Better Than Dreams - Page 61 of 216 - Staying Up Too Late Reading

Earlier this week Jim got in touch to let me know about his fab new feature, Shorts on Sunday, and as I just finished reading the I’ll Be Home For Christmas short story collection I thought I would join in!

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Jim’s already covered ‘Homo for Christmas’, Juno Dawson’s short story, which I also loved, because not only is it very sweet and heartwarming, but it is also a great example of a unique narrator’s voice – his accent and idiosyncrasies come across in the language and the form of the story. This is something I aim for when I’m writing so I love to find good examples of it to inspire me!

I had another two favourite stories in this collection. Firstly I’ll talk about ‘Family You Choose’ by Cat Clarke, narrated by a girl who goes to a dinner party hosted by the mums of a boy at school. She doesn’t really know him, and as she tells us about the party we learn that she’s gone to get away from her own mum. I’m recommending this story because although it’s very short, the author conjures up the atmosphere of the party quickly and the characterisation is so good that I felt like I knew the characters deeply after only a couple of pages in their company. Plus, I really wanted to be able to go to the party myself!

The other story in this collection that left the strongest impression on me is ‘Routes and Wings’, by Lisa Williamson, about a homeless girl and how she spends a night before Christmas. I recommend this story because the author interviewed Crisis members as part of her research for the story and that has given it realistic detail and depth. It also features some wonderfully vivid descriptions and the hints at Lauren’s backstory are perfect – they give us all the detail we need without overwhelming the scenes in the present.

There are a few days left of this Christmas, plus there’s always next year, so I strongly recommend you pick up a copy of this anthology. Not only is it is a great read but at least £1 from the sale of every copy will go directly to Crisis.

There we go! I’m going to try and join in every week but I can’t promise to feature more than one story each time, I’m a way slower reader than Jim, plus I’m busy working on my own YA short story collection!

Last year I read 45 books. I didn’t meet my overall target (60), but I was a long way from my all time low of 21 books (2011).

To be fair to myself, I was very busy. I have been writing short stories like they’re going out of fashion (or maybe like they’re coming into fashion – I certainly hope so!). I published an online course. Reading often fell by the wayside as I scribbled down bullet points and edited videos.

So how did I do on the individual challenges?

Classics Challenge

I planned to make a proper go at this challenge, after I only managed three books in 2015. I had all the best intentions – I was going to post a video every month on my YouTube channel about the challenge. I would still really like to do videos about each of these books, but the research involved is quite time consuming so I’m going to shelve this project for a later date. This challenge was hosted by Stacey at Pretty Books.

I did not complete this challenge, though I did do better than last year. I read:

1. The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, by Nancy Mitford
2. Claudine at School, by Colette
3. Fifteen, by Beverley Clearly
4. What Katy Did, by Susan Coolidge

British Books Challenge

In 2015 I read 24 books for this challenge, which was double the amount required. I didn’t do so well on this challenge this year, but it was still quite easy to complete and even exceed the target – you can read any kind of book, as long as it’s British. It was hosted by Kirsty at The Overflowing Library.

I read:

1. The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, by Nancy Mitford

2. My Secret Rockstar Boyfriend, by Eleanor Wood

3. Love Song, by Sophia Bennett

4. London Belongs To Us, by Sarra Manning
5. Girl Out of Water, by Nat Luurtsema
6. Hacker, by Malorie Blackman
7. Rebel of the Sands, by Alwyn Hamilton
8. The Next Together, by Lauren James
9. All of the Above, by Juno Dawson
10. Blood Will Stream, by Nick Bryan
11. After the Last Dance, by Sarra Manning
12. The Girl with All the Gifts, by M.R. Carey
13. The Graces, by Laure Eve
14. Gilded Cage, by Vic James
15. The Uncommon Reader, by Alan Bennett

Retelling Challenge

This was hosted by The Daily Prophesy. Despite a lingering sense of guilt for forgetting this challenge, and despite the fact that I acquired ever more fairytale retellings in 2016, I only managed to read one book, Poison, by Sarah Pinborough. It did remind me how much I love reading (and not just collecting) fairytale retellings, but it was too late to make much difference as I read it over Christmas!

TBR Pile Reading Challenge

I was aiming for 31-40, Sweet Summer Fling, but I only managed to read 13. This is a reflection of my low overall total, though I did read more TBR pile books (those acquired before January 1st) in the first few months of the year than later on, which is probably because I was doing the TBR Triple Dog Dare as well.

1. The Dark Days Club, by Alison Goodman
2. The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, by Nancy Mitford
3. Misguided Angel, by Melissa de la Cruz
4. Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy, by Ally Carter
5. Only Ever Yours, by Louise O’Neill
6. Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover, by Ally Carter
7. This Song Will Save Your Life, by Leila Sales
8. My Secret Rockstar Boyfriend, by Eleanor Wood
9. Claudine at School, by Colette
10. Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho
11. The Next Together, by Lauren James
12. Poison, by Sarah Pinborough
13. Fables: The Deluxe Edition, Book One, by Bill Willingham

Bardathon Challenge

I didn’t do anything for this challenge. It was in the back of my mind but to get around to all the steps involved more planning than I was ultimately willing to do for a reading challenge!

Challenge Challenge

Yes, someone made a meta challenge. I signed up for five other challenges, as above, so I was going for ‘Cinco de Challenge-o’. I only completed one, so I also failed this challenge!

TBR Triple Dog Dare

I had done this every year since it first ran and this was the final dare so of course I had to take part! I only allowed myself a few exceptions and otherwise only read books on my TBR that I owned before 1 January 2016 until 1 April 2016. This challenge was hosted by James Reads Books.

In Conclusion…

I only completed the British Books Challenge and the TBR Triple Dog Dare, but honestly I don’t mind. I used to worry a lot about not completing challenges, but as I’ve said before, if it’s easy, it’s not a challenge. There wouldn’t be much point in signing up for challenges that I could complete without really thinking about it!

I’m looking forward to choosing a new selection of challenges for 2017 and getting going!

Shorts on Sunday #1 – I’ll Be Home For Christmas

Reading Challenges 2016 Wrap Up

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