Skip to main content

Reading Challenges for 2021

 I usually do set a numerical goal on the Goodreads reading challenges each year, and find them to be a great way to feel some sense of accomplishment in reading [x] number of books in a given year. Since I also started reviewing some digital ARCs through NetGalley last year, I've been writing more reviews in general (though the non-ARC books I read I may or may not review). I've toyed with the idea of doing some additional challenges before, but haven't--so I'm going to try for it this year!

Because this is my first time doing this, I tried to choose challenges that mesh pretty well with what I already tend to read. This means, basically, that they're challenges I could have done okay on with books I read naturally over the course of a year. Yeah, that might not quite be in the "move out of your comfort zone" spirit of many challenges, but it seems like a way to ease into it.

So, without further ado, I'm going to be trying the following:  

Rose City Reader 2021 European Reading Challenge

Books and Chocolate Back to the Classics Challenge 2021

My Reader's Block Mount TBR Challenge 2021 (Mount Blanc level - 24 books already owned)

Introverted Reader Books in Translation Challenge 2021 (Linguist 10+ level, because I read at least 15 in 2020 even without a challenge)

Four looks like a lot, but they allow the reader to double with books read for other challenges, and all of these fit together pretty well for books currently on my shelves. Let's see how it goes!

Comments

  1. Jen at Introverted ReaderDecember 30, 2020 at 5:54 PM

    I dipped my toes into reading challenges by choosing those that naturally fit my own reading preferences as well. I'm a very moody reader so that seemed safest. I've branched out since then and I've read and enjoyed a lot of books that I otherwise wouldn't have found without a challenge! Good luck with your challenges and thanks for signing up for my Books in Translation Challenge!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Elza ReadsDecember 31, 2020 at 7:13 AM

    I also have 4 challenges and it's the first year I go that level of crazy. But hey - we can do this!

    I also don't necessarily review my non-ARC books. Unless I really have something to say!

    I've also signed up for the 2021 European Challenge and I'm looking forward to "travelling" with you all.

    Happy New Year!

    Elza Reads

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ashley F.January 3, 2021 at 12:48 PM

      Thanks! We totally can! I notice that I usually only want to review non-ARC books if they're either remarkably good or remarkably bad, or--and this happens occasionally--if I find that I keep thinking about them well after I finished reading them.

      Happy New Year!

      Delete
  3. Gilion at Rose City ReaderDecember 31, 2020 at 12:11 PM

    Thanks for joining the European Reading Challenge! I like your idea of easing into the challenges by reading books you enjoy anyway or are on your TBR shelf. That's what I do too and I've been doing reading challenges for over 10 years now! :) I use the challenges as a way to motivate me to clear off my TBR shelf.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ashley F.January 3, 2021 at 12:49 PM

      Thank you, and thank you for hosting! I'm looking forward to clearing a bit of my TBR shelf this year, and also hopefully finding some books and authors I'm not yet familiar with! May we all find new favorites!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Collected Poems of Federico García Lorca, revised bilingual edition

I finished reading this anthology a few weeks ago, and apparently forgot to ever post a review. While García Lorca is one of the best-known Spanish poets, I was actually quite unfamiliar with his work before picking up this collection. Perhaps starting with an anthology of this size was jumping in off the deep end, but it was an enjoyable experience. Because this edition uses several different translators, there's a lot of variation even beyond what's inherent in the poems. Despite a very limited knowledge of Spanish, I found I enjoyed it being a dual language book--especially for sections where I didn't like some of the stylistic choices of the translations much and could then compare with the original. All in all, a very enjoyable collection of poetry.
Post a Comment
Read more

Review - Mahagony

I received an electronic ARC of this book via NetGalley. This is not an easy book to assign a star rating. It's beautifully written--the language is poetic, and as the story and characters shift through time and perspective, the writing itself reflects this. This is a credit to both Glissant and to translator Betsy Wing. The book itself is not always pleasant--but that is part of the point. The narrative dips back and forth through time, and deals with themes of slavery, colonization, sexual exploitation, etc. in Martinique. The shifting narrators and time periods can become somewhat confusing to the reader, and I think it is this more than anything else that made this relatively short book take me a fairly long time to read--that, along with the extended discussion of narrator vs. author toward the beginning of the novel. It was worth reading. It would be worth reading again, with a little more background on Glissant's other work and the history of Martinique, to...
Post a Comment
Read more