2012 Challenges

2012 Debut Author Challenge hosted by The Story Siren

Seriously, this year is the year. I feel it!

The deal: Read at least 12 young adult and/or middle grade debut novels. The major change this year is the deadline extension to January 31, 2013.


I only know of two titles right now that I would like to read that meet this challenge: The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges and Tempest by Julie Cross.

Off the Shelf 2012 hosted by Bookish Ardour

I definitely own more books than I have time to read. Then I get them from library and there's no time to read what is already lying around my house since library books have a due date. Hence, I have shelves ridiculously full of books that I have never read. That's why I am taking the Off the Shelf challenge. It is an opportunity to read those that are unread and neglected.

The deal: Choose a level (listed on the site) and read titles owned prior to Jan. 1, 2012. This includes print, ebooks and audio books, if you happen to own them.  Anything acquired in 2012 doesn't count, since it hasn't had time to reach the neglected state.

Challenge Level: Trying - Read 15 books 
I have no list for this. I'll grab things as I feel the desire.

"New Adult" Book Challenge hosted by A Tapestry of Words

The New Adult challenge attempts to bring to light titles that fill the gap between the teen years in high and midlife often portrayed in young adult and adult titles. "New Adult" encompasses post-high school teens and early twenty somethings learning to make a way in the world. Living in a college town, being aware of these titles will certainly come in handy during reader's advisory.

The deal: Protagonists should be no younger than 18 and no older than 30. If the protagonist spends the majority of his/her time in High School, that's YA. Post high school is New Adult. Choose a level and enjoy!

Challenge Level: Just Graduated - Read a minimum of 3 New Adult Books
Titles I've been holding off on reading that meet this challenge: Psych Major Syndrome by Alicia Thompson, An Off Year by Claire Zulkey, and Very LeFreak by Rachel Cohn.

Finally, I will once again try to read 100 books this year. I'm not officially signing up anywhere, just keeping it as a personal goal.


Anyone else taking any new and/or interesting challenges this year?

2011 Challenges Wrap Up

 I realize this normally happens very late on Dec. 31 or very early on Jan 1, but I'm definitely behind when it comes to my blog. I think of it often, but haven't had the time/motivation combo to pay it some love. I intend to kickstart it again soon.  But first, the year of failure limited success. Below is the final status of my challenges from 2011.


Catherine Ryan Hyde Challenge
The challenge: to read ONE title by author Catherine Ryan Hyde. I totally nailed this one! If I didn't then failure would have had to remain the word above. Though I haven't reviewed it for the blog, I read Second Hand Heart, which is technically an adult novel, but I feel falls into this newly minted "new adult" category that has been discussed recently. I'm very happy to have explored an author that I had yet to get around to reading, and hope to add more of her titles to my read pile. 

Debut Author Challenge
Unlike 2010, I had the entire year to read twelve little books. I had enough debuts in my possession to complete the challenge, but alas, it was not to be.
Titles for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge:
1. Cheesie Mack is Not a Genius or Anything by Steve Cotler
2. The Rendering by Joel Naftali
3. Gossip from the Girls' Room by Rose Cooper
4. The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines

That means I read one more debut this year than I did last year. So it's a partial success? Ok fine, I just don't like that it's all downhill from here.

100+ Book Challenge
So with this one, I wasn't as close as I would have liked. My grand total was 72 books. Unfortunately because of the way it works, some of my titles were left in the abyss between the years, so there's about four or five of them that I'm not really sure how/where to count. Not that they would have helped any.  The final* list is here.

*"Shelfari is off reading a short novel" so I can't compare my lists at the moment, so there may be an addition or two. Or not; I could just be hoping that I'm forgetting something.

Nanowrimo
I decided to try my hand yet again at writing 50,000 words in 30 days. I started off strong with about 3,000 words the first day. I peaked at 5,000. *Shrugs* It was a busy November.

So those were my challenges for 2011. Not the best year of reading stats wise, but I did discover some new authors that I enjoy and some fantastic reads. Plus there was that whole London trip.

Stay tuned for info on my 2012 Challenges and, ya know, maybe even some reviews.