Hello my fellow data nerds! It’s February and I really wanted this post up earlier since it’s about my reading stats from 2020, but here we are…

I keep track of my reading every year in a few ways, but the one tool that really helps me is this Reading Tracker Spreadsheet made each year by Crini. It really helps me keep track of all of the books I’ve read each year, along with tons of stats about them (genre, age range, format, author, what reading challenges they count for, etc.). So thanks, Crini, for continuing to have these awesome spreadsheets for us to use!

So here are some basic stats of what I read last year:

I read 103 books over the year. 51 of those were graphic novels, and 2 were manga. I reviewed exactly 0 of them. (I hope to review some books this year!) And here are some more stats, in fun chart or graph form:

April was a pretty good reading month for me. I was at home, not working because of the pandemic, and I was able to get through a lot of books. I also read a lot of graphic novels during the early months of the pandemic. In December I also checked out quite a few graphic novels so that I could meet my goal of 100 books.

Ever since starting to work at the library in 2018, I really have been borrowing a lot more books than I’ve been buying. And while I still need to read plenty of books I already own, I am proud of the fact that I’ve cut my spending down quite a bit.

This format pie chart really reflects all those graphic novels I read this past year, since the format I usually use most these days is audiobook.

A few years ago, my chart would have been much more blue, with only a few adult books. But in the past couple of years I’ve been trying to read more adult books as well. And the reason I read so many this year was also because of all those graphic novels I read.

This one is a fun graph I decided to add this year. With Crini’s spreadsheet, I’m able to easily track the genres of the books I read. And this graph pretty accurately depicts which genres I prefer to read.

And finally, this graph is a bit surprising, since I usually don’t re-read so many books each year, but this past year I re-read 31 books!

Well there you have it! Crini’s spreadsheet actually gives you lots more stats, but I just decided to share these. Leave me a link to your 2020 reading stats if you wrote a post about yours. I’d love to see them!

The post 2020 Reading Stats appeared first on The Overstuffed Bookcase.

Well, 2020 was certainly an interesting year, wasn’t it? At times I did well with my reading, and at other times I couldn’t read to save my life. But I ended up doing pretty well on my reading challenges this year. How did you do with your reading challenges?

Keep a look out for my 2020 Reading Stats post coming soon, where I break down the statistics of the books I read in 2020, with graphs! But for now, here are the lists of the reading challenges I participated in this year, and the books I read for each of them.

Goodreads Challenge

Hosted by: Goodreads
My goal: 100 books
Challenge Progress: COMPLETE! 103/100 books
(Note: I counted my DNFs and DNF FOR NOWs, even though Goodreads doesn’t. IDGAF.)
Pages Read: 28,815
(Note: I counted all the books I read for these pages. Yes, even audiobooks and even graphic novels/manga. As stated above, IDGAF.) 

Books Read

1. The Silent Land by Graham Joyce – Pages Read: 262 – Date Finished: 1/9/20
2. American Gods by Neil Gaiman (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 522 – Date Finished: 1/10/20
3. Attack on Titan, Vol. 29 by Hajime Isayama – Pages Read: 192 – Date Finished: 1/10/20
4. The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 337 – Date Finished: 1/15/20
5. Pride by Ibi Zoboi (AUDIOBOOK)  – Pages Read: 304 – Date Finished: 1/19/20
6. Everywhere You Want to Be by Christina June – Pages Read: 265 – Date Finished: 1/23/20
7. Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 704 – Date Finished: 1/31/20
8. Legend by Marie Lu (REREAD) (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 305 – Date Finished: 2/3/20
9. Prodigy by Marie Lu (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 371 – Date Finished: 2/7/20
10. Champion by Marie Lu (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 373 – Date Finished: 2/13/20
11. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 352 – Date Finished: 2/22/20
12. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 121 – Date Finished – 2/25/20
13. Princess Princess Ever After by Katie O’Neill – Pages Read: 53 – Date Finished: 3/1/20
14. The Outsider by Stephen King (PHYSICAL BOOK & AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 561 – Date Finished: 3/8/20
15. Plate Tectonics by Margaux Motin – Pages Read: 256 – Date Finished: 3/8/20
16. He-Man/Thundercats by Rob David, Lloyd Goldfine, and Freddie E. Williams II – Pages Read: 160 – Date Finished: 3/8/20
17. Paper Girls, Vol 1 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, and Matthew Wilson – Pages Read: 144 – Date Finished: 3/9/20
18. Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 448 – Date Finished: 3/11/20
19. They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker – Pages Read: 208 – Date Finished: 3/13/20
20. Ms Marvel Vol 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona – Pages Read: 120 – Date Finished: 3/17/20
21. Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 451 – Date Finished: 3/20/20
22. Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 664 – Date Finished: 3/23/20
23. This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone – Pages Read: 209 – Date Finished: 3/25/20
24. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”: The Authorized Graphic Adaptation by Miles Hyman – Pages Read: 160 – Date Finished: 3/25/20
25. The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker – Pages Read: 303 – Date Finished: 4/5/20
26. Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau – Pages Read: 368 – Date Finished: 4/6/20
27. Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 984 – Date Finished: 4/8/20
28. Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore – Pages Read: 352 – Date Finished: 4/15/20
29. Cinder by Marissa Meyer (REREAD)(AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 390 – Date Finished: 4/20/20
30. The Walking Dead, Compendium 1 by Robert Kirkman, et al. (REREAD) – Pages Read: 1,088 – Date Finished: 4/21/20
31. The Walking Dead, Vol 9 by Robert Kirkman, et al. (REREAD) – Pages Read: 136 – Date Finished: 4/21/20
32. The Messengers by Lindsay Joelle (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: ? – Date Finished: 4/21/20
33. The Walking Dead, Vol 10 by Robert Kirkman, et al. (REREAD) – Pages Read: 136 – Date Finished: 4/22/20
34. The Walking Dead, Vol 11 by Robert Kirkman, et al. (REREAD) – Pages Read: 136 – Date Finished: 4/25/20
35. The Walking Dead, Vol 12 by Robert Kirkman, et al. (REREAD) – Pages Read: 148 – Date Finished: 4/25/20
36. The Walking Dead, Vol 13 by Robert Kirkman, et al. (REREAD) – Pages Read: 136 – Date Finished: 4/25/20
37. The Walking Dead, Vol 14 by Robert Kirkman, et al. (REREAD) – Pages Read: 136 – Date Finished: 4/25/20
38. The Walking Dead, Vol 15 by Robert Kirkman, et al. (REREAD) – Pages Read: 132 – Date Finished: 4/25/20
39. The Walking Dead, Vol 16 by Robert Kirkman, et al. (REREAD) – Pages Read: 136 – Date Finished: 4/25/20
40. Tell Me Lies by J.P. Pomare (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: ? – Date Finished: 4/28/20
41. The Walking Dead, Vol 17 by Robert Kirkman, et al. (REREAD) – Pages Read: 132 – Date Finished: 4/29/20
42. The Walking Dead, Vol 18 by Robert Kirkman, et al. (REREAD) – Pages Read: 136 – Date Finished: 4/30/20
43. The Walking Dead, Vol 19 by Robert Kirkman, et al. (REREAD) – Pages Read: 136 – Date Finished: 5/2/20
44. The Walking Dead, Vol 20 by Robert Kirkman, et al. (REREAD) – Pages Read: 136 – Date Finished: 5/4/20
45. The Walking Dead, Vol 21 by Robert Kirkman, et al. (REREAD) – Pages Read: 136 – Date Finished: 5/5/20
46. Rebel by Marie Lu (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 376 – Date Finished: 5/6/20
47. The Walking Dead, Vol 22 by Robert Kirkman, et al. (REREAD) – Pages Read: 136 – Date Finished: 5/6/20
48. The Walking Dead, Vol 23 by Robert Kirkman, et al. (REREAD) – Pages Read: 136 – Date Finished: 5/6/20
49. The Walking Dead, Vol 24 by Robert Kirkman, et al. (REREAD) – Pages Read: 136 – Date Finished: 5/7/20
50. The Walking Dead, Compendium 4 by Robert Kirkman, et al. – Pages Read: 1,096 – Date Finished: 5/14/20
51. Alex + Ada: The Complete Collection, Deluxe Edition by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn – Pages Read:  376 – Date Finished: 5/17/20 
52. Contagion by Erin Bowman (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 432 – Date Finished: 5/19/20
53. Immunity by Erin Bowman (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 411 – Date Finished: 5/22/20
54. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 55 – Date Finished: 5/24/20
55. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 419 – Date Finished: 5/31/20
56. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (REREAD)(AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 454 – Date Finished: 6/3/2020
57. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab (REREAD)(AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 400 – Date Finished: 6/15/20
58. Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 372 – Date Finished: 6/27/20
59. Cress by Marissa Meyer (REREAD) (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 552 – Date Finished: 7/3/2020
60. How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 305 – Date Finished: 7/7/2020
61. Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac – Pages Read: 240 – Date Finished: 7/9/2020
62. The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 264 – Date Finished: 7/10/2020
63. Fairest by Marissa Meyer (REREAD)(AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 222 – Date Finished: 7/16/2020
64. The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks – Pages Read: 268 – Date Finished: 7/20/2020
65. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (AUDIOBOOK & PHYSICAL) – Pages Read: 448 – Date Finished: 8/7/2020
66. Attack on Titan, Vol 30 by Hajime Isayama – Pages Read: 192 – Date Finished: 8/7/2020
67. My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Kabi Nagata – Pages Read: 143 – Date Finished: 8/8/2020
68. Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley – Pages Read: 173 – Date Finished: 8/8/2020
69. Illegal by Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin, and Giovanni Rigano – Pages Read: 144 – Date Finished: 8/8/2020
70. The Golden Compass Graphic Novel, Vol 1 by Philip Pullman, Stephane Melchior-Durand, and Clement Oubrerie – Pages Read: 80 – Date Finished: 8/8/2020
71. Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu – Pages Read: 288 – Date Finished: 8/22/20
72. Winter by Marissa Meyer (REREAD)(AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 827 – Date Finished: 8/24/20
73. Stars Above by Marissa Meyer (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 369 – Date Finished: 9/1/2020
74. Check Please! Book 2: Sticks & Scones by Ngozi Ukazu – Pages Read: 336 – Date Finished: 9/1/2020
75. Wildwood by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis (DNF)(AUDIOBOOK & PHYSICAL BOOK) – Pages Read: 141 – Stopped Reading On: 9/8/2020
76. The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg – Pages Read: 496 – Date Finished: 9/18/2020
77. Coraline by Neil Gaiman (EBOOK) – Pages Read: 162 – Date Finished: 9/25/2020
78. Scythe by Neal Shusterman (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 435 – Date Finished: 9/27/2020
79. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake (EBOOK)(DNF FOR NOW) – Pages Read: 136 – Stopped Reading On: 10/9/2020
80. Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 504 – Date Finished: 10/30/20
81. Salvaged by Madeleine Roux (AUDIOBOOK AND PHYSICAL BOOK) – Pages Read: 352 – Date Finished: 11/11/20
82. Kristy’s Great Idea by Raina Telgemeier and Ann M. Martin – Pages Read: 186 – Date Finished: 11/12/20
83. Lumberjanes Vol. 1 by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Shannon Watters – Pages Read: 128 – Date Finished: 11/16/20
84. Lumberjanes Vol. 2 by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Shannon Watters – Pages Read: 111 – Date Finished: 11/17/20
85. Lumberjanes Vol. 3 by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, and Carolyn Nowak – Pages Read: 112 – Date Finished: 11/21/20
86. Paper Girls, Vol 1 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, and Matthew Wilson (REREAD) – Pages Read: 144 – Date Finished: 11/27/20
87. One by One by Ruth Ware – Pages Read: 372 – Date Finished: 12/1/20
88. Paper Girls, Vol 2 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, and Matthew Wilson – Pages Read: 128 – Date Finished: 12/2/20
89. The Toll by Neal Shusterman (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 625 – Date Finished: 12/3/20
90. Paper Girls, Vol 3 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, and Matthew Wilson – Pages Read: 128 – Date Finished: 12/3/20
91. Lumberjanes Vol. 4 by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, and Grace Ellis – Pages Read: 112 – Date Finished: 12/6/20
92. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang – Pages Read: 240 – Date Finished: 12/6/20
93. Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki – Pages Read: 143 – Date Finished: 12/7/20
94. Lumberjanes Vol. 5 by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, and Kat Leyh – Pages Read: 112 – Date Finished: 12/11/20
95. Lumberjanes Vol. 6 by Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh, and Carey Pietsch – Pages Read: 112 – Date Finished: 12/12/20
96. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol 1: The Faust Act by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matt Wilson (REREAD) – Pages Read: 176 – Date Finished: 12/14/20
97. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol 2: Fandemonium by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matt Wilson (REREAD) – Pages Read: 200 – Date Finished: 12/18/20
98. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff (DNF)(AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 167 – Stopped Reading On: 12/18/20
99. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol 3: Commercial Suicide by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Tula Lotay (REREAD) – Pages Read: 200 – Date Finished: 12/20/20
100. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol 4: Rising Action by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matt Wilson (REREAD) – Pages Read: 168 – Date Finished: 12/20/20
101. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol 5: Imperial Phase, Part I by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matt Wilson (REREAD) – Pages Read: 200 – Date Finished: 12/27/20
102. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol 6: Imperial Phase, Part II by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matt Wilson (REREAD) – Pages Read: 168 – Date Finished: 12/29/20
103. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol 7: Mothering Invention by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matt Wilson – Pages Read: 208 – Date Finished: 12/30/20

20 LGBTQ+ Books in 2020

Hosted by: Enthralled Bookworm
My goal: All 20 books
Challenge Progress: Failed :( 12/20 books

I thought about using the Bingo card that was also an option for this challenge, but ended up just simply listing the LGBTQ+ books I read in 2020.

Books Read

1. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – This is a retelling of The Illiad in which Achilles and Patroclus fall in love with each other.
2. Princess Princess Ever After by Katie O’Neill – A graphic novel about a princess who saves another princess and they end up falling in love.
3. They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, et al – This one is not centered around queerness, but it is about the childhood of a gay man, so I’m counting it.
4. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone – A f/f science fiction story about two time traveling agents working for rivaling agencies.
5. Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau – A YA graphic novel about two boys whose relationship blossoms while working together in a bakery.
6. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx – A short story about two men who work together as ranch hands and fall in love.
7. Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor – This is a YA sci-fi novel where all 3 main characters fall somewhere under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. There is a fantastic f/f relationship and a character who is described as being possibly ace/aro.
8. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir – This is a science fantasy book about lesbian necromancers.
9. My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Kabi Nagata – A graphic memoir about a woman finding her sexuality and her way through depression.
10. Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu – This is a graphic novel/manga about a gay college student who plays hockey and loves to bake. It’s adorable!
11. Check, Please! Book 2: Sticks & Scones by Ngozi Ukazu – The sequel and finale to the series about a gay college student who bakes and plays hockey. Such a great graphic series!
12. Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki – A graphic novel about a teen girl in the ’90s and how she copes with the death of a fellow student’s boyfriend, while also exploring her sexuality.

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

Hosted By: My Reader’s Block
My Goal: Mount Blanc (24 books from my TBR pile)
Challenge Progress: Failed :( 11/24 books

Books Read

1. The Silent Land by Graham Joyce – Acquired in 2015
2. American Gods by Neil Gaiman – Acquired in 2019
3. Everywhere You Want to Be by Christina June – Acquired in 2018
4. Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas – Acquired in 2019
5. Prodigy by Marie Lu – Acquired in 2013
6. Champion by Marie Lu – Acquired in 2016
7. Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas – Acquired in 2019
8. Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas – Acquired in 2019
9. Contagion by Erin Bowman – Acquired in 2018
10. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake – Acquired in 2012
11. Kristy’s Great Idea by Raina Telgemeier and Ann M. Martin – Acquired in 2016

2020 Read Harder Challenge

Hosted By: Book Riot
My Goal: 12 of 24 Tasks
Challenge Progress: COMPLETE! 13/12 Tasks

Books Read

 1. Read a book about a natural disaster: The Silent Land by Graham Joyce (about a couple who get caught in an avalanche)
2. Read a book that takes place in a rural setting: The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware (takes place at a house in the middle of nowhere in Scotland)
3. Read a retelling of a classic of the canon, fairytale, or myth by an author of color: Pride by Ibi Zoboi (Retelling of Pride & Prejudice, by an author of color, and all the main characters are people of color as well) (I don’t understand what they mean here by a “canon story” because canon just means anything that is officially part of the story, but I’m counting this one because it’s a retelling of a classic written by an author of color.)
4. Read a doorstopper (over 500 pages) published after 1950, written by a woman: Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas (704 pages, published in 2016)
5. Read a picture book with a human main character from a marginalized community: Octopus Stew by Eric Velasquez (The main characters are Black and Latinx. I read a lot of picture books to my son, but I do not list picture books in my main reading challenges, but I will list this one here, since this challenge specifically states to read a picture book.)
6. Read a historical fiction novel not set in WWII: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (While the Trojan War is still debated on whether it is factual or not, the city of Troy seems to be regarded as a real place, where it once was thought to be fictional. So although the events of this story may or may not be based on actual events and people, I’m going to go ahead and call this one a win for historical fiction that isn’t set in WWII.)
7. Read a graphic memoir: Plate Tectonics by Margaux Motin (also They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, et al)
8. Read a book with a main character or protagonist with a disability (fiction or non): Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas. (I don’t know if this book has the best representation when it comes to someone with a disability, but Chaol has a disability in this one.)
9. Read a sci-fi/fantasy novella (under 120 pages): This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. (Technically this one isn’t under 120 pages, but it’s still considered a novella, and it’s sci-fi, so I’m counting it.)
10. Read the LAST book in a series: Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas. I didn’t love this series like other people seem to, but I also didn’t hate it like other people seem to. I enjoyed parts of it, and didn’t enjoy other parts. I don’t know if I would have read the last few books if not for my book club, though.
11. Read a debut novel by a queer author: Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor
12. Read a book in any genre by a Native, First Nations, or Indigenous author: Code Talker by Joseph Bruchach. (This author is only part Native American, and he is a part of the Abenaki tribe, not the Navajo tribe that this book is about, but I want to count it because this author is at least part Native American, and the story itself is about Navajos who became Code Talkers in WWII.)
13. Read a book by or about a refugee: Illegal by Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin, and Giovanni Rigano (This book is about several characters who journey from Africa to Europe, in search of a better life.)

I hope you all did well with your reading challenges, but if you didn’t, don’t feel too bad! 2020 was a hard one for all of us.

The post 2020 Reading Challenges Attempted appeared first on The Overstuffed Bookcase.

Thank the universe, 2020 is almost over. And hopefully 2021 will be a better year for all of us.

I have a few personal and blog-related goals that I’ve set for myself for 2021, plus a few reading challenges for the year. And this is the post where I share what those goals are!

The key to all these goals is that I’m reaching for them. I want to succeed and meet these goals, but I will not be too hard on myself if I don’t meet them. Honestly, if I can complete at least 1 or 2 goals in each section, I’ll be happy.

Personal Goals

Health

I’ve been trying to exercise more often this past year, and although I haven’t really been exercising as much as I’d like, I’m doing better than I was before. So for 2021, I want to try to:

• Exercise 3x/week
• Eat healthier

Writing

I’ve been a writer my whole life, and one of my major goals in life has always been to publish a novel. But I don’t write enough to actually finish one! So this year I want to try to:

• Write at least once/week
• Try writing daily prompts as much as possible (more than once/week if possible)
• For one month, write a short story every day
• Participate in NaNoWriMo

Blogging

My blog has been on hiatus since early 2017, when my life turned upside down. I miss blogging, and I just can’t let it go. So I’d like to get back into it, at least a little bit. So this year I want to try to:

• Blog at least 2x/month
• Write short and sweet reviews so that I can actually put out some content
• Interact with the community more through Twitter & Instagram
• Participate in Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon and Reverse Readathon if possible

I also have some work-related goals that I’m setting, but I won’t list those here. 

Reading Challenges

I will be keeping track of my progress for all these reading challenges on my Reading Challenges page.

Goodreads Challenge

Hosted by: Goodreads
My Goal: 100 books

My goal for the Goodreads challenge was 100 books last year as well, but I just barely reached that goal. With all the other goals that I’m setting myself this year, with my exercising and writing and blogging, I think I’ll just stick with 100 books again this year.

2021 Audiobook Challenge

Hosted by: Caffeinated Reviewer
My Goal: My Precious Level (30+ Audiobooks)

For the past few years, I’ve been listening to a lot of audiobooks. In 2019, I listened to 61 audiobooks, and in 2020, I listened to 36 audiobooks.  In September, I changed jobs and now work from home, so I don’t get to listen to audiobooks as much (I usually listened to them during my commute). So I think that 30+ is a good goal, because I probably won’t be able to listen to as many audiobooks in 2021, but I want to still listen to as many as possible.

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

Hosted by: My Reader’s Block
My Goal: Mount Blanc level (24 books from my TBR)

I have participated in the Mount TBR Reading Challenge for several years, and just about every year I choose the Mount Blanc level. I usually don’t complete this challenge, but I have so many books on my shelves that I own but haven’t read yet, so I think it’s important to continue to try this challenge each year.

What reading challenges and goals have you set for yourself for 2021? Let me know in the comments below!

The post 2021 Reading Challenges appeared first on The Overstuffed Bookcase.

Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon is a readathon hosted over at 24hourreadathon.com, where readers challenge themselves to read for 24 hours. You can find out more info on their FAQ Page.

 

Hello everyone! I’m excited today to participate in my first-ever “reverse” readathon! I’ve participated in lots of other Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathons, plus a couple other readathons, but I’ve never done a “reverse” one before, as far as I can remember. I think what makes it “reverse” is that it starts 12 hours earlier than the usual Dewey’s readathons, and also I think it’s supposed to be more laid-back with less challenges and things. I’m excited about the starting 12 hours earlier thing, because I think it might allow me to actually read more! Fingers crossed!

I’ll be updating this post throughout the readathon.

My TBR Pile

My Main Pile
Attack on Titan Vol 30 by Hajime Isayama
Salvaged by Madeleine Roux
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

I’m getting close to finishing Gideon the Ninth, and I’ve also started Salvaged but haven’t gotten very far into it, so my main goals are to finish those two, and also to read Attack on Titan, Vol 30 during this readathon.

My Secondary Pile
The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Kabi Nagata, translated by Jocelyne Allen
Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley
Check, Please! Book 1: Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu
The Golden Compass Graphic Novel, Vol 1 by Philip Pullman, adapted by Stephane Melchior-Durand, illustrated by Clement Oubrerie
Blankets by Craig Thompson
To Kill a Mockingbird: A Graphic Novel by Harper Lee, adapted and illustrated by Fred Fordham
Illegal by Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin, Giovanni Rigano
November Vol 1: The Girl on the Roof by Matt Fraction, Elsa Charretier, and Matt Hollingsworth

Because I am such a slow reader, I really like to grab some graphic novels and/or manga from my library before a readathon so that I can at least get a couple books finished during the 24 hours! Some of these have been on my TBR list on Goodreads for a while, and some of them I just thought sounded interesting when I saw them at the library. I’m looking forward to all of them!

Opening Survey

Updates

Hours 1-6

Titles of Books Read During This Period: Gideon the Ninth, Attack on Titan, Vol 30, and My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness
Thoughts on Current Read: I’m enjoying My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness!
Number of Books Read So Far: 2 finished
Pages Read During This Period: 257
Total Pages Read So Far: 257
Amount of Time Spent Reading During This Period: 2.5 hours
Total Amount of Time Spent Reading So Far: 2.5 hours
Notes: I think this may be the first readathon where I’ve been able to start in hour 1! Usually hour 1 is at 5am my time, so I’m not awake. So this has been nice! I still only read for about 2.25 hours during these first 6 hours of the readathon, but I finished 2 books and started another, so I’m happy with my progress.

Hours 7-12

Titles of Books Read During This Period: My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness
Thoughts on Current Read: I finished and enjoyed My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness!
Number of Books Read So Far: 3
Pages Read During This Period: 126
Total Pages Read So Far: 383
Amount of Time Spent Reading During This Period: 1 hour, 15 min
Total Amount of Time Spent Reading So Far: 3 hours, 45 min
Notes: I was getting super sleepy during these hours (hour 7 starts at 11 pm my time), but I was able to finish My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness. I went to bed at the start of hour 9.

Mid-Event Survey

***I was asleep during the actual middle of the readathon, so I’m deciding to answer these questions 3/4 of the way through, in hour 19***

1. What are you reading right now?
I’m getting close to the end of Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley. I’m enjoying it!

2. How many books have you read so far?
I have finished 3 and almost finished another.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Readathon?
I’m not sure! I definitely want to try to read a bit of Salvaged, but I also want to read all the graphic novels/manga on my secondary pile!

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
My wife has interrupted me a couple times, and I’ve had to take breaks for meals and then I also slept for several hours. I am also feeling pretty sleepy again right now, so I may need a protein-filled snack! But my interruptions have been pretty minimal.

5. What surprises you most about the Readathon, so far?
Well I’ve done tons of readathons so I’m not sure if I really get surprised by things anymore. But it’s my first Reverse Readathon so I guess what’s most surprising about that is that I had a pretty good night’s sleep in the middle of the readathon but I’m still super tired in hour 19.

More Updates

Hours 13-18

Titles of Books Read During This Period: Relish: My Life in the Kitchen
Thoughts on Current Read: I’m enjoying Relish! But it makes me hungry and makes me miss NYC!
Number of Books Read So Far: 3 finished
Pages Read During This Period: 117
Total Pages Read So Far: 500
Amount of Time Spent Reading During This Period: 1.5 hours
Total Amount of Time Spent Reading So Far: 5 hours, 15 min
Notes: I woke up in hour 16, and started reading Relish pretty soon. I also had breakfast and spent a little time with my wife. I was hoping to finish Relish before the end of hour 18 but it didn’t happen. But I’m sure I’ll finish it soon!

Hours 19-24

Titles of Books Read During This Period: Relish: My Life in the Kitchen, Illegal, and The Golden Compass Graphic Novel Vol 1
Thoughts on Current Read: I enjoyed all 3 books I read during these last hours!
Number of Books Read So Far: 6
Pages Read During This Period: 265
Total Pages Read: 765
Amount of Time Spent Reading During This Period: 2 hours
Total Amount of Time Spent Reading: 7 hours, 15 min
Notes: I have really been super sleepy ever since I woke up this morning (which was in hour 16), so I’m really proud of what I accomplished. I’m also really glad that I was able to read quite a bit last night in hours 1-8. I’m really curious to look back at my hours and pages and books read in previous readathons to see how this reverse readathon compares.

Mini Challenges

Opening Survey (see above)
Mid-Event Survey (see above)
Vague Recollections (This one was really fun!)

Bingo

This was a lot of fun too! I should have looked at it more closely before we started, but I think I did pretty well!

Other Participants I’ve Visited

I haven’t been to any other blogs so far but I’ve cheered on some other participants on Twitter and liked some photos on Instagram.

Closing Survey

1. How would you assess your reading overall?
I think I did pretty well! Almost all of the books I read were graphic novels/manga, because I’m a slow reader and never could finish a whole regular, normal-sized book during this readathon. But I think next time I might challenge myself to read a little less graphic novels/manga, and try to read a bit more of a regular book.

2. Did you have a strategy, and if so, did you stick to it?
My strategy was just to read a lot of graphic novels/manga, so that I could get a lot of pages and books finished in. And I think that worked! However, I did have a goal of finishing all the books on my definite pile and I only finished two of those, so I kind of wished I had at least read a little bit of Salvaged.

3. What was your favorite snack?
The only “snack” I had was some leftover spaghetti, and it was good! I think I’m going to reward myself with some ice cream here in a bit, though, and I’m looking forward to that!

4. Wanna volunteer for our next event?
I would love to volunteer sometime but unfortunately the next readathon falls on a weekend when I have my kids, and since I only have them every other week, I like to spend as much time with them as I can, especially on weekends. So I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to even read for the next readathon. But I hope to volunteer sometime in the future!

Well that was fun, as always! How did you all do? I hope you were able to at least escape the world outside for a little while during the readathon! I know we can all use it right now!

The post Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon: August 2020 Reverse Readathon appeared first on The Overstuffed Bookcase.

 

 

Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon is a readathon hosted over at 24hourreadathon.com, where readers challenge themselves to read for 24 hours. You can find out more info on their FAQ Page.

 

Hello everyone! I decided to join in on this readathon at the last minute, and I’m not sure how much reading time I’ll actually have, but we’ll see! Good luck to everyone!

My TBR Pile

Wilder Girls by Rory Power
Crier’s War by Nina Varela
Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim
Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
Followers by Megan Angelo
The Walking Dead Compendium Two by Robert Kirkman, et al
Alex + Ada The Complete Collection, Deluxe Edition by Jonathan Luna & Sarah Vaughn
Tell Me Lies by J.P. Pomare (Audiobook–not pictured)
Rebel by Marie Lu (Audiobook–not pictured)

Opening Survey

Updates

Hours 1-6

Titles of Books Read During This Period: The Walking Dead Compendium Two
Thoughts on Current Read: I finished Volume 11 in The Walking Dead Compendium Two, and started Volume 12. Not much in the way of thoughts, since this is a reread for me. But some crazy parts!
Number of Books Read So Far: 1
Pages Read During This Period: 82
Total Pages Read So Far: 82
Amount of Time Spent Reading During This Period: 35 minutes
Total Amount of Time Spent Reading So Far: 35 minutes
Notes: Readathon starts at 5am my time, so I didn’t fully wake up until the beginning of hour 4, and then I worked on this post during hour 5, then made and ate breakfast. I didn’t really start reading until hour 6.

Hours 7-12

Titles of Books Read During This Period: Finished Volumes 12-14 and started Volume 15 in The Walking Dead, Compendium Two
Thoughts on Current Read: The comics are good, but I love the show even more. Still a reread for me so I don’t have much else to say.
Number of Books Read So Far: 4
Pages Read During This Period: 402
Total Pages Read So Far: 484
Amount of Time Spent Reading During This Period: 3 hours
Total Amount of Time Spent Reading So Far: 3 hours, 35 minutes
Notes: During these hours, I not only read, but also showered, ate lunch, spent some time with my family, had a snack, and did some yoga.

Mid-Event Survey

(I’m not sure if they’re doing this survey this time, but I’m going to go ahead and answer the questions. It’s a survey they’ve done in the past and I just kept it on my readathon template.)

1. What are you reading right now?
The Walking Dead, Compendium Two.

2. How many books have you read so far?
I’ve finished Volumes 11-14 of The Walking Dead, Compendium Two, and started Volume 15. Volume 16 is the last one in this compendium.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
I’d like to start a new book. I’d love to finish TWD Compendium Two, but I’d really like to start a new book also, like maybe Crier’s War or Wilder Girls. I’d also like to spend some time listening to Tell Me Lies, my current audiobook.

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
My family has been pretty great with letting me read uninterrupted! My wife has even been bringing me snacks! But here in a few minutes I’m going to take a reading break and spend some more time with them for a few hours.

5. What surprises you most about the Readathon, so far?
Nothing really surprises me about readathon anymore, since this is like my 11th one or something. But I never fail to be a bit sad about how slow I read. I’ve only been reading comics so far this time so I’ve definitely been getting a lot more pages than I would if I was reading a regular book, but I’m still pretty slow.

More Updates

Hours 13-18

Titles of Books Read During This Period: Volumes 15 & 16 of The Walking Dead, Compendium Two (so I finished this compendium!)
Thoughts on Current Read: So many things are so different from the show, but I still enjoyed the comics!
Number of Books Read So Far: 6
Pages Read During This Period: 249
Total Pages Read So Far: 733
Amount of Time Spent Reading During This Period: 2 hours
Total Amount of Time Spent Reading So Far: 5 hours, 35 minutes
Notes: During this time I spent less time reading and more time with my family. We played Mario Party, had dinner, and I put my kids to bed.

Hours 19-24

Titles of Books Read During This Period: None
Thoughts on Current Read: N/A
Number of Books Read So Far: 6
Pages Read During This Period: 0
Total Pages Read So Far: 733
Amount of Time Spent Reading During This Period: None
Total Amount of Time Spent Reading So Far: 5 hours, 35 minutes
Notes: I was nodding off as I was finishing up Volume 16 of TWD, Compendium Two, back in hour 18. So I just ended up going to bed at the start of hour 19.

Mini Challenges

All I participated in was the Opening Survey, Mid-Event Survey, and Closing Survey.

Other Participants I’ve Visited

I did look at and love a lot of #readathon posts on Instagram, and tweeted a bit, but other than that I didn’t really visit or interact with many other participants this time.

Closing Survey

1. How would you assess your reading overall?
I am glad I finished The Walking Dead, Compendium Two (it’s a big one!), but I wish I had listened to my audiobook some, and I also wish I had started another physical book.

2. Did you have a strategy, and if so, did you stick to it?
My only strategy this time was to read as much as I could while my family would let me. They were pretty good at letting me be off in my room reading most of the day. I also was planning on listening to some of my audiobook and painting while my younger son napped but he ended up taking a shorter nap so I wasn’t able to do that.

3. What was your favorite snack?
My wife brought a tray of cheese, crackers, and fruit to me at one point, and that was great! I wasn’t expecting it so it was really cool!

4. Wanna volunteer for our next event?
That depends on when it is, and if I have my kids that weekend. If I don’t have them, then yes, I might be able to volunteer!

How did everyone’s readathon go? Did you get as much reading done as you wanted to? I have a feeling this time around was a lot harder for everyone, with all that’s going on right now. But hopefully everyone was able to find a bit of time to escape reality, at least for a little while!

The post Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon: April 2020 appeared first on The Overstuffed Bookcase.

Hello everyone! Today I wanted to share some of the statistics from the books I read in 2019. I know not everyone is interested in this kind of stuff, but I am, so I thought I’d share.

First of all, I read 110 books in 2019, including DNFs (Did Not Finish–books I didn’t finish and don’t plan on ever reading again) and DNF-For-Nows (Did Not Finish For Now–books I put down but plan to pick up again one day). I had 3 DNFs and 1 DNF-For-Now, which brings my total of completely read books to 106 for the year. I’m pretty proud of that number, since it’s the most books I’ve read in a year that I can remember, although I may have read more books than that in a year when I was a kid.

In years past, I have used a spreadsheet to keep track of the stats for books I read, but I’m not sure if I ever did a stats post. And in 2019, I didn’t use a spreadsheet, so I had to figure out the stats the old fashioned way, and because of this, I don’t have as many different cool stats as I would like for this post. However, for 2020, I’m using Crini’s awesome spreadsheet again, so this time next year I should have a post full of all kinds of fun stats. But for this post, I just have a few pie charts for some basic stats.

Audience

I mostly read Young Adult books, but this past year I ended up reading quite a few Adult books too, plus a few Middle Grade, Children, and 1 New Adult.

Format

For many years, I couldn’t really get into audiobooks, but that changed in 2018. And in 2019, I read more audiobooks than physical books! I also read quite a few manga/graphic novels as well, with a couple ebooks.

Source

Because I listened to so many audiobooks this year, and because I didn’t get an Audible account until the end of the year (because libraries are awesome and you can get TONS of audiobooks from your library), I read many more borrowed books in 2019 than books I already owned. I also barely bought any books in 2019, but I don’t have a pie chart for that.

So there they are, my (very few) statistics for my reading in 2019. I hope to have a much more thorough post next year. Do you have a post on your reading stats for last year? I’d love to see it! Leave a link in the comments below!

The post 2019 Reading Stats appeared first on The Overstuffed Bookcase.

Hi everyone! How did you do with your reading challenges for 2019? I decided to stick with just one challenge this past year–the Goodreads Challenge–because I needed to simplify a bit. And I was pleasantly surprised that I not only met my goal of 60 books, but I surpassed it and ended up reading 110 books!

I plan on making another post soon, which shows the stats for what I read in 2019, like how many were borrowed vs. books I owned, how many were audiobooks or physical books, etc. But for now, here are a list of the books I read in 2019.

Goodreads Challenge

Hosted by: Goodreads
My goal: 60 books
Challenge Progress: COMPLETE! 110/60 books
(Note: I’m counting my DNFs and DNF FOR NOWs, even though Goodreads doesn’t. IDGAF.)
Pages Read: 34,674
(Note: I’m counting all the books I read for these pages. Yes, even audiobooks and even graphic novels/manga. As stated above, IDGAF.) 

Books Read

1. Fire by Kristin Cashore (AUDIOBOOK and PHYSICAL BOOK) – Pages Read: 480 – Date Finished: 1/5/19
2. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (DNF) – Pages Read: 130 – Stopped Reading On: 1/8/19
3. Bird Box by Josh Malerman (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 262 – Date Finished: 1/10/19
4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (REREAD) – Pages Read: 320 – Date Finished: 1/13/19
5. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (REREAD) (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 280 – Date Finished: 1/16/19
6. Poison Princess by Kresley Cole (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 369 – Date Finished: 1/23/19
7. Flame by Amy Kathleen Ryan – Pages Read: 336 – Date Finished: 1/24/19
8. Seriously…I’m Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 241 – Date Finished: 1/24/19
9. The Selection by Kiera Cass (REREAD) (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 336 – Date Finished: 2/6/19
10. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (EBOOK) – Pages Read: 224 – Date Finished: 2/7/19
11. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (REREAD) – Pages Read: 341 – Date Finished: 2/10/19
12. The Elite by Kiera Cass (REREAD) (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 336 – Date Finished: 2/12/19
13. The One by Kiera Cass (REREAD) (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 368 – Date Finished: 2/14/19
14. George’s Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl (READ TO MY SON) – Pages Read: 89 – Date Finished: 2/16/19
15. The Heir by Kiera Cass (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 342 – Date Finished: 2/20/19
16. The Crown by Kiera Cass (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 278 – Date Finished: 2/21/19
17. You by Caroline Kepnes (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 424 – Date Finished: 2/27/19
18. Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 455 – Date Finished: 3/5/19
19. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 342 – Date Finished: 3/8/19
20. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (REREAD) (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 208 – Date Finished: 3/12/19
21. The Giver by Lois Lowry (REREAD) (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 208 – Date Finished: 3/13/19
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (REREAD) (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 211 – Date Finished: 3/15/19
23. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Illustrated Edition) by J.K. Rowling (REREAD) – Pages Read: 326 – Date Finished: 3/20/19
24. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 226 – Date Finished: 3/20/19
25. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (DNF) (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 57 – Stopped Reading On: 3/20/19
26. Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce (REREAD) (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 274 – Date Finished: 3/21/19
27. In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce (REREAD) (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 264 – Date Finished: 3/25/19
28. The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 284 – Date Finished: 3/27/19
29. Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 384 – Date Finished: 4/1/19
30. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (DNF FOR NOW) – Pages Read: 118 – Stopped Reading On: 4/1/19 
31. Saga, Vol 9 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples – Pages Read: 160 – Date Finished: 4/6/19
32. Bitch Planet, Vol 1: Extraordinary Machine by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Taki Soma, and Valentine De Landro – Pages Read: 156 – Date Finished: 4/6/19
33. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 464 – Date Finished: 4/10/19
34. Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 442 – Date Finished: 4/17/19
35. These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner – (REREAD)(AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 384 – Date Finished: 4/24/19
36. Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, and Everything in Between by Lauren Graham (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 205 – Date Finished: 4/25/19
37. The Twits by Roald Dahl (READ TO MY SON) – Pages Read: 96 – Date Finished: 4/27/19
38. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (REREAD) – Pages Read: 734 – Date Finished: 4/30/19
39. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi (REREAD) (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 374 – Date Finished: 4/30/19
40. The Giver: Graphic Novel by P. Craig Russell and Lois Lowry – Pages Read: 185 – Date Finished: 5/3/19
41. This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 390 – Date Finished: 5/7/19
42. Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 425 – Date Finished: 5/15/19
43. Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 195 – Date Finished: 5/17/19
44. The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl (READ TO MY SON) – Pages Read: 73 – Date Finished: 5/18/19
45. Authority by Jeff VanderMeer (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 341 – Date Finished: 5/22/19
46. Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 341 – Date Finished: 5/30/19
47. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (REREAD) (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 416 – Date Finished: 6/5/19
48. Circe by Madeline Miller (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 393 – Date Finished: 6/13/19
49. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (REREAD) – Pages Read: 440 – Date Finished: 6/17/19
50. The Stars are Legion by Kameron Hurley (AUDIOBOOK & PHYSICAL BOOK) – Pages Read: 400 – Date Finished: 6/21/19
51. Attack on Titan, Volume 26 by Hajime Isayama – Pages Read: 192 – Date Finished: 6/21/19
52. Attack on Titan, Volume 27 by Hajime Isayama – Pages Read: 192 – Date Finished: 6/24/19
53. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (AUDIOBOOK & PHYSICAL BOOK) (REREAD) – Pages Read: 408 – Date Finished: 7/3/19
54. The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (AUDIOBOOK & PHYSICAL BOOK) – Pages Read: 439 – Date Finished: 7/12/19
55. Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater (AUDIOBOOK & PHYSICAL BOOK) – Pages Read: 391 – Date Finished: 7/20/19
56. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (AUDIOBOOK & PHYSICAL BOOK) – Pages Read: 439 – Date Finished: 7/24/19
57. Talon by Julie Kagawa (DNF) (AUDIOBOOK & PHYSICAL BOOK) – Pages Read: 67 – Stopped Reading On: 7/25/19
58. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (AUDIOBOOK) (REREAD) – Pages Read: 310 – Date Finished: 8/4/19
59. Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell – Pages Read: 304 – Date Finished: 8/7/19
60. Cannonball by Kelsey Wroten – Pages Read: 272 – Date Finished: 8/9/19
61. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (REREAD) – Pages Read: 406 – Date Finished: 8/11/19
62. The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan (AUDIOBOOK) (REREAD) – Pages Read: 416 – Date Finished: 8/13/19
63. Lock Every Door by Riley Sager – Pages Read: 371 – Date Finished: 8/22/19
64. Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash – Pages Read: 267 – Date Finished: 8/23/19
65. The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan (AUDIOBOOK) (REREAD) – Pages Read: 384 – Date Finished: 8/25/19
66. Night by Elie Wiesel (REREAD) – Pages Read: 115 – Date Finished: 8/29/19
67. Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas (AUDIOBOOK) (REREAD) – Pages Read: 418 – Date Finished: 8/30/19
68. The Yellow Wallpaper and Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (AUDIOBOOK) (REREAD) – Pages Read: 64 – Date Finished: 8/30/19
69. The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater – Pages Read: 320 – Date Finished: 8/31/19
70. Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis (AUDIOBOOK) (REREAD) – Pages Read: 309 – Date Finished: 9/10/19
71. Attack on Titan, Volume 28 by Hajime Isayama – Pages Read: 192 – Date Finished: 9/10/19
72. Lost Soul, Be at Peace by Maggie Thrash – Pages Read: 192 – Date Finished: 9/11/19
73. In a Handful of Dust by Mindy McGinnis (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 384 – Date Finished: 9/15/19
74. The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi – Pages Read: 341 – Date Finished: 9/17/19
75. Dracula by Bram Stoker (AUDIOBOOK) (REREAD) – Pages Read: 488 – Date Finished: 9/24/19
76. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson – Pages Read: 146 – Date Finished: 9/24/19
77. Ghost by Jason Reynolds (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 192 – Date Finished: 9/26/19
78. Crewel by Gennifer Albin (AUDIOBOOK) (REREAD) – Pages Read: 368 – Date Finished: 10/2/19
79. Altered by Gennifer Albin (AUDIOBOOK) (REREAD) – Pages Read: 401 – Date Finished: 10/11/19
80. Unraveled by Gennifer Albin (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 304 – Date Finished: 10/16/19
81. A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 317 – Date Finished: 10/22/19
82. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas – Pages Read: 565 – Date Finished: 10/22/19
83. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 384 – Date Finished: 10/30/19
84. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 513 – Date Finished: 11/5/19
85. Wires and Nerve by Marissa Meyer, Douglas Holgate, and Stephen Gilpin – Pages Read: 238 – Date Finished: 11/6/19
86. Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker and Julia Scheele – Pages Read: 176 – Date Finished: 11/8/19
87. Gone Rogue by Marissa Meyer, Douglas Holgate, and Stephen Gilpin – Pages Read: 324 – Date Finished: 11/9/19
88. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 648 – Date Finished: 11/13/19
89. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (REREAD) – Pages Read: 870 – Date Finished: 11/15/19
90. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (REREAD) (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 652 – Date Finished: 11/19/19
91. The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 351 – Date Finished: 11/20/19
92. ApocalyptiGirl by Andrew MacLean – Pages Read: 96 – Date Finished: 11/22/19
93. Josie and the Pussycats Vol 1 by Marguerite Bennett, Cameron DeOrdio, and Audrey Mok – Pages Read: 144 – Date Finished: 11/22/19
94. The Sound of the World by Heart by Giacomo Bevilacqua – Pages Read: 192 – Date Finished: 11/26/19
95. Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani – Pages Read: 176 – Date Finished: 11/26/19
96. My True Love Gave to Me edited by Stephanie Perkins (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 321 – Date Finished: 11/27/19
97. Ghost World by Daniel Clowes – Pages Read: 80 – Date Finished: 11/28/19
98. Cats of the Louvre by Taiyo Matsumoto – Pages Read: 432 – Date Finished 12/3/19
99. My Brother’s Husband Vol 1 by Gengoroh Tagame – Pages Read: 352 – Date Finished: 12/5/19
100. My Brother’s Husband Vol 2 by Gengoroh Tagame – Pages Read: 352 – Date Finished: 12/5/19
101. The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas (REREAD) (AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 448 – Date Finished: 12/10/19
102. Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Penelope Bagieu – Pages Read: 296 – Date Finished: 12/11/19
103. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Rey Terciero and Bre Indigo – Pages Read: 256 – Date Finished: 12/12/19 
104. Forward by Lisa Maas – Pages Read: 198 – Date Finished: 12/13/19 
105. A Quick & Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities by Mady G. & J.R. Zuckerberg – Pages Read: 96 – Date Finished: 12/13/19
106. Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal – Pages Read: 259 – Date Finished: 12/17/19
107. This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki – Pages Read: 320 – Date Finished: 12/21/19
108. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (REREAD)(AUDIOBOOK) – Pages Read: 759 – Date Finished: 12/22/19
109. Luisa: Now and Then by Carole Maurel, adapted by Mariko Tamaki – Pages Read – 272 – Date Finished: 12/25/19
110. All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages edited by Saundra Mitchell – Pages Read: 368 – Date Finished: 12/29/19

*Note: I also started reading a few other books near the end of the year, but got less than 20% read in each of them, so I haven’t listed them here.

So there they are! I’m pretty proud of myself, because I don’t think I’ve read over 100 books in a year since I was a kid! How did your 2019 reading go? I’d love to hear from you!

The post 2019 Reading Challenges Attempted (And Slayed!) appeared first on The Overstuffed Bookcase.

Hello everyone! It’s been a long time!

Today, I’d like to share with you the reading challenges that I plan on attempting in 2020. I decided to just go with the Goodreads Challenge in 2019 (and I’ll have a post up soon that lists all the books I read in 2019), but in 2020, I want to challenge myself a bit more, so I’m going to be attempting 4 challenges.

This post will serve as the sign-up post for these challenges, but I will be keeping track of all the books I read for these challenges on my Reading Challenges page.

Goodreads Challenge
Hosted by: Goodreads
My Goal: 100 Books

In 2019, my goal for the Goodreads Challenge was 60 books, and I ended up reading over 100, so I want to set my goal as 100 books for 2020. Hopefully I can continue to read over 100 books!

20 LGBTQ+ Books in 2020
Hosted by: Enthralled Bookworm
My goal: All 20 books

So this challenges is all about reading LGBTQ+ books in 2020. I love reading LGBTQ+ books, and I often read several in a year, but I want to read more. Plus there’s a nice bingo for this challenge that you can also do.

Mount TBR Reading Challenge
Hosted By: My Reader’s Block
My Goal: Mount Blanc (24 books from my TBR pile)

I love this challenge, because it focuses on books that you already own. They also have a sister challenge now, called Virtual Mount TBR, where you focus on books on your TBR list that you don’t actually own (so like books that you have meant to read for a while but haven’t gotten around to). I think I might join that one in the future, but for 2020, I’m just going to stick with the books on my shelves and attempt to read 24 books for the Mount TBR challenge.

2020 Read Harder Challenge
Hosted By: Book Riot
My Goal: 12 of 24 Tasks

I have seen the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge around for years, but I don’t think I’ve ever attempted it. And because I am already attempting 3 other challenges as well, I don’t want to overload myself. So I’m going to attempt to do half of the 24 tasks on this challenge, and I’ll be happy if I meet or exceed that goal.

Thanks so much to Tanya Patrice at GirlXOXO for her Master List of 2020 Reading Challenges post, so that I could find all these great challenges!

So which Reading Challenges are you attempting in 2020? I’d love to hear from you!

The post 2020 Reading Challenges appeared first on The Overstuffed Bookcase.

 

 

Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon is a readathon hosted over at 24hourreadathon.com, where readers challenge themselves to read for 24 hours. You can find out more info on their FAQ Page.

 

Hi everyone! I’m very excited to be participating in Readathon again! It’s been a year and a half, I think. And this is my 10th readathon! That’s kind of exciting!

I’ve decided to just do one all-encompassing post this time. So I’ll be using this post to share my opening meme, updates, mid-event survey, mini challenges, end of event meme, and any other info.

My TBR Pile

The Stars are Legion by Kameron Hurley
Saga Vol 9 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Bitch Planet Vol 1: Extraordinary Machine by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Taki Soma, and Valentine De Landro
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas (audiobook) (not pictured)

Getting to Know You Survey

Updates

Hours 1-6

Titles of Books Read During This Period: On the Come Up, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Saga Vol 9
Thoughts on Current Read: I just started Saga Vol 9 and I’m trying to remember what happened in Vol 8
Number of Books Read So Far: None finished
Pages Read During This Period: 35, plus listened to about 5 minutes of audiobook
Total Pages Read So Far: 35 pages read, 5 minutes listened
Amount of Time Spent Reading During This Period: 1 hour
Total Amount of Time Spent Reading So Far: 1 hour
Notes: I woke up at the end of hour 3, had breakfast and started working on this post in hour 4, talked to a couple people and watched a couple of TBR Pile videos, then started reading in hour 5, and spent most of hour 6 reading. I didn’t get enough sleep last night, so I’m already super tired. I might have to take a nap and then get back to reading.

Hours 7-12

Titles of Books Read During This Period: 
Thoughts on Current Read:
Number of Books Read So Far: 
Pages Read During This Period:
Total Pages Read So Far:
Amount of Time Spent Reading During This Period:
Total Amount of Time Spent Reading So Far:
Notes: 

Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now?

2. How many books have you read so far? 

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

5. What surprises you most about the Readathon, so far?

More Updates

Hours 13-18

Titles of Books Read During This Period:
Thoughts on Current Read: 
Number of Books Read So Far: 
Pages Read During This Period:
Total Pages Read So Far:
Amount of Time Spent Reading During This Period:
Total Amount of Time Spent Reading So Far:
Notes: 

Hours 19-24

Titles of Books Read During This Period:
Thoughts on Current Read:
Number of Books Read So Far:
Pages Read During This Period:
Total Pages Read So Far:
Amount of Time Spent Reading During This Period:
Total Amount of Time Spent Reading So Far:
Notes: 

Mini Challenges

Getting to Know You Survey

Other Participants I’ve Visited

I’ve talked to a couple people via Twitter and liked some photos on Instagram, but that’s all so far.

Closing Survey

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

2. Tell us ALLLLL the books you read!

3. Which books would you recommend to other Read-a-thoners?

4. What’s a really rad thing we could do during the next Read-a-thon that would make you smile?

5. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? Would you be interested in volunteering to help organize and prep?

The post Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon: April 2019 appeared first on The Overstuffed Bookcase.

Hi everyone! Wow, 2018 came and went and it’s already February of 2019 and my last post was my 2017 Reading Challenges Attempted post over a year ago!

Things have still been crazy for me. I got a job at a library, finished a year-long program learning more about working in libraries, and got married! I’m really sad that I haven’t spent much time with this blog, though. I really really really hope to get back into it this year!

Anyway, this post is all about the books I read in 2018, and how well I did with the reading challenge I participated in. If you want to follow along with my reading this year, in 2019, you can check it out on my Reading Challenges page.

For 2018, I only participated in one challenge: the Goodreads challenge, where I set my goal as 50 books. And because I’ve been reading so many audiobooks lately, I was able to surpass my goal! Here are the books I read in 2018:

2018 Reading Challenges

Goodreads Challenge

Hosted by: Goodreads
My goal: 50 books
Challenge Progress: COMPLETE! 58/50 books
(Note: I’m counting my DNFs and DNF FOR NOWs, even though Goodreads doesn’t. IDGAF.)

Books Read

1. Caraval by Stephanie Garber – DNF FOR NOW – Pages Read: 159 – Stopped Reading On 1/17/18
2. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon – Pages Read: 378 – Date Finished: 2/11/18
3. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin – Pages Read in 2018 (I started this book in 2014): 376 – Date Finished: 2/21/18
4. Attack on Titan Volume 23 by Hajime Isayama – Pages Read: 192 – Date Finished: 3/4/18
5. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater – Pages Read: 407 – Date Finished: 3/8/18
6. Hunter by Mercedes Lackey – DNF FOR NOW – Pages Read: 56 – Stopped Reading On 3/26/18
7. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – REREAD – Pages Read: 602 – Date Finished: 3/27/18
8. The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda – REREAD – Pages Read: 293 – Date Finished: 4/14/18
9. How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather – Pages Read: 358 – Date Finished: 4/24/18
10. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi – Pages Read: 525 – Date Finished: 5/2/18
11. The Prey by Andrew Fukuda – REREAD – Pages Read: 326 – Date Finished: 5/17/18
12. Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard – Pages Read: 400 – Date Finished: 5/24/18
13. Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan – REREAD – Pages Read: 307 – Date Finished: 6/1/18
14. Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan – REREAD – Pages Read: 309 – Date Finished: 6/13/18
15. Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden – Pages Read: 234 – Date Finished: 6/21/18
16. Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – Pages Read: 659 – Date Finished: 6/22/18
17. Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy – DNF – Pages Read: 50 – Stopped Reading On 6/27/18
18. The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith – Pages Read: 292 – Date Finished: 6/28/18
19. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli – REREAD – Pages Read: 303 – Date Finished: 7/03/18
20. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard – Pages Read: 383 – Date Finished: 7/16/18
21. The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney – Pages Read: 341 – Date Finished: 7/18/18
22. The Call of the Wild – Pages Read: 172 – Date Finished: 7/23/18
23. Sweet by Emmy Laybourne – Pages Read: 272 – Date Finished: 7/24/18
24. Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan – Pages Read: 587 – Date Finished: 7/31/18
25. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley – REREAD – Pages Read: 288 – Date Finished: 8/6/18
26. Ask the Passengers by A.S. King – Pages Read: 304 – Date Finished: 8/16/18
27. Hunter by Mercedes Lackey – Pages Read: 374 – Date Finished: 8/28/18 (Yes, I am counting this one twice this year because, as I state above, I am counting my DNFs and DNF FOR NOWs, and at first, I only read 56 pages of Hunter, deciding to DNF FOR NOW. Then I checked out the audiobook from the library and read the whole thing. So yeah, I’m counting it twice. IDGAF.)
28. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel – DNF – Pages Read: 164 – Stopped Reading On: 8/29/18
29. Esio Trot by Roald Dahl (Read to my son) – Pages Read: 80 – Date Finished: 9/2/18
30. The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – Pages Read: 308 – Date Finished: 9/4/18
31. Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson – Pages Read: 359 – Date Finished: 9/13/18
32. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton – Pages Read: 192 – Date Finished: 9/17/18
33. Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – Pages Read: 615 – Date Finished: 09/18/18
34. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly – Pages Read: 368 – Date Finished: 09/30/18
35. The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl (Read to my son) – Pages Read: 67 – Date Finished: 10/13/18
36. Unwind by Neal Shusterman – Pages Read: 335 – Date Finished: 10/15/18
37. Deadline by Mira Grant – Pages Read: 584 – Date Finished: 10/18/18
38. There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins – Pages Read: 289 – Date Finished: 10/23/18
39. Attack on Titan Vol. 24 by Hajime Isayama – Pages Read: 192 – Date Finished: 10/24/18
40. Attack on Titan Vol. 25 by Hajime Isayama – Pages Read: 192 – Date Finished: 10/26/18
41. Injection, Vol 1 by Warren Ellis, et al. – Pages Read: 120 – Date Finished: 10/29/18
42. Low, Vol. 1: The Delirium of Hope by Rick Remender, et al. – Pages Read: 144 – Date Finished: 11/5/18
43. The Wicked + the Divine, Vol 1: The Faust Act by Kieron Gillen, et al. – Pages Read: 144 – Date Finished: 11/5/18
44. Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds – Pages Read: 306 – Date Finished: 11/6/18
45. Blackout by Mira Grant – Pages Read: 512 – Date Finished: 11/13/18
46. The Trap by Andrew Fukuda – Pages Read: 320 – Date Finished: 11/21/18
47. Graceling by Kristin Cashore – REREAD – Pages Read: 471 – Date Finished: 12/7/18
48. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness – Pages Read: 317 – Date Finished: 12/13/18
49. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol 2: Fandemonium by Kieron Gillen, et al. – Pages Read: 168 – Date Finished: 12/13/18
50. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol 3: Commercial Suicide by Kieron Gillen, et al. – Pages Read: 200 – Date Finished: 12/15/18
51. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 4: Rising Action by Kieron Gillen, et al. – Pages Read: 144 – Date Finished: 12/16/18
52. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol 5: Imperial Phase, Part I by Kieron Gillen, et al. – Pages Read: 144 – Date Finished: 12/16/18
53. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol 6: Imperial Phase, Part II by Kieron Gillen, et al. – Pages Read: 168 – Date Finished: 12/17/18
54. The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell – Pages Read: 72 – Date Finished: 12/17/18
55. Saga Vol 6 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples – Pages Read: 152 – Date Finished: 12/24/18
56. Saga Vol 7 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples – Pages Read: 152 – Date Finished: 12/24/18
57. Saga Vol 8 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples – Pages Read: 146 – Date Finished: 12/24/18
58. Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl (Read to my son) – Pages Read: 112 – Date Finished: 12/25/18 

The post 2018 Reading Challenges Attempted appeared first on The Overstuffed Bookcase.