2016 Reading Challenges and Goals

We had a pretty exciting 2015 here at Goldilox and the Three Weres, and we've got some good stuff in store for 2016 as well. That includes expanding our reading horizons and trying new things. Here's a look at what reading challenges each of us are participating in and links if you'd like to sign up too. Share your goals and challenges with us in the comments.

Rose Red's Resolutions

Can you believe that 2015 is almost over already? How is it December? Seriously. Where did the time go?

I love when we start a new year! It’s when I get to start over on all of my reading challenges and goals. The year holds such potential because I’m not struggling with any challenges/goals and I'm not behind yet. In all reality, I don’t do a lot of actual organized reading challenges other than my yearly Goodreads reading challenge of 52 books. But I do set a number reading goals for myself at the first of each year and I'm doing that again for 2016.

This year I'm keeping my reading goals simple. Honestly, I just want to read a lot this year. I read almost 200 books in 2015 and I was so much happier because of it. My ultimate goal in 2016 is to read as many of my unread TBR books as possible and to keep up with the new releases I'm anticipating. All of the reading challenges I'm doing this year will help me to meet my goal. I'll talk about all of those challenges below.

At the end of each year my best friend and I have a tradition. We sit down and plan what we want to read the next year by making a list. Most years I don’t get all of the books on my list read but I’ve come close several times. For 2016, we're both making a list of 75 books to read because neither of came close to finishing our list of 100 books last year. Mine is a mix of older books, newer releases, rereads, and books I have pre-ordered for this next year. It also includes a few series I want to binge read.



This tradition has become its own little reading challenge for my best friend and I. We compete to see who will finish their list first or who can read the most from theirs. After we’ve made our lists, we usually print them out in checklist form so we can check each book we read off as we go. This year though, we're doing everything by Google spreadsheet which is going to save some trees. I've provided my list above. :)

The recent count in my TBR spreadsheet says that I own 235 unread books at the time of this posting. So I'm participating in the 2016 Rock My TBR Reading Challenge hosted by Sarah K for The YA Book Traveler. Basically, the challenge is to read at least one book off your TBR pile each month. If you do that, your TBR will be down twelve books by the end of 2016. I really like this challenge! Especially since I have a ginormous physical TBR pile. My personal goal for this challenge is going to be for me to read twenty-five of my unread books. I’d like to read more but I’m going to set that as the minimum because I can easily read two TBR books a month!


Another part of this challenge is to post a list of the TBR books you're hoping to get to this next year. Me being me, I have set up the above spreadsheet for this. I have one tab for the books I already own and another one for the physical books I have pre-ordered. As soon as a book crosses the threshold of my apartment, I consider it a TBR book. Between both lists, I have about seventy books listed so I shouldn’t run out of books to choose from that’s for sure!

One of my other goals for 2016 is to try and not add any more books to my TBR pile. So I'm participating in the 2016 Read the Books You Buy Challenge hosted by The Book Date. The percentage I'm shooting for is the 80-100% range with my ultimate goal being 100%. If I buy a physical book, I have to read it next year. No more of this stockpiling books when I already have so many unread ones. I actually think I will do well at this challenge considering a lot of my pre-orders for next year are books that continue series I’m caught up on.

The last reading challenge I'm doing is one of the challenges I did last year and had a grand time doing it the whole time! I still think it is rather ingenious. I’m going to be doing my 2016 TBR Jar Challenge inspired by the one created by Kat from Katytastic last year. I'm doing things a little differently this year now that I've done it once. I have selected sixteen bookish challenges and have written them on individual pieces of paper. I’ve put all of these strips of paper into a jar and each month I’m going to draw a challenge that I’ll have to complete before the next month begins. These challenges will add a degree of randomness to my TBR each month while letting me have the freedom to choose a book that fits my mood that will complete each one. This year I am doing one challenge per month for a total of twelve books. By having sixteen bookish challenges, I won't know what twelve I'm doing for 2016 until the end of the year. Sounds fun, right? AND each challenge will count as one of my books for the Rock My TBR challenge above.

As for the challenges I'm switching things up a bit, I used some from last year but I also got rid of a couple. I didn't enjoy some of the challenges plus I found a couple I really liked from PopSugar's 2016 Reading Challenge. The following are what went into my jar:

1. Read A Book With 500+ Pages
2. Reread A Favorite Book
3. Read A Popular YA Book
4. Read A Book That Someone Else Picks
5. Read A Book Published In The Last 3 Years
6. Read A Book With Magic
7. Read A New-To-You Author
8. Read A Book That Was Made Into A Movie
9. Read A Series Finale
10. Read A Book You Own And Haven’t Read Yet
11. Read A Graphic Novel
12. Read A Sequel
13. Read A Book Published In 2016
14. Read A Book That Is Guaranteed To Bring You Joy
15. Read A Non-Fiction Book
16. Read A Book Based On A Fairy Tale

So that’s what I’m doing for the TBR Jar Challenge this year. You all are more than welcome to join me in doing this challenge. :)

Are you doing any bookish challenges this year? Are any of you thinking of doing this challenge?

Gretl's Goals

For 2015 I unofficially resolved to read more Young Adult books, but I don't feel like I did a very good job keeping that resolution. So this year I'm making it official and resolving to read at least one YA book each month. I looked for a YA-focused reading challenge to help me along, but I didn't find one. Then I realized that I already own a whole bunch of YA books that I haven't read yet. (Those are really the only ones I'm bad about buying and saving for later.)

So I'm going to do the Rock My TBR Challenge too. (Link and details above in Rose Red's Resolutions.) I will not, however, be making a spreadsheet. They don't like me and the feeling is mutual. Here's a list of all the YA books on my (mostly digital) TBR pile:

The Mythos Academy series by Jennifer Estep - 6 books

The Lunar Chronicles series by Melissa Marr - 4 books
The White Rabbit Chronicles by Gena Showalter - 3 books

The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Page

The Master Magician by Charlie N. Holmgren

The Wanderers by Kate Ormond

Black Widow: Forever Red by Margaret Stohl
I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest

So I've already got more than enough to read one book a month in 2016. I'd also really like to read The Mortal Instruments series and its spin-offs, especially with the TV show about to start. If I do, I'll probably buy those and add them to the list. If I finish with all those YA titles early in the year, I do have a few adult books on the TBR pile. Here's another list:

Burned by Karen Marie Moning

Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

Terminated by Rachel Caine

Immortal Hunter by Kait Ballenger

Bound to Danger by Katie Reus

Red Delicious by Kathleen Tierney

Extinction Agenda by Marcus Pelligrimas

Envy by J.R. Ward

Midnight by Ellen Connor

Double Cross by Carolyn Crane

Dhampir by Barb and J.C. Hendee

Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Given by Vicki Pettersson
From Russia With Claws by Jacey Conrad and Gia Corona
The Undead Single Moms Club by Molly Harper
The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter by Rob Duncan
Nuts by Alice Clayton
Magic Stars by Ilona Andrews
Fangs for the Memories by Molly Harper

Another part of my resolution is to review the ones that haven't already appeared on the blog. So watch for some of these #RockMyTBR titles coming up.

In January, I'm continuing the Coastal Magic Featured Author Reading Challenge which started in October. The goal is to read seventeen books by Featured Authors in the seventeen weeks leading up to the con. I'm working on my ninth so I'm only four books behind. (Yikes!) Look for a wrap up post for this challenge in February. And for information about Coastal Magic Con, where Goldilox is a Featured Blogger, click the icon at the top of our sidebar.