Did I complete the 2016 Reading Challenge?

Strictly speaking, no. I failed in the one category of reading a book previously abandoned. I did think about this a lot, but I don’t really think that it counts. In my defence, there was good reason:

  • The Dante Club and Ernest Shackleton. Both incredibly dense reads; no desire to see if I’d changed my mind about them.
  • The Historian. Too scary, and I don’t like being scared.
  • The Dragon Tatoo. To creepy. Dark. Refer to above. I don’t like being scared.

That said, in many ways it was a huge success. I might never have read War and Peace. Unlikely to have read July’s People. Kes. I would certainly say that it has broadened what I would normally read. That has to be a good thing.

Perhaps the 2017 challenge should be genre specific. Or the Man Booker shortlist (or even long list!).  Keeeep reading!