{"id":3985,"date":"2018-06-23T10:25:35","date_gmt":"2018-06-23T04:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fableandi.com\/?p=3985"},"modified":"2020-04-05T10:37:09","modified_gmt":"2020-04-05T05:07:09","slug":"30-books-in-30-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/30-books-in-30-days\/","title":{"rendered":"What I Learnt from Challenging myself to read 30 books in 30 days"},"content":{"rendered":"
The story of taking up such a challenge goes back way beyond in time. To be precise, to a time even before The Book Satchel was born. It was actually a dare that I had accepted three or so years ago but never got around to doing it. (Probably because of my fear of failing). But that day, I felt it didn’t matter if I failed or if I don’t begin on the first of the month with an organised reading list. I just wanted to try it out and read some good books, and that is all that mattered.<\/p>\n
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Week 1. I was super pumped and read seven books. Pleasantly surprised and secretly proud. I might finish this challenge after all.<\/p>\n
Week 2. Zero pages. I regretted taking up the challenge. It turned out to be an exceptionally busy week and I read zero pages. I felt discouraged but decided to go ahead and keep reading. That\u2019s when I received so many messages from the reading community asking me to keep at it. And phew! 30 days later my tally was 32 completely read books! <\/p>\n I read some amazing books over the month, as you can see from the ratings. Here is a quick wrap up of the books I read.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read <\/em><\/strong> : Five Voracious Readers share their tips to tackle reading more than 100 books a year.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Partially read books:<\/p>\n <\/p>\nMy story of taking up a 30 books in 30 days challenge on an impulse and nailing it like a boss. Also check out my reading wrap up and tips to brace yourselves for more reading <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n <\/p>\n – The TBR collapse<\/p>\n The obvious advantage to embarking on a readathon or challenge! I might have made a teeny weeny dent in my TBR pile. (Let\u2019s not talk about how many more books I added to the pile that month.<\/em>)<\/p>\n -Reading what I love<\/p>\n It was refreshing to read my own choice of books. I try to manage between the books gathering dust on my shelves and the review copies that I receive. But often the newer books receive more of my attention. (The hype and the newness does get to me. I am a shallow book worm<\/em>). Since I was very eager to complete this challenge, I decided to read the books that I\u2019ve really wanted to read for a long time instead of books sent for review. It was the best decision ever.<\/p>\n -Challenging myself<\/p>\n I had decided that a reading challenge is never about the numbers (even though this one clearly has a goal of reading 30 books over the month). I wanted to read the books I am eager about, the ones that appeal to me rather than simply finish a book just to complete the challenge. I picked up a few non fiction books that I’d postponed reading for very long even though I knew I might not complete the challenge as I am slow in reading and understanding non fiction books. I read two or three non fiction books over a whole year, so including non fiction books made me feel proud of myself.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read <\/em><\/strong> : My personal reading schedule \u2014 How to read 20 books a month<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1.Short reads<\/p>\n Go for smaller sized books instead of chunky 1000+ pages books.<\/p>\n 2.Choose your genres and mix up genres and formats<\/p>\n Non fiction requires more concentration than novels (atleast for me). However I still read a few non fiction books over the month. Choose the genres that you are enthusiastic about. Mix up your formats with physical books and e-books (maybe audiobooks too). Graphic novels are very refreshing to read for readathons.<\/p>\n 3.Avoid classics<\/p>\n If you regularly read a lot of classics, go for it. But if you read more of newer books over classics, then such time limited challenge might not give you the time for indulging and savouring a classic.<\/p>\n 4.Avoid experimenting<\/p>\n I think this point was the sole reason I finished my challenge. All the books I chose were ones that were highly praised and those that were gracing my TBR pile for very long. I didn\u2019t experiement with new releases (Well, I tried The Idiot by Elif Batuman<\/em> and that didn\u2019t go so well). If you choose books that you are not very eager about or the ones you aren\u2019t sure what to expect, you might get into a slump if they turn out to be bad reads.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Also, there are no rules. These tips worked for me, they might not work for you. Ange (Beyond the Pages<\/a>)<\/span> read classics and modern classics for her 30 books in 30 days challenge; Mia (The Cosy Reader<\/a><\/span>) read huge books over a month. And they were successful. Simon (Stuck in a Book<\/a><\/span>) is currently on a 25 books in 25 days challenge. Madame Bibliophile<\/a><\/span> went on a ‘Novella a day’ challenge in May. So ultimately, it is upto you. Chart out a plan that works for you.<\/p>\n If you are interested in Ange’ s and Mia’s reading tips, check out Reading Tips from 5 Voracious Readers of the Internet<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\nMix up genres and formats for a successful 30 books in 30 days challenge. More tips on the blog to get you started. <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n <\/p>\n 1.I am a mood reader<\/p>\n Swinging reading moods does not work for a challenge as this. In a normal reading month I\u2019d have five (or more) partially read books at the end of the month. But I could not read in that manner since it would affect the challenge adversely.<\/p>\n 2.I love my movie and Youtube binges<\/p>\n Reading is always a priority for me but I do enjoy other recreational activities too. It was impossible to do anything else other than reading.<\/p>\n 3.Some days you really can\u2019t get any reading done<\/p>\n This was the hard truth I realized in the second week of May. Sometimes you just can’t read and that might leave you demotivated.<\/p>\n 4.You can\u2019t choose any book<\/p>\n I badly wanted to read The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar<\/em> <\/a><\/span>but I had to postpone it for a month because of the size. It was an amazing read, so well worth the wait though.<\/p>\n 5.No sudden plans<\/p>\n Just as the mood reader that I am, my plans to roam outside are sudden too. I missed making other plans on impulse this month; I was cooped up with books on the weekends. (It was an unexpected advantage that the summer heat was terrible to venture outside and my friends were away).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Probably never.\u00a0I enjoy a bit more laid back approach to reading. BUT I loved doing the challenge this month! It was so much fun. Moreover I read some amazing books which was a bonus.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nI challenged myself to read 30 books in 30 days and here is what I learnt. Also I read some INCREDIBLE books <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\nI ended up reading 32 books in 30 days, DNFing one. I am thrilled. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could do this. I am over the moon!<\/p>\n It felt good to look at the stats at the end of the month and feel accomplished. It felt good to read such great books back to back and have an amazing reading month. A special shout out to all my wonderful people on Instagram and Twitter who constantly encouraged me. After the second week, I was pretty sure I would not be able to nail the challenge, but the Direct Messages and comments with motivating words really inspired me to read the next two weeks.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\nWrap up of my month of going on a 30 books in 30 days challenge. Here are some excellent books to add to your TBR <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\nWrap up<\/h3>\n
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What I Loved<\/h3>\n
Tips to tackle the challenge<\/h3>\n
The Frustrating bits<\/h3>\n
Next challenge?<\/h3>\n
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY<\/h4>\n