Wrap up of my 2020 challenges - let's see how I went!

 It's that time of year when we look back over our challenge pledges and see how we went.

You can read my 2020 sign up post HERE

 

My first one was the Book Lover Book Review Aussie Author Challenge 

 

 

 

 

I signed up for Kangaroo level:
4 x female authors, 4 x Male authors, 4 x New to me authors, 3 x genres.

But I really had my eye on attaining the Emu level:

10 x female authors, 10 x Male authors, 10 x New to me authors, 4 x genres.

 
My completed challenge was:
49 x Female authors, 16 x Male authors, 38 x New to me authors, 8 x Genres. With a total of 65 books read.

I was keen to increase my male Aussie authors this year and I managed to increase my total from 5 in 2019 to 16 in 2020.

 

You can see the full list of books HERE  

 

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Next up was the Australian Women Writers Challenge.  

 

 

 

I nominated to read and review 30 books for this challenge.
My completed challenge was 49 books read and reviewed.

You can see the full list of books HERE

 

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This was my second year of the Book Bingo challenge hosted by Theresa Smith Writes , Mrs B’s Book Reviews and The Book Muse.

2020 saw us with a smaller card relieving the pressure of completing a book each fortnight.

  

You can see the books I chose for this challenge HERE

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 A new challenge for me was the Nonfiction Reader Challenge hosted by Book'd Out

 

 

Not being a big NonFiction reader a joined the challenge at Nipper level.

Read 3 books from any of the 12 categories.

 

I ended up reading 11 books which covered 8 of the categories. I am sure this challenge helped me to read more from the NonFiction genre. So a big thanks to Shellyrae.

 

You can see the books and categories I read HERE 

 

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Another new challenge for me in 2020 was the Historical Fiction challenge hosted by Passages to the Past.

 

   

 

 

There were 6 levels and I joined Victorian Reader level

20th Century Reader - 2 books
Victorian Reader - 5 books
Renaissance Reader - 10 books
Medieval - 15 books
Ancient History - 25 books
Prehistoric - 50+ books

 

I managed to attain Renaissance reader level by reading 14 books.

 

You can see the full list of books HERE 

 

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My last official challenge is another bingo challenge with Facebook group Books and Bites with Monique Mulligan

 

 

 This bingo challenge was quite hard and had very specific categories. I managed to read 18 of the 25 squares.

 

You can see the full list of books HERE 

 

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A few other challenges I entered were:

Dymocks Reading Challenge 2020 in which I completed 23 of the 25 categories.

 

The Aussie Readers group on Goodreads had an A - Z character challenge which I completed all 26 letters. 

Life of a Book Addict group on Goodreads had a Motley Reading challenge with 26 categories I managed to complete 23 of the 26. 

Well that's a wrap for 2020. Some challenges I will be sticking with in 2021 and some I will be dropping but I am sure I will pick up a couple more.
Look out for my 2021 challenge sign up post coming soon!

 

#AussieAuthor2020   #AWW2020  #HistFic2020 #2020ReadNonFic #BookBingo2020  

Book Bingo - Round 11 & 12: Themes of Inequality & Classic read

The time just seemed to get away and I missed round eleven in November and here it is now time for round twelve so I will be combining the both in this final post for the year.

 

The Women's Pages by Victoria Purman 

 

 

For round 11 I have chosen the category 'Themes of Inequality'

The book I have chosen for this category is: The Women's Pages.

Set in Australia during WWII Purman shows how many women had to step into roles usually held by men. One role was that of journalism however female war correspondents were still not treated equally as it was thought as too dangerous to actually send them to areas that were in engaged combat. Once the war ended all women were expected to leave their jobs and return to home duties.

You can read my full review HERE

 

 Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner

For round 12 I have chosen the category 'A Classic You've Never Read Before'

The book I have chosen for this category is: Seven Little Australians.

There were a multitude of classics I could have picked from because I've never been much of a classic reader. I picked Seven Little Australians because it was short and even then it took me two attempts to finish it. I did enjoy the story and I'm interested in watching the series now to see how it compares.

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Book Bingo is a reading challenge hosted by Theresa Smith Writes , Mrs B’s Book Reviews and The Book Muse. The second Saturday of each month book bingo participants reveal which bingo category they have read and what book they chose.

 

 #BOOKBINGO2020

 

Book Bingo - Round 10: About the Environment

Wasp Season by Jennifer Scoullar

You'll never see a wasp in the same way again.

 

This week I have chosen the category 'About the Environment'

The book I have chosen for this category is: Wasp Season.

In Wasp Season Jennifer Scoullar highlights the effect introduced pests, such as the European Wasp, have on the natural insect life and in turn has a rolling effect of the devastation of the environment surrounding the wasps nest. Insects and their behaviour wouldn't normally interest me however Jennifer Scoullar makes the subject fascinating and adds an ominous element of danger.

You can read my full review HERE

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Book Bingo is a reading challenge hosted by Theresa Smith Writes , Mrs B’s Book Reviews and The Book Muse. The second Saturday of each month book bingo participants reveal which bingo category they have read and what book they chose.

 #BOOKBINGO2020

 

Book Bingo - Round 9: Themes of Crime and Justice

 Reasonable Doubt: lost lives, justice delayed, criminals walking free. by Xanthe Mallett

This week I have chosen the category 'themes of crime and justice'

The book I have chosen for this category is: Reasonable Doubt.

Up until this year I rarely read a non fiction book but here I am now entering my second non fiction read for the book bingo challenge.

Exposing false confessions, police biases, misplaced evidence and dodgy science, Reasonable Doubt is an expert's account of the murky underbelly of our justice system - and the way it affects us all.

You can read my full review HERE

 

Book Bingo - Round 8: Set in a Time of War

 War Doctor: Surgery on the Front Line by David Nott

 This week I have chosen the category 'Set in a Time of War'

The book I have chosen for this category is: The War Doctor.

Normally when I think of a book set during a war I immediately turn to books on WWI or WWII however I thought outside my usual genre and picked a non-fiction / biography. David Nott has written a compassionate story of his years as a volunteer surgeon working in hospitals around the world in war torn areas in Afghanistan, Sarajevo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, Darfur, Yemen and Gaza. Operating in poorly equipped hospitals with the most basic of instruments.

You can read my full review HERE 

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Book Bingo is a reading challenge hosted by Theresa Smith Writes , Mrs B’s Book Reviews and The Book Muse. The second Saturday of each month book bingo participants reveal which bingo category they have read and what book they chose.  

#BOOKBINGO2020 

Book Bingo - Round 7: Friendship, Family & Love #BookBingo2020

Better Luck Next Time by Kate Hilton

This week I have chosen the category 'Friendship, Family & Love.'

The book I have chosen for this category is: Better Luck Next Time.

Better Luck Next Time is the story of the a year in the Hennessy family. Filled with relevant issues such as divorce, dating after divorce, single parenthood, secrets, gay relationships, self love and family. Hilton’s characters are highly relatable. You might find yourself in one of the characters or little bits of yourself in all of them.

Kate Hilton tests the six degrees of separation theory, again and again, but in most cases it is only about two degrees, which makes  for some awkwardly funny situations.

You can read my full review HERE

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Book Bingo is a reading challenge hosted by Theresa Smith Writes , Mrs B’s Book Reviews and The Book Muse. The second Saturday of each month book bingo participants reveal which bingo category they have read and what book they chose.

#BOOKBINGO2020

 

 

Book Bingo - Round 6: Themes of Culture #BookBingo2020

Red Dirt Country by Fleur McDonald

This week I have chosen the category 'Themes of Culture.'

The book I have chosen for this category is: Red Dirt Country.

Red Dirt Country is set in the Australian outback and revolves around cattle stealing on a few cattle stations. Dave Burrows becomes involved when the stock squad is called in to investigate.

Fleur McDonald includes themes of culture through the station run by an aboriginal tribe. There is some conflict between the young station manager and the elders as the younger generation want to do things differently than their older relatives. The elders hold to their traditions and superstitions. They do not want police involved, even though their cattle is being stolen, preferring a quiet existence.

You can read my full review HERE

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Book Bingo is a reading challenge hosted by Theresa Smith Writes , Mrs B’s Book Reviews and The Book Muse. The second Saturday of each month book bingo participants reveal which bingo category they have read and what book they chose.

#BookBingo2020