My plan for reading this year is to stay close to the plan I already made for the 2019 PopSugar Reading Challenge. That will provide for a lot of diversity in my reading as I’ll be exposed to genres I wouldn’t otherwise pick up to read. I will also have other books to read, because not everything is covered in that challenge.
In 2019 I’m going back to a reading plan I devised years ago, prior to staring the PopSugar Reading Challenges (PSRC). My personal plan was, and will be for 2019, to read one book each month from each of the following categories:
1. Recent Fiction – Within the last 25 years – I want to keep in step with the times
2. Classic Fiction – I love the classics
3. Nonfiction – could be about anything
4. YA or Middle Grade – preferably something from the Newbery Medal list
This year I’m adding a few more categories to that list.
5. Art – art books are a thing for me.
6. Christian – for books written by Christian authors, for Christians
7. The Bible – I have an ongoing commitment to study the Word of God
I’m asking myself to read seven books each month, which is a stretch for me. I’m hoping my new traveling lifestyle will be conducive to long hours with literature! Nevertheless, I’m not going to beat myself up for not getting through the entire list each month. I’ll just do the best I can. The real challenge will be to stick to the list rather than being distracted by other books that are not on the list.
Naturally, this list is tentative and I may make changes during the 12 months to come. I’m going to keep it flexible as that’s a realistic way to approach such an endeavor. I will use this page to keep track of my reading challenge so you can check back and see how badly I’m messing up (or succeeding, in case that happens!)
☆ – I own a copy of the book
★★ – I own a copy and am currently reading the book
✓ – Finished
↷ – DNF (Did not finish)
PSRC – 2019 PopSugar Reading Challenge
January – see my January Reading Report
✓ Recent Fiction: The 7+1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton – PSRC #39: A book revolving around a puzzle or game
✓ Recent Fiction: The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern – PSRC #19: A book told from multiple character POVs
↷ Recent Fiction: Winter Loon, by Susan Bernhard – why I decided to DNF this book
✓ Classic: Beowulf, by Anonymous – PSRC #23: A book set in Scandinavia
✓ Gulliver’s Travels (started this last year)
✓ Classic: Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen – PSRC #14: A book you see someone reading on TV or in a movie
✓ Nonfiction: Year of No Sugar, by Eve O. Schaub – PSRC #10: A book with “pop,” or “sugar,” or “challenge” in the title
✓ Nonfiction: Volcanic Momentum, by Jordan Ring – a productivity book – PRSC #37: A book with a two word title
✓ YA: The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green – PSRC #5: A book with at least one million ratings on Goodreads
✓ Art: The Art of Whimsical Lettering, by Joanne Sharpe
✓ Christian: How to Pray for Lost Loved Ones, by Dutch Sheets – from the 2017 challenge list
✓ Bible: Gospel of Matthew
February
✓ Recent Fiction: Before We Were Yours, by Lisa Wingate – PSRC #30. A book featuring an amateur detective
✓ Recent Fiction: The Great Alone, by Kristin Hannah – PSRC #44. Read a book during the season it is set in
✓ Science Fiction: Kindred, by Octavia Butler
✓ Classic: Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe – PSRC #25. A debut novel
★★ Nonfiction: Jesus the King, by Timothy Keller – PSRC #18. A book about someone with a superpower – at the rate I’m reading this, with the workbook, I might not finish until this summer!
✓ YA: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, by Jenny Han – PSRC #29. A book with “love” in the title
✓ Art: Folk Art Fusion, by Heather Galler
✓ Art: Journal Bliss, by Violette
✓ Art: The Artist’s Journey: Bold Strokes To Spark Creativity, by Nancy Hillis – PSRC #26. A book that’s published in 2019
✓ Christian: God’s Chosen Fast, by Arthur Wallis
✓ Christian: You Were Born for This: 7 Keys to a Life of Predictable Miracles, by Bruce Wilkinson
✓ Bible: Continue with the Gospel of Matthew
March
✓ Recent Fiction: Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, by Maria Semple – PSRC #16. A book with a question in the title
✓ Recent Fiction: The Woman in the Window, by A.J. Finn – PSRC #1. A book becoming a movie in 2019
✓ Recent Fiction: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford – PSRC #22. A book with a title that contains “salty,” “sweet,” “bitter,” or “spicy”
✓ Classic: A Death in the Family, by James Agee [or Goodreads pick*] – PSRC #31. A book about a family
✓ Nonfiction: Killers of the Flower Moon, by ☆ David Grann – PSRC #33. A book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in the title
✓ YA: The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery – PSRC #7. A reread of a favorite book
★★ Art: The New Artist’s Manual, by Simon Jennings – This is a very thick, long book that I’ll continue to read through this year.
April
✓ Recent Fiction: The Eagle Tree, by Ned Hayes – PSRC #6. A book with a plant in the title or on the cover
✓ Classic Sci-Fi: Foundation, by Isaac Asimov – PSRC #28. A book recommended by a celebrity you admire
✓ Nonfiction: Bob Dylan’s Chronicles, by Bob Dylan – PSRC #3. A book written by a musician (fiction or nonfiction)
✓ YA: Cinder, by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles, book 1) – PSRC #15. A retelling of a classic
✓ Art: Journal Spilling: Mixed-Media Techniques for Free Expression, by Diana Trout
★★ Christian: Rooted, a 10 week study program (with a book) – I’m doing this with my church. (Continued to May/June)
May
★★ Asian Readathon: Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan – PSRC #34. A book that includes a wedding
☆ Asian Readathon: Norwegian Wood, by Haruki Murakami – PSRC #17. A book set on a college or university campus
☆ Asian Readathon: The Boat – online graphic novel
✓ Asian Readathon: The Vegetarian, by Han Kang
★★ Asian Readathon: A Thousand Beginnings and Endings, edited by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman.
☆ Recent Fiction: No Exit, by Taylor Adams – PSRC #24. A book that takes place in a single day
☆ Classic: One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez – PSRC #32. A book written by an author from Asia, Africa, or South America
✓ Nonfiction: Miles From Nowhere, by Barbara Savage – PSRC #8. A book about a hobby … my review on Goodreads
YA: Scarlet, by Marissa Meyer – PSRC #20. A book set in space
★★ Art: Vibrant Watercolors, by Hazel Lale
☆ Christian: Pigs in the Parlor, by Frank Hammond – [my video explains why]
★★ Christian: Rooted, a 10 week study program (with a book) – I’m doing this with my church. (Continued)
June
☆ Recent Fiction: Ireland, by Frank Delaney – PSRC #9. A book you meant to read in 2018
Recent Fiction: The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco – PSRC #50. A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent
Classic: Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens [or Goodreads pick] – PSRC #34. A book that includes a wedding
Nonfiction: Grandma Gatewood’s Walk, by Ben Montgomery – from the 2018 challenge list
YA: The Oregon Trail, by Matt Doeden – PSRC #42. A choose-your-own-adventure book
☆ Art: Angelic Visions, by Angela Sasser
☆ Christian: Know What You Believe, by Paul Little – from my 2015 list
★★ Christian: Rooted, a 10 week study program (with a book) – I’m doing this with my church. (Continued)
July
Recent Fiction: The Green Age of Asher Witherow, by M.Allen Cunningham – PSRC #2. A book that makes you nostalgic
Recent Fiction: Alias, Grace, by Margaret Atwood – PSRC #38. A novel based on a true story
Classic: The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty – PSRC #47. Two books that share the same title (1)
☆ Nonfiction: Caveat Emptor, by Ken Perenyi – from the 2018 challenge list
YA: Hattie Big Sky, by Kirby Larson – PSRC #4. A book you think should be turned into a movie
☆ Art: Watercolor Handbook: Learning from the Masters, by Ettore Maiotti
☆ Christian: They Shall Expel Demons, by Derek Prince – [my video explains why]
☆ Christian: Becoming a Woman of Grace, by Cynthia Heald – from my 2015 list
☆ Christian: Lord, Is It Warfare?, by Kay Arthur – unfinished from Bible study group
August
Recent Fiction: America’s First Daughter, by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie – PSRC #21. A book by two female authors
Recent Fiction: Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood – PSRC #41. A cli-fi (climate fiction) book
Classic: Persuasion, by Jane Austen – PSRC #13. A book published posthumously
Nonfiction: The Gardner Heist, by Ulrich Boser – from the 2018 challenge list
☆ YA: What Happened to Lani Garver, by Carol Plum-Ucci – from the 2018 challenge list
☆ Art: Anywhere, Anytime Art: Gouache, by Agathe Singer
☆ Christian: Know Why You Believe, by Paul Little – from my 2015 list
September
☆ Recent Fiction: The Witch Elm, by Tana French, is the book chosen by the Goodreads PSRC group I belong to for PSRC #6. A book with a plant in the title or on the cover. I hope to read both my choice and theirs. I enjoy the group reading experience.
Classic: Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare – PSRC #49. A book that has inspired a common phrase or idiom
Classic Sci-Fi: The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke – PSRC #48. Two books that share the same title (2)
☆ Nonfiction: The Lost Continent of Mu/Children of Mu, by James Churchward – from my 2015 list
YA: The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle – PSRC #27. A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature
☆ Art: Perspective Made Easy, by Ernest R. Norling
☆ Christian: Holy Spirit Power, by Charles Spurgeon – from my 2015 list
October
Recent Fiction: Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders [or Goodreads pick] – PSRC #36. A ghost story
Recent Fiction: Girl With a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier – PSRC #46. A book with no chapters
Classic: The Good Soldier, by Ford Madox Ford – PSRC #35. A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter
☆ Nonfiction: A River in Darkness, by Masaji Ishikawa – PSRC #43. An “own voices” book
YA: The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros – from the 2018 challenge list
☆ Art: Art Heals: How Creativity Cures the Soul, by Shaun McNiff
☆ Christian: An Exorcist Tells His Story, by Gabrielle Amorth – [my video explains why]
November
Not doing the Goodreads pick* this time. (I’m doing that prompt in January.)
Recent Fiction: The World According to Garp, by John Irving – PSRC #11. A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover
Recent Fiction: Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline – PSRC #45. A LitRPG book
Classic: The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera – PSRC #40. Your favorite prompt from a past Pop Sugar Reading Challenge
Nonfiction: I Feel Bad About My Neck, by Nora Ephron – from the 2016 challenge list
☆ YA: It’s Like This, Cat, by Emily Cheney Neville – from the 2017 challenge list
☆ Art: 250 Brief, Creative & Practical Art Therapy Techniques: A Guide for Clinicians and Clients, by Susan Buchalter
☆ Christian: Traveling Light, by Max Lucado – unfinished on my shelf
December
Recent Fiction: Giants of the Frost, by Kim Wilkins – PSRC #12. A book inspired by mythology, legend, or folklore
Recent Fiction: Goodreads Pick* – PSRC #26. A book that’s published in 2019
Classic: Tales of the South Pacific, by James A. Michener – from the 2018 challenge list
☆ Nonfiction: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah – from my 2015 list list
YA: My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George – from the 2017 challenge list
☆ Art: The Sketchbook Challenge, by Sue Bleiweiss
☆ Christian: Lessons From the Life of Moody, by Sweeting & Sweeting – unfinished on my shelf
* * * * *
Well, those are my reading plans and intentions for 2019. Very ambitious, I think, but I know people on Booktube who read more than that each month!
So, what makes me think I can actually consider this plan doable? Well, as of next May or June, I’ll be leaving North Idaho to live in a van the rest of the year (hope that works out) and I won’t have a TV. That ought to help a lot. Or, if I do have a TV, it won’t take up so much of my time as my Internet will be throttled by Verizon. So, goodbye to Hulu and all that! I expect most of my internet time to be taken by video uploads and blogging!
One more thing – I will not consider a book “finished” until I’ve reviewed it on this blog, on YouTube, and on Goodreads… and possibly on other sites I own.
Anyhow, it is a plan. Time will tell how well I’ll do with it. No promises!
Image credits: The book and rose photo came from Pixabay.com. . . . the book covers come from Amazon.com.
* [to be decided by the challenge group at Goodreads]
…January: puzzle
…February: LOVE in the title
…March: a question in the title
…April: a plant in the title
…May: about a family
…June: includes a wedding
…July: set in space
…August: two female authors
…September: set at college/university
…October: a ghost story
…November: POP SUGAR or CHALLENGE in title
…December: published in 2019
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