Thursday, October 19, 2017

I Quit!

On the off chance you might be worried by that title, no, I'm not quitting blogging. Not that I blog very much, but I'm rather fond of this little corner of the internet when I manage to gather some thoughts into semi-coherent posts and join in on all the bookishness. You can't get rid of me quite that easily :)

I know it's only October, but I'm already thinking about reading challenges for next year. And you know what guys? I never thought I would say this, but I'm just not so into them anymore. I no longer host a challenge and I cut back on how many I participate in by quite a lot. But 3/4 of the way through the year and I'm just plain tired of all the keeping track. I love the idea of so many of the challenges, but I struggle with the follow-through. And I'm starting to wonder if participating is actually helping improve my reading life -- which was the whole point to begin with!

So I've decided that needs to be my litmus test of whether or not to re-join a challenge for 2018: has this particular challenge helped my reading life in the past? No matter how worthwhile the goal is, or how interesting the set-up, a reading challenge that hinders my reading life is not serving a worthwhile purpose for me. I suppose I could be open to trying a completely new-to-me challenge, but I've tried an awful lot of them over the years to know what will work for me and what won't -- I just need to be honest with myself!

So let's take a look at my 2017 challenges and see if any of them make the cut for 2018:

Goodreads Challenge
YES!
This one is pretty hands off. I set a goal, I read, and Goodreads pretty much keeps track for me. I count everything including picture books and my goal reflects that choice. I don't really think about or worry about this challenge except when I realize I am close to finishing my goal way earlier than expected (because, picture books) and decide if I'm going to increase my goal. I don't see any reason to stop doing this challenge. It's nice to see steady progress throughout the year and this challenge does not stress me out in any way. I'll keep it!

NO
This challenge involved a reading calendar and a schedule. I wanted it to work, but it just didn't and I unofficially quit this one long ago. I'd still like to read more Sherlock, but I'm going to go at my own pace. I think I actually could read at this pace or even faster, but the imagined pressure of having a "deadline" and working it around other books did not help me tackle these stories. So that's a definite no.

NO
I've done this one for several years now and I love the concept. I want to show my shelves more love and read more books I already had at the start of the year, of course I do. And I love the approach of celebrating our books rather than inducing TBR guilt very, very much. But as the year wears on, distinguishing between a book I bought at the end of last year and a book I bought at the beginning of this year seems really silly. Am I not showing my shelves love if I read a book I bought 7 months ago rather than the one I bought 11 months ago? As much as I love this challenge, it always seems to work for me for the first few months of the year and then I get bogged down with what counts and what doesn't. So I'm going to have to pass on this one.

NO
This is a challenge I want to work for me so very much to keep me more accountable, but it just doesn't. I use a notebook to keep track of what I bought and check off titles as I read them. But this year especially, I shopped at several community garage sales and other various used book sales and got super bogged down with the logging and tracking of everything. Sure, a simple solution is to not buy so many books, but I don't want to be worrying about whether or not I come home with a $5 bag of used paperbacks from a community fundraiser and how that will affect my stats. I do need to be more thoughtful and intentional about the books I buy, I just don't think the actual challenge is helping me do this as intended. I've been building a family library of picture books and middle grade books -- which I had hardly any of prior to my son's birth. I've found some amazing books at great prices on Book Outlet and I always dread logging them for this challenge. I don't know my exact plan going forward, but I need to quit this challenge!

NO
I adore the concept of this challenge, especially the amazing Hogwarts House Cup component the hosts came up with. But man, I spend way too much time submitting my books read for credit and figuring out which titles fit which prompts for the scavenger hunts. I don't know for sure, but I get the sense the hosts of the challenge found this a bit more overwhelming than they expected and that's a bit how I feel about participating. SO FUN, but ultimately, this is not helping me make good use of my time. I will probably continue the rest of the year, but I was feeling very annoyed with myself after realizing I spent almost an hour the other night fiddling around with this challenge. This one is a sad no, but it still has to be a no.

YES!
I first joined this challenge in 2014 and I totally tanked it. Then I tried again in 2016 and got into a much better groove -- all the Caldecotts I picked up with a baby/toddler around really helped! Then this year, I really hit my stride because I'm now reading both Caldecotts and Newberys for my own enjoyment in addition to what I might pick up to read with my son. I signed up for the highest level with a goal of 75+ points and I'm already up to 81 points and I want to keep reading. I take that as a good sign -- if I can hit my goal and I just want to keep going, this is definitely one that is working. I added a lot of Newberys to my collection this year from those used book sales and from Book Outlet, so I will have no shortage of titles to choose from for 2018. So I'm hoping Julie will run this one again!


MAYBE
I chose the checklist option for this challenge and I loved it. I borrow tons of picture books from the library and the categories helped me branch out and explore some new titles. I completed the majority of the checklist without hardly trying. But as fewer and fewer categories remained, it was fun to find some books I wouldn't have picked up otherwise in order to try something new and check it off the list. This one was easy to keep up with and keep track of and I enjoyed the vast majority of what I read, so it definitely worked for me. If the categories remain the same next year, I wouldn't join again, but if they are significantly different, I would give it another go. 

* * * * *

It occurs to me that most people probably don't really care why I do or don't re-join a challenge, but with all these thoughts mulling around in my brain, I needed to get them out! And I needed to work through the pros and cons and make some decisions before all the sign-up posts start rolling in for 2018 to tempt me :)

12 comments:

  1. Just saying, the Picture Book challenge is already up, along with several other challenges at Becky's Book Reviews. I've already joined several of these:
    https://blbooks.blogspot.com/search/label/2018%20Reading%20Challenges

    I've also posted the ones I'm hosting next year as well.

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    1. I knew they’d be starting! Thanks for letting me know. That’ll help me figure out my one “maybe”!

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  2. I'm so glad the Newbery Challenge made your list! And that it's been so fun for you. Don't worry, that one won't be going away anytime soon. That's the only way I'll reach my goal of reading all the Newbery winners any time soon. I'm impressed at you blowing past the highest level. I usually do the second level of 30 points, but I'm thinking I'll go for the third level next year.

    I love reading challenges, but this is the time of year I find them the most stressful. I sat down the other night and made a list of what books I need to read before the end of the year to finish all my challenges. It's only 12 books, but 12 books in 2 months doesn't leave me a lot of time to read whatever I feel like. I haven't decided what I'm doing next year yet, but cutting back sounds like a good idea!

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    1. I agree there is something about this time of year. Maybe it's because we start looking forward to next year and that's much more exciting that looking back at those uncompleted challenges!

      I'm so glad to hear the Newbery Challenge isn't going any time soon! I'm going for the top again for sure :)

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  3. I agree with the picture book challenge. It was super-fun and easy at the beginning. As there are fewer and fewer categories, it's becoming more challenging.

    I decided to change a lot of the categories. And I think I'll come up with as many new categories as I can each year. (I'm definitely open to category suggestions!!!)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Becky! I love the new categories and I will definitely be signing up -- for that one as well as your middle grade one. Between the format and the fact that it's children's literature, I know that will be another good one for me :)

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  4. I completely understand quitting challenges. I don't seem to be very good at keeping up with most of them so they just end up stressing me out. I'll probably stick pick out 2 or 3 for next year but I can't see myself doing more than that.

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    1. 2 or 3 sounds perfect! That's pretty much where I am at too :)

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  5. This seems like a great test! I did something similar last year and really narrowed down my list of challenges too :)

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    1. That's great! They can be so much fun...but can also get overwhelming. Best to stick with just the ones that keep things fun or revitalize our reading life rather than interfering :)

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  6. This is such a great way to determine what challenges are working for you and what ones aren't. I know you usually participate in many! I don't really participate in any but Goodreads now adays. Grad school tends to take away my time from when I would normally be blogging/reading.

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    1. I can definitely believe that grad school takes away that reading time -- even library science grad school! I am trying reallllllly hard to not add challenges back. Of course there are temptations, but I'll be trying to keep what I learned here in mind :)

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I'd love to hear what you think :)