2015 Reading Challenge

Hello friends! Today I want to talk about the reading challenge I am participating in this year.

At the end of last year, a coworker was looking to read a bit more this year and came upon this reading challenge list. She made copies for anyone who wanted to participate. I was super excited about it and jumped on board immediately. Last year I read 32 books which is pretty good I think, but I wanted to read even more in 2015. 

I really like the list that my coworker found, because it gave me ideas of what kind of books to read. It was not a list of specific book titles. I thought this was a really great idea because I was starting to accrue a pretty big TBR list and I want to get that under control. To determine what I would be reading, I basically went down the list and chose a book from either my book shelves or I would select a book off of my TBR list on Goodreads.

Here is the suggestion from the list and what book/author I chose to go with it:

A book with more than 500 pages - Shadowmarch by Tad Williams

A classic romance - Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

A book that became a movie - Dune by Frank Herbert

A book published this year - Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

A book with a number in the title - Mr Penumbras 24 hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

A book written by someone under 30 - Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

A book with nonhuman characters -The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

A funny book - Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett

A book by a female author - City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

A mystery or thriller - A Case of Crooked Letters by Lori Copeland

A book with a one-word title - The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

A book of short stories - The Year's best SciFi 19th Annual collection edited by Gardner Dozois

A book set in another country - The Faithful Place by Tana French

A non-fiction book - The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat and other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks

A popular author's first book - Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

A book from an author you love but haven't read yet - Stardust by Neil Gaiman

A book a friend recommended - Graceling Kristen Cashore

A Pulitzer prize-winning book - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon

A book based on a true story - In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

A Book at the bottom of your to-read list - Mojo by Tim Tharpe

A book your Mom loves -The Body Book by Cameron Diaz

A book that scares you - The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

A book more than 100 years old - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

A book you were supposed to read in school and didn't - Animal Farm by George Orwell

A memoir - The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer

A book you can finish in a day -Batman Widening Gyre by Kevin Smith

A book with antonyms in the title - A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

A book set somewhere you always wanted to visit - The Black Country by Alex Grecian

A book that came out the year you were born - Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg

A book with Bad Reviews-*

A trilogy - Voyage of the Jerle Shannarah by Terry Brooks

A book from your childhood - Mr Happy by Roger Hargreaves

A book with a love triangle -  Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin

A book set in the future - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

A book set in high school - Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

A book with a color in the title - Raven Black by Ann Cleeves

A book that made you cry - Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

A book with magic - The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

A graphic novel - Batman -Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison

A book by an author you've never read - Fin and Lady: A Novel by Cathleen Shine

A book you own but have never read - Slab Rat  by Ted Heller

A book that takes place in your hometown - *

A book that was originally written in another language - Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank

A book set at Christmas - The Christmas Store by Ray Sipherd

A book written by an author with the my same initials - *

A play -  The Winter's tale by William Shakespeare

A banned book - The Giver by Lois Lowry

A book based or turned into a TV show - Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

A book you started but never finished - Shadow Play by Tad Williams

* there are three suggestions that I have left blank. The reason I did not choose a specific book for these categories is because I either didn't like the category or had trouble finding a book to match it. In place of these three categories I have added the first three novels from the Friday series by Jasper Fforde. I have been meaning to read these for awhile and can't wait to get started.

So, the books that are highlighted in green are the books I have read or are currently reading... I haven't got too far yet this year. However, I will say that, with one exception, the books I read so far have all been really good. I think the suggestion list has had a big part to play in this. I put a lot of time and thought into what book went with each suggestion, instead of just mindlessly going to my book shelf and picking a new book to read each time. 

To make it a little more interesting, I created a TBR Jar. I put all the book titles in a jar and, when I am ready to read a new book, I pick one out. This simple step has insured that I don't get stuck in a rut with one type of genre. Also I reused a candle jar for this and every time I open it, it smells like a Christmas tree and makes me really happy. 

I would love to hear if you guys are participating in any reading challenges this year, or what books you would have choose for the suggestions that were on the list. Let me know in the comment section! 

Also you can find me and Sarah on:

Instagram word.paper.love

Twitter @wordpaperlove

Peace, Love and Trees

Kelli