Modern Mrs. Darcy 2020 Reading Challenge

My reading life has definitely taken a nosedive since Bert was born. It's no secret I love to read and I love the library. But since Bert has been born, it's taken me about three times as long to finish a book as it used to. I'll admit it: sometimes it's just easier to turn on Netflix when I'm breastfeeding him as opposed to picking up a book. I'm still reading, it's just verrrrrrry slooooooooowly.

I've never been into journaling about the books I read, but I absolutely LOVE the app Litsy because it allows me to track what I read as well as (my favorite part) keep a list of all the books I want to read, all organized in one place. Can't beat that! Because I do love super organized things, and I'm always looking for new things to read, I am excited to once again this year be taking part in the Modern Mrs. Darcy 2020 Reading Challenge. I've participated to some extent in these challenges in the past, and I've always enjoyed them. I haven't been able to participate the past couple of years due to a lot of life upheaval, but I think I'm ready to jump back in this year and do my best to take on some new reading challenges!

This year's challenge list can be found here. I just remembered to find the challenge yesterday, so I spent some time making a list of some ideas I have for books for each category. I thought I'd share some ideas of mine here, and I'd love to hear any feedback on other suggestions as well! I should go ahead and mention now that the point is try and read books you've never read before (with one category exception -- you'll see which one), so I'm going to be bold here in sharing books I've never read. Some of them might be surprising! (These categories don't have to be tackled in any particular order. There are 12 books in the challenge, one for each month of 2020.) *Each book is hyperlinked so you can check it out if you want!

Category 1: A Book Published the Decade You Were Born

I was born in the '80s, but I decided to concentrate specifically on the year I was born, 1984, which was apparently not a bad year for books!

My Ideas:
1. The Unbearable Lightness of Being 
2. The House on Mango Street
3. The Witches of Eastwick

Category 2: A Debut Novel 

It doesn't have to debut this year, just be someone's first book.

My Ideas:
1. Conversations With Friends
2. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
3. The Woman in the Window

Category 3: Recommended by a Source You Trust

Well, seeing as I'm doing this challenge, I trust Modern Mrs. Darcy! Here are a few from a summer list she did a couple years back.

My Ideas:
1. The Queen of Hearts
2. The Perfect Couple
3. Not That I Could Tell

Category 4: A Book By a Local Author

I live in the Atlanta metro area, and so do a lot of authors apparently! No shortage for me here.

My Ideas:
1. Never Have I Ever
2. Sunset Beach
3. The Favorite Daughter

Category 5: A Book Outside My Comfort Zone

Generally, Sci Fi is outside of my comfort zone, so I'm going to give it a try!

My Ideas:
1. Station Eleven
2. The Long Walk
3. The Circle

Category 6: A Book in Translation

There is a great selection of these out there!

My Ideas:
1. Beartown
2. Things We Lost in the Fire
3. Go Went Gone

Category 7: A Book Nominated for an Award in 2020

This list is to be determined! I did note that the Newbery Award and Honor books are named on January 27 this year, so it is likely that I will read one of those for this category!

Category 8: A Re-Read

There is one book I've been dying to re-read since my parents brought me a box that contained a lot of my old books when I moved. And that book is

My Idea:
1. Kristy's Great Idea



Category 9: A Classic You Didn't Read in School

If there's any list you could make fun of me for, it's this one. Please be gentle!

My Ideas:
1. A Separate Peace
2. In Cold Blood
3. Atlas Shrugged

Category 10: Three Books by the Same Author

So this category counts for books 10, 11, and 12. After some thinking, I've decided to read three books by Roald Dahl! The three I hope to read are

My Ideas:
1. The BFG
2. The Witches
3. Tales of the Unexpected 

So there you have it! Chances are I'll be adding all these books to my "want to read" list so I'll read them all at some point in my life. Because I'm starting this challenge mid-way through January, I plan to read my re-read, Kristy's Great Idea, for this month. 

I'll be documenting this reading challenge (I hope!) on this blog, Instagram (follow me @happilykrafter), and Litsy (follow me @HappilyEverKrafter). And, even though I said I'm not really a book journaler, I am going to try and use this very simple journal Joe got me last year. If nothing else, it's pretty to look at! Let me know if you'd like to join me or if you have some other great book ideas! Happy reading!

____

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a book through this page, I may receive a small commission. All the thoughts shared here are my own.