2018 Personal Reading Challenge
Last year I attempted Hannah Braime's Reading Challenge. Having completed (well, nearly) that challenge, and having thoroughly appreciated exploring different genres and different titles from what I normally end up reading when driven purely by interest and mood and what I already know, I have decided to set myself a different challenge this year.
My 2018 Personal Reading Challenge has three parts. Part 1 is to read a non-fiction book each month. Part 2 is to read a book in Spanish each month. And Part 3 is to read a book to stretch or relax each month - and this is the only part which looks similar to last year's challenge.
For Parts 1 and 2, while I may have an idea of titles or categories of books, it is more about pushing myself to read books I otherwise wouldn't consider or would avoid as too difficult. Reading in Spanish is something I've been trying to work up the courage to do in a consistent way for many years now.
Part 3 began with some of the categories from last year's challenge which I didn't get around to, and then grew from there.
Hannah Braime has posted a revised reading challenge for 2018, which you can find here.
I am also attempting to keep a reading record this year, something I've always found too intimidating before considering how many books I read. I found keeping track of the books I read for the reading challenge very helpful last year, especially as it gave me a chance to reflect on books I had read and consider which ones to recommend to other people for their own reading adventures.
What I found lacking with that record was an idea of what each book was about, what I liked or disliked about a title or an author, and a method for comparing them to each other, and remembering when I read each book. So my reading record will track start and finish dates, title, author, a rating (out of 5), a few keywords, and a brief description. Which sounds like a lot! But so far, this is all recorded on three or four lines in my bullet journal, and has been fairly painless to write as I go.
Are you setting yourself a challenge this year? I'd love to hear about it. Are you interested in a reading challenge? I'd love to hear what you're reading, and see an exchange of authors and titles here. Happy 2018!
My 2018 Personal Reading Challenge has three parts. Part 1 is to read a non-fiction book each month. Part 2 is to read a book in Spanish each month. And Part 3 is to read a book to stretch or relax each month - and this is the only part which looks similar to last year's challenge.
For Parts 1 and 2, while I may have an idea of titles or categories of books, it is more about pushing myself to read books I otherwise wouldn't consider or would avoid as too difficult. Reading in Spanish is something I've been trying to work up the courage to do in a consistent way for many years now.
Part 3 began with some of the categories from last year's challenge which I didn't get around to, and then grew from there.
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| Inspired by Hannah Braime |
Hannah Braime has posted a revised reading challenge for 2018, which you can find here.
I am also attempting to keep a reading record this year, something I've always found too intimidating before considering how many books I read. I found keeping track of the books I read for the reading challenge very helpful last year, especially as it gave me a chance to reflect on books I had read and consider which ones to recommend to other people for their own reading adventures.
What I found lacking with that record was an idea of what each book was about, what I liked or disliked about a title or an author, and a method for comparing them to each other, and remembering when I read each book. So my reading record will track start and finish dates, title, author, a rating (out of 5), a few keywords, and a brief description. Which sounds like a lot! But so far, this is all recorded on three or four lines in my bullet journal, and has been fairly painless to write as I go.
Are you setting yourself a challenge this year? I'd love to hear about it. Are you interested in a reading challenge? I'd love to hear what you're reading, and see an exchange of authors and titles here. Happy 2018!
You can use Goodreads to keep track of your reading. It's really simple to use: it will keep track of start and finish dates and you can also give a rating out of 5 and write a short review.
ReplyDeleteAnd if you are looking for a book published in 2017, might I suggest https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35609022-the-rome-gospel...
Thanks, Ben! I actually plan to read that, only I had it slated for the category of 'a book by someone you've met'. : ) I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books, and can't wait to get stuck into it!
DeleteAs for Goodreads, thanks for the recommendation. I'm very old fashioned in many ways, and at this stage I prefer to write my reading record by hand, but I'll definitely keep that in mind for when I have a phone which can use apps, unlike my current, reliable flip phone. : )