2013 Reading Challenges

EDIT: This page has been updated with all the books of all the 2013 challenges on January 4, 2014.


Hey guys! I'm not usually big on participating on challenges... they're just another thing at the back of my mind that I must not lose track of. But I think this challenge, hosted by Evie from Bookish and six other bloggers, makes sense for my current situation. It hope it'll motivate me!

The idea of the challenge? To read a certain number of books released in 2012 or earlier! And since there are soooo many of those, especially series I have decided I must begin after all, this plays into my reading plans.

Sign-ups are open until December 15, so hurry up if you want to participate! (I simply consider myself fashionably late :P ) Click the banner above for the exact rules and to get to the linky.

There are five levels on which you can participate. It's always possible to upgrade, but not to downgrade.

1-10 - A Firm Handshake
11-20 - A Friendly Hug
21-30 - A Sweet Kiss
31-40 - Love At First Sight
41-50 - Married With Children

I've decided to try my hand at A Sweet Kiss. It sounds manageable without being too restrictive.


Need incentives? There will be giveaways every month, as well as another EPIC one in December!


Here are some of the books I'm planning to read. I'll add more as I go along, and I'll probably copy this book into a separate page at the top of the blog.

• All 5 books in the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger (I bought a box set) EDIT: I already read the first two in December 2012. That leaves Blameless, Heartless, and Timeless.
• Divergent & Insurgent by Veronica Roth  Read Divergent from January 2-5, Insurgent January 17-20.
• Wither, by Lauren DeStefano Read April 26-28.
• Awake At Dawn, by C.C. Hunter Read February 12-13.
• A Perfect Blood, by Kim Harrison
• The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak Read July 30- August 11.
• Graceling, by Kristin Cashore Read December 1-5.
• Velveteen, by Daniel Marks
• Slumber, by Samantha Young
• something by Amanda Hocking
• Hourglass, by Myra McEntire
• Falling To Ash, by Karen Mahoney Read January 9 to January 11.
• something by Libba Bray, probably The Diviners
• The Soul Thief (UK Demon Trappers #2), by Jana Oliver
• Exiled, by M.R. Merrick
• Flight, by Alyssa Rose Ivy
• Lola and the Boy Next Door, by Stephanie Perkins Read October 20-21.
• Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas Read January 1 to January 2.

That's already 20, and I could easily have gone on longer!!! My pile is an abyss. Sometimes I despair. (Actually almost every day)

New ads:

• The Pledge, by Kimberly Derting Read February 7-10.
• The Iron Knight & The Iron Prophesies, by Julie Kagawa Read Feb 24 - March 2.
• Uncommon Criminals, by Allie Carter Read September 18-20.
• If I Stay, by Gayle Forman  Read March 5-6.
• Where She Went, by Gayle Forman Read March 7.
• The Replacement, by Brenda Yovanoff Read January 15-17. 
• Rule, by Jay Crownover Read January 20-22.
• Indigo Awakening, by Dane Jordan Finished January 6.
• Embrace, by Jessica Shirvington Read January 30-February 1.
• Florence, by Ciye Cho Read January 22-29.
• Ultraviolet, by R.J. Anderson Read January 26-27.
• Masquerade, by Melissa de la Cruz Read February 18-20. 
• Pretty in Black, by Rae Hachton Finished February 23.
• Opal, by Jennifer L. Armentrout Read February 20-23.
• Stray, by Rachel Vincent Finished on March 10.
• Rogue, by Rachel Vincent Read March 10-13.
• Rapture, by Phillip W. Simpson Finished March 20.
• Girl of Nightmares, by Kendare Blake Read March 31-April 1.
• Impossible, by Komal Kant Read April 1-3.
• One Grave At A Time, by Jeaniene Frost Read April 22-25. 
• Darkfever, by Karen Marie Moning Read May 1-4
• Bloodfever, by Karen Marie Moning Read May 4-5
• Faefever, by Karen Marie Moning Read May 6-7
• Fever, by Laruen DeStefano Read May 8-9 
• Spell Bound, by Rachel Hawkins Read May 12
• Blood Rights, by Kristen Painter Read May 9-12 
• Dreamfever, by Karen Marie Moning Read May 13-15
• The Sea of Tranquility, by Katja Millay Read May 15-16
• Grave Mercy, by Robin LaFevers Read May 16-19
• The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin Read May 20 
• The Poison Diaries, by Maryrose Wood Read May 21-22
• I Hunt Killers, by Barry Lyga Read June 1-2
• Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo Read June 6-7
• The Evolution of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin Read June 14-17
• Luminaire, by Ciye Cho Read June 14-18
• Losing It, by Cora Carmack Read July 5 
• Looking for Alaska, by John Green Read July 7-8
• Legend, by Marie Lu Read July 10-11
• The Faerie Ring, by Kiki Hamilton Read July 11-13
• The Torn Wing, by Kiki Hamilton Read July 14-17
• The Edge of Never, by J.A. Redmerski Read July 21-26
• Easy, by Tammara Webber Read August 2
• Ten Tiny Breaths, by K.A. Tucker Read August 4-5
• The Book of Blood and Shadow, by Robin Wasserman Read August 13-17
• A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness Read August 17-22
• Flesh and Blood, by Kristen Painter Read August 27-28
• Carrier of the Mark, by Leigh Fallon Read August 29-30
• Blackbirds, by Chuck Wendig Read September 6
• The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss Read September 7-14
• Some Girls Are, by Courtney Summers Read September 15-16
• Uncommon Criminals, by Ally Carter Read September 18-20
• The Way of Shadows, by Brent Weeks Read September 20-22
• Shadow's Edge, by Brent Weeks Read September 22-26
• Beyond the Shadows, by Brent Weeks Read September 26-28
• Ashes and Ice, by Rochelle Maya Callen Read October 1-4
• Lola and the Boy Next Door, by Stephanie Perkins Read October 20-21
• This Dark Endeavor, by Kenneth Oppel Read October 30 - November 2
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky Read November 3-8
• Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi Read November 23-25
• Destroy Me, by Tahereh Mafi Read November 29
• The Space Between, by Brenna Yovanoff Read December 6-8
• Poison Princess, by Kresley Cole Read December 16
• The Wind Through the Keyhole, by Stephen King Read December 20-24

So that's already 34! I guess I've completed my original challenge. So I'm upgrading to the Love At First Sight level: 31-40 is my new goal. Edit July 3: I've reached 40, so the new goal for now is 50.
July 11: 42
EDIT: As of January 4, 2014 I've read 75 books in 2013 that fit this challenge.

I have after some thinking also decided to participate in the following:

The 2013 Sequel Challenge is hosted by Auntie Spinelli. Click the button to sign up. I like this one because it lets you determine the number of books you want to read by yourself. There will also be some giveaways during the year, as well as one at the end. You can sign up anytime.
I have a lot of sequels to catch up on, so I think this one will complete itself pretty much automatically. But I don't want to limit my reading choices too much, so I'm setting my goal at 20 EDIT July 3: 30 sequels. I might upgrade the number throughout the year though.

Sequels Read:

• Insurgent, by Veronica Roth (January 17-20)
• Awake At Dawn, by C.C. Hunter (February 12-13)
• The Indigo Spell, by Richelle Mead (February 15-17)
• Masquerade, by Melissa de la Cruz (February 18-20) 
• Opal, by Jennifer L. Armentrout (February 20-23)
• The Iron Knight, by Julie Kagawa (February 24 - March 2)
• Where She Went, by Gayle Forman (March 7)
• Rogue, by Rachel Vincent (March 10-13)
• The Stone Demon, by Karen Mahoney (March 21-22)
• Clockwork Princess, by Cassandra Clare (March 29-31)
• Girl of Nighmares, by Kendare Blake (March 31-April 1) 
• With All My Soul, by Rachel Vincent (April 15-17)
• The Eternity Cure, by Julie Kagawa (April 17-18)
• One Grave At A Time, by Jeaniene Frost (April 22-25) 
• Bloodfever, by Karen Marie Moning (May 4-5)
• Faefever, by Karen Marie Moning (May 6-7) 
• Fever, by Lauren DeStefano (May 8-9)
• Spell Bound, by Rachel Hawkins (May 12) 
• Dreamfever, by Karen Marie Moning (May 13-15) 
• Dare You To, by Katie McGarry (May 22-24)
• Shadowfever, by Karen Marie Moning (May 25-28)
• Dance of the Red Death, by Bethany Griffin (June 2-4)
• Debt Collector 4-6, by Susan Kaye Quinn (June 8)
• Sweet Peril, by Wendy Higgins (June 9-11)
• The Evolution of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin (Read 14-17)
• Luminaire, by Ciye Cho (Read June 14-18)
• Crossing the Line (novella), by Kaite McGarry (June 17)
• Phoenix, by Elizabeth Richards (June 20-23)
• Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend, by Louise Rozett (July 1-2)
• The Torn Wing, by Kiki Hamilton (July 14-17)
• Crown of Midnight, by Sarah J. Maas (July 24-25)
• Flesh and Blood, by Kristen Painter (August 27-28)
• Uncommon Criminals, by Ally Carter (September 18-20)
• Shadow's Edge, by Brent Weeks (September 22-26)
• Beyond the Shadows, by Brent Weeks (September 26-28)
• Double-Crossed (novella), by Ally Carter (October 1)
• The Night After I Lost You (novella), by Sarah Rees Brennan (October 13)
• Lola and the Boy Next Door, by Stephanie Perkins (October 20-21)
• The Moth in the Mirror (novella), by A.G. Howard (November 11)
• Crash Into You, by Katie McGarry (November 16)
• Allegiant, by Veronica Roth (Novmeber 22)
• Destroy Me (novella), by Tahereh Mafi (November 29)
• Copperhead, by Tina Connolly (December 1-6)

So I've read 26 and have beaten my initial goal!

EDIT: I've read 43 sequels in 2013.

I've also decided to participate in the new Adult Reading Challenge hosted by Danya from A Tapestry of Words, Victoria from Confessions of a Twenty Something Fiction Writer (she is also a member of the NA Alley blog), Tara from Tater's Tall Tails, and Barbara from Basia's Bookshelf. Click the button for all the rules and possibilities.
If you're not sure what New Adult is, they have quite a good description on the sign-up post that also explains that NA is not just contemporary fiction! I've decided to sign up because I have quite a lot of NA kindle books piling up I never seem to get to, and still more on my TBR list... I like how many of these books deal with university students! I'm almost 24. I like to read about those characters & experiences instead of the never-ending highschool tales of YA. (Though those are interesting to me too because I've never gone to highschool in that way because the system is different here).

There are for levels to the challenge and because as I said, I don't like committing to something that might limit my reading choices too much, I've decided to go for the Moving Out level, which means I pledge to read a minimum of 10 NA books.

Among them:

• The Secret of Ella & Micha, by Jessica Sorensen
• Clash, by Nicole Williams
• Derailed, by Alyssa Rose Ivy
• Easy, by Tammara Webber Read August 2.
• Tidal, by Emily Snow Read August 6-7.
• My Favorite Mistake, by Chelsea M. Cameron
• On Dublin Street, by Samantha Young
• The Jelly Bean Crisis, by Jolene Stockman
• Taking Chances, by Molly McAdams DNFed at 55% on April 10.
• Flight, by Alyssa Rose Ivy
• Rule, by Jay Crownover Read January 20-22.
• Just One Day, by Gayle Forman Read March 2-4. 
• Where She Went, by Gayle Forman Read on March 7.
• Impossible, by Komal Kant Read April 1-3.
• Darkness of Light, by Stacey Marie Brown Read April 29-May 1 (borders mature YA) 
• Darkfever, Bloodfever, Faefever, Dreamfever, Shadowfever (could be NA or adult. Mac is 22. Reads more like adult though) 
• Girls Love Travis Walker, by Anne Pfeffer Read May 13
• The Sea of Tranquility, by Katja Millay Read May 15-16 Or is it YA? 
• Debt Collector 1-3, by Susan Kaye Quinn Read June 8
• Debt Collector 4-6, by Susan Kaye Quinn Read June 8
• Losing It, by Cora Carmack Read July 5 
• The Edge of Never, by J.A. Redmerski Read July 21-26.
• The Devil's Metal, by Karina Halle Read August 2-3.
• Ten Tiny Breaths, by K.A. Tucker Read August 4-5.
• The Bookstore, by Deborah Meyler Read August 24-25.
• Emancipating Andie, by Priscilla Glenn Read on August 31.
• Catch, by Michelle D. Argyle Read October 27-29.
• For Real, by Chelsea M. Cameron Read November 18-19.
• Hushed by Kelley York Read November 29.

Oops, that actually is 10 already... but we'll see how many I get to. Taking Chances is one I got for review for instance, so I'm going to privilege it over others. And I don't want to read NA all the time.

EDIT January 4, 2014: Challenge completed with ~20 books read.