Question: How Do You Track Your Challenges?

Posted December 11, 2014 by Melanie in Question / 97 Comments

WeeklyQuestion



As we are now all doing our challenge wrap-up posts and looking to which challenges we are going to participate in next year, I was wondering, how do you track your challenges? Do you create a shelf on Goodreads, Booklikes, Shelfari and the like? Do you create a page with all the listings? For challenges with Link Ups, how often do you go back and post the books you’ve read? How do you keep track of which books you’ve linked up and which ones still need done. Are you good about updating these on a regular bases or are you crunching to get it done before the wrap-up posts are due?

This is my first year doing challenges. I started off updating my posts every time I finished a book. By June, I wasn’t updating even monthly. I have some that haven’t been updated at all since then. I’ve also been really bad about the Link Ups. I love the idea. Great way to find more books in your genre and even more bloggers who like your genre.

This year I joined five challenges:

Book Blog Walkers Vampire Challenge 2014 Shifter Challenge 2014
2014 Erotic Romance Challenge 2014 Audiobook Challenge

All of these challenges are for areas I was interested in reading anyway. Some of these offered prizes, others was just for fun. I wasn’t concerned about the prizes, though I will never turn down free books/audiobooks, it was more about sharing my love of books. As for the Book Blog Walkers, I did that so that I would exercise more. I was already exercising, but the group helps a lot with the motivation. I saw some other challenges that I wanted to join, but was hesitant to add any more challenges.

As I look to new Challenges for 2015, I debating about how many I want to join. The amount of extra work involved will affect the number of challenges that I join. I’m also thinking about a Challenge that will encourage me to expand my reading. This Ultimate Reading Challenge by PopSugar looks really interesting. Books that fall into different categories.

Any great challenges that you are planning on joining or hosting? How do you track all of them? Do you have a max number of challenges that you will allow yourself each year?

Have a bookish question you’d like Rabid Reads to weigh-in on? E-mail Rabid Reads, and be sure you include your blog URL (if you have one), so we can give you credit!


Melanie Signature

I’m Melanie and I live in Ohio. I have two horses and a dog. I’m an animal lover, avid book reader and audiobook listener. I like to live vicariously through fictional characters. I enjoy reading and listening to mostly fictional books in the paranormal genre, including Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance and Horror. My favorite paranormal creatures are shifters, doesn’t matter the flavor.

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97 responses to “Question: How Do You Track Your Challenges?”

  1. Lexxie from (un)Conventional Bookviews  

    Well, I participate in very few challenges, Melanie, so I guess that really helps! I have done mostly COYER challenges this year, and since they don’t last the whole year, it’s easier to stay on top of link-ups, reviews and wrap-up posts for that.
    I create shelves on Goodreads where I include the books I use for a challenge, that way, if I forget to link up, or I don’t write my review on time, I still know the books I used for what challenge.
    I don’t think I’d be able to do several year-long challenges like you have done, even if it is a lot of fun to participate 🙂
    Have a terrific Thursday.
    Lexxie recently posted…Review: The Navy SEAL’s Christmas Bride – Cora Seton

  2. Bookworm Brandee  

    I don’t usually participate in many challenges…because I kinda suck at them. 😉 I do the Goodreads challenge, which is nice because it keeps track for me. (I’m lazy) I participate in the COYER challenge (clean off your ereader) because it’s not a year-long one…it happens in chunks which I can manage because, again, I’m lazy. I like the idea of doing a list on GR to keep track though. I might do that since I’ve decided to do 3 year-long challenges next year. It’ll make it easier for me to keep track. I plan to do the linkups…I think they’re supposed to be done once a month for the challenges I’m doing. We’ll see how I do. 😉
    Bookworm Brandee recently posted…**Series Blitz & Giveaway ~ Rook & Ronin ~ JA Huss**

  3. Stormi  

    Oh good question, I am going to pop in and read everyone’s comments..lol. I am horrible at challenges..I start off and then just sort of forget..I do like the idea of putting them on Goodreads, it might be easier to do when I forget to mark it on my challenge update. I tell myself I’m not signing up for that many challenges and then I do it any way..I already signed up for 5 and that is only half of the ones I looked and wanted to but said no…lol. I try to make sure that they can be interchangeable so I can use one book for multi-challenges. 🙂 I need to be more organized.
    Stormi recently posted…Book Review: The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire

  4. kindlemom1  

    ON goodreads I created a shelf for my challenges, that way whenever I started a book for a challenge I could mark it as part of the challenge and then when I wanted to see how many books I read, I just had to go to that shelf and it would list them all and at a quick glance I could see what the total number read was. Makes it a ton easier!
    kindlemom1 recently posted…Review: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

  5. Lori from Romancing the Dark  

    I always get excited with challenges and sign up to a bunch only to fail miserably…LOL I start off thinking they’ll help me get through my giant TBR pile, but then I feel pressured to read some books just to meet the challenges and it totally backfires. I think I might just stick to one or two (max) each year so I set a realistic goal for myself that I can accomplish (I’ve said this before). This year it was tough because I started a new job which took plenty of time away from my reading time 🙁
    Lori recently posted…Book Blitz + Giveaway: Caress of Darkness by Julie Kenner

  6. Lupdilup  

    I’m horrible! I don’t keep up, and is mostly because I like to upload the audio covers for my books, and that takes time…LOL I’m horrible at rating, reviewing and tracking anything, but I’m planing to change that…LOL Will see!
    I saw some peeps using Pinterest, and that’s way I’m going to go with next year, I’m going to pin right form my audio library. I already have a board for audiobooks, but it’s mostly for reviews.
    Great questions, maybe I learn some other ways to keep up 🙂
    Thanks Melanie!
    Lupdilup recently posted…2014 Audiobook Challenge Wrap-Up Post & Giveaway

  7. anna (herding cats & burning soup)

    Oh yes. I am bad about updating as well. I tend to have one “challenge post” that I update…when I remember. Which is usually every couple weeks or months. I tag the posts as I do them with the challenge name so that at least when I do go back they’re easy to find. lol

    I’m doing 2 in 2015. A friend’s blog is doing a series challenge and I want to get caught up in a series I’ve been reading but fallen behind in. Then I’m hosting a “New to You” challenge. So easy to get stuck in a reading rut and wanted to try something new. New authors, debut books, new series, new genres. It’s pretty flexible and will hopefully expand my reading pool a lot 😀
    anna (herding cats & burning soup) recently posted…#AFTH2015 w/ Jennifer Delamere–A Southern Holiday + giveaway

    • Melanie  

      I really eyed that new to you reading challenge, because I love the idea. The only thing that is holding me back is that I started several new series this year (one of which is The Dresden Files which has like 20 books), so I’m hesitant to do more new when I have so many that I just started this year.
      Melanie recently posted…Early Review: Strayed by Amber Lynn Natusch

  11. Rhianna  

    I am the WORST about updating Challenges. I just forget to go and update as each book for it gets finished. I was thinking of using a Pinterest board for the Audiobook one which is currently the only one I’m for sure joining for next year. It makes it easy to embed and view all of them as well as easier to update.

    I like Challenges but honestly, I read so much for review it’s not very reasonable for me to try and fit all of those books into the parameters for most challenges and be successful.
    Rhianna recently posted…Blog Tour: A DATE TO DIE FOR by Bonnie R. Paulson [Guest Post]

  14. Pili  

    This year I joined 5 year-long challenges and I’ve done pretty well in two of them and the rest much more so so… So I’m trying to limit myself in the number of challenges I’ll join for next year, BUT I’ve already signed up for 2 and looking at a third one!

    I track my challenges via Goodreads shelf, that’s the easier way for me…
    Pili recently posted…Waiting On Wednesday #72!!

  16. Molly Mortensen  

    I don’t really do challenges, because I know I’m going to fail at them. I actually had a goodreads one this year, because I wanted to read 100 books in a year, and I have a shelf for the year to keep track. (Not sure if I’m going to succeed though)

    Yeah… I could use motivation to walk.

    Good luck with your challenges next year!
    Molly Mortensen recently posted…Angelfall and World After by Susan Ee

  19. Sophia Rose  

    Hello My Name is Sophia and I’m addicted to Book Challenges!

    I have done challenges for two years now. Both years I had between 8-10 year long challenges and I finished them all the way through.

    All those challenges, I summarized my count and goal level in a monthly post at our blog and tracked them on GoodReads through shelves I dedicated to each challenge. I followed the challenge creator’s rules, but I really didn’t sweat it on itemizing the books I read other than having the dedicated shelves at GoodReads for others to see. I just do it for fun so I look for challenges that offer that.

    Each year I have tried challenges that push me a little to try new things, but also challenges for my favorite type reads too. Like last year, I did one where I had to read 20 books all from a different genre. This year I tried the Brazen Babes Interracial challenge for something new and did the Herding Cats Burning Soup Historical Romance to get back into that genre after ignoring it for a few years. Each year, I have done challenges that push me to clean up the shelves like the My Reader’s Block Mt. TBR challenge. I also tend to do challenges that already match my interest like Book Vixen’s Men in Uniform, Under the Covers Immortals, etc.

    I have a few things that I pay attention to that make it fun, less time consuming and inexpensive. I only sign up if books can be used for more than one challenge. I also pay attention to make sure that the challenge matches with books I own or plan to review or own in the future so it stays within my budget. I only update monthly.

    I will probably end up with the same amount of challenges for next year since I’m already signed-up for all three challenges through our own blog, Herding Cats Burning Soups’ New to Me Challenge an a themed TBR pile challenge at a GoodReads group. I’ve got three more that I will definitely sign up for when they come available b/c they’re fun.

    Hope you find one you like, Melanie!
    Sophia Rose recently posted…#Review: Legend of the Highland Dragon by Isabel Cooper

  21. Ronyell (a.k.a Rabbitearsblog)  

    When I post challenges on my blog, I usually have a page that lists all the challenges I’m participating in and if I am doing challenges on Goodreads and I completed that challenge, then I would tag that challenge as something like “Summer Reading Challenge 2014.” But, since I’m so lazy when it comes to challenges, I tend to not tag that book as apart of that challenge! 😀
    Ronyell (a.k.a Rabbitearsblog) recently posted…The Sunday Post Meme (9)

  22. Kim { Book Swoon }  

    I’m horrible at challenges, lol. Really I am. The one challenge I’m really keeping track of is on Goodreads, and unofficially I’m trying to keep up on reading debut authors, something I love and usually have no problem reading a few each month. I’m hoping to add a few back in this year because I miss the fun of a group challenge. I like the ideas mentioned about creating a Goodreads shelf and Pinterest sounds fun too.
    Congrats on your Five challenges this year!! 🙂
    Kim { Book Swoon } recently posted…Adult Book Review: Tempted by a Rogue Prince by Felicity Heaton

  23. Leila from LeilaReads  

    The Ultimate Reading Challenge looks amazing! I may try that one as long as I can make it work with the No Book Buying Challenge. I haven’t done a big challenge yet, but I’ll probably track them on paper. Just seems easier to me. Plus reduces time on my phone and my husband obsessively asking what I’m doing on my phone 😛
    Leila recently posted…That’s What HE Said Thursday #13

  25. Rashika  

    That is why I don’t do any challenges besides GR ones. 😛 Last year I challenged myself to read books in a certain genre and even that didn’t work out so well :/ I also did one official challenge and I initially did well keeping track of all the books I had read but after a while I kind of just grew tired.

    It’s not that I don’t want to join these wonderful challenges, I DO! But it’s so hard to keep track of these things and after a while, they become a job instead of something you started out doing for fun. Or at least in my case :/

    Fantastic post, Melanie!! 🙂
    Rashika recently posted…ARC Review: Compulsion by Martina Boone

  27. Karin Anderson  

    I used to do a lot of challenges, but I always fall behind. The ones I can do pretty consistently are the ABC challenge and the Audiobook challenge. The ABC one helps me figure out which books to read when I’m stuck and I always listen to audiobooks. I use GoodReads labels to keep up with them.

  28. Mogsy from BiblioSanctum  

    I mostly use goodreads too, though if it’s a challenge I know I’m taking part in ahead of time, I usually come up with a list of books beforehand so it’s easy at the end of it just to tally the books up. I also do challenges at Worlds Without End, which is a great spec fic site – they have a nifty built in tracker which looks all pretty, and I find that helpful too 🙂
    Mogsy recently posted…Tough Traveling: Drugs

  30. Kristina D

    I found that I don’t do well in most of these challenges. I forget about them or lose track of them. Last year I decided to just do the Goodreads challenge and not worry about the rest. It seemed to work for me and will probably do the same this year.
    Kristina D recently posted…Book Review ~ Autumn Bones

  31. Kelsey  

    At first I would update after every book too but it becomes too much. I limited my challenges to only 2 this year, and one of them I actually listed specific titles that I wanted to get done for it so that was an easy update. The other was a bingo so I would check the books I recently read in Goodreads and see which matched, then add it and stamp out the card.
    I think next year I might only stick to one, it gets harder the more I have to keep up with instead of giving up.
    Kelsey recently posted…Review: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

  38. Tabitha (Not Yet Read)  

    I’m really bad about updating my challenges. I joined that series challenge I think earlier in the year and forgot about it. I need to post an update wrap up. I think I’m just boot good at remembering to update and jeep track. Like you I did it for awhile then lose interest in keeping track on it. I’ll do the wrap ups tho. No I don’t have special shelves lol. I just look at my good reads challenge books read and pouch the books from there that I know qualified for the challenge. Then I made a riffle list widget.
    Tabitha (Not Yet Read) recently posted…Early Review: Shutter by Courtney Alameda

  40. Anonymous  

    Such a good question! Its something I’ve been musing over, since I’m trying to get setup for next year and this year I did a horrible job! I mean, I have the UBB add on for challenge tracking so that’s doing some of the work for me – but on ones that it can’t track, I haven’t updated since July? August? And that only counts the ones I’ve reviewed, and I’ve read plenty of books I haven’t reviewed. And I’m hosting a year long challenge this year, so NERVOUS!

    My plan is to do a post each month listing the books I read during the month and what challenges they counted for. And then I think I’ll keep pages that show my overall progress for the year. Maybe jf I make it a habit, it will work out better?

    Good luck finding what works for you!

  42. Karen  

    I’m HORRIBLE at challenges so I only do the Goodreads Challenge and they keep track so I don’t need to. lol

    I do think I’m going to join the Blog Walkers Challenge next year.

  46. Lola  

    For most challenges I make a sign-up post and recap post, then during the time of the challenge I add every book I read that counts for it to the recap post to keep track of it. So far I haven’t participated in any year long challenges, else I might consider making a shelf for it on goodreads, that might be easier to keep track of.
    Lola recently posted…Blog Tour: Wearing the Cape by Marion G Harmon