I am so ready for a new year of reading challenges! I’ve spent the past few weeks planning out a tentative list for each of my challenges, and ordering from the library. I currently have a stack of books sitting beside me just waiting to be started! I thought that New Year’s Day would be the perfect time to do a New Years related tag. The original is by MaliaMarie, and can be found here, but I first saw it on As Told By Tina. The tag is all about some of the most common resolutions people make for the new year, with a book-related spin.
1) Losing Weight – A book you would like to toss off your shelf this year
I’m on the fence about whether this means a book you want to remove because it’s lost your interest, or a book you want to read this year to finally get it off your list. Going with the first interpretation, I’d have to say The Maze Runner by James Dashner. I’ve had this book in mind for the past two years for my challenges, but never actually picked it up. I finally took it off my library request list recently, and I’m considering removing it from my TBR altogether. I’ve heard great things about it, but I’m a little tired of dystopians right now.
2) Learning Something New – Pick a book in a genre you don’t normally read
I am not really a fan of non-fiction in general, but I heard about this book in the newspaper last year and it seemed interesting. When I do read non-fiction, it tends to be about psychology or individuals with special needs, since that is the field I work in. This book, Precious Cargo, is about a man who is employed as a bus driver for a group of students with special needs, and what he learns from his year of working with them. I added it to my list as soon as I saw it in the paper, but haven’t tried it yet.
3) Getting Out of Debt – Give a shout out to your favourite discount book store
I don’t buy books very often anymore, and when I do it’s usually from either Chapters or Amazon. However, I have to give a shout out at least to my public library, since it is my main source of books!
4) Quit Smoking – A book or series that is not that great, but you can’t seem to put down
I have a real problem with abandoning books midway through, since I always hold out hope that the ending will get better. It is especially true when I’m reading for a challenge, since I don’t wan to waste the time I already devoted to the book. Last year, the book was Inkheart, a book I completely missed out on when I was a kid. When I finally decided to give it a chance, I just could not get through it! The book dragged and didn’t interest me at all, but I’d already spent so many days on it that I didn’t want to give up. Definitely not continuing the series though!
5) Eliminating Stress – A book or series that helps you calm down
These are probably both fairly obvious choices, but I have to go with either Harry Potter because it is a series that I grew up with, and I never get tired of re-reading, or A Series of Unfortunate Events because of the humour and unique style.
6) Traveling – A book that takes place in a different place or time period
I enjoy a lot of historical fiction, so it was hard to pick just one for this. I have to go with The Other Boleyn Girl, which is set in England during the reign of Henry VIII.
7) Spending More Time with Family and Friends – A book that someone recommended to you
I haven’t read this book yet, but it was recommended to me by someone I work with. We have a very similar taste in books, so we often exchange recommendations. She told me that I should try The Marrying Of Chani Kaufman. It’s on my list, but I’m not sure yet how soon I can get to it!
8) Drinking Less – A book or series that impairs your judgment (also known as an overload of feels)
Aside from Harry Potter, I would have to say A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. I was completely overwhelmed by how powerful of an impact this book had.
9) Exercising – What is your reading challenge for the New Year?
I’ve decided to take on 4 challenges for the year, for a total of 158 books. The challenges are:
- GoodReads Around the Year – 52 books + one additional “wild card” topic
- PopSugar 2017 – This list has two parts, a main challenge of 40 books, and an “advanced” level of an extra 12 books. I’m taking on both!
- PopSugar Summer 2016 – It really bothers me that the list is an awkward size of 29 books. I saw it last year but didn’t have the time to take it on, so I decided to try it this year instead since the prompts intrigued me.
- BookRiot Read Harder 2017 – A list of 24 prompts, usually quite difficult to fulfill!
10) Volunteering – Tag some people
I’m glad the tag included this as a question, since I always forget to tag anyone! I will tag:
- Eliza @duskangelreads
- Laura @bibliofagista
- Brianna @listfulbooking
- Anyone else who wants to give it a try!
Abyssal Librarian 