Not signed up for YALSA’s 2015 Hub Reading Challenge? Read the official rules and sign up on the original post. Anything you’ve read since February 9 counts, so sign up now!
Two weeks! I’m not quite sure how it happened, but there’s only two weeks left before this year’s Hub Reading Challenge comes to an end. Are you still working on it? If you, like me, haven’t quite checked 25 titles off your list, what’s your plan for the home stretch? If you have completed the challenge, congratulations and let’s talk! How did you choose which titles to read? Did you push the boundaries of your comfort zone? Explore a new author, genre, or format? Stick mostly with your tried and true?
As happened last year, I read more non fiction than I usually do, and wondered (again) why it takes a reading challenge to push certain books to the top of the to-read pile. I also listened to a couple of audiobooks, which is something I don’t do nearly as often as I should. (I blame NPR.) But the audiobook comments and recommendations over at the 2015 Goodreads Hub Reading Challenge group were pretty persuasive, and I’m happy I paid attention and tried something new. The #hubchallenge hashtag is another excellent source of inspiration and discussion, in 140 character increments.
If you are still reading, you have until 11:59 PM EST on June 21st to complete at least 25 books from the official list. If you participated in the Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge this year, you can count any books that you read for that challenge towards this challenge as well. 
You can share your progress by commenting below, and please include links to your online reviews, if you have them. Don’t forget to post the Participant’s Badge on your blog, website, or email signature, and, as always, if you have any questions or problems, let us know in the comments or via email.
If you have already completed the challenge by reading or listening to 25 titles from the list of eligible books, be sure to fill out the form below so we can send you your Challenge Finisher badge, get in touch to coordinate your reader’s response and, perhaps best of all, to notify you if you win our exciting grand prize drawing! Be sure to use an email you check frequently and do not fill out this form until you have completed the challenge by reading 25 titles.
I’m at 19. I’ve been derailed a little bit by Teens’ Top Ten books that I needed to read and by some general “me” reading. But a quick check of Overdrive shows that I’m next for every book I’m still waiting for, so maybe with school ending this week I can binge.
This week I finished The Shadow Hero and simply confirmed that Gene Luen Yang is a phenomenal storyteller.
I love this reading challenge!!!I definitely pushed my boundaries this year- I had ready many of the books (old and new) and was not willing to re-read them to get credit. Happily I participated in the February Morris and Nonfiction, enjoyed many, many Amazing Audiobooks, sampled more graphic novels, and totally enjoyed the Photography Book, Find Momo, that I purchased a copy and enjoy looking for Momo with my granddaughter. Looking forward to next years, but I will continue to sample titles from this list throughout the summer and fall. Happy reading everyone
I finished Revolution this week(#29). Hopefully I will be able to finish a couple more before it’s over!
I’m at 19 titles and pushing to finish in time! I read Famous Last Words and Copper Sun this week – both so good! I have a few quick ones next up on my list, so I’m hoping I can stay focused and complete the challenge. =)
#43 – Hole in my Life – I found this story very interesting – sort of a gritter Orange is the New Black.
#44 – Everything I Never Told You – I found this exceedingly depressing – though interesting.
#45 – Girls Like Us – Based on the description I dreaded the thought of reading this, but I finally got my hands on it. I was so delusional. This was one of my favorites. I loved how as the characters changed they recognized why they were changing and why they held their original feelings.
I am mid-way through The Gospel of Winter, All the Light We Cannot See and just downloaded Vango. Hopefully I will manage to finish all of these and maybe one or two others before the challenge closes. This has been the worst (of my three years) year of participation for me. I did only one audio book this year and found most of the Alex winners seriously depressing. But, as always I read a lot of books that I normally would not have encountered.
I finished two this week: I’ll Give you the Sun (very, very good but I also LOVE realistic fic) and Scandalous Sisterhood (cute story but not my favorite).
I have one more to go – half more of Beyond Magenta!
This is my first check in!! eek! The Spring Semester was very hectic and stressful. But luckily Summer Vacation has arrived! and I can get caught up on my reading. The previous 2 years, I was able to read past the 25 required for the challenge.. not this year. Hopefully I can get the 25 read by the deadline!
The end-of-school-year slam has cut down my reading time, BUT I only have four more days before summer break! Almost finished with #21- Beyond Magenta, and looking forward to summer binge reading. First off: Finishing the Hub Challenge. Still undecided about just what to read, but not worried!
I’ve been bad about checking in, but I am at 22 titles completed and I’m on vacation this week, so I think squeezing in 3 more should be do-able, especially since I saved some graphic novels for the end of the challenge. Just finished Hole in My Life, which was very engaging, and before that The Terrorist’s Son, which was equally compelling; they made a nice pairing, too. I recently finished Vango, and something about the fairly detached narration left me a bit underwhelmed, although obviously a chase through Europe in the 1930’s is still a lot of fun! Next up: I Hunt Killers, which I’m excited to finally read.
I read one more, The Rithmatist, and enjoyed it though I thought the beginning was a bit too slow. I’ve also decided to call in as a winner because I know now I can’t finish another 8 books in the next few days, but since I read the Morris/Nonfiction, I still have 28 done, and I think I hit one from each list! Yay!
I finished Noggin today. It was a very strange story, and I struggled at the beginning. I liked how the story developed, and how Travis’ character developed. I thought it was well-written, and I was happy with the ending, even though there wasn’t really the happily ever after that Travis would have wanted.