Carrying over from Jae’s post last week, I thought I would take the opportunity as the year both flies and crawls by (aging is weird…) to check in and report on my progress with our 2021 Book Challenge List.
I continue to be on a somewhat slow period of reading (for me) and have only read 13 books so far in 2021, so I was actually pleasantly surprised to realize I’ve actually completed 4 of the challenge categories so far this year.
Completed:
# 4 Get ‘er Done: Finish a series
This past week I finished the Folk of the Air series by Holly Black, The Queen of Nothing. Keep an eye out for a review post in the next few weeks.
#7 Man’s Best Friend(s): A book that involves an animal of some kind
I read, and enjoyed, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Macksey, which, as I mentioned, was an Easter gift from my sweet Mom. It was lovely, and definitely made you think.
#10 Open Your Mind: Read a book about someone who has a different background from you
I picked up A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi for this one. You can read my review of the book over here.
#12 Judge a Book by its Cover: Pick a book with a beautiful cover without knowing what the story is about
The Secret Horses of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd was named by Maggie Stiefvater as one of her favorite and most recommended books. I looked it up on Amazon, looked at the cover and said, “Oh, that’s lovely,” and ordered the book with no other information as far as what it was about, so. I think this one counts. 😉
Plans:
While I’ve only managed to complete 4 of the challenges so far (unless I was super shady and counted A Very Large Expanse of Sea for #6, as well…LOL) I do have plans / ideas in mind for some of the remaining prompts.
#1 Lights, Camera, Action: Read a book that was made into a movie
While looking for “summer reads” for my upcoming beach vacation I was skimming a list of “movies based on books” and realized I’ve already read a lot of the “easy” choices, but then I stumbled on The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger and realized I might be the last woman on earth who’s never seen the movie OR read the book, so…maybe this is the year that changes!
#2 Blast from the past: Read something written before you were born
(Look away, Jae…No judgement!!) I’ve never actually read Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, and it’s on my list of books to take on vacation in a few weeks.
#8 This one, too: Pick a book by an author you already like
I have been recommending Beach Music to people off and on for the past several months on various FB pages, but it’s the only Pat Conroy I’ve ever read. I’d like to give either Prince of Tides or South of Broad a try. Maybe… Possibly… We shall see.
What do you think about the books I’m earmarking as my “Book Challenge TBR”? Do you have any counter-suggestions for me, or recommendations on the other categories that are pending? (I’m going to start bugging Jae for a dragon recommendation LOL.) Let me know what you have on your list in the comments, below!