2015: Reading Goals Wrap-Up

So it’s that time of year where I look back (through my fingers) on the challenges I set myself at the beginning of the year and see how I did!

Here are the challenges I set myself:

Read 125 books

Smashed it! I’m over 225…

Read more non-fiction – I’m thinking about 6

Woo! Doubled it! I actually really enjoyed all the non-fiction I read this year. I mostly read memoirs, a lot in audiobook, as that’s what appealed to me, but I may try and branch out even further in 2016.

Read 3 Shakespeare plays

Well, I’d completely forgotten about this one until I just looked back on the goals I set so nope, didn’t quite achieve this one.

Read what I want, when I want

I am really, really bad at this. I still feel very obligated and restricted to review copies, unfortunately, but discovering audiobooks in July has allowed me to read books I want to alongside review books, as well as reading multiple books at once.

Read a classic a month

I did it! I’m so pleased that I managed this! I actually read more than 12 as well which is brilliant. I read some biggies, some I should have read at school, some modern classics and I fell head over heels in love with some as well! Having Stacey from Pretty Books running the #2015ClassicsChallenge was great as I had someone to discuss my classics with. I highly recommend joining next year if that’s one of your goals.

Buy books in physical bookshops, indies when possible

I gave a good shot to this one! I went to lots of London events this year so I bought a lot in Foyles and Piccadilly, I fell in love with the NYC indies The Strand and Books of Wonder and discovered Wordery for buying books online as they aren’t affiliated with Amazon at all.

I kind of realised this year that actually my local Waterstones is pretty crap; it’s very rare that I actually find what I'm looking for in there.

Pop Sugar Reading Challenge

I did it! Most of the challenges I was able to check off with my normal reading, but a few required a special effort: book published the year I was born, a graphic novel, a Pulitzer Prize-winner and an author with my initials (I could only think of Scott Westerfeld and Sarah Waters!).

Actually read all of the glorious hardbacks I pre-order

Ah, well. Put it this way: I bought 12 books while I was out in New York in April and I’ve read a whole 3 of them… Whoops.

Read more fantasy

Though I didn’t read a huge number of fantasy novels, I read some big ones (in size and in name) and I loved most of what I read. It's definitely a genre I’ll continue to explore next year.

Re-read Harry Potter

Well, I read the illustrated version of Philosopher’s Stone so that’s better than nothing! I’m considering getting the audiobooks now they’re on Audible so I can finally re-read them.

A bit of a mixed bag, really, but I’m very pleased with how many books I read and how much I expanded in the genres I read, particularly with the classics, adult and non-fiction. I've discovered some favourites.

Did you set yourself any reading challenges for 2015? How did you do?

Sophie