Category: Book Challenges

2019 Mid-Year Reading Statistics & Goals

Posted July 3, 2019 / Book Challenges, Features, Wrap-Ups / 1 Comment

I always do a middle-of-the-year recap to see how I’m doing on my goals, challenges, statistics, and TBR plans. Sometimes it’s the kick in the pants I need or the moment when I decide to let myself off the hook for once. Either way, today’s post is about all of the books I’ve read and their related statistics, as well as my general goal progress based on the resolutions I created at the beginning of the year. Next Monday, you’ll see my challenge progress and potential TBRs/plans for me to finish things up. As you see in my monthly wrap-ups, I keep my stats updated each time. The spreadsheet I use is definitely the reason for my organization. I use this time of year (in addition to the end of the year) to REALLY go all-out with my stats. It also helps me create new goals or update existing ones. I may decide I really should read more fantasy or more books from my own shelves. I’ll highlight all of the books I’ve read so far in general too. All of the Books Read So Far I always make a resolutions post to explain the reading, blogging, and personal (but somewhat bookish) goals for the year. I usually don’t revisit these too much but I hope this midpoint check-in is enough to make them top of mind again. I’ll talk about my “progress” on each of these goals/resolutions and let you know if I consider it a pass, fail, or […]

Summerathon Sign-Up, TBR, and Tracking/Progress

Posted June 19, 2019 / Book Challenges, Features / 3 Comments

Header image from Summerathon Twitter account linked below Hosted by: Melanie @meltotheany | Jen @pinotandpages247 | Heather @bookables Aimee @aimereadstn | Amy @acourtofcrownsandquills More information and to follow along: @summerathon on Twitter and Instagram Mere moments after tweeting something like “ugh I wish I could participate in Summerathon but I won’t be able to read much during its first weekend,” I started drafting this post. Sorry not sorry, I cannot help it and discourage myself from a SUMMER-THEMED READ-A-THON, guys. Because I did a decent job tackling my June TBR and didn’t have a lot of books left to go on it, I thought I might be able to squish some of those reads into this readathon AND just treat myself to more summery stories for the final week of June. I have Summer TBR / bucket list post going up on Tuesday, so you can see more books, but I am going to pinpoint ones specifically to match the challenge prompts below. I’ll dive right into my potential TBR and goals underneath! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Summerathon (@summerathon) on May 11, 2019 at 6:31am PDT Goals and Possible TBR Like I said before, I have my full summery TBR post going up on Tuesday, but I thought I would highlight the top four summer-related books I plan on reading first, as well as how they apply to the guidelines above. The hosts are allowing double-counting for the prompts, so I hope to tick off […]

Bout of Books 25 TBR and Tracking

Posted May 10, 2019 / Book Challenges, Features / 2 Comments

Another round of Bout of Books is here! I’ve signed up for every single one of these bad boys since I started my blog and even if I sometimes fail spectacularly, there’s something so fun about curating a TBR list and setting some goals, even just for a short period of time. Here’s more information if you’re unfamiliar: The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, Twitter chats, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 25 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team I hope to get some good reading done during this time period because it’ll be right after my friend’s wedding weekend (where I’ll be doing ZERO reading) and I’ll want to catch up or get ahead for the month. I don’t think I have any major plans during that week, aside from the WWE PPV Money in the Bank on Sunday the 19th. I won’t get much reading done that day, but maybe some time before the show. I hope to get a few different types of books done (format-wise and genre-wise) throughout the week. My goals and general TBR ideas are below! Goals As usual, I looked at the reading […]

Popsugar Reading Challenge Ideas

Posted January 24, 2019 / Book Challenges, Book Lists, Features / 5 Comments

When I first posted my 2019 challenge sign-ups, I included some TBR ideas for a few of the challenges. I love having that kind of post to look on when I’m failing to remember what I planned. The one challenge I didn’t do that for, however, was the Popsugar Reading Challenge. The main reason is that it’s such a loooong list and my goal is to hit at least 40 out of the 50 prompt ideas. I wasn’t going to put 50 book ideas on there when I know it’s unlikely I hit that many. However, I keep finding myself looking and wondering what books fit some of those categories. I thought I’d share some of my ideas because so many people are participating this year and may also find it helpful! Some categories will have multiple ideas, some will have one, some will have zero. I’m also only putting books that I haven’t read… so there are some obvious ones that will not appear! I’ll link up some lists if they help too. Other resources: Popsugar Reading Challenge post and Popsugar Goodreads Group Already completed Published in 2019: Famous in a Small Town – Mills Meant to read in 2018: Nine Perfect Strangers – Moriarty Featuring an amateur detective: 34.5 Predicaments – Swank Item of clothing/accessory on cover: Pretty in Punxsutawney – Crompton Told from multiple POVs: This Lie Will Kill You – Pitcher About someone with a superpower: Archenemies – Meyer Still to attempt Becoming a movie in 2019 | Plenty of options HERE and HERE (for YA) […]

2018 Resolution Progress + State of the ARC

Posted December 28, 2018 / Book Challenges, Features, State of the ARC, Weekly Memes / 3 Comments

I’m here today to start some of the 2018 year-end wrap-ups! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT. First, I’ll be going through my resolutions from 2018 and seeing where my final status is for them. Did I complete everything or fail miserably? (Remember I did a check-in during the summer? Again, I’ll say it, time flies and I can’t believe it.) Second, I’ll be checking in with the State of the ARC meme to see where I stand at the end of the year. I was hoping to get to an 80% Netgalley ratio and spoiler alert, I did not. [See my 2019 resolutions and challenges here!] Continue to not feel pressured to read and enjoy other hobbies ✔️ I’ve done a good job of this yet again. Sure, it’s led to some sad reading months, but that’s what happens! I also have learned that balance is so important. If that means I have to create a reading/listening schedule based on certain days of the week or month, so be it. I don’t want to feel pressured to read and avoid watching shows with Chris or enjoying a podcast. Read 50% or less contemporary novels ❌ Alright so this one is VERY CLOSE – arguably the closest it’s ever been. I’m writing this at the end of November so I guess I won’t know for sure what this will look like by the end of December… but all of my holiday reads will definitely not help this case! My total right now is 52%. […]

2019 Resolutions and Challenge Sign-Up

Posted December 19, 2018 / Book Challenges, Features / 12 Comments

I’ve been doing these resolutions for the past couple of years and found that it’s a really nice way to keep track of some goals for the upcoming year. I’ll be honest when I say that generally “resolutions” or the “clean slate of a new year” isn’t my shtick, but sometimes the marking of a new year just helps when setting new goals. It’s an easy marker of time and that’s about it. You can find 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 resolutions as well. Continue to not feel pressured to read and enjoy other hobbies | I feel like a broken record with this one but honestly I have to remind myself every year to KEEP DOING THIS. I used to get so bogged down in meeting my goal or challenges that I would focus exclusively on reading every second I could. I would have the audiobooks going during my morning routine in commute, plus another book to read from the second I sat on the couch after dinner until bedtime. It’s nice to read all time because DUH I love reading, but I really want to feel like I can veg out for a week straight with my favorite show instead. Read 50% or less contemporary novels | I got SO close to completing this goal in 2018 – I was about 3% over! I’m genuinely quite impressed with myself because I think it’s the closest I’ve ever been. I know I can definitely get under 50% for contemporary books in 2019 because […]

Holiday Read-a-Thons: Progress, Tracking, TBRs

Posted December 8, 2018 / Book Challenges, Features / 4 Comments

As you saw in my initial post and various TBR posts throughout the month, I’ve been joining in on some reading challenges and read-a-thons throughout December! I thought I would make ONE master post for before, during, and after all of these fun posts. I’ll just update this and won’t be doing individual wrap-ups. Tis the Season-a-thon When: December 3rd – 9th | Hosts and information: Twitter / Instagram Challenges / Progress: Instagram challenges: I did post on Instagram for each challenge day – check it out! Reading challenges: Red or green on the cover: The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily Read while listening to holiday music: The Proposal Warm and fuzzy: Snow in Love Short book (under 250 pages): The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily Holiday-themed book: The Best Little Christmas Shop [didn’t finish during the challenge] Bonus buddy read: Snow in Love Oh What Fun Read-a-thon When: December 16th – 23rd | Host and information: Twitter / Instagram Challenges / Progress: Instagram challenges: I did post on Instagram for each challenge day – check it out! Naughty Stay up all night reading: It Started with Christmas Holiday romance: Snowfall on Lighthouse Lane Book from last year’s Christmas Read by the fire: Christmas on Mistletoe Lane Book about villains Read and watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas Book bought for the cover Nice Read a Harry Potter book Buddy read with a friend/family member 25th book on your TBR shelf Light a candle while reading: Season of Wonder Read and watch The Polar Express Read the nativity story

#AllHaleXmasWishes Read-a-long Kickoff & Interview with Jenny Hale!

Posted December 3, 2018 / Book Challenges, Features / 1 Comment

The first Jenny Hale book I read was A Christmas to Remember – I could see the holiday feels right from the beginning of the story and knew she’d become my go-to holiday romance author. I immediately read her debut, Coming Home For Christmas, in the same month. I’d receive a copy of her newest book for review ever year since then and the rest, as they say, is history! When Forever approached me to host this read-a-long, I was so excited to share one of my go-to authors with you all for the millionth time. If you’re a fan of the classic Hallmark Christmas movie, I can’t imagine you’d be disappointed with any of her books. This story in particular happens to be one of my very favorites of hers. Read-a-long Details If you’re in the mood for the perfect holiday read, you’ve come to the right place today! I’m kicking off the Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses read-a-long with Forever Romance. Jenny Hale’s novel is now available in paperback from major retailers. You can learn a bit more here and see our suggested schedule below. Please read at your own pace if you’d like. Be sure to use the hashtag #AllHaleXmasWishes on Twitter so you can chat with me (@bookmarklit), Jenny Hale (@JHaleAuthor), and the Forever Romance team (@ReadForeverPub)! Read-a-long schedule: December 3: Chapters 1-6 December 4: Chapters 6-12 December 5: Chapters 12-18 December 6: Chapters 18-24 December 7: Chapters 24-30 Forever Romance holiday giveaway: If you purchase […]

ARC August 2018 Wrap-Up

Posted August 31, 2018 / Book Challenges, Features / 0 Comments

ARC August is over! I signed up because I had some goals to get my ARC percentage to 80% by the end of the year, so this challenge was set to be a nice push for both backlist books and some coming later this year. I planned to focus on egalleys, with maybe a couple of ARCs in between, because I can focus on the NG/EW Challenge I’m working on. All of the details for this challenge can be found here! Challenge Tracking ARCs read: Book title/author: After Nightfall by AJ Banner Dates read: 8/1 – 8/2 Book title/author: Unclaimed Baggage by Jen Doll Dates read: 8/4 – 8/10 Book title/author: Sadie by Courtney Summers Dates read: 8/5 – 8/7 Book title/author: The Last Wish of Sasha Cade by Cheyenne Young Dates read: 8/7 – 8/14 Book title/author: Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes Dates read: 8/11 – 8/13 Book title/author: The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle Dates read: 8/15 – 8/22 Book title/author: A Date with Darcy by Tiffany Schmidt Dates read: 8/2 – 8/21 DNF Book title/author: One Was Lost by Natalie D. Richards Dates read: 8/23 – 8/26 Book title/author: The Universe is Expanding and So Am I by Carolyn Mackler Dates read: 8/26 – 8/28 Non-ARCs read: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han Strange New World by Rachel Vincent Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire Final Numbers Total ARCs read: 9 Total non-ARCs read: 3 Percentage of ARCs: 75% My goal was to have 75% of the books I read this month be ARCs. That way, if I […]

Bout of Books Wrap-Up

Posted August 27, 2018 / Book Challenges, Features / 0 Comments

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 20th and runs through Sunday, August 26th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 23 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team Instead of posting a million updates or even a kickoff post, I decided to do my tracking in this post (while it was a draft) and just let the final numbers publish at the end of the readathon. I did write a goals and TBR sign-up post though. I usually have a goal to read double the normal amount of books I would in one week but I don’t really see that happening, so I adjusted my plans for the readathon a little bit. Here are my original goals, how I progressed, and the final numbers/bingo cards after completing BoB. Original Goals & Thoughts Because this readathon fell during ARC August, my goal was to read only ARCs during the readathon. This didn’t work out quite as well as I planned because I started a library book the week before BoB started and didn’t have time to finish it over the weekend. I was traveling, watching wrestling, and doing some family stuff all weekend instead. My other goal was to make progress on both […]