I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I meant to do this post at the beginning of the month but I completely forgot.
I have been really trying to read the books on my list of 24 Books in 2024 with the aim of reducing my TBR list. Here is the post with the original list.
I have so far managed to read a total of 5 books off the list which is behind on where I would like to be but I am hoping to catch up. Reading hasn’t been going very well this year but I live in hope it will improve!
I have decided to take part in the Historical Reading Challenge hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader. I love reading historical fiction so I thought this would be a perfect challenge for me.
Each month a new post is created by Marg where we can post our links for the books we read and review in that month.
Any sub-genre of historical fiction is accepted (Historical Romance, Historical Mystery, Historical Fantasy, Young Adult, History/Non-Fiction, etc.)
There are different reading levels to work towards:
20th Century Reader – 2 books Victorian Reader – 5 books Renaissance Reader – 10 books Medieval – 15 books Ancient History – 25 books Prehistoric – 50+ books
I think I will aim for Ancient History but hopefully I might get higher than that.
I would love to hear if any of my fellow book bloggers are taking part in this challenge. Please drop me a comment with what level you are aiming for in 2024.
It is time for another Classics Club Spin event! I’m really hoping to make a dent in my Classics Club list this year as I haven’t done very well so far.
I’m looking forward to seeing what my next read will be. The end of the spin period is the 3rd March so that is my deadline to get the chosen book read by.
Here is my list:
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Cecilia by Frances Burney
Evelina by Frances Burney
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
Love in Excess by Eliza Haywood
The Runaway by Elizabeth Anna Hart
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Candide by Volatire
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Have you read any of the books off my list? I will be honest some of mine are rereads but you can never read Jane Austen too many times!
I decided 2024 was the year I read through some of the books that I own and that have sat on my TBR pile for way too long. So with this in mind I have selected 24 books off this TBR pile and have decided to try and read them all in 2024. I have popped a few rereads on to this list as well because I really wanted to read them again this year.
I thought it was time to share the results of my 2023 challenge of attempting to read my height in books.
I read several books on Kindle in 2023 so I got the dimensions of each book off Amazon and worked out that together they added approximately 5.8 inches. I then went hunting around the house to find something that would represent that on the pile of books. My husband found a notebook which when stood up was the correct height, hence the book stood up on the top of the pile of books.
So here is the final picture!
I did it! The stack of books measures 67.5 inches and I am 67 inches. I’m so pleased because I was rather worried I hadn’t made it again but finally I have managed to complete the challenge. The stack is made up of the 72 books that I read in 2023.
It has taken me quite a while but I think I have finally decided what my bookish goals are for 2024. I started thinking about this in December and I have changed my mind quite a bit but I think I have finally settled.
Goals for 2024
Read 50 books
Read 24 books that I own in 2024 (official list will be published soon)
Finish the Shardlake series by C. J Sansom
Read at least one chapter from The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan a day. I started The Shadow Rising yesterday and have read just over 2 chapters so far.
Keep going with my Maigret, Agatha Christie and Classics Club challenges.
Keep up to date with my book reviews.
Reading 50 books is my lowest ever Goodreads Challenge but this year is going to have some massive books in it so I thought I would go for a lower challenge. If I get to 50 before the end of the year I will increase my challenge but 2023 I had to lower my challenge and I don’t want to do that again.
I really want to make a dent in my TBR pile this year. I own so many books and it is time I read them rather than just adding to them and ignoring them. I have chosen 24 books off my shelves and these I plan on definitely reading this year. I also plan on getting rid of more books this year. Any books I rate at two dragons or below are leaving the house and never returning!
My husband has finished the Shardlake series but I have only read 3 of the books so I thought this year I would actually finish a series. I’m not great at finishing book series so this will be a challenge.
My Agatha Christie challenge got rather ignored in 2023 so I need to get back into that. Maigret and Classics Club challenges have just been chugging along nicely.
Book Reviews! I am always behind with my book reviews. In fact I have about 10 I still need to do for 2023. For 2024 I plan on writing my reviews as soon as I finish the book. Hopefully, I will manage this but it might take me more discipline than I will have, especially when I’m back at work and tired.
So there are my goals. What are your goals for 2024 or are you free styling it this year?
Sadly, I missed October’s update on my reading challenge which has also added to my panic because I had no idea how much reading I needed to do to hit my challenge.
I have still not added the height of the digital books I have read so I am hoping they will make a difference as well. Here is the latest height.
The stack now measures 54.5 inches and I must admit I am a little nervous about whether I am going to manage the challenge. I have 12.5 inches to go!
I have been thinking about the goals I set myself for 2023 and whether I will succeed with any of them.
Here are the goals that I set myself:
Read my height in books
Read 80 books
Read more Ancient Greek and Roman literature
Classics Club, Maigret and Agatha Christie Challenges
Read one nonfiction book a month
Reading my height in books has been going well so far. Am I allowed to say that I am quietly confident I will make this challenge? I haven’t read many books in October so far but I am hoping to read more in half term and I always generally read a lot of books in December so I am really hoping that will be enough.
Read 80 books is not going to happen! Not unless I suddenly win the lottery and give up work before the end of this year. I finally decided to lower my Goodreads Challenge this month because the amount of books I had fallen behind was just stressing me out. My new challenge is 70 books but I am still hoping I will read more than 70 books.
Reading more Ancient Greek and Roman literature has been going better than it did last year. I still want to read some plays before the end of the year but I am pleased with how this challenge is going so far.
The Classics Club challenge could be better but I have been making progress. I’m hoping to read two more books off the list before the end of this year. The Maigret challenge is not going so well but is better than the Agatha Christie Challenge. I haven’t read one Agatha Christie book this year! I have read some Maigret books but not as many as I had hoped. There is still time to read some Agatha Christie before the end of the year!
Read one non-fiction book a month has been no problem. In fact most months I have read more than one non-fiction book a month. Some months non-fiction is all I want to read. I have really been enjoying my non-fiction reading this year and I hope it continues.
Overall, my goals have good points and bad points but I still have a couple of months to improve on certain goals. I’m happy with how things are going so far but rather disappointed that I won’t manage the 80 books in a year.
I hope everyone is having a nice week so far. I have had a busy couple of days teaching so far but I have managed a little bit of reading and guppy watching. Yes, I am obsessed with my new fish.
I thought it was time for a Reading Challenge update.
In September I managed to add 8 books to the pile.
The stack now measures exactly 46 inches. I now have just 21 inches left and I am feeling more confident that I might actually manage the challenge this year.
Lady Book Dragon 