2019 Goodreads Challenge Wrap Up

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Today is a big day because I’m officially finished with my 2019 Goodreads Challenge!
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​​My goal for this year was to read 50 books.  In 2018, I read 44 books, so I knew 50 wasn’t a totally outrageous number, but I was still feeling somewhat pressured to make sure I stayed on track.  There were actually two weeks where I was a few weeks behind schedule, but I somehow managed to catch back up!
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​​There are three factors I’m crediting with completing my goal ahead of time:
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  1. ​​ I read more Young Adult books this year.  In the past, I tended to shy away from this genre, thinking that these books aren’t “challenging”enough for an adult reader.  While it’s true that some YA books are shorter than books meant for older readers, there are plenty that are 300 pages plus.  And, even with shorter books, you don’t always need to read to challenge yourself.  I have been having the best time this year re-reading my favorite book series from when I was in middle school.  While these books are on the shorter side and I’m not necessarily learning anything from them, at the end of the day, I read because it’s something I love and I am loving reading old favorites.
  1. ​​Using every spare minute to read.  While I prefer reading from a hard copy of a book while sitting on my couch, reading books on my Kindle app whenever I have a spare moment instead of wasting time on Facebook has really been a game changer.
  1. ​​I committed to stop reading books that I don’t truly enjoy.  While there is always the worry that I’m not giving a book enough of a chance and that it’ll get better if I read just one more chapter, I have tried to make sure that everything I’m reading excites me.  If I’d rather watch TV or play on my phone than read my book, it’s time for me to move on.
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​​My boyfriend keeps joking that now that I’ve met my goal, I can stop reading for the rest of the year, but I’m hoping to get at least a few more books added to this year’s total. While I’m interested to see how many total books I end up reading in 2019, I feel a sense of relief that there’s no more pressure to hit a specific number.
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​​What do you think?  Do you like doing a challenge for a certain number of books per year or are you more of a casual reader?  Tell me in the comments!
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