I managed to finish six of the seven reading challenges I signed up for at the beginning of the year. The Aussie Authors Challenge, the Global Reading Challenge the Historical Fiction Challenge, the Ireland Reading Challenge, the Nordic Book Challenge and the What’s in a Name challenge have all added diversity and, for the most part, enjoyment to my reading. I even completed my Good Reads challenge to read 175 books this year.
The challenge that has defeated me is the Eastern European Challenge. I aimed to read a paltry-seeming 4 books but have completed only 3 books which qualify. I feel I must point out (as though the gods of Reading Challenges award points for effort) that my failure is not for want of trying. My house is littered with the carcasses of half-read Eastern European books that have dropped to the floor as I slipped into yet another coma induced by yet another 27 paragraph description of winter. It reminded me of the horrors of my first year at University where I came to the realisation that my planned-for future as an English teacher would never eventuate because I knew with certainty that I would go mad if I had to read one more word by ‘another bloody Russian’. There is something about the style prevalent in Eastern European writing that my brain struggles to process and at my ripe old age (44) I have finally learned that there are battles not worth fighting. I do actually have two more books here that I had planned to try for the challenge during my post Christmas break but it is the end of a difficult year, the first heatwave of summer has begun and I am weary. I am not at all in the mood for things dense or difficult and so admit defeat. The fault is all mine Amy, thanks for hosting the challenge anyway.
Next year doesn’t look like being any easier in my non-reading life so I’ve radically reduced my reading challenges to one: the Australian Women Writers challenge. I hope still to have diversity in my reading but I’m not going to turn the pursuit of that goal into a second job. Life is challenging enough on its own sometimes 
