In January, I listed a few goals for my reading this year. Here’s how they shook out:

• One Dickens book I’ve not read yet: The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens.
• A couple of classic books: Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien; The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien; and Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell.
• One C. S. Lewis book I’ve not read yet: The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, Volume 3, compiled by Walter Hooper
• A book about writing: 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing by Gary Provost
• A book about productivity, time management, or organization: What’s a Disorganized Person to Do? by Stacey Platt.
• At least one biography, autobiography, or memoir: The Man Behind the Patch: Ron Hamilton by Shelly Garlock Hamilton; Raising the Perfectly Imperfect Child: Facing Challenges with Strength, Courage, and Hope by Boris Vujicic.
• A Bible study book: Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Thessalonians (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary) by Mark Howell, not reviewed; 1 and 2 Timothy for You by Phillip Jensen, not reviewed; Titus for You by Tim Chester, not reviewed; Exodus for You: Thrilling You with the Liberating Love of God by Tim Chester; Ezekiel: The God of Glory by Tim Chester; Hebrews for You by Michael J. Kruger; Minor Prophets 1 by the Navigators.
• A Christian living book: An Ocean of Grace by Tim Chester; Rembrandt Is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art Through the Eyes of Faith by Russ Ramsey; Being Alive by Russ Ramsey.
• A book related to midlife or aging: Bloom In Your Winter Season by Deborah Malone.
• Some of the unread books on my shelves or in my Kindle: I finished 30, marked in my list of books read this year.

I signed up to read 60 books for the GoodReads challenge and finished with 65. Unfortunately, they sent this graphic showing only 59 before last year ended. But except for the wrong number, I like the graphic.

Some of the other challenges I signed up for:

Bev at My Reader’s Block hosts the Mount TBR Reading Challenge, where we set a goal to read a certain number of books we already own. Bev has set the challenge up in increments of twelve, each set represented by a particular mountain. I aimed for Mt. Blanc again, which is 24 books. In my list of all the books read this year, the ones I already owned are marked (MTBR) for the Mount TBR challenge. I had signed up to read 24, so I was happy to pass that goal an finish 30.

The TBR 25 in ’25 Challenge hosted by Rose City Reader dovetails nicely with the Mount TBR challenge. It’s the same idea—to read books you own but haven’t read it (though rereads count, too), only everyone aims for 25 since the year was 2025. I’m happy to have passed that goal by five.

Shelly Rae at Book’d Out hosts the Nonfiction Reader Challenge. Shelly has twelve books in different categories that we can aim for. Or we can be a “Nonfiction Grazer” and make our own goals. I chose the grazer route and incorporated the nonfiction goals mentioned above. I ended up reading 18 non-fiction books, listed on my post of total books read this year.

Finally, The Intrepid Reader. hosts the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. A lot of my fictional reads fit this category. I aimed for the Medieval level at 15 books but finished with 26. Here my list of historical fiction books in alphabetical order:

• All the Lost Places by Amanda Dykes
• Amy Snow by Tracy Rees
• Between the Sound and the Sea by Amanda Cox
• The Bitter End Birding Society by Amanda Cox
• The Christmas Book Flood by Roseanna M. White
• Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem
• The Collector of Burned Books by Roseanna M. White
• Crimson Roses by Grace Livingston Hill
• Every Hour Until Then by Gabrielle Meyer
• A Face Illumined by Edward Payson Roe
• The Librarian of Saint-Malo by Mario Escobar
• Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens
• The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien
• Ribbon of Years: A Timeless Journey of Love, Loss, and Unwavering Grace by Robin Lee Hatcher
• Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell
• Set the Stars Alight by Amanda Dykes
• The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien
• The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry
• Tidings of Comfort and Joy by Davis Bunn
• Up from the Sea by Amanda Dykes
• Waiting for Christmas by Lynn Austin
• Where We Belong by Lynn Austin
• Wild Swan by Patti Callahan Henry
• The Wish Book Christmas by Lynn Austin
• The Women of Oak Ridge by Michelle Shocklee

How did you do with your reading goals and challenges this year?