Tag Archives: Reading Challenges

Reading Plans for 2025

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Reading Plans for 2025

I like to set some goals for my reading year. If I mean to read more of a certain author, or get to particular titles, those things don’t happen unless I plan for them.

But I also like having flexibility to read a new find or pick up something I am in the mood for or feel the need to read about.

Some of my reading goals this year:

  • One Dickens book I’ve not read yet.
  • A couple of classic books.
  • One C. S. Lewis book I’ve not read yet.
  • A book about writing.
  • A book about productivity, time management, or organization.
  • At least one biography, autobiography, or memoir.
  • A Bible study book.
  • A Christian living book.
  • A book related to midlife or aging.
  • Some of the unread books on my shelves or in my Kindle.

I like reading challenges that help me reach my goals and expand my horizons. Plus, reading challenges are a fun way to share about books we love. But I don’t like being involved in too many because of the record-keeping involved.

These challenges best intersect with my goals:

Mount TBR challenge

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. Details and rules are here. Bev has set the challenge up in increments of twelve, each set represented by a particular mountain. Last year I read 31 books from my shelves and Kindle app. This year I’m aiming for Mt. Blanc again, which is 24 books.

TBR 25 in '25

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). The difference is, we aim for 25 and list them some time during the challenge. I don’t have my whole list figured out yet, but I know I want to read Ron Hamilton: The Man Behind the Patch by Shelly Hamilton, Bloom In Your Winter Season by Deborah Malone, Writing for Busy Readers: Communicate More Effectively in the Real World by Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink, The Testament by John Grisham (have not read anything by him. I got this at a library sale a few years ago), The Wingfeather series by Andrew Peterson, and Rembrandt Is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art through the Eyes of Faith by Russ Ramsey, to name a few.

I listed this challenge last year but then forgot about it since it was new to me.

2025 Nonfiction Reader Challenge

Shelly Rae at Book’d Out hosts the Nonfiction Reader Challenge. This can be done one of two ways. Shelly has twelve books in different categories that we can aim for. Or we can be a “Nonfiction Grazer” and make our own goals. Although I might hit a few of her categories, I’ll go the grazer route and incorporate the nonfiction goals mentioned above.

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Finally, The Intrepid Reader. hosts the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. A lot of my fictional reads fit this category. I’m going to aim for the Medieval level at 15 books.

Do you have any reading goals or participate in any book challenges?

(Sharing with Bookish Bliss Quarterly Link-Up)

Two Reading Challenge Wrap-Ups

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Though I’ll finish a couple more books by the end of the year, I thought this would be a good time to report on a couple of reading challenges I participate in.

Shelly Rae at Book’d Out hosts the Nonfiction Reader Challenge. Shelly has twelve different categories that we can aim for. Or we can be a “Nonfiction Grazer” and make our own goals. I chose the latter course, because I was only interested in a handful of the categories listed.

My own goals for this challenge and the results were (linked to my reviews):

Memoirs/Biographies:

Books About Writing:

Bible Study Books:

Christian Living Books:

Letters/Journals:

The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, Volume III. I’m maybe halway through this one.

A Book by C. S. Lewis I Have Not Read:

Same as above.

Organization/Productivity:

Related to a Holiday:

The only category I missed was aging/midlife.

By my count, that’s 28 nonfiction book (or 29 if I count reading Adorning the Dark twice. I’m satisfied–all these were informative and some were profound.

The Intrepid Reader hosts the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. I like a variety of fiction categories, but historical fiction is probably what I read most. I aimed to read fifteen for the Medieval category. I completed twenty-four.

Linked to my reviews:

I love that there are classics here as well as some hot off the press, old favorites as well as newly-discovered authors.

Next week I’ll share my completed list of books read this year and my top favorites.

2024 Reading Plans

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I like reading challenges that broaden my horizons. But I also like the freedom to pick up a book on a whim or because it’s just out or intrigues me. I’ve participated in a number of different reading challenges over the years, and these work best with my interests and time. They work well with what I already read, but provide some challenges. They combine intentionality and flexibility.

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

Bev at My Reader’s Block hosts the Mount TBR Reading Challenge, which encourages us to get to those books we already own but have not read yet. That’s something I need to do every year, and I have enjoyed participating with Bev the last few years. She has the goals set out as a series of mountains, and we’re supposed to declare which one we’re aiming for. I think I’ll shoot for Mount Blanc (24 books), even though I’ve reached the next level a couple of years. The sign-up and more information for this challenge are here.

TBR 24 in '24 Reading challenge

The TBR 24 in ’24 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). The difference is, we aim for 24 and list them some time during the challenge. I don’t have my whole list figured out yet, but I know I want to read Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making by Andrew Peterson, Lenten Lands by Douglas Gresham, Whose Waves These Are by Amanda Dykes, and The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi.

Nonfiction Reader Challenge

Shelly Rae at Book’d Out hosts the Nonfiction Reader Challenge. This can be done one of two ways. Shelly has twelve books in different categories that we can aim for. Or we can be a “Nonfiction Grazer” and make our own goal. Although I might hit a few of her categories, I’ll go the grazer route.

This year, I’d like to hit these categories:

  • At least one biography, autobiography, or memoir.
  • One writing book
  • One Bible study book
  • One Christian living book
  • One book of letters or journals
  • One book by C. S. Lewis that I have not read yet
  • One book on organization or productivity
  • One book pertaining to a holiday (probably Christmas)
  • One book related to midlife or aging

Finally, The Intrepid Reader. hosts the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. A good many of my fictional reads fit this category. I’m going to aim for the Medieval level at 15 books.

I used to participate in the Back to the Classics Challenge hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate, but she hasn’t done it the last couple of years. I miss it and hope it comes back some day. Meanwhile, I do like to read a few classics a year. I’ve made it a mission to since I wasn’t exposed to many growing up. I love the quote that a classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.

I’ve been trying to read through Dickens novels that I haven’t read yet. All I have left are Martin Chuzzlewit, Barnaby Rudge, Dombey and Son, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood, so I’ll try to read at least one of those. I’d love to read more D. E. Stevenson and Anthony Trollope. And I may revisit some old favorites like Jane Eyre.

I think that’s it for this year. Do you participate in reading challenges?

2023 Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

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Some of the reading challenges I participate in require an end-of-year wrap up.

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

Bev at My Reader’s Block hosts the Mount TBR Reading Challenge, which encourages us to get to those books we already own but have not read yet. She has the goals set out as a series of mountains, and we’re supposed to declare which one we’re aiming for.

I planned for Mt. Vancouver (36 books). I’ve easily surpassed that in previous years. But this year I only got 30 read. Still, that’s 30 books! I gave myself permission to read more hot-off-the press books or books that caught my eye this year. So though I have a little regret at not meeting a goal I could have if I had been paying attention, I don’t have any regrets about my reading last year.

I usually make a separate list of MTBR books, but this time I just noted them on my list of books read last year.

2023 Nonfiction Reader Challenge

Shelly Rae at Book’d Out hosts the Nonfiction Reader Challenge. This can be done one of two ways. 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 because I knew I wouldn’t read from all of Shelly’s categories. My goals and the books I read for them are (titles link to my reviews):

So, I have mixed results there. I don’t want my challenges to be stressful or controlling, but I do like them to broaden my horizons. I enjoyed the 23 nonfiction books I did read, even though I didn’t hit all my categories.

2023 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

The Intrepid Reader. hosts the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. A good many of my fictional reads fit this category. I aimed for the Medieval level at 15 books. I read 38!

And that wraps up 2023 reading. On to 2024!

Books Read in 2023

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Books read in 2023

By my count, I read 83 books last year. I’ve enjoyed a variety of older and newer, fiction and nonfiction. Reading is my favorite hobby, entertaining as well as educational. I’ll post my favorites from this list next.

I didn’t keep close records of which were audiobooks, but about half of them were, mostly in the Classics and Christian fiction categories.

The titles link to my reviews. MTBR stands for Mount TBR, or To-Be-Read, a challenge for reading books we already own.

Classics:

Nonfiction:

Christian Fiction:

Other Fiction:

I’ve already started new books for 2024!

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Reading Plans for 2023

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For most of my life, I’ve just read whatever was next in the stack or something I was in the mood for. Reading challenges have helped broaden my horizons and be more intentional in my reading. Plus it’s fun to share reading lists with the other participants. And some challenge hosts offer drawings for prizes!

I dropped one challenge I participated in last year. All of these are categories I already read anyway. Plus they leave me some room to still delve into something new and unexpected through the year.

I have not heard or seen anything from Karen at Books and Chocolate about whether she is hosting the Back to the Classics Challenge again this year–so that probably means she isn’t. That’s too bad, as this was one of my favorites. But I’m sure she has other priorities in her life right now.

I will still read classics, though. I’ve made it a mission to since I wasn’t exposed to many growing up. I’ve been trying to read through Dickens novels that I haven’t read yet. All I have left are Martin Chuzzlewit, Barnaby Rudge, Dombey and Son, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood, so I’ll read at least one of those. I also got the audiobooks for Pilgrim’s Regress by C. S. Lewis and Martyr of the Catacombs. I finished Anthony Trollope’s Barsetshire series last year, so I’d like to explore some of his other works.

Bev at My Reader’s Block hosts the Mount TBR Reading Challenge, which encourages us to get to those books we already own but have not read yet. That’s something I need to do every year, and I have enjoyed participating with Bev the last few years. She has the goals set out as a series of mountains, and we’re supposed to declare which one we’re aiming for. I think I’ll stay with Mt. Vancouver (36 books), even though I’ve reached the next level a couple of years. The sign-up and more information for this challenge are here.

Shelly Rae at Book’d Out hosts the Nonfiction Reader Challenge. This can be done one of two ways. Shelly has twelve books in different categories that we can aim for. Or we can be a “Nonfiction Grazer” and make our own goal. Although I might hit a few of her categories, I’ll go the grazer route. I normally read several nonfiction books (over 30 last year). This year, I’d like to hit these categories:

  • At least one biography, autobiography, or memoir.
  • One writing book
  • One book of humor
  • One Bible study book
  • One Christian living book
  • One book of letters or journals
  • One book by C. S. Lewis that I have not read yet
  • One book on organization or productivity
  • One book pertaining to a holiday (probably Christmas)
  • One book related to midlife or aging

Finally, The Intrepid Reader. hosts the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. A good many of my fictional reads fit this category. I’m going to aim for the Medieval level at 15 books.

And that does it for this year, I think!

Do you participate in reading challenges? Which ones.

Reading Challenge Wrap-Ups

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I enjoy participating in reading challenges and sharing books I have enjoyed. Most of these challenges involve the type of books I would be reading anyway. The only difficulty comes in the time it takes for record-keeping. I haven’t decided yet which challenges I will participate in next year. But I can recommend any of these.

Most of the challenge hosts require a wrap-up post at the end of the year. I shared my Back to the Classics Challenge Wrap-Up, hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate here. But I decided to include all the rest in one post so as not to be tedious for readers.

Bev at My Reader’s Block hosts the Mount TBR Reading Challenge. The idea is to read books you already owned before the start of this year. Bev has made levels in increments of twelve, each named after a mountain, and we’re to choose a level to shoot for. Even though I’ve reached Mt. Ararat (48 books) the last couple of years, I decided to play it safe and stick with Mt. Vancouver (36 books).

That turned out to be a wise decision as I just made it with 38 books. Instead of making a separate list, I marked the books in this category with (MTBR) on my list of all the books I read this year.

Shelly Rae at Book’d Out hosts the Nonfiction Reader Challenge. She provided 12 categories of nonfiction, and participants chose which level they want to aim for. Thankfully, this year she has included a Nonfiction Grazer category where we set our own goals for how many and what kind of nonfiction to read. That worked best for me this year.

I read a total of 33 non-fiction books this year, which can be seen on my Books Read in 2022 post.

As to my personal goals for this challenge:

Even though I didn’t hit every category I wanted to, I did more in others, and I feel I had a rich and varied nonfiction reading experience this year.

The Audiobook Challenge is hosted by Caffeinated Reader. I aimed for the Binge Listener level at 20-30. I finished 30, so I was right on target. I also marked these on my list of books read this year. I posted what I had listened to through June at the check-in here. Here are the ones I listened to through the end of the year:

The Historical Fiction Reading Challenge is hosted by The Intrepid Reader. I aimed for the Medieval level of 15 books. I completed 22.

As you can tell, Roseanna M. White and Kristy Cambron are favorites in the category.

I’ve included split-time novels here, which have both a modern and a historic timeline. I’ve never been sure whether classics count—books written before our time but were modern in the time in which they were written. If so, I’d have eleven more.

And finally:

The Literary Christmas challenge hosted by Tarissa at In the Bookcase. For this I read:

I also started Hope for Christmas by Malissa Chapin, but haven’t finished it yet. Maybe I will by the end of the year.

I didn’t get quite as many in this category as I had hoped to, but we had a very busy December.

Whew. It’s been a good year of reading.

Back to the Classics 2022 Wrap-Up

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“A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say” (Italo Calvino, The Uses of Literature).

That’s why I enjoy reading classics: they still speak to us after decades, even hundreds and thousands of years.

I’m thankful that the Back to the Classics Challenge hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate has expanded my horizons. Without it, I might have never have branched out beyond Dickens, Austen, and Alcott to discover Wilkie Collins, Anthony Trollope, and so many others.

Karen chooses different categories for the challenge each year. The categories this year are (titles are linked to my review of the books):

A 19th century classic. Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope
A 20th century classic. The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
A classic by a woman author. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
A classic in translation. Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin.
A classic by BIPOC author. To Sir, With Love by E. R. Braithwaite
Mystery/Detective/Crime Classic. Dracula by Bram Stoker. Though this is a Gothic novel, the nature and identity of the Count are also a mystery.
A Classic Short Story Collection. Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott
Pre-1800 Classic. The Confessions of St. Augustine.
A Nonfiction Classic. The Four Loves by C. S. Lewis
Classic That’s Been on Your TBR List the Longest. Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne. I’m including all four Pooh books as one entry since they are so short.
Classic Set in a Place You’d Like to Visit. The Small House at Allington by Anthony Trollope
Wild Card Classic. The Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope

We’re allowed three children’s classics for this challenge. I just had two: Dr. Dolitte and Pooh.

For completing all twelve categories, my name is entered three times into Karen’s drawing of a $30 prize towards books.

Next week I’ll wrap up my other reading challenges as well as share the books read this year and my top ten or so favorites.

Audiobook Challenge Check-In

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The Audiobook Challenge, hosted by Caffeinated Reader and That’s What I’m Talking About, is having its mid-year checkpoint today. Here are the audiobooks I have listened to so far this year (titles link to my reviews):

  1. The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow. The events of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and beyond from the viewpoint of Mary, the quiet, bookish middle sister. Excellent.
  2. Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope, the fourth of his Barsetshire Chronicles. A young vicar trying to get in with society’s elite gets into trouble. The village matron’s son falls in love with the vicar’s sister rather than the beautiful but cold society maiden his mother had picked out for him.
  3. The Path Through the Trees by the “real” Christopher Robin of the Winnie-the-Pooh books, Christopher Milne. This book is the sequel to his first, The Enchanted Places (both are reviewed at the ink.
  4. The Small House at Allington by Anthony Trollope, the fifth in his Barsetshire Chronicles, had numerous threads, but the main plot focuses on a widow and her two daughters who live in a small house on the property of her brother-in-law, who owns the manor house and never liked his sister-in-law.
  5. The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope, the final book in his Chronicles of Barsetshire series. A stern vicar is accused of stealing and resistant to the community’s attempts to help him. All the threads from the previous books in the series are satisfyingly tied up.
  6. To Sir, With Love, an autobiographical novel by E. R. Braithwaite about a Black teacher in a London school of rowdy students in the 60s.
  7. The Winnie the Pooh books by A. A. Milne (When We Were Very Young, Winnie-the-Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner, and Now We Are Six). All four reviewed together. I’ll just count them as one entry since they are so short.
  8. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell. Part helping rich and poor understand each other, part coming-of-age, part unraveling a crime.
  9. Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin. Russian classic about a bored young rich man who turns away the naive girl who loves him only to find he does lover her when it’s too late.
  10. The Confessions of St. Augustine. Challenging to listen to, but I am glad I did.
  11. Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan. Novel about a college girl asking C. S. Lewis about Narnia for her dying younger brother.
  12. Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott. Stories about her brief time as a Civil War nurse.

I had chosen to aim for the Binge Listener level at 20-30 audiobooks this year, and I am well on my way to that goal.

Reading Plans for 2022

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One of my favorite activities is setting my reading plans for the year.

For many years I just read whatever came to hand, whatever I was in the mood for. I like to allow for that and for reading new books and unplanned discoveries. But making plans for the year helps me be more intentional, work in the books I plan to “get to someday,” and broaden my horizons.

Reading challenges also help with those purposes, plus they are fun. And some offer prizes!

The reading challenges I plan to participate in this year are:

The Back to the Classics Challenge hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate. This is one of my favorites. Through this challenge, I’ve been introduced to classics I never knew about before and authors I had never tried. My usual classics taste tend toward 19th century Britain: Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Anthony Trollope, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Elliot. These are the cozy classics to me, and I try to read from them every year. But it’s good to branch out, and Karen’s categories help me do that. The categories this year are:

  • A 19th century classic.
  • A 20th century classic.
  • A classic by a woman author.
  • A classic in translation.  Any book first published in a language that is not your primary language.
  • A classic by BIPOC author. Any book published by a non-white author.
  • Mystery/Detective/Crime Classic. It can be fiction or non-fiction.
  • A Classic Short Story Collection.
  • Pre-1800 Classic.
  • A Nonfiction Classic.
  • Classic That’s Been on Your TBR List the Longest.
  • Classic Set in a Place You’d Like to Visit.
  • Wild Card Classic. Any classic you like, any category, as long as it’s at least 50 years old!

Since the categories were just posted, I haven’t had time to think about them and decide what to read. But I’ll enjoy contemplating them! I’m sure I’ll continue with the next in Trollope’s Barsetshire series for the 19th century classic. I might delve into The Four Loves by C. S. Lewis for the nonfiction: I’ve been wanting to read that for a while.

Shelly Rae at Book’d Out hosts the Nonfiction Reader Challenge. She provided 12 categories of nonfiction, and participants choose which level they want to aim for. Thankfully, this year she has included a Nonfiction Grazer category where we set our own goals for how many and what kind of nonfiction to read. That will work best for me this year.

I’m going to plan on at least 12 nonfiction books. I usually read more than that, but many are in the same categories. This year I want to read:

  • At least one biography, autobiography, or memoir.
  • One writing book
  • One book of humor
  • One Bible study book
  • One Christian living book
  • One book of letters or journals
  • One book by C. S. Lewis that I have not read yet
  • One book on organization or productivity (I have 13 on my shelf! Some read, some dipped into, some unread.)
  • One book pertaining to a holiday (probably Christmas)
  • One book related to midlife or aging

Bev at My Reader’s Block hosts the Mount TBR Reading Challenge. The idea is to read books you already owned before the start of this year. Bev has made levels in increments of twelve, each named after a mountain, and we’re to choose a level to shoot for. Even though I’ve reached Mt. Ararat (48 books) the last couple of years, I think I will play it safe and stick with Mt. Vancouver (36 books).

There are a couple of other TBR challenges I have participated in for previous years, but the rules of each are slightly different. So, to keep it simple, I think I’ll just stick with this one. It’s such a feeling of accomplishment to get to those books!

These next to are new to me. They focus on books I usually read anyway, so they won’t require extra effort except for the record keeping.

The Audiobook Challenge is hosted by Caffeinated Reader. Last year I listened to 25 audiobooks, so I’ll aim for that again with the Binge Listener level at 20-30.

The Historical Fiction Reading Challenge is hosted by The Intrepid Reader. I read 15 in this genre last year, so I will aim for that again with the Medieval level.

I’ve seen some other interesting-looking challenges with various categories, like this one. But I don’t want to get involved in too many to keep up with. I may have already! We’ll see how it goes.

Do you participate in reading challenges? Which ones?