2020 Reading Challenges in Review

 

Whew, what a year!

Photo courtesy of Dmitry Ratushny

Photo courtesy of Dmitry Ratushny


This is certainly a year for the history books! No pun intended. There’s no need to review all the major events of the year - I mean who wants to anyway? Aren’t we here to escape all that…stuff?


2020 was a full of firsts for me in many ways. I moved in with my boyfriend became my first time living with a significant other, and he has 3 dogs so living with more than one animal/pet was another first!

This was also the first time I met and even surpassed my reading goal by a huge margin. I started off this year with a reading goal of 50 total books for the Goodreads Reading Challenge and have completed 99 books at the time of this writing. I am listening to my 100th book as I write this post in the hopes that I finish it by midnight on NYE! I also tried a bullet journal for the first time as something separate from my “normal” journal that I use as more of a diary.

I participated in a ton of reading challenges this year, and one of those challenges had 6 “sub-challenges” as well.


The 2020 Goodreads Reading Challenge is pretty straight forward in that it only counts the total number of books a participant reads in the given year between January 1 and December 31. I’ve been participating in this challenge since 2014 when I first joined Goodreads. As you read above, I set my goal to read 50 total books. This is because I had read 46 books in 2019, or one more than my goal for the year. Thanks to the pandemic, I suddenly had more free time on my hands so I filled it with reading more and am hoping to finish book #100 tonight. See my full list of read books here.

Goal for 2021: 50 again, because you never know what next year will bring! If I meet it, I can always increase my goal again.


The Audiobook Challenge is another straight forward easy challenge hosted by Hot Listens! and Caffeinated Reviewer. The only rule is that the book has to be an audiobook. For 2020, my original goal was 30 books, which I met on June 22 with finishing Educated by Tara Westover. I decided to up my goal to 75, which I met on December 20 when I finished Dangerous Women edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois.

See my full list here in my recap post.

Goal for 2021: 30 audiobooks.


Next up is Read Women, which is a group on Goodreads started in 2015. I don’t remember when I first joined or how I found it, but I’m glad I did! The purpose of the group/challenge is to read more books by women. This one I find to be very easy because I realized that I tend to read more books by women than other authors.

2020 Goal: 25 books. I met this goal on April 29th with Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott.
Revised Goal: 75 books. As I write this post, I’m currently listening to my 75th book, Jane Eyre! See my read books here.

2021 Goal: 30 books

This group also has several “sub-challenges” that the admins run with a lot of input from members so the topics/goals change year to year.

Read Women Around The World is the only sub-challenge that doesn’t really have an end date. It started in 2015 when the group was founded and has no limit. My overall goal right now is 50 and I’ve read 26 so far. The main rule is that the book has to be written by a woman and is set in any country in the world with the goal of reading books set in as many different countries as possible.

Read Women in Translation was a year long challenge with the goal of reading books that are translated. My original goal was 5, but I’ve only read 3 and I changed my goal on Goodreads to make it look like I met my goal even though my bujo (bullet journal) tells the truth. Better luck next year!

Next up are the Read Women Quarterlies:

The Winter Challenge lasted between January 1 and March 31, and the criteria were to read books that are either: (a) published by small and independent publishers, or (b) connected to India, Bangladesh, Pakistan or Kashmir. I met my goal of 2 books.

The Spring Challenge was between April 1 and June 30 with a goal of reading books that were retellings or mysteries/thrillers. I met my goal of 2 books. Although I read books that met these criteria throughout 2020, they don’t meet this challenge because it wasn’t during this time frame.

The Summer Challenge took place between August 1 and September 30 with a goal of reading books about motherhood and/or friendship or with a connection to Africa. I met my goal of 5 books for this one.

The Fall/Winter Challenge was the last 3 months of the year between October 1 through December 31. The criteria were for non-fiction books and/or books that take place between 1800-1860 or were published during that period. I met my goal of 4 books for the quarter, but may end up with 5 if I can read Jane Eyre in time!


Now, the Modern Mrs. Darcy Challenge was the easiest of all the challenges that I did for the year. I say this because I had completely spaced out on the fact that I even completed the challenge. I think had been moving at the time so it had slipped my mind. Here are the books I read for this challenge:

  1. A book published the decade you were born: The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

  2. A debut novel: A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum

  3. A book recommended by a source you trust: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow

  4. A book by a local author: The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

  5. A book outside your (genre) comfort zone: The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

  6. A book in translation: Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

  7. A book nominated for an award in 2020: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

  8. A re-read: Magical Negro by Morgan Parker

  9. A classic you didn’t read in school: Animal Farm by George Orwell

  10. Three books by the same author: Fiona Valpy - The Dressmaker’s Gift, The Beekeeper’s Promise, and Sea of Memories


The Popsugar Reading Challenge was probably the most challenging of the challenges, which is ultimately the point isn’t it? With 50 prompts, I really did not expect to finish all 50, including the 10 advanced prompts which is why I initially set my goal to 25. Well, with the help of audiobooks, lots of late nights, and changing my planned books for each prompt numerous times, I managed to read 48! I’ll likely finish the other 2 in the first couple days of the new year so I may still count them for this challenge just because I am so close! Overall though, I’d say that this was a successful challenge.

I’ll be writing a recap post soon so you can see which books I read for each prompt. In the meantime, check out my list here on Goodreads.

2021 Goal: Not sure yet. I’ve barely looked at the prompts. My gut tells me to just read whatever I can that qualify for other challenges and then check if they fit this one.


Reading The World is another Goodreads group and challenge. The rules/goal: read books for every country in the world, which should be available in English (translated is ok), or written in English by a local, or written by someone who is connected to the country extensively in some way (i.e. lived there temporarily). Books read between January 1, 2000 through December. 31, 2025 count. That’s it! No other rules. When I first joined, my total goal was 50 and since I surpassed it this year, I decided to increase it to 75. Here is my full list to date. See below for 2020’s reads.

2019 Goal: didn’t have one. 2019 Read: 4
2020 Goal: 10 2020 Read: 15

  1. The Dressmaker’s Gift by Fiona Valpy - France

  2. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky - France

  3. The Beekeeper’s Promise by Fiona Valpy - France

  4. Sea of Memories by Fiona Valpy - France

  5. The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden - Russia

  6. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Bachman - Sweden

  7. Half of A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Nigeria

  8. What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hilderband - Virgin Islands

  9. Beneath A Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan - Italy

  10. First They Killed My Father by Loung Ling - Cambodia

  11. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee - Japan & Korea

  12. The Guest List by Lucy Foley - Ireland

  13. H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald - England

  14. The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George - France

  15. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - England (TBD if I finish by midnight on NYE!)


The Reading Women Podcast challenge is not to be confused with the Read Women Goodreads challenge. This particular challenge is sponsored by two reading women who do a podcast together. Rules: complete as many challenges as you can from the list below. If you have one book that covers multiple prompts, feel free to count them for all! It’s not a contest! The goal is to encourage participants to read widely, so just have fun with it!

Goal: 12 Read: 23/24

  1. A Book by an Author from the Caribbean or India: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (India)

  2. A Book Translated from an Asian Language: The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (Japanese)

  3. A Book about the Environment: H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

  4. A Picture Book Written/Illustrated by a BIPOC Author: did not read any for this prompt

  5. A Wnner of the Stella Prize or the Women’s Prize for Fiction: Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Women’s Prize)

  6. A Nonfiction Title by a Woman Historian: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

  7. A Book Featuring Afrofuturism or Africanfuturism: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

  8. An Anthology by Multiple Authors: Dangerous Women edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

  9. A Book Inspired by Folklore: The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

  10. A Book About A Woman Artist: Clara & Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland

  11. Read and Watch a Book-to-Movie Adaption: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

  12. A Book About a Woman Who Inspires You: Code Girls by Liza Mundy

  13. A Book by an Arab Woman: A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum

  14. A Book Set in Japan or by a Japanese Author: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

  15. A Biography: Educated by Tara Westover

  16. A Book Featuring a Woman with a Disability: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

  17. A Book Over 500 Pages: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

  18. A Book Under 100 Pages: Magical Negro by Morgan Parker

  19. A Book That’s Frequently Recommended to You: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

  20. A Feel-Good or Happy Book: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

  21. A Book About Food: The Food Explorer: The True Adventures of the Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats by Daniel Stone

  22. A Book by Either a Favorite or a New-To-You Publisher: To Drink Coffee With A Ghost by Amanda Lovelace

  23. A Book by an LGBTQ+ Author: Red White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

  24. A Book from the 2019 Reading Women Award Shortlists or Honorable Mentions: Know My Name by Chanel Miller

  25. Bonus: A Book by Toni Morrison: A Source of Self-Regard

  26. Bonus: A Book by Isabel Allende: The Japanese Lover


The Unread Shelf Project is probably my favorite challenge of the year. I thoroughly enjoy following Whitney on Instagram and implementing her strategies for getting through the unread books on my shelves. The goal is to read the unread books we already own - one of the strategies she shares is to implement a book buying and library ban for a month, or more if needed.

January - any unread book: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
February - a book gifted to you: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
March - the book that’s been on your unread shelf the longest: The Deep End Of The Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard
April - the book you most recently acquired: The Mermaid’s Voice Returns In This One by Amanda Lovelace
May - a backlist title (by an author with a newer book out): The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
June - a book from a series: The Winter Of The Witch by Katherine Arden
July - a book voted for you by Bookstagram: most votes was The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but instead I finished The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan and The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon
August - a buddy read: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (this was my wildcard month selection).
September - a book you’ve owned so long you forgot where/why you got it: For One More Day by Mitch Albom
October - a book that scares you in content or length: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
November - a book from your favorite genre: The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
December - the shortest book on your shelf: Rhinoceros Success by Scott Alexander

I’m looking forward to participating in 2021 again!


The two other challenges that I anticipated participating in, but ended up abandoning part way through the year were the Tackle My TBR Challenge hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads and The Literary Life Podcast 20 for 2020. While they are both great challenges, I quickly figured out that they weren’t what I needed for 2020. I don’t plan on participating in either for 2021, but I would still recommend that you check them out!


At the end of the day, well year, it was a very successful year for reading. I plan to participate in many of these challenges again in 2021, and of course I’ll be doing my very own challenge - For The Love of Reading.

Did you participate in any challenges in 2020? Are you doing any for 2021? Let me know in comments! I’d love to learn more about others.

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2021 Audiobook Challenge

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2020 Audiobook Challenge Recap