list is in order of dates read starting in January, and I've linked them to my own review (no link means no review). Visit Part 2 and Part 3 of this series to see which sub-challenges these books fall into. 

1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. Invisible Target: Breaking the Cycle of Educator Sexual Abuse by Andrea Clemens
3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
4. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, and the first review
5. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
6. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
7. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
8. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
9. Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
10. Home Front by Kristin Hannah
11. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
12. Silence: The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise by Thich Nhat Hanh
13. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
14. Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
15. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
16. The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand
17. Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

Currently Reading - see Part 2 and Part 3 of this series to see which shelves/sub-challenges these books will end up in if I finish them this year.

1. Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama by Alison Bechdel
2. Pursuing Gold: A Novel of the Civil War by Cynthia L. Simmons
3. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
4. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr 
5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky
6. The Dharma of Star Wars by Matthew Bortolin
7. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
8. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
9. Rokitansky by Alice Darwin

Check back for the next posts in the series!