2017 Reading Challenge - Part 1
“The more you read, the more things you will
know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss
In 2017, I
set a reading goal, to read 30 books in a year. By December 31, I had achieved
my goal plus some – 38 books completed. You may remember I set my first reading
challenge in 2017, to read 52 books in a year. I accomplished that goal, but
decided to scale back in 2017 to allow myself a few more options with my
reading that I didn’t feel I had while trying to read a book a week.
Tracking my Reading Challenge
I use Goodreads,
a mobile app (and website) that includes book reviews, recommendations, social sharing
with friends and the ability to create a catalogue of books you have read, are
currently reading or want to read. I use the app’s Reading Challenge to track
my progress. It is also nice to have one place to track recommendations I
receive from friends or books I read about that I want to add to my reading
list.
Another way
I used technology in my challenge was in reading the Bible. I used an app
called “Reading Plan”. The app provided a year long reading plan broken down by
day of the year and averaging 3 chapters or so a day. I then used the “Bible
Gateway” app to read the Bible online. The app allows you to chose from
different versions, take notes, view additional resources or listen to an
audible version.
The Numbers
Goodreads also provides statistics
about my reading challenge.
In 2017, I read 11,507 pages. I was in good company with my goal. In
2017, more than three million readers joined the Challenge and collectively
read 45.7 million books with 504,000 readers successfully completing their Challenge.
The average books pledged per reader were 45.
A few of the books I read
showed up on the “Goodreads Choice Awards” including “What Happened” by Hillary
Rodham Clinton, “Braving the Wilderness” by Brene Brown and “Option B” by
Sheryl Sandberg.
Where I Get My Books
I am a frequent library visitor and
this year was no exception. I also bought a few of the books that I knew I
would want to keep in my personal library from my local independent book store,
Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh as well as some I ordered from Amazon. I visit
used book stores and thrift stores, especially when I travel, which is why some
of my picks may seem random or dated.
Your Reading Challenge
When you
write your goals down, you are more likely to accomplish them. Or at least
that’s what the experts say. That certainly seemed true with my reading goal. I
was intentional about reading. I chose to watch less television and to read
fewer magazines and web stories so that I could focus on books.
There are
many ways to set your own reading challenge. Goodreads is an excellent tool;
however, I’ve seen book journals that encourage you to list books you’ve read
along with notes or quotes. You can embark on a plan to read a certain number
of books, books from new or different genres than your usual reads, or take a
tour through classic literature, perhaps re-reading some of those high school
assignments that once seemed like a chore. You can easily find lists of
recommended books. Goodreads has multiple lists such as “books that everyone
should read at least once”. If you spend a lot of time in your car, audio books
might be a great choice for you.
Ann Morgan,
a freelance writer from London embarked on a great reading adventure. As she
describes it on her blog, “In 2012, the world come to London for the Olympics
and I went out to meet it. I read my way around all the globe’s 196 independent
countries . . . sampling a book from every nation.” To see Morgan’s
extraordinary book list visit here - A Year of Reading the World - https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/thelist/
I mentioned
Ann’s blog last year when I wrote about my challenge. If you haven’t read it
yet, check it out, along with her book reviews.
Goodreads
2018 Reading Challenge
I made a new reading resolution for
2018. Reading 52 books in 2016 required discipline and it somewhat limited what
I read. After some internal debate, I
have set my Reading Challenge once again at 30 books for 2017.
As of January 3, there were 764,418
participants in the 2018 Reading Challenge. On average, readers set their goal
at 47 books and pledged to read more than 35 million books.
Join me in
setting your own reading challenge for 2018. Check back tomorrow as I discuss some
of my favorite books and on the final day I will share my book list and
reflections from my year in books.
Comments
Post a Comment