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#BeatTheBacklist Challenge is a Go!


Was in search of some happy to share here on the blog, and I think I found it!

So I’ve enjoyed tracking the books I’ve read this past year for the Goodreads challenge, but I’ve been debating on signing up for another one, and I think I found the perfect one for me! #BeatTheBacklist (sign up & info here: http://novelknight.com/2017/12/welcome-beatthebacklist-2018-sign-ups-open/ ) is a challenge specifically designed to tackle those books on the TBR pile that have been there a little… longer shall we say? (I’m looking at you: massive pile of books that are at least 2+ years old but have yet to be read LOL). Basically any book released PRIOR to 2018 can count toward the challenge, and you get placed on a team (I've officially been assigned to the Novel Knights!) to earn points and possibly win prizes, all of which sounds fun!

I was already planning to do 52 books for the 2018 Goodreads challenge (so 1 a week which is totally doable), so I think I’m going to make my goal for this challenge to be half of that total number. 26 backlist books = definitely doable. Especially with my monster TBR.So since I already have a stack of books I hoped to read for my unofficial TBR bingo card (if only because I SUCK at picking out books from my mountain), I think I’ll start with those as my ‘goal’ books.

Thus my off the top of my list of likely books I’ll read for this particular challenge includes (in no particular order and with a few books removed from the bingo card bc I’m taken them with me on our Christmas vacation LOL):

  1. When the Moon Was Ours

  2. Shadowshaper

  3. The Sandcastle Empire

  4. Star-Crossed

  5. Long May She Reign

  6. THUG

  7. The Girl with the Red Balloon

  8. Akata Witch

  9. Loosed Upon the World

  10. Spindle

  11. Wintersong

  12. Retribution Rails

  13. Rebel in the Sands

  14. Crooked Kingdom

  15. Sparrowhill Road

  16. The Starlit Wood

  17. The Witches of New York

  18. Beyond the Red

  19. Afterworlds

  20. The Shadow Hour

  21. Truthwitch

  22. Sekret

  23. Of Metal and Wishes

  24. Fiendish

  25. The Diabolic

  26. Empress of a Thousand Skies

  27. A Great and Terrible Beauty

  28. Rebel Angels

  29. The Sweet Far Thing

…OK so yes I realize there are more than 26 backlist books listed above but seriously y’all I SUCK AT MAKING BOOKISH DECISIONS, and also probably have upwards of 100+ books just on the physical TBR, let alone in ebook form. There are a lot of options is what I’m saying. Besides, there’s nothing that says I CAN’T use the other 26 of my Goodreads challenge for backlist books too ;)

But yeah, mostly I have ALL THE BOOKS to read, and hopefully this will keep me going and remind me to read what I already own instead of going out and buying new ones.

…which oops I just bought SONG OF THE CURRENT w/Bookoutlet’s current $5 coupon. I’m… not very good at saying no to books am I? Oh well no regrets!!

What reading challenges have y’all done in the past and/or are you signing up for any in 2018? Do you have books – backlist or new release – that you’re really looking forward to? Let me know in the comments or over on twitter @C_L_McCollum

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