2011 Reading Challenges Report

On January 8, I posted about the reading challenges I was participating in for 2011. This was the first year I actually signed up and committed to a reading challenge. My purpose was to increase my reading numbers and to provide material for blog reviews. Read below for the results. Use the search box at the bottom of the page to look up corresponding reviews.


Goodreads 2011 Reading Challenge
I originally challenged myself to read 50 books this year (an average of four books per month). In July, I raised it to 75 books. I am proud to report that I am closing out 2011 with reading a total of 114 books. Yay!

Quirky Brown Reading Challenge
This challenge was hosted by BrownGirl Speaks to discover some of our lesser known contributions to American literature. The requirement was to read books written by black authors depicting an offbeat black experience. I aimed for Level IV: 5+ books. I am happy to report that I completed the challenge by reading 8 quirky brown books:

• Coffee Will Make You Black by April Sinclair
• The Broke Diaries by Angela Nissel
• Orange, Mint and Honey by Carleen Brice
• A Taste of Honey by Jabari Asim
• Kinky Gazpacho by Lori Tharps
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith 
• True You by Janet Jackson
• Peace from Broken Pieces by Iyanla Vanzant

Colorful Chick Lit Challenge
This challenge was hosted by Reads4Pleasure. Qualifying books have to be written by women of color, about women of color, humorous, snarky, romantic and a happy ending. The four categories includes Indian, Latina, Asian and African-American. Although chick lit is my favorite genre, it was hard to meet all the requirements. I aimed for Queen of Chick Lit Level: 12+ books. Unfortunately, I did not complete the challenge but I read 7 colorful chick lit books:

• Imaginary Men by Anjali Banerjee
• Haunting Jasmine by Anjali Banerjee
• Semisweet by Jill Brock
• Bumped by Sibylla Nash
• Whatever You Like by Maureen Smith
• Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

Show Me the Free Reading Challenge
This challenge was hosted by the Unread Reader. Now this was the perfect challenge to acquaint me with my NOOKcolor. I am so addicted to eBooks now. The requirements were to have an eReader and to actually read the countless amount of free eBooks I've downloaded. Borrowed books from the library, giveaways, galleys and ARC's are excluded. I aimed for the Coupon Clipper Level: 12+ books. I just made it by reading exactly 12 free eBooks:

• Long Time Coming by Vanessa Miller
• Delivered with Love by Sherry Kyle
• Whatever You Like by Maureen Smith
• Love Like This by Sylvia Hubbard
• Bring on the Blessings by Beverly Jenkins
• Hello Kitty Must Die by Angela Choi
• Always the Baker, Never the Bride by Sandra Bricker
• The Rumors Swirling About James Patterson by Stefano Boscutti
• Fools Rush In by Janice Thompson
• 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
• 100 Quotations to Make You Think by Wolfgang Riebe  
• Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom

Overall, I did pretty darn good. Did you complete your 2011 reading challenges successfully?