Reading Challenge Checkin 📚 Here&Queerathon, YARC, LibraryLove & StartOnYourShelfathon⭐

Hello fellow bookworms 📚 I already did a mid-year check-in for my own Out of Comfort Zone Reading Challenge last month, but the more I thought about it, the more I actually wanted to check in with the rest of my reading challenges as well! I joined a lot of them this year and instead of waiting to recap my progress at the end of the year, I wanted to see how on track I was with my challenges and what books I want to prioritize towards the end of the year! In case you’re interested you can see my original TBR in my signup post at the beginning of the year (when things weren’t quite as dire) 📚

Goodreads Reading Challenge 📖

✅ Read 65 Books

I’ve already completed my Goodreads Reading Challenge! 🎉 I always set myself a personally achievable goal, so that I don’t get stressed out in case I hit a slump or life gets in the way. So far this year I’ve read 119 books, a lot more than last year 😱 But to be honest, the main reason that I’ve read so much is COVID happening, as reading has pretty much been my coping mechanism to distract myself and stay somewhat calm andsane. I’ve also been home since March as I’m only starting university again in the fall and had lots of time and motivation to read all the books 📚

Progress 📚 10/20 Books Read

At the beginning of the year I picked out 20 books (in the different categories below) that I definitely wanted to read this year … and I did okay, I think?? I read 10 out of those 20 books (which amounts to 50% of my goal) but we’re more than halfway through the year already, so we’ll see how well I do towards the end of the year! 😱

{5} Series to Finish in 2020

• Vengeful (V.E. Schwab) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

As predicted, I did super badly with this particular category because I’m very bad at finishing series 😂 I managed to read one Series Finale, but that’s only thanks to my buddy read with Caitlin ❤ I started reading Supernova, but then put it down because I wasn’t in the mood, but it’s the book I’m most likely to read next! I just tend to procrastinate reading finales, but let’s hope that I can change that towards the end of the year!

{5} Series to Start in 2020

• The Gilded Wolves (Roshani Chokshi) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• These Broken Stars (Kaufman, Spooner) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I at least started two of the series I had on my TBR for such a long time and I loved both of them!! (The Gilded Wolves even became a favorite! 💕) I have to admit that I struggled to get into The Lies of Locke Lamora though, as it’s so slow and dense, I might give it a second chance sometime later this year!

{4} Standalone Books to Read in 2020

• Red, White and Royal Blue (Casey McQuiston) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Salt to the Sea (Ruta Sepetys) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Love from A to Z (Ruta Sepetys) ⭐⭐⭐.5

I did best with the standalone books that I wanted to read because there’s not as much commitment as with a series! 😄 I only have Let’s Talk About Love to read. I actually started reading it but wasn’t in the mood for the cheesiness, so I’ll wait for when I’m craving something cute and sweet!

{3} Books Releasing in 2020

• The Electric Heir (Victoria Lee) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
• Of Curses and Kisses (Sandhya Menon) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

I’ve managed to read a bunch of my anticipated 2020 releases, thanks to getting the ebooks of them, so I’m doing pretty well with this! The last Trials of Apollo book is just coming out next month so that’s why I haven’t been able to read it yet! I’m very excited and sure to preorder it as I cannot wait to see how Apollo’s journey is going to end 😱

{2} Backlist Books (pre-2019) to read in 2020

• Jackaby (William Ritter) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I always try to read some backlist books to balance out the new releases I pick up, so I only had two backlist books on this list. One of them I already read and adored: Jackaby!! A wonderful backlist series that definitely deserves all my love 🥰 I did exchange The Crown’s Game for Graceling though, as I’m much more interested in reading the latter at the moment!

{1} Reread of a Favorite in 2020

• Under Rose-Tainted Skies (Louise Gornall) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I’ve not done as many rereads as last year, but I still couldn’t resist doing them! The first book I reread was Under Rose-Tainted Skies, one of my all-time favorite contemporary books and such an impactful story about mental health! That’s why I was all the more heartbroken when I heard that the author passed away just recently 💔

#YARC 2020

Graphics made by CW @ thequietpond

• All about reading books written by Asian authors!
• Hosted by Lily @ Sprinkles of Dreams, Shealea @ Shut Up Shealea, Vicky @ VickyAgain & CW @ thequietpond

Progress 🐯 20 Books Read

CW @ thequietpond

I’m actually really happy with my progress for YARC, as I managed to read 20 books so far and hit my goal of achieving the Indian Cobra Badge!! (which is meant for reading 11 to 20 books) I’m certain I can at least reach the next badge as I’m just one book away and have lots more books by Asian Authors on my TBR! 🥰

From Original TBR (7/10)

• The Gilded Wolves (Roshani Chokshi) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Seven Deadly Shadows (Alameda, Maetani) ⭐⭐⭐.5
• 10 Things I Hate about Pinky (Sandhya Menon) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
• Love from A to Z (S.K. Ali) ⭐⭐⭐.5
• Shadowsong (S. Jae-Jones) ⭐⭐⭐.5
• Darius the Great Is Not Okay (Adib Khorram) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Not Your Sidekick (C.B. Lee) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I read 7 out of 10 books from my original TBR which is great progress in my opinion!! I didn’t think I would be able to stick to my TBR that well, but I’m happy to see that I actually read the books that I was hoping to, with many great ones that I loved (My favorite has to be The Gilded Wolves for sure!) 💕 I’ll definitely read Rogue Heart, as I got a copy of it for Christmas, but I have yet to buy my copies for The Storyteller and We Hunt the Flame, though I’m very excited to finally get to both of them! 🥰

Other Books I Read

• If You Only Knew (Prerna Pickett) ⭐⭐⭐.5
• Of Curses and Kisses (Sandhya Menon) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
• I am Malala (Malala Yousafzai, Patricia McCormick) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Zelda: Twilight Princess Vol 4 & 5 (Akira Himekawa) ⭐⭐⭐.5
• In Order to Live (Yeonmi Park) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Not Your Sidekick (C.B. Lee) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Quiet Girl in a Noisy World (Debbie Tung) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Book Love (Debbie Tung) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Prince and the Dressmaker (Jen Wang) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Not Your Villain (C.B. Lee) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Team Avatar Tales (Gene Luen Yang) ⭐⭐⭐.5
• My Heart and Other Black Holes (Jasmine Warga) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In addition to tackling my original YARC TBR, I also read a lot of other great books that I enjoyed, which only a couple of books that didn’t quite reach 4 stars for me! My favorites here have to be Not Your Sidekick, Of Curses and Kisses, and My Heart and Other Black Holes! 💕

Library Love Challenge ❤

Hosted by Angela @ Angel’s Guilty Pleasures & Anne @ Books of my Heart

• All about reading library books and therefore supporting your local library!
• There are monthly giveaways, a newsletter, and also a Goodreads group.

Library Books read 💌 62

• ✅ Dewey Decimal: Read 12 books
• ✅ Thrifty Reader: Read 24 books
• ✅ Overdrive Junkie: Read 36 books
• ✅ Library Addict: Read 48 books
• ✅ Library Card on Fire: Read 60+ books

I already managed to read over 60 library books, giving me the highest badge I can achieve!! 🎉 I sadly left my library behind when I graduated from university earlier this year, but in a turn of events, I’ve found an online library pass I could sign up for! It was available for three months for free because of COVID and I was happy to see that I could extend my card online!! The online pass is for Berlin’s library system and since they’re one of the few libraries using Overdrive in Germany, I now have access to all their collection. Being the capital means that they have lots of books and buy them more frequently – which gives me a much bigger chance of reading new releases. I’m just very happy and grateful that I could sign up for the online card and that’s how I managed to borrow lots of ebooks and audiobooks 💖

Here & Queerathon 🌈

Hosted by Mel @ cottoncandybookwitch

• All about reading books with queer rep (preferably by queer authors as well)
• You can follow the Twitter Account and Sign Up Here!

Progress 🌈 37 Books Read

I’m actually quite happy with the number of books I read for this challenge! I didn’t have a set amount of books that I wanted to read, but I feel like I read a lot of great books for this challenge 🥰 I would love to make it to 50 books read by the end of the year though and of course, finish all the books on my original TBR 😊

From Original TBR (6/10)

• The Gilded Wolves (Roshani Chokshi) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
• Red, White and Royal Blue (Casey McQuiston) ⭐⭐⭐⭐  
• Vengeful (V.E. Schwab) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Electric Heir (Victoria Lee) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5  
• Belle Révolte (Linsey Miller) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
• Every Heart a Doorway (Seanan McGuire) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

6 out of 10 books is still pretty good progress I’d say, so I’m happy with my reading so far! I loved all the books on this TBR that I read, which is fantastic and I even found two favorite books here 💗 I still have 4 books left to read and I’m currently buddy reading King of Fools with my friend Sandra to prepare for the upcoming release of the series finale 😱 I’ve got Let’s Talk About Love and These Witches Don’t Burn on my shelves, so I’ll definitely be reading them this year!

Other Books I Read

• Queer Heroes (Sicardi & Tanat-Jones) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• We are the Ants (Shaun David Hutchinson) ⭐⭐⭐
• Wilder Girls (Rory Power) ⭐⭐⭐
• Nimona (Noelle Stevenson) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Radio Silence (Alice Oseman) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔁
• The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky (Mackenzie Lee) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Not Your Sidekick (C.B. Lee) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Extraordinaries (TJ Klune) ⭐⭐.5
• The Prince and the Dressmaker (Jen Wang) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Scapegracers (Hannah A. Clarke) ⭐⭐⭐
• Moonstruck Vol 1. (Grace Ellis) ⭐⭐⭐
• Over the Top (Jonathan Van Ness) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Not Your Villain (C.B. Lee) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Not Your Backup (C.B. Lee) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• You Asked for Perfect (Laura Silverman) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
• The Avant Guards Vol 1 & 2 (Usdin, Hayes) ⭐⭐⭐
• Bingo Love (Franklin, St-Onge & San) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Havenfall (Sara Holland) ⭐⭐⭐.5
• Clap When You Land (Elizabeth Acevedo) ⭐⭐⭐.5
• Down Among the Sticks and Bones (Seanan McGuire) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Beneath the Sugar Sky (Seanan McGuire) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Queens of Geek (Jen Wilde) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔁
• Simon VS (Becky Albertalli) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔁
• You Should See Me in a Crown (Leah Johnson) ⭐⭐⭐.5
• My Calamity Jane (Hand, Meadows, Ashton) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Gravity of Us (Phil Stamper) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Sound of Stars (Alechia Dow) ⭐⭐.5
• Felix Ever After (Kacen Callender) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
• Love, Creekwood (Becky Albertalli) ⭐⭐⭐.5
• Loveless (Alice Oseman) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Apart from my TBR I also read a lot of other books for this challenge, including three rereads with are always nice. Apart from those rereads, I’d say that my favorite  books would be You Asked for Perfect, Felix Ever After, Every Heart a Doorway, Not Your Villain and Loveless 😊

#StartOnYourShelfathon ⭐

Hosted by CW @ thequietpond

• All about reading your unread owned books with the possibility to set your own goals.
• Includes start collecting, and super cool star maps for finishing books.
• There’s also a Discord Server you can join!

Progress ⭐ 6 Books Read

CW @ thequietpond

A round of silence for my spectacular failure here 😂 I had every intention to finally read the books on my physical TBR once I graduated, but between my free Scribd Trial and signing up for an online library card … I kind of only borrowed books instead of reading those I owned 😅 With the sheer amount of books I could check out, I got sidetracked, but I definitely want to tackle some more books on my Physical and also Kindle TBR! I’ve already managed to read 6 and will be prioritizing my owned TBR for the rest of the year!

📚 Physical TBR || 📱 Kindle TBR

Original TBR (0/5) 😅

• Magic Study (Maria V. Snyder) ⭐ on TBR since April 2016
• Half-Blood (Jennifer L. Armentrout) ⭐ on TBR since April 2016
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Laini Taylor) ⭐ on TBR since December 2016
• The Lies of Locke Lamora (Scott Lynch) ⭐ on TBR since April 2017
• The Queen’s Rising (Rebecca Ross) ⭐ on TBR since November 2017

Other Books I Read

• Vengeful (V.E. Schwab) 📚 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
• The Gilded Wolves (Roshani Chokshi) 📚 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
• My Heart and Other Black Holes (Jasmine Warga) 📱 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Conference of the Birds (Ransom Riggs) 📚 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
• The Will and the Wilds (Charlie N. Holmberg) 📱 ⭐⭐⭐.5
• Beastly Bones (William Ritter) 📚 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I managed to complete one Star Chart at least!! Though I read nothing from my Original StartOnYourShelfathon TBR, I managed to read some of the books that were on my shelves! My biggest accomplishment here is Vengeful which was gathering dust on my TBR a bit. I buddy read it with Caitlin and ended up loving it, which was great ❤ I also finally for to The Gilded Wolves and therefore got another book off my TBR that I had been putting off. I loved lots of the books that I read so far, which is amazing – with three 5-star reads!! 🎉🥰

How are you doing with your Reading Goals and Challenges? What books are on your priority list for the rest of the year? Any new favorite books you’ve found? 📚

 

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