Here we are at the start of another new year. So, the first thing to say is Happy New Year! The next thing to think about is, how my reading year went in 2018 and how it’s going to look in 2019. This time, I actually spent time to think about where I wanted my reading to go in 2019. Do I want to speed through 120 books I can barely remember the plot of in December? Am I taking part in every reading challenge under the sun? Time to find out. . .
I say this every year, but it doesn’t feel like a whole year has past since I put together my reading challenge for 2018. I spent the year in a flurry of books, travelling, reading, and buying books I could barely afford or house. In terms of my reading challenges, 2018 was pretty successful. I bossed a couple of the challenges, while others needed a lot more work. That was something I took into account when I thought about my 2019 reading challenge.
I’ll be keeping track of everything I read here, as usual, and tick off every challenge as I go. I’ll also still be using my reading journal, as I found it a huge help in keeping track of what I’ve read over the year. I can also add in some more spoiler-y details about everything I’ve read than I can here.
If you’ll be taking a reading challenge in 2019 as well, let me know which one and how you fare with it. I love hearing how people’s reading goes.
Goodreads Challenge
For the first time ever, I won’t be raising my Goodreads Challenge. I struggled a little getting to 70 books in 2018, so I think I’ll break from tradition this year and keep my goal the same for this year. It doesn’t mean I’ll be taking my foot off the pedal at all. It’s more so I can read with a little less worries and stress to reach a goal that might be too high. I always say reading should be fun first and foremost, so I don’t want to spend my year stressed and reading things I don’t enjoy just because the numbers say I should.
Goodreads Target: 70 books
PopSugar Challenge
Every year until now, I took both the Modern Mrs Darcy and the PopSugar challenges throughout the year. Honestly, looking on it now I think it was asking too much of myself. Even in 2017, when I read an insane amount of books, I didn’t tick off a high majority of both challenges. This year, one has fallen to the wayside, and as the Modern Mrs Darcy had fewer challenges I decided to knock it off the list. It means I now have no excuse not to do well in the Pop Sugar Challenge.
There are 50 prompts here, spread across the basic and advanced sections. That’s just under one a week for the entire year, and plenty of diverse prompts to really drag you out of your comfort zone. I do a lot of comfort zone reading, so this is going to be a great challenge for me.
Basic Prompts
A book becoming a movie in 2019
A book that makes you nostalgic
A book written by a musician (fiction or non-fiction)
A book you think should be turned into a movie
A book with at least 1,000,000 ratings on Goodreads
A book with a plant in the title or on the cover
A book you meant to read in 2018
A book with “pop”, “sugar”, or “challenge” in the title
A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover
A book inspired by mythology, legend, or folklore
A book you see someone reading on TV or in a movie
A book with a question in the title
A book set on a college or university campus
A book about someone with a superpower
A book told from multiple character POVs
A book set in space
A book with a title that contains “salty”, “sweet”, “bitter”, or “spicy”
A book that takes place in a single day
A debut novel
A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature
A book recommended by a celebrity you admire
A book with “love” in the title
A book featuring an amateur detective
A book written by an author from Asia, Africa, or South America
A book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in the title
A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter
A ghost story
A book revolving around a puzzle or game
Your favourite prompt from a past Pop Sugar Reading Challenge
Advanced Prompts
A “cli-fi” (climate fiction) book
A “choose your own adventure” book
An “own voices” book
Read a book during the season it’s set in
A LitRPG book
A book with no chapters/unusual chapters/unconventionally numbered chapters
Two books that share the same title (1)
Two books that share the same title (2)
A book that has inspired a common phrase or idiom
A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent
Beat My Backlist Challenge
Do you have hundreds (maybe thousands) of books on your shelf you’ve bought but never read? Me too. In 2018, I wrapped 12 of these and opened one a month with the stipulation that until I read this book, I couldn’t buy a new one.
In fairness to me, I read (ok, most of) them. I decided to so the same in 2019, and this time to actually keep a track of what book it was each month.
Beat the Backlist is by no means my idea, by the way. It’s offically run by Novel Knight, this is just my spin on it.
January: They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
February: Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven
March: The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
April: The Liar’s Room by Simon Lelic
Will you also take on a reading challenge this year? Tell me which one!
Pretty Purple Polka Dots 
I’m also doing both the Goodreads reading challenge and the Pop Sugar one too! I’m hoping to read a lot more this year and I also want to read out of my comfort zone! Fingers crossed!
I look forward to seeing what books you read this year 🙂
Thank you! I’m also super excited to see what books the year brings your way 😁
I’ve blogged about the goals I have for this year – the only set challenge is my Goodreads one. I like the sound of the Pop Sugar one to get out of my comfort zone, but know I’d be setting myself up to fail to take on anything else! Good luck!
The challenges I will be taking part in is Goodread and Beat the Backlist Challenge. I’m tempted to take on the Popsugar but I haven’t decided yet.
I’ve got my own little Beat the Backlist going too through the year! I forgot to mention it so shall pop it on now, thank you for reminding me!
No problem good luck with your Beat the Backlist challenge.
Good luck with your challenges! I love the look of the Pop Sugar one, but I think I’m too much of a mood reader. I might try and shoehorn the books I read into it haha.
Cora | http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
The Pop Sugar one is always the one that stands out to me most, and I do exactly as you do. I’m such a mood reader, so I try to work in my reading to the challenge rather than let the challenge influence my reading. I should probably stop that.
Last year was the first time I did a challenge. I did Goodreads. I challenged 50 books. I was doing well until September & my life became busier with helping family & many obligations to friends. I managed to read 35. I am happy with that though. I also have many hobbies
, scrapbooking & Genealogy that take a lot of time. I joined Goodreads again this year with 40 book to read. Good luck everyone ! I love seeing what others read for ideas.
What a great idea with the wrapping of the books and not buying new until you’ve done reading the ‘present’!
I’m reading 52 books for my Goodreads challenge, one a week. I’ll prob read more but I think it’s a solid place to start. I’m doing the Book Riot Read Harder challenge, there’s 24 prompts. And I’m trying to read my own backlist too! Not so much a challenge but I looked at my stats for 2017 and 2018 on how many of the books I read are my own books (versus library books or ARCs) and I always do sooo poorly at picking up my owns for some reason!
Best of luck for your Reading Challenges, Aoife. I am doing the Goodreads Challenge (a modest aim of 52 books) and the 2019 Historical Fiction Challenge.
52 is a great target! Super do-able too
Best the Backlist Challenge!