Reading Challenges 2018

A few years ago, I started a reading challenge with the intent of reading more. That year my goal was to read 26 books (and the challenge was "26 Books with Bringing up Burns"). 26 books seemed reasonable, and I hadn't really been keeping track of what or how many books I read in a year, so a book every two weeks seemed do-able.  This year, so far, I'm at 99 books (and as I should finish the one I'm planning to use to complete the second reading challenge... I'll be in triple digits by the time we ring in 2019.)

For my fourth year of participation, #26BOOKSwithBringingUpBurns... I read a book that:

• is self-published: The Dealmaker by G.S. Marriott
• has food or drink on the cover: Killer Cupcakes by Leighann Dobbs
• is translated from its original language: The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
• is your friend's favourite book: White Oleander by Janet Fitch
• has pink on the cover: City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong
• was written before you were born: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
• is a biography or memoir of someone who inspires you:  I am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World  by Malala Yousafzai & Christina Lamb
• you borrowed or was given to you as a gift: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• has been on your TBR list for a long time: The Hit by David Baldacci
• is next in a series you have begun: The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion
• was recommended by a person using the #26BOOKSwithBringingUpBurns hashtag: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
• is authored by someone you haven't read before: Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher
• has a number in the title: Hardcore Twenty-Four by Janet Evanovich
• you meant to read in 2017: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
• is a psychological thriller: Before I Go to Sleep by SJ Watson
• centres around a difficult topic: Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelley
• has won an award: Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant (a Globe & Mail Best Book and Amazon.ca First Novel Award winner)
• is based on a real person or event: In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume
• the author or main character shares your name: The Wife by Alafair Burke
• has alliteration in the title: Delusion in Death by JD Robb
• you read on a vacation or a road trip: Seven Days There by Ruth Hay
• has a subtitle: If I understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating by Alan Alda
• will "expand your horizons": Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
• is a classic you never read: Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
• made you cry: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
• free choice: This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel

Out of this list, I'd say my favourite was Ready Player One. I borrowed the audiobook from the library, which was narrated by Wil Wheaton. He's even mentioned briefly in the book itself, which made me laugh as he read his own name. As a child of the 1980s, there were so many pop culture references in this book that took me back to high school (or middle school!) that I kept wondering which movie, band or video game would be mentioned next.

I was most disappointed by The Rosie Effect. I loved the first book, The Rosie Project, and this one just didn't have the same chemistry between the characters, or even the same personality for the main character, Don. I feel like it was rushed to publication and could have used some more time to percolate.

This year, I added the Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge (#MMDchallenge) and with a little fiddling, I managed to read some books that satisfied both challenges:

• A classic you've been meaning to read: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
• A book recommended by someone with great taste: Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant
• A book in translation: The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
• A book nominated for an award in 2018: How to Stop Time by Matt Haig (still reading at the time of writing this post) (nominated for fiction book of the year, British Book Awards)
  
• A book of poetry, a play, or an essay collection: I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron
• A book you can read in a day: Honeymoon in Paris by Jojo Moyes
• A book that's more than 500 pages: The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon
• A book by a favourite author: Hardcore Twenty-Four by Janet Evanovich
• A book recommended by a librarian or indie bookseller: The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
• A banned book: I am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World  by Malala Yousafzai & Christina Lamb (banned in Pakistan)
• A memoir, biography, or book of creative non-fiction: Dear Mr. You by Mary-Louise Parker
• A book by an author of a different race, ethnicity or religion than your own: Prodigy by Marie Lu

When I planned ahead for this list, I thought I'd add the next "Outlander" on my TBR (#6, A Breath of Snow and Ashes) as my "book that's more than 500 pages" (and "next in a series" for 26 Books...) but as I generally read those in the summer and didn't get to it by the August long weekend, I read one of the longer works from her "Lord John Grey" series instead. At only 560 pages, it was a lot easier to fit in.

I'll also add one school-related book that I quite liked.  Empower: What Happens When Students Own Their Learning.  It was provided by the principal, and I liked that it had some simple ideas for changing up my teaching practice.  It also had lots of pages with only a few words on it, which made it a quick read. =)

So... what have you been reading in 2018?