Challenge Update, March 2019

I feel like I killed it this month! I’m flying through audiobooks and I’m fairly up to date on reviews. I’ve got my posts scheduled ahead of time and I’m feeling great about meeting my challenges. You can look at my progress at any time on my challenge page.

Books finished in March:

The Wednesday Sisters // Meg Waite Clayton (4/5)
Books for Living // Will Schwalbe (3/5)
Out of the Easy // Ruta Sepetys (5/5)
Origin // Dan Brown (4/5)
This Is A Book // Demetri Martin (3/5)
Thunderstruck // Erik Larson (3/5)
Wonder // R.J. Palacio (4/5)
Dodgers // Bill Beverly (3/5)

KILLING IT! Five of these are audiobooks and I’m going to attribute that to massive amounts of tri training and now I’m feeling doubly productive. I’m working on the reviews that are missing and you should see those in the next week or two as I catch up.

When Are You Reading? Challenge

5/12
One more done! The Wednesday Sisters knocked down another time period for me. I was hoping Out of the Easy would get another, but I already read a book for the 1940-1959 period. Still, forward progress! I’m hoping I can tackle some more without trying before October, which is when I start to read a little more strategically.

Goodreads Challenge

18/52
I just doubled my books for the year in March. That’s how good of a month I had. Killing it! Very happy with this progress. I’m now about six books ahead and feeling a lot more comfortable. I might have to tackle some longer books now that I’m feeling good about it. I’m looking at you, George R.R. Martin!

Book of the Month

An easy choice this month, I have to go with Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys. The book blew me away and had me wanting to ride my bike trainer so I could listen to more. That’s really saying something.

Added to my TBR

I’m still amazed at how my TBR is coming down. I’m at 76 books now! After being over 100 for so long, this feels really liberating. I even added two this month and I’m still impressed with myself.

• Lateral Thinking by Edward de Bono. This is the only add as a result of Will Schwalbe’s Books for Living. I thought I’d end up adding millions to my list, but this one caught my attention more than any of the others he mentioned. I hope it works for me!
• The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib. The summary of this one caught my attention and I can’t stop thinking about it. Eating disorders are so tragic and unfortunately common. I can’t wait to dive into the heads of these women and follow the help they’re given.

Personal Challenge

I’m gearing up again to track personal goals here. This is a great way to keep me accountable and to tell you about me outside the wide world of books.

• Finish 70.3 Half Ironman: I keep praying the weather breaks and I can take this training outside. I love the swimming and the running has been fun but I’m still lacking some love for the bike. Maybe once it’s outside more I can appreciate it and look forward to it more. I’m eating more and trying to sleep better. This training is hard but I love the challenge.
• Attend six weddings: So far, so good! We’ve got two formal invitations now and have RSVPed to both. I’m in one, so that’s a no-brainer. Especially because my brother is the groom!
• Finish a weather blanket: I finally started! After two re-starts to get the gage right, I’m on track. I always think these things are so ugly for the first month or two until the pattern starts to emerge. So now, I’m only in January and I think it’s hideous. I’ll let you know more when I catch up and get to April.
• Write: This is my favorite goal so far. I’m making great progress in my book and had a mini break-through (more on that in my Writing Check-In post tomorrow!). I’m glad I pushed myself to do this.
• See my friends more: I’ll still say this one is OK. Training is keeping me away a bit, but I’m hoping that once the weather breaks, I can work seeing my friends into training and enjoy it even more.

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 2019, 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!

Advertisement