IF at first you don’t succeed at maintaining your objectives and goals of reading challenges and/or readathons per year – each New Year is a new chapter of HOPE!

I cannot say the years of 2013-2017 yielded the best results for what I was hoping to accomplish per reading challenge I attempted, but throughout my eagerness to read new authors & stories, I had the best of intentions at heart. I simply ran out of the hours necessary to complete the challenges per month and whilst I had twelve months in 2014 to play with, I must confess they evaporated before I could even pick up a farthing of the stories I aimed to have read! Therefore, I am re-defining this section of my blog as re-focusing on personal reading challenges with a few added challenges which truly interest me! This worked for me during [2018] and it is a tread I intend to maintain in [2019] and beyond!

Uniquely enough, this declaration from last year still resonates with me now. I’ve been undergoing a Renaissance on my blog to downgrade from my commitments in blog tours and/or review requests (from authors/publishers) to a more manageable level of interest to where I can not only re-address the challenges I set for myself in INSPY & Classical Literature but feel a better freedom to explore writing Features & Memes, participate in book blogosphere and/or #booktube events (ie. reading challenges and/or readathons or readalongs) whilst also finding more dexterity of interests in my own readerly life!!

I’ve been striving for a better *balance!* if you will – between the reader I was prior to being a book blogger and the reader I’ve developed into as a book blogger. Life is a wicked #awesomesauce journey but without balance we can feel like we’re losing ground on what we want to be doing! Thereby, I’m capitalising on what I accomplished in [2017] by looking forward to re-participating in new events throughout the year whilst selecting those yearly challenges which befits me right now as a reader whose a book blogger.

{ written: December, 2018}

Master List of [2020] Reading Challenges | links to more Lists

Read-A-Longs (RALs), Readathons,
and Reading Challenges

Archive of Past RALs & Challenges:

{ 2013 } { 2014 } {2015} {2017} {2018} {2019}

2020 Reading Challenges & Readathons

~ let the journey begin! +

decided to streamline my reading life in 2020 to where I am actively reducing which reading challenges I am joining whilst my focus on reducing my backlogue of reviews, reading actively via my local libraries & reading stories on my shelves for the first time since I became a book blogger in 2013!

Join me and my fellow Clubbers | The Classics Club

1. The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton
2. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin

I’ve been tracking how much #HistoricalFiction I am reading on Jorie Loves A Story for a few years now, however, I haven’t had the joy of participating in this challenge directly [2018]. I am sharing my reviews as they alight on my blog through the monthly link exchange via passagestothepast.com whilst following behind those shares with my own visits to the book bloggers and readers who are sharing their insightful Historical ruminations on the stories they are reading themselves. I look forward to seeing what everyone else is reading and getting to visit bloggers I might not have visited if we hadn’t participated in the same challenge.

On a personal note, I hadn’t realised how much Historical Fiction I read per year until I became a book blogger as I noted I truly do feel these are the stories I am most addicted to reading! There is something to be said for disappearing through time – travelling through countries and eras, alighting where a writer’s character has taken us to traverse and seeing the world a bit differently for our time spent with a character whose journey is moving alongside History’s known time-line.

Be sure to see which stories of #HistoricalFiction I read during [2019]!!

Hosted by Passages to the Past | Info Page

I always attempt the Pre-Historic Challenge | reading more than 50+ as I quite literally *devour!* Historical Fiction throughout the year – one year, I might see if I can read 250+ HistFic novels but I have the tendency of averaging somewhere between 150 to 200 novels per year! The only difference being – their not all Historical Fiction! (smiles) I’m shooting for at least 75 Historicals in 2019! Even though, yes, technically I set the bar higher to reach at 100!

Kindly visit with me this year, as this list of stories populates & share your comments & thoughts
with me as I continue to discover the Historical authors I love reading!

1. The Secret Heir by Janice Broyles
2. The Runaway Heir by Janice Broyles
3. Salt the Snow by Carrie Callaghan
4. Pemberley: Mr Darcy's Dragon by Maria Grace
5. Metropolis by Ellie Midwood
6. Longbourn: Dragon Entail by Maria Grace
7. Netherfield: Rogue Dragon by Maria Grace
8. Merchants of Milan by Edale Lane
9. Remembrance by Rita Woods
10. A #WyrdAndWonder Book Showcase in [cycles of six] Reviews | The journey Jorie takes into the world of “Cycles of Norse Mythology” by Glenn Searfoss feat. [Cycle One]
11. The Highlander's English Bride by Vanessa Kelly
12. The Earl's Winning Wager by Jen Geigle Johnson
13. Secrets of Milan by Edale Lane
14. The Dark Horizon by Liz Harris, Ms Liz Harris
15. Josette by Danielle Thorne
16. Elizabeth by (Editor) Christina Boyd
17. The River Jewel by Kathleen Shoop
18. A Lock of Hair by A. Rose Pritchett
19. The Brief and True Report of Temperance Flowerdew by Denise Heinze
20. A Trace of Deceit by Karen Odden
21. Naked Truth or Equality: The Forbidden Fruit by Carrie Hayes
22. Dreaming of Tomorrow by Michelle De Bruin
23. The Adventures of Tom Finch, Gentleman by Lucy May Lennox
24. An Ivy Hill Christmas by Julie Klassen
25. The Devil's Bride by Emma S. Jackson

I started working on my reading list for this INSPY Fiction Challenge in [2013] however, I haven’t made much progress with my readings until now. I went conservative and approximated I’d read [210] novels by the authors I’ve chosen to read as some of their stories are short stories in anthologies and not every author will have five novels published. Therefore, I estimated I might be able to read [three] novels per each author on my List. I might read more by some of the authors or less if there are only a few published whilst I’m focusing on their back-list and front-list releases.

As I re-set my Classics Club List to reflect a new beginning of August, 2018 and ending in 2023, I’ve decided to re-set this challenge to run side by side my Classics Club readings as the two were meant to be synchronised from the beginning!

1. A Reason to Stay by Kellie Coates Gilbert
2. #SummerReads | Jorie endeavours to read a heap of #INSPY Lit (whilst consuming copious amounts of #AudioReads!) and re-tackles her #20BooksOfSummer challenge of [2017]!
3. Sweet on You by Becky Wade
4. The Fifth Avenue Story Society by Rachel Hauck

Ever since I first started truly listening to audiobooks in [2016] I’ve been wicked addicted to them! However, if you look back at my blog’s archives most of the audiobooks I’ve been able to listen to were for review or blog tours. I would love to expand on this new bookish joy of mine to be more inclusive of audiobooks I’ve either won in an audio bookaway, purchased myself or have access to by having subscriptions to Scribd and/or Audible. I also want to check-out more audiobooks from my local libraries which have access to OverDrive.

All things considered, I’d love to attempt to listen to a certain amount of audiobooks over and beyond the ones I might seek for review purposes. Therefore, I’m taking this challenge a bit differently – I’ll count every audiobook I listen to throughout the year for the challenge but I’m hoping at the end of December I’ll have at least the Binge Listener amount (20-30) audiobooks I’ve consumed ‘more than’ the grand total of audiobooks I’ve heard!

Co-Hosted by Caffeinated Bookreviewer | Hot Listens | Info Page

1. Pemberley: Mr Darcy's Dragon by Maria Grace
2. Longbourn: Dragon Entail by Maria Grace
3. Netherfield: Rogue Dragon by Maria Grace
4. My Life in Plants by Katie Vaz
5. Elizabeth by (Editor) Christina Boyd
6. A Lock of Hair by A. Rose Pritchett
7. Jesse's Girl by Tara September
8. The Winter of Enchantment by Victoria Walker (Clayton)
9. A Trace of Deceit by Karen Odden
10. The House Called Hadlows by Victoria Walker (Clayton)
11. Jorvik Calling by Helena Dahlgren
12. The Adventures of Tom Finch, Gentleman by Lucy May Lennox
13. An Ivy Hill Christmas by Julie Klassen

Officially known as “Blogger Shame Challenge” | on #JLASblog “2020 Backlogue Reviews”

Hosted by Herding Cats and Burning Soup

It wasn’t until I saw this tweet did I understand where the Info Page went!
I feel so bad for the blogger as losing so much of your blog has to be heart wrenching!

I’ve been trying to erase my backlogue of reviews since [2016] – the following year was incredible I even had focus at all considering it was the first year after my father’s stroke and his hospitalisation. Throughout [2018] I struggled with my personal health and wellness, to where it really was getting me down, especially in the Spring & Autumn months where it felt like I was perpetually dealing with one affliction after another. My migraines were also a big issue in [2017/18] which set me back quite a bit as well. Prior to [2016] it was more or less due to ‘life and tides’ – regularly bits and bobbles which can disrupt a reader’s life and thereby, moving into [2019] I have a lovely stack of books (and a few audiobooks!) I need to re-address for review purposes!

I’ve never lost my itch to read or listen to the stories – I only accept stories I truly want to read and therefore, this is one of my most critical focuses for [2019] as I’d like to have a clean slate. It would be lovely to drop the guilt and finally stand on solid ground. It will most likely be a surprise to the authors along the journey I take into the backlogue, but I’d rather be seriously late like Alice’s rabbit than to never have the chance to read them.

I also elected to change how the challenge will be seen on my blog throughout the year as ‘Blogger Shame’ I think would be anxiety triggering as I have ENOUGH guilt on my heart just for falling behind *each year!* with either the same stack of books or adding several to the load. I am hoping the bloggers participating will check-in with each other and we can all rally + cheer for each other to read more of our backlogue whilst making [2019] a rather pro-positive year for us all.

I am extending this personal goal to erase my backlogue into [2020] as I didn’t get to read all the books I intended to read during [2019]. I am looking forward to ending this New Year with all the stories either read/reviewed or determined to be not my cuppa as I removed a few last year from my backlogue for that reason.

Backlogue List | on my blog | on LibraryThing *updated 22 December, 2019

1. Solomon's Bell by Michelle Lowery Combs
2. A #WyrdAndWonder Book Showcase in [cycles of six] Reviews | The journey Jorie takes into the world of “Cycles of Norse Mythology” by Glenn Searfoss feat. [Cycle One]
3. Happy Everything by Debby Caruso
4. Far Orbit: Apogee by Bascomb James

The YEAR LONG Bingo Card Challenges via bookish.com:

I was inspired by the Book Bingo cards provided by bookish.com – so much in fact I am have sorted out my ENTIRE 2020 readerly goals round the cards! To factor in the max number of books I could read in the year, I took the # of prompts per card (25) and then added up the # of cards I’m using this year (15) to gain the full amount of possible books read en total by years end.

I am not even sure I’ll make a ‘bingo’ per card I attempt to read via the prompts as I’m going to spend the year reading my way through all the lovely Bingo Cards bookish.com has supplied readers with as they have monthly cards and special genre cards! I’ve decided this is a great way to read both books for review as a book blogger as well as the books I desire to either read off my own shelves and/or as a library borrower!

This happily will mark a lovely year of seeking stories which fit the prompts on these cards whilst also seeing the stories I gravitate towards reading in a different light of interest. This is the main card of focus for me in 2020 – however, each month you’ll see a new card populate and some months there might be seasonal cards or genre interest cards I’ll be cross-focusing and featuring as I read my way through 2020!

Rather than do individual challenge bars per card, I’m putting all the #bookishbingo cards together and the stats will reflect my (25) card challenge within the scope of #bookishbingo!

Projected Books I’m Reading for #bookishbingo the Anniversary Card:

Theme of Motherhood: Inconceivable by Tegan Wren

Read with a Friend: Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain (Jamie)
OR  PRIORY (Louise)

Three Word Title: The Secret Heir by Janice Broyles (see also Review)

LGBTQ+ Author: Travelling the Two Lane by Marilyn Berman

Asian American Author: The Hidden Girl by Ken Liu (see also Review)

Projected Books I’m Listening for #bookishbingo the Audiobooks Card:

Projected Books I’m Reading for #bookishbingo the Mysteries Card:

Part of a series: See Also Proof by Larry D. Sweazy

Starts with a Disappearance: Murder at the Mill by M.B. Shaw

Per my announcement – I am generating a (25) #bookishbingo card stat check-in for taking on the bookish.com #bookishbingo challenge throughout 2020! These stats will reflect all books read for the challenge itself – and I can’t wait to see how many squares & prompts I’ll knock off each of the cards – either the 3x yearly themed cards OR the 12 monthly cards!

1. The Secret Heir by Janice Broyles
2. The Hidden Girl by Ken Liu

This is a new bingo challenge I believe I discovered via Twitter and/or it was whilst I was visiting a book blogger in December 2019. I was starting to prepare my reading challenges page for the New Year and had already decided the way in which I wanted to focus my reading life – as my main goal is to knock out my backlogue of reviews – outside of that, I knew I wanted to focus on my personal reading challenges and read more ‘off my shelves’ or through my local libraries. This bingo card was a happy surprise (as I signed onto the challenge *before!* I knew the squares!) and I look forward to seeing which books start to populate the prompts!

Hosted by: Armed with a Book | Be sure to visit the Info Page!

Projected Books I’m Reading for the #ArmedWithABingo Card:

A Book with Multiple POVs: The Fifth Avenue Story Society by Rachel Hauck (see also Review)

A Book About Friendship & Family: Formula for a Perfect Life by Christy Hayes (see also Review)

A Book in the Middle of a Series: A Reckoning in the Back Country by Terry Shames

A Book Published in 2020: Adequate Yearly Progress by Roxanna Elden (see also Review)

1. The Fifth Avenue Story Society by Rachel Hauck
2. Adequate Yearly Progress by Roxanna Elden
3. Formula for a Perfect Life by Christy Hayes

I’m considering joining the Go Big or Go Home (big book reading challenge) 500+ page Challenge which happily has its own BINGO card! I even liked how you can listen to audiobooks as long as the print versions of the same book are 500+! Its been a long while since I went after reading chunksters and I think this might be a good year to attempt it as I want to read more off my #theclassicsclub TBR!

Also considering the following challenges:

[ BOLD = accepted the challenge! ]

• 2020 Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge
• 2020 Retellings Reading Challenge
• 2020 Reading Bingo (love the prompts!) *joined!
• 2020 Audiobook Challenge (not a bingo, but a prompt card!)
• 2020 Diversity Reading Challenge
• ARCapocalypse 2020 (we’re rowing the same boat!)
• 2020 Backlist Reader Challenge
• Tackle my TBR Challenge

When I saw the prompts on this Reading Bingo Card – I must admit, I was wicked excited because it covered different genres and it even allowed me the girth to pick up some Classical works as well – especially with a chunkster of 600+ pages (unless I read a Fantasy novel!). I am on a bingo card kick this New Year of 2020 and I am finding my readerly joy in using the prompts to work my way through the year as I read, discover, redeem and bookishly feel my bliss as the stories alight in my life! So very thankful to Novel Heartbeat for creating this lovely!!

Goal for the Reading Bingo Card – max. out the card!

Hosted by: Novel Heartbeat | Info Page

Projected Books I’m reading with the Reading Bingo Card:

None yet!

Monthly Readathons | Readalongs

and other monthly on the spur challenges

EACH month in 2020 starts with a #bookishbingo card from bookish.com & all the lovely readathons, readalongs & reading challenges which populate during those individual months will run underneath the cards!

Projected Books I’m Reading for January’s #bookishbingo:

First in a Series: The Bridges of Constantine by Ahlem Mosteghanemi

A debut: The Other Alcott by Elise Hooper (based on Little Women)
*scheduled during #HappyNewCLEAR RAT

A Book I Meant to Read in 2018: The Vineyard by Maria Duenas

Recommended by a friend: (Frankie) An Unconventional Countess by Jenni Fletcher

An Author I’ve Never Read: The Magnificent Mrs Mayhew by Milly Johnson

Blue Cover: The Secret Wife of Aaron Burr by Susan Holloway Scott

Characters Drink Champagne: Happy Everything by Debby Caruso
*at least its implied by the cover art!

(Re-) Published in January: The Light of the World by Elizabeth Alexander

[UPDATE: 11th February, 2020] Sadly throughout JANUARY, my focus was NOT on reading or blogging – I barely surfaced on Twitter and maintained updating my blog mostly through #TopTenTuesday posts and a few reviews due to how the New Year began on such rocky footing (ie. Australian bushfires, world events, etc) and the fact it was an especially hard start for the year for my family. My Dad has been having health issues off/on since November (when he celebrated his 3rd year anniversary for surviving his stroke) which also played a key role in why I was abandoning my love of reading and opting instead to stick close to my family or just chill in front of the tv binge watching Hallmark Christmas Movies!

Therefore, despite the promise of what I wanted to be reading in JANUARY it was a wash-out; none of this was able to be read and I pushed these stories forward into Winter/Spring in the next few months.

#HappyNEWClear Readathon

Hosted by Louise @foxesfairytale | Info Page

I want to get off to a flying start this reading year and I have a lot of ARC reviews due early on. So, from 1st to 31st January, I’ll be running a very low-stress readathon: #HappyNewCLEAR.

I was quite thrilled to peaches about this readathon in January – as I’ve somehow managed to fall dangerously behind on my ARC readings – especially for Non-Fiction and for the Early Reviewer programme run by LibraryThing!

I’d love to knock out a heap of those titles – even if I can’t run all the reviews in January, if I can binge read the majority of the ARCs and then set them to go live throughout Spring (or at least make a headway attempt at doing this) – I’ll consider this New Year’s RAT a happy success!

The Fictional ARCs:

1. The Other Alcott by Elise Hooper (based on Little Women)
2. Deadly Proof by Rachel Dylan
3. The Promise of Dawn by Lauraine Snelling
4. See Also Proof by Larry D. Sweazy
5. A Saint in Graceland by Deborah Hining
6. The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin
7. My Last Continent by Midge Raymond
8. What We Become by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
9. Goodnight from London by Jennifer Robson (requires reading the series!)

(OR one of the following)

• The Lost History of Dreams by Kris Waldherr
• Murder at the Mill by M.B. Shaw

In reference to these authors – Tara Conklin is an author I read prior to becoming a book blogger and I had the joy of reading her debut novel The House Girl as an ARC via the early reviewer programme through Book Browse. I was blessed to expound on those thoughts as a book blogger whilst I had the joy of receiving my second ARC for Conklin’s sophomore release The Last Romantics via the early reviewer programme via LibraryThing.

I am in LOVE with Mr Sweazy’s lead character Marjorie Trumaine!! You can happily find my previous reviews for this series on behalf of See Also Murder and See Also Deception.

I also happily was introduced to Jennifer Robson’s Historical war dramas as a book blogger and it has been my intention to read all of her series ever since Goodnight from London first arrived! The stories I need to read are as follows: Somewhere in France, After the War is Over and a re-reading of Moonlight Over Paris.

I was on the fence about Deborah Hining’s writing style and I am still betwixt my thoughts about what I read in the first novel A Sinner in Paradise – however, I wanted to hold my thoughts until I could read the sequel.

Everyone else on this list are blessedly #newtomeauthors I was most eager to be reading! I am thankful I can finally focus on their stories in 2020!

The Non-Fiction ARCs:

1. 1777: Tipping Point at Saratoga by Dean Snow
2. The Circle by Alfred S. Posamentier
3. Math Makers by Alfred S. Posamentier & Christian Spreitzer
4. The Joy of Mathematics by Alfred S. Posamentier, et al
5. Magnificent Principia by Colin Park
6. Seeing What Others Cannot See by Thomas G. West
7. The Wisdom of the Renaissance by Michael K. Kellogg
8. The New Science of Consciousness by Paul L. Nunez
9. True Genius by Joel N. Shurkin
10. There Goes the Neighbourhood by Ali Noorani

On how I selected which ARCs to read – When it came to deciding which NF ARCs to be reading I knew I wanted to focus on the ones I’ve received from Prometheus Books!! It’s the one publisher I had unexpectedly let fall by the wayside in my reading queues because with my migraines in 2018/19 I was unable to focus on the context of these books. I never realised to what effect those migraines would wreck on my reading life nor how long it would take to find a path back out from their disruptions on my reading hours… ergo, outside of 1777 the rest are strictly Prometheus titles!

None yet!

[UPDATE: 11th February, 2020] Per the note I left under the JANUARY bookish bingo challenge this challenge also did not get off the ground. *However!* I loved the concept behind it so much, I decided to extend it to where I could focus on my ARCs listed here throughout Feburary, March and April – APRIL, MAY & JUNE – perhaps even getting to the other ARCs not listed and thereby turning round my reading life in 90 days rather than 30! [ // new update 3rd April, 2020]

February was a washout month for me in the world of BINGO cards; my wreck of cold and the thundering migraine which accompained it destroyed any hope of making a dent of headway into the February card and thus, rather than keeping the one title which fit it on the card itself, I’ve reshifted where it fits [Adequate Yearly Progress] and have withdrawn the card.

(see also #TheSundayPost, 1st March, 2020)

Projected Books I’m Reading for March’s #bookishbingo:

New To You Author: Suzy Spitfire Kills Everybody by Joe Canzano

Trans-Woman Protagonist: Trans-Continental: Girl in the Gears by E. Chris Garrison

Memoir by a Woman of Colour: The Bold World by Jodie Patterson

#MiddleGradeMarch readathon

• The Smell of Old Lady Perfume by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez
• The Secret Life of Lucy Liu by Jean Ramsden
• Sketcher by Roland Watson-Grant
• The Red Sun by Alane Adams
• Anni Moon: The Elemental Artifact by Melanie Abed
• The Beat on Ruby’s Street and Fool’s Errand by Jenna Zark
• Mary’s Song (audiobook) and Selah’s Sweet Dream by Susan Count
• Viva Durant & the Secret of the Silver Buttons (audiobook) by Ashli St. Armant

#Witchathon : 12th to 19th March

• Anni Moon: The Elemental Artifact by Melanie Abed
• The Black Talisman by Richard Storry, narrated by Jake Urry
• The Ghosts of Wonky Inn (Wonky Inn, No2) by Jeannie Wycherley, narrated by Kim Bretton
• Go for the Juggler (Magical Midway, No4) by Leanne Leeds
• Irrelephant Omens (Magical Midway, No5) by Leanne Leeds
• Catching A Witch by Heidi Eljarbo

Projected Books I’m Reading for April’s #bookishbingo:

Based on a True Story: French Twist by Glynis Astie

#IndieApril:

1. Formula for a Perfect Life by Christy Hayes
2. Postcards from the Sky by Erin Siedemann
3. Just the Facts by Ellen Sherman
4. Rooville by Julie Lang
5. The Last Letter by Kathleen Shoop
6. Fire Season Hollye Dexter
7. Lila’s Choice by Laura Brown
8. Asher’s Mark by Amy Durham
9. Dare to Kiss by KB Alexander
10. Political Parties by Rachel Magee
11. Alaina Clairborne by MK McClintock
12. Saving Shadow by Laura Beers
13. add/decide more!
14. Beneath a Camper Down by Janet Chester Bly

And, there is more yet to come!

{SOURCES: The Herding Cats and Burning Soup badge was provided by the blogger and is used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Heaven is a book & a cup of tea badge provided by Squeesome Designs. All bookish.com bingo cards were provided by bookish.com and are used with permission. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: 2020 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge and my INSPY Fiction badge for my 70 Authors Challenge. The 2020 Audiobook Challenge, 2020 Backlogue Reviews banner as well as The Classics Club banner (Photo Credit: Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story (© jorielovesastorycom).}