This year I was really excited to create my first official yearly reading challenge. I haven’t really challenged myself to read throughout the year before. I once tried to do a reading challenge last summer but that was it. I find that it is hard for me to enjoy reading when my anxiety levels are high (like they were last summer). Despite not being successful in my summer reading challenge, I felt successful in the reading challenge of 20 books that I had set for myself in 2017. But as much as I read last year, I still didn’t feel like I was reading as much as I could have been at the beginning of last year.
I really only started to read regularly when I started graduate school in the fall. I’m not sure where the sudden burst of motivation and dedication to reading came from, but I didn’t question it. I encouraged it and found books that really sparked my interest. I want to read 30 books with a total word count of at least 10,000. To achieve this goal, I have decided that I am going to dive into some large series:
1) Game of Thrones
The first series that I am going to read is A Song of Ice and Fire series (Game of Thrones) by George R.R. Martin. In the fall, I binged-watched the entire TV series with my boyfriend within a few weeks. I fell in love with the characters and the storyline immediately. After that, I knew that the only thing for me to do was to read the books. My dad and stepmom bought me the paperback box set for Christmas.
I have already read the first couple hundred pages of the first book, A Game of Thrones. I am already in love. It is so great to experience the storyline again while getting to know the characters in a new way.
2) The Gender Game
For Christmas, my mom bought me the first book of a series called The Gender Game. Immediately I was engulfed by the story, the world, and felt a strong connection to the protagonist. While reading the first book, I went onto Goodreads to see how many books there were in that series. To my delight, The Gender Game series by Bella Forrest has seven books. The last book ended on a cliff hanger and am eager to find out what happens to the main character next.
Related: Gender Games Series Review
3) Harry Potter
Admittedly, I have only read the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling once, and it was for an English class. Since it was for class, I had to binge-read the series. This year, I want to read the series at my own pace and for fun. I want to enjoy the story and the characters without worrying about a deadline for school or analyzing the meaning or Rowling’s description.
4) The Lunar Chronicles
I have been slowly reading this series by Marissa Meyer over the past couple of years. This year I want to read Winter and Stars Above. After I am done those books then I will have completed the series. It has been interesting reading from a new character’s point of view in each new novel. I have never read a series like this before so I am excited to keep reading.
5) And other books
Of course, to reach my goal, I probably won’t read all large series. I plan to read some smaller books after I finish reading these planned series. I’m hoping by the time I have gotten through all of those books that I will have found a new series to indulge in. There is nothing more satisfying to me than finding a series that I love to read.