I never really believed in doing things halfway. I think there was a certain mishap at the moment of my making where the universe decided that all interests I could partake in I would either drown in devotion for or end up hating. It’s the only aspect of my life where I could ignore the saying “life isn’t black and white;” when it came to my interests, it certainly was. All or nothing. I mean, with a life full of the pains of reality, societal pressures, jobs, bills to pay, etc, etc. Who could fault anyone for indulging in some healthy obsessions?
Now, of course, it isn’t as easy in the grand scheme of things. Let’s talk, for example, about my love for books. I can go a whole year without reading a book when I’m in a particularly bad book slump, however it can easily be turned around when I manage to get out of it. I can go from nothing to too much in the blink of an eye. That’s how I’ve managed to read 50 books so far this year, and it’s barely the beginning of April. I started with a five star book and from there, I have been devouring books like I’m being paid thousands to read them.
Which is why it wasn’t surprising or particularly hard to read one book for seven days–yes, one book a day, seven books, seven days. I took Jeon Jungkook’s song “Seven” to heart, and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and so on, Seven days a week, I managed to read a book. Not the intended purpose of the song, but still a pretty cool way to go about it. Now, I know some people might be in too much of a book slump to try this, and others might simply find it too much, but I encourage everyone to try the challenge. After doing it myself, I can confidently say that there are a few things I would do differently, and others I wouldn’t. Personally, I don’t think one reads a book a day and ends up completely sane by the end of it, but it’s fun nonetheless. I promise.
- Become a master of time.
Some of us are fast readers, others aren’t. You should be aware of the time you take and read your book accordingly. Have clear lines and breaks. This is one of the things I would do differently. I tend to lose myself in books and, as a result of it, I lose my sense of time. It didn’t help that I started reading most of the books very late at night, which messed up my sleep schedule for a few days. I would encourage you to start the book early, as much as your schedule allows, and dive back in at any second of the day that you can. I found myself reading the book while on my commute to university, then at lunch, and on my commute back home (maybe once in class, but do not make a habit of that one). It helped to break the habit of staying up late, which is a no-no when you’re a student who also has a job.
- Don’t jump genres.
It’s hard sometimes to keep yourself reading and thoroughly entertained for a long period of time (at least in my case). In situations like this, I recommend not jumping genres, sometimes finding good books is hard, and the whiplash of different genres might make it all the more difficult. For a challenge, or an unintentional record like this, I think reading a series is best. More often than not, the power of wanting to know what happens next makes us obsessively jump from one book to another. It helps.
- Keep to short books.
It’s not the same to read a 250-350 page book in a day than a 600 page one (hear me out, one of them is close to impossible). Keeping your TBR for the week on strictly short paged (and/or easy to read) books, makes the challenge a little easier. It also helps with avoiding book slumps. Of course, this changes from person to person, for example, for me reading fantasy takes a little bit longer and requires more brain power depending on the type of fantasy. Romance books, if they’re the typical 250-400 pages, are a piece of cake.
- Try the challenge with a friend.
While I did this by myself, I was deeply satisfied when I looked at my friends’ reading updates compared to mine. Of course, reading is not about competition, and I encourage everyone to take the time to enjoy their books. But, I did have a slow reading year in 2023, so seeing that 2024 started on the right foot, and that I was even able to do something like read a book a day for seven days, gave me deep satisfaction. If I get on a book high like this again, I would like to try a book a day but with a friend!
(Retrieved From Pinterest)
- Don’t be afraid of DNF’ing.
I’m a true believer that a bad book has as much of an impact on us as a good book. Sometimes a good book will be so good that you find yourself not wanting to read anything else for a while, or end up comparing every book after the one. The same applies to bad books, sometimes a book just doesn’t maintain our attention, or satisfy our taste. DNF that book. If it makes you feel bad, you can always go back to it after, but don’t let it possibly ruin your book-high and send you into a reading slump. I’ve found that reading enough “meh” books will dwindle your motivation to read.
Now, I pride myself on honesty and there’s a secret I’ve been keeping. Obsessions? They’re a sure way to win any challenges. I wasn’t lying when I said at the beginning of this article that I don’t do things halfway. One of the reasons I was able to do something like read for a week almost nonstop was because I had fallen down a dark romance hole that had me consuming one author’s books like nothing. After, I thought I would be safe from any micro-obsessions within books but no, hockey romances and m/m romances came right after. I had a vast world of new tropes and books at my disposal, and I made sure to devour every single one. Therefore (not official) if you ever plan on doing this little week of reading, I suggest you have an obsession with something. Although, not entirely necessary. Obsessions aren’t healthy, from what I hear.
(I’d give you recommendations, but I’m still at odds with my latest obsessions, I dare the world to find my Goodreads though) Have fun reading!