The Spreadsheet: End of July

Allow me to introduce The Spreadsheet. I love keeping track of my reading on Goodreads and Worlds Without End, but sometimes I just want to see a year's worth of planning all in one place and in rainbow color. Each book I plan to read this year (adding in ones I hadn't planned but have read anyway) is here, in alphabetical order, with a colored square for each challenge that that book fulfills.

I can't wait until the end of the year when this is completely filled in. It's what keeps me going when I feel like I've overscheduled myself (which, to be honest, I have). Next year I've vowed to go easier and let the books come to me, but this year I have The Spreadsheet.

Now is as good a time as any to add my notes on a few of the challenges:

• Pick and Mix - this is an "anything goes" challenge that I'm going to use to mop up those books which don't fit anywhere else. For example: Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb is the 3rd book in a trilogy and since I'm already using Royal Assassin for the Sequel challenge, this one had no where to go.
• The Definitive 1950s SF Reading Challenge - these must be read in order. Next up: I Am Legend
• Women of Genre Fiction - I greatly increased the number of books I committed to this challenge last month after reviewing the books I've purchased on my Kindle. I was surprised and am delighted that I'm going to be able to read 24 new female authors this year.
• New Books of 2014 - This challenge originally went through December of last year, then it moved (by the challenge creator) to mid year 2015, then it moved to the end of 2015. I had completed the original 10 books in the challenge, but when the goalpost moved (and challenge levels were added) I had the option of going down to 8 books or up to 12. During the same review that increased my Women of Genre challenge I decided to go all the way up to 20.
• Subgenre focus - Steampunk. I don't know how much steampunk I'll read after I've finished these 10, but I'm glad that I decided to do this one. It has broadened my horizons and made me read books I otherwise would not have.