First Quarter Challenge Check In

Hello bookworms!!

I can’t believe we are already a quarter of the way through 2022. I’ve decided to do quarterly updates again this year to hopefully help me keep up with all of my challenges for the year. Here is my progress from January 1 – March 31.

1.) Goodreads/The StoryGraph Reading Challenge 

I’ve read 27/100 books so far this year. I know the graphic says 26 but there’s one book that I read that isn’t on Goodreads yet because it hasn’t been released. I have also written reviews for all of them but 2 so far. Goodreads says I am 1 book ahead of schedule but because of the book not logged yet I am actually 2 books ahead of schedule.

2.) What’s In A Name Reading Challenge hosted by Andrea from Carolina Book Nook

I didn’t read any books for this challenge in the first 3 months of the year. I did put a couple of them on some TBRs, but I never got around to reading them.

In 2022, choose 6 books that have titles that contain a:

(Click on the links for examples and info)

• Compound word: The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary
• Speed: I could use a recommendation for this prompt. I thought this would be an easy book to come up with, but I got nothing.
• Person and their description: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
• Mythical being: Her Alien Savior by Elle Thorne (currently reading)
• Season: Winter by Marissa Meyer
• Color: Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

3.) Bookbloggers 2022 Fiction Reading Challenge created by Lynne from Fictionophile

I’ve read 2/6 of the books for this challenge and I think that’s a pretty good start. Do any of y’all have any recommendations for a book that will fit the good/evil prompt? The only book I had was Damaged Goods which doesn’t really fit.

1. Title contains a reference to temperature: Getting Hot with the Scot by Melonie Johnson
2. Title contains a reference to precipitation: Praying for Rain by BB Easton
3. Title contains a word associated with royalty: King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
4. A collection of short stories: Different Seasons by Stephen King
5. Title contains words good or evil: Damaged Goods by Talia Hibbert
6. Title contains numerals: How to Choose a Guy in 10 Days by Lila Monroe

4.) Husband Picks 5

I am off to a very bad start with this challenge. What’s new? I haven’t read any of these books yet. I swear I always fail at this challenge every year and I don’t know why.

1. King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
2. What Remains by Inked in Gray
3. Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu
4. Scream All Night by Derek Milman
5. The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

5.) Buzzwordathon Reading Challenge created by Kayla from BooksandLala

I’m happy with my progress with this challenge. I’ve only missed one month so far and considering everything I’ve signed up for and everything I’ve been dealing with this year I think I am doing really well.

1. January (who, what, when, where, why or how) – How to Love Your Neighbor by Sophie Sullivan
2. February (me, you, she, her, he, him, we, their, etc.) – Regretting You by Colleen Hoover
3. March (locations: city, state, country, attractions, etc.) –
4. April (size: big, little, small, large, etc.) – Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker
5. May (directions: north, south, east, west, up, left, etc.) – Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven
6. June (the word “ALL”) All Night with a Rogue by Alexandra Hawkins
7. July (book related words) The Bookish life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
8. August (items/objects) – Lock & Key by Sarah Dessen
9. September (light or dark) – Captive in the Dark by CJ Roberts
10. October (creatures or animals) – Sparrow by L.J. Shen
11. November (words that end in “ING”) – Kissing books by Cat Johnson
12. December (numbers) – First Love by James Patterson

6.) The Swoon Sisters Book Club hosted by Nicole from Who Picked This Book? & Daijah from Daijah’s Book World

I mentioned that this was going to be one that I was going to attempt to participate in this year but that my book club was going to take priority. So far I haven’t been able to participate in this book club this year but maybe that will change in the next quarter. I have already read April’s book so I can at least watch the live show on that book.

1. January – The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
2. February – Flock by Kate Stewart
3. March – The Sweetest Oblivion by Danielle Lori
4. April – The Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan
5. May – The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker
6. June – Haunting Adeline by H.D Carlton
7. July
8. August
9. September
10. October
11. November
12. December

7.) Lost in Romance Book Club hosted by myself and Michelle

I am really happy to say that I have managed to read every single book we have chosen so far, and I haven’t hated any of them. Of course, I’ve loved some more than others but that’s to be expected. We’ve already picked the books for April and May. If you want to join us, just click the link above to join the Goodreads group.

1. January – Indigo Ridge by Devney Perry
2. February – The Savage and the Swan by Ella Fields
3. March – Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
4. April – Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
5. May – Twisted Love by Ana Huang
6. June
7. July
8. August
9. September
10. October
11. November
12. December

8.) 2022 Audiobook Challenge hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer and That’s What I’m Talking About

My goal for this challenge is to listen to 50+ audiobooks. So far, I have listened to 11 audiobooks. I’m a little bit behind schedule on this challenge but I’m not worried about it at this point.

Challenge Levels: I’ve decided to go for Marathoner because in 2021 I listened to 55 audiobooks so I feel like that will be a good number to shoot for again. 

• Newbie (I’ll give it a try) 1-5
• Weekend Warrior (I’m getting the hang of this) 5-10
• Stenographer (can listen while multitasking) 10-15
• Socially Awkward (Don’t talk to me) 15-20
• Binge Listener (Why read when someone can do it for you) 20-30
• My Precious (I had my earbuds surgically implanted) 30+
• Marathoner (Look Ma No Hands) 50+
• Over-Achiever (Power Listener) 75+
• The 100 Club (Audiobook Addict) 100+

9.) 2022 “Support Book Bloggers” Challenge created by Briana from Pages Unbound

I have been sticking to this every month which I am really proud of. Like I mentioned some of these things I already do but I wanted to do more which is why I joined this challenge.

1. FIND 10 BOOK BLOGGERS YOU’VE ENJOYED READING IN THE PAST AND GIVE THEM A SHOUT OUT

• I created a blog post sharing 10 Bloggers I’ve Enjoyed Following Since I Started Blogging In 2016.

2. FIND 10 NEW-TO-YOU BOOK BLOGGERS TO FOLLOW

• I created a blog post sharing 10 New To Me Bloggers (The Last 10 Bloggers I’ve Followed)

3. LEAVE COMMENTS ON 10 BOOK BLOGS

• I commented on several blogs throughout March but me being me didn’t think about creating a post about it and now I can’t remember every post I commented on but I did complete this months prompt.

4. WRITE A POST SUPPORTING BOOK BLOGGERS

Ideas include:

• A round-up of blog links you enjoyed reading in the past week or month
• A post about why you enjoy reading book blogs in general
• A post about how other people can support book blogs
• A list of bloggers with affiliate links or ko-fi accounts that people can support

5. SHARE 10 BLOG POSTS TO SOCIAL MEDIA

6. RESPOND TO 5 COMMENTS OTHER PEOPLE HAVE LEFT ON A BLOG

• Instead of leaving a comment replying to the blog posts, try starting a discussion by replying to a comment someone else has left on another blog.

7. WRITE A POST ABOUT BOOKS YOU’VE READ BECAUSE OF OTHER BLOGGERS

• Your list can be specific (I read X book because Y blogger recommended it), or it can be more general (I read these books because they seem popular with bloggers in general).

8. FOLLOW 5 NEW BOOK BLOGGERS (LESS THAN 1 YEAR OLD)

• Optional: write a post, Twitter thread, etc. sharing their URLs with others.

9. WRITE A GUEST POST FOR A BLOG OR FEATURE A GUEST POST ON YOUR BLOG

• Guests posts seem to have declined in popularity on book blogs in the past couple years, but they can be a fun way to increase your reach and introduce readers to new bloggers.

10. READ 10 BLOG POSTS AND “LIKE” THEM

• This is the simplest way to support book blogs — read them! — but sometimes we get busy, and this falls by the wayside. So take the time to read 10 posts and leave a “like” is possible. Bonus: comment on them, as well.

11. LINK TO OTHER BOOK BLOGS IN FIVE OF YOUR OWN POSTS

Ideas include:

1. Creating a round-up of interesting links from other blogs
2. Writing a discussion post inspired by someone else’s and linking back
3. Linking to other bloggers’ reviews at the end of your reviews
4. Linking to another blogger’s post in a discussion post to support a point
5. Including quotes from other bloggers and linking back to them in one of your posts

12. SHARE 10 MORE BLOG POSTS TO SOCIAL MEDIA

• Repetitive? Maybe. But bloggers love when other people share their posts, and they get more traffic!

10.) 12 Challenge created by Shadowbooker on Instagram

I fell behind in February but I managed to catch up in March, so I am on track at the moment. I have to say I am really loving this challenge. I’ve only read 3 books so far but I have enjoyed all of them and I am loving the fact that I am picking up books I normally wouldn’t pick up on my own.

1. Sadie by Courtney Summers (recommended by momsbookcollection)
2. Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X Kendi (recommended by ashley.reads88)
3. The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig (recommended by jess_reads_books)
4. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (recommended by bookcoffeehappy)
5. Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley (recommended by theresajsnyder)
6. The Guncle by Steven Rowley (recommended by gemma_bmr)
7. The Cove by L.J. Ross (recommended by ClareJanetMason)
8. To Love and Be Loved by Amanda Prowse (recommended by jamescudney4)
9. Tokyo Ueno Station by Miri Yu (recommended by BookishLuna)
10. The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid (recommended by storytimesleeve)
11. A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi (recommended by bulliesandbooks)
12. Heroine by Mindy McGinnis (recommended by dezzztructive)

11.) 20 Books of Summer created by Cathy from 746Books

This challenge doesn’t actually start until July so I don’t have any updates for this one yet. I am looking forward to trying this challenge again this year and hopefully actually reading all 20 books for once.

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That’s all for today. For the most part I am happy with my progress. There are a few of the challenges that I could be doing better on but I’m not going to stress over it. I will try to do better in the next quarter. How are you doing with your challenges?