In 2015 I discovered my love of reading challenges through a little challenge called #COYER. I fell in love and became a bit addicted. In 2016, I participated in my first year long challenges. I didn’t do so well, completing only half of those I signed up for. Last year, I had this grand plan. I said “go big or go home.” 😂 Yeah that didn’t work out so well. In June, I dropped out of 3 of the 8 I’d signed up for, and by the end of the year I had only completed 3 challenges 🤦🏼♀️ which brings me to 2018. There are 5 challenges I’m signing up for this year and these challenges are not only doable but necessary to help me meet my New Year’s resolutions. All of the challenges start on January 1, 2018 and end on December 31, 2018. Read on to see my goals for each and how to sign up if you are interested.
The 2018 Audiobook Challenge is hosted by the Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Hot Listens. This will be my second year participating in this challenge. In 2016, my son started school and I discovered the joy of audiobooks. When I was a babe in my twenties, I would listen to audios driving back and forth to work (it was over an hour one way) and I loved it. While my son was at school, I rediscovered my love for audiobooks. I could listen while I crocheted or cleaned and folded clothes. Suddenly I was a multitasking reader again and I loved it! Near the end of 2016, my husband got me a membership to Audible and last Summer (when he realized how much he enjoyed audiobooks), he upped our membership to two a month. We listen to a lot of books 😉 For this challenge, that’s a good thing because you simply have to listen to audiobooks. You can sign up anytime between now and December 31, 2018.
The Rules
- Runs January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018. You can join at any time.
- The goal is to find a new love for audios or to outdo yourself by listening to more audios in 2018 than you did in 2017.
- Books must be in audio format (CD, MP3, etc.)
- ANY genres count.
- Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
- You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads, Facebook, LibraryThing, etc.
- If you’re a blogger grab the button and do a quick post about the challenge to help spread the word. If you’re not a blogger you can help by posting on Facebook or Tweeting about the challenge.
- Updates plus a giveaway will be posted twice during the year. The first update will be June 30, 2018, and the last update will take place on December 15, 2018.
My Goal
My goal for 2018 is to beat my 2017 (which was 16), and I am aiming for the Stenographer level (20-30 audiobooks). I think this is doable, especially since I prefer to listen while my son is at school AND on double speed. You can track my progress below or on my Goodreads shelf.
The Blogger Shame Review Challenge is hosted by Anna @ herding cats & burning soup. I’ve participated in this challenge for two years now and failed both times 🤦🏼♀️ This is for those review books that are past due, maybe been sitting on your shelf for 4+ months. 2015 was a bad year for me and I got behind. I’ve spent this year trying to catch up but I still have some books that slipped through the cracks. 2018 I’m going to catch up! (Yes I realize I said that last year too 😜) You can sign up for this challenge here.
The Rules
- Review books must be at least 4 months past due to count!
- You can create a specific list of titles to tackle or just a generic number of titles to complete (ex I’ll finish 12 reviews)
- Any format you accept the review copy counts.
My Goal
For this challenge, my goal is to simply catch up. I have close to 50 past due reviews sitting on my Kindle currently. Ideally I’d like to end the year with 0 past due reviews, but since I’m a realist my goal is to cut the number in half by reading at least 25 books for this challenge this year. I think that is doable, especially since I’ve closed the blog to review requests for the unforeseeable future. You can track my progress below or on my Goodreads shelf.
The 2018 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge is hosted by the girls at Celebrity Readers. This challenge is so cool! My sign up for this challenge became longer than the rest of this post SO it has it’s own sign up post 😀 You can check it out by clicking here.
The 2018 New Release Challenge is hosted by Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews. This is my third year participating in the challenge. In 2016 I read 96 new releases. Last year I read 65. I enjoy this challenge because it pushes me to discover new books and new authors. You can sign up for this challenge between now and September 1, 2018.
The Rules
- Books have to be released and reviewed in 2018.
- Other challenges can be used as well, if you are participating in the Netgalley / Edelweiss challenge or in the COYER challenge, books can count towards more than one challenge, as long as the ones you use for the 2018 New Release Reading Challenge qualify to the other rules.
- The minimum length for a book to qualify is 100 pages, it can be in any format though, physical, e-book, ARC or audiobook.
- The New Book Release Challenge is open from January 1st through December 31st 2018, and sign-ups are open until September 1st 2018.
- You don’t have to be a blogger to participate, you can link to your review on Goodreads or Booklikes instead – so don’t be shy!
My Goal
As I am trying to focus on catching up on past due reviews, I’m setting a low goal for myself on New Releases. I’m aiming for the New Release Pro level (31-60 books) and setting a goal of 50 for myself. You can track my progress below or follow my shelf on Goodreads.
The 2018 Reading Assignment Challenge is hosted by Berls and Michelle @ Because Reading. This is the third year I’m participating in this challenge. So far I haven’t completed this challenge once. I’m hoping to do so this year! At least I have big plans to do so 😀 The point of this challenge is to make a list of books you plan to read (1-4 books per month) and choose books to read from that list. Y’all know how much I LOVE lists 😉 This challenge starts January 1st and ends December 31, 2018. You can sign up now until October 1st.
The Rules
- The 2018 Reading Assignment Challenge runs from January 1st to December 31st 2018. You may sign up anytime before October 1, 2018.
- You may only participate for the months AFTER you sign up (so if you sign up in February, January doesn’t count)
- Commit to reading 1, 2, 3, or 4 books a month and MAKE A LIST of the SPECIFIC books you will read in January – June. This is one of our changes… rather than committing for a year, you’re just picking the books for the first half of the year. You’ll make a new list and commit to a new number of books per month in June for July – December. So 2 books a month works for January – June, but only 1 for July – December? That’s fine!
- You may read any genre or any format (i.e., eBook, Audiobook, Paperback, Hardcover). But they must be published before January 1, 2018 and they must be at least 100 pages.
- Pick a level and make your list. REMEMBER: you’re committing to not just those books, but that number of books a month. You CANNOT read them all in one month.
- At the end of each month, cross off the book(s) you read. We will have a link-up each quarter for you to link your progress.
- Tweet your progress to #2018HW and keep an eye out for random tweets from us.
- There will also be a grand prize drawing in January 2019. The number of entries you get in the grand prize giveaway will depend on how you perform in the quarterly Report Cards and what percentage of books you read from your list.
My Goal
In 2016 and 2017, I failed at this challenge so I’m sticking to Reading Level 1 (1 book per month). Here is my list for the Spring Semester (January through June):
- The Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
- Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
- Warcross by Marie Lu
- Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
- Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
- City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
You can keep track of my progress below or follow my Goodreads shelf.
Your turn! Are you participating in any reading challenges this year? What are your goals? Share below
So many awesome challenges! I love reading challenges – especially year long ones 🙂 Good luck in all your 2018 goals!
Good luck with all of these challenges! I have thought about signing up for more than I do but I hate keeping track of that kind of thing. I am doing the Blogger Shame. Hopefully we can both knock some of those old review books off of our list.
Carole @ Carole’s Random Life in Books recently posted…Review – The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman @GenevieveCogman @AceRocBooks
Good luck with your challenges! Catching up on series is one that scares me! I only met one of my challenges last year, but I did well on each of them individually. I made nice progress, and that’s a good thing. This year I am adding a few more onto my plate, and some just for fun. I need to focus on my NetGalley this year. Good luck!
Good luck with your reading challenges this year! I went challenge free this past year and enjoyed the freedom, but I did miss them as well. This year I didn’t hold back and signed up for a few. I’m excited to see how I do this year. I hope you have a great year in reading!