My 2017 Reading Pledge Update (First Quarter)

So, the first three months of the year have passed, which means it’s time to examine my reading pledge for 2017 so far!

My reading challenge on Goodreads is to read and review 100 books this year (I managed in 80 in 2016) and I’m on more or less on track with 21 books read this quarter. In 2017, I pledged to read at least five:

• Writers of colour
• Classic literary titles (or modern prize-winners, i.e. Pulitzer)
• Non fiction titles
• Fiction titles that aren’t crime, mystery or thriller (or classics, prize-winners or non-fiction!)
• PLUS: a crime/subgenre I’ve never tried before

So, how have I done so far?

I’ve done best reading writers of colour. I’ve read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguru; Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng; Arrival by Ted Chiang; plus Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly.

In terms of literary classics, I haven’t read ANY, though most of the above are modern prize winners (but I’m kinda cheating, really as I’m doubling up!). I have read the superb Little Deaths by Emma Flint, which was long-listed from The Baileys Prize. I’d like to read more from that list for sure (I have The Power by Naomi Alderman on the TBR too).

In terms of non-fiction, not counting Hidden Figures, I’ve only managed one other – the fabulous For The Love Of Shakespeare by Beth Miller.

In terms of a crime/subgenre I’ve not tried before, I really struggled to find one this year as I’ve dipped a toe in most of them … So I decided to try book club titles. I’ve always been a bit of a rebel about these, just because everyone else is reading them! Any I’d read before had been accidental, so I decided I was probably missing out. I read Lying In Wait by Liz Nugent; Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant and Baby Doll by Hollie Overton because they all feature on Richard and Judy’s Spring 2017 Book Club. I’ve also got The Trouble With Goats And Sheep by Joanna Canon on the TBR.

So in the next quarter, I’m definitely going to read more non fiction and classics. I’ve got The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson and The Ministry of Fear by Graham Greene in my TBR, so those would be good places to start.

How’s YOUR 2017 reading pledge or Goodreads challenge going?