2016 Reading Challenge

2016 Reading Challenge

I love to read.  To the point that I spent a good portion of my first 40 years staying up late reading books. When I got pregnant I couldn't quite focus enough to read and lost this habit.  I have been working to get it back for a few years now. I started a Pinterest Board two years ago called 2014 Empty Shelf and did a pretty good job of increasing my reading. It definitely reminded me how much I love getting lost in another world. I also spent six months of 2014 commuting 3 hours a day so I became addicted to audible.com. (I mean seriously.  Business books for work?  Bring them on and I will knock out one a week!). But I couldn't maintain the commute and moved to be closer to my work which allowed for much less book time.  (And I wouldn't trade my five minute commute for the world!)  My four-year old son and I still do the three-hour round trip at least three times a week so I finally started using audible for books we both could love, which is a fun way to share these wonderful worlds with him.

A couple of weeks ago I saw the 2016 Reading Challenge by popsugar.com on Facebook and decided I was doing it.  I have a lot of reader friends so I figured I could get a few of us involved.  I started a Facebook Group for it and invited my friends who then invited their friends. We now have 39 people sharing this goal together. It is so fun to see what everyone is reading (and stopping in the first few pages)!  If you finish all the categories you will have read 41 books. I will be happy with finishing half, that would be an inprovement over 2015 (but not 2014) for me. If I finish the challenge I will have bested my 2014 so it is still a stretch goal.  (Side note: thanks to our group there are so many more books being added to my To Be Read file that I will never catch up but that is another joy in and of itself.). 

Whether you have the luxury of an afternoon to get lost in an old fashioned hardback book with a cup of hot tea at your side, a commute long enough for at least a chapter on audible.com (which never loses your place and let's you pick up where you left off across multiple devices), or a few minutes on your lunch break with your Kindle or Nook (I have both apps on my iPad), you can find a few minutes of relaxation with a new adventure at your beck and call. That could be #yourzenfortheday.  

What are you reading this year?