2022 Reading Challenge: Wrap-Up Review

The challenge is complete!

50 books. 50 different prompts. 50 chances to read something new.

I had such a wonderful time completing the 2022 Book Challenge. I was inspired, I was challenged, and I read some books I probably wouldn’t have picked up otherwise.

So let’s get down to the recap of what I read!

• January
• February
• March
• April
• May
• June

Book Challenge 2022: Read 50 Books This Year!

Read a book…

1. With a color in the name: House in the Cerulean Sea
2. Set in a foreign country: The Fishermen
3. Recommended by a friend: The Thursday Murder Club
4. Part of a series: To Sail a Darkling Sea
5. That you should have read in school: Pride and Prejudice
6. On the New York Times Bestseller list: When Breath Becomes Air
7. Already on your bookshelf: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
8. With an animal in the name: The Emperor’s Wolves
9. From an author you already know: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
10. About health and wellness: Why You Eat What You Eat
11. With a pretty book cover: The Ballerinas
12. More than 20 years old: Murder on the Orient Express
13. Released in the year you were born: The Client
14. Published this year: The Violin Conspiracy
15. Translated from another language: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
16. With a female protagonist: The Hawthorne School
17. That’s a memoir: Yes, Chef
18. With a one-word title: Piranesi
19. That was made into a movie: 2001: A Space Odyssey
20. Over 500 pages long: A Discovery of Witches
21. Under 100 pages long: Expect the Unexpected
22. With a music or art theme: The Musical Human: A History of Life on Earth
23. Involving water: The Water Knife
24. With a green book cover: A Dying Fall
25. Set in the 1800s: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
26. With a magical element: Practical Magic
27. That’s a one-hit wonder: Kismet
28. About nature: Dreaming In Turtle
29. With chapter titles: The Night Circus
30. With an index: American Zoo
31. With a map in the front: The City We Became
32. That you heard about from a co-worker: Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot
33. Bought from your local bookstore: Next
34. That’s a Young Adult novel: Blood Countess
35. Only published as an e-book: The Sacrifice of One
36. About sports: Beartown
37. That’s a murder mystery: ‘A’ is for Alibi
38. Featuring the LGBTQ+ community: The Liar’s Dictionary
39. By an author who shares your name: Remarkable Creatures
40. On audiobook read by the author: The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World
41. That’s a guilty pleasure: Deja Dead
42. Written by 2 authors: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
43. Of poetry: Taller When Prone
44. About business: Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
45. About current events: On Juneteeth
46. Everyone is talking about: That Summer
47. Based on a real person: Alone on the Wall
48. That’s a coming of age story: All Systems Red
49. About science: Lone Survivors: How We Came to Be the Only Humans on Earth
50. That makes you smile: The Invisible Library

My hope is that this list will also act as a go-to place for readers to find something new. With 50 books to choose from, I hope there’s a little something for everyone.

Favorite Books of the Challenge (in no particular order):

“A” is for Alibi

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Piranesi

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Bear Town

Next

2001: A Space Odyssey

Best Things About the Challenge:

• So many books! I loved reading this much and having the challenge inspired me to read more books than I did during the first 6 months of last year.
• New books! Only one book from this challenge was something I had read before. And that was for the ‘already on your bookshelf’ item.
• New genres! I’ve never been a huge fan of the classics or romance, but I gave those a try this year.
• I liked so many of my choices! There were only a few duds on my list, and even then, I’m sure there are readers out there that would truly enjoy them, they just weren’t my taste.
• I learned a lot! Some of these books were really educational on current events, science, history, or something else. I also learned more about my reading preferences.
• More motivation! I’m ready to read more and keep up this pace. So looks like I’m on track to read over 100 books in 2022.

Bad Things About the Challenge:

Thankfully, there aren’t many bad things about challenging yourself. However, I did find myself getting obsessed with finding books that fit this challenge. I passed over reading books because they didn’t meet any criteria from my list. Maybe next time, I’ll pace myself over the whole year. Find a few books here and there to work on a reading challenge, mixed in with books I want to read just because. I’m not a huge fan of TBR lists, so this was a bit restrictive.

There were also a few duds that I felt compelled to finish because they would help with the challenge. If it wasn’t for the list, I would have ditched a few and started on something more enjoyable. I enjoy some poetry on occasion, but I think I just picked the wrong author for this challenge.

The Break Down:

Fiction: 35

Sub-genres of note: science fiction, fantasy, crime/mystery

Non-Fiction: 15

Sub-genres of note: memoir, science

Challenge Summary:

Overall, I had a lot of fun doing this reading challenge. I read some really great books and I’m glad I committed to reading all 50!

I flew through the list in 6 months and I’m excited to keep up with my good reading habits through the rest of the year.

I knew I’d be reading a lot of sci-fi and fantasy, but my new interest in mystery/crime books took me by surprise.

I learned more about topics that interest me, and especially enjoyed learning about health and the human body.

See you guys in 2023 for the next challenge! If you can’t wait until then… try the 2022 Summer Reading Challenge from Spine & Leaf Books!