Blog Ahead Half-Way and 2015 Challenge Updates

Blog Ahead 2015

During the first week of the challenge I focused on completing posts for October, and I did it! (Well, I've completed all except my October Wrap-Up post.) It’s a little strange having the rest of this month taken care of! Comparing my progress to last year’s challenge, I’m in a MUCH better position right now, and hopefully I’ll be able to get lots of post writing time in over the next couple of weeks.

We’re about half-way through the challenge now, and I’ve made a nice bit of progress – I’ve written and scheduled 5 posts for November and beyond. But there is something I did which I’m even happier with: I created a rough what-to-post-and-when calendar for November and December. Even if I only manage to write another 5 or 6 posts by the end of the month, it’s so helpful to have a clear idea of what I’d like to get done and for when. I have a bad habit of just winging things as I go, so this is a huge change for me!

Dystopia 2015 Challenge

6/7 Dystopians

My aim for the challenge was between 7 and 12 books, and so far, I’ve read and reviewed 6. Just one more to go, and I'll have reached my goal, YAY!! I might be able to read another one or two after that, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to pass 12 before the end of the year.

Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M. Lee - Read and Reviewed
The Infinite by Lori M. Lee - Read and Reviewed
End of Days by Susan Ee - Read and Reviewed
Cress by Marissa Meyer - Read and Reviewed
The Selection by Kiera Cass - Read and Reviewed
Fairest by Marissa Meyer - Read and Reviewed

Re-Read Challenge

0/10 Rereads

Failure would be an accurate description for my participation in this challenge right now. We’re a little over half-way through October, and I really doubt I’ll be able to complete my original aim of 10 books. I do intend to reread Pride and Prejudice before the end of the year, but beyond that I really don’t know if I’ll get more rereads in. I’m a bit tempted to dedicate December as my re-read month… but we’ll see what happens!

Fairytale Retelling Challenge

4/10 Retellings

I haven’t done as well in this challenge as I had expected. I LOVE retellings, so this was a challenge I had hoped to have wrapped up quite quickly. When I signed up for the challenge I listed five retellings I hoped to read, and I have read all five, so that’s a good start! I’ve reviewed four out of the five, and my Cruel Beauty review should be up on the blog next month.

With the four books I have read and reviewed, I have completed the Prince Charming level. (Woohoo!) Currently I’m working on the Magic Mirror level (5-9 books). My original aim is for the Big Bad Wolf Level (10-15 books), but it doesn’t look like I’ll make the 10 retellings needed by the end of the year. There’s still two and a half months, so hopefully I’ll get at least another few read!

2015 New Releases Challenge – COMPLETED!

21/16 New Releases

*Throws confetti* YAY, I COMPLETED A CHALLENGE EARLY!

I chose to aim for Level 2, (which was reading 16 - 30 2015 new releases), and so far I’ve read 21. This was the challenge I was anticipating to struggle with, and it’s such a nice surprise to have it completed early. I’ll keep listing any more 2015 releases I read right up until the end of the year – maybe I’ll even make it to Level 3!!

Tunnel Vision by Susan Adrian // Ensnared by A.G. Howard
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas // Dreamfire by Kit Alloway
The Infinite by Lori M. Lee // City of Fae by Pippa DaCosta

End of Days by Susan Ee // Shutter by Courtney Alameda
From a Distant Star by Karen McQuestion // Twist by Karen Akins
Endgame by C.J. Daugherty // The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir // The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson
Fairest by Marissa Meyer // Rome in Love by Anita Hughes
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas // The Changeling by Helen Falconer //

Romancing the Dark in the City of Light by Ann Jacobus
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard // Oblivion by Kelly Creagh

Goodreads Yearly Reading Challenge

2015 Reading Challenge

Alma has read 66 books toward her goal of 80 books.

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66 of 80 (82%)

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I’ve read 67 out of 80 books, and I’m 5 books ahead of schedule. *Mega happy dance!* This is definitely do-able by the end of the year, providing I can avoid any unforeseen reading slumps!

Phew! I’ve made some good and not-so-good progress on my challenges so far. The only one I’m concerned over is the Re-Reading challenge. I don’t want to drop out, but it might be the one I’ll sacrifice if I can get all the others completed by the end of the year.

Are you taking part in Blog Ahead this year? I hope you’re making lots of progress! And have you joined any other challenges? How have you been doing with them?

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Reading!