My 2015 Reading Goals: An Update

At the end of last year I set myself an incredibly ambitious set of reading goals for 2015, and I want to see how I've done so far!

Goal No.1: Complete 10 series

Nope. Not even close. In fact I don't think I've finished any...

Goal No.2: The Retelling Challenge

So this challenge basically meant that after I signed up for the challenge, I wanted to make sure I took part, and I have! I haven't read a huge amount of retellings - I think sometimes they can get a little samey if you read too many - but I have read White Ravens by Owen Sheers, The Meat Tree by Gwyneth Lewis, Fairest by Marissa Meyer, The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman, Fables, Vol.1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham and Various Artists and Uprooted by Naomi Novik. So right now that puts me in the Magic Mirror category - hooray!

Goal No.3: Read 5 Classics

I'VE COMPLETED THIS ONE! I'm so pleased I have, too, because I don't think I read any classics at all last year. Looking at the books I've read this year I've actually read more than 5, so I'm really chuffed!

I've read: A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf, The Great God Pan and Other Stories by Arthur Machen, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley and The Poor Clare by Elizabeth Gaskell. Almost double what I wanted!

Goal No.4: Read At Least 3 2015 Debuts

Another one I've completed, hooray! I didn't read any 2014 debuts last year, and barely any books that weren't actually published in 2014, and that was something I really wanted to change this year. So far I've read Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (which everyone should read immediately), Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, Lorelai, You'll Never Die by Laura Konrad and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli.

Goal No.5: Read More Short Story Collections

I've certainly bought plenty of short story collections, but I need to get better at reading them. I've read Through the Woods by Emily Carroll and American Vampire, Vol.6 by Various Artists which are both technically collections of short stories, so I guess they count!

Goal No.6: Read More Poetry Collections

I haven't read a bunch but, thanks to work, I've read Judas by Damian Walford Davies and The Art of Falling by Kim Moore! I've bought a few other collections, too, so there's still plenty of poetry I'd like to read.

Goal No.7: Read More Non-Fiction

This I have done, and I've been loving it! So far I've read A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf, Jane Eyre's Sisters: How Women Live and Write the Heroine's Story by Jody Gentian Bower, How To Be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis, Beyond the Pale: Folklore, Family and the Mystery of our Hidden Genes by Emily Urquhart and We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Goal No.8: Reread Harry Potter

I still haven't managed this! I love Harry Potter, I love it so much, but I own so many books that I haven't read once I feel like I'm not allowed to reread this series, which I know is silly. I will reread them at some point. I will.

So that's my reading progress so far this year! Apart from the laughable attempt to finish ten series, particularly stupid for someone like me who is a terrible finisher, I think I'm doing pretty well. I'm happy anyway - I've done better than I thought!

How is your reading progress? Did you set yourself any goals?

My 2015 Reading Goals!

It's New Year's Eve!

To celebrate the coming arrival of 2015, I've given myself some reading challenges for throughout the new year. I'm not going to put too much pressure on myself - if I don't complete these challenges then I don't, and that's fine - but sometimes challenges can be the push that we need to make us read out of our comfort zone, or to make us read at all!

Goal No.1 - Complete 10 Series

Whether I've already started them or I start and finish them in 2o15, I want to try and complete 10 series in 2015 because I read a lot of standalones in 2014. That isn't a bad thing - I love me a good standalone - but I've been missing series lately, and I'm hoping I might discover some amazing ones with this challenge.

Possible candidates for this challenge:

1. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
2. Dust Lands Trilogy by Moira Young
3. Healer Trilogy by Maria V. Snyder
4. Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray
5. Women of the Underworld Series by Kelley Armstrong
6. All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness
7. Eon Duology by Alison Goodman
8. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
9. Skulduggery Pleasant Series by Derek Landy
10. Parasitology Trilogy by Mira Grant
11. Tudor Witch Trilogy by Victoria Lamb
12. Temeraire Series by Naomi Novik
13. Vivian Apple Duology by Katie Coyle
14. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
15. The Blood Books by Tanya Huff

Goal No.2 - The Retelling Challenge

Throughout 2015 I'm going to take part in the Retelling Challenge, hosted by Mel at The Daily Prophecy. You can find my introduction post here!

Here's a list of retellings I'd like to try and get under my belt:

1. For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
2. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
3. Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
4. Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay
5. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters
6. The Meat Tree by Gwyneth Lewis
7. White Ravens by Owen Sheers
8. The Prince's Pen by Horatio Clare
9. The Mirk and Midnight Hour by Jane Nickerson
10. Winter by Marissa Meyer
11. The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine

Goal No. 3 - Read 5 Classics

I don't think I read any classics in 2014, which is pretty shocking.

Possible candidates for this challenge:

1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
2. Villette by Charlotte Brontë
3. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
4. Persuasion by Jane Austen
5. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Goal No. 4 - Read At Least 3 2015 Debuts

I also didn't read a single debut novel in 2014 - in fact, other than Cress and My True Love Gave to Me, I'm not even sure if I read any books that were published in 2014. As I've mentioned before, I'm not very good at staying on top of the trends!

Possible candidates for this challenge:

1. The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker
2. The Well by Catherine Chanter
3. The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester

Goal No. 5 - Read More Short Story Collections

I read My True Love Gave to Me this month, and it made me realise both how much I enjoy short story collections and how few of them I've read. I own a few, and there are a few I'd like to own, so I'm going to try and read some more in 2015!

Possible candidates for this challenge:

1. Kaleidoscope: Diverse YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories by Various
2. Love Hurts by Various
3. Jigs and Reels by Joanne Harris
4. The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
5. Don't Look Now and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier
6. His Last Fire by Alix Nathan
7. Magic For Beginners by Kelly Link
8. Across the Wall by Garth Nix

Goal No. 6 - Read More Poetry Collections

I managed to read more poetry this year than I thought I would, so I'd like to read some more in 2015!

Possible candidates for this challenge:

1. Faery Tales by Carol Ann Duffy
2. The Shape of a Forest by Jemma L. King

Goal No. 7 - Read More Non-Fiction

I only read two pieces of non-fiction in 2014, so I'd like to read some more in the coming year.

Possible candidates for this challenge:

1. The Creation of Anne Boleyn by Susan Bordo
2. This Book is Gay by James Dawson
3. The Penguin Book of Witches by Katherine Howe
4. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
5. Witches: A Tale of Scandal, Sorcery and Seduction by Tracy Borman

Goal No. 8 - Reread Harry Potter

Every year I tell myself I'm going to reread the Harry Potter series, and each year I manage not to. In 2015 I really want to make myself reread them - I miss Hogwarts!

What are your reading plans for 2015?