Final 2022 Reading Challenge Results

I’m happy to say that my final two reading challenges for 2022 are complete.

For the #AussieAuthor22 challenge, I aimed for the ‘Kangaroo’ level, which meant 12 books by Aussie authors, of which at least 3 had to be by female writers, 3 by male, 3 by an author new to me, and across at least 3 genres.

I showed my (usual) clear bias towards female authors by reading 24 books. 4 books were by male authors, and 16 by authors new to me (which I’m pleased about as I like to expand my choice of authors.) And finally, 12 were from various different genres, including contemporary fiction, middle grade and young adult fiction, historical fiction (of course!), history, biography, fantasy and crime. As always, being part of a book group contributes to a wider range of titles and authors than I might otherwise choose (and a big thanks to my book group members for great reading and discussions this year.)

My stand-out reads from Australian writers?
After Story by Larissa Behrendt
27 Letters to My Daughter by Ella Ward
Tongerlongeter by Henry Reynolds & Nicholas
Tiny Uncertain Miracles by Michelle Johnson

Now to the #histficreadingchallenge:

In 2022 I aimed for the ‘Mediaeval’ level, committing to reading 15 books of historical fiction, which I achieved. Just over 2/3 of those were by female authors. I guess that means that I’m more attracted to historical stories by women – perhaps because of the focus on the lives of women in the past that are so often obscured in both fiction and non-fiction?

My favourite historical fiction reads for 2022?
The Secret World of Connie Starr by Robbi Neal
The Silence of Water by Sharron Booth
The Brightest Star by Emma Harcourt

And now for 2023:

I’ll be participating in all three challenges from this year again.

For the Historical Fiction Challenge, once again I’ll be going for the ‘Mediaeval’ reader with 15 books.

In the Aussie Author Challenge, my goal will be ‘Kangaroo’ – 12 books.

And for the Non-fiction challenge I’ll again be a ‘Nibbler’ – 6 books from any of the 12 categories.

What have been your reading favourites or achievements this year? What are you aiming for in 2023?
Do let me know in the comments – I always love hearing about other people’s highlights. And happy reading!