In fact, my Goodreads account helpfully informs me of how much of a failure I am with this challenge as you can see below:
I could try to make excuses about the fact that I've been so busy trying to balance work, going to the gym, family time, Sam time etc etc but it would all be a load of tosh. I simply have not put aside enough time in the past few months to read which makes me incredibly sad as reading was always my way to unwind and relax.
I always find time to watch my vlog subscriptions and read my favourite blogs, I could tell you everything you need to know on twitter (the dress is white and gold FYI) and my Facebook knowledge is top notch because its much easier to get that instant gratification of reading and watching such things on social media than it is to shut off from the world for a little bit and dedicate time to get lost in a book.
There are hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of articles written on the internet about how to fit more reading into your daily routine, some of the examples that I've read include; reading whilst at the gym, whilst cooking, whilst waiting for the kettle to boil, reading 50 pages before your breakfast or 100 pages in your hour lunch break and it all just seemed a little wrong. It made it seem like reading was a chore, like it was an obligation, something that should be done rather than something that was purely for entertainment.
I personally try to be as fully immersed into something as I possibly can be at the time and therefore rushing in 50 pages before you've even had your morning brew is just a bit off for me. For example, if I'm out at a restaurant having dinner then I am fully at that dinner, I'm having a conversation, I'm concentrating on the food I'm eating, I'm checking out what's going on around me and my phone is fully away in my pocket. If I'm at the gym, I'm listening to music, I'm concentrating on my breathing and usually focusing on how much pain my muscles are in but I'm fully there experiencing that workout. The same goes for reading. I don't read out of obligation, I read because I can escape into another world for a little while, I read with no other distractions apart from a hot cup of tea and maybe a few words from my girlfriend every so often to check that I'm still conscious. For me reading at the gym solves nothing...I'm not reading the story properly and if I can read a book at all it means that I'm not working out hard enough.
This reading challenge was supposed to be a bit of fun and I fully intend to carry on with aiming for 50 books, I just need to put aside more time for it...and maybe choose really short books for a little while.
Hello and welcome to This Ruth Is On Fire, a UK blog which is a haven for random thoughts and sarcastic observations.
I'm also into books, clothes and visiting places too.
