2018 Reading Challenges Wrap-Up

A Look Back...

I love the start of a new year, with a look back at the past year and a fresh start to a new one! Now that I've caught up on my last 2018 reviews, I can start my wrap-up of last year...and then get started on 2019!

Here are the reading challenges I participated in last year, and how I did in each one. You can see my complete list of books read for each challenge on my 2018 Reading Challenge page.

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2018 hosted by My Reader's Block.

I always do a TBR Challenge because my TBR bookcases are never-ending! I get new books in faster than I can read them, so it feels like a losing battle. In 2017, I read a total of 28 books from my own shelves, and I was aiming for 36 TBR books in 2018 (the Mount Vancouver level).

I read 33 books from my own shelves in 2018 - so I didn't quite meet my goal, but I got very close AND I beat last year's total, so I'm calling that a success.

2018 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge hosted by Girlxoxo.

I always enjoy this fun annual challenge that features a different theme each month. I managed to read something from the monthly motif 11 months out of the year. I missed May - Read a book that's been made into a movie or TV show (too bad I read Alias Grace back in March). Again, a success and lots of fun!

Back to the Classics hosted by Books and Chocolate.

I always do a Classics Challenge, too, because I enjoy reading classics that I missed (or old favorites), but it is easy to overlook them with so many amazing new books coming out every month! I read 5 classics in 2017 and aimed to read 6 classics in 2018.

Well, I hit 5 again - almost there! I enjoyed all of these (though Macbeth was a tough one) -

1. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
2.  Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
3. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
4. Maurice by E.M. Forster  
5. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

2018 Badass Books Reading Challenge hosted by Melissa Hawkins, Badass by Design.

This was a fun one, with 18 different categories to read from (check out the list and the books I read on my 2018 Reading Challenge page).

I missed just 5 categories, so I filled in the other 13 of them. I enjoyed this challenge!

Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge hosted by Mom's Small Victories, one of my favorite blogs. I signed up for this one back in 2014, so this was a continuation (it's a perpetual challenge). In 2017, I read 27 books set in other countries/cultures (14 different countries/regions), and my goal for 2018 was just to beat that.

And I did! I read 31 different books set in other countries/cultures and visited 30 different countries (well, actually, 28 countries and 2 planets).

2018 Literary Escapes Challenge hosted by Escape with Dollycas Into a Good Book.

This is another one I always enjoy, and in 2017 I read books set in 24 different states for this challenge.

In 2018, I read books set in...25 states!

Better than last year and lots of fun.

Big Book Summer Challenge hosted by Book By Book (me!)

This is my own challenge that I host every summer, to read books with 400 pages or longer, and it always helps me make a dent in the TBR shelves, too.

I read 6 Big Books this summer:

1. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
2. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon 
3. Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld 
4. Plus One by Elizabeth Fama
5. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
6. City of Savages by Lee Kelly 

Be sure to sign up for this one at the end of May!

Readers Imbibing Peril (or RIP) Challenge
Read any books in the categories of:

• Mystery.
• Suspense.
• Thriller.
• Dark Fantasy.
• Gothic.
• Horror.
• Supernatural.

This one runs through September and October and I LOVE the opportunity to read some of the creepy or suspenseful books that pile up on my shelves (that's most of what my husband reads).

I read 14 books for RIP Challenge this fall - my best yet!

I also watched 3 TV shows and 3 movies that fit the challenge.

Now, it's time to sign-up for my 2019 Reading Challenges - I'd love to hear about some fun ones that YOU enjoy!