Challenge Update, August 2019

I’ve had a much better summer than I expected! I’m so glad to have the time to read this much and I’ve been lucky to have so many wonderful books. You can look at my progress at any time on my challenge page.

Books finished in August:

Burial Rites // Hannah Kent (4/5)
84, Charing Cross Road // Helene Hanff (4/5)
A Gathering of Shadows // V.E. Schwab (4/5)
The Map of Time // Félix Palma (4/5)
An American Marriage // Tayari Jones (4/5)

All four-star reads! That’s a great month for books. I can’t think of the last time I had a streak that strong. I’m going to take it and run with it because I doubt I get this lucky again.

When Are You Reading? Challenge

9/12
Nothing new this month. Funny enough, three of these books take place in the 1800s but I’d already checked off that time period. I usually start being more selective to finish this off in October so I’ll give myself one more month to have it happen naturally before I pick and choose what I need.

Goodreads Challenge

42/52
Being nine books ahead of schedule feels so good! I set my goal to 52 thinking one a week was a good pace, but maybe I need to up it next year. Maybe 60? 65?

Book of the Month

This is really hard because they were all so good, but I’m going to pick The Map of Time by Félix Palma. The storytelling was really fun and I enjoyed the twists and turns of this one more than I expected. I kept thinking I was getting tricked and I had fun figuring out how the tricked was done.

Added to my TBR

Riding steady at 71. I did some book shopping and went to an author event so I’ve added a total of four this month. Not bad, but I would love to see this start shrinking.

• We Sold Our Souls // Grady Hendrix. This is a book club pick that I’ll be picking up this fall. Not sure what it’s about but the title sounds a bit dark.
• The Great Believers // Rebecca Makki. Here’s the first of my two book-store shopping buys. I was on a trip to Atlanta and this was featured as the store’s book club selection for the upcoming month. Though I won’t make the meeting, it looked like a good pick.
• Mil veces hasta siempre // John Green. This is the Spanish translation of Turtles All The Way Down. The title roughly translates to ‘A million times until forever’ and I get the parallel. Reading YA in Spanish was a good level for me so I’m stocking up for a few years from now when I’ll do it again.
• Golden Glow by Dan D’Addona and Kaitlin Sandeno. I went to hear Sandeno and D’Addona talk a few weeks ago and picked up the book. It sounds like it will be a fun biography to dive into.

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 wrote up a review last week Thursday so please go check that out to hear more!
• Attend six weddings: Four down! My cousin got married two weeks ago. The last two are on back-to-back weekends in October and I’m in one of them so this will be a rough finish but we’ll make it.
• Finish a weather blanket: I’ve been working on catching up on this and I think I’ll be there soon.
• Write: I’ve got some time off this week and I’m determined to work on this more. I’ve got the time, I just have to do it.
• See my friends more: I’m getting better at this! Labor Day weekend helped since we had plans with friends every day. I made use of the two weeks I had free between jobs to see people as well. I’d say there’s a lot of improvement in the future for this!

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!