Looking Back at 2014 Challenges

Alright, so it's time to finally see if I managed to do any of the 2014 challenges I set out to complete this year. At the beginning of the year, I was pretty ambitious, signing up for 4 year-long challenges, and 2 mid year reading challenges I'll also talk about. So, let's talk about 2014 challenges, and if you're curious you can check out my summary of my 2014 reading goals and challenges.

Year Long Challenges

Bookish's 2014 TBR Pile Challenge

hosted by Bookish

My intended goal: A First Kiss level (21-20 reviews)

Challenge Completed? 

Yes!

I did a total of 23 reviews on the blog and on Goodreads that met this requirement. I'll be updating the 2014 Challenges tab with the results and linked up reviews shortly.

2014 Debut Author Challenge

hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Challenge Goal: 12 debut novels

Challenge Completed?

No, I read and reviewed 5 debuts

2014 Prequel & Sequel Challenge

hosted by Novel Heartbeat and Writer Grrl Reads

My intended goal: Newbie level (10-25 points)

Challenge Completed?

Yes!

I calculated my points and ended up with 36 points from sequel reviews.

Mid Year Challenges

Fiktshun's 2014 Don't Let It End Reading Challenge

hosted by Fiktshun

No set goal

How many series-ending books did I read and review during this time period?

2

2014 Book Blogger Summer Reading Program

hosted by Katie's Book Blog

My intended goal: Read 12 books during the time period

Challenge Completed?

Yes!

I ended up reading 36 books and 1 novella during the time period, and of those books that I read I ended up writing 17 reviews, although those were not necessarily posted during the time frame.

So, those are my 2014 Challenges. I ended up completing most of them, which I'm happy about. However, going into challenges next year, I saw Cassi mention in her recent Top Ten Tuesday that one of her New Year's Resolutions was to link up to challenges for the updates. And I thought about it... and I never did that this year. Seeing as that's part of the challenge, I'm hoping that when I sign up for 2015 challenges, I can try and keep updated on them as well. I've been updating the 2014 Challenges into a new system of organization and so I've checked back on the challenges and updated the scores here.

I hope 2014 was a good year, and best wishes for 2015! See you next year in the Paper World!

From the paper world,

V

2014 Goals and Challenges - A Summary

If you've been here on the blog a few times, you've probably seen a random post or two about some reading challenges that Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink are going to be participating in. Also, there are quite a few buttons appearing in the side bar, for readathons, read alongs, challenges, and other events that I'm going to be participating in through the blog. And I'm really excited for them, and I want to spread the word so you can see if it's something you would be interested in participating in. Now, before we start, yes these are a lot of challenges. However, I looked at them all carefully, set myself very realistic goals, and I'm not going to worry about everything excessively. Book blogging is something I do because it's what I love to do, and these challenges are a great way to inspire myself to have more reviews for you guys, and to also be able to see others' reviews, blogs, and thoughts. The challenges are also ones that, with almost any book I read, a review for it will count towards one or more of these challenges. So, I think I'll be able to successfully meet my goals, which are all very reasonable. Without further ado, let's talk about some of the yearly challenges I'm undertaking, and how they coincide with some of my blogging goals.

First, I'd like to talk about the first book blogging challenges I heard about and signed up for. The 2014 TBR Pile Challenge, hosted at Bookish is one that I'm really excited about. This was the first one I'd heard of, and I was so excited because it was a chance to review some books and then be able to see other's book reviews and share some of my own. Plus, the idea of this challenge is to read some books that are already published and that you've wanted to read for awhile. For this year's challenge, the books must be published in 2013 or any year before that. I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 21-30 books for this challenge, and even with all the other challenges I'm undertaking, I think this is a reasonable goal. I've wanted to have more book reviews on the blog, and this challenge was great motivation for that. A few other bloggers I know, namely Sunny and Kerrie, are doing it as well, and I'm really excited to meet some other bloggers, read some reviews, and write and share some of my own. I'll link the sign up page here, and that gives the challenge details as well.

Sign Up for Bookish's 2014 TBR Pile Challenge!

Another challenge I'm really excited for is the 2014 Debut Author's Challenge. This is hosted at The Story Siren, and the goal of this is to read 12 debut author books for this year. I signed up for this after I saw how many YA 2014 Debuts I was adding to my to-read as I looked on Goodreads under various Listopia. There are plenty of authors that are debuting this year with books that really do sound fantastic. In my sign up post, I linked the books I was considering reading, and so I'll link that here. Since the goal is 12 debuts, and we have the same monthly link-ups as all of these challenges have for reviews, I knew this would be an opprotunity to discover some new authors and series, which perfectly lines up with my 'Start at least 5 new series' book goal, and this would be a lot of new content for reviews for you all. I'm thinking of starting a feature about favorite Debuts of mine, so let me know if you guys are in favor of that idea. I'll leave the sign up for this challenge as well so you can see if it's something you're interested in.

Sign Up for The Story Siren's 2014 Debut Author Challenge!

Next is the 2014 Prequels & Sequels Challenge. This is hosted by both Novel Heartbeat and Writer Grrl Reads. The goal of this challenge is to read and review prequels, sequels, and complete series. I thought this was a perfect opportunity to expand on my Series in Summation feature, and to have more reviews in general. I picked the lowest target for this, which was 10-25 points and so I'll have this challenge completed early into the year.




Sign Up for Novel Heartbeat and Writer Grrl Reads's 2014 Prequels & Sequels Challenge!

I'd like to take this time to announce my participation in yet another 2014 reading challenge. Fiktshun is a blog I've been following for awhile, and so when I saw her post about the 'Don't Let It End Challenge' I was really excited. One of my 2014 goals is to 'Finish 5 series' and the goal of this 6 month challenge (From February 14 to July 14) is to finish series that you have dreaded finishing. I can think of a few that are already out (Sentinel, Champion, Allegiant, Emerald Green, etc.) as well as some coming out I'm dreading seeing the end of the series (City of Heavenly Fire!!). This challenge is great motivation to finish these series. It will also overlap with the Prequels & Sequels Challenge. I know it seems like a lot to add on another challenge, but there is no book number requirement for this. I don't need to set a goal or level to reach. I just read what I can, and link up the reviews. So, I'm very excited, and I'll link the sign ups for you all here.

Sign Up for Fiktshun's 2014 Dont Let It End Reading Challenge!

My Goodreads Reading Challenge is 75 books. Last year I didn't update my reading for six months, so I'm going to keep a closer track of what I read through Goodreads. 

Those are all of the reading challenges I'll be participating in this year. Yes, it's a lot, but I think I can handle my goals. I'll keep you posted in my Monthly Wrap Ups, and update how I'm doing in each challenge. Also, my Goodreads reading challenge is in the sidebar with the other 2014 Reading Challenges, and you'll be able to see how many books I've read there.

What are some reading challenges you'll be participating in? Are you doing any of the same challenges? 

From the paper world,

V