Reading Challenges

At the beginning of the year reading challenges start making the rounds on Facebook.  I have never paid attention before as January is not a great month for pleasure reading for educators.  Report card writing for teachers and report card reading for administrators, as well as the necessary professional reading takes up time and energy needed for reading for fun.

This year is different!  Yipee for time to read. I ran off the lists for 3 different reading challenges and set up a binder to keep the lists, lists of book recommendations and the list of books read.

I'm doing the 2016's Ultimate Reading Challenge! found through Popsugar. http://www.popsugar.com/love/Reading-Challenge-2016-39126431

I'm also trying to complete the 2016 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge. It is in fact harder because the entries are more obscure or require research to fulfill.  Like read a book that was published in the year you were born. http://bookriot.com/2015/12/15/2016-book-riot-read-harder-challenge/

And I also printed off the 2016 Reading Challenge from the Modern Mrs. Darcy.  This one is only 12 books and has some challenges that are easy to fulfill, like read a book that you've been intending to get to or read a book that you should have completed in school.
http://modernmrsdarcy.com/2016-reading-challenge/


As another aspect of these challenges, I signed up for Good Reads and have become acquainted with how that works. I found out that several of my friends are already Good Reads alumni and am wondering how I missed learning about this great website before now. (www.goodreads.com)  I am also anticipating that I will be knocking off an entry on my bucket list when I become part of a book club that a friend is starting in the spring.  The book club selections will most likely take care of the more difficult categories of the challenges.

Fortunately, the challenges allow for plenty of opportunity to read what I want as well as incentive to read the books I've already own but haven't had time to read.  Cold winter days are a great time to curl up with a book and a cup of steaming hot chocolate while cold winter nights are perfect for a tall glass of wine, a cozy sweater and a good murder mystery.  I didn't quit my job to read but it was an incentive to retire.