Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!
Today is the first day of Bout of Books! Woo! So for my musing today I’m thinking about my goals for this delightfully laid back read-a-thon and would love to hear about yours.
My primary goal is, to steal Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness‘s great idea, just to read more than usual. For me, this probably means replacing things like watching TV while working out with reading and perhaps cutting back a little on my recent enthusiastic foray into social media (just for the week). To have some more specific goals though, I’m also going to choose a few books I want to try to get read this week:
- finish MWF Seeking BFF (due at the library soon)
- The Sports Gene (new release, egalley)
- The Dashwood Sisters’ Secrets of Love (for Austen in August)
- The Picture of Dorian Gray (for Book to Movie Challenge)
I also want to watch Sense and Sensibility, since I just finished the book.
Do you prefer read-a-thons with specific reading goals and challenges? Or ones where you choose your own goals? If you’re participating in Bout of Books, let me know in the comments and I’ll check out your goals too 🙂
Doing Dewey 
I’m a huge fan of doing read-a-thons and bookish events “my” way. I remind myself: this is a blog. It’s supposed to be fun. It’s an event that you can do as it fits in your life. So I read more than normal and try to focus a little more on blog goals. I think sometimes we forget and get soooo into it (which can be amazing, too!) but we need to do what works for us and our blogs and lives.
I agree completely 🙂 It’s really important that blogging stay fun and I think being relaxed about read-a-thons can help with that. I wish I were still in highschool and could completely devote a week to reading (or, you know, every week), but it’s not feasible now and it would stress me out to try too hard. So read-a-thons that let you set your own goals and have optional participation are things are definitely my favorite.
Honestly, even if they “don’t” let you make your own guidelines, screw it and do it your way. You’re so right as well. This is supposed to be fun, so let’s keep it that way. Sometimes it’s easy to forget. But I always tell myself: unless my blog is paying my bills, I can do it my way and don’t have anyone to answer to blogwise. It’s a hobby.
Good luck! I hope you read lots of great books!
Thanks Kathy! Me too 🙂
I’m terrible with reathons, I never stick to them, my brain just goes ‘wait, you have to read, oh no lady, I won’t be told.’ I have no discipline. Have fun with your bout of books week 🙂 it’ll be interesting to see what you think of Dorian Grey (I couldn’t get through it.)
Haha, yeah, I think I may have avoided that with read-a-thons because I still think of them as optional. When I have a book I have to read for a review and I accidentally leave myself reading it at the last minute, the feeling of having to read the book can easily make me enjoy it less.
I always try to read as much as I can…so I have never quite got the point of read-a thons..lol
That’s great! I would say some days I really do read as much as I’m able, but there are definitely other days when I do some tv watching that I could probably live without 🙂
Steal/borrow away! I get annoyed when there is too much involved with a blog-related project or event, so I just have to keep things simple. Cutting out tv seemed like the easiest way to participate without psyching myself out.
Thanks 🙂 I agree that simple is best. I loved Dewey’s 24 Hour read-a-thon, but the activities every hour were almost too much for me to get any reading done! I’m looking forward to something more relaxed.
It’s been a long time since I’ve done any reading challenges. But I preferred without specific books.
Mine: http://storytreasury.wordpress.com/2013/08/19/does-flying-cars-make-a-book-science-fiction/
I think those are my favorite too 🙂 It’s just more relaxing when you get to set your own goals.
Hallo, Hallo!
(the links didn’t work out — the comment box is acting up!)
I was looking for your Bout sign-up post or Goal post, but until today, I couldn’t find it anywhere on your blog! Oy! I am into the thick of Day One, as I already have a good start-in on my first book: Lark Rise to Candleford! I even started my review of it, and I’ve been journalling my adventures as it happens! To see what I am up too: Declaration, Goals & Motivations, and Day One Reflections!! I adore Jane Austen, as I am participating in Austen in August, as well! 🙂 Sense & Sensibility was given to me by my Mum, alongside the script for Emma Thompson’s version, which is why I decided to skip over that this year, and focus on Pride & Prejudice and the ‘after canons’!! 🙂 I’d love to see you drop by, and I’ll come back lateron as well! Glad to know your really in the Bout!!
Wow, you’re far more prepared than I am! Thanks for linking up to my blog and helping me find some new ones to visit 🙂
i would love to watch Sense and Sensibility too!
I’ve actually seen it before, but never right after reading the book, so I’m interested to see how it compares 🙂
I’m doing Bout of Books and it’s my first time, I probably should have tried more specific goals! Mine this time are pretty much get one or two books read. Hopefully, I’ll read more though! I hope you meet your goals and enjoy your books!
I really only put in specific goals because I felt like I was supposed to. I think just “read more” is probably fine 🙂 I hope you enjoy your books too!
I think i have also read the book several years ago, but somehow I’ve forgotten parts of it. Maybe I have to read Sense & Sensibility again. By the way, The Picture of Dorian Gray is a great choice!
Wonderful! I’ve heard good things about it and looked pretty short, so I’m hoping I can get it read this week 🙂
Good luck! I’ve only participated in one read-a-thon, and definitely enjoyed it more because it was a personal challenge thing where you could create your own goal. I like that, just because it’s a little less pressure and if you want to spend more time doing the activities or socializing, you don’t feel bad. Sometimes there’s just so much going on that it can be hard to sit yourself down and read, haha!
I agree! I already read a lot and don’t have time to read much more, so it’s nice to let the event be mostly about the socializing 🙂
I’m taking a laid back approach to Bout of Books. I’m going to do what I can to read a bit more than usual and to play around with some of the challenges. Laid back = Yay!
On the other hand I love an intense challenge at times too. Dewey’s 24 hour readathon is crazy but it’s my fave 🙂
That’s basically how I’m approaching this one too 🙂 I did really like the Dewey read-a-thon last year, although I felt like I spent more time on the challenges than I did reading. This year I might just accept that the point is to socialize and relax about that one too, since I don’t exactly feel like I have a problem with not reading enough, haha.
I’ll be participating in my first readathon in Oct when I do the Dewey’s 24 hour one — I’m nervous!! (and v excited!)
I’ve done the Dewey’s one once and while it was very busy (so much so that I probably spent more time doing challenges than reading!), I still really enjoyed. Hopefully you’ll have just as much fun as I did 🙂
You know, I’ve never participated in a read-a-thon before! Probably because I’ve never come across one that was taking place at an opportune time for me. But I’d probably want one that was a little more laid back, where I got to choose my own goals. Keep it fun and relaxed, you know.
They can be hard to fit in! This time I just decided to go for it even though I wasn’t expecting to get much extra reading in (although thanks to staying up an hour too late last night, I actually have, haha). But the socializing is a lot of fun, even if you don’t get to read any more than usual 🙂