Thursday, January 6, 2022

Signing up for this reading challenge...

 

So one of my reading goals this year is to read more books from off my own shelves. I have a lot of books that I bought because I was very excited to read them at the time, only then I never did. And they've been sitting on my bookshelf gathering dust ever since. And it's dumb. I own them, I should read them. (Or give them away to make room on my shelves for new books.) Which makes this the perfect reading challenge for me. 

The Backlist Reader Challenge is hosted by Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard, and the goal is to read books this year that you already own and are sitting unread on your TBR shelf...or that happen to already be on your TBR list...in order to reduce your TBR mountain to a more manageable pile. You decide the number of books you plan to read. All the rules (and there aren't many) are laid out at The Bookwyrm's Hoard. I've participated in this challenge before and it's not only easy, but it's a lot of fun.

For my reading challenge goal this year, I'm going to focus on reading the books I already own rather than choosing any books from off my 'Want to Read' list; and I already have a stack of twenty books sitting by my bed that I plan on reading...if I can figure out how to work them in around all those library books I keep checking out. I don't know that I'll review them all, but I hope to at least review the really good ones, and then discard the rest. Wish me luck!

And Happy Reading!


42 comments:

  1. It's quite a big thing this year, reading the backlog. I'll be doing it too but not officially if you know what I mean. Good luck!

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    1. Thanks! I'm going to need luck because I'm addicted to library books, which sometimes makes it very hard to find time to read my own books. ;D

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  2. One thing I've noticed in my reading habits, is that I can be a total magpie -- always after the next shiny new book out there. I like your goals, hoping I'll finish off some of my own TBR backlists too in 2022!

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    1. I totally understand being drawn to that shiny new book out there! Happens to me all the time. :)

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  3. I used to have a ridiculous pile of books that I owned and hadn't read, but I was able to dwindle that pile down in the last few years. I still have some though.

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    1. That's good that you were able to get your unread pile of books down. That's what I'm hoping to do this year. :)

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  4. boy, talk about unwarranted book-buying! there are hundreds of untouched volumes on my shelves... partly the problem is i make plans to read them and then don't because my butterfly interest gene is distracted once again, or i just got them because there was something unusual about them for a brief instance of time. whatever, i need to do something... like, how would i ever read "The Skeptical Chymist" by Robert Boyle published in 1661? still, i'm glad to have it for some oddball reason, lol...

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    1. :D I get distracted by other books, too. All the time. But I'm trying to stay more focused this year.

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  5. I love the idea of this challenge. I have way too many books that I've neglected and am hoping to tackle at least a little portion of my TBR mountain this year. Good luck, Lark! :)

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    1. Thanks, Ashley! You could always join in with this reading challenge and tackle your TBR mountain, too. :D

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  6. Good luck Lark and this year I definitely have to read more from my TBR shelf. As Lex says, I to tend to focuss on the latest book out there and that can be a mistake and also expensive. So thrilled that the Back to the Classics Challenge is on for 2022. Thank you Karen K!

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    1. I'm very excited Karen's doing the Back to the Classics Challenge again this year, too! I need to get my sign up post ready to go. :)

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  7. I should be doing a challenge like this... ;-)

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    1. Got lots of unread books sitting around your house, too? :)

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  8. This is a really great challenge! I should work on my backlist, too. I've signed up for only one challenge (an audio book one) in addition to my Goodreads Challenge but I'm eyeing another. Maybe I should do this one too. Good luck, Lark! :)

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    1. This reading challenge is a fun one. I like it because it's very low pressure. And it does help me read more books from off my own shelves, which is always good. :)

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  9. I hope to informally do this, too. It's a worthy goal, I think.

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    1. :D Always good to get some of those unread books sitting on your shelves finally read.

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  10. Good luck! I am doing something similar on the reading app Litsy where I hope to read 100 books from my shelves this year. It's a tall ask maybe ... however, if it turns out to only be 50 at the end of the year, that will still be a win, I think.

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    1. 50 books read from off your own shelves would definitely be a win! Good luck. :D

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  11. What an excellent idea for a reading challenge! Good luck with it.

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    1. Thank you! I'd really like to get at least 20 TBR books read this year. We'll see if I can do it. :)

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  12. I don't know that my focus will be solely on backlist books, but I do hope to get to more of them. I wish you the best with this challenge!

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    1. My focus will not solely be on backlist books either. I've got a list of classics, nonfiction and library reads I want to read this year. My hope is that this challenge will push me to actually read some of my own books for a change. :)

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  13. Sounds like a fun challenge. I have a pile of books I need to get to also. Best of luck to you!

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    1. Thanks! I don't know why I find it so hard to read books from off my own shelves. Probably because I go to the library too often. ;D

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  14. I've read everything on my shelves, but there are a few that I still need to read... This year's a good time to do it! Thanks for the idea. :)

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  15. I really like this particular challenge. Last year and this year, I've been working on the backlist generated by the authors of my favorite crime series...books usually written before I first discovered the series for myself. Unfortunately, that doesn't often do much good on reducing my TBR (a totally hopeless project I gave up on years ago) because I don't own most of the backlists I'm reading.

    I have a similar problem, though, on my Kindle...a huge electronic TBR there to explore, and that would be perfect for this challenge.

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    1. That would be perfect for this challenge! :D

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  16. Sounds like a great challenge to help you reach your goal. Good luck with it!

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    1. Thanks, Susan! I'm hoping this challenge will push me to actually read some of the books I own along with all the library books I keep checking out. ;D

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  17. I'm trying to refrain from joining a lot of challenges this year but this one is tempting only because I have so many books on my shelves that have been waiting on me to read them! Good luck and hope you have a lot of fun!

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    1. Thanks! I try not to sign up for too many challenges any more either, but this challenge lined up so perfectly with my own reading goal to read the books off my own shelves this year, that I couldn't resist. :)

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  18. I'm not doing an official backlist challenge but I'm definitely trying to read more of the older books I own as a personal goal. Good luck with this challenge!

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    1. Thank you. I'm hoping it helps me make a better effort at reading the books I own this year. I didn't do so well at it last year.

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  19. I too have a lot of books collecting dust sitting unread. Good luck!

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    1. Thank you! If I can just keep from getting distracted by tons of library books I should do okay....but I do have a library addiction. :)

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  20. Did you set a goal as to how many you want to read? I am doing the Mount TBR challenge, and I have read 21 out of my goal of 46. I am trying to hit it early, especially since I keep buying books (I think I need an intervention, LOL).

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    1. Ha! It's hard to stop adding to our TBR lists/piles, isn't it? :D I have a list in my head of about 20 books from off my shelves that I'd like to read this year, and I've managed to read five so far, but I keep getting distracted by library books. Good luck with your Mount TBR Challenge!

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