I look forward to my reading time. After I tuck the kids in bed, I head for the couch in our bonus room. While my husband watches his daily dose of sports, I lose myself in a novel. Because this is my time for relaxation, I tend to choose books that move quickly and are easy to read; I often shy away from books that take a lot of effort.
In spite of this, I recently challenged myself to broaden my reading horizons. When I entered the blogging world at the beginning of 2007, I noticed that many bloggers named Pride and Prejudice
I am proud to say that I finished the last of the six novels in June. I enjoyed all of the books, and I am thankful that I stuck with my original goal. But, I will admit that I almost quit several times. There were nights when my tired brain could only handle a few pages of early nineteenth century English, and I had to put the books down for a time. By the end of each novel, however, I found myself staying up well past my bedtime to discover the end of the story.
Are you up for a challenge? Perhaps you would like to read a classic novel (if so, be sure to check out the Classics Bookclub). Maybe you want to try a nonfiction title, or you may want to read a certain book from the Bible. It could be that you have a love for books but aren’t taking time to read at all. I encourage you to set a goal and get started. You’ll be so glad you did.
Of course, don’t forget a reward. While the reading is a reward in itself, it never hurts to have a prize at the end of a journey. When I started my challenge, I decided to watch the movies after finishing each novel. Some of the books have more than one movie adaptation, so I had multiple rewards. And, as many of you know, watching Colin Firth play Mr. Darcy is quite a treat!
I hope you will decide to step outside of your comfort zone. If you do, feel free to leave a comment describing your goal. Your idea could encourage someone else to do the same!
Lauren is a wife, a mother of two, and an avid reader. She blogs at Baseballs and Bows.
Becoming a book reviewer pushed me out of my comfort zone. Not that I ever had to read everything I was offered (especially now with all of you to grab books that really do interest you), but if it sounded interesting, I gave it a try, and have been surprised over and over by a new author or style of writing.
I love this idea. I have never read any Austen books either, and this past Fri. I visited my library to find Pride and Prejudice, which they did not have. But that is the next one on my list!
I’ve set it as a goal over the last few years to catch some of the classics I had somehow missed along the way, and Austen’s were on my list. I’m like you — there were times it was a little hard to make my way through some parts of them, but I enjoyed them overall. I actually preferred Persuasion and Mansfield Park above P&P and S&S. But the DVD of S&S with Emma Thompson is one of my all-time favorite films as well as Persuasion with Amanda Root.
I’ve also read Jane Eyre (loved it), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (disappointed in that one — some off-color stuff I would not have expected), The Count of Monte Cristo, Les Miserables (LOVED that one — one of my all time favorite novels). I Just started To Kill a Mockingbird. I also want some day to reread some old favorites like Dickens, Anne of Green Gables, the Little House series and Louisa May Alcott’s books.
So many books, so little time!!
I too love this idea! I keep telling myself that I need to read more of the classics, but haven’t made a full effort yet.
I too like to shy away from books that look like they would require a lot of my attention. I guess that’s a good sign that I need to challenge myself!
Good for you! The Pride and Prejudice movie w/ Colin Firth is my FAVE! I actually have it on hold at the library right now. Just need to go pick it up. I haven’t actually read any of Jane Austen’s books either! Not even Pride and Prejudice! My husband introduced me to the movie but that was as far as I got. You’d think after loving it so much I would’ve read more of her work. Perhaps I shall challenge myself with the same challenge you had. I do own the book “Emma”. Got it at a garage sale for .25, so at least I could go at my own pace! Thank you for the inspiration!
Picked up my copy from the library last night & will start reading it today.
I’ve actually started – unwittingly, as it turns out – to challenge my reading self too. I’ve set up a system where I read as many books as I can wade through from a different genre each month. (Ex. August = historical fiction; September = sci-fi/speculative; etc.)
I started this in July with “Dracula” by Stoker and “Guards! Guards!” by Pratchett, and am continuing by reading through some of L’Amour’s westerns, “The Scarlet Pimpernel” by Orczy, and “The Robe” by Douglas. It’s been great fun, and challenging at the same time, because I’m not a fast reader AT ALL, plus there are certain genres I wouldn’t normally read, like sci-fi or comedy/satire. Now I have to, and I’m discovering that deciding on which books to read for that month is addicting! (My list changes all the time! 😀 )
(You can see my monthly genre list and my TBR list on my blog, if you’d like. 🙂 )