Reading Challenge Progress

So here we are at the end of August. And suddenly the end of the year feels very close, especially when it comes to the two reading challenges I decided I would do this year. Or maybe it’s desperation to not be boiling hot. I don’t like the heat. But mainly it’s the books.

So far, I have nine letters left to cover on my A-Z challenge, and three out of twelve points to cover on my second challenge. My alphabet so far looks like this. I’ve included the first of the books that I’ve read for that letter, and there’s a large list of other books that I’m keeping for another blog post. Are you excited yet?

A – Z Reading List

• A – All That Remains
• B – Black Berry and Wild Rose
• C – The Corset
• D –
• E – Everyday Sexism
• F – From Here To Eternity
• G –
• H – How To Come Alive Again
• I –
• J –
• K – The Keeper Of Lost Things
• L – The Last Days Of A Condemned Man
• M – The Mirror Crack’d From Side To Side
• N – 100 Nasty Women Of History
• O –
• P – Past Mortems
• Q –
• R – Rage Becomes Her
• S – The Silence Of The Girls
• T – The Tattooist of Auschwitz
• U – Unnatural Causes
• V –
• W – The Woman In The Photograph
• X –
• Y – Your Deepest Fear
• Z –

Feels quite good all typed up like that! As I say, these are the first books I’ve read this year beginning with each letter. Some are books I had planned to read, some are books that I took an interest in because I was trying to cover the Alphabet, which is what has been so wonderful about this challenge, as it has led me in the direction of books that I wouldn’t have otherwise read. It’s been really brilliant for that reason, and that is one of the reasons I signed up for it; to challenge myself, to push myself. To push myself out of that comfort zone that begins to exist when you only read what you originally planned to.

Some of these books have been brilliant, and I’ve absolutely loved them. Others, I haven’t enjoyed quite so much, but that’s great. That’s the whole point of challenges. That’s the whole point of reading, really; push yourself. Learn, grow, gain from everything you take in, whether it was something you’d recommend at the end of it or not. Every book I’ve read this year, from this list and others, has given me something, and I’ve taken it joyfully.

The second list of challenges I have was set by a book group I’m in on Facebook strangely, and I’m so glad I decided to join in! It’s been a brilliant adventure. So here is how that list looks, in case you might want to think about setting yourselves challenges for future times.

2019 Reading Challenge

• A book with a title related to the sea: Beneath The World, A Sea
• Historical fiction or non-fiction: The Tattooist Of Auschwitz
• From the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature: –
• From the 2018 best sellers list: This Is Going To Hurt
• A book with a time related word: The Last Day Of A Condemned Man
• A book with a weather related word: –
• An Agatha Christie novel: The Mirror Crack’d From Side To Side
• A detective novel: The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
• A book of poetry: –
• A book from the GCSE English Literature list: –
• A book that teaches you a new skill: How To Come Alive Again
• A book with a body part in the title: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

If you’re following me on Instagram you’ll see that I’ve just started reading Pride and Prejudice, which will tick off the GCSE box, but also will make my world a far better place just for little bit. Pride and Prejudice hasn’t been my favourite Jane Austen novel before, but it’s really captured me already this time; within a few chapters, I want to just pause the world and sit here with my book.

The challenges for 2019 has been so wonderful. I’ve read books in all different formats; audiobooks, Kindle and physical. I’ve read in all different places. I’ve remembered just how magical it can be to get completely lost in a new book. Sometimes that simple magic flutters away, so when you can capture it again, what could be better?