Aside from setting my 2012 writing goals, I decided to give myself an additional goal by joining the Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge. After all, to be a writer is to be a reader. Even though I already have a habit of reading a respectable number of books each year, I thought it might be fun to set a number and go for it.
The first six months of 2012 went very well as I averaged about 1 book every week or so, but by summer I got very distracted with writing and craft projects. As a result, I had to start reading like a lunatic from September to December! Despite my irregular reading schedule, I managed to reach my goal of reading 30 books before the end of the year. Yay!
I did it!
In addition to reading 30 books, I made a secondary goal of writing a snapshot review for each book, (see My Bookshelf). Most of the time, I was able to stay on track with this, but there were multiple times throughout the year where I fell behind (most notably November and December). That being said, I’m happy to report every review was completed before the end of December.
While all the titles I read are listed on My Bookshelf, I really love seeing a grid of book covers that shows the wide variety of books I read this year. I read everything from classic literature, non-fiction, and biography to trashy romance novels, young adult, and children’s books. There’s nothing like a little diversity to fire up my muse!
Now, it looks like a I cheated a bit with Mr. Happy and friends, but these books are very special to me. I read them when I was a kid and they were always among my favorites. As an adult, I haven’t so much as seen a Mr. Men or Little Miss book until I went to London in 2011. My love of them was rekindled and so was my desire to read them again. This year I received a boxed set of the first ten books in the series as a gift for Christmas and I was so excited! They are still wonderful little books!
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As for the 2013 Reading Challenge, I’ve already jumped in with a goal of reading 30 books.
Are you up for the challenge? Check out Goodreads and sign up!
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c.b.w. 2012
C.B. Wentworth 
what do you do to get your goodreads widget to show I can’t work it out I couldn’t do it last year
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Are you trying to make the widget work on your blog or on the Goodreads site? There’s a trick for both. Let me know, so we can get you squared away!
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on my blog I failed miserably last year at getting it to work and gave up resorting to just the badge
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I ran into the same problem last year until figured out what was going on. The widget does not self-update. Every time you add a new book to your goal, you have to re-copy the code (from the widget section on goodreads) and paste it into your widget section on wordpress. It’s a little annoying, but I turned it into a reward system . . . “Yay! I finished a book so I get to re-copy code!” Yeah, I’m a dork.
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did you post the widget link on the goodreads widget or as an image?
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Post the code using the “text” feature in your wordpress widget section.
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I tried that and it just showed the text will try again
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A link won’t work – you’ll need the code that’s available in the widget section on Goodreads (it’ll be on your My Books page along the left hand side).
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got in now thank you why do they have to make everything so complicated – or is it just me
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It’s waaaay more complicated than it needs to be. 😉
I’m glad you got it to work!
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Good going!!! I didn’t meet my goal. I love your book choices. I see I have to add more to my TBR list.
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I had a weird assortment of books this year, but it was fun nonetheless. 🙂
Maybe this year you’ll hit the magic number!
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Going to have to give this a try.
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Yay! I saw you set a goal today. It’ll be fun to do this together. 🙂
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WOW! 🙂
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LOL! 😀 What can I say? I love to read.
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So much achievement! Congrats! I thought about setting a goal for reading this year, and I’m wondering if reading through recipe books checked out from the library (in search of good vegetarian recipes) counts.
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Recipe books totally count. Any book counts! 🙂
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It is always wonderful to reach a goal–maybe I will jump on the bandwagon with you–Happy New Year and Happy Reading and Writing!
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Ooo, if you decide to join the challenge find me on Goodreads. 🙂
Happy New Year to you as well!
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I think I may have but I am not sure —
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OK, I’m game! You’ve inspired me to take the challenge! If for no other reason than to see those pretty little cover thumbnails spread out across a page so divinely!
Congrats on this well-rounded and impressive accomplishment!
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Yay! Let’s see if we can connect on Goodreads. 🙂
The book covers really are fun to collect. I don’t know why, but like you, I love seeing them all in a grid with so much color and vibrancy.
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Well done! I love goodness am going to follow your lead and set myself a challenge too!
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Good reads I mean!
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Yay! I can’t wait to see what you’ll be reading this year. 🙂
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Good for you!
I have Goodreads too, but if I’d taken this challenge, there would be no variety whatsoever 🙂
Read quite a few books last year, but almost all of them were by the same author [Erica James + Maureen Lee]. When you find someone you really like … why change a winning concept 😀
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All reading is good reading! 🙂
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Awesome! I set my goal for 25 this year…I think I read 19 this last year. I want to know out of the books you read which ones you recommend the most….also…I want to know what you thought of the Fifty Shades Trilogy! I read them but haven’t met too many people around here in Utah willing to admit they read them too 😉 so I we can compare notes!
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I gush about the Fifty Shades Trilogy with a friend of mine at work – the only other person I know who has read it and will admit to it. I loved it as an escapist, brain-easy series. It was fun to analyze the characters and immerse myself in the fantasy. No matter its faults, it was a fun read!
Have you read Sylvia Day’s Crossfire series? If you liked 50 Shades, you’ll like these, too. 🙂
As for my favorites this year:
“How to Be a Woman” by Caitlin Moran
“Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper” by Harriet Scott Chessman
“Every Love Story is a Ghost Story” by D.T. Max
Let’s connect on goodreads! 🙂
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Congrats! Definitely an interesting mix there. I’ve rediscovered the Mr Men too, via my daughter – they’re great stories!!
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I love how universal the Mr. Men and Little Miss stories are. No matter age, gender, or background, they are always wonderful stories. 🙂
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You have TOTALLY inspired me to set measurable goals and stick to them this year. I’m so impressed with how many books you read!!
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It’s amazing what a to-do list can do for motivation. 🙂 I like watching that little bar graph grow and it freaks me out when I fall behind. Call it a personality flaw, but I don’t like to fail. Lol! 🙂
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Woolf’s ‘A Room of One’s Own’ – a must for every female writer!
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I agree. 🙂
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Congratulations CB 🙂
Xx
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Thanks! 😀
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I jumped in. My goal is to read that many non fiction books so it will be a great challenge for me.
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Ooo, that is a challenge. 🙂
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Awesome! I was two books short 😦
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I thought I was going to miss the deadline but then those wonderful little books showed up under my Christmas tree. 🙂
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I am so impressed by your energy and determination. Thanks for inspiring me this year. Get going…is there a novel #3 beginning to take shape?
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I started the notes on #3 this week. 🙂 As soon as Novel #2 revisions are complete, I’m going to jump right into writing the sequel.
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