December Reading Recap + Challenges

I am constantly amazed by how quickly the time goes by. And I know I state that fact often. Somehow, I only managed to read two novels in December. Two, really? That's a sad, sad tale. Especially since I have plenty checked out of my various libraries. But you know, they were two truly fantastic books.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins --- I could not put this book down! I started it before bed and didn't stop until the wee hours of the morning. Ms. Perkins truly has a talent for nailing those teenage romances. Lola is head over heels in love with her boyfriend, but he's a few years older and not always pleased about having Sunday brunch with her dads (yes, I said dads). When Cricket, Lola's first love, moves back into the house next door, Lola is inexplicably drawn to the boy who broke her heart. Who's it going to be? The hot, older bad boy boyfriend or the always-on-her-mind former flame? Delicious, I say! A wonderfully sweet book read over Winter Break.

Divergent by Veronica Roth (review) --- Oh, what a pretty little dystopia. Why did I wait so long to read this book? Like Lola, I read this book in one sitting. That's become my preferred method of reading lately. I don't like to slug through books. I like to gobble them up. And this one, my friends, was rather tasty. I can't wait for the next book, Insurgent, to come out in May so that I can see if Amity really is my favorite faction. Dauntless is definitely not for me...





Looking back... 2011 Challenges
I may have started the year out strong, but as soon as summer ended and work began, I fell into a crazy hectic schedule with very little time for reading. So it's no surprise that I failed nearly all of my challenges. If you're curious, you can head on over to my 2011 Challenges page to check out my stats.


Looking forward... 2012 Challenges & Reading Goals
I'm not going to be overly ambitious in 2012. Because I know that this year will be filled with life changes (good ones, I hope!) that will take up a lot of my would-be reading time. But I have set a few more realistic challenges for myself...

Last year was my first year participating in the Debut Author Challenge hosted by The Story Siren, and I failed pretty miserably. The goal is to simply read 12 YA/MG books by debut authors. Me? I read 3. So, to redeem myself and to read more from new authors (because I tend to rely on old favorites), I'm joining the 2012 Debut Author Challenge with the goal that I'll read at least 6 books from debut authors. Twice as many as last year, but still half as many as everyone else.

2012 Reading Challenge

Natalie has read 0 books toward her goal of 150 books.

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Since I use Goodreads for my reading activities, I also joined their reading challenge and set a goal of 150 books to read in 2012. Goodreads tells me that I read 140 books in 2011 (though I know I read more than that, counting picture books), so 10 more should be no problem.

Finally, I hope to read a couple more books from my Lifelong Reading List, starting with Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, since the movie comes out this month. I also need to add quite a few books to that list...







So, those are my meager goals for this year, I think.

2012, I don't know you very well, but I hope I'll like you and all the new books you bring me!