December and Wrap-Up of ROtB Challenge

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Wow - It's the end of the year!  Boy - I got a job and everything went out the window.  I do apologize, but hope that you all stayed the course and did your reading.  I know that I have been busy reading and haven't quite made the "Not Box can Contain Me" status - but I definitely got "Outside My Comfort Zone" this year with my reading!

Here are the categories and what I read!  I would love to see your list, either below in the comments OR on your blog with links to all of your reviews (I am in the process of writing the rest of my reviews, now that it is Winter Break!).  All links will go to books on GoodReads.

Here's a quick recap of my Categories and the books I read in 2013:

1. To the Screen - Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - and then I promptly watched the movie and quite enjoyed both!
2. Another Voice - The Wedding Beat by Devan Sipher. It was neat to read "Chick Lit" from a guy's perspective.
3. Opposites Attract - Red Shirts by John Scalzi.  I am not as much of a sci-fi fan as I once was (loved Peter David's Imzadi series long ago), but this was a very humorous look at "Ensign Number Six" and Star Trek.
4. Five Star Day - Matched by Ally Condie.  I heard nothing but high praise for this book for so long, that I thought I would give it a try.  Not a series I will continue with, but I did enjoy the commentary on a totalitarian society.
5. XyZ pdQ - still don't know what to do with this one.
6. It's My Birthday - I decided to go with a book that was written in 1967 (oops... there it is... you know how old I am!)  I chose From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
7. From One Place - I love reading books from England.  Having had the wonderful opportunity to live there for a year, it makes me appreciate British authors and stories all the more, because I can picture where they are and what they are talking about.  I read Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell.  If you are looking for a good laugh, she's a great author with a list of characters that you fall in love with!
8. It's All about Me - I saw this one on the New bookshelf at the library at the beginning of the year and grabbed it.  Wild by Cheryl Strayed was a great 'biography' - a tale of one woman who was lost and found herself along the Pacific Crest Trail.  It almost made me go out and buy a new pair of hiking boots!
9. Visit an Old Friend - I love Jane Austen (if you couldn't tell already!) I read Emma almost two decades ago and wasn't all that impressed by it.  I love the movie adaptations (both) so I thought that I would give it another try.  Wow!  So glad I decided to revisit this story.  I quite enjoyed it!
10. Look at the Pretty Pictures - I grabbed a graphic novel and read Soulless by Gail Carriger.  I had been interested in the book itself, but our library only had the GN available.  Glad I skimmed through that instead of wasting my time on the actual story.  I was underwhelmed, to say the least!
11. She Made Me Do It - I guess I would have to say The Hunger Games by Suzanna Collins.  I have read too many book reviews (shout-out to The Perpetual Page Turner) and heard so much gushing about this book, that I felt it was high-time to find out for myself.  Wow! is all I could say.  I know that it is YA dystopia (and there is so much of that out there), but it just grabbed a hold of me and didn't let go.
12. I Couldn't Help Myself - So...I would have to say Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins would go here!  I HAD to read them!  I was so glad that the library was able to get them to me quickly before I started a riot!
13. To Be or Not to Be - Believe it or not, I have not done this!  I have been meaning to all year!  I wanted to (and still do!) memorize The Desiderata.  My husband quotes it often and I have read it a few times, but I actually want to have it in my mind so that I, too, can recall bits of it at anytime!

Not bad... I got 11 out of 13 in this quest to expand my horizons.  How about you?  Did you read anything that you normally would not have?

Don't forget to Link your Wrap-Up!  I will be having a drawing on the 7th of January, 2014 - for an Amazon Gift Card!  Each separate post will be your slip in the hat!  This should inspire you to get books for next year's challenge!

I have a Challenge for myself next year, hope you will join me on a new adventure.  I promise to be better! (And to not hold a drawing in the summer when NO ONE posted about their readings!)

Below is a linky-thingy to link to your Year-End wrap-up!  Looking forward to seeing your wrap up from 2013 and hope you join us for 2014's Reading Outside the Box Challenge!

2014 Challenge!