What do you think about reading challenges? Are you doing any this year? Do you tend to bite off more than you can chew (er, read)?
Julie:
Last year I signed up for a ridiculous amount of reading challenges. Like maybe 10. I didn’t complete them all – so I definitely bit off more than I could chew. I do enjoy them though because there are so many fun ones for different genres and ways of reading. This year I’m only doing a few. Obviously I’m doing the #ShelfLove No Book Buying Read the Books I Already Own Challenge that we’re hosting. I’m also doing the Goodreads Reading Challenge as well as an Audiobook Reading Challenge. It is definitely easier to manage fewer challenges, so hopefully I’ll meet all my goals this year. Maybe, wishful thinking.
Rose:
I think you have to be careful when choosing to do reading challenges. I have done a few reading challenges and they are fun. They push me to read more than I otherwise would have so even if I do not reach my ultimate goal, I still read more than I would have otherwise. This year, since I knew I was going to be busy with student teaching and working full time, I decided to limit myself to only 30 books this year and 21 of those books or more I hope are books I already own. I set the “green belt” goal for myself for our No Book Buying Challenge. (You can check that out here.) I really enjoy challenges. I have only one week left student teaching, so I am hoping I can get some serious reading done this summer!
Lynn: This year is the first I’ve participated in a reading challenge on a blog. The #ShelfLove challenge is the first I’ve participated in any challenges. I’ve set up a Goodreads Reading goal as well. I’ve seen other challenges on other blogs, but I’ve really have not had much actual desire to participate. (I am not much of a participator.) I would also think that it would be difficult to participate in multiple challenges, unless the books over lap. With reading book club books each moth, my for pleasure books are limited to a couple of books every month. But who knows, maybe next year, I’ll participate in a different challenge.
[…] Julie, Rose, and Lynn share their thoughts on reading challenges. […]
I’m a little ambivalent about them personally. I read a ton so don’t really need the encouragement in that direction, and I tend to read whatever I want even if I have signed up for a challenge. I do like them for my kids as they find them highly motivating. Thanks for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday!
Tina
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Ooh good point there about the challenges being motivating for kids. I remember getting a pizza all the time just for reading 🙂
I love the idea of reading challenges, but I usually don’t follow through. I just prefer to read whatever I’m feeling at the time end the end. I think they sort of make me feel stressed about reading in a way. Not what I want to feel!
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I’m with you – it does make reading more structured and I like to go with the flow as well.
I am doing 7 reading challenges, 8 if you count the goodreads challenge. The all overlap, so that is helping. One I had to modify to fit my needs, so I technically dropped out (they didn’t allow Amazon prime first reads to count as freebies, but they count for me). The rest are fun so far and motivating me to read new genres. I haven’t had trouble keeping up so far. One challenge still has zero for me, I haven’t read any library books yet, but I am sure I will. I am also doing the discussion challenge, and that has been a lot of fun this year. I am happy I signed up for the challenges I did. I get a sense of accomplishment when I add the numbers up.
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Yea it does feel like a nice accomplishment when you read a lot in a category you wanted to improve on 🙂
This year, the only reading challenge I signed up for was the Goodreads challenge and I even just reduced my goal for that. I found that I just couldn’t keep track of all of the challenges I signed up for last year, and I really wanted to focus on the discussion challenge this year, so I did. I’m pretty happy with that decision, but next year, I’ll probably add one or two other challenges to the mix.
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Before I went all crazy that last year, I only did the GR challenge too 🙂 Focusing on the discussion challenge is a good call. I bet that keeps you pretty busy 🙂
I’m like you, Julie, and have attempted too many challenges only to fail. This year, I am participating in quite a few…but so many of them allow me to count books towards multiple challenges and it’s working well for me so far. Of course, I’m doing #ShelfLove and I had quite a few books on my shelves already that count towards that and other challenges so I’m killing two (or more) birds with one stone. 🙂 I like the ‘community’ that challenges encourage.
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I do like counting a book toward multiple challenges :)Ooh good point on the community – yes, it is more fun when we cheer each other on.
I only do the Goodreads challenge and I change accordingly so I never end up failing to complete (kinda cheating but its my Goodreads so I can do whatever I want with it hihi) 😀
I change my GR goals too 🙂 Though did you know if you re-read a book and update the date, it removes it from that other year’s read challenge? So if you just barely met at goal, then re-read a book and update the read date, now you no longer met that previous challenge. They cheat too!
I had no idea. That’s not very nice of them….ps. when I reread I just add another addition of the book. But I rarely reread anyway 😀
I love reading challenges although I almost always fail at completing them. The nice thing about them is that they make you think about the books you are reading and read in a more organized way. One of my favorite type of challenges are classics-related, or place-related like the Japanese lit challenge, or Africa challenge. I love how many new books I get exposed to through these book challenges.
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I like that too – thinking about reading in an organized way. Or at least organizing your books a little better.
I used to do this, then I stopped because (1) the hosts of the ones I signed up for didn’t really give a shit. No check-in, it was boring. (2) The updates take too much work, linking up and uploading cover arts, etc. I got lazy.
I only do goodreads now & this historical reading challenge that I like because I need to diversify.
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Ooh that’s too bad when the hosts don’t follow through with their challenges. I’ve joined a few of those as well. not fun. I don’t link cover arts when doing a check in post. TOO MUCH EFFORT. I just have a GR shelf and embed the shelf into my post, so all the books just show up automagically. Lazy.
I think challenges can be good in that they make it easier to keep track of what you’re reading. But I also think that too many can put pressure on you (though I’m not quite sure how to explain it, lol). I only do the Goodreads challenge. This is my fourth or fifth year and I’m enjoying it a lot. Super inspired post!
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Yes, too many is a lot of pressure, and just makes you want to give up altogether. That’s how last year went for me haha.
My first year of blogging I did too many challenges. It was too hard to keep track and for one of them I could never find the monthly link up posts.
As we’ve moved through the year with the #ShelfLove challenge, I’ve tried to make note of what other challenges have done and adopt that. For example, after seeing how Nicole over at Feed Your Fiction Addiction was adding the monthly link up posts into the initial sign up posts. I started doing the same.
Other than #ShelfLove, I’m doing the GoodReads challenge. That one is easy to join, low pressure (IMO) and easy to track.
Terri M., the Director
Second Run Reviews
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It is so hard to keep up with everyone’s link up posts. Last year I changed to posting updates quarterly, and even that was too much. So I just stopped trying to link up and just kept my own track. Didn’t really work as a social challenge heh. I like the idea of linking related posts and monthly posts with the sign-up post. The way I have it here is the page links all the posts having to do with the challenge in one spot.