Challenge Update, June 2018

This was a rough month for reading. School took over and my books have me stuck in a bit of a rut. I’m hoping July can turn that around as I’m traveling and have dedicated reading time on the planes. Well, hopefully, that will be the case. You can look at my progress at any time on my challenge page.

Books finished in June:

A Walk in the Woods // Bill Bryson (5/5)

Yep. That’s it. I’m embarrassed to type this. I’m in the middle of many books but I’ve really fallen behind the curve this month and not been able to dedicate much time to reading. It’s really hitting me over the head now that things have slowed down. Wow.

When Are You Reading? Challenge

7/12
No change this month. I’ll start looking at books that will help me round this one out pretty soon. I usually start purposeful picking after the summer’s over to finish without much stress through the holidays.

Goodreads Challenge

24/55
I went from ahead to three books behind! This is literally the worst status I’ve ever had in my four years of doing this challenge. I’m really determined to make up some ground now. I don’t want to be behind again next month!

Book of the Month

With no competition, the winner this month is clearly A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson. This book was really enjoyable and would likely have been my pick with some other contenders. The story was well told and had a good mix of memoir and fact. I’ve enjoyed my Bryson reads so far so there are likely more coming.

Added to my TBR

Same as last month, I’m at 96. I’m a bit proud of that but I added more books than I finished, which is probably a terrible thing for someone trying to shrink her TBR. I’ll get over it.

• Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. I found out this is set in Iceland and I’ll be visiting this summer. If I can read it before I go, that’d be great, but I’m excited to just enjoy it anyway.
• Artemis by Andy Weir. I’ve been talking about how good Weir is lately so it just makes sense that I have to add his latest to my list. I know I can’t compare the two, but I know I will anyway.

Personal Challenge

I used these monthly posts to keep myself accountable to my personal goals for 2017 and I’m excited to do that again this year. You all were so supportive before.

• Graduate and keep my 4.0- I got my final grade over the weekend and I got an A for the summer semester! One more class to go this fall and I’ll be done!
• Travel to Europe with my husband- Everything is booked and bought. We’re leaving next month and I’m ecstatic! I’ll post when I get home.
• Complete a race per month- I had my first triathlon of the summer this month. It went OK. I’ve been struggling with calf cramping and it hit me in the middle of the bike. I still had a PR on the course, but I felt I could have gone faster.
• Complete a 2018 Weather Blanket- I’m caught up through May but I’ve got to do this month. I’ll get to it on a dull evening.

How are your challenges going so far? I hope you’re off to a good start If you love historical fiction, give some thought to my challenge for 2018, 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!