I always set myself more than one reading challenge per year. Some carry over from year to year, and some are new. Some are broad and some are themed. And in many cases, books read will help me meet more than one challenge. Here’s this year’s list.
TO BE READ CHALLENGE
The idea (formulated by RoofBeamReader at his blog several years ago) is to pick 12 books (plus 2 alternates in case you find yourself unable to finish a couple of your main choices) that have sat unread on your bookshelf for a year or more. Books published in 2020 wouldn’t be eligible, nor would re-reads. This year, I’ve decided to pick 24 books (12 fiction, 12 non-fiction) plus four alternates. I plan to come back to this post and add “date completed” for each book individually and for each series as a whole. Here are my lists for 2020 (not listed in intended reading order):
FICTION:
1. The Mystery of the Sea by Bram Stoker
2. How Long ‘til Black Future Month by NK Jemisin
3. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R. A. Dick
4. Dune by Frank Herbert
5. Monstress Volume 1 by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda
6. Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller
7. Excalibur! by Gil Kane and John Jakes
8. Lord Tyger by Philip Jose Farmer
9. The Book of Lost Saints by Daniel Jose Older
10. Slights by Kaaron Warren
11. Minky Woodcock: The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini by Cynthia Von Buhler
12. The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum
Alternate #1: Let Me In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Alternate #2: The Red Lamp by Mary Roberts Reinhart
(NOTE: Last year’s two alternates, The Mystery of the Sea and Excalibur!, have been moved into the main challenge this year.)
NON-FICTION:
1. Poisoning for Profit: The Mafia and Toxic Waste in America by Alan A. Block and Frank R. Scarpitti
2. An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina
3. Twilight at the World of Tomorrow by James Mauro
4. Faery Tale: One Woman’s Search for Enchantment in a Modern World by Signe Pike
5. Something in the Blood: The Untold Tale of Bram Stoker by David J. Skal
6. Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxane Dunbar-Ortiz
7. The Celluloid Closet by Vito Russo
8. The Tricky Part: One Boy’s Fall from Trespass into Grace by Martin Moran
9. Comic Book Implosion: An Oral History of DC Comics Circa 1978 by Keith Dallas and John Wells
10. Letters to the Pumpkin King by Seanan McGuire
11. The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier
12. First Family by Joseph J. Ellis
Alternate #1: Classics on Infinite Earths by Julian Darius
Alternate #2: Hollow Earth by David Standish
(NOTE: In previous years, I’ve given myself a generic “read more non-fiction” challenge; I’m altering that this year to challenge myself to read these specific books.)
365 SHORT STORIES CHALLENGE
Every year, I challenge myself to read one short story per day. Some years I keep the pace pretty well, and some years I fall behind and then scramble to catch up (and some years, I catch up and fall behind again, and some years I blow past the goal handily). I used to post thoughts on each individual story over on my now-largely-defunct LiveJournal; this year I plan to review a story or two in-depth each Sunday and then do a monthly “round-up” of all stories read that month. I’m defining “short story” as anything from flash fiction to novella-length. If a novelette or novella is published as a stand-alone book (eBook or otherwise), that story will also count towards my annual Goodreads “Books Read Challenge.”
GOODREADS CHALLENGE
Goodreads allows members to set a challenge. In 2020, I set a goal of 125 books and read over 150. For 2020, I’m setting the same goal of 125 to start with, and we’ll see what happens. Goodreads counts magazines as “books,” so I count them for this challenge as well. Of course, any book read for the TBR Challenge, or the other challenges mentioned in this post count towards this one.
GRAPHIC NOVEL CHALLENGE
I own far more graphic novels and trade paperback collections of classic comics than I’ve read. In 2017 I started trying to turn that around, and I’m again setting a goal in 2021 of reading one graphic novel per week, so 52 for the year, tracking them in the monthly Reading Round-Up Posts.
NON-FICTION CHALLENGE
As with graphic novels, I tend to get intrigued by and purchase far more non-fiction books than I actually end up reading. In an effort to clear some shelf-space, justify the money spent, and increase my knowledge a bit, I’m setting myself a new challenge this year to read two (2) non-fiction books per month, or 24 for the year, also tracked via the monthly Reading Round-Up posts.
READ THE BOOK / WATCH THE MOVIE CHALLENGE
I have so many books in my collection that are the basis for classic (and sometimes not-so-classic) movies that I thought it would be fun to read some of them and then see how the movies compare. In 2020, I didn’t do so well on this challenge, but I’m game to try again, and of course track them in the monthly Reading Round-Up posts, under the Page-to-Screen feature title and tag.
COMPLETE THE SERIES CHALLENGE
In previous years I’ve challenged myself to come “up to date” on series I’d started but fallen behind on. Last year, I challenged myself to also read one series that I own but have not read. Titles that I have read in each series are indicated with (read). Last year, I completed two out of the four series intended, so I’m repeating two of the challenges from last year and adding three for 2020. I plan to come back to this post and add “date completed” for each book individually and for each series as a whole. If I complete any other series on my shelves, I’ll come back and add that series to this entry.
THE VELVETEEN SERIES by Seanan McGuire
1. Velveteen Vs. The Junior Super-Patriots
2. Velveteen Vs. The Multiverse
3. Velveteen Vs. The Seasons
CARSON OF VENUS by Edgar Rice Burroughs
1. Pirates of Venus – read in January 2020
2. Lost on Venus
3. Carson of Venus
4. Escape on Venus
5. The Wizard of Venus
THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES by Jeff Guinn
1. The Autobiography of Santa Claus
2. How Mrs. Claus Saved Christmas
3. The Great Santa Search
THE FRANKENSTEIN NOVELS by Frank Schildiner
1. The Quest of Frankenstein – read in 2018
2. The Triumph of Frankenstein
3. The Spells of Frankenstein
THE SHADOWSHAPER TRILOGY by Daniel José Older
1. Shadowshaper – read in 2015
2. Shadowhouse Fall
3. Shadowshaper Legacy
MONTHLY MINI-CHALLENGES
In 2019 for the first time, I set myself some monthly mini challenges based on various factors. I’m going to do it again in 2021, but list those challenges here as well:
January: No specific challenge (to catch up on stuff I wanted to read in 2020)
February: Authors from Africa or of African descent (for Black History Month)
March: Women Authors (for Women’s History Month)
April: Poetry (for National Poetry Month)
May: Asian/Pacific Authors (for Asian Pacific / South Asian Heritage Month)
June: Queer Authors (for Pride Month)
July: No specific challenge (to catch up on challenges I’ve fallen behind on)
August: Classic and New Pulp Authors (because Pulpfest/Farmercon is held this month)
September: Hispanic authors (Hispanic Heritage Month)
October: Horror! Horror! Horror! (because Halloween, obviously)
November: Noir (because “Noirvember”)
December: Winter Holiday-related Fiction (Christmas, Hannukah, etc.)