The Reading Challenge: September 2018 - September 2019

It won't come as a surprise to you all that I didn't manage to complete my reading challenge. It was very definitely challenging, and once I fell behind on the blog posts, I really felt like I fell behind in the reading. Without the blog posts keeping me accountable to my own challenge, I really sucked at sticking to it! 

The challenge also opened my eyes to what books I find easy to read. I went into the challenge thinking that I could read any book, be that factual, or fiction and do absolutely fine. But I was suddenly more aware of writing styles and the types of words used. I realised that what worked for me was more of a narrative, then a factual style of writing, and that using words that are more complex and unusual tend to make a book a lot harder for me to read. This in itself is not going to stop me from reading any book in particular, but at least I will now know what books I am more likely to struggle with. 

So let us take the list down from the wall and have a look at what I have actually managed in the last year. So the list tells me that I started to read a total of 17 books in the last year. Which personally I don't think is too bad. As a self confessed bookworm however I would like that number to be higher, but this girl also has hobbies! 

I specifically say "started to read" because there were a couple of books that I started, and didn't finish. These books I may well go back to at some point, but the challenge seemed to give me a reason to put down a book that I wasn't enjoying, or really making much progress through, which I think is what is to be said for the three unfinished on this list. There was a thought in the back of my mind for many years about reading books, that once I had started to read a book, I then had to finish it. I mostly stuck to that rule for many years, only once or twice putting a book down that I really didn't enjoy (or got rather angry with the main character - The Paper Magician I'm looking at you!), but during this challenge it became clear to me that really I am just wasting my time that could be spent reading and enjoying the books I love. 

So we take out the three books that I never made it to the end of and we are left with fourteen books read from cover to cover. Not too bad if I say so myself. Looking at the titles they are a delightful mix of genres, we have a couple of autobiographies, fiction and nonfiction. I have to say that I did enjoy every one of them, and it did feel good to get some of the books on my shelves read. I still seem to have a somewhat shameful amount of unread books on my shelves and I keep buying more - help! 

I feel that it is only fair to share with you the list of the books I managed to read, and mostly in the order that I read them in. Although I did start some before I finished the ones before it (shhh no one needs to know!) and I will include the ones I didn't make it all the way thorough, and maybe you'll see something there you might want to pick up yourself. The first few you will recognise if you have seen some of my previous reading challenge posts, where I have written a little bit about them.

The List: 

1 - The Tales of Beedle the Bard, JK Rowling

2 - Handbook for Railway Steam Locomotive Enginemen

3 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, JK Rowling

4 - Mrs Bradshaw's Handbook, Terry Pratchett

5 - Worms to Catch, Guy Martin

6 - Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them, JK Rowling

7 - First Light, Geoffrey Wellum

8 - Giants of Steam, Jonathan Glancey (Unfinished)

9 - We Need to Weaken the Mixture, Guy Martin

10 - Death on the Nile, Agatha Christie

11 - Underground, Overground, Emily Kearns

12 - Girl Up, Laura Bates

13 - Felix the Railway Cat, Kate Moore

14 - Crimes of Grindelwald, JK Rowling

15 - Love at First Stitch,  Tilly Walnes

16 - The Craft of Handspinning, Eileen Chadwick (unfinished)

17 - Empire of the Clouds, James Hamilton-Paterson (unfinished)

I really did enjoy the challenge I set for myself, or what I did of it at least, and I have decided that I am going to try again. I am thinking of starting on the 1st of January, a slightly more typical date for year long challenges, and I will probably reduce the amount of books to see if I can still reach that goal. Perhaps if I manage to reach a goal of say 20 or 15 then I can ramp it up and maybe another year I will complete 25 books. 

I am also hoping to be back a little more regularly with blog posts (I know I say it every time but I am trying!) and perhaps bring you more information on my sewing projects as well as a couple of book reviews and things I have been reading. 

I hope you have enjoyed this and continue to enjoy reading my blog. Until next time, all the best. xx