I’d never done a reading challenge before last year and I’m happy to report that I managed to complete it and enjoyed it so much.
I set myself a goal of 30 books for 2019. Now that might not seem like a lot to some people but for someone who barely manages to find the time to read, it’s a good number. One of the things that helped me finish my goal was being able to read on my Kindle just before I went to sleep. There’s nothing better than holding a brand new book in your hands and getting ready to dive into a story. But having my Kindle around has allowed me to read more and makes it easier to travel with all of my books. A lot of evenings, I’d read for about 20-30 minutes before I went to sleep. Sometimes, that turned into a lot longer depending on how much I loved the book I was reading. I love a good Nora Roberts romance and usually devour those within a day or two. Other books took me longer to finish. I joined Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine book club and read most of the books chosen each month. Some I really enjoyed, others not so much, but I made myself finish each one, even if it took a while. I figured, it was a good way to branch out and read some other genres.
This year, I decided to set my goal at 35 books and I started with the January pick from Hello Sunshine - Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. Not finished yet but getting there.

It’s hard to pick a favorite so I’ll try to go with my top five in no particular order.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. (Can not wait for the movie.)
Becoming by Michelle Obama
The Conscious Closet by Elizabeth L. Cline
From Scratch by Tembi Locke (Another one I can’t wait for the movie to come out.)
Where Do I Begin? by Elvis Duran (Read that one in less than 2 days.)

Some of the books I didn’t enjoy too much, either because of the writing or the story line.
I remember that The Library Book by Susan Orlean took me forever to finish. I liked how informative the book is but there was just something about it that made it drag on for me.
Another one that everyone seemed to really enjoy was Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Again, the story was interesting but I did not enjoy the interview style the book was written in.

All in all, I’m happy that I decided to set a book reading challenge for myself and that I finished it.
I was going to set the same goal again for this year but decided to up the ante and add five more. Fingers crossed!

Do you like to read? Are you on Goodreads? And do you set yourself a book challenge for the year?

I’d love to hear from you!

Happy reading!

xo, Susi