Goodreads reading challenge…score!

Well, this year is the first time I actually finished ahead of my goal before December 31! The funny thing is, I have read so many more than 103 books so far this year. The ones that made it to this list were mostly Netgalley and author review request books that I was required to write a review for and document that I’d read the book. But I have read a bunch of new authors in book/print formthis year that I never added to my Goodreads stats. Why you ask? Laziness is the main reason, hee hee.

Do you ever record the number of books you read in a year? A month? Even a week? I bet if you did you’d be surprised at the number you actually finish. I know I was. The first year I took the challenge I read 150 books. Year 2, the same. Last year I put 150 down as my goal and actually managed to finish with 168 in the queue. This year I made my goal a little less because I remembered what a struggle it was last year to finish at the number I did. I’m happy, too, that I lowered it because this year I read only books I wanted to read and not those I was suggested or asked to read.

SO, how many books a year do you manage? Any? Less than 50? More than 100? The number of books pledged on this years Goodreads challenge is: 261,287,175.  That’s over two hundred million books!!!! The average number pledged is 63. MY little writing heart hopes some of those pledges include my own books!.

Heehee

I saw this horrible graphic a few years ago on FB that gave me pause ( Okay, I get it was on Fb and MOST stuff there should give you pause and make you think twice about believing it!)

I started digging because I didn’t feel this could be true. And you know what? It isn’t. Not even close.

This article  debunks the entire premise that people don’t read after they graduate high school. In fact, the article states:

“Recent studies have actually shown that readership is up in the United States, with young people reading more than older  people. A 2014 study by the Pew Research Center found that “millennials are quite similar to their elders when it comes to the amount of book reading they do, but young adults are more likely to have read a book in the past 12 months.”

Now, that’s more like it!

The advent of ereaders, like Kindle and Nook, have made it so much easier for people to take what they are reading anywhere with them. It’s a whole lot easier to cart around a tome like Lord of the Rings on a kindle than it is to lug the print book to and fro. Reading on the subway while on the way to work, or the bus, or even on a plane during vacations and long flights is easier. In fact, every time I fly I see more and more passengers reading books on their phones, devices and even computers.

Can I just tell you how much I simply adore that!

I’m trying to decide how many books to set next year for my goal. 150 was tough. 100 not so much. Should I average it out and say 125? I’ve still got a few weeks to decide.

I seriously think you should consider doing a reading challenge. It’s fun, competitive without being hard ( hey, you’re reading!! Not climbing a mountain in the rain barefoot and naked!) and reading is such a great way to keep your mind and soul refreshed and young.

Keep reading, peeps.

Until next time ~ Peg