2022 Bookish Challenges & Goals – wrap-up

Hi and welcome to FromBelgiumWithBookLove where today I’d like to wrap up my bookish challenges for 2022!

The GoodReads Challenge:
336/200

(I was going to up the stakes but then I hit my goal without realising and decided not to change it)

The Series Challenge:

Finish the Shardlake Series:
Heartstone
Lamentation
Tombland

(Completed. Great series, do check it out of you enjoy historical fiction!)

Read the Anna Fekete Series:
The Hummingbird
The Defenceless
The Exiled

(Completed. It took me a while to get to this series but then I read them in rather quick succession. The last one was my favourite.)

Finish the Sturmtaucher Trilogy:
Flight of the Shearwater
The Turn of The Tide

(Completed. I had the absolute best time with this trilogy. Highly recommended.)

The Stephen King Challenge: Read at least 5 Stephen King novels: 7/5
The Running Man
Thinner
The Mist
Finn
Misery
Fairy Tale
Firestarter

(It was fun dipping into some of the older King stuff and I definitely want to continue my exploration.)

The Agatha Christie Challenge: Read at least 5 Agatha Christie novels: 5/5
Spider’s Web
Sleeping Murder
A Caribbean Mystery
The Unexpected Guest
Hallowe’en Party

(Completed. However, I wasn’t in much of an Agatha mood and I don’t think I will be carrying over this challenge to the new year, I think Agatha and I need a break 😬)

The Spanish Challenge: Read at least 10 Spanish books: 12/10
El libro secreto de Frida Kahlo, F.G. Haghenbeck
No Abras Los Ojos (Shut Your Eyes Tight), John Verdon
Bilis Negra, Samantha Devin
Cinder, Marissa Meyer
Killing Eve (Codename Villanelle), Luke Jennings
La isla de los cien ojos, Mikel Santiago
Misery, Stephen King
La chica de al lado (The Girl Next Door), Jack Ketchum
Nuestra piel muerta, Natalia García Freire
Mi vida (no del todo) perfecta (My Not So Perfect Life), Sophie Kinsella
Ceniza roja, Socorro Venegas
La anomalía, Hervé Le Tellier

(Not every book was a winner but I did read some pretty good books so I’m really happy with how this challenge turned out.)

The Non-Fiction Challenge: Read at least 5 non-fiction books: 20/5
The Radium Girls, Kate Moore
The Little Book of Sloth Philosophy, Jennifer McCartney
Maus I & II: A Survivor’s Tale, Art Spiegelman
The Little Book of Hygge, Jonny Jackson & Elias Larsen
Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them, Jennifer Wright
How to be Sad, Helen Russell
How to Stop Overthinking, Chase Hill & Scott Sharp
A Taste for Poison, Neil Bradbury
Killer Fashion, Jennifer Wright
Butterflies: Beautiful Flying Insects, Julianna Photopoulos
The Plant Rescuer, Sarah Gerrard-Jones
What a Fish Knows, Jonathan Balcombe
Orchids for Dummies, Steven A. Frowine
Goldfish: Your Happy Healthy Pet, Gregory Skomal
Cats: A Celebration of Our Feline Friends, Julianna Photopoulos
Dogs: A Celebration of Our Canine Friends, Tom Jackson
Norway: Land of Fjords and the Northern Lights, Claudia Martin
Hidden Places: From Secret Shores to Sacred Shrines, Claudia Martin
Japan: Land of the Rising Sun, Melanie Clegg
The Premonitions Bureau, Sam Knight

(This challenge got somewhat out of hand 🙈 I’m really rather fond of non-fiction these days and I already have my eye on a few other non-fiction books.)

The Classics Challenge: Read at least 5 classics / modern classics, including a Dickens and a Shakespeare: 9/5
The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
Jamaica Inn, Daphne du Maurier
A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Victor Hugo
The Island of Doctor Moreau, H.G. Wells
Hamlet, William Shakespeare
Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
The Chimes, Charles Dickens
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

(I had a great time with this challenge. I found out one Shakespeare a year will do 😬😄 And that I’m not much of a Dickens fan, A Christmas Carol excluded. I’m not sure yet what I’m going to do with this challenge in the new year.)

The FairyLoot Challenge: Read at least 7 FairyLoot novels: 14/7
The Bright & the Pale, Jessica Rubinkowski
These Hollow Vows, Lexi Ryan
The Gilded Cage, Lynette Noni
Six Crimson Cranes, Elizabeth Lim
Once Upon a Broken Heart, Stephanie Garber
Beasts of Prey, Ayana Gray
Bone Crier’s Dawn, Kathryn Purdie
Violet Made of Thorns, Gina Chen
Forging Silver into Stars, Brigid Kemmerer
The Blood Traitor, Lynette Noni
These Twisted Bonds, Lexi Ryan
One Dark Window, Rachel Gillig
The Dragon’s Promise, Elizabeth Lim
Foul Lady Fortune, Chloe Gong

(I had the best time with this challenge!)

The Physical #BeatTheBacklog Challenge: Read at least 7 backlog books that don’t belong to any of the above categories: 8/7
The Glass Woman, Caroline Lea
Twin Truths, Shelan Rodger
The Turn of the Key, Ruth Ware
The Jigsaw Man, Nadine Matheson
Hack, Duncan MacMaster
Castle of Sorrows, Jonathan Janz
Valentine, Elizabeth Wetmore
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, Grady Hendrix

(I made it, and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have read this many backlog books if I hadn’t set myself this challenge, so I’m really happy with these results.)

Thanks for joining me today! Are you setting any challenges for yourself this year? Challenges or not, happy reading! 📚💜