Part 3 of 3: Year in Review of 2017 Reading Challenges
Read Women 2017 Challenge
Summary: I am a member of a group on Goodreads called Read Women. Groups can have their own challenges, which are tracked by creating a "shelf" that's tied to the group challenge, and as you finish a book for that challenge, you add it to that shelf. The goal of this group, and in turn the, challenge is to read books by women.
Challenge progress: I've read 12 out of my goal of 13 books. I set this goal to 13 based on the books by women on my assigned list I created early on in 2017.
- Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
- The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand
- Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
- Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
- Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
- The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
- Home Front by Kristin Hannah
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
- Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
- Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- Invisible Target: Breaking the Cycle of Educator Sexual Abuse by Andrea Clemens
Goal for remainder of 2017: however many of my currently reading pile I can complete.
2018 Goal: I think 15 is a fair goal considering that half of the books I usually read are by women. Exact number is to be determined. I like to set my goal at the very end of the year when I know exactly how many books I've completed.
Read Women Around the World
Summary: This is another challenge started by the Read Women group on Goodreads. It was adapted and borrowed from a few other challenges, particularly modeled after the "around the world in 80 books" challenge in the UK Book Group in Goodreads. The goal is to read as many books as I choose as the reader that are set in different countries around the world. There is no time or date limit to this challenge - I can take as long as I want to complete this challenge! The group challenge is set to end in 2037, but that's most likely because the site setting requires an end date.
Copied over from the challenge description, the only rules are:
1) All books have to be written by women.
2) The country must be the main setting (or joint main setting) for the book, not just somewhere a character makes a fleeting visit to.
A rule I've added for myself - exclude books set in the U.S. since it's my home country.
Alternately, I could read authors who are from different countries around the world, regardless of the setting of the book. I decided not to do it this way because I'd forget to try to reading female authors from different countries. It is much easier for me to go by setting of the book, than the author.
Challenge progress: 4 so far, out of the total of 30 I want to read.
Goal for remainder of 2017: Not applicable really since there's no time limit on this challenge. If I can finish either Dragonfly in Amber or Rokitansky, then great and that'll count. If I don't, then that's okay too!
2018 Goal: whatever I can read! I think 2-3 would be a safe goal, but that'll get firmed up a bit more in the next month (or year). I'll keep it low because I don't know what I'll be reading over the next year and want to keep it attainable.
