For the past five years or so, each year I have gotten into trying to read more books each year. In a lot of ways, this has been great, it has expanded my reading habits and added a lot of new authors to the mix. However, lately I have almost been feeling pressured to read. With the blogs, I don't like to list books that I am rereading only new reads, so I had walked away from a lot of my comfort reads. Additionally, with my own goal of trying to reduce my TBR, I had held off some great library reads. This has actually made reading less enjoyable for me.
So, I have decided to change my personal goals this year. While, last year, I read 240 or so books, this year, I will be quite content to read 200 books. I want to take time to enjoy my books more, if my TBR gets reduced great, if not, life is long, it will wait for me. And those great keepers that I have stacked thoughout my house, lets pick them up again and enjoy them. I feel bad as I know the charity thing is going on and I will keep blogging, but when I realized the other day, that I felt like starting a new book was a chore, I needed to turn my reading on its head. As such, you may see some blogs of my old favorites and keepers.
I enjoy blogging and love being able to talk about books, but I need to change things up for my own reading pleasures and maybe for this year, it is taking a bit of a breather and just enjoy reading again.
Cady
not pushing either
I read 250 last year, This year if I read that fine, if I don't fine.
Christa ~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Challenge Blog
My Shelfari Page
You definitely can't let
You definitely can't let anything get in the way of enjoying your reading. I don't think of the number, I just read when I can. I have felt a bit of pressure because of school, but that'll be done after this week of finals, so I can catch up on the many great books waiting for me. But I've decided to stop trying to reach a certain number. What I read is great for me. If I read too fast, I don't enjoy or savor them, so I do it at my own pace.
Glad you're going back to the enjoyment of reading, Cady!!
I can see that this could
I can see that this could certainly lead to a bit of reader burnout if we are constantly pushing ourselves to read faster, or read more books.
Nancy
sheandeen@gmail.com
I think my competitive
I think my competitive nature kicked in and I was so focused on the number, that at times I pushed myself to start a book when I wasn't really in the right mood.
Tracey - I think how busy we are really affects our reading. Life has been really busy this spring, so by allowing myself to relax a bit, I think I will enjoy reading again. I hope you get to enjoy the summer now.
I just read a keeper yesterday and it was nice.
Cady
TBR--The Born Readers
Reading goals ....
I've spent a bit of time thinking about this .
when I started the Challenge in 2006, I was using the desktop computer in the basement ... so I didn't spend a lot of time in forum discussions or commenting alot on the blogs, unless I had a few spare moments at the office to pop in ... I also was not typing my reviews in a word.doc first, I did them all online using the draft mode, and the posting them when they were finished ... I often had 10 or more books staked up to blog and my reviews were often much shorter ..... mid summer I went through a bad reading period and slumped, my reviews actually got longer then ...... that year I read 230 books and I stopped reading in Novemeber ... the rest of the year I reread or was just too busy
at the start of 2007 I had my laptop and that meant I could participate more .... I became part of the Quiet Canadians reading team .... and I started typing my reviews in a word.doc ..... because I could lounge in the lazyboy and read the blogs, my TBR grew astronomically! .... and I was spending much more time reading the blogs and particpating which took time away from actual book reading ..... my total for 2007 was 170 which was 50 books less than 2006, though I actually did read in the month of Dec in 07
this year so far my reading is in the middle ... comparing to this time over the Challenges, I'm 12 books less than 2006 (85) ... but 7 books more than 2007 (55) .... which is good .... I'd like to reach 200 books read ...
so thats my reading goal for this year, 200 books .... but those books have to be books I want to read .... I can't just pick up any book ... I get distracted too easily and when that happens reading slumps set in ... so I choose my books carefully .... that's usually why I like series if I can read them in order ... it makes it like I'm reading a much longer book but because they are linked books it makes it managable for me
I'm hoping I'll get more into audio books this year ... that way I can enjoy other things and read at the same time ... like gardening or doing the house renos we have planned
~~ KatherineT ~~ I'm a Harlequin Addict, and I'm proud of it!
~~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog
Hey Cady - I'm all about the enjoyment - if it's not fun for you
change whatever you need to, to make it fun for you. I'm still rereading as much as usual but I know that's no help to the rest of you
And I understand the pressure of more, longer, better, but funnily enough it's the blogging that gets to me, not the reading. I genuinely read what I feel like, when I feel like, and while I know there's a 50/50 ratio that Jayne would like us to keep in mind, I enjoy reading Harlequin books so that's not a problem
I've noticed that we all (even me) go through cyclical slumps but like all cycles, they go round and we'll come out of it again. It doesn't help while you're in it, but that's when you need the old favourites, the rereads, the keepers and the friends who encourage you to keep going.
This challenge really is all about communicating the love of books we all share - if it's becoming a chore
that comes across in our blogs, so take a break if necessary, take the time you need for each book, and don't worry too much about the totals because that part of it isn't our "job", our job is to read the books, enjoy them, blog about enjoying them and thereby encourage other people to read them, enjoy them, blog about enjoying them and create a happy reading circle rather than a vicious one
There's also the fact that you've been blogging (like some of us) for two and a half years more or less and that it gets tiring - a change is as good as a rest
Thinking about Lori's May challenge - maybe we need to drag out some of the keepers and rereads - after all even if we blogged about them in 2006 and 2007 we're "allowed" to count each book once in 2008 (even if, like me, you actually reread them fifty times
) so maybe we should just spend a month rereading and introducing all the newbies to the best of Harlequin (and Others) the ones that keep us coming back time and time again for the unforgettable enjoyment we only find in those books, no matter how many new authors and new books we read
Would that work for you?
Hugs
Sadhbh
May's Member of the Month
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
Katherine - I totally
Katherine - I totally understand what you say about picking what book is calling you not what you think you should read. I guess that is part of my goal, don't worry about TBRs or blogs, just pick what is calling you.
Sadhbh - I think blogging is some of it, I really hate blogging about rereads, I never did it in the first couple of years - seemed like cheating. However, what happened is I stopped reading my favorites and I think that has pulled me out of reading a bit. So my goal now is to sprinkle in some old classics. I don't have to do all classics, but add a couple each month and maybe I will get back to where my choice is more about my enjoyment than about any personal challenge.
Cady
TBR--The Born Readers
Cady - I really hope you get back to where reading is all about
your enjoyment, because the Challenge IS about enjoyment
I'm looking forward to seeing what your Classics are
Hugs
Sadhbh
May's Member of the Month
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs