Is reading a competition? With so many reading challenges out there, I feel like it’s becoming a competition, or at least a means of putting one’s self on a pedestal. But maybe that’s because I haven’t done one yet 😉 I honestly don’t have the time – or maybe I do?
Have you noticed how many reading challenges there are out there? Some of them definitely pique my interest, and I find myself tempted to participate. Like this one from Modern Mrs. Darcy: 12 Books, 12 Categories, 12 Months. Now that, I could do.
Then there are the incremental challenges that I see and think, “I could do that.. I could do that one too, probably.. Nope, couldn’t do that… Do these people read for a living?!” Like this set of challenges on challies.com. The Light Reader does 13 books in a year. No problem! Easy. Definitely doable. The Avid Reader does 26 books a year. Also possible. I consider myself around (if not technically in) the Avid Reader category, so 26 books in one year should be fine. But then comes The Committed Reader, with an entire book in each week. I have to ask myself, are we reading books that are 100 pages long? Are we speed reading? I begin getting skeptical at this point. But, there is yet another category: The Obsessed Reader. This category reads 2 whole books each and every week for an entire year. Really? Is that possible? Again, the skepticism; but, maybe it can be done – after all, I’ve never tried (or kept track)! If you are looking for a reading challenge for 2016, I hope you clicked on the link because there is a wonderful chart for keeping tack of your books for each level (Light, Avid, Committed and Obsessed) on Challies.com.
When looking for some fun reading challenges for this post, I came across You, Me, and a Cup of Tea which has a wonderful assortment of themed reading challenges and links to the websites/blogs that host them. Like the audiobook challenge by HotListens.com and the Back to the Classics challenge by Books and Chocolate, and even the Hard Core Re-Reading challenge hosted by You, Me, and a Cup of Tea! So if you’re looking for a challenge to guide your reading this year, please check these out. And happy reading! Maybe next year I will be posting about a challenge I completed…
So we host a challenge too that you are welcome to join :).
I guess it all depends on the challenge. For me the fun about the challenges isn’t competing with others but rather using them to expand reading choices. We try to host challenges that get people to look outside their comfort zones. However, I will say that there are some people who read so much that we’ve ended up adding steps to these challenges so that heavy readers feel challenged. So now when we put together challenges we try and include enough categories/items that heavy readers will be able to tackle but then try to reward those readers who want to take their time. So for example, our winter scavenger hunt has 1 prize for the person who reads the most but then 5 other prizes for certain items completed that don’t reward the fastest reader.
I personally don’t like challenges that feel competitive. The point (for me) in challenges is to get me to think about books I might not have otherwise picked up.
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Thank you for telling me about your challenge! I haven’t been checking the blogs I follow at all lately 😦
And I agree challenges are very good for helping us get out of reading ruts and comfort zones, which is always good. Thank you for your comment, and happy new year!!
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Lol, I was just kidding about joining. Too many to choose from. I would agree with you that challenges that make you feel pressured to read too much are no fun.
Happy new year to you too!
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I agree there are a bunch of challenges out there. I would love to do a lot more than I do. Mostly, I just do the Audiobook Challenge, not just because the blog I’m on hosts it, but also because it suits me so well. I’m able to listen so much each year while I do other tasks. Thanks for the shout out!
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Rabid Reads
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I had never even thought of doing an audiobook challenge until I saw the one on your blog, and it’s a great idea! Thanks for your comment 🙂
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Hahaha, well, I read 103 books last year, so 2 a week doesn’t sound that daunting to me 🙂 I’m not a terribly fast reader, I just spend a lot of my time reading (I don’t really have other hobbies. Or much of a social life. Seriously, if it’s not books it’s TV 😛 ).
Personally, I like reading challenges to encourage me to broaden my reading choices; I wouldn’t do a fantasy challenge because I read a wide breadth of fantasy already, but I would do one that focussed on, say, non-European high fantasy worlds, because my reading is overwhelmingly white.
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103… Hmm maybe it’s not as daunting as it sounds? I agree that challenges are definitely s good way of broadening one’s reading horizons 🙂 Thank you for your comment!
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and you seem to love France. I host a fun French Bingo Reading Challenge: http://wordsandpeace.com/2015/12/16/french-bingo-2016-reading-challenge/
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