2018 Final Challenge Progress Report!

Happy New Year!

August and September and November and December whizzed by in a blur and then I turned around and it was the end of the year too! How did I do on my reading challenges? (Spoiler, not great.)

My Goodreads Reading Challenge goal was 175 books and  I completed 175/175. This is the only challenge I completed this year. I pulled it off in the 11th hour, but I did it! I’m pretty proud of this.

On to the Book Riot Read Harder challenge I completed 10/24. I really struggled in the last half of the year to complete books outside of my usual comfort zone.

In the Popsugar Reading Challenge I completed  27/47 a little over half. As with the Book Riot challenge, I struggled to choose books outside of my comfort zone.

I’m going to attempt the 2019 Popsugar reading challenge in 2019, but I am going to approach it differently this year. I’m going to break the prompts up by month and plan ahead for titles to read.

I also participated in my local library’s 10 To Read challenge only got through half the prompts 5/10.

I really struggled to read in the second half of the year. I had a big health setback in August that I’ve been struggling with. It was hard to find any energy to read. I’m going to commit to some of these challenges again next year and try again, but I am going to approach the challenges differently.

There’s only one way to go and that’s forward. Onward to 2019 and another year of blogging about wonderful books coming your way!

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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?

June Challenge Progress Report!

The year is half over, and where did it go? How am I doing on my 2018 Reading Challenges?

My Goodreads Reading Challenge goal is 175 books, and so far I’ve completed 95/175. GR tells me I’m 7 books ahead of schedule. I lost a little bit of my lead, down from 12 ahead. I kind of expected that though; contrary to popular sentiment, I get less reading done in the summer months because I’m so busy outdoors!

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

*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. 22/47, a bit behind. I 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

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 fifth buddy read of The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone with my blogging buddy Marzie. Check out the discussion posts of Four Roads Cross. Look for our reviews and discussion posts of book six, Ruin of Angels later this month!

The Hugo nominees were announced last month, and I’ve started to chip away at the reading. Voting opened last month and is open through the end of July. The list of nominees is here.

Here’s what I’ve read so far:

• Best Novel
  • Raven Stratagem
  • The Stone Sky
• Best Novella
  • Down Among The Sticks and Bones
  • The Black Tides of Heaven
• Best Novelette
  • “Children of Thorns, Children of Water”
• Best Short Story
  • Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience TM
• 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
    • A Natural History of Dragons
    • Voyage of the Basilisk
    • In the Labyrinth of Drakes
  • The Books of the Raksura
    • The Cloud Roads
    • The Serpent Sea
    • The Siren Depths
• Best YA (Not A Hugo)
  • In Other Lands

I…..still have a LOT of reading ahead of me, since voting closes THIS MONTH!!!

In addition to all that, I am hosting 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 1-6 and will be tackling book 7, Chimes at Midnight on June 3.

What have you been reading this month?

May Challenge Progress Report!

Mayday, Mayday! May’s gone away! Where did the year go? We’re already halfway through? How am I doing on my 2018 Reading Challenges?

My Goodreads Reading Challenge goal is 175 books, and so far I’ve completed 84/175. GR tells me I’m 12 books ahead of schedule. That lead feels so good! If it continues, I might have to bump up my goal!

Next, 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. (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 (no review yet)
• A Book That’s Been on Your TBR for Over a Year – A Conjuring of Light (No review yet)
• A Book About a Topic That Makes You Uncomfortable – Anger is a Gift
• A Book Set in a Non-English Speaking Country – Bookburners

On the Book Riot Read Harder challenge, no new progress this month. 5/24, still a little 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

I’ve made more progress for Popsugar’s Reading Challenge. 17/47, a bit behind. I 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 (review coming soon!)
• 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

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 fifth buddy read of The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone with my blogging buddy Marzie. Check out the discussion posts of Four Roads Cross. Look for our reviews and discussion posts of book six, Ruin of Angels later this month!

The Hugo nominees were announced last month, and I’ve started to chip away at the reading. Voting opened last month and is open through the end of July. The list of nominees is here.

Here’s what I’ve read so far:

• Best Novel
  • Raven Stratagem
• Best Novella
  • Down Among The Sticks and Bones
  • The Black Tides of Heaven
• Best Novelette
  • “Children of Thorns, Children of Water”
• Best Short Story
  • Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience TM
• 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
    • A Natural History of Dragons
    • Voyage of the Basilisk
    • In the Labyrinth of Drakes
  • The Books of the Raksura
    • The Cloud Roads
    • The Serpent Sea
    • The Siren Depths
• Best YA (Not A Hugo)
  • In Other Lands

I…..still have a LOT of reading ahead of me.

In addition to all that, I am hosting 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 1-6 and will be tackling book 7, Chimes at Midnight on June 3.

What have you been reading this month?

April Challenge Progress Report!

Here’s an update on my progress for the 2018 Reading Challenges! Now that April has given way to May, let’s see what I accomplished this month!

My Goodreads Reading Challenge goal is 175 books, and so far I’ve completed 66/175. GR tells me I’m 8 books ahead of schedule. Woohoo! I’m feeling good about that lead!

Next, let’s check in on the Literary (&) Lacquers Reading Bingo, over in the Literary Lacquers facebook fan group. So far I’ve checked off 6/16 prompts. (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 (no review yet)
• A Book That’s Been on Your TBR for Over a Year – A Conjuring of Light (No review yet)

On the Book Riot Read Harder challenge, I haven’t checked much off. 6/24, still a little behind.

• 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

I’ve made more progress for Popsugar’s Reading Challenge. 16/47 – roughly on track.

• 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 (review coming soon!)
• 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

I am also participating in my local library’s 10 To Read challenge and made no progress this month. 3/10

• 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 (I plan to read Rebecca Roanhorse’s Trail of Lightning for this prompt!)
• 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 fourth buddy read of The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone with my blogging buddy Marzie. Check out the discussion posts of Last First Snow.  Look for our reviews and discussion posts of book five, Four Roads Cross later this month!

The Hugo nominees were announced last month, and I’ve started to chip away at the reading. Voting opened today and is open through the end of July. The list of nominees is here.

Here’s what I’ve read so far:

• Best Novella: Down Among The Sticks and Bones
• Best Short Story: Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience TM
• 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, The Memoirs of Lady Trent (minus the final two books), the first in the Raksura series by Martha Wells
• Best YA (Not A Hugo): In Other Lands

I…..still have a LOT of reading ahead of me.

In addition to all that, I am hosting 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 1-5, and will be tackling book 6, Ashes of Honor on May 13.

What have you been reading this month?

March Challenge Progress Report!

Oh, this is so late. I’m sorry. I’m still making progress on my 2018 Reading Challenges! Now that March has left us, let’s see what I accomplished this month!

My Goodreads Reading Challenge goal is 175 books, and so far I’ve completed 45/175. GR tells me I’m 2 books ahead of schedule. Woohoo! We’ll see how long that lead lasts for.

Next, let’s check in on the Literary (&) Lacquers Reading Bingo, over in the Literary Lacquers facebook fan group. So far I’ve checked off 3/16 prompts. (If you participate, there are discounts for completion!)

• A Graphic Novel – Paper Girls Vol. 1
• A Book Written by an Author From a Different Country – Markswoman
• A Book With a Green Cover – The Book of Life

On the Book Riot Read Harder challenge, I haven’t checked much off. 4/24, a little behind.

• 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

*I realized I had read one of the prompts incorrectly and had to dock myself a prompt. 😦

I’ve made more progress for Popsugar’s Reading Challenge. 13/47

• 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 (review coming soon! 
• A Book with an Animal in the Title – Sparrow Hill Road

I also added my local library’s 10 To Read challenge and have made no progress this month. 3/10

• A Young Adult Book – Godsgrave
• A Book Set in a Place You’ve Never Been – Tricks for Free
• A Book About Food – Acid Trip

I did my third buddy read of The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone with my blogging buddy Marzie. Check out the discussion posts of Full Fathom Five. Part one was over at Marzie’s Reads and part two was on my blog here. Look for our reviews and discussion posts of book four, Last First Snow later this month!

The Hugo nominees were announced over Easter weekend so I will be starting to hit that reading hard soon. If you missed the announcement, the list of nominees is here. I’ve read some of the nominees already.

Here’s what I’ve read so far:

• Best Novella: Down Among The Sticks and Bones
• Best Short Story: Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience TM
• Best Graphic Story: Bitch Planet, Vol 2: President Bitch; Monstress, Vol 2: The Blood; Paper Girls, Vol 3
• 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, The Memoirs of Lady Trent (minus the final book.)
• Best YA (Not A Hugo): In Other Lands

I…..have a LOT of reading ahead of me. From this list, I’ve read maaaaaaybe 10% of nominated works.

In addition to all that, I am hosting 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 1-4, and will be tackling book 5, One Salt Sea on April 22.

What have you been reading this month?

February Challenge Progress Report!

I’m still making progress on my 2018 Reading Challenges! Now that February has left us, let’s see what I accomplished this month!

My Goodreads Reading Challenge goal is 175 books, and so far I’ve completed 25/175. GR is telling me I’m still 2 books behind schedule.

Next, let’s check in on the Literary (&) Lacquers Reading Bingo, over in the Literary Lacquers facebook fan group. So far I’ve checked off 3/16 prompts. (If you participate, there are discounts for completion!)

• A Graphic Novel – Paper Girls Vol. 1
• A Book Written by an Author From a Different Country – Markswoman
• A Book With a Green Cover – The Book of Life

On the Book Riot Read Harder challenge, I haven’t checked much off. 4/24, a little behind.

• A Book About Nature – Our Native Bees
• The First in a New To You YA or Middle-Grade Series – Markswoman
• A Classic Genre of Fiction – The Silkworm
• A Comic Written or Illustrated by a Person of Color – Paper Girls Vol. 2

I’ve only made a little more progress for Popsugar’s Reading Challenge. 9/47

• 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 (review next week )
• 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

I also added my local library’s 10 To Read challenge and have made reasonable progress. 3/10

• A Young Adult Book – Godsgrave
• A Book Set in a Place You’ve Never Been – Tricks for Free
• A Book About Food – Acid Trip

I did my second buddy read of The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone earlier this month with my blogging buddy Marzie. Check out the discussion posts of Two Serpents Rise.  Part one was on my blog here and part two was over at Marzie’s Reads. Look for our reviews and discussion posts of book three, Full Fathom Five next month!

The Hugo reading hasn’t kicked in yet (soon, I imagine) but because I am a masochist, I guess, I am hosting 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. Last month we started with Rosemary & Rue. On February 18, we discussed book #2, A Local Habitation. Next up is book #3 An Artificial Night on March 11.

What have you been reading this month?

January Challenge Progress Report!

It’s early in the year, and I’m making progress on my 2018 Reading Challenges! Now that January has left us, let’s see what I accomplished this month!

My Goodreads Reading Challenge goal is 175 books, and so far I’ve completed 12/175. GR is telling me I’m 2 books behind schedule.

Next, let’s check in on the Literary (&) Lacquers Reading Bingo, over in the Literary Lacquers facebook fan group. So far I’ve checked off 2/16 prompts. (If you participate, there are discounts for completion!)

• A Graphic Novel – Paper Girls Vol. 1
• A Book Written by an Author From a Different Country – Markswoman

On the Book Riot Read Harder challenge, I haven’t checked much off. 2/24, roughly on target though.

• A Book About Nature – Our Native Bees
• The First in a New To You YA or Middle Grade Series – Markswoman

I’ve been doing a bit better on Popsugar’s Reading Challenge. 7/47

• 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 (review next week)
• 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 (review the week before release)
• A Book That’s Published in 2018 – Tempests & Slaughter (review this week)

I also added my local library’s 10 To Read challenge and have made reasonable progress. 2/10

• A Young Adult Book – Godsgrave
• A Book Set in a Place You’ve Never Been – Tricks for Free

I did my first buddy read of The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone earlier this month with my blogging buddy Marzie. Check out the discussion posts of Three Parts Dead! Part one is on Marzie’s blog here and part two is back here at Alex Can Read here. Look for our reviews and discussion posts of Two Serpents Rise later this month!

The Hugo reading hasn’t kicked in yet (soon, I imagine) but because I am a masochist, I guess, I am hosting 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. Last Sunday we started with Rosemary & Rue. On February 18, we’ll discuss book #2, A Local Habitation. Join us!

What have you been reading this January?

Reading Challenges for 2018!

In an effort to round out my reading and tackle my TBR, I’m participating in a number of reading challenges for 2018.

First, I’m hosting the Literary (&) Lacquers Reading Bingo, over in the Literary Lacquers facebook fan group. This reading bingo will run all year long. Once a month, within the group, I’ll post a check-in thread.

I hit my 2017 Goodreads Challenge goal of 150, so I’ve set my Goodreads Challenge to 175 books in 2018, 25 books more than I read in 2017.

I’m also participating in Book Riot’s Read Harder challenge and Popsugar’s Reading Challenge. I tried to do both of those last year, and only made it through a little over half of each, so this year I’m hoping to actually finish one, if not both.

In addition to these reading challenges, look for the first post in my buddy read of The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone with Marzie’s Reads and a guest commenter coming later this month! We’ere starting with Three Parts Dead, the third book chronologically, but first of the series to be published. We’re reading one book in the series each month – feel free to join in!

Finally, it’s not exactly an official “challenge” but I’m once again participating in the nominations and voting for the Hugo Awards, so I will be challenged to read as many of the nominated works as I possibly can.

Are you doing any reading challenges in 2018?