End of the Year Roundup - Best and Worst Categories

We're a group based on categories and our challenges can succeed or fail because of the categories we choose. This year, what was your favorite category? Not necessarily the category that was easiest to fill, but the one you were most excited about, that you enjoyed the most, that maybe surprised you a little. Will you be repeating that category for the 2013?

What category didn't work for you? Was that because you found it too hard to fill? Or because it was so broad it was meaningless? Why was it unsuccessful?

My worst category was in my original ("first") 12 in 12 challenge. It was the Death & Dying category. Although I had more than 3 books that fit the category on my wish list, I found that I was unmotivated to read them, and it ended up being one of the last categories I finished.

My best category was probably my "Europe Endless Challenge" category which got a workout in both my challenges for the year as I completed that separate challenge. I learned a lot about countries that had never crossed my reading radar previously. I won't be repeating it in 2013, but I have a category that will encourage me to read books set in countries other than the United States or United Kingdom, and I will definitely be reading some European things there.

My most successful category was my YA category. Of course I do read these books as part of my job. I have this planned again for next year.

My favorites probably should have been one huge category - Mysteries and Series Continuation. It's nice that we will be able to set our own goals since I plan to have a Mysteries category with no limit. So I can read mystery series to my heart's content!

My least successful (to my shame) was my BOMBS category which I will give another go next year. I just get too distracted by new titles.

My favorite category this year was my France category. It was my first year to pick a country to focus on and it worked really well. I was surprised by how many books I read that were not intended for this category were still related to it.

My least favorite category has to be the one I changed half way through the year! That would be my autobiographies and letters category. I had a total of 3 non fiction categories which ended up being too many for me. I combined that category with my biographies category.

I had a bit too much overlap between categories. Other than that my categories did fairly well, although I was somewhat limited by having quite a few Early Reviewer books and other surprise reads.

My least successful categories were my France and Germany categories. I've used these for a few years and think I'm no longer able to make them specific categories. It would have worked if I'd but them into one category, though.

My best category was my difficult books category. It reminded me not to avoid longer books, or the ones that just take a bit more concentration.

My favorite category was the Jane Austen category. It was so much fun to reread all of her books during the year. There was so much I noticed this time around.

My least successful category might have been my Favorite Authors category. Not sure why, maybe it's because some of them just weren't as enjoyable this time around.

I would say that my most successful category this year was my non-fiction category. There was a decent variety of non-fiction and with the exception of one book, I enjoyed all of them. I tend to shy away from non-fiction because I think it's going to be dry even if interesting, but that wasn't the case. In 2011, I read by title so I didnt' actually have non-fiction as it's own category, but I'm glad I forced myself to make it a separate category this year.

My least successful category this year was my "animals in the title" category which I usually enjoy. Just chose books that were not so great this time, I guess, in an effort to fill the category and get them off the shelf rather than choosing books I would enjoy.