I have had such a wonderful time going from blog to blog reading about resolutions.  There were so many great ones out there that I’m tempted to compile them into a super-duper to do list for myself.  I’m sure the combination of so many wonderful resolutions would create one pretty awesome human being and pretty fantastical blog.  However, I think that it would also drive me absolutely crazy.  I would be reading hundreds of books over the course of the next year while exercising daily and eating better not to mention the fact that I would be posting more frequently in order to review those hundreds of books in a timely manner.  Any of this making you feel completely and utterly exhausted?  You are all incredibly ambitious, but the beginning of the year is definitely the best time to be ambitious.

But after reading several resolutions to read deliberately, I began to wonder, are reading challenges helpful or harmful?  I love to challenge myself so from my very first day of blogging, I started signing up for reading challenges that piqued my interest.  They seemed like a great way to diversify my reading choices.  I have always been ashamed of the fact that I never really delved into the classics, so I signed up for a reading challenge that focused on reading the classics.  I’m incredibly passionate about women’s studies so I signed up for the Women Unbound challenge because it required me to make and read my way through a list of women’s fiction and nonfiction.  These are great ways to delve into a subject or interest area.

The down side is that I never had the discipline or resolve to actually complete a challenge.  In the midst of school, work, and life in general, I would find that the time line for the challenge would near its end and I would have only just started my first of second book.  TBR challenge seemed to be worst for me because I would just get distracted by new books or a reading list for a class.  And the worst part of all is that as I faced one defeat after another, I would feel guilty.

It is the guilt that has led me this year to give up on challenges.  I still love the idea of them and when I come across one that really interests me I might just pick up a book in that genre or subject area, but I have given up on signing up for something that will inevitably lead me to guilt.  I’m still open to trying new things though and a couple bloggers mentioned that I might like read a longs better so I’m going to keep my eye out for one that interests me this year.

What about you, what do you think of challenges?  Do you find them helpful or harmful?  What about read a longs?  Any suggestions for a read a long that I might enjoy?

© 2011, Jennifer Lesnick. All rights reserved.

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