Challenge Update, October 2018

I finally got the rebuilding month I was waiting for! It was a long time coming, to be sure, but it came and I’m feeling slightly more optimistic about meeting my reading goals for the year. It’s a rebuilding month. You can look at my progress at any time on my challenge page.

Books finished in October:

Bel Canto//Ann Patchett (4)
Artemis//Andy Weir (4)
The Girl in the Spider’s Web//David Langercrantz (4)
Dark Matter//Blake Crouch (5)
A Night to Remember//Walter Lord (4)
A Column of Fire//Ken Follett (4)

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to report six books read! It feels great, really. I had so many books partially finished and now I feel this is a fair representation of how much reading I did in October. On to November!

When Are You Reading? Challenge

8/12
One more down! A Column of Fire was my 1500s book for the challenge. I’m in the middle of two more (1700s and 1800s) and I’ll start on my 1600s read soon. I’m feeling good about this one, I think I’ll knock it out of the park this year!

Goodreads Challenge

41/55
Only four books behind now! I’ll take it this time. I’ll have to really start reading soon but until school’s over (November 13th) I can’t think like that. So soon…

Book of the Month

Yet again, a book club selection won me over this month. I think that’s the third month in a row. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch had me laying in bed more than is probably healthy for my back. I wanted to know what happened so badly! Glad this one was introduced to me.

Added to my TBR

The numbers are creeping up as my book clubs make their selections for the next season. I’m up 4 this month to 92. I’m sure I’ll bring it down again.

• Old School by Tobias Wolff. No idea what I’m getting into here. Wolff sounds familiar, should I be scared or excited?
• The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Langercrantz. How could I stop after that last one? I can’t wait to see what Lizbeth does next!
• Before the Fall by Noah Hawley. Again, no idea here. I like going into books blind.
• Kiss Carlo by Adriana Trigiani. This looks very different from a lot of the books we read for the club so I’m curious to see how our group reacts to it.
• Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay. I’ve heard so much about Gay and I’m excited to see what I think of her writing! Woop!
• Dodgers by Bill Beverly. I’m thinking either draft dodgers or baseball here. I’m hoping both.
• The Power by Naomi Alderman. No idea, again. However, the cover looks familiar. Maybe I’ve seen it in stores. Or maybe another book has a similar cover? I’m unsure but still excited.

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- Final is coming up and it’s looking good so far!
• Travel to Europe with my husband- I shouldn’t be dreaming of our next trip, but I am already…
• Complete a 2018 Weather Blanket- Yep, I’m really behind. I think a re-watch of GoT is in order. That will give me plenty of knitting time!

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!