Friday, September 9, 2016

Book Blogger Hop No. 66: Yearly Reading Goals



Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,
hosted by Billy @


For more information, and 
to find out the topic of next week's question, click HERE.


What to Do

1.) Post on your blog answering this week's
question:

 When you set a yearly reading goal,
do you set it high to force
yourself to meet that goal, or
do you keep it low and normally go
over that goal anyway?

(submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews)

2.)  Enter the link to your post in the
Linky list on Billy's blog.

3.)  Visit other blogs on the list and
comment on their posts. 

4.)  Be sure to find out next week's
question when you visit
Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!





My Answer

Wait a second.... A YEARLY READING GOAL? What's that? I've never heard of such an animal! I wouldn't recognize one if it came right up to me and sneezed in my face! Lol.

Yeah, um, er.....guess I don't feel comfortable about answering this question, because, um, er....hmmmmm....I just DON'T set yearly reading goals. Nope. I've never done that, either, not in my whole entire life! 

First of all, I'm a pretty slow reader. I admire and envy folks who can zip through 5 or 6 (or more) books a week! I don't think I'll EVER be able to do that. You see, my problem is that I PRONOUNCE words in my head as I read. I don't know where this habit came from, but there it is..... I've tried to get rid of it, but I guess I'm just paranoid about not being able to absorb the book well if I stop doing this. However, I'm not entirely sure I want to. The thing is, there's an inherent beauty to language that I can't feel if I don't sound out the words I'm reading silently to myself. That's probably another reason I haven't been able to rid myself of this habit. My subconscious mind must love it!

I also feel that, as I sound the words out in my head, I am able to actually imagine the scene before me more vividly, in the case of fiction. And it's very important for me to be able to do this. It helps me tremendously in facilitating total immersion in a story. In the case of nonfiction (which I review on my other blog), it helps as well, but here it's comprehension and analysis that I'm after. It depends on the book, of course; less profound books will take me less time to finish reading, while more profound ones will take longer, simply because I need time to ponder what I'm reading.

Another reason I don't set myself a yearly goal is that I'm what's known as "a mood reader". I will frequently pick up a book I'm in the mood to read, even though I've already started another one. Alas, there have been times when I've totally abandoned books right in the middle, just because other books have enticed me away! This can happen, for instance, if something comes up in "the real world" for which I need a solution, or if my mind has come across some interesting topic, and I suddenly want to find out more about it. 

Perhaps the most important reason of all, and the one underlying the other two, is that I'm only organized (relatively speaking) when I have to be -- such as at work, for instance. I do try to keep my work papers in order. When it comes to my personal life, though, I'm totally a free spirit. I dislike nitpicky rules, or schedules of any sort. Setting reading goals sounds too much like organizing, like DISCIPLINE, and that's not a word I'm fond of. Lol. Besides, with my ever changing moods, I don't think I'd EVER be able to stick to any type of reading goal. If I can't stick with a diet, I know I won't be able to stick with a reading goal!

I've also attempted to complete reading challenges, and have failed to achieve my goals for any of them so far....

So, dear readers, the answer in a nutshell -- after all this rambling -- is "I don't set yearly reading goals." Would I be able to set monthly ones instead, you might be wondering? Of course not! Whatever gave you THAT idea?!  :)

HAPPY FRIDAY to all, and to all a GREAT WEEKEND!!!!  

   

What are your thoughts on
this topic?
Please leave a comment,
and I'll go check out your post!





12 comments:

  1. Great post Maria.

    I feel the same way about goals and books read in a year. I also seem to read so slowly. It is sometimes a source of frustration for me. I cannot imagine reading under the pressure of goals!

    As for your way of reading, I think that it might be better then what some others to. Good writing is a wondrous thing. One needs to immerse themselves in good writing in order to get the most out of it. I think that quality over quantity is more important when it comes to reading.

    I hope that you and your family have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, Brian!

      Thanks for the good word!! :)

      I'm glad you agree about reading goals! For us folks who read slowly, it really doesn't make sense to have them. Besides, as I stated in the post, some books do take longer to read than others, so there's really no point to setting goals, as one can never be sure when they will be met.

      As for quality over quantity, you and I again agree, and that's great!! Yes, indeed, as you so aptly put it, "good writing is a wondrous thing"! This should be of paramount importance to readers, no matter what genre is being read. And I do think that pronouncing words in my head as I read makes me more aware of the musicality of the language being used by an author. As I stated in the post, doing this also helps me to get totally immersed in the story. (Besides, I can't help doing it anyway, lol.)

      I hope you and your family have a great weekend, too!!

      Thanks so much for the awesome comment!! :)

      Delete
  2. yeah same here, slow reader especially for ebooks. Sometimes it takes 3-5 weeks to read the book LOL but when it's so good, I can read in 1-2 hrs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Kaori!

      I sympathize with you! It takes me at least one week to read one book, if that book has about 300 to 400 pages. I could NEVER read that many pages in 1 to 2 hours! Lol. The only way I could read a book in such a short time period is if it were way shorter than, say, 200 pages, and it would have to be TOTALLY AWESOME for that to happen!

      Although reading slowly really allows me to SAVOR a book, it does frustrate me sometimes, as I have SO MANY books I need to get under my belt!! Sometimes I wonder if I will EVER get them all read.... :(

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting!! :)

      Delete
  3. Hi Maria, love your paragraphs on the pronunciation of words and creating vivid images through language. That is sooo great! I can speed read, but don't always want to and lately it is none existent. If I manage 5 books A MONTH at the moment, I am happy. I do set a reading goal, but just for fun. I have decided however, to never again set reading challenges for specific books. Because just like you, I don't stick to them! Hope you will have a good weekend! Here's my Friday Meets: http://marelithalkink.blogspot.co.za/2016/09/friday-meets-09-september-2011.html

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    Replies
    1. Hi, Mareli!

      Thanks so much for the compliment!! :)

      It's SO WONDERFUL that you can speed read, yet sometimes choose not to use that skill. It is indeed important to really enjoy a book, and reading slowly allows you to do that. Still, I do wish I could read a little faster....lol.

      You can read five books a month?! I can't even read that many! At the most, I can only read THREE. And that's if none of the three are too long, either. If they are.....then it will take me longer to get them all read. But it seems that my average is around two or three a month. That's not many books a year.... :(

      I'm pretty much unable to deal with reading challenges, too. I'm currently participating in one, but will probably stop doing so, as I'm WAY behind on it! Besides, the blogging does take up quite a bit of my time....

      Hope you and your family have a great weekend, too! Thanks so much for the awesome comment!! :)

      Delete
  4. LOL on your answer. You always have such wonderful answers.

    I am a slow reader and set a LOW challenge. I don't like stress about something I love to do. It takes me at least a week to read a book.

    I participate in the Goodreads Challenge just to keep track of what I am reading.

    ENJOY your weekend.

    Happy Hopping!!

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Blog Hop Answer

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Elizabeth!

      I'm so glad you enjoyed my answer! I like to write funny answers sometimes, especially if they're a little self-deprecating. Lol. Thanks so much for the compliment, by the way!! :)

      It takes me at least a week -- and frequently longer -- to read a book, and that's if it's not too long. And you put it SO well: "I don't like stress about something I love to do." EXACTLY!! That's PRECISELY how I feel!!

      I am currently participating in the 2016 TBR Challenge, run by Evie @ Bookish Lifestyle blog. However, I'm WAY behind on it. I set a goal of "only" eleven books to read, and I've only read four....lYes, other, equally interesting books, have "intervened"! Lol.

      Hope you and your family enjoy the weekend, as well! Happy Hopping to you, too!!

      Thanks so much for the lovely comment!! :)

      Delete
  5. What a great argument you make for not setting reading goals! I can definitely understand why you don't. We each get our inspiration and fun in different ways. While I do like to take on reading challenges now and then, my success rate is probably about 75% or so (a totally unscientific guess, by the way). I hate setting numeric goals when it comes to my reading, but admit I have done so with Goodreads the past couple of years just for the fun of it. I always set my goals on the low to reasonable side because I don't want it to really be a challenge at all. I prefer not to add that particular stressor to my reading life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Wendy!

      For me, setting yearly reading goals just doesn't work....perhaps if I read faster.... But, as I explained in the post, I really don't like any sort of pressure where reading is concerned. In fact, I'm dropping out of that reading challenge I'm currently "participating" in. Lol. The irony is that the blogger hosting this challenge had not been updating it. She posted that she had "blogger burnout" for a while. And I can definitely relate to that, by the way. Anyhow, I've lost interest, so I'm dropping out.

      As for the Goodreads challenge, I've never done it. Needless to say, I never will, lol. It's good that you keep your numbers reasonably low! I agree -- you don't need to be stressed out where reading is concerned. That's the way I feel myself!

      Thanks for leaving such a nice comment!! Hope you and your family are having a lovely Sunday!! :)

      Delete
  6. nice post thank you for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, there! You're very welcome! Thanks for commenting!! :)

      Delete

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