2017 Reading Challenges

In 2017, I have decided to tackle three specific reading challenges, as well as one more open-ended option. I do a lot of reading, between reviewing for two websites (San Francisco Book Review and San Diego Book Review), writing for a digital magazine (Natural Mother Magazine), and occasionally writing about books here, on my personal blog.

Last year, I just assumed that the sheer number of books that I read would mean that all of the challenge categories would just line up for me. At the end of the year, I learned otherwise. So this year, I'll be making some more discerning choices when I select new review choices, and I may be seeking out some specific books at the library or for my Kindle.

This year, I also have the added challenge of an incoming newborn, who I am expecting in May or so. We'll see how much a new baby puts a damper on my reading aspirations.

Now, the challenges.

First off is Book Riot's 2017 Read Harder Challenge. (I didn't do too great on their 2016 challenge, so here's hoping I'm more successful this year!) This is only the third year of Book Riot's challenge, but it definitely promises to be the best one yet. There are 24 tasks on the list, with each one designed to help readers create a "perspective shift." With book spanning all kinds of genres and a wide variety of author categories, this one is sure to be fun... assuming I can fit more of the options into my reading list!

Second is the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2017, which I also attempted last year (see my 2016 challenge results here!). This year, there are 40 normal categories and 12 bonus categories, covering a wide variety of topics. Some have to do with authors, some with plot or genre, others with more fun things like what's on the cover. It's quite a list, though, so we'll see how far I get.

Then there's the Picture Book Reading Challenge, which I picked up from a book blog called Becky's Book Reviews. Seeing as my son is on a quest to read 1000 books in the next six months or so, this one was an obvious choice. Even when my son isn't in reading-machine mode, he still loves to read, so I imagine this one will be easily doable for us. I might need to use a little foresight and put some specific books on hold at the library, to make sure we hit specific authors and subjects, but that's easy enough, too.

The non-specific challenge I'm taking on is the Foodies Read 2017 challenge from SpiritBlog.net. This isn't an exact thing; instead of reading specific books, or even books that fit specific categories, readers/bloggers are to simply write and post reviews of books where food plays a major part. That can be cookbooks, novels set in restaurants or food-related settings, memoirs... anything where food is an important part of the book. And since I occasionally review cookbooks, I figure why not? Maybe it'll motivate me to get a cookbook review up here at least once a month; we'll see.


So that's my reading challenge agenda for 2017. What are you reading this year??