My 2020 Reading Challenges

In 2020, I have decided to take part in four specific reading challenges, and one overall challenge. The overall challenge will be my total books read between these four challenges, reviewing and my work as a quiz writer, and I am aiming to read 165 books in total. Below are the other challenges I am taking part in. Many categories will be easy to fill and I have books in mind that will fill multiple categories, though as usual, will aim as much as possible to read something different for each one, even if this means I end up with multiple entries for some. Some categories, like the audiobook one, may not be met, as I typically don’t read audiobooks – I tend to let anything I listen to like radio, music or podcasts fade into the background whilst working and I fell this would happen tenfold with an audiobook and I would not get much out of it.

Below are the blank lists and cards for the challenges, ready for me to start filling in from tomorrow. It should be interesting, as some are quite broad and others very specific whilst some fall somewhere in between. I’m sure I’ll fill as many as possible, as I did this year, 2019, and will aim to review as many as possible.

My December, yearly wrap and 2019 challenge wraps will appear during the first week of 2020.

My challenges:

The Modern Mrs Darcy – signed up via a blog and will aim to read as many as I can off of this list of twelve. Instead of doing the PopSugar one this year, I have opted for this and another as the PopSugar one is getting very, very specific and I fear that I would struggle to find some of the necessary books, and I’d rather do a challenge where I can fit the book I read to a category in a more general way, rather than trying to force it too, or not being able to find the right book to fit a category. This only has thirteen categories, so will be easier and some may end up with multiple reads.
THE MODERN MRS. DARCY
2020 Reading Challenge
a book published the decade you were born:
a debut novel:
a book recommended by a source you trust:
a book by a local author:
a book outside your (genre) comfort zone:
a book in translation:
a book nominated for an award in 2020:
a re-read:
a classic you didn’t read in school:
three books by the same author:
1.
2.
3.

The Nerd Daily – this one has a few more specific categories, but they can likely be stretched and will align with other challenges. The good thing with this one, with categories like New York Times bestseller, is that it doesn’t specify a year, or genre, so is open to interpretation. I like challenges like this, as it gives freedom to read without worrying about anything too specific and also, it allows me to fit in my review and work reading into these challenges, which helps when trying to fit a book to a category that can seem overly prescriptive, but is often easier than it seems.

The Nerd Daily 2020 Challenge
1. Author Starting with A
2. Female Author
3. Purchased on Holidays
4. 2020 Film Adaptation
5. Fantasy or SciFi
6. Recommended by Us (Group)
7. Under 200 pages
8. Six Word Title
9. Written by two authors
10. Mystery/thriller
11. Green Cover
12. Recommended by a friend
13. Set in the past
14. 2019 Goodreads Choice Winner
15. A book you never finished
16. Protagonist starting with H
17. Reread
18. Non-fiction
19. Released in February
20. Part of a duology
21. New York times best seller
22. Recommended by family
23. Over 500 pages
24. An award-winning book
25. Orange cover
26. Bookstore recommended
27. A number in the title
28. An audiobook
29. Debut author
30. Inspired my mythology/folklore
31. A retelling
32. A one-word title
33. Bought based on cover
34. Author starting with M
35. Start a new series
36. A book released in 2019
37. Male author
38. 2020 TV Adaptation
39. A book gifted to you
40. Author with a hyphenated name
41. Released in September
42. Purchased years ago
43. A standalone
44. Author with the same initials
45. Told from two perspectives
46. Romance or thriller
47. A protagonist starting with S
48. Two-word title
49. Set in a foreign country
50. Animal featured in cover
51. Written by your favourite author
52. Based or inspired by a true story

Australian Women Writers Challenge – I’ve done this every year for the past three or four years and am also the Children’s/YA editor – which means I collate the monthly and yearly reviews into a nice little reporting post for each month throughout the year. In 2020, we will be combining the two, so I need to find a work around to include at least four of each. As this is an area I studied and work in now, I enjoy putting these together, and writing my own reviews on the books.

Australian Women Writers Challenge – 25

Book Bingo – 2020 marks the third year I’ve done book bingo with Theresa and Amanda. On 2018, I managed to fill out two bingo cards – I was overly eager and didn’t want to forget to add anything, so I had at least fifty books that year in book bingo. Last year, we had 30 squares to fill – which meant a few double ups throughout the year. Both of those years, we were posting every second Saturday in each month to make sure we filled the card. This year, we’ve gone sparkly and fancy – and have twelve very general categories (after certain debacles and issues with overly specific categories, we decided to do it this way). So one post a month, on the second Saturday of the month so we can keep on top of this, our other challenges and work.

Themes of culture
Themes of inequality
Themes of Crime and Justice
Themes of politics and power
About the environment
Prize winning book
Friendship, family and love
Coming of age
Set in a time of war
Set in a place you dream of visiting
Set in an era you’d love to travel back in time to
A classic you’ve never read before

So those are my 2020 challenges! I hope to fill in as many as possible and will aim to post updates throughout the year.