2012 Reading Challenges Final Tally

2012 was the first year I tried joining year-long reading challenges. I chose 5 challenges, based mainly on not adding any pressure to my reading life! I belong to two book groups (and sometimes attend a third at my library), so I like to have plenty of freedom in between those books to choose what I want to read.  I did pretty well with the challenges I chose and had fun with them, so I plan to sign up for some again this year, though I haven't decided which ones yet (I know, I am a bit behind).

Best of all, I ended up starting my very own reading challenge for the first time, Big Book Summer, and I even figured out how to make a logo (very big step for me)!

Here is a summary of how I did:

Big Book Summer, hosted by ME:
I read a total of four Big Books (more than 400 pages) this summer, including two of more than 800 pages:

• Sharp North by Patrick Cave, 518 pages
• Blood Red Road by Moira Young, 459 pages
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, 850 pages
• 11/22/63 by Stephen King, 842 pages

Some of these had been on my TBR shelves for a long time, so I am glad I finally made the time to read them and will definitely plan to host this challenge again next year. 

2012 Where Are You Reading Challenge, hosted by Book Journey:
This is the only challenge I had done before because it allows me to just track what I am reading anyway...and it is fun to see all the varied locations where the books I am reading take place.

I read books set in 27 different states last year (7 more than in 2011!) and 6 different countries outside the U.S. (11 countries in 2011). I also discovered that LOTS of books take place in New York, Massachusetts, and England. I didn't keep a Google Map for the challenge this year - it just seemed like too much work! - but you can read my list of locations and books on my 2012 Challenge page. I will definitely sign up for this one again in 2013.

2012 Dystopian Challenge, hosted by Book Journey:
This challenge was also hosted by Book Journey. This was an easy one, given the prevalence of dystopian novels this year!  I read 7 dystopian novels in 2012:

1. Divergent by Veronica Roth
2. The Whisper by Emma Clayton 
3. Ship Breaker by Paolo Bagocalupi 
4. Blood Red Road by Moira Young  
5. Sharp North by Patrick Cave
6. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
7. Magisterium by Jeff Hirsch

That makes me Leader of My District!  Definitely a successful challenge.

12 in '12 Challenge, hosted by Books on the Nightstand:
 Hosted by my favorite book podcast (and I listen to a lot of them), this challenge allowed each reader to decide on her own 12-book challenge for the year. I chose to read 12 books from my TBR shelves, since they are overflowing. Sadly, I only managed to read 10 books off my TBR shelves this year (though I started #11 on 12/30)...crazy, right? Just too many good new books constantly coming out. How do you ever catch up?? I am really glad I did this challenge because it gave me extra incentive to finally get to some books languishing on my shelves that were excellent. You can see the list of 10 that I read on my 2012 Challenges page.

Memorable Memoirs Reading Challenge, hosted by The Betty and Boo Chronicles:
I signed up for the Diarist Level, to read between 1 and 4 memoirs. I love memoirs and ended up reading surprisingly few this year - just 3 - so I was glad I had signed up for the challenge and would definitely like to do it again this year. The memoirs I read were:

1. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
2. The Pregnancy Project by Gaby Rodriguez 
3. Rule Number Two by Dr. Heidi Squier Kraft  

What's In a Name 5, hosted by Beth Fish Reads:
 This one was just for some whimsical fun, reading books with titles in the following categories:

1. A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title: The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
2. A book with something you'd see in the sky in the title: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
3. A book with a creepy crawly in the title: The Night of the Spadefoot Toads by Bill Harley
4. A book with a type of house in the title: Great House
5. A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title: Cardboard by Doug Tennapel, The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
6. A book with a something you'd find on a calendar in the title:  Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich, The View From Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

Yeah, Bean Trees might be a stretch as a topographical feature, but hey, it was fun!

So, that's my 2012 Reading Challenge Recap - I defe\