2012 Challenge Results

I don't know what I was thinking last year, but clearly I signed up for waaaay too many challenges. A few went really well, but mostly I failed. I don't like failing.

2012 TV Addict Reading Challenge

Aim: Five shows and the books they were based on.
Outcome: Four
Verdict: Close, but no cigar.

YA Contemporary Challenge 2012
Aim: Five YA books released in 2012.
Outcome: 15
Verdict: Success, three times over!

Around the Stack in How Many Ways?
Aim: Read five different genres.
Outcome: 13 genres counted.
Verdict: Win!

Victorian Challenge
Aim: Six books written in Victorian times.
Outcome: Zero.
Verdict: Fail. Epic fail.

Gossip Girl Reading Challenge 2012
Aim: 13 books - the whole Gossip Girl series.
Outcome: Zero.
Verdict: Epic, epic fail.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Challenge
Aim: Read the original books that feature the characters from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as well as the graphic novel - nine books in total.
Outcome: Zero.
Verdict: So much fail.

Aussie Author Challenge 2012
Aim: 12 books written by Australian authors.
Outcome: 18 books.
Verdict: Success!

Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge 2012
Aim: Read one book written by Haruki Murakami.
Outcome: Zero.
Verdict: Too embarrassing for words.

2012 Australian Women Writers Challenge
Aim: Read three different Australian female writers.
Outcome: 14 books by eight different authors.
Verdict: A+.

2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge
Aim: Read 40 YA books.
Outcome: 32 books.
Verdict: So close, yet so far.

100+ Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012
Aim: 100 books.
Outcome: 51 books.
Verdict: Barely halfway. Sigh.

Reading Challenge Addict
Aim: Complete 10 reading challenges.
Outcome: Four challenges completed.
Verdict: Clearly I signed up for too many challenges.

Related
The top 10 books I read in 2012

Friday Link Dump: Best Books, Dog Gifs and Inspirational People

If you are reading this that means the world didn't end. Unless it's going to happen at midnight. That could be awkward. Anyhoo...

Here are the books that appear most frequently on the 'Best of 2012' lists. I don't think I've read any of them.

Can negative reviews be good for authors? I'm not an author so I can't confirm, but I do know that negative reviews can be helpful for a reader. If every review were positive, how the hell would we know what to read (or not)?!

This article is about the new Twitter feature that allows you to access your old tweets, but I really liked the observation at the end regarding the historical significance of the social network. At no other time has there been such an extensive public record of people's real-time reactions and experiences during world events. It's pretty brilliant when you think about it.

This post of dog gifs is full of happy.

You know what's awesome? People who don't take themselves too seriously - like these writers who don't mind taking the piss.

Also like Barack Obama. Here is reason #463 he is amazeballs.

Humans can really, really suck sometimes. But they can also be amazing and inspiring and heartwarming. Especially people like these.

And these. The 26 Acts campaign is inspiring people to perform 26 random acts of kindness to honour the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting. I really want to do this, it's such a good idea and what people have already done is amazing.

Talking Point: Apocalypse Survival By The Books

Tomorrow is the day. The end of the world the Mayans predicted. Or just, y'know, when their calendar ends. Just in case the world does end tomorrow, I thought I'd get prepared by refreshing my knowledge of apocalypses (apocalypseii?) from the place I get all my life skills (or lake thereof): books. I hereby present the (un)Official Apocalypse Survival Guide of 2012. There's only one problem: it's limited to the books I've read. But time is running out, so here goes nothing...

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Apocalypse: Unspecified disaster followed by a despotic government that controls the population by forcing them to send their children into The Hunger Games, a fight-to-the-death television extravaganza.
Survival Skills Required: Archery, running, cunning, a strong stomach, knowledge of plants, hunting, skinning squirrels, charisma, style and possibly cake frosting.
My Chances: 1/10 a.k.a. Doomed

And All The Stars by Andrea K. Host
The Apocalypse: Alien invasion via purple dust that infects humans, causing them to turn weird colours and manifest powers before being taken over.
Survival Skills Required: Running, hiding, baking, eating.
My Chances: 7/10 a.k.a. Let me eat cake.

The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman
The Apocalypse: Zombies. Lots and lots of zombies.
Survival Skills Required: Running, being quiet, shooting, hacking, hitting, stabbing, decapitating, foraging, raiding, a strong stomach.
My Chances: 2/10 a.k.a. I'm hiding upstairs.

The Children of Men by P.D. James
The Apocalypse: The human race is suddenly infertile.
Survival Skills Required: Strong mental health and resilience.
My Chances: 6/10 a.k.a. Depressed, much?

Legend by Marie Lu
The Apocalypse: This is never really clear, to be honest.
Survival Skills Required: All-round perfection, money.
My Chances: 4/10 a.k.a. I'm too confused to give up all hope.

The Host by Stephanie Meyer
The Apocalypse: Invasion of the alien body snatchers.
Survival Skills Required: Running, hiding, being really strong-willed.
My Chances: 5/10 a.k.a. Nobody messes with my brain but me.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Apocalypse: Terrorist attacks + low fertility = Biblical-inspired misogynistic, extremist society where women are reduced to the archetypes of the pure (and barren) wife and the objectified (and fertile) whore.
Survival Skills Required: A fertile womb and subservience.
My Chances: 3/10 a.k.a. I don't know about my fertility, but I do know I probably wouldn't want to survive in this world.

That's about as far as my apocalyptic reading has gone to date. Here's hoping the world doesn't end tomorrow and I can add to the list! In the meantime, feel free to share your book-inspired survival tips in the comments.