July Challenge Progress Report!

July is at an end and the Hugos are looming. How am I doing on my 2018 Reading Challenges?

My Goodreads Reading Challenge goal is 175 books, and so far I’ve completed 117/175. GR tells me I’m 16 books ahead of schedule. I gained back my lead! It sure doesn’t hurt that short stories and novelettes count on GR as a single book.

Let’s check in on the Literary (&) Lacquers Reading Bingo, over in the Literary Lacquers facebook fan group. So far I’ve checked off 8/16 prompts, so I’m right on track for halfway done, though I didn’t check anything new off. (If you participate, there are discounts for completion!)

• A Graphic Novel – Paper Girls Vol. 1
• A Book Written by an Author of Color – Markswoman
• A Book With a Green Cover – The Book of Life
• A Book Written by an Author From A Different Country – The Illuminae Files
• A Book With a Color in the Title – The Black Tides of Heaven 
• A Book That’s Been on Your TBR for Over a Year – A Conjuring of Light 
• A Book About a Topic That Makes You Uncomfortable – Anger is a Gift
• A Book Set in a Non-English Speaking Country – Bookburners
• A Book from a Genre You’ve Never Read – Ask A Manager

*On to the Book Riot Read Harder challenge, where I’ve made no new progress this month. 6/24, still behind. I need to start actively looking for books to meet the different criteria.

• A Book About Nature – Our Native Bees
• The First in a New To You YA or Middle-Grade Series – Markswoman
• A Comic Written or Illustrated by a Person of Color – Paper Girls Vol. 2
• A Sci-fi Novel With a Female Protagonist by a Female Author – The Tea Master and the Detective
• A Book With A Cover You Hate – Lustlocked
• A One Sitting Book – A Court of Frost and Starlight
• A Comic That Isn’t Published by Marvel, DC or Image – Wires & Nerve Vol 2.

I’ve made more progress for Popsugar’s Reading Challenge. 23/47, a bit behind. I REALLY need to start actively looking for books to meet the different criteria.

• A Book About a Villain or Antihero – Godsgrave
• A Book With An Animal in the Title – Our Native Bees
• A Book by a Female Author Who Uses a Male Pseudonym – The Silkworm
• A Book by an Author of a Different Ethnicity Than You – Markswoman
• A Book You Borrowed or Were Given as a Gift – Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance
• A Book by a Local Author – Tricks for Free
• A Book That’s Published in 2018 – Tempests & Slaughter 
• A Book You Meant to Read in 2017 But Didn’t Get To – Strange Practice
• A Book By Two Authors – The Tangled Lands
• A Book with a Time of Day in the Title – An Artificial Night
• A Book with an LGBTQ+ Protagonist – In Other Lands
• A Book with a Weather Element in the Title – Daughters of the Storm 
• A Book with an Animal in the Title – Sparrow Hill Road
• A Book With Characters Who Are Twins – The Diminished
• A Book With an Ugly Cover – Lustlocked
• An Allegory – Last First Snow
• A Book About A Problem Facing Society Today – Anger is a Gift
• A Book Involving a Heist – The Ruin of Angels
• A Book Set in a Country That Fascinates You – Bookburners
• A Book Set At Sea – The Serpent Sea
• A Book About or Involving Sports – Brief Cases
• A Cyberpunk Book – Lifel1k3
• Your Favorite Prompt from the 2015/16/17 Popsugar Challenge: A Book With A One Word Title – Torn

I am also participating in my local library’s 10 To Read challenge and made no progress this month. 4/10

• A Young Adult Book – Godsgrave
• A Book Set in a Place You’ve Never Been – Tricks for Free
• A Book About Food – Acid Trip
• A Biography
• A Banned Book
• A Book by a Native American Author – Trail of Lightning
• A Book Recommended by KCLS Staff
• A Book in Translation
• A Book That’s Been Made Into A Movie or TV Show

I did my sixth and final buddy read of The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone with my blogging buddy Marzie. Check out the discussion posts of The Ruin of Angels. We’re planning to pick up a new book to buddy read in September!

Voting for the Hugo Awards has just closed and I got through a lot, but not all of the nominees. The list of nominees is here.

Here’s what I’ve read so far:

• Best Novel
  • Raven Stratagem
  • The Stone Sky
  • The Collapsing Empire
  • Six Wakes
• Best Novella
  • Down Among The Sticks and Bones
  • The Black Tides of Heaven
  • All Systems Red
• Best Novelette
  • “Children of Thorns, Children of Water”
  • “The Secret Life of Bots”
  • “A Series of Steaks”
  • “Extracurricular Activities”
  • “Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time”
  • “Wind Will Rove”
• Best Short Story
  • “Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience TM”
  • “Carnival Nine”
  • “Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand”
  • “The Martian Obelisk”
  • “Fandom for Robots”
  • “Sun, Moon, Dust”
• Best Graphic Story
  • Bitch Planet, Vol 2: President Bitch
  • Monstress, Vol 2: The Blood
• Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form
  • Star Wars: The Last Jedi
  • Thor: Ragnarok
  • Wonderwoman
• Best Dramatic Presentation – Short Form
  • The Good Place, Michael’s Gambit
  • The Good Place, The Trolley Problem
• Best Series
  • InCryptid
    • All of it, even the short stories
  • The Memoirs of Lady Trent
    • All five books
  • The Books of the Raksura
    • The Cloud Roads
    • The Serpent Sea
    • The Siren Depths
    • The Edge of Worlds
• Best YA (Not A Hugo)
  • In Other Lands

I got through a lot, but there are definitely many stories I just couldn’t fit in.

In addition to all that, I host an 11-book Read Along of the entire October Daye series as we prepare for book #12 Night and Silence to release in September. Over in the Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant Fans group on Facebook (which I help admin), we’re discussing one book every three weeks. We’ve made it through books 1-9 and will be tackling book 10, Once Broken Faith on August 5. We’re so close to the end!!!

What have you been reading this month?

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