Welcome to the official first part of my “New Year’s Resolution” Series. If you haven’t read the explanation article, you can glance at that or just keep reading below! So, here’s my first promise.
If you have read some of my articles before, you probably know that I love to read. I’m mostly a young adult fiction nerd; however, I’ve also been reading some adult fiction and even some nonfiction recently. I used to be able to read upwards of 70 books a year, however, that’s changed because of how busy I am.
Since starting college, I’ve had some problems finding time to read for pleasure. When I wasn’t reading for classes, I was doing other work. I’m ashamed to say sometimes I was too wiped out to pick up a book. This year, I’m going to change that. You can call it a New Year’s Resolution of sorts.
I’ve always wanted to try the Goodreads Reading Challenge, and I thought that now was a better time than ever to give it a shot. The challenge is just a fun way to get yourself reading and track the books you’ve finished. Re-reads count, and audiobooks count as well if you decide to allow them to be part of your goal.
For those of you who may not know, Goodreads is a website for readers to share recommendations, write reviews and find new friends who share the same love of books. The challenge is just a way to get people reading more books each year. I made a Goodreads account years ago, but I never quite got the hang of it. I decided that if I wanted to read more, I might as well try to make use of Goodreads, and I wanted to go big and bold with my challenge.
I’ve pledged to read 50 books this year. This may sound like a lot, but I can read a 300-page book in a couple of hours. Maybe I should have actually made my goal higher, but I’d rather blow a smaller amount out of the water than not complete the challenge. I’ve also decided to count books I read for school since I have to read them anyway.
How am I going to read 50 books this year? Currently, I have read one at the time of this publication. I know, it’s not a lot, but that’s because I’m in the middle of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and the book is pretty long. I’m really enjoying it, though.
Now that I’m back at school, I’m going to try to read at night before bed instead of playing on my phone. I’m also going to take more reading breaks instead of Netflix/Hulu/Disney+ breaks. I’ll find other ways to squeeze some reading into my day. I’m going to make this count.
Since I’m using Goodreads, I’m also going to possibly review some of the books I’m reading. I’ll give all the books a star rating, but I will only review books if they really left an impact on me since my time is already stretched thin.
It’s never too late to join the challenge. You can become friends with me on Goodreads so I can see what you’re reading and you can also check out what I’m reading. I’d love to meet fellow readers, especially if you’re in the Geneseo area.
Also, if you need any book recommendations, check out these two articles about what our writers read this past break.
Happy reading!