Challenge Update, August 2017

This month was a rush! School started, I took a trip to New Orleans, and my reading slowed down. Yes, it’s sad to say but it did. And, unfortunately, it probably won’t pick up again until December. You can look at my progress at any time on my challenge page.

Books finished in August:

I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You // Courtney Maum (3/5)
Empire Falls // Richard Russo (4/5)
Chemistry // Weike Want (5/5)

Yikes, a slow month. I gave up on an audiobook part-way through which slowed me down a lot. I’m proud I got through two physical books, though. I’m not usually so good at that. We’ll see if I can keep it up for a while.

When Are You Reading? Challenge

9/12
Oh, wow. Still nothing new. It’s about that time for me to start picking reads that will fill my remaining categories. That might mean it’s time to read some dystopian YA and Tudor era books. I’ve got some time coming up so I’ll try to squeeze them in soon.

Goodreads Challenge

36/50
I’m still three books ahead. I think I can make it now. I know my reading will slow down but I’m in a great position to be sitting pretty with this one come December. I’ve just got to keep listening to audio while I run and I’ll be all set.

Book of the Month

Easily, this goes to Chemistry by Weike Wang. This was a super fun, quick read and my only complaint is that it wasn’t longer. It was what I needed while on a plane to be sure.

Added to my TBR

I’m still at 111! It might not be shrinking, but at least it’s not growing. Vacations always add to my TBR so I’m glad to stay neutral.

• Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. I’ve been told a lot that I need to read this book. I enjoyed Patchett’s Commonwealth so I figured it was finally time to put it on the list. We’ll see how long it takes me to get to it, though!
• Soldier’s Pay by William Faulkner. This was my purchase at the Faulkner House Book Store in New Orleans. It was written on the property so it seemed an obvious choice.
• Cuando era puertorriqueña by Esmeralda Santiago. I found this in another New Orleans book store and decided it would be another Spanish read when I’m ready for a new one.
• Still Life by Louise Penny. This is my next book club selection. I’ll get to it very soon.

Personal Challenge

I mentioned in my challenge announcement post that I had some non-reading goals set for myself in 2017. I figured this would be a good place to keep myself accountable to those as well. Here goes!

• Keep my 4.0 GPA: Class just started and there are no grades in so far. I guess I’m good to go on this one!
• Knit blankets:  No new friends having babies so no new blankets for me. I’m working on other knitting projects while I wait for news to come along.
• One race per month: Only one triathlon, thank God! It was great after having such a crazy July. I did OK despite feeling sick. It was my second-best time on that course and only off by 9 seconds! I got 5th in the 3-race series which felt great.
• Get my novel out to beta readers: I’ve sent it to a few more friends, none of which have sent me any feedback yet. I really wanted to work on this over the summer and made embarrassingly little progress. I’m not sure when I’ll really work on it again, sadly.

How were your challenges? I hope you made it. If you love historical fiction, give some thought to my challenge for 2017, it’s fun!

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

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