Finally a challenge to read those books that you had every intention of reading when you bought them. . . but have been gathering dust on your bookshelves!
I have moved almost 20 times in my married life. And our collection of books have steadily grown each time. even with all the dejunking that happens before we actually move. MY BOOKS HAVE TO COME WITH ME!
But why? I have 16 bookshelves in my home. and I went through and put all the books I have actually read together. . . It filled 1 and a half bookshelves. I have so much more to read!
Now granted, A bunch of the books are my husband’s. . . And he’s pretty good about reading what he buys. . . Like at least half of the books he gets will be read within the week he buys them. . . And I do have a couple of shelves for my kids. . . So they are not all mine. . . But I have to get control of my book hoarding!
To start off with, I need to decide if I’m ever going to read these books.
And the hard truth is, I will only do it if I make myself read them.
Which is why I am making this challenge!
And I’m hoping that there are other people who need a kick to read their own books as well.
The ONE BOOK YOU OWN A MONTH CHALLENGE
So here is how it works.
Go through you home and pick 12 books to read.
(I already picked and read my first book – The Turquoise Mask – By Phyllis Whitney. I decided that I didn’t love it, and threw it away! Yay! A beautiful extra space has just opened up on my bookshelf for something I will love!
(*Spoiler*, she gets together with her cousin/sister’s husband, while her sister is having an affair with the next door neighbor, while her grandfather tries to kill her like he did her mom… Not my style of book)
I then reread a book by Georgette Heyer (the original Clean Regency Romance writer) Arabella. I love it! But I digress…
I am going to try to do at least one in each genre that I have.
So I’ve split up my books into these sections:
- Mystery
- Fantasy
- Thriller
- Historical Fiction
- Self-Help
- History
- Religious
- Biography
- Classic Literature
- Dickens
- Non-Fiction
- Miscellaneous
These are what I have in my bookcases, split it up with what you have.
Now for the fun part.
Pick the 12 books for the months NOW! No changing later!
I did this really simply. I printed off 12 Calendar BookMarks, and slipped them into the 12 books I was going to read, then I rearranged my books enough to put all 12 in one place. A place that I would see constantly to be reminded of this commitment.
There are 2 more things that are essential for long term goals:
- Accountability
- Reward
For an accountability partner, ideally pick someone who will do this challenge along with you, and then put in your phone calendar when you will be talking to each other about the books you both chose to read. The fun part is that the books will probably be different, and when you come together to talk about what you have read and learned from the books, it will be fun to find what similarities are between the two unknown books!
I am a big proponant of book discussions. There is a quote that says:
“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” – Eleanor Roosevelt.
And too many times when I am around other adults, we talk about all of our frustrations of the day. . . Usually about people and events. . . And yet, we tend not to share our accomplishments, our joys, and even our (book) adventures. But when we find those people who will listen to what you have read, the entire air is charged with excitement and companionship that is hard to beat!
For a reward, you need to pick NOW what you will give yourself. Is it a trip to the bookstore? A night out? Your favorite ice cream and movie? Pick something that makes you happy, and tell it to your accountability partner!
Great for getting kids to read more!
I help teach my children to make reading a priority by encouraging them to have ‘a book a month’ goal that will challenge them.
They also use the 12 bookmarks that I created to help them keep on track.
Yes I made them, and I figured that there would probably be more people out there who would love the idea as much as I did, so I put it up in my Etsy store. You don’t have to buy my bookmarks in order to make the goal of reading one book a month a reality, you can literally tear a piece of paper up and write the months on it, and shove them in books. . . I know I have used all sorts of stuff for bookmarks throughout the year!
These just made me happy, and I hope they make you happy too! (you can find the Calendar Bookmarks Here)
Let me know what books you have currently collecting dust in your house that you are now committed to read this month in the comments!
