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To reading challenge or not to reading challenge...

January 8, 2024 Roni Loren

It’s that time of year again. That time when I ask myself the question—to reading challenge or not to reading challenge?

I’ve gone back and forth over the years with reading challenges. Some years, I’ve simply set a total number goal in the Goodreads annual challenge. That’s basically a gimme for me. I know I’ll read at least 50 books in a year. But I like setting the goal because Goodreads gives you that nice little badge at the end of the year when you complete it. So I know I’ll do that one this year as well.

In other years, I’ve gotten more creative, making up my own challenges. My most long-running challenge has been the Read Wide Challenge. I’ve really enjoyed that one over the years and missed it the year I didn’t do it (and ended up adding it back a few months into the year.) However, in 2023, I did not finish my Read Wide challenge. In fact, I bombed the romance column/category—confirming that I have definitely been in a romance reading slump. I also bombed the YA category. That’s out of character for me, but it has me reluctant to do a Read Wide challenge in 2024.

In 2023, I also tried to do a backlist challenge, focusing on reading from my enormous pile of unread books (with a specific focus on my unread Book of the Month and Aardvark book club books.) I had planned to read 12 backlist books and I only made it to 6. So another incomplete challenge. Gah.

So that has me wondering what to do this year. Reading challenges usually bring me joy, but if they didn’t last year, should I continue?

I’ve given it some thought, and I think that, for now, I need to avoid challenges that are overly prescriptive. I don’t need challenges that assign genre since my reading moods have been all over the place.

However, I really do still have a backlist problem. I have SO MANY books in ebook, audio, and physical format that are sitting there untouched and ignored. I know there are wonderful, amazing stories just waiting for me to discover them. Plus, good money has been spent on those books. I hate feeling like it was wasted money.

So, my main reading goal for 2024 is going to be tackling the books that I already own. This will be a challenge because every time I listen to a bookish podcast or open a bookish email, I want all the new, new, new!

However, I’m going to try to find a book “like” whatever new book I heard about on my own shelves—because I guarantee there’s something I already have that fits the bill. My TBR on Goodreads is over 1000 books—no joke. Some date back 10 years.

Does that mean I’ll buy no new books this year? No, of course not. Let’s not talk crazy. :) But I do plan to give this backlist issue some focus.

Here are some gentle guidelines I’m hoping will help me:

  1. When I’m in the mood for a certain genre or vibe, I’ll shop my shelves first.

  2. If I need a book for writing research that I don’t have, I will “shop” by library sources first before purchasing.

  3. When I get excited about a new book, I will add it to my wishlist instead of immediately buying it. That way I don’t forget about it and can get it in the future but it doesn’t add to the towering pile.

  4. I will do random searches and sorting on my Kindle (like sorting by title or author or publication date) so that I can “see” the older books that I may have forgotten about—because many times I’ve just forgotten what’s there.

  5. I will feature backlist books that I like here on the blog and in my newsletter so that you can benefit too!

  6. I will remind myself why backlist is awesome:

    • usually easier to find with no holds at the library

    • you know if it’s survived the “new release buzz” and stood the test of time (meaning, the reviews are more representative of the general reading public than the early excitement reviews)

    • you get more variety instead of whatever is on trend in your favorite subgenre

I think that’s it for now. We’ll see how I do, but I’m excited about it!

Do you have any reading goals for 2024 or have you joined any reading challenges?

Tags reading challenge, backlist books, backlist reading challenge, backlist books challenge, read your shelves, TBR challenge, books, reading, roni loren, read wide challenge
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