Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge 2016

I'm so, so happy with the Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge turnout this year! From fantasy newbies falling in love with the genre, to hardcore fantasy fans revisiting old favorites, it has been one spectacular year. I've gone above and beyond my initial goal of 30 books, so it looks like I've have to raise the bar next year.

Speaking of next year, Rachel of Hello, Chelly & I will be hosting the Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge again in 2016! We're excited to be reading more fantasies (and there are a ton coming out next year, mind you), and we hope you'll be joining us as well. We've got some fun plans in store throughout the coming year, and can't wait to let you in on them. We hope all fantasy readers - whether you're a newbie or a veteran - will be joining us again, and we promise that, as with last year, things will be real simple.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The challenge will run from January 1-December 31, 2016.
• We're welcoming all readers to join us for this challenge! In order to sign up, readers just need to link to their blogs or their Goodreads profile or their Twitter / YouTube / Instagram account in the Linky below. That way, we can see where you'll be sharing your thoughts on all your fantasy reads (and we can come and visit you)!
• You can read as many fantasy novels as you'd like to. No levels for this challenge!
• There will be two giveaways, one at 6 months and one at the end of the year. More details will be provided closer to those dates.
• Help us spread the word! Feel free to tweet about the challenge using our official hashtag #flightsoffantasy, grab the button to link to the challenge in your blog sidebar, share the image on Pinterest / Instagram or even write your own post about it. We love talking with fellow fantasy fans and want to reach as many of them as possible!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

• Challenge yourself to read a certain number of fantasy books. Share your challenge number in a comment, a blog post, a tweet or whatever other way you can think of!
• Around the last week of each month, we'll be sharing our personal updates on how the challenge is going for us. We'll be including a Linky, just in case you decided to do the same. (This is optional!)
• As mentioned, there will be giveaways! If you want to gain bonus entries for the giveaways, read any (or even all!) of our favorite fantasy books listed below:
• Joint Favorites: Throne of Glass, Harry Potter, Fire and Thorns, Snow Like Ashes, The Queen of the Tearling, Six of Crows, Truthwitch
• Alexa's Favorites: Eon, Daughter of the Forest, The Elemental Trilogy, Song of the Lioness, The Hobbit
• Rachel's Favorites: The Grisha Trilogy, Harper Hall Trilogy, The Fever series, The Winner's Curse trilogy, Graceling
• We're incorporating Twitter chats into the event next year. The current plan is to do at least three chats - one at the start of the year, one in the middle of the year and one at the end of it. The details will be coming to you closer to the dates.

THE FLIGHTS OF FANTASY BOOK CLUB

We're also started the Flights of Fantasy Book Club (#FOFBookClub). Rachel & I are planning to read some new-to-us fantasy authors next year, and we wanted to invite you guys to join us. Whether you've read these books before, or you're reading them as a newbie too, we'd love to have you join us in discussing them every other month!

• Read January / Discuss February: Robin McKinley
• The Hero and the Crown
• The Blue Sword
• Read March / Discuss April: Robin Hobb
• Assassin's Apprentice
• Royal Assassin
• Assassin's Quest
• Read May / Discuss June: Jay Kristoff
• Stormdancer
• Kinslayer
• Endsinger
• Read July / Discuss August: Jacqueline Carey
• Kushiel's Dart
• Kushiel's Chosen
• Kushiel's Avatar
• Read September / Discuss October: Sharon Shinn
• Troubled Waters
• Royal Airs
• Jeweled Fire
• Read November / Discuss December: Philippa Ballantine
• Geist
• Spectyr
• Wrayth
• Harbinger

Now, for my personal goal, I'm making it a point to read 40 fantasy reads next year. It's definitely a number I can reach, since I'm almost at that point this year (!) and because of certain plans I have to read certain books by certain authors. (Yes, I'm aware that's vague.) Plus, I'll be reading a fantasy series that Rachel highly recommends (she picked the Harper Hall trilogy!). I can't wait to indulge in more fantasy reads, and to be able to discuss them with all of you! 

And that's really all you need to know about the Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge. Simple, right? We certainly hope you'll be joining us in indulging your love of fantasy reads in 2016! If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section or tweet either of us directly.