Can you believe we’re at the halfway point of 2021? Maybe it’s because 2020 seemed to drag on forever, but this year seems like it just started. However, here we are, and I thought what better time to do a check-in on our reading challenges.
Or, if you didn’t sign up for any at the beginning of the year and now might want to, it’s the perfect time to join one!
This year I’m doing three challenges:
The TBR Backlog Reading Challenge - (You can get all the details here.)
The Read Wide 2021 Challenge - (Grab the details and a downloadable chart here.)
So, how is it going so far? Let’s see! I did MATH, y’all.
TBR Backlog Reading Challenge
Let’s start with the new challenge I created this year—The TBR Backlog Reading Challenge. For this one, I wanted to tackle books based on what year I purchased them in (which I can see on Goodreads) because usually I’m just picking up the newest things in my stack. I also wanted to whittle down my Book of the Month club stack so I made a section for that.
Here’s how it’s going:
As you can see, I’m doing pretty well! I’ve filled in all the circles for the years purchased except for one, and I’m almost halfway through the Book of the Month number.
So, what have I learned so far and is the challenge accomplishing what I intended?
Well, I’m definitely learning things! I’ll talk more about that below. And yes, it’s accomplishing the main goal—thinning out my TBR—but if I was hoping to discover books that I’ll love that I forgot about…well, that’s been a little less successful.
Let’s look at some stats (because I don’t like math but I get super nerdy about book math!)
I have read 21 books so far for the challenge (you’ll only see 20 recorded in the chart because I’m writing down backlist books even after I’ve filled in those circles just to keep track of how much TBR I tackled.)
Of the 17 books that I’ve read based on the year purchased, 53% have been either DNFs, one, or two star ratings. Ouch. 18% have been 4 or 5 stars.
Of the 5 Book of the Month club books, I only rated one 2 stars. The rest were 3 or above. So, better luck there!
What are my takeaways from those numbers?
Reading taste changes over time.
I can see the evolution of my reading taste over the ten years I’ve been keeping track on Goodreads. Not only do I have another decade of reading under my belt (and life experience) but I have another decade of WRITING. My critical eye is…highly critical these days. I’m much pickier and much less patient now.
Book of the Month usually gives me solid books.
There’s a reason I’ve been a member for a number of years now. BOTM introduces me to books I may not have sought out on my own. Sometimes those risks don’t pay off, but more often than not, they do. (If you’d like to try BOTM, I believe this referral link will get you a discount or free book or something. :) )
Book trends are real and sometimes older books just don’t hold up.
Partly, this may be because I can burn out on genres that were the big thing a few years ago. This also is because some books are written in a way that can stand the test of time—and some just feel dated.
I can clean up my TBR by aggressive use of the DNF (did not finish) because some books are clearly going to fall prey to #1 and #3 above.
So far, I’m calling this challenge a success.
The Read Wide Challenge
Next up is the challenge I created a few years ago and have been doing ever since—The Read Wide Challenge. The point of the challenge is to make sure I’m reading from a wide number of genres and subgenres (good for writing inspiration!) and I add some categories for fun as well. I’m almost done with this one!
So let’s look at the numbers on this one so far…
I’ve read 37 books for this challenge so far.
51% of the books have gotten 4 or 5 ratings. Nine have gotten 5 stars, which is a very high bar for me.
19% have gotten 2 stars or below.
It’s almost the exact opposite of the other challenge!
So, what does that teach me about the Read Wide challenge?
Reading widely and diversely is a much more effective way for me to find books I love.
This may be partly because it keeps my reading fresh. I don’t get stuck in one kind of book very long.
Pushing myself out of my comfort zone genres pays off.
I find things I wouldn’t have picked up otherwise, and it also helps me learn what genres I don’t like.
The only downside is that it means I have read less of the genre I actually write in because I’m spending time reading many different kinds of things.
This isn’t all negative. Often my book ideas have come from reading books very much outside of my genre—non-fiction especially.
This challenge helps with the dreaded “What Should I Read Next?” question.
Looking at the squares I still have to fill in gives me a direction.
So this challenge is definitely one I’ll be keeping in the future. I’m even considering creating a new chart for the second half of the year since I’m almost done with this one!
The Goodreads Challenge
This one is a straightforward number to hit. When I started the year, I chose a number to go easy on myself. I chose 50 books because I still had a book deadline looming, and I didn’t want this number stressing me out. However, I’ve now turned in my book and have been reading like crazy. So…I moved the bar, which is something that is nice about the GR challenge. You can adjust it.
Now, please don’t be too impressed with my current number. That 72 is inflated because I added a bunch of cookbooks I bought to the list. My actual number read right now is 55. But that’s still very high for me at the halfway point of the year. In 2020, I read 73 books total, so I’m on track to be higher than that if my pace continues.
No lessons from this one, but it is satisfying to look at that number!
How are your challenges going?
So, how are your reading challenges going? Now’s the time to make adjustments!
Maybe you need to scoot that number down or up on Goodreads. Or maybe your current challenge isn’t working for you and you want to switch to something new to liven things up. Or maybe, like me, you’re about to complete some of the challenges and want to take on a new one. Or you didn’t sign up for one at the end of 2020 because 2020 and now you’re ready to try one.
Wherever you are with your challenges, I hope you’re having fun with them and not letting them bring you any stress. :)
I’d love to hear how yours are going and which ones you’re doing (if any). Have you leaned anything from them? Share in the comments!