Reading Challenges Results From 2012

Last year I had separate posts for my reading challenges.  It was a little annoying.  Some books fit into multiple categories so I was hopping from one page to another.  I do not really think of these as challenges vs keeping track of what I read.  I must admit, I do not always update the list.  Over the holiday period I read so many cookbooks, cookie books, recipie books and did not record all of them.

It is still fun to see the books I read.  The months when reading falls off and what I read.  Books based in France are a large portion of what I read.  I am naturally drawn to them.  Last year I stopped accepting as many review copies as I have in the past.  I did not want to feel pressured to read and review them on someone else's schedule and quite frankly not everything that is pitched to me interests me.

So what am I participating in this year?  The first challenge is hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather be Reading at the Beach.  This one is the Foodie's Reading Challenge:

Many of us who love to eat also love to read. But we go beyond that. We love to read about food. If that is you, then you are invite to join us in the Foodies Read Challenge for 2013. This is the second year in which we’ll indulge ourselves with good food writing.

If you are new to a food/reading challenge, you may be wondering – what is a “food book”? A food book is a book which is centered around food and/or drinks. That could be a cookbook, a food biography or memoir, a non-fiction book focused around a specific food, wine, chef or restaurant. Also allowed is a fictional story in which food plays a major role.

Here’s how the challenge works:
1. Decide how many food books you want to read in 2013. Pick one of the reading levels below. Remember, this is a challenge, so try pushing yourself.

Levels:
Short-Order Cook: 1 to 3 books
Pastry Chef: 4 to 8 books
Sous-Chef: 9 to 13 books
Chef de Cuisine: 14 to 18
Cordon-Bleu Chef: More than 19
This is easy for me I am a Cordon Bleu Chef all the way.  I hit 19 books in September and then stopped listing them.  

Another challenge I am doing is Reading in France hosted by Words and Peace.  This one is to read books set in France.  That is a hard one for me.   I know I can easily do Passionnment-12 books set in France.




The next challenge is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.  It is the WHERE are you Reading Challenge. This year I hit 20 states and 12 books from France. 

How do you decide what state a book is categorized under?

1.  In a fiction read it would be the State or Country that the book spends the most time in.  (Ie. If your main character is from Wisconsin but the book is all about his/her time in college in California – the books should categorize under California….)
2.  Non fiction reads categorize  in whatever State or Country it is about (Ie…. a book about fly fishing in Colorado is a Colorado point, and a book about women in Afghanistan is an Afghanistan point.
3.  If the book goes from one state to another… go with the state that most of the time is spent.

I did not hit every state in this challenge.