I’m slightly late with this update (on account of I had a new book come out last Friday!) I’ve made lots of progress somewhat sporadically. I haven’t been reading with too much purpose, and have done more pick-ups for random books than usual. So I’ve read some good books, some bad ones, and made progress in some areas. Here’s the details! As usual, I’ve grayed out the books from last quarter, and linked to reviews where I have them.
Nonfiction Reading Challenge
Host: Doing Dewey
Goal: 12 Nonfiction Books
I’ve gone past my goal for number of books, and have decided to commit to the Century challenge, trying to read a book from each “century” of the Dewey Decimal System. I’ve been going at that in a kind of hunt and choose way, going to the relevant aisle of my library and seeing what I can find. I had a rough time in the 300s…without realizing I had already read Easterman’s book from the 300s…but have made pretty good progress on the lists. I’m reading a 600 book now, which leaves just 700 and 900 to account for!
- We Bought a Zoo by Benjamin Mee (590.73)
- Level Up Your Life by Steve Kamb (158.1)
- Through Lover’s Lane by Elizabeth Rollins Epperly (813.52)
- Packing for Mars by Mary Roach (571.09)
- Dear Fahrenheit 451 by Annie Spence (028.9)
- Love for Imperfect Things by Haemin Sunim (294.35)
- The Creative Life by Julia Cameron (818.54)
- Do Nothing by Siroj Sorajjakool (299.51)
- The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (153.35)
- It’s Better Than It Looks by Gregg Easterbrook (306.09)
- Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin
- A Week at the Airport by Alain de Botton (387.73)
- Growing Up Again by Mary Tyler Moore (362.19)
- The Prodigal Tongue by Lynne Murphy (428.00)
Humor Reading Challenge
Host: Whatever I Think Of
Goal: 6 Funny Books
I’ve not paid much attention to this challenge this quarter, and sure enough, haven’t made any progress! I’m still well along for the year because I read a lot last quarter, but I’ll definitely have to seek out some funny books in the next few months.
- Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
- The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
- Beyond the Doors by David Neilsen
- NPCs by Drew Hayes
Romance Is in the Pages
Goal: 6 Love Stories
On the other hand, I have blown through a huge number of love stories…because there’s certainly no shortage of them out there. I’ve enjoyed a lot of them, but I’m not sure yet which, if any, will emerge as my favorite of the year. I just put a book by Marissa Meyer (who owned this category with her Lunar Chronicles) and one by Juliet Marillier (who wrote some of my favorite love stories ever) on reserve, so I’ll see what they have to offer!
- The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
- To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
- Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner
- Every Day by David Levithan
- Stranger at Wildings by Madeleine Brent
- Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
- Golden Urchin by Madeleine Brent
- Little White Lies by Gemma Townley
- One Day in December by Josie Silver
- Gotta Catch Her by Kelly Haworth
- Impostors by Scott Westerfeld
Diversity Delights
Goal: 12 Books with a Diverse Hero(ine)
I’ve made a little progress here, although as usual I’m feeling like there should be more…another thing to keep working on!
- To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han (Korean-American)
- Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner (African-American and Jewish)
- Every Day by David Levithan (kinda everything…)
- Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (Chinese)
- Impostors by Scott Westerfeld (Latino)
Quite a lot of reading for the first half of the year, and I’m feeling pretty good on challenges. How is your reading going in 2019?
Ooo…Marissa Meyer! Trying out her Renegades trilogy, I presume? Loved, loved, LOVED the first two and can’t wait for the third. The concept is fascinating and the delivery was so very satisfying. Made up for the bleh that was Heartless. They were pretty decent on audiobook, so if that’s the version you’re going for, you won’t be disappointed.
Which one of Marillier’s are you going to read?
That’s the one for Meyer—good to hear you enjoyed them! I decided to try Marillier’s short story collection.
Seems like you’ve read a lot, even if your reading doesn’t exactly comport with your challenges. Is the author of “Gotta Catch Her” THE Kelly Haworth who is one of the co-authors of your new book? That’s cool. As for my reading this year, I’ve read plenty, including the usual mix of fiction and spiritual books. My best achievement has been to reach my goal of reading the political/campaign biographies of all of the Democratic candidates in whom I’m interested before the first debates happened at the end of June. That’s Warren, Sanders, Biden, Harris, Klobuchar, Booker, and Buttigieg. I started in April with Buttigieg’s book and went from there.