Reading Challenges Wrap-Up: March – April ’20

I originally planned to do a recap every month of these two challenges, but it looks like every two months will be the plan going forward. We will start with the Year of the Asian reading challenge which is hosted by Lily @ Sprinkles of Dreams, Shealea @ Shut Up Shealea, Vicky @ Vicky Who Reads, and CW @ The Quiet Pond. Be sure to check out their blogs to join and challenge yourself to read as many books by Asian authors as you can. I did not get very far with this one over the last two months, but there are several books that I am hoping to pick up in May and June. Covers linked to Goodreads.

Books by Asian authors I read in March:

1. The Dragon Republic by R. F. Kuang

Reading Challenge Goal: 11-20 books; Current Count: 4 books

I did much better with this challenge. For those unfamiliar, the Con Sabor Reading Challenge is hosted by Dani @ metamorphoreader, Astrid @ Book Love Book Reviews, Natalia @ Books.Build.Life, and Nox @ Nox the Reader and focuses on encouraging readers to read Latinx authors. I am still aiming to read at least 30 books by Latinx authors this year. I think I’m going to succeed, especially considering how many I picked up over the last couple of months. Covers linked to Goodreads.

Books by Latinx authors I read in March and April:

1. Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega
2. In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
3. Into the Tall, Tall Grass by Loriel Ryon
4. Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From by Jennifer De Leon
5. A Sprinkle of Spirits by Anna Meriano
6. Incendiary by Zoraida Córdova
7. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
8. Sal & Gabi Fix the Universe by Carlos Hernandez

Reading Challenge goal: 30 books; Current Count: 13 books

Badges earned so far for this challenge:

Have you joined these challenges this year? Have you read any of these books as well? Let’s discuss in the comments!

Reading Challenges Wrap-Up: January – February ’20

I joined two reading challenges this year and will be giving an update on both in the same post every month. Year of the Asian reading challenge is hosted by Lily @ Sprinkles of Dreams, Shealea @ Shut Up Shealea, Vicky @ Vicky Who Reads, and CW @ The Quiet Pond. Be sure to check out their blogs to join and challenge yourself to read as many books by Asian authors as you can. I am currently aiming for 11-20 books and have made some really good progress. Covers linked to Goodreads.

Books by Asian authors I read in January and February:

1. Monstress, Vol. 3: Haven by Marjorie M. Liu, Sana Takeda (Illustrator)
2. The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
3. Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon

Reading Challenge Goal: 11-20 books; Current Count: 3 books

I have also joined the Con Sabor Reading Challenge hosted by Dani @ metamorphoreader, Astrid @ Book Love Book Reviews, Natalia @ Books.Build.Life, and Nox @ Nox the Reader which focuses on picking up books by Latinx authors. I have a couple of goals with this one but have only made progress with one. I am aiming to read 30 books by Latinx authors this year. So far I am on schedule to accomplish this but might have to step up my game in the coming months so I don’t fall behind. Covers linked to Goodreads.

Books by Latinx authors I read in January and February:

1. Diamond City by Francesca Flores
2. The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea
3. Citizen Illegal by José Olivarez
4. American Street by Ibi Zoboi
5. Children of the Land by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo

Reading Challenge goal: 30 books; Current Count: 5 books

Badges earned so far for this challenge:

Have you joined these challenges this year? Have you read any of these books as well? Let’s discuss in the comments!

Con Sabor Reading Challenge 2020: Sign-up, Goals, and TBR

Dani @ metamorphoreader, Astrid @ Book Love Book Reviews, Natalia @ Books.Build.Life, and Nox @ Nox the Reader have created the Con Sabor Reading Challenge that runs all year long and challenges readers to pick up more books by Latinx authors. I am so excited for this challenge and have been looking forward to it ever since Dani mentioned wanting to created a year-long challenge focused on Latinx books. Obviously this is my kind of challenge. In addition to challenging readers to pick up as many books as possible, the hosts have also created prompts that you can participate in each month if you so wish. You can earn badges by either reading a certain number of books or by participating in these prompts. Check out the hosts’ posts (which I linked to above) for complete info, including where to sign up!

My Goals:

1. Become a Latinx Historian – The hosts have included badges every time you reach a certain number of reads. I am going to shoot for the highest number (30), so I can become a Latinx Historian.

2. Become a Latinx Explorer – I’m less confident with this one but I still want to try. You can also earn a special badge by completing 5 prompt reads which I will also be aiming to do.

The TBR:

I don’t want to make a really specific TBR for this challenge because I want the freedom to choose what I read throughout the year. I do want to highlight a few backlist books that I would like to get to however. So here are a few books that I will be picking up in 2020 for this challenge (I hope). Covers are linked to Goodreads.

1. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez
2. The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary  by NoNieqa Ramos
3. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
4. The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey
5. Citizen Illegal by José Olivarez

6. The Book of Lost Saints by Daniel José Older
7. Barely Missing Everything by Matt Mendez
8. In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
9. By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery
10. Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina

I have also already earned my first badge for this challenge by reading my first book by a Latinx author this year. I read Diamond City by Francesca Flores. Look at how adorable this badge is. I will probably be making a progress post every month here on the blog to track my reading and show off all the badges I’ve earned.

Are you joining the Con Sabor Reading Challenge? Which books by Latinx authors are you hoping to pick up this year? Let’s talk in the comment!

Year of the Asian Reading Challenge, 2020: Sign-Up and TBR

The Year of the Asian reading challenge is hosted by Lily @ Sprinkles of Dreams, Shealea @ Shut Up Shealea, Vicky @ Vicky Who Reads, and CW @ The Quiet Pond and its aim is to challenge readers to pick up Asian authors all year long. This reading challenge runs throughout 2020 and comes with these cute little badges you can shoot for. I will be aiming for 11-20 books read by Asian authors, so I can earn this little guy here:

I’ve been telling myself it’s best to stay away from reading challenges because I can get really stressed about them. Last year I only joined the Beat the Backlist challenge (which I failed at by the way, haha) in an effort to keep expectations low for myself. But I want to have more fun with my reading this year and joining challenges like this is sure to help with that. I am posting a TBR below, but will likely change things here and there. This is mostly a list of backlist titles with a few 2020 releases thrown in. Covers are linked to Goodreads.

1. Monstress, Vol. 3: Haven by Marjorie M. Liu, Illustrated by Sana Takeda
2. Monstress, Vol. 4: The Chosen by Marjorie M. Liu, Illustrated by Sana Takeda
3. Jade City by Fonda Lee
4. Jade War by Fonda Lee
5. Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon

6. The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco
7. Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger
8. Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
9. The True Queen by Zen Cho
10. The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

11. Trouble Never Sleeps by Stephanie Tromly
12. Internment by Samira Ahmed
13. Descendant of the Crane by Joan He
14. The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
15. 10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon

16. Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo
17. I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee
18. Fire Boy by Sami Shah
19. Warcross by Marie Lu
20. We Free the Stars by Hafsah Faizal

Are you joining Year of the Asian reading challenge this year? Which of these on my list needs to be at the top of my TBR? Let’s talk in the comment!