Anyone else doing a book challenge this year?

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

Since I read fast, I'm doing a few of them. I like how the challenges encourage me to read books that are outside my comfort zone, or that I might not consider reading otherwise.

Some of the best ones out there for adventurous readers are 52 Books in 52 weeks, Booklist Queen, Book Riot's Read Harder, and, surprisingly, Pop Sugar. Of course, if you're more interested in reading a bigger variety of books only within a particular genre, challenges for those exist as well.

Whichever kind of reader you are, this site provides a handy list of just about every reading challenge out there:

https://candidcover.net/2024-reading-challenges-list/

[yellowdogintexas]

1. I have been doing the GoodReads challenge

and I think I am going to meet my goal.

I didn't know about this, but I started getting emails from Amazon for their Kindle challenges. There are a number of different goals to meet along the way.

Each quarter there is a new challenge.

If you have a Kindle app on your phone, Reading Insights is where the challenges are
There will be a new one January 1 .

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

2. The Kindle challenges got me into reading challenges

And into reading more in general.

When I was younger, I used to read all the time. I sort of fell off the wagon for a while in the later 2000s and into the 2010s. Some of it was routine 12 hour/6 days a week work in the 2000s. Then I was reading, but for college in the 2010s (went back to prep for an MPhil--er, MA). So I was reading more than ever, but not for pleasure. And certainly not for variety. My focus was rather narrow (a whole bunch of history and Japanese lit). After I had to leave the program for health reasons, I was too blah feeling to pick up reading for a while.

Now I'm reading for pleasure again, but with more of an emphasis on widening my horizons. The challenges really help with that.

[yellowdogintexas]

4. I went through a reading drought. It was very frustrating.

I was working really hard at a very stressful job and I think that was part of it.
Anyway, I ended up having surgery and was out of work for 6 weeks, which I spent with my mom. Basically I slept, ate and read books. Being relaxed with no responsibilities besides getting well broke my drought.

The worst thing about college was not being able to read what I actually wanted to read!!!

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

7. Having to read 6 academic history books a week

Will kill just about anyone's love of reading for a while. I don't know how I managed it. Nobody's brain deserves to be pounded into Saharan sand that way.

[yellowdogintexas]

8. I was an English major wit a History minor. I'll let you do the math

Summers were a delight because I could read what I damn pleased

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

9. You have my sympathies

I had to take a bunch of literature and history courses when I read Japanese. But I also had to read a bunch of political science and philosophy books as well.

I think I'd rather read history than academic poli-sci, any day.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. 52 books in 52 weeks?

As of today I've read 158 books the year, and will probably finish one more before the year is out.

Last year I read 173 books.

I'm not on any book challenge.

I also keep track of them in a notebook, which I've been doing for decades now. I simply break it up by months. Put down title, author, and some little synopsis or my reaction to the book. I definitely recommend the book list, no matter how few books you read a year.

[yellowdogintexas]

5. My Goodreads goal was 85 and I have managed 82

I got really busy for the past 4 weeks and it cut into my reading time. That's OK, because I started out with 52 and I hit that in August so I thought "What the Hell let's add 30 to this"

It was the baking that did it.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

6. I was listing the name of the challenges

Not how many I've read this year, or will read next year. Because 52 books might get me into March. I'll have read 250 books as of today--and the number is that low because I slacked off at the beginning of the year, and then was rather ill in April. Otherwise, 25 books a month is pretty standard for me if I read every single day.

I use the challenges to diversify my reading. Otherwise, I'd spend all of my time with murder mysteries, East Asian literature, and the occasional literary fiction from everywhere else.

I also keep a reading journal to track what I've read; however, to plot out what I'm reading I use my computer to find the challenges, then start slotting books into the prompts. I have zero hesitation about doubling up on entries across challenges, if necessary; however, most lists will have at least some prompts that are unique to that challenge (read a book by someone with 'Fred' in their name). Hence why I reference so many different challenges.

Once I have the challenges sorted out, I create a master list of the order in which I'll read those books, and the 52 book/week challenge is the anchor for distributing the books from other challenges evenly over the year. After that, I log exactly when I read the book in my reading journal, a Hobonichi Techo planner. If it takes me 2-3 days to read it, I log each day I spend on it in the journal.

Next year, I'll probably construct the list around the ALA Recommended journal list, because it comes out earlier (July v November for 52/52). The only drawback of the ALA list is that they pick the book for the week. That's not a problem for now, since I haven't been the most diverse reader in the past. It might be a problem later. We'll see.