I love a good reading challenge; in fact, a rereading challenge I saw on a blog a couple years ago was one of the big factors in me starting my own blog. Since then, I've done at least one reading challenge a year, and I love them! I know reading challenges aren't for everyone, but here are some reasons why they work for me!
The camaraderie
Joining reading challenges was a great way for me to get involved in the book blogging community when I started my own. It introduced me to so many other bloggers. I like knowing we are all working on this challenge together and tracking each other's progress. There are so many reading challenges out there, in all different genres and book types, that range from a week or two to the entire year, that it would be hard to NOT find something to participate in.
They help me get through my TBR
I try to pick reading challenges that go along with books that are already on my TBR but are sometimes overlooked. I don't really need to add yet more books to my TBR just to satisfy a challenge requirement. So, Beat the Backlist hosted by NovelKnight has really helped me focus on older titles on my TBR that I too often forget about or neglect in favor of shiny new releases and the Nonfiction Reading Challenge hosted by Doing Dewey jumpstarted my goal of reading more nonfiction and finally reading those titles on my TBR. I've been able to move through books on my TBR more quickly.
I like having goals to work towards
I think I'm a pretty goal-oriented person. I like working towards something, achieving it, and then moving onto the next thing. I've never met a to-do list I didn't like; I love the sense of accomplishment that comes with checking off each item as I finish. So naturally, making a TBR for a challenge and seeing it through to the end is something I really enjoy. Tracking my progress just puts a smile on my face - I know, I know, who gets this excited over a spreadsheet? Me! Of course, I love reading for the sake of reading, but there's just something about the thrill of a challenge. There's an extra layer of motivation in picking up a book each day, knowing that I'm working towards fulfilling my challenge goals.
Do enjoy reading challenges? Which ones do you participate in? Or if they don't work for you, why not?
Readathons work for me! I enjoy the camaraderie, and I feel like I can give myself permission to relax and read all day. Other reading challenges are less successful for me. I tried the Popsugar and Read Harder challenges this year and failed pretty hard. Nonfiction November has been fun, though.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I did the Popsugar one for a couple years, but it really fizzled out. I've been enjoying Nonfiction November, too!
DeleteI too love setting a goal and then reaching it. I feel like I want to do more of these challenges. For me, other than my Goodreads challenge, I can't do a year long thing. Right off the bat I go into tax season and my momentum is shot. Ones like Nonfiction November would work well for me I think.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I can see how the shorter ones would work better for you. I do a summer one you might enjoy. Although, the good thing about the year-long ones is that you have so much time to do them.
Deleteglad it works for you. When I started blogging, I did A LOT, like 12 or more each year. I have done less and less, and I think I'll just keep my Classics Club for next year. It will be my 9th year of blogging. I want to work on my TBR shelves, at my own pace, balancing that with classics and new releases. But if I find some read-athons in connection with books I plan to read, I may do them. I did one for Born a Crime, it was really neat, plus I get tons of traffic to my site thanks to it, lol!!
ReplyDeleteHaha, I agree, the traffic is nice! Wow, 12 challenges is a lot. It gets to be overwhelming trying to keep track of them.
DeleteI absolutely love reading challenges, for all the reasons you listed! However, since I had a major reading slump last year, I promised myself no reading challenges this year to keep it casual... and I think it's been working because I'm already itching to do reading challenges again, so hopefully soon :)
ReplyDeleteYay, it seems like that strategy worked out well for you! I hope you find some good challenges for next year!
DeleteThe camaraderie is one reason I'd really like to start actively doing some reading challenges! It's nice to have other people to talk to about it and share challenges and successes. Next year I might really try to get into some. Getting through my TBR is also a huge reason to make me want to, haha. I doubt I'll ever completely eradicate, but there are definitely some books I've been eyeing for far too many years. Thanks for this! It's reminded me why I want to try some out.
ReplyDeleteAwesome, I hope you find some great ones next year!
DeleteI'm a big fan of the backlist reading challenges. Those work so much better for me than most of the others I've tried. I definitely enjoy the camaraderie, as well as that the challenges make me set goals when it comes to getting those neglected reads off my backlist. I've gotten 31 books off my backlist this year and I know that would not have happened without the challenges.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the backlist one has been the most successful for me. I picked 30 books to start, and I've gone well beyond that!
DeleteI like them. I don't like ones with specific categories to fill I found out. I have never finished one lol. I do like a backlist, audio or new release type challenge. I do however forget to do the check ins a lot of the time!
ReplyDeleteYes, I like ones that are more open-ended, too, not having to find specific types of books.
DeleteI have never done a reading challenge (other than my Goodreads goal), but am thinking I might do one in 2019. The 2019 Monthly Motif Challenge by girlxoxo.com looks fun and fairly easy to accomplish. http://www.girlxoxo.com/2019-monthly-motif-reading-challenge/
ReplyDeleteThat one does look fun! And not too taxing, either, just one book a month!
DeleteReading challenges bring out the competitive side of me, and motivate me to read a little more widely. I do monthly motif, 50 States, AtoZ, Bookish Bingo.
ReplyDeleteI like that the ones you do are so varied! I should probably read more widely, too.
DeleteReading challenges used to work really well for me, but recently, they have felt more like a chore, and I've failed several in a row. It may be time to take a break from them. Nonetheless, there are a few I'll continue doing: the Goodreads Reading Challenge, because it's just numeric and helps me keep track of how much I'm reading; the Backlist Reader Challenge, because I host it; and maybe one or two others for the camaraderie.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the Goodreads one is the easiest because I don't have to do anything! I try not to do too many, either, because it gets overwhelming trying to keep track of them.
DeleteI agree with all your points here. I took a break from participating in reading challenges for the past year. But I'm really looking forward to getting back into it for 2019.
ReplyDeleteAwesome, I hope you find some great ones!
DeleteI love reading challenges! I always do the Goodreads challenge, but this year I'm also participating in the Beat the Backlist challenge! I think I may have set my goal a little high, but it's always fun to exceed expectations. I've read 60 out of my goal of 100, which is 60 more books from my TBR! I'm not a huge fan of readathons, because I don't think I read well during a time crunch. I read at an average speed, and I also stay home with three kids that don't give me a lot of time -- haha.
ReplyDeleteLindsi @ Do You Dog-ear?
I totally agree, readathons are not really my thing! But longer challenges - totally! Beat the Backlist has been a lot of fun!
DeleteI think challenges are great even though I don't do many. Last year I think I did three and this year I pretty much didn't do any, other than a few readathons and stuff, but for 2019 I'm thinking of taking the plunge again! I agree there is the camaraderie that goes with participating, and that's pretty awesome. :)
ReplyDeleteThey are such a fun way to get involved!
DeleteI always want challenges to work for me, but I have to admit that it's a pretty good year for me if I'm stay on track for more than 6 months. I like all the things about challenges that you mention, but I'm a bit of a mood reader and what I want to be reading changes more quickly than by the year. I also think I'm less organized that I used to be, which doesn't help!
ReplyDeleteMaybe shorter challenges would work better? I agree, though, sometimes near the end of the year I'm just like, blah!
DeleteAwesome post!! I have done a few awesome reading challenges. I've found that shorter ones work best for me! If it's a full year long event, I tend to see the prompt list as a to do list... and I always rush to complete each task.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Erica! Yeah, sometimes with the year-long challenges I start really strong and tend to fade a little bit near the end of the year,
DeleteI love spreadsheets! There are times when I join a Goodreads group challenge and it requires a spreadsheet. I love being able to mark that I've read the book and see all the points we've racked up. Although I do think I am goal oriented I need to take steps or just focus on certain challenges monthly for me to accomplish the big goal. I'm going to be doing Beat the Backlist this year too. I'm also doing my two reading challenges I created: Pick-a-Theme and Royal Reading.
ReplyDeleteI so love a spreadsheet! I do try to break the challenges down and figure out what I need to do each month to accomplish the challenge. I don't want to leave everything until the last minute!
DeleteI've joined a couple of reading challenges, and I thought they were a lot of fun, but I'm really bad on the follow through, so I didn't end up finishing one of them.
ReplyDeleteAww, that's ok! At least you had fun doing them!
DeleteI am a very goal oriented person. I agree challenges also help me get through my TBR. What I love most about challenges is they help me decide what to read. The bad part of challenges for me is when I am over my head then I just give up. So I have to be careful I don't get overwhelmed. I love Deweys! Its on my birthday weekend this April! YAY!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that challenges help me decide what to read next! I like working through my TBRs for each one.
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