At the start of the new year, we got a challenge at the Verbeelding Bookclub: the Verbeelding Book Challenge. It’s a list with 30 different kinds of books to read this year, so we need to step out of our reading comfort zone. I’m not sure what sort of a reader I am, but I know there are a lot of genres I’ve never read before.

This is the last update in this year’s Verbeelding Book challenge. I’m already looking forward to the 2016 Verbeelding Book challenge, which should come online in a couple of days. #excited!

In my last update I talked about maybe finishing the Verbeelding Book challenge, but then I had a bit of a reading slump. I really struggled and I knew it was because I was pushing myself to read too much out of my comfort zone. The main thing about reading is that I have to enjoy it. I read to relax. I know some people want to learn new things of discover new perspectives, but that’s only secondary for me. When I can choose between almost not reading because I don’t like the genre I’m reading or between reading a lot of the same old things and enjoying myself, I don’t have to think long to pick.

So I dropped the idea of doing a final sprint in December and decided to read whatever I felt like and whatever I would enjoy most. That doesn’t mean I don’t like doing the challenge, I always like a bit of a challenge, but it still has to be fun in the end.

Read

• A book written in a language other than the one you normally read in  – As I normally don’t read fiction in Dutch, I’ve picked the only Dutch book I’ve read this year for this one: Tirol Inferno.
• A book that won a prize – I’m read A Monster Calls and it was so good! I really loved the story and the illustrations made it so much better.
• A book published before 1900 – I’ve wanted to read The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde for a long time. The story is very well-known, so I thought I knew what to expect. In the end this book was a bit of a surprise. I didn’t love it though. It started good, but I didn’t like the second part of the book, it was a tad boring. Pitty, because Oscar Wilde knows how to craft a sentence.
• Read a book published in your birth-year – I went for a quick relief for this challenge and I picked up Matilda by Roald Dahl. It was published in 1988 and I read it as a child (only one of two Roald Dahl books I read as a child, I didn’t want to read the others, because everyone was reading them. #alwaysbeenacoolkid)
• A book you’ve been wanting to read for the longest time – I picked Habibi for this one. It’s a graphic novel by Craig Thompson who also wrote Blankets. I’ve read Blankets a couple of years ago and I’ve wanted to read Habibi ever since it was published. Although it was very different from Blankets, I really liked this novel too.

Work in progress

• A book set in  South-America – I’ve started reading The Stranger by Albert Camus for this one. I’m about 25% in and if I’d push through I’d probably be able to finish this book before the start of the new year (as it’s only 125 pages long), but I’m currently way to engrossed in A Darker Shade of Magic to pick this up again.

Not started

• A book made into a tv-series – Sherlock Holmes
• A book set in Africa – Who Fears Death, a fantasy novel set in Africa.
• A book set in Asia – A Tale for the Time Being.
• A book set in Oceania –  The People in the Trees, a book that’s partially set in Micronesia.
• A historic novel – Burial Rites

I still want to read the books I didn’t manage to get to in 2015. They’re probably not the highest on my TBR-list, but they all sound really intriguing and I want to get to them one day. 🙂

The complete Verbeelding Book Challenge overview

• Read a book of 500 pages or more – Cress
• Read a book published in your birthyear – Matilda
• A non fiction book– Yes Please
• A Fantasy book – The Kiss of Deception
• A sci-fi book – The Martian
• A graphic novel – Seconds
• A mystery novel or thriller –  The Girl with all the Gifts
• A romance or chicklit – To all the Boys I Loved Before
• A book aimed a children under 12 –  Alice in Wonderland/Alice in Spiegelland
• A book based on a true story – The Yellow Wallpaper
• A historic novel
• A book with illustrations – Graduation Guide for Design Students
• A book that won a prize – A Monster Calls
• A book that somebody recommended to you – Brave New World
• A book published before 1900 – The Picture of Dorian Gray
• A series (you may already have started it) – Percy Jackson & The Olympians
• A book you loved as a child –  Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
• A book you once started, but never finished – Flowers for Algernon
• A book with 65+ main character – Old Man’s War
• A book you’ve read in one sitting – The Arrival
•  A book that has been made into a movie – Locke & Key series / Harry Potter
• A book made into a tv-series 
• A book you’ve been wanting to read for the longest time – Habibi
• A book set in Asia
• A book set in Africa
• A book set in  South-America
• A book set in Oceania
• A book written in a language other than the one you normally read in  – Tirol Inferno
• A book with short stories – Unnatural Creatures
• A poetry collection – The See and the Bells

In the end I’ve managed to read 24 books (out of 30) for the Verbeelding Book Challenge, which is about a third of the total amount of books I’ve read this year! Did you participate in any (reading) challenges this year? How did you fare?