I did it you guys. I completed the 2015 POPSUGAR 50-book challenge in less than 24 books.
When I started this challenge back in February I didn’t think I’d ever actually get them all. But once I realized I could do it, I had to do it. Here’s what I read in 2015:
How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler
A non-fiction book
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
A book more than a 100 years old
Twlight by Stephanie Meyers
A book that became a movie
A book with nonhuman characters
A book by a female author
A book at the bottom of your TBR list
A book with bad reviews
A book with a love triangle
A book set in high school
A book with magic
A book by an author you’ve never read before
A book with a one word title
Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon
A memoir
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
A book your mom loves
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
A book from your childhood
A book that made you cry
A book with a number in the title
Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore
A book a friend recommended
A book you can finish in a day
A graphic novel
The Martian by Andy Weir
A book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to go
The Wizard of Seattle by Kay Hooper
A book that takes place in your hometown
A book by an author who had your same initials
A classic romance (I don’t know what they mean by ‘classic romance’, but this was a romance novel and I was never going to read Pride & Prejudice)
Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle
A book with a color in the title
Little Murders by Jules Feiffer
A play
All My Friends Are Dead by Avery Monsen
A book based entirely on its cover
A funny book
Divergent by Veronica Roth
A book written by someone under 30
A popular author’s first book
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
A book set in the future
Allegiant by Veronica Roth
A Trilogy
Postsecret: Confessions on Life, Death, and God by Frank Warren
A book with antonyms in the title
Speaking in Bones by Kathy Reichs
A book published this year
A book based on or turned into a tv show
A mystery or thriller
Beloved by Toni Morrison
A Pulitzer Prize winning novel
A banned book
Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman by Richard Feynman
A book published the year you were born
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
A book based on a true story
A book that scares you
A book you were supposed to read in school and didn’t
A book you own but never read
A book you started but never finished
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
A book set in a different country
A book that was originally written in another language
A book set during Christmas
The Best of Roald Dahl by Roald Dahl
A book with short stories
A book from an author you love that you haven’t read yet
A book with more than 500 pages
For those keeping track, I completed my challenge in only 22 books, however I kept my goal of at least 24 books for the year with a couple of the books I read during BookTubeAThon that didn’t fit into any of the POPSUGAR challenges.
I really loved doing this challenge, but I am definitely not doing the 2016 version. As much fun as it was, there’s a whole list of books I’m dying to read that don’t happen to fit into these categories, and my TBR list is getting too long for my tastes. I’d also like to focus more on books that I actually own, since I’m trying to slowly reduce the size of my personal library.
If you’re interested, check out the 2016 POPSUGAR challenge for a list of next year’s categories. Or maybe try out the New York Public Library’s challenge. Or this one from Book Riot. Personally I’m giving myself only two challenges: read 24 books in a year, and read (almost) exclusively from my TBR list.
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