It has been a busy week. When I first decided my TBR, I planned 4 books that covered all the challenges with a possible additional 3 if I finished them. Alas, I got through my planned four this week and that is all. It is more than I've read in a while though, so I'm still proud. And it gives me an achievable target for next year - 5 books.
I got off to a slow start, picking to read my full length novel first and only finishing it Wednesday morning. Reading The Red Scrolls of Magic reminded me of a time where I read this fast on a regular basis. However, when I finished that last page, I was a little too happy to see that my next book was a simple novella. The panic that had crept up in the first few days that I was not even going to read my 4 books and complete all the challenges subsided and I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel when I finished Blood & Brute & Ginger Root that very same Wednesday evening. So by mid week I was three challenges down: a purple cover, a 5 word title, and a book with a non-human main character.
My other two choices were new for me. First, I signed up for audible and used my very first credit to buy Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone, narrated by Stephen Fry. I don't want to go into too much detail because I plan to do a blog post about my opinion and beginner's experience of an audiobook, but in regards to this challenge, it was very handy to be able to listen while working to work and cooking dinner. The 8 hours of Fry's voice was largely listened to when I couldn't otherwise read. The exception was today, trying to finish off the last hour while I spent a lazy day on the sofa. I'm actually writing this blog whilst watching Harry Potter, so it counts not only towards an author's first book but also a book-movie adaptation.
It wasn't actually until I re-read my Reading Rush TBR blog post before writing this that I never ended up Reading Nora and Kettle, which I planned to hit the 'read a book you meant to read last year' challenge. However, while not planned, Harry Potter actually hits this challenge as well (three birds with one stone) as I've been meaning to read it (probably for a few years now). This might be a cop-out but it still technically counts and that's what I'm going to hold on to because it is way too late now.
That leaves one challenge left: read a book while sitting in the same space.
I chose not to plan this one. Don't get me wrong, I had an idea that I wanted to read a graphic novel (a relatively new genre/format to me and another one I won't go into much detail so I can make it into its own blog post). So after a busy Saturday, I sat on the sofa with Stan and Nan, a graphic novel I picked up from the library last week. I was surprised as to how quickly the time went. I had thoughts about what if I got hungry or needed to use the bathroom but not only was it a short read, it was also an enjoyable one.
So that was my Reading Rush experience. I will definitely be joining in next year; it brings out my competitive side a little. That being said though, I could not imagine reading at this pace on a regular basis. The younger me that did read this fast seems so far away. Also a new concept was planning my week's reading in advance. Usually I have an idea of my tbr pile: books I've just bought or loaned from the library in a pile next to be overflowing bookcase. But before this week, I just looked at the pile and chose what sparked my curiosity at the time. My decision was usually influenced by my mood or what I'd just finished reading.
One thing I have taken away though is the importance of setting reading goals – not strict schedules or anything, but things you definitely want to read before the year is up. That's another blog post I'm halfway through writing. I'm thinking of doing it in the form of a book bingo, so if I don't get through all my goals (i.e., a full house), I can still congratulate myself for getting a line. So, that's three future blog posts to look forward to.
In the meantime, let me know how you found your Reading Rush. What did you learn? What will you do differently next year? What was your favourite book even?
Happy Reading :)
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