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2019 Reading Challenge

January 4 2019 By melbournemamma 31 Comments

Melbourne Mamma 2019 Reading Challenge

Calling all book lovers! I’m setting myself a 2019 reading challenge and I’d love for you to join me.

I set myself this same challenge last year and I didn’t quite get through the list as I  some of the books I read in my book club, didn’t meet any of the criteria that I had listed (didn’t plan that very well, did I?)

However, I did manage to read 14 books in 2018, which was a pretty good effort, considering I am a chronic migraine sufferer.

Anyway, this year I am determined to read all the books in the challenge as well as additional books in my book club.

I know what it’s like to be a busy mum (ie not have much time for reading), so I’ll only include 12 books in the challenge. However, I’ll include an additional six books for those of you who will have no problem smashing through 12 books in one year.

I can’t wait to get started on this challenge and hopefully find some new favourites that I just can’t put down.

Must reads

  • A book published in 2019
  • A book with a number in the title
  • A book with a blue cover
  • A book you saw someone raving about on social media
  • A favourite book that you’ve already read
  • A book with ‘Love” in the title
  • A book you meant to read in 2018
  • A book about an inspirational person
  • A book borrowed from a friend
  • A book you bought from a secondhand book shop
  • A book you read more than 20 years ago
  • A classic book that you have not read before

Extras

  • A book that was published in the year you were born
  • A book with a character that has the same name as you
  • A bestseller from 2018
  • A book you received as a gift
  • A book set in Australia
  • The first book in a series you haven’t read before

Let me know if you’re joining me in the comments below (put your book titles in the comment section NOT the URL field) and feel free to come back and list the books you read throughout the year and let me know if you enjoyed them or not.

Keep an eye out for the books I’m reading and tag your own books on social media using #mmreadingchallenge2019

Filed Under: Books, Me Tagged With: books, favourite books, for mammas, reading, reading challenge

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Carlie

    January 19 2019 at 8:55 am

    I managed to read 10 books in 2018 (I was aiming for 12, but life, etc). My favourite was The Art of Racing in the Rain. I’m now looking forward to the movie (and praying it stays true to the book!)
    I’ve almost finished book 1 for 2019 so I’ll see how many I read and how many qualify on your list. Happy Reading!

    Reply
    • melbournemamma

      February 4 2019 at 11:44 am

      Hi Carlie, great to have you joining us. Ten books is still a great effort!
      I’d love to read more but my migraines and mum life, don’t often allow it.
      The reason I set the challenge at 12 books (+ extras if there’s time) as I didn’t want people to feel overwhelmed by having to reading lots of books. Sometimes I can devour a book in less than 48 hours and other times it might take me 4-8 weeks to get through one.
      Make sure you share the books you’ve read and your thoughts, so we can all get some ideas.

      Reply
    • Tracey

      May 25 2019 at 12:43 pm

      Hi Carlie, how are you going with your reading? Tracey

      Reply
    • melbournemamma

      May 25 2019 at 12:47 pm

      Hi Carlie, how are you going with your reading? Tracey

      Reply
  2. Sarah dyer

    January 19 2019 at 11:42 am

    I’d love to join!

    Reply
    • melbournemamma

      February 4 2019 at 11:40 am

      Yay Sarah! Have you started already?
      Let us know what you read and if you like it. I can’t wait to discover some new books via the recommendations here 🙂

      Reply
    • melbournemamma

      May 25 2019 at 12:47 pm

      Hi Sarah, how are you going with your reading? Tracey

      Reply
  3. Alana K Elliott

    January 19 2019 at 3:40 pm

    This is great! I can’t wait to follow the books you choose. I am an obsessive reader!

    Reply
    • melbournemamma

      February 4 2019 at 11:39 am

      That’s awesome Alana. Let me know if you’ve got any great recommendations.

      Reply
    • melbournemamma

      May 25 2019 at 12:47 pm

      Hi Alana, how are you going with your reading? Tracey

      Reply
  4. Jodie

    January 20 2019 at 4:22 pm

    I love this! Going to save it and give it a go!

    Reply
    • melbournemamma

      February 4 2019 at 11:38 am

      Yay! Great to have you joining me Jodie.
      Make sure you share what you read and whether or not it was good. I find my favourite reads come from recommendations from friends and people online.

      Reply
    • melbournemamma

      May 25 2019 at 12:48 pm

      Hi Jodie, how are you going with your reading? Tracey

      Reply
  5. Kat Reade

    January 20 2019 at 8:25 pm

    Great idea – I’m new to setting a reading challenge and joined Goodreads last year. Helped a lot.
    I’ve already read an op shop book – When I’m gone, Emily Bleeker and am currently reading The Fault In our Stars which I’ll call my blue cover.

    Reply
    • melbournemamma

      February 4 2019 at 11:35 am

      Great to have you joining me Kat!
      Sounds like you’ll get through this challenge with no problems. Make sure you let me know what books you read and what you think of them.
      I joined Good reads last year also – mainly to help me keep track of all the books I want to read.

      Reply
    • melbournemamma

      May 25 2019 at 12:48 pm

      Hi Kat, how are you going with your reading? Tracey

      Reply
  6. Julia mendola

    January 21 2019 at 11:56 am

    I’ll join you on the challenge

    Reply
    • melbournemamma

      February 4 2019 at 11:33 am

      Yay! Let me know if you read some great books.

      Reply
    • melbournemamma

      May 25 2019 at 12:48 pm

      Hi Julia, how are you going with your reading? Tracey

      Reply
  7. Julia mendola

    January 21 2019 at 12:02 pm

    Over the holidays I read
    Nine perfect strangers
    My brilliant friend
    Any ordinary day
    I invited her in

    Reply
    • melbournemamma

      February 4 2019 at 11:32 am

      I also read Nine Perfect Strangers and I Invited Her In – both great books. Any Ordinary Day in on my reading list too. I’ll have to check out My Brilliant Friend.
      Make sure you come back and let me know how you’re going with the challenge and what else you read Julia.

      Reply
  8. melbournemamma

    May 25 2019 at 12:50 pm

    It’s almost half way through the year and here are the challenge books I’ve read so far:

    • A book published in 2019 – The Last Days of the Romanov Dancers (Kerri Turner)
    • A book with a blue cover – Lost Without You (Rachael Johns)
    • A book you saw someone raving about on social media – The Dry (Jane Harper)
    • A book you meant to read in 2018 – Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (Gail Honeyman)
    • A book about an inspirational person – Any Ordinary Day (Leigh Sales)
    • A book you bought from a secondhand book shop – The Rosie Project (Graeme Simsion)

    Reply
  9. Melissa

    May 27 2019 at 9:18 pm

    Love it (except the classic bit, ugh!), I’m in!
    Hi I’m Melissa, originally from Perth, mum to two, lover of autobiographies, action, and crime/thrillers. My all time favourite author is Matthew Reilly. As a uni student I worked in a bookstore and a library, so love making book suggestions and trying new reads.

    Reply
    • melbournemamma

      May 29 2019 at 7:56 pm

      So happy you can join us Melissa. Can you believe that I’ve never actually read any of Matthew Reilly’s books – how bad is that! I know he’s a brilliant author, so I’m going to add one to my list. My daughter dreams of working in a book store when she grows up – she seems to think that she’ll be able to sit and read all day though LOL

      Reply
  10. MelissaK

    July 1 2019 at 9:44 pm

    Okay, I am in.
    Month one:
    Re-read a favorite- Great zoo of China
    With a number- Nine perfect strangers
    Inspirational person – Becoming

    Cheers, Melissa

    Reply
    • melbournemamma

      July 12 2019 at 3:22 pm

      Hi Melissa, so great to have you joining us. I’ll have to check out what you’ve been reading. Make sure you come back and update your list. Tracey x

      Reply
  11. Melissa

    July 16 2019 at 5:42 am

    Hi Tracey
    Month two
    Love title: ps I love you
    20 yrs ago: fantastic mr fox

    Reply
  12. MelissaK

    August 4 2019 at 9:33 pm

    Hi Tracy,
    Month three
    Blue cover: Bad luck and trouble
    With my name: the cowboy and his baby
    First in a series : bye bye baby (dci hawksworth series)
    Classic: crooked house

    Reply
    • melbournemamma

      September 24 2019 at 12:46 pm

      Wow Melissa! You’re powering through the challenge. I haven’t read any of these ones but will check them out on goodreads. I’ve been busy reading some of my book club books which haven’t met any of the criteria for the challenge, so I better hurry up and get through the rest in the next three months.

      Reply
  13. melbournemamma

    November 7 2019 at 9:35 pm

    Ok, so it’s getting close to the end of the year and I still have a few books to read but here’s what I’ve read so far:

    MUST READS
    A book published in 2019 – The Last Days of the Romanov Dancers (Kerri Turner)
    A book with a number in the title – Table for Eight (Tricia Stringer)
    A book with a blue cover – Lost Without You (Rachael Johns)
    A book you saw someone raving about on social media – The Dry (Jane Harper)
    A favourite book that you’ve already read –
    A book with ‘Love” in the title – Love Letters to the Dead (Ava Dellaira)
    A book you meant to read in 2018 – Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (Gail Honeyman)
    A book about an inspirational person – Any Ordinary Day (Leigh Sales)
    A book borrowed from a friend – A Mother’s Reckoning (Sue Klebold)
    A book you bought from a secondhand book shop –
    A book you read more than 20 years ago –
    A classic book that you have not read before –

    EXTRAS
    A book that was published in the year you were born
    A book with a character that has the same name as you
    A bestseller from 2018 – The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Heather Morris)
    A book you received as a gift
    A book set in Australia – Boy Swallows Universe (Trent Dalton)
    The first book in a series you haven’t read before – The Rosie Project (Graeme Simsion)

    Reply
  14. melbournemamma

    December 31 2019 at 3:54 pm

    I cannot believe it’s the last day of 2019! Hasn’t this year just flown.

    I almost made it through the challenge and just missed out on reading a favourite book that I’ve already read :(. I did manage to read a couple of the extra books though and a few more from my book club, so I’m pretty happy with how many I read considering I’m a chronic migraine sufferer.

    Here’s what I read:

    MUST READS
    A book published in 2019 – The Last Days of the Romanov Dancers (Kerri Turner)
    A book with a number in the title – Table for Eight (Tricia Stringer)
    A book with a blue cover – Lost Without You (Rachael Johns)
    A book you saw someone raving about on social media – The Dry (Jane Harper)
    A favourite book that you’ve already read –
    A book with ‘Love” in the title – Love Letters to the Dead (Ava Dellaira)
    A book you meant to read in 2018 – Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (Gail Honeyman)
    A book about an inspirational person – Any Ordinary Day (Leigh Sales)
    A book borrowed from a friend – A Mother’s Reckoning (Sue Klebold)
    A book you bought from a secondhand book shop – Her Pretty Face (Robyn Harding)
    A book you read more than 20 years ago – The Gift of Fear (Gavin De Becker)
    A classic book that you have not read before – Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)

    EXTRAS
    A book that was published in the year you were born
    A book with a character that has the same name as you
    A bestseller from 2018 – The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Heather Morris)
    A book you received as a gift
    A book set in Australia – Boy Swallows Universe (Trent Dalton)
    The first book in a series you haven’t read before – The Rosie Project (Graeme Simsion)

    Reply

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