2014 Reading Challenge…

At the end of 2012 I wanted to set up a reading challenge that I could undertake in 2013 as I wanted to read a lot more books than I had been. I searched the internet for a bit and couldn’t find one that fully suited my needs/wants, so I came up with my own.

I liked the 2013 challenge so much that I will be doing it again in 2014.There are no real rules to this and any type of book – Physical, E-Book or Audio-book – can be counted. If you would like to partake, please do, I would love to have some reading challenge buddies!

There are 24 categories of books to read and a bonus book, so it is roughly 2 books a month which I think is rather plausible. In no particular order here is the challenge:

• 1. Read a classic.
• 2. Read a ‘banned‘ book. 
• 3. Re-read a book from your childhood.
• 4. Re-read a book you read at school/university/college as required reading.
• 5. Read a book that you have been meaning to but have never gotten around to reading.
• 6. Read a biography of someone you don’t know or may only know a little about.
• 7. Read a modern classic. 
• 8. Read a book in a genre you normally wouldn’t choose.
• 9. Read a book that is based on or has been turned into a TV show.
• 10. Read a book that was adapted into a movie you have seen.
• 11. Read a book suggested to you by someone you know.
• 12. Read a book based ENTIRELY on the cover (You are not allowed to read the blurb/synopsis first).
• 13. Read a book that is not necessarily marketed for you (ie your age group/gender etc).
• 14. Read a book by an author you have never heard of/never read or you don’t particularly like (would normally avoid).
• 15. Read a book that is not in a typical novel style (e.g. a book of poetry, diary/letter based book, play, graphic novel).
• 16. Read a book by one of your favorite authors.
• 17. Read a non-fiction book.
• 18. Read the first book in a series you have never read.
• 19. Read a book you gave up on reading in the past in the past.
• 20. Read a book from a foreign country (for me I am ruling out books from America and England too).
• 21. Read a book (not necessarily a memoir/autobiography but they are fine too) written by a famous person you like (not normally authors).
• 22. Read a book to learn something new (a language, a country, recipes, crafts, event).
• 23. Read an bind-up, omnibus, anthology or a collection of short stories.
• 24. Re-read one of your all time favorite books.
• Bonus: Place a collection of book titles you own/want to read into a hat and draw one out at random. Read it.

Hopefully I can knock one out on January 1st like I did in 2013. To follow along with my progress I have added a tab to the top of this site that links to all the posts relevant to this challenge, it will not just include this post and my progress but hopefully also reviews of the books I have completed.

I usually pick out books to suit each section early on so I will take a photo to share with you all so you can get a better understanding of what I mean, however, the books that i had picked out for the 2013 challenge and shared on Instagram changed greatly from the ones I finished.

If anyone is confused by any of the themes above, I have included some links to lists.

Also here is my list of the books I ended up reading in 2013, there are a few numbers I never finished, 2 books still being read, and only one that is likely to be finished by the end of the year.

• 1. Read a classic. (A Study In Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
• 2. Read a ‘banned’ book. (Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx)
• 3. Re-read a book from your childhood. (The Dead Lifeguard by R.L Stine)
• 4. Re-read a book you read at school/university/college as required reading. (DID NOT START)
• 5. Read a book that you have been meaning to but have never gotten around to reading. (Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky)
• 6. Read a biography of someone you don’t know or may only know a little about. (The Man in the Rubber Mask by Robert Llewellyn)
• 7. Read a modern classic. (The Fault in Our Stars by John Green)
• 8. Read a book in a genre you normally wouldn’t choose. (Fairytales for Wilde Girls by Allyse Near)
• 9. Read a book that is based on or has been turned into a TV show. (Torchwood: The Sin Eaters by Brian Minchin)
• 10. Read a book that was adapted into a movie you have seen. (The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett)
• 11. Read a book suggested to you by someone you know. (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams)
• 12. Read a book based ENTIRELY on the cover (You are not allowed to read the blurb/synopsis first). (DID NOT START)
• 13. Read a book that is not necessarily marketed for you (ie your age group/gender etc). (Nightmare Hall #1 – The Silent Scream by Diane Hoh)
• 14. Read a book by an author you have never heard of/never read or don’t particularly like. (Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh)
• 15. Read a book that is not in a typical novel style (eg. a book of poetry, diary/letter based book, play, graphic novel). (Skim by Mariko Tamaki)
• 16. Read a book by one of your favourite authors. (The Invitation by Diane Hoh)
• 17. Read a non-fiction book. (Rachel’s Tears by Darrell Scott and Beth Nimmo with Steve Rabey)*
• 18. Read the first book in a series you have never read. (The Name of The Star by Maureen Johnson)
• 19. Read a book you gave up on reading in the past in the past. (The Metamorphisis by Franz Kafka)
• 20. Read a book from a foreign country (for me I am ruling out books from America and England too). (The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
• 21. Read a book (not necessarily a memoir/autobiography) written by a famous person you like (not normally authors). (Never finished Hollow Earth by John Barrowman and Carole E Barrowman, HOWEVER I did read/Listen to Him & Me by Jack and Michael Whitehall)
• 22. Read a book to learn something new (a language, a country, recipes, crafts, event). (The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin)**
• 23. Read an bind-up, omnibus, anthology or a collection of short stories. (Tiny Book of Tiny Stories volumes 1 & 2)
• 24. Re-read one of your favourite books of all time. (Winnie The Pooh by A.A. Milne)
• Bonus: Place a collection of book titles you own/want to read into a hat and draw one out at random. Read it. (DID NOT START)

Note: * indicates still reading ** indicates still reading could finish by the end of the year.

Good luck to anyone who may decide to do this challenge, and to those who plan to do a different one. I am going to work on a film based version of this which will probably be posted early 2014.

Peace Out.

Bec.