2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

This is my first year writing full time and reading so I will only try to beat 101 books. I am still a little unsure how to do all this, but I will try.

So I went back through my library records for this year and the books I have posted that I have bought. I still have two more library records to check but as it is here are the books I have read so far for this challenge:
1. Sounds of Silence (The Texas Gatekeepers, #2)
2. Manual De Publicaciones De La American Psychological Association / Publication Manual Of The American Psychological Association
3. The Devil Who Tamed Her
4. Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years
5. abraham lincoln vampire slayer
6. Scottsboro, Alabama: A Story In Linoleum Cuts
7. Love's Unending Legacy (reread)
8. Ramona Forever
9. The Musical Life of Gustav Mole With
10. Good Boy, Fergus!
11. David Gets In Trouble (reread)
12. Alejandro's Gift (reread)
13. Rags-to-Riches Bride
14. Looking for Miracles
15. Lord Grafton's Promise
16. On The Doorstep
17. Woe Is Moe
18. Piggies (reread)
19. For Her Son's Love
20. Hatchet
21. The Ultimate Inferior Beings
22. His Mountain Miss
23. Homefront Hero
24. Hill Country Cattleman
25. Somebody's Baby
26. The Prodigal Son Returns
27. The Cowboy's Convenient Proposal
28. The Marriage Barter
29. The Bride Wore Spurs
30. Family Lessons
31. Second Chance Proposal
32. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
33. Dooby Dooby Moo
34. Love's Unfolding Dream
35. Mississippi: An American Journey
36. Marianne and the Marquis
37. The Dresser
38. King Solomon's Mines & Allan Quatermain
39. Endgame & Act Without Words
40. On the Banks of Plum Creek
41. Anne of Green Gables
42. The Nanny Diaries

So as of right now I am behind if I want to make the 101 books. But hopefully after I check some of my other library records I will have read a few more than this.

43. To Love Again (Rosewood, Texas Series #3)
44. A Treasure of the Heart

45. The Unintended Groom
46. The Baby Compromise
47. Rocket Boys
48. Small-Town Dad
49. Home to Montana
50. The Grim Grotto
51. Who Could That Be At This Hour?

Okay, so if I read 16 more books by the end of September I should be good. I know my reading is a little unbalanced, but I am a member of the Love Inspired Historical book club, and I am writing a romance right now.

Ooh! How far are you on your writing?

Adriana wrote: "Ooh! How far are you on your writing?"

I am halfway - about 42,000 words right now. I am hoping to submit it by the end of September.

Submit it where exactly? To a publishing agency?

I am going to submit it to Love Inspired Historical (a Harlequin imprint).

Oh! I didn't realize the book club was named after a Harlequin imprint. I hope everything works out for the best (:

Thanks!

How exciting, Jennifer! Best of luck to you. Please keep us posted.

Kara wrote: "How exciting, Jennifer! Best of luck to you. Please keep us posted."

Thanks!

Very, very slow book:

52.Into the Wilderness

I forgot these since they are e-books (and most of them were read for work purposes):

53. Cheshire Born: A Collection of Albums
54. Kill Screen
55. Revelation
56. Shifting Tides
57. Willie Woodson Jr. Life and Death Story
58. Peekaboo God

Ironically, Peek-a-boo God is what led me to Goodreads.

Yeah - 9 more books for September to catch up!

59. The Watchers of Ur: Cradle

Another book I just finished for a job... 8 more for Sept. (Double yeah!)

60. ADHD and Me: What I Learned from Lighting Fires at the Dinner Table
61. A Lady Can Never Be Too Curious
62. A Captain and a Corset

63. The DoomsDay Code

So, I read this because I was working on it. This particular job was very interesting - instead of the run of the mill edit, rewrite, screenplay, or ghostwrite, I got to write the puzzle that became the code to solve. It was loads of fun!

You are going at lightning speed there. You'll catch up in no time (;

Adriana wrote: "You are going at lightning speed there. You'll catch up in no time (;"

If I am not working or reading for work, I can do about 600 pages per day. (I finished #61 and #62 on the same day, and then was disappointed to see the next in the series wasn't out yet.) Unfortunately, I have three editing jobs right now and none of the books are published, so I won't count them here. That has slowed me a bit. And although I love to read, when you are reading things pre-publishing or if you are reading things to help you be a better writer, sometimes it is difficult to get into it.

64. The Penultimate Peril

In the car - on CD, yeah! You guys on here are a great inspiration to meet my goals. Thank you!

65. The Outlaw's Redemption

Two more for September to catch up!

I don't know. I think I would love your job if I had better grammar skills... maybe you discover something amazing.

I haven't read a Series of Unfortunate Events in forever! I wonder what you will think of the last book.

Adriana wrote: "I don't know. I think I would love your job if I had better grammar skills... maybe you discover something amazing.

I haven't read a Series of Unfortunate Events in forever! I wonder what you wil..."

I have definitely gotten a preview of a few amazing books with very original ideas. However, a lot of people come to me because their ideas haven't been completely developed and they need advice to get them to that point. Manuscripts in their raw states are not always pretty, but editing has given me the knowledge to know you cannot self-edit. So, even though I am an editor, I hire someone else to edit for me - in fact several someone elses. The bad side is that it also makes me less inclined to go back and edit my blog or my posts like this. (Something I was meticulous about before I began doing it for a living.)

I love the Series of Unfortunate events. When I first saw it in the store, I was not overly impressed. I thought, "Oh, great another fad children's series." Then, for whatever reason, my husband and I rented the movie. Of course, once you see the movie, you have to read the book. I was hooked from the first one. I am listening to The End in the car when I take my kids to school, so I will let you know what I thought when I finish it.

True. I know that a lot of writers are always commenting on how they edit numerous times. I can see it becoming tedious for your own work as well.

Awesome (: The only thing about that series that bothered me slightly was how long it was. I felt like it should have been shorter but that's probably because I marathoned it a while back :P

Adriana wrote: "True. I know that a lot of writers are always commenting on how they edit numerous times. I can see it becoming tedious for your own work as well.

Awesome (: The only thing about that series that..."

I think that he had to commit to 13 books. Also, he had to keep them all within a relatively similar length. This is the big problem with word counts - what happens when you write a good story that isn't long enough. Well, the answer is you do what all author's do and go back to make it longer.
I think over all, he deals with it well - yes the last few novels get graphically long descriptions of what the children are seeing and what everyone in a crowd is saying, but for the most part he keeps with the story. The water cycle references in Grim Grotto were the only thing that got too predictable for me because he continued repeating them throughout the book in detail. I am on the last chapter of The End right now, and I think it will be interesting to see how he wraps it up.

Okay, my romance book is basically finished, so I can finally post again:
66. The Family Business (exploring Urban fiction for the first time because of a book I was hired to edit)
67. Chato's Kitchen (I love Chato books - this is a reread)
68. Chato Goes Cruisin' (reread)
69.Chato and the Party Animals
70.Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (reread)
71.Cully Cully and the Bear (reread)
Sharing old favorites with my youngest daughter :)

72. Sybil: The Classic True Story of a Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities
73. The End

74. An Unexpected Wife
75. Healing the Soldier's Heart
76.Roping the Wrangler This book reminded me so much of my husband and me and how we met.

77. The Courting Campaign

78.Torn Between Two Lovers

79. Project: Hero
80. A Heart on Hold

81. People of Walmart: Of the People, by the People, for the People
82. The Baby Bequest

You are doing so good! How's the book coming along?

Adriana wrote: "You are doing so good! How's the book coming along?"

Well, I have a children's book that was in the last stages of formatting but ran into trouble. I am getting ready to ramp up marketing (the children's book) because I want to release it for Black Friday. So, I still have 10,000 words left to write on the historical romance. I did have two beta readers on here read it as is, and they really liked it (which is encouraging). I also had a professional write the query, and so I am thinking positive about it. I will let you guys know when its 100%.

83. A Place of Refuge

Jennifer wrote: "Adriana wrote: "You are doing so good! How's the book coming along?"

Well, I have a children's book that was in the last stages of formatting but ran into trouble. I am getting ready to ramp up ma..."

Awesome! I'm glad everything is going so well with the feedback you got from the Historical Romance book and I love that you are making a children's book. For what age group are you making it?
Thanks! I don't mean to pester you. I would love to know when you complete your book though (:

84. Waiting for Godot
85. Lifting the Lid
86. Echinodea
87. The House on Mango Street

Adriana wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Adriana wrote: "You are doing so good! How's the book coming along?"

Well, I have a children's book that was in the last stages of formatting but ran into trouble. I am getting re..."

Oh, I think any author likes talking about his or her books. I just uploaded Sal, Captain of the Baby Guards to CreateSpace today, so as soon as it has been reviewed it will be for sale on Amazon (hopefully by next week). It is a picture book written for 5 - 8 year olds about imagination and confronting imagined fears. There are also shadow dragons hidden in the pictures of the book for kids (and parents) to find.

Since that has been uploaded, I am hoping to finish the historical romance, An Inconvenient Widow this weekend. My husband has Monday off, so he should be able to help with the kids while I do it.

I have also been cutting back on my freelancing load a little so I can get it done. It's a little scary since that is my immediate paycheck, and these won't be a paycheck for a few months or longer, but I really want to make the shift into writing what I want to write instead of being at the mercy of my employers.

88. A Dangerous Man
89. Soulless

90.The Dutiful Daughter

91. Falling for the Teacher

92. The Watchers of Ur: Offspring

And finally, the children's book I wrote is on here:

93. Sal, Captain of the Baby Guards

(YEAH!) I've actually read this one hundreds of times this year... :-)

94. Cloaked in Fur

95.A Family for Christmas

96. Living Spring
97.Bridget Jones's Diary

98. Would-Be Christmas Wedding
99. Snowflake Sweethearts

100. Mail-Order Mistletoe Brides: Christmas Hearts\Mistletoe Kiss in Dry Creek

101. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

I thought this was the first time reading this, but I knew what was going to happen, so I may have read it before.

102. The Secret Princess