January 2015 Reading Roundup

Hey, so I finished 12 books this month! Much better than last January when I only read two. I also made some progress towards my reading challenge goals.

Books read
The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner (YA)
Cress by Marissa Meyer, narrated by Rebecca Soler (YA, audio)
A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray (YA)
Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson, illustrated by Adrian Alphona (YA, graphic novel)
Top Ten Clues You’re Clueless by Liz Czukas (YA)
Saga #1 by Brian K. Vaughn, illustrated by Fiona Staples (adult, graphic novel)
Skim by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki (YA, graphic novel)
Where Does the Day Go? by Walter Dean Myers, illustrated by Leo Carty (picture book)
The  Candymakers by Wendy Mass (MG)
Truly, Madly, Deadly by Hannah Jayne (YA)
The Dragon Takes a Wife by Walter Dean Myers, illustrated by Fiona French (picture book)
The Dirt Diary by Anna Staniszweski (MG)
Fly, Jimmy, Fly! by Walter Dean Myers, illustrated by Moneta Barnett (picture book)

Progress toward reading challenge goals
1. I read 3 books that count toward the TBR Challenge (Truly, Madly, Deadly; The Candymakers; Skim), so I have 9 more to go before that’s complete. Alas, I did DNF two books this month (not listed) that would have counted for the challenge, which means they now don’t. However, I made an honest effort for both, so they count for ME (and I got to take them off my Goodreads to-read list, whoo).

That also means I get to dip into my alternates and hope beyond hope that they stick or else I will fail miserably at this challenge.

2. Eight (!) of my books count for the Diversity on the Shelf challenge, so I’m making excellent progress toward the 25 I pledged to read there.

3. I’m also pleased that I’ve finished a book for adults (that was not for book club!) that counts toward my adult fiction goal. One down, 14 to go.

4. I also read several books on my Kindle, which means I’m getting much more use out of that as planned. Kindle! You are great! And today I figured out how to get the dictionary on my Kindle to work, which means I don’t have to read with my phone in hand to look up words. A++

Overall, I am more than pleased with my reading so far. Sept.-Nov. were really tough reading months for me last year, so I’m glad that I’m connecting with (most) of the books I’m reading so far. I hope this trend continues!