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What Did You Read in 2015?

Monday, January 4, 2016

2015 Reading ChallengeFor the last couple of years, I’ve set forth reading challenges for myself—not just to ensure I’m reading more books each year, but to make sure I’m expanding the scope of what I’m reading. In 2014, I chose different genres for my challenge categories. This year, I went for more of a Time (you know, that wibbly-wobbly, timey-whimey thing) and Place challenge.

Well, I exceeded my number goal (53) by six and read (in whole or in part) a total of 59 books in 2015. But I didn’t quite meet all of the category goals I’d set for myself.

How did your 2015 reading challenge go?

Because I didn’t meet all of the preset categories, I substituted some of the books I did read for them. So it all (sorta) works out okay in the end. 😉

2015 Reading Challenge Categories
Challenge: Read a book (fiction or nonfiction) set in each of the following time periods/locations:

1. Ancient (BCE): God Is Disappointed in You. (4 stars) Okay, maybe a humorous retelling of the Bible is a bit of a stretch, but it is set in ancient times.

2. Roman Empire (to approx. 300s) Memoir: Travelling to Infinity by Jane Hawking (3 stars)

3. England—Roman Era to ~1060ish: The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language by Melvyn Bragg, audiobook read by Robert Powell. This could have actually fit all of of the dates for England. (re-read, still 5 stars)

4. Europe ~400–1100 France 1489: Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1) by Robin LaFevers (4.5 stars)

5. England ~1060ish–1099 (Norman Conquest) Scotland ~1100: The Bride by Julie Garwood, audiobook read by Rosalyn Landor (3.75 stars)

6. 12th Century: Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick (2.5 stars)

7. 13th Century New-to-me Author: Murder as a Fine Art (Thomas De Quincey #1) by David Morrell, audiobook read by Matthew Wolf (4 stars)

8. 14th Century: A Sword Upon the Rose by Brenda Joyce (1 star/DNF)

9. 15th Century: By His Majesty’s Grace by Jennifer Blake (re-read, still 4 stars)

10. 16th Century: The Tudor Vendetta by C. W. Gortner, audiobook read by Steve West (4 stars)

11. 17th Century: “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne (4 stars)

12. 18th Century: Monarchy: England and Her Rulers from the Tudors to the Windsors by David Starkey, audiobook read by the author. Yes, it covers more than the 18th century, but it’s the one I knew the least about! (4 stars)

13. 20th Century: Practically Seventeen (Tobey Heydon, #1) by Rosamond du Jardin (re-read, still 5 stars)

14. 21st+ Century: Red Shirts by Jon Scalzi, audiobook read by Wil Wheaton. I don’t know if it was the book or the narrator, but I just couldn’t get into this one. (1 star/DNF)

15. Australia: Jillaroo by Rachael Treasure, audiobook read by Miranda Nation (~2.5 stars)

16. New Zealand: Just This Once by Rosalind James, audiobook read by Claire Bocking (3 stars)

17. Asia Tropical Island: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, audiobook read by Scott Brick (4 stars)

18. Russia Medieval France: Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin, #2) by Robin LaFevers (5 stars)

19. South or Central America California/New York: The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet by Kate Rorick and Rachel Kiley, audiobook read by Mary Kate Wiles (4 stars)

20. Canada Paranormal Regency Romance: Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories, #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal (3.5 stars)

21. Tennessee Wyoming: Her Hesitant Heart by Carla Kelly (3 stars)

22. New Mexico Washington: The Cottage on the Corner (Apple Valley #2) by Shirlee McCoy, audiobook read by Eileen Stevens (3 stars)

23. Alaska: Sleigh Bell Sweethearts by Teri Wilson (3.75 stars)

24. Louisiana Oregon: The Christmas Bargain by Shanna Hatfield (1 star/DNF)

25. Virginia Idaho: Sex, Lies, and Online Dating (Writer Friends, #1) by Rachel Gibson (4 stars)

And the rest, which didn’t fall into challenge categories:

from → Authors/Reading, Book Reviews
4 Comments
  1. The Artist Librarian permalink
    Saturday, January 9, 2016 9:04 pm

    Ooh, nice selection!

    Are you going to do another themed challenge this year, Kaye? This year, I tried something different, I doubled my normal goodreads goal to 100, but decided to count comic books and graphic novels in my running total (I have a spreadsheet that I separate the “normal” books and novels out), so for 2015, I read 141 books, 61 being comics/GNs, so I thought that was pretty good. I had a couple of children’s/YA lit classes that probably helped. This year, I’m aiming for 125, but since I’m graduating, this semester’s going to be pretty hectic, but I figure I can re-evaluate mid-year. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Dora Wagner permalink
    Sunday, January 10, 2016 4:46 pm

    I was a couple of reading challenges last year. The letters of my name, a 12 for 12 challenge, a finish the series challenge (I wanted to challenge myself to finally read the Chronicles of Narnia and a couple of other series that I had started and not finished), and 100 books. I will admit that I did not complete all of them, the 12 for 12 and my name. However, I did read all of the Narnia books.

    Near the end of the year, I really stopped tracking my books. As a nearly exclusive audio reader, I know that I completed my 100 books, but did not track, so it appears that I missed the mark. My goal this year is to be more diligent in tracking my reading.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Kaye Dacus permalink*
      Sunday, January 10, 2016 4:51 pm

      The one challenge that I haven’t really made public (because I know I probably won’t reach it) is to write reviews of at least 75% of the books I read this year (which means at least 45 of the 60 if I reach my total goal). And not just “great book!” types of short responses, but reviews of at least 250 words including dusting off my critical reading training from college/grad school.

      Like

      • The Artist Librarian permalink
        Friday, January 15, 2016 1:35 am

        I want to review more of what I read also –I think I’m going to save that for next year though, because I’m in my final semester of school, so it’s going to be pretty crazy … =) 75% is a good goal to shoot for!

        Like

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