2016 Reading List Accomplished!

I wrote about my 2016 Reading List progress here and, now that 2016 is over, I can finally share that I accomplished my goal! I finished the last book of the challenge on New Year's Eve, so I was working on it up until the very end.

A book published this year - My niece got me addicted to Cassandra Clare, so I opted for her latest book, Lady Midnight. I enjoyed it, though not as much as I've enjoyed her other books.

A book that you can finish in a day - I opted for one of the books I thought I might read, Stuart Little. It was fun to read a children's book for this one (and somewhat necessary).

A book you've been meaning to read - I had written down Deep and Wide due to several pastors recommending it and the changes our church has been going through over the last year. When our church did a summer reading program to help with our focus on outreach, this was the second book on the list. I really loved it!

A book recommended by your local librarian or bookseller - I had already read the book at the time of my progress report, so I read Frog: A Novel by Mo Yan for this part of the challenge. It was incredibly moving and kept me interested. It was a WORLD Magazine recommendation and I've found that all of their recommendations that I've taken have been wonderful!

A book you should have read in school - I picked up The Scarlet Letter (and the corresponding book of Cliffs Notes). I enjoyed this one well enough, but it wasn't my favorite. I am glad to have crossed it off the list; I've owned it for years!

A book chosen for you by your spouse, partner, sibling, child, or BFF - There's kind of a long story on this one. I opted to read Poe around Halloween, who is one of Matt's favorite writers. We own two Poe books (both contain selections from Poe's work). I wanted to read the Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, but the book was not holding my interest after his mystery and horror stories. My sister-in-law (a lit major and fellow book-lover) said I didn't have to finish the book, so I didn't. I DID look through the two Poe books we had, wrote down the stories I hadn't read, and finished the stories and also the poems. So I found out that I love Poe's mystery and horror stories (and I don't mind his poems too much), but everything else is kind of terrible (in my opinion).

A book published before you were born - A friend from Bible study mentioned Elisabeth Elliot's Discipline: The Glad Surrender and so I requested it from the library. It was absolutely full of greatness and did not disappoint.

A book that was banned at some point - I was thinking The Catcher in the Rye for this one, and I read it quickly. I don't think I hated it quite as much as I did in school.

A book you previously abandoned - I addressed this one on my progress post and I'd read it again - I really enjoyed it eventually. The book was Bloodroot.

A book you own but have never read - The Problem of Pain is a work of C.S. Lewis. Most everything I have read of his is fantastic, and this one involved a lot of my attention. It's not a big book, and I'd recommend it, but it's not an easy read.

A book that intimidates you - The Hunchback of Notre Dame was my pick for a book I own but have never read, but once I got into it, I realized it fit this category a bit better (these two categories are interchangeable, as I owned both books but hadn't read them and also felt intimidated by both of them). I had hoped to, but I did not finish it in French. I didn't love it in English, but I did finish it. Wow, it's different from the Disney movie. I know a lot of stories don't match up to their Disney films, but this one was really out there.

A book that you've already read at least once - This was kind of a cop-out. I reread Husband-Coached Childbirth in anticipation of Ellie's birth, so it fit the bill. I'll probably read it again before baby #4!

In addition to these books, I read six or so other books in 2016 that didn't fit into any of these categories.

Now onto the 2017 challenge! I find myself excited to make myself some new lists. Here is the challenge for this year - it's actually two challenges! I am planning to do both lists with a little flexibility. I'm thinking that there will be some books that will cover categories in each list, like I may read Anna Karenina (as a book I've already read AND a book that has more than 600 pages). I'm looking forward to a lot of reading (as usual!) in 2017!