The Summer edition of the Seasonal Reading Challenge ended 31 August, and I was able to squeeze in a few more books at the last minute, bringing my monthly total to nine. Had I been a bit more diligent, it could have been ten.
The 31st was also the last day of my personal seasonal challenge. The final update for the Summer Reading List is here. Despite a game of bookshelf bingo that lasted nearly the entire season, I did pretty good. I’ve posted the Fall edition here. I’ve changed how I’m doing this, due to my on-going participation in the Goodreads group challenge. After I posted the list, I realized that I should make page for tracking my progress. I’ve added a page under “2013” on my menu bar above. I’ve also added a graphic to my sidebar, linked to the same page.
THE STATE OF THE CHALLENGES:
I completed the Romance Reading Challenge in August and I will do a wrap up post later in the month.
The Baker’s Dozen — I’ve completed 1/3 of the challenge and will probably complete the “published in 2013” portion by the end of the year. There’s no hope for the middle section, however, even though there’s a good chance I’ll get a few Heyers and maybe a Star Wars book in during the Fall reading challenge.
Cruisin’ the Cozies — I went on a spending spree recently and I bought mostly cozy mysteries, so I really need to finish this challenge! August was a good month for the cozies. I managed to read three, and I need to read five more by the end of the year.
E-book Challenge — I’ve been doing well with this challenge so far. I should continue to do well over the next three months. I’ve already planned on reading at least three Philippa Carr novels and at least one Agatha Christie for the Seasonal Reading Challenge. I’m confident that I will complete this series by the end of the year.
Historical Fiction Challenge — Thanks to historically set mysteries and a paranormal romance set in an alternate reality Victorian England (and it’s NOT Steampunk), I’m almost finished with this challenge.
Mt. TBR — I’m just under the half-way point with this challenge. I don’t think I make the goal this year. The Philippa Carr books will continue to help, but it took me 8 month to get to this point.
Off the Shelf – Abandoned! I will remove the challenge from the monthly update, starting with September.
Quick Fix Challenge — Again, another challenge I’ve been doing well with. I don’t know what my progress might be like for the remainder of the year, but I’ve already met the lower end of my goal level. Either way, I’m happy with the results so far.
Sequels Challenge — There is a good possibility that I will complete this challenge during the next three months. Depending on what I decide to read in September, I could complete the challenge this month.
Seriously Series — I didn’t read Spellfire in August, so I’ve moved to December. I will concentrate on catching up on the Midnight Breed series this Fall.
Vintage Mystery Challenge — The good news is that I’ve been enjoying the Agatha Christie mysteries I’ve read so far (for the most part). The bad news is that I’m not sure I will complete the challenge if I continue to pick books that don’t fit the listed requirements.
Philippa Carr, Georgette Heyer, and J. D. Robb (on-going/multi-year challenges) — I expect to get back on schedule with the Carr series soon, and I’ve already mentioned my hopes about Heyer. It’s the “In Death” series that’s giving me pause. I’ve not been making an effort to read this series. I don’t know if it just because I’ve not been in the mood for one or if it’s just plain old forgetfulness on my part. Likely a bit of both. I should try to read at least one this year.
LOOKING AHEAD:
I’ve been tossing around ideas for 2014 personal challenges. The new set up for the Seasonal Reading List was based on one of the ideas for replacing the Baker’s Dozen: Fourteen in ’14. For the challenge, though, some of the prompts would be more specific, i. e., “Read a J. D. Robb book”. I haven’t ruled it out entirely, but now that I’ve used the idea for the reading list, I may revamp so the two will compliment each other.
I’m also revisiting the Reading Has Its Rewards Challenge. I’m approaching it, hopefully, in a different manner than 2012 and the totally-scrapped 2013 edition. Nothing set in stone; the idea came to me when I was thinking about how to inspire myself to read J. D. Robb and the Star Wars books.
- Lord of the Abyss (Singh, Nalini) (4 Aug 13) – 5 stars — Quick Fix, Mt. TBR
- Murder on the Orient Express (Christie, Agatha) (6 Aug 13) – 5 stars — Ebook, Quick Fix, Vintage Mystery, Historical Fiction
- Her Royal Spyness (Bowen, Rhys) (10 Aug 13) – 4 stars — Ebook, Cozy, Historical Fiction
- The Cocoa Conspiracy (Penrose, Andrea) (17 Aug 13) – 4 stars — Baker’s Dozen, Historical Fiction, Cozy, Sequel
- Magic Rises (Andrews, Ilona) (18 Aug 13) – 5 stars — Baker’s Dozen
- Fade to Black (Parrish, Leslie) (24 Aug 13) – 3 stars — Romance, Mt. TBR
- No Proper Lady (Cooper, Isabel) (29 Aug 13) – 3 stars — Mt. TBR, Historical Fiction
- Vacation with a Vampire (Hauf, M.; Castle, K. L.; Childs, L.) (30 Aug 13) – 4 stars (anthology) — Quick Fix
- Oak and Dagger (St. James, Dorothy) (31 Aug 13) – 4 stars — Baker’s Dozen, Cozy
Reviews added this month.
- NONE
Challenges Completed this month:
Romance Reading – 5/5
Incomplete (Ended in August)
NONE
2013 Challenges:
A Baker’s Dozen (personal) – 23/39
Cruising’ thru the Cozies – 7/12
E-book Challenge – 16/25
Historical Fiction – 14/15
Mt TBR – 22/48
Off the Shelf – 2/15
Quick Fix – 23/30
Sequel Reading – 10/12
Seriously Series – 8/12
Vintage Mystery – 3/8
2013-2014 Challenges:
Daughters of England (personal) – 5/19 4/19
~~ & ~~
♥ Georgette Heyer (Month): 0
Georgette Heyer (Year): 1
Grand Total since 2008: 6
~~ & ~~
♥ In Death (Month): 0
In Death (Year): 0
Grand Total since 2010: 3
Totals (Monthly/Yearly)
Total Read (Month): 9
Total Heard (Month): 0
Grand Total (Year): 55
~~ & ~~
Total Audio Hours(Month): 0
Total Audio Hours (Year): 0
~~ & ~~
Total Pages Read (Month): 2,774
Grand Total (Year): 15, 889
Happy September reading!