2016 Reading Challenge: Summary!

Well, 2016 has come and gone and I have to admit: I didn't complete the challenge.  But I'm not upset about it, and I don't feel down on myself, and I'm not gonna let it keep me from reading in 2017 out of some lame "well if I couldn't do it LAST year..." excuse.

Honestly, the main reason I failed to complete the challenge is because I read several books that didn't count towards the challenge!

I did kind of stop choosing to read while at home, letting games and my nails and crocheting get in the way of that again, but I always read for about an hour a day on the Metro!  Actually, that's not entirely true - I also listened to one and almost a half audio books.  I never thought I would have the attention span for audio books, but as it turns out, they're great for a Metro commute - I can let my sleepy pre- and post-work eyes rest and still make progress in the book!

So if we're counting audio books (and I definitely think we should), I did manage to check off one more book from the challenge: a book recommended by a friend.  When I asked my coworker for an audio book recommendation (I explained to her that the only one I'd ever listened to before was Harry Potter, so I was used to an incredible narrator), she suggested Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, narrated by Stephen Fry.  Oh. my. gosh.  It was an incredible experience listening to that narration!  Stephen Fry did different voices for different characters, which is the #1 thing I need in an audio book so I can tell who the heck is talking.  And his voices were so. funny.  The book constantly had me laughing out loud on the Metro - I'm sure I got some funny looks!  The rest of the series (which I now definitely want to listen to) is narrated by none other than Martin Freeman.  (Is he knighted? cuz I kinda want to call him Sir Martin Freeman.)  I could tell while listening to the book that Martin was absolutely perfect for playing the role of Arthur Dent in the movie (which I did see, but don't really remember; I do remember that it wasn't received terribly well by fans of the book).  So for him to narrate the rest of the book series is just so exciting!

Okay, so, let's go over the list one last time:

BOOKS FOR THE CHALLENGE

• A book published this year: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, JK Rowling 💖
• A book you can finish in a day: The Strange Library, Haruki Murakami 👍
• A book you've been meaning to read: Not Quite the Classics, Colin Mochrie 💖
• A book you should have read in school: Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut 💖
• A book chosen for you by your spouse etc: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams 💖
• A book published before you were born: Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne 👍
• A book that was banned at some point: Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov 👎
• A book you own but have never read: Haunting Experiences: Encounters with the Otherworldly, Michelle Belanger 👌
• A book that intimidates you: Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring,  JRR Tolkein 👎
• A book you've already read at least once: The Book Thief, Markus Zusak 💖

SKIPPED CHALLENGES

• A book recommended by your local librarian or bookseller: skipped because I never got around to seeking recommendations (partly because I don't know them personally and I'm chicken to introduce myself)
• A book you previously abandoned: skipped because I have only ever abandoned books that bored me senseless, and I didn't want to hate the book I was reading

BOOKS THAT WEREN'T A PART OF THE CHALLENGE

• Bee Season, Maya Goldberg 👍
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke (audio book - not finished because the narrator was pretty boring and did NOT distinguish between character voices) 👌
• Magic Kingdom for Sale, Terry Brooks 👍
• The Black Unicorn, Terry Brooks (got about 1/3 through before the year ended) 👍

I decided to rate the books I read this year with a super professional and adult emoji method. 💖 means I loved the book and/or loved reading it; 👍 means I liked it a lot but didn't quite love it; 👌 means it was ok but I didn't quite like it a lot; 👎 means I did not like reading it but doesn't necessarily mean I think it's a bad book.  I did write up a blog post on most of these books, so if you're curious as to why I rated it a certain way, find it in my previous posts!  They're conveniently all tagged with "2016 reading challenge."

So, even though I only got 10/12 on the challenge (which is still a passing grade, hey!), I definitely enjoyed it!  I'm so glad I made the effort to read more in 2016.  I will be sure to stay in the habit for 2017!  Perhaps I'll challenge myself to read one book more than I did this year. :)