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I participated in The Calm Scribe’s Reading Challenge for 2022. Today I’m looking back to see how I did.
From the List
I read 16 of my 26 originally planned books. I read two more that were substitutions:
- Instead of This Life or the Next by Demian Vitanza, I read The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu.
- Instead of A Death at Dawn by Gabrielle Grey, I read Penny Puppet by Jason Hyde.
My Additions
I finished reading Rage Becomes Her by Soraya Chemaly and The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemison, as I had hoped.
I also read several books that came into my life throughout the year:
- Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson (and amazing illustrations by Nikkolas Smith!).
- Three Sharp Knives by Jessica Conwell.
- Why We Elect Narcissists and Sociopaths—And How We Can Stop! by Bill Eddy.
- My Little Picture Bible by James Harrison, illustrated by Diana Mayo.
- Don’t think of an Elephant by George Lakoff.
- White Women by Regina Jackson and Saira Rao.
Unfinished
This year, what I left unfinished was my list of books I didn’t finish.
Before You Read These Books
Inadvertantly, on my quest to hit my goal this year, I ended up reading a few books that were not great. Be forewarned:
- Through Violet Eyes by Stephen Woodworth includes some racism and the most consistently vile ableism I ever remember reading.
- The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson, which, I suppose, kept in line with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I guess I had just forgotten all the rape and misogyny and stuff.
- Polk, Harper, & Who by Panayotis Cacoyannis includes racism, plus the dog barking was included as dialogue (twice) for some reason, and I’m still not entirely sure what the story was about (or who “Who” refers to).
How I Did
Challenge books: 26 (plus two bonuses)
I read: 26! 😁
I read the full number of books, not necessarily the suggested books. But that’s the great thing about this challenge; it’s very flexible. Plus, I’ve continued my streak of reading more than I did the previous year, so I feel like that’s a win all around.
To be honest, I fell off (again) around mid-year, and by December, I didn’t think I was going to hit my target. But I was going to try, and I blew through 4 more books, finishing with 3 days to spare.
Did you have reading goals this year? How did you do? HMU @kcotenti on Twitter to share!