2013 Reading Challenge | Final Update

2013 Reading Challenge | Final Update

• Thursday, 19 December 2013

Images via Goodreads
We last shared how we were all getting on with our 2013 challenges back in June and today we have the final update...

Ria... 35/30 books read, 4/5 books vowed to read 

I've long past my reading goal for the year, which I'm so proud of! This year was all about upping my game and falling in love with reading books again so I'm really happy I've managed to hit above my original target. I'm also happy enough with completing 4 out of my 5 books I vowed to read for 2013 too. I really enjoyed challenging myself to read three classics (Fahrenheit 451, The Bell Jar and Brave New World), and have encouraged me to read more in the 2014! I'm also oh so glad to have gotten round to reading Harry: A History - especially as I got to compliment Melissa in person for writing such a fabulous account on the Harry Potter fandom at LeakyCon. The Mortal Instruments has been left by the wayside for now - I think the excessive amount of media coverage of the film put me off reading anything to do with the series - and I may have to give it another crack next year!

Anjali... 43/40 books read, 2/5 books vowed to read 
I'm super proud of myself for finishing so many books, and the fact that I was finished with 40 in October. However, I'm not too pleased with the books I vowed to read. In the last update, I had read Daughter of Smoke and Bone (by Laini Taylor) and also Feedback (by Robison Wells), and I had just started the Twelve (by Justin Cronin). I actually got bored of Twelve, so, although I'm planning to come back to it, I haven't finished it yet. I haven't yet read the other two on my list, but I have bought one (Casual Vacancy, by J.K.Rowling), so I hope to read that soon. A couple of 'non vow' books I've really loved have been A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness; The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green; and the Under the Never Sky series, by Veronica Rossi.

Laura... 27/25 books read - Woo! 

So I managed to achieved and surpass my reading challenge - I felt pretty confident I would although the last few books did seem to take me far longer than the previous ones. I however have no read anymore of my 'books I vowed to read' - only the same 3 I previously mentioned in our June update. I've really enjoyed having a reading target, it's kept me much more focused and was a gentle reminded to keep reading and not to let life pull me away from having a relaxing half an hour reading at the end of the day! I enjoyed all the books that I have read, there have been a few okay ones but there haven't been any that I didn't get some enjoyment out of.

Kath... 72/150 books read 
I’m quite obviously massively behind on my reading goal this year, but I did set myself a really high challenge and I’m proud of how well I’ve done. My reading goal was based on my reading habits of last year, and unfortunately life just got in the way this year. My absolute favourite reads of the year have been James Dawson’s Cruel Summer and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. A problem with having such a high challenge is that sometimes I've found myself reading for the sake of reading, but it has been wonderful finding new authors and diving in to new genres.

Niina... 21/35 books read

I'm definitely going to fail my reading goal the year! I've read 21 books so far and my goal was to read 35. I did pretty well in the first six or seven months of the year but I haven't been doing a lot of reading the last two or three months. My favourite books I've read since the last update is Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry and A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg.

Erin... 76/52 books read, 4/5 books vowed to read 
Since our last update I have managed to complete my challenge as well as make good progress on the books I vowed to read. Although I did start the last book of the five, Neal Shusterman's Everlost, unfortunately I wasn't enjoying it very much and decided to give up for now. I still haven’t given out any 5 star ratings this year - I feel so mean! - but there have been a few more reads that I have really enjoyed including Cruel Summer (James Dawson), Fangirl (Rainbow Rowell), Ketchup Clouds (Annabel Pitcher) and Thin Space (Jody Casella).

Don't forget to check back next month when we'll be sharing our 2014 goals!