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I'm wondering if anyone else is in the same boat as me. I have a toddler and my husband works away from home so 2 of 3 weeks I am a single parent. Not complaining, I have it pretty damn good! But I don't really have the time to read books that don't match prompts. My reading goal for the year is to finish this challenge. This means at this point in the year I am struggling with it because I'm in a book club and of course have my own interests, but I've only 9 prompts left so putting my choices into those prompts is harder and harder lol
Anyone else shuffling? Choosing books specifically to meet prompts? Putting books aside until after the challenge?

I'm guilty of choosing shorter books so I can complete this challenge. I think I've shuffled once or twice as well. You do what you gotta do ;)

I've shuffled a few. This challenge was actually much harder than I thought it would be. I've got 1 category undone and 5 in progress, so I've completed 46 out of 52 categories (I counted the trilogy as 3 separate tasks), but I'm still struggling with my reading this year.

It's been much more of a chore than something fun, and I feel like I'm dreading my reading time because I'm reading books for the challenge rather than what I really want to read.

Last year I read 69 books, this year I think I'm going to make the 52 for the challenge and not much more. And I feel bad about that.

That's why I love audiobooks. My husband is deployed so I've been by myself with my 3 kids as well. But I love listening to audiobooks while I cook, clean, grocery shop and run errands.

Krissy wrote: "That's why I love audiobooks. My husband is deployed so I've been by myself with my 3 kids as well. But I love listening to audiobooks while I cook, clean, grocery shop and run errands."

I'd love to be able to use audiobooks, but I find I tune out audiobooks. I love them for long car rides or plane/train trips but for actual reading, I tend to tune them out and miss things -- particularly if I'm doing something else while I'm listening. I find I can't really focus on more than one thing at once. And if I'm focusing on a book, I might as well be reading it myself rather than listening to someone else read it to me.

I'm the same with audiobooks, I tune them out. And for me personally (this is absolutely not a criticism for anyone who does use them) I don't feel it's "reading" so I won't count them as books that I've "read." I've definitely chosen shorter books though. I purposely did some shuffling a couple weeks ago so I'd have a more open category free for book club picks, I left open "a book by an author I haven't read" and what do you know, they chose the cuckoos calling by Robert Galbraith aka jk Rowling... Damn lol I am looking forward to being done. I've read 44 and the rest of my choices are pretty easy but I'm looking forward to being done and reading things I actually want to.

I have managed to read 68 books so far this year (with a goal of 75 - not trying to brag. I promise!). I'm a single mom, but my daughter is 10 so that's a whole different ballgame than having a toddler. I haven't always managed to read as many books as I am this year, and I doubt I read more than a few when she was a toddler.

For me, keeping a couple different books going at a time helps me to read more. If I get stuck with one book or just need a break I can switch to something else for a bit. I know that tactic doesn't work for everyone, but it works for me :) I usually have one paper book, one kindle book and one audiobook going at any given time. This also helps so if I'm stuck waiting and didn't bring my paper book I can just read on my phone or listen to the audiobook instead.

Audiobooks do work great for me. I listen to them at work (depending on the task I am doing), and often when I am in the car alone. I've even been known to use my bluetooth in the grocery store and listen while I shop.

As far as this challenge, I have had to shuffle books a few times too. I've moved things around to fill prompts with books I have already read. I've decided against some books just because they were too much to read this year.

Good luck and if you only manage to read the 52 books this year that's still a good amount and far more than most adults read!

Oh, and one more thing :) Definitely some of the prompts are very limiting (book published the year you were born, book that takes place in your hometown), but with a little research you may be able to place some of the books you want to read into a category that isn't obvious.

What prompts do you have left? What are some of the books you want to read?

Oh obviously yes, until a couple weeks ago I mostly read what I wanted and put them into the most difficult category they'd fit. I am supposed to read cuckoos calling for book club so I think I'll switch out 419 that I had in the "mystery" category and put that into "author I've never read" then what I have left is:
book at the bottom of to-read list (casual vacancy)
Book based entirely on its cover (in progress "a mother's story)
Book I was supposed to read in school but didn't (probably 1984)
Book I own but didn't read (haven't decided, I have a couple)
A play (probably the crucible)
And book based on or turned into a Tv show (probably dexter since I have it but never got around to reading it)

These are pretty much all books I want to read or at least have been meaning to (dexter, crucible, 1984)

I've definitely been struggling a bit, but it hasn't necessarily been bad. At this point, I'm mostly reading books that I've been interested in for a while but never would have gotten around to in lieu of books that fit in my favourite genre. I have shuffled things around a couple times in order to fit a book in here and there, and I've stretched prompts a bit, but oh well. I've never read so much in a year (almost done with 40), and I'm proud of myself. I am, however, conflicted about whether or not I want to do another 52 book challenge next year.

So yes, I'll only be completing 52 books this year, and it amazes me that other people have already surpassed that. By a lot.

Hmm...well it's good at least that you could identify books you actually want to read that fit those categories!

I haven't read The Crucible since high school, and I don't remember how long it is, but if you want a quicker play to read try Oscar Wilde. I read The Importance of Being Earnest. It's light-hearted and funny, and it doesn't take too long to read.

For a book turned into a TV show, you can always read a little Sherlock Holmes. His stories are short so you can read a collection or just one or two.

A book you should have read in high school was tough because most of the books I hadn't read but are often read I didn't WANT to read :) I ended up going with Frankenstein which I stole from another prompt. 1984 is a good one and should be fairly quick. You know one book I read in high school that is really fun? The Princess Bride! Yep, 10th grade English class :)

I studied theatre so I've read so many plays and the crucible is the only one I haven't that I've wanted to. I also pretty much read everything I was supposed to except a couple that I really don't want to! So I stretched that one So I can read one that I've wanted to that a lot of people did read in hs but I was never assigned.
I am a very quick reader and have always read voraciously, or thought I did! but I am amazed at how many other people are reading too. I won't do a 52 book challenge next year but I might do one that has fewer but maybe more challenging prompts if I can find one.

I shuffled lots but it was fun. I still read book club books and just fitted them in. realized late that initials, data of birth, home town needed to be chosen earlier. Many of the list were books I had intended to read anyway. But best of all were recommendations from others doing the challenge. If it is a chore, use 1 book for 2-3 prompts and stop. It should be fun. life is too short...

There were many books that I had to read this year that were not novels and not fit in any of the challenge's category and fine with that.
My approach to the challenge was read anything I like and then try to find a category in which it would fit rather than plan it early (which I di too, in some cases, like "a book wrote by someone under 30 y.o."). As a result I will not be able to complete every category and some of them were fullfilled by two titles instead of one.

Tara wrote: "I studied theatre so I've read so many plays and the crucible is the only one I haven't that I've wanted to. I also pretty much read everything I was supposed to except a couple that I really don't..."

Shere with us if you find one! I think some categories of the present challenge are a bit unecessary - like a book wrote by a woman - I read many. There is no need of a category for that.

Maybe a challenge with books written in different centuries...

In ted talks there is a woman that read a book from each country in a year - but this is a huge challenge, would require at least two years and much commitment!

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Check out the threads about 2016 challenges, the new pop sugar one's out and I created one too. I completely disagree about the prompts being "unnecessary" I think that in a challenge that requires one to read a book each week, there needs to be prompts that are more open and broad so as to allow people to read more of a range of books they'll enjoy rather than being confined to specific categories. It's supposed to be a fun, personal challenge after all, not a sentence. I would never have completed this challenge if every prompt were as specific as "a book that came out the year you were born" or "a book whose author has your initials."