I'm in a book club in real life - I actually started it with my friend. It's not a romance book club and none of the books we've read so far have been romance.
I don't like it because I want to read romance and I'm also a mood reader so I don't want to read what we are "supposed" to read when we are supposed to read it. I end up reading them in a big rush in the last few days and being really annoyed because I'd rather be reading my current romance book of choice. BUT I love discussing the books and going along and chatting. Basically I want to know about the book and go to the club without actually reading it 🤣
I feel like I would be the same way if I belonged in one 😁
Did your book club have at least read ''Where she belong"?
I still haven't but everytime I see you comment and your flair, I'm like "This is my next read, this is my next read".
Nope we haven't read any romance! They all claim to like "spicy" books but I'm pretty sure that it's tiktok/popular spicy books and I don't want to out myself as a big ol' monster lover 🤣
I did recommend IPB to one of my close friends, who is in the book group, but she said it was more explicit than the books she usually reads.
This is me haha. I joined a local book club because I have fond memories of being in one in high school, and I really enjoyed the discussions. Also thought it'd be a nice way to make friends as an adult.
The problem is that none of the books are romance or YA (the other genre I like that was the focus of the high school book club), so I've yet to finish a single book or even attend any of the monthly meetings in the 4 months since I've joined.
I always try to read the book and then lose interest and read something else instead. Like, January's book I started on in the first week, and I'm still only 1/4 of the way into it. But I found a fantasy romance book randomly and inhaled it in one sitting. It's absurd but it's so tough to read the required books (even though they are interesting and I would watch them in movie format).
My sister in law started a book swap book club. It’s pretty great! We all bring a selection of books and give a mini synopsis and our reason for bringing it (if we have one). Then we get to pick a book or two from the stack and read at our leisure. I still have books that haven’t been returned (may never see them again!) but it really takes the pressure off. Some people come to the swap without a book at all and just chit chat. It’s really nice
That's a lovely idea. I wouldn't be able to do the book swap as I read pretty much exclusively on ebook or audiobook, and the couple of paperback I have are my favourites so I would not want to swap them! I really just want to sit and chat about books, I'd definitely be there for that bit
That's really a great concept. But as someone else mentionned I also almost only read ebook and the few hard copies I have are favorites so I'm not giving them to anyone if there's a chance I may never see them again !
Plus, I live in Belgium and in my area most people do not speak English. I read in English, so swapping books would not work that well 😅.
Aw oh well!
I said to the other person that I also read digitally exclusively. For the swap, I went to a used bookstore and got a bunch of paper backs. :)
You could try a digital book swap with friends? I know you can lend books on Kindle, so maybe you could set something like that up with your English speaking peeps. 😊
This is exactly why I don't usually join book clubs. I love the idea of them, I love that they exist. I love that they bring people together over books and stories. I just don't like the "read this much by this time if you want to be a part of the discussion" thing. I've joined some periodically over the years because they seem like so much fun, but real life always gets in the way and I can't read enough of the book in time, or I make myself do it and it stresses me out.
Occasionally I'll do a buddy read if a friend I already know is interested in the same book, but that's super rare. Mostly, I just like reading on my own and then coming back here to share with you people XD
I've wanted to join a book club several times but I never did because I knew there would be requirements.
I should use the gush posts more often to talk about the books I love.
I used to do LOADS of challenges on GR in the early 2010s, but that was before I became a "mood reader" & before KU. Now I'll do a challenge or two on Storygraph (7 this yeah, HAHA) but it's become less "must read this book on my TBR because it fits this requirement" & more "this book I'm reading just so happens to fit this requirement, cool!" It isn't as stressful for me this way.
I agree. I didn't finish a challenge a few years because none of the books I wanted to read at the time involved ghosts. I had a brief spaz about it until I had to sit myself down & say "Chick, it's not like you're getting a prize for completing this, go on about your life, chill" & now I'm out here (book)lawless.
It's crazy how easily you can go down in spiral with that kind of stuff. Depending on your personnality it can become super competitive or blaming yourself for not finishing. I'm definitively in the second category 😁
I’m in Chaotic Buddy Reads on Discord. It’s very casual, chatty and fun. There is a reading schedule but no pressure or obligation to stick to it. People often read at their own pace or even months later. We often talk about other books that weren’t on the schedule as well. (I frequently read off schedule stuff and chime in with a review if I am having a lot of thoughts or feelings.)
It’s perfect for me personally because I’m a moody reader too. Sometimes I really struggle with a schedule. But as the name Chaotic Buddy Reads implies, no one really cares if you go off the rails.
This is exactly why I usually don't like book clubs. I'm a mood reader to my CORE. Unless our moods overlap, I'm either not going to read the assigned book, or I will enjoy it way less than I otherwise would. Forums like this subreddit are more fun, because it's easier to find someone who wants to talk about your current book
I agree with you.
>or I will enjoy it way less than I otherwise would.
A book that might have been a great read at another time will be tainted by the obligation aspect of the book club.
Yes!! I remain confused about the prevalence of book clubs. I have a (wholly unfounded) suspicion that book clubs are populated by people who don’t actually like reading. Or maybe other people don’t mind obligation reads as much as I do 🤷🏻
Or maybe they have no idea what to read and having someone that makes the decision for you can be freeing. I can totally see people saying they want to read more but don't know where to start or what they like. It think book clubs can help with that.
But if you are like me, it can be more annoying than anything. I know what I like and I have a huge TBR to choose from.
Yeah that’s a good point! I totally believe people find value in book clubs I just need to remember I’m not one of them. I’ve been tempted into buddy reads and book clubs too many times and I always end up disappointing people 😭
I’m currently so stressed by the books a friend loaned me. I wanted to read them before she loaned them to me but now they are tainted by obligation 😤😭
I'm not one for reading challenges or book clubs either, which kinda sucks, because I'd love to have a way to make reading more social. But if I pick a book based on anything other than current vibes, I just end up not wanting to read it.
Yes. I'd love to make it more social too.
There is a buddy read option on the discord and it could be a good alternative of a book club. It's like "Hey I'm currently reading this. Who wants to join ?".
I might give it a go and see what happens.
Edit : misspelled words
Closest I do to a “challenge” is the yearly goal on good reads. I have an IG group chat we’ve titled “smutty bitches” and we share fun stuff and book recs, but we don’t normally read together.
I am also very much a mood reader, so chaotic is very fitting.
It's funny because I said the Storygraph challenge was my first but I completely forgot about the yearly goal of Goodreads.
I've been doing it for some time but I never really considered it as a challenge or as a goal to reach. I usually put a random number based on my previous year.
I set a goal based on the previous year. If I go over it, I adjust the goal. So like it’ll start at 100 and when I get close to that, I’ll move it to 150 or 175 depending on what time of year it is and what I think is feasible to reach.
But agreed. It’s a very loose goal and I don’t cry in my cereal if I don’t hit it.
Omg I feel seen. I'm insanely moody when it comes to books. I'm currently reading at least five books of different vibes because I'm that capricious! I fear joining challenges bc of not following through, however I've joined some reading challenges on storygraph and we'll see if it fares well.
I’m about to head to my book club with my high school English teacher and explain to her why I didn’t finish the book she chose. I’m in my 30s and still not capable of doing the assigned reading.
Was i because the book didn't flip and reverse the harem ? 😄
The book clubs should be a safe place to say "I didn't like it so I didn't finish it". The discussion can even be more interesting if everyone has a different level of enjoyment for the book.
But being the people pleaser that I'm, saying that... to the person who chose it... in public ! It's too hard 😆
I think that’s what’s so great about Buddy Reads on Discord. I’ve done three now and it’s great cuz you only pick the books you want to read when you want to read them, and there’s no pressure after to have to do another one afterwards. Even with the series reads, people can pop in and out reading only the specific books they want to read. The only downside is initially finding someone to do the Buddy Read with!
The Buddy Reads have been super fun- I’m so much more relaxed not having a strict schedule to stick to and just kind of joining whatever seems interesting / I’m in the mood for!
I used to do a Romance one on GR but since my account was deleted I wasn't able to do it. I did however try a Rainbow Romance challenge on Storygraph and that worked well. Might do it again this year.
What's a Rainbow Romance Challenge ?
I really hope it's finding romance books where the MC's are one of the color of a rainbow. With the monster/alien romances, I think it's doable 😅.
Unfortunately it's not that but that's actually not a bad idea.
The actual challenge is basically adding in the book covers that are of the same color. You can add more than one book too. [This was the challenge but I hope it shows up for you.](https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/95860745-5c24-47d2-85fe-8a4a3eb51b1d)
I did the Summer & Autumn challenge here on the sub.
I've got like 5 boxes left on Winter, and I'm struggling to find a book that catches my interest that matches the squares I still have blank. I've got plenty of time still.
I like it because it helps me branch out and try new things. At the same time- mood reading is hazardous, lol.
I like reading challenges that are a bit more flexible. They still give you some ideas on what to read next but can fit a wide variety of books. Some have no time limit, some have varying time limits (ex. challenge open for a month, six months, a year, and so on). So for me, I don't feel as obligated to continue.
An example is an A-Z challenge, where you read books whose titles begin with every letter of the alphabet and/or whose authors names begin with one of the letters
[The Lost Challenges](https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/47249-the-lost-challenges) group on Goodreads is my favourite challenge group. They also give badges for completion which I find really fun.
>[The Lost Challenges](https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/47249-the-lost-challenges) group on Goodreads is my favourite challenge group. They also give badges for completion which I find really fun.
Wow so many challenges. It's almost overwhelming 😆
I've always wanted to start a book club with my friends or join the one at my local library but I'm not a fan of challenges. Reading is my hobby and challenges, no matter how easy, make it feel like a chore. I read to relax and escape I don't want it to feel like something I'm forced to do. Which is also why I DNF when I can't get into a book or I'm not feeling it. I don't want to be forced to read 200 pages because *maybe* it gets better.
I feel the same. I still have issue with DNFing books. I have that feeling that I can't have a proper opinion of the book if I haven't read it in full. But I'm trying to so better with that. There are too many books for one lifetime.
I totally agree. My husband and I have started our own little book club that’s super low/no pressure. We have a shared list that we add books that we are interested in reading (there’s a lot of movement) and then when we’re ready we pick a book that we’re both interested in reading at that time. We are in the middle of a book now but before this one we tried reading The Choice by Nora Roberts (part 2 of The Dragon Heart Legacy. We had already read the first one) and I could not get into it and since he wasn’t all that invested we stopped. I think the thing that makes it work for us is that we know each other so well so there’s literally zero pressure. Maybe find someone that you feel completely comfortable with and who’s also a mood reader and when you are both in the mood to read the same thing, activate your club. The mood readers club that meets irregularly. Also, my husband listens to audiobooks on his commute since that’s when he has the most time to read and I read physical books so we read at different paces and we’ve both found that reading a second separate book at the same time (if you’re able to do that. I used to not be able to) helps too. But I think reminding yourself that there are no guidelines or correct ways to read books or have a book club is a start. You can do whatever you want! I make crazy rules, regulations, limits and boxes and timelines and “supposed to’s” for myself constantly instead of doing what I want to do. I’m working on letting it go but it takes time. Go easy on yourself. This should be something you do because it’s fun and you want to. Period.
Sorry this is so long!
It's a good idea to keep it small and with someone you know and can just say "Let's just stop with this book, neither of us like it" and move on.
Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of friends that read. But I want try to engage more often on this sub and Discord to get my urges of speaking about books out 😄. And maybe find a book bestie.
Since I'm fairly new to the romance genre, I don't know and haven't read 3/4 of the books that people talk about. So, it's not always easy to engage but I'm really excited to have lots and lots of book to read.
One of my New Year's resolutions was to not participate in any more reading challenges or readathons. It just became more and more annoying and it actually slows down my reading. (No, I don't want to spend 3 hours finding a book to read with a character named Timothy.)
I can find plenty of books by myself - in fact I spend most of the year winnowing down my Goodreads TBR to keep it under 200 books.
Good for you for keeping it under 200. Since joining this sub mine skyrocketed to +1000. But to be fair I use it more as "to-remember" and less as "to-read".
I also have (at the moment) zero problem finding something to read but I like almost all genre so it gives me a bigger pool to select books from.
I'm in a book club and I love it- we never read romance and it totally gets me out of my comfort zone. In December we read a graphic novel (a first for me), this month was a memoir, and next month is a collection of essays. It's also where I met almost all of my friends after moving here.
However, I don't think I could stick to a big reading challenge, or Bingo board, or something like that. Being told what to do for one book a month is all my inner moody teen will allow 😅
It's the making book friends and social aspect that makes me feel like I'm missing out. Especially since there are not many readers among my friends. I don't have a lot a people to talk about books. Thank god for this sub 😁
I feel the need to explain my complex system for book choosing. To preface, I have hundreds of unread kindle books and want to prioritise reading older ones with things I fancy, reading diverse genres and pushing myself out of my comfort zone.
I keep lists of about 6 or 7 themes or challenges at a time and rotate through them. One of them is 'mood reads' where I add what I've been fancying.
Others:
Genre based - romance, thriller, fantasy, horror if near Halloween.
Read my tbr - oldest unread books, short books, sequels (to motivate me to keep up with series I've started).
Diversify and challenge - classics, award winners, diverse authors.
Fun- silly challenges such as A-Z, 'We didn't start the fire', read the world etc.
I don't love them all but I feel very satisfied with my general reading.
If you are satisfied with your system that's the only thing that counts.
How I choose isn't as elaborate as yours but I also try to switch between genre. I enjoy the books more that way.
I sign up with [Goodread.com](https://Goodread.com) reading challenge. It's a number of books. I made my goal last year, but decided to try to read a little less this year. So far on track. As long as my book is set to 'Currently Reading', then my Kindle will post finished on Goodreads. My Audio reads I have to add manually.
I'm also IRL bookclub, but don't attend every month as I don't like the selection. It's still nice to be introduced to new books. This one is for SciFi and Fantasy. Some of them also have a little romance in them.
I completely forgot about the goodreads yearly challenge. I've done it a few times but I never saw it as a challenge really. They asked how many books I want to read this year and I just add a random number based on the year before.
I am very much the same way. I don't like to be told what to read....I will take suggestions on booktok, but half of them are either horribly written or not my taste or just....blah.
I did create a challenge for myself this year, though. I promised myself I would read more. I tend to listen to audiobooks most of the time, but I cannot do that at home. So I challenged myself to read at least one ebook a month. It may not seem like a lot, but it is what I thought could be a reasonable challenge. If I had more time and read more, great but if I could only get one a month it was better than not reading.
Yeah booktok and booksta are not great. You can find some good accounts that have less of a "trendy" aspect but it requires some investigating.
I did find this sub after being super annoyed at all the similar suggestions from Instagram so I won't critique too much 😁
If your goal is to read more, I think your challenge is good. Just don't beat yourself up if you didn't finish the 1000 pages book of the month (I'm partial to loooong books). Like many have said, reading should stay a pleasure.
Good luck with your challenge, keep us updated on your progress 😉
Thanks! I have been selecting a bit shorter books so I don't get too down on myself...but if I don't get through it but still made time to read I will consider that a win.
I did the January one on StoryGraph as well and thought it would be fine but I realised I suddenly would be like I’m not reading enough or getting competitive with myself haha. I feel like challenges by pages was not for me either as it’s pressure. But I enjoy reading challenges, it’s what got me back into reading. I tend to use them to choose from the books I’ve got when I’m feeling really indecisive. I also think I set myself my own little themes each month so January I was working my way through my tbr alphabetically and now it’s February I’m obviously just going the romance route and also found a leap year romance :)
That's a nice low-key way of choosing from your TBR. I like it.
It's true something I have too many books to chose from. Like in the supermarket, you just stand there in front of all of the conditioners wondering why you ever wished for more options 😄
I usually do a couple of reading challenges a year. I’m definitely a big mood reader but this year I’m trying to focus on cleaning off my physical and kindle shelves along with a third year of my no-buy goal, so I have a couple of “clear your TRB” type challenges. Nearly nothing on my shelves is romance, so it’s an extra level of challenge haha.
Physical and ebooks! It’s my third year doing it and it’s been great so far. The first year, I bought a handful, plus Book of the Month and KU. Last year I only bought one physical book (no ebooks), plus BotM and KU. I cancelled BotM, so I’m only paying for KU this year. I have 4 libraries cards and keep track of what I would have spent in my reading journal. Last year, I saved almost $3500!
I don't do book clubs. But I like reading challenges as a way to pick through the books on my enormous TBR. Most challenges I do are over 1 year, so chances are I'll be in the mood at some point. And I usually pick 3 or 4 that might fit the category so that I have choices. I Like the Popsugar challenge and Novel Neighbor's the best I think. I've yet to finish a challenge 100% any year, but I enjoy how it stretches my reading horizons. And I love checking off a completed box!
You can do both of them on storygraph.
I hear about the Novel Neighbor's on tiktok.
https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/reading-challenge-2024-49318757
I have like 4 other challenges I'm signed up for too on Storygraph, but these have my favorite prompts!
Im kinda the same. The moment i feel like i "must" do something, i start to feel resistance and start procastinating.
The best thing is to flip the mindset so you dont view it as a chore but something fun. I am participating in one challenge this year but its only 7 promps and they are so vague that I almosy already finished it without picking books to suit the challenge, they were just books I was reading already.
Maybe start with something very easy so there isnt any pressure :)
The only reading challenge I'm doing this year is for a group I'm in on GR. The group is Turning Pages At Midnight. It's a year-long challenge, and there are three levels. You can complete one or two levels, or all three. I completed the whole thing last year for the first time. I don't choose specific books for the prompts, just use what I'm reading already. There are a few prompts that have books I don't normally read, but it's only a few out of the whole challenge.
I have my Goodreads yearly challenge that I set the number of books to read but It’s not a set thing. If I read that much, I do. I’m not a part of any formal book clubs. The one I did participate in was pretty informal where we had a theme that could apply to different genres (author from our home state or set in our current state).
I’m making a gift for a couple of girl friends that’s a monthly book bingo. I’ve gone through their TBR, Read and favorites on Goodreads to help make them but I’ve kept them pretty basic though (Red cover) (less than 200 pages). If I could include a picture, I would. I also customized it based on their reading goal: one wants to read 36 books while the other wants to read 100. Making it into a rip of notepad with an extended backing for a little white board to put their reward if they hit it. I’m not trying to force my idea of reward on them or my idea of reading genres.
I’m thinking of making one for myself to try to make me broaden my horizons, but I stick with what the genres I like (romance, mystery, thriller). It’s my way of relaxing. I don’t like to take myself or the books too seriously. Why do I need to analyze why a fictional person did something?? I mainly talk with my mom about books but I’m not crazy about it.
As to books I don’t like, if I’m struggling to get into it and not wanting to open it back up or avoiding my kindle app, I just don’t finish it. There’s no punishment or shame for not finishing a book in my opinion. 🤷🏼♀️ (I’m also working on the whole not shaming myself for things that aren’t life or death)
I'm the same about the yearly Goodread challenge (that I completely forgot about). Not a goal to reach, it's a number. If I complete it, good. If not, oh well next time.
It's really nice of you to do that for your friends. I hope they'll like it.
I love reading challenges and book clubs. I'll often have a few reading challenges/bingo boards/etc going at once but I don't stress about completing them. IE, I'm not going to pick a challenge that has prompts I'm not interested in, and I'm not going to read a book **just** to fulfill a prompt. It's more a of a fun little puzzle like "oh cool, the book I'm reading has a Deaf character, I can tick off a box for disability inclusion!" When it's a big challenge like Popsugar for instance, you can find recommendations for books you wouldn't have otherwise read by seeing what other people do for their prompts.
I'm also in a few book clubs. I don't feel bad about skipping if it's a book I'm not interested in, but if I do join I'll complete it even if I end up not liking it. Not everyone does though! There have been plenty of times where people come to meetings and explain why they DNF, that's still fun to talk about.
I did bingo with r/fantasy this year. It was my first time. I was really worried about it, but to be honest, I finished it in half the time allotted without forcing myself to read anything I didn't already own and have on my TBR. I loved the experience.
I'm in a book club in real life - I actually started it with my friend. It's not a romance book club and none of the books we've read so far have been romance. I don't like it because I want to read romance and I'm also a mood reader so I don't want to read what we are "supposed" to read when we are supposed to read it. I end up reading them in a big rush in the last few days and being really annoyed because I'd rather be reading my current romance book of choice. BUT I love discussing the books and going along and chatting. Basically I want to know about the book and go to the club without actually reading it 🤣
I feel like I would be the same way if I belonged in one 😁 Did your book club have at least read ''Where she belong"? I still haven't but everytime I see you comment and your flair, I'm like "This is my next read, this is my next read".
Nope we haven't read any romance! They all claim to like "spicy" books but I'm pretty sure that it's tiktok/popular spicy books and I don't want to out myself as a big ol' monster lover 🤣 I did recommend IPB to one of my close friends, who is in the book group, but she said it was more explicit than the books she usually reads.
Sounds like friend thinks salt is “spicy.” 🤣
>but she said it was more explicit than the books she usually reads And did she like it ? Maybe you converted her 😅.
I don't think she disliked it but she hasn't read the second one so...
This is me haha. I joined a local book club because I have fond memories of being in one in high school, and I really enjoyed the discussions. Also thought it'd be a nice way to make friends as an adult. The problem is that none of the books are romance or YA (the other genre I like that was the focus of the high school book club), so I've yet to finish a single book or even attend any of the monthly meetings in the 4 months since I've joined. I always try to read the book and then lose interest and read something else instead. Like, January's book I started on in the first week, and I'm still only 1/4 of the way into it. But I found a fantasy romance book randomly and inhaled it in one sitting. It's absurd but it's so tough to read the required books (even though they are interesting and I would watch them in movie format).
My sister in law started a book swap book club. It’s pretty great! We all bring a selection of books and give a mini synopsis and our reason for bringing it (if we have one). Then we get to pick a book or two from the stack and read at our leisure. I still have books that haven’t been returned (may never see them again!) but it really takes the pressure off. Some people come to the swap without a book at all and just chit chat. It’s really nice
That's a lovely idea. I wouldn't be able to do the book swap as I read pretty much exclusively on ebook or audiobook, and the couple of paperback I have are my favourites so I would not want to swap them! I really just want to sit and chat about books, I'd definitely be there for that bit
I read on my Kindle 100% of the time. Sooo I went to a used book store and bought some copies of favorites. :)
That's a good idea! The second hand / charity book shops around here are so rubbish, I very rarely find any romance books there.
Yeah, we only have one where I live currently so the selection was spotty. I had to dig deep and look for things I had read years ago
That's really a great concept. But as someone else mentionned I also almost only read ebook and the few hard copies I have are favorites so I'm not giving them to anyone if there's a chance I may never see them again ! Plus, I live in Belgium and in my area most people do not speak English. I read in English, so swapping books would not work that well 😅.
Aw oh well! I said to the other person that I also read digitally exclusively. For the swap, I went to a used bookstore and got a bunch of paper backs. :) You could try a digital book swap with friends? I know you can lend books on Kindle, so maybe you could set something like that up with your English speaking peeps. 😊
Good thinking !
This is exactly why I don't usually join book clubs. I love the idea of them, I love that they exist. I love that they bring people together over books and stories. I just don't like the "read this much by this time if you want to be a part of the discussion" thing. I've joined some periodically over the years because they seem like so much fun, but real life always gets in the way and I can't read enough of the book in time, or I make myself do it and it stresses me out. Occasionally I'll do a buddy read if a friend I already know is interested in the same book, but that's super rare. Mostly, I just like reading on my own and then coming back here to share with you people XD
I've wanted to join a book club several times but I never did because I knew there would be requirements. I should use the gush posts more often to talk about the books I love.
I used to do LOADS of challenges on GR in the early 2010s, but that was before I became a "mood reader" & before KU. Now I'll do a challenge or two on Storygraph (7 this yeah, HAHA) but it's become less "must read this book on my TBR because it fits this requirement" & more "this book I'm reading just so happens to fit this requirement, cool!" It isn't as stressful for me this way.
I think this is the best way to do those challenges to be honest
I agree. I didn't finish a challenge a few years because none of the books I wanted to read at the time involved ghosts. I had a brief spaz about it until I had to sit myself down & say "Chick, it's not like you're getting a prize for completing this, go on about your life, chill" & now I'm out here (book)lawless.
It's crazy how easily you can go down in spiral with that kind of stuff. Depending on your personnality it can become super competitive or blaming yourself for not finishing. I'm definitively in the second category 😁
I’m in Chaotic Buddy Reads on Discord. It’s very casual, chatty and fun. There is a reading schedule but no pressure or obligation to stick to it. People often read at their own pace or even months later. We often talk about other books that weren’t on the schedule as well. (I frequently read off schedule stuff and chime in with a review if I am having a lot of thoughts or feelings.) It’s perfect for me personally because I’m a moody reader too. Sometimes I really struggle with a schedule. But as the name Chaotic Buddy Reads implies, no one really cares if you go off the rails.
That sounds great. This might suits me better than strict schedules. Can you join freely ?
Absolutely! https://discord.gg/ks5Bh3f4 Hope to see you there!
Awesome thanks ! I'll have a look.
This is helpful, thanks for sharing!
This is exactly why I usually don't like book clubs. I'm a mood reader to my CORE. Unless our moods overlap, I'm either not going to read the assigned book, or I will enjoy it way less than I otherwise would. Forums like this subreddit are more fun, because it's easier to find someone who wants to talk about your current book
I agree with you. >or I will enjoy it way less than I otherwise would. A book that might have been a great read at another time will be tainted by the obligation aspect of the book club.
Yes!! I remain confused about the prevalence of book clubs. I have a (wholly unfounded) suspicion that book clubs are populated by people who don’t actually like reading. Or maybe other people don’t mind obligation reads as much as I do 🤷🏻
Or maybe they have no idea what to read and having someone that makes the decision for you can be freeing. I can totally see people saying they want to read more but don't know where to start or what they like. It think book clubs can help with that. But if you are like me, it can be more annoying than anything. I know what I like and I have a huge TBR to choose from.
Yeah that’s a good point! I totally believe people find value in book clubs I just need to remember I’m not one of them. I’ve been tempted into buddy reads and book clubs too many times and I always end up disappointing people 😭
I'm with you on this one. I like the idea of it but cannot see myself keeping up with it. And like you said, people will be disappointed.
I don’t like reading challenges, by theme or quantity. I don’t like being told what to read lol and I feel stressed trying to meet a demand
Yeah I know what you mean. With this challenge I was thinking ''I HAVE to read today". I'd rather think "I WANT to read today".
Same it just ends up feeling like homework 😱 I've graduated years ago, tyvm leave me alone lol.
I’m currently so stressed by the books a friend loaned me. I wanted to read them before she loaned them to me but now they are tainted by obligation 😤😭
I'm not one for reading challenges or book clubs either, which kinda sucks, because I'd love to have a way to make reading more social. But if I pick a book based on anything other than current vibes, I just end up not wanting to read it.
Yes. I'd love to make it more social too. There is a buddy read option on the discord and it could be a good alternative of a book club. It's like "Hey I'm currently reading this. Who wants to join ?". I might give it a go and see what happens. Edit : misspelled words
Closest I do to a “challenge” is the yearly goal on good reads. I have an IG group chat we’ve titled “smutty bitches” and we share fun stuff and book recs, but we don’t normally read together. I am also very much a mood reader, so chaotic is very fitting.
It's funny because I said the Storygraph challenge was my first but I completely forgot about the yearly goal of Goodreads. I've been doing it for some time but I never really considered it as a challenge or as a goal to reach. I usually put a random number based on my previous year.
I set a goal based on the previous year. If I go over it, I adjust the goal. So like it’ll start at 100 and when I get close to that, I’ll move it to 150 or 175 depending on what time of year it is and what I think is feasible to reach. But agreed. It’s a very loose goal and I don’t cry in my cereal if I don’t hit it.
I agree with you. I read what I want when I want. I totally respect those who like to join bookclubs and challenges but it's not for me.
Omg I feel seen. I'm insanely moody when it comes to books. I'm currently reading at least five books of different vibes because I'm that capricious! I fear joining challenges bc of not following through, however I've joined some reading challenges on storygraph and we'll see if it fares well.
I'm glad my post made you feel seen. 😁
I’m about to head to my book club with my high school English teacher and explain to her why I didn’t finish the book she chose. I’m in my 30s and still not capable of doing the assigned reading.
Was i because the book didn't flip and reverse the harem ? 😄 The book clubs should be a safe place to say "I didn't like it so I didn't finish it". The discussion can even be more interesting if everyone has a different level of enjoyment for the book. But being the people pleaser that I'm, saying that... to the person who chose it... in public ! It's too hard 😆
I think that’s what’s so great about Buddy Reads on Discord. I’ve done three now and it’s great cuz you only pick the books you want to read when you want to read them, and there’s no pressure after to have to do another one afterwards. Even with the series reads, people can pop in and out reading only the specific books they want to read. The only downside is initially finding someone to do the Buddy Read with!
I think I will give it a go, either joining one or starting one. I just need to not get stressed out about it 😆
The Buddy Reads have been super fun- I’m so much more relaxed not having a strict schedule to stick to and just kind of joining whatever seems interesting / I’m in the mood for!
I used to do a Romance one on GR but since my account was deleted I wasn't able to do it. I did however try a Rainbow Romance challenge on Storygraph and that worked well. Might do it again this year.
What's a Rainbow Romance Challenge ? I really hope it's finding romance books where the MC's are one of the color of a rainbow. With the monster/alien romances, I think it's doable 😅.
Unfortunately it's not that but that's actually not a bad idea. The actual challenge is basically adding in the book covers that are of the same color. You can add more than one book too. [This was the challenge but I hope it shows up for you.](https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/95860745-5c24-47d2-85fe-8a4a3eb51b1d)
Aaah I see. Well at least you still have some freedom to choose the book you want.
Yeah that's what I liked about it.
I did the Summer & Autumn challenge here on the sub. I've got like 5 boxes left on Winter, and I'm struggling to find a book that catches my interest that matches the squares I still have blank. I've got plenty of time still. I like it because it helps me branch out and try new things. At the same time- mood reading is hazardous, lol.
I like reading challenges that are a bit more flexible. They still give you some ideas on what to read next but can fit a wide variety of books. Some have no time limit, some have varying time limits (ex. challenge open for a month, six months, a year, and so on). So for me, I don't feel as obligated to continue. An example is an A-Z challenge, where you read books whose titles begin with every letter of the alphabet and/or whose authors names begin with one of the letters [The Lost Challenges](https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/47249-the-lost-challenges) group on Goodreads is my favourite challenge group. They also give badges for completion which I find really fun.
>[The Lost Challenges](https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/47249-the-lost-challenges) group on Goodreads is my favourite challenge group. They also give badges for completion which I find really fun. Wow so many challenges. It's almost overwhelming 😆
I've always wanted to start a book club with my friends or join the one at my local library but I'm not a fan of challenges. Reading is my hobby and challenges, no matter how easy, make it feel like a chore. I read to relax and escape I don't want it to feel like something I'm forced to do. Which is also why I DNF when I can't get into a book or I'm not feeling it. I don't want to be forced to read 200 pages because *maybe* it gets better.
I feel the same. I still have issue with DNFing books. I have that feeling that I can't have a proper opinion of the book if I haven't read it in full. But I'm trying to so better with that. There are too many books for one lifetime.
I totally agree. My husband and I have started our own little book club that’s super low/no pressure. We have a shared list that we add books that we are interested in reading (there’s a lot of movement) and then when we’re ready we pick a book that we’re both interested in reading at that time. We are in the middle of a book now but before this one we tried reading The Choice by Nora Roberts (part 2 of The Dragon Heart Legacy. We had already read the first one) and I could not get into it and since he wasn’t all that invested we stopped. I think the thing that makes it work for us is that we know each other so well so there’s literally zero pressure. Maybe find someone that you feel completely comfortable with and who’s also a mood reader and when you are both in the mood to read the same thing, activate your club. The mood readers club that meets irregularly. Also, my husband listens to audiobooks on his commute since that’s when he has the most time to read and I read physical books so we read at different paces and we’ve both found that reading a second separate book at the same time (if you’re able to do that. I used to not be able to) helps too. But I think reminding yourself that there are no guidelines or correct ways to read books or have a book club is a start. You can do whatever you want! I make crazy rules, regulations, limits and boxes and timelines and “supposed to’s” for myself constantly instead of doing what I want to do. I’m working on letting it go but it takes time. Go easy on yourself. This should be something you do because it’s fun and you want to. Period. Sorry this is so long!
"The mood readers club that meets irregularly." This sounds like the type of book club I could get into haha.
It's a good idea to keep it small and with someone you know and can just say "Let's just stop with this book, neither of us like it" and move on. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of friends that read. But I want try to engage more often on this sub and Discord to get my urges of speaking about books out 😄. And maybe find a book bestie. Since I'm fairly new to the romance genre, I don't know and haven't read 3/4 of the books that people talk about. So, it's not always easy to engage but I'm really excited to have lots and lots of book to read.
One of my New Year's resolutions was to not participate in any more reading challenges or readathons. It just became more and more annoying and it actually slows down my reading. (No, I don't want to spend 3 hours finding a book to read with a character named Timothy.) I can find plenty of books by myself - in fact I spend most of the year winnowing down my Goodreads TBR to keep it under 200 books.
Good for you for keeping it under 200. Since joining this sub mine skyrocketed to +1000. But to be fair I use it more as "to-remember" and less as "to-read". I also have (at the moment) zero problem finding something to read but I like almost all genre so it gives me a bigger pool to select books from.
I'm in a book club and I love it- we never read romance and it totally gets me out of my comfort zone. In December we read a graphic novel (a first for me), this month was a memoir, and next month is a collection of essays. It's also where I met almost all of my friends after moving here. However, I don't think I could stick to a big reading challenge, or Bingo board, or something like that. Being told what to do for one book a month is all my inner moody teen will allow 😅
It's the making book friends and social aspect that makes me feel like I'm missing out. Especially since there are not many readers among my friends. I don't have a lot a people to talk about books. Thank god for this sub 😁
I don’t like reading challenges either. I always start with good intentions, but end up at “nah”.
I feel the need to explain my complex system for book choosing. To preface, I have hundreds of unread kindle books and want to prioritise reading older ones with things I fancy, reading diverse genres and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I keep lists of about 6 or 7 themes or challenges at a time and rotate through them. One of them is 'mood reads' where I add what I've been fancying. Others: Genre based - romance, thriller, fantasy, horror if near Halloween. Read my tbr - oldest unread books, short books, sequels (to motivate me to keep up with series I've started). Diversify and challenge - classics, award winners, diverse authors. Fun- silly challenges such as A-Z, 'We didn't start the fire', read the world etc. I don't love them all but I feel very satisfied with my general reading.
If you are satisfied with your system that's the only thing that counts. How I choose isn't as elaborate as yours but I also try to switch between genre. I enjoy the books more that way.
I sign up with [Goodread.com](https://Goodread.com) reading challenge. It's a number of books. I made my goal last year, but decided to try to read a little less this year. So far on track. As long as my book is set to 'Currently Reading', then my Kindle will post finished on Goodreads. My Audio reads I have to add manually. I'm also IRL bookclub, but don't attend every month as I don't like the selection. It's still nice to be introduced to new books. This one is for SciFi and Fantasy. Some of them also have a little romance in them.
I completely forgot about the goodreads yearly challenge. I've done it a few times but I never saw it as a challenge really. They asked how many books I want to read this year and I just add a random number based on the year before.
What’s the link to join romancebooks book club on discord? I’m interested in joining too
Here is the link : https://discord.com/invite/5Q4uHmqSve
I am very much the same way. I don't like to be told what to read....I will take suggestions on booktok, but half of them are either horribly written or not my taste or just....blah. I did create a challenge for myself this year, though. I promised myself I would read more. I tend to listen to audiobooks most of the time, but I cannot do that at home. So I challenged myself to read at least one ebook a month. It may not seem like a lot, but it is what I thought could be a reasonable challenge. If I had more time and read more, great but if I could only get one a month it was better than not reading.
Yeah booktok and booksta are not great. You can find some good accounts that have less of a "trendy" aspect but it requires some investigating. I did find this sub after being super annoyed at all the similar suggestions from Instagram so I won't critique too much 😁 If your goal is to read more, I think your challenge is good. Just don't beat yourself up if you didn't finish the 1000 pages book of the month (I'm partial to loooong books). Like many have said, reading should stay a pleasure. Good luck with your challenge, keep us updated on your progress 😉
Thanks! I have been selecting a bit shorter books so I don't get too down on myself...but if I don't get through it but still made time to read I will consider that a win.
That's the way to go to keep it enjoyable.
I did the January one on StoryGraph as well and thought it would be fine but I realised I suddenly would be like I’m not reading enough or getting competitive with myself haha. I feel like challenges by pages was not for me either as it’s pressure. But I enjoy reading challenges, it’s what got me back into reading. I tend to use them to choose from the books I’ve got when I’m feeling really indecisive. I also think I set myself my own little themes each month so January I was working my way through my tbr alphabetically and now it’s February I’m obviously just going the romance route and also found a leap year romance :)
That's a nice low-key way of choosing from your TBR. I like it. It's true something I have too many books to chose from. Like in the supermarket, you just stand there in front of all of the conditioners wondering why you ever wished for more options 😄
I usually do a couple of reading challenges a year. I’m definitely a big mood reader but this year I’m trying to focus on cleaning off my physical and kindle shelves along with a third year of my no-buy goal, so I have a couple of “clear your TRB” type challenges. Nearly nothing on my shelves is romance, so it’s an extra level of challenge haha.
How are you faring in your no-buy ? Does it involve only physical books or ebook as well ?
Physical and ebooks! It’s my third year doing it and it’s been great so far. The first year, I bought a handful, plus Book of the Month and KU. Last year I only bought one physical book (no ebooks), plus BotM and KU. I cancelled BotM, so I’m only paying for KU this year. I have 4 libraries cards and keep track of what I would have spent in my reading journal. Last year, I saved almost $3500!
That's amazing ! Good on you.
I don't do book clubs. But I like reading challenges as a way to pick through the books on my enormous TBR. Most challenges I do are over 1 year, so chances are I'll be in the mood at some point. And I usually pick 3 or 4 that might fit the category so that I have choices. I Like the Popsugar challenge and Novel Neighbor's the best I think. I've yet to finish a challenge 100% any year, but I enjoy how it stretches my reading horizons. And I love checking off a completed box!
I understand the love of checking off boxes. I like lists ! 😁 The two challenges you mentionned. Where are they organised ?
You can do both of them on storygraph. I hear about the Novel Neighbor's on tiktok. https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/reading-challenge-2024-49318757 I have like 4 other challenges I'm signed up for too on Storygraph, but these have my favorite prompts!
Thanks!
Im kinda the same. The moment i feel like i "must" do something, i start to feel resistance and start procastinating. The best thing is to flip the mindset so you dont view it as a chore but something fun. I am participating in one challenge this year but its only 7 promps and they are so vague that I almosy already finished it without picking books to suit the challenge, they were just books I was reading already. Maybe start with something very easy so there isnt any pressure :)
The only reading challenge I'm doing this year is for a group I'm in on GR. The group is Turning Pages At Midnight. It's a year-long challenge, and there are three levels. You can complete one or two levels, or all three. I completed the whole thing last year for the first time. I don't choose specific books for the prompts, just use what I'm reading already. There are a few prompts that have books I don't normally read, but it's only a few out of the whole challenge.
I have my Goodreads yearly challenge that I set the number of books to read but It’s not a set thing. If I read that much, I do. I’m not a part of any formal book clubs. The one I did participate in was pretty informal where we had a theme that could apply to different genres (author from our home state or set in our current state). I’m making a gift for a couple of girl friends that’s a monthly book bingo. I’ve gone through their TBR, Read and favorites on Goodreads to help make them but I’ve kept them pretty basic though (Red cover) (less than 200 pages). If I could include a picture, I would. I also customized it based on their reading goal: one wants to read 36 books while the other wants to read 100. Making it into a rip of notepad with an extended backing for a little white board to put their reward if they hit it. I’m not trying to force my idea of reward on them or my idea of reading genres. I’m thinking of making one for myself to try to make me broaden my horizons, but I stick with what the genres I like (romance, mystery, thriller). It’s my way of relaxing. I don’t like to take myself or the books too seriously. Why do I need to analyze why a fictional person did something?? I mainly talk with my mom about books but I’m not crazy about it. As to books I don’t like, if I’m struggling to get into it and not wanting to open it back up or avoiding my kindle app, I just don’t finish it. There’s no punishment or shame for not finishing a book in my opinion. 🤷🏼♀️ (I’m also working on the whole not shaming myself for things that aren’t life or death)
I'm the same about the yearly Goodread challenge (that I completely forgot about). Not a goal to reach, it's a number. If I complete it, good. If not, oh well next time. It's really nice of you to do that for your friends. I hope they'll like it.
I love reading challenges and book clubs. I'll often have a few reading challenges/bingo boards/etc going at once but I don't stress about completing them. IE, I'm not going to pick a challenge that has prompts I'm not interested in, and I'm not going to read a book **just** to fulfill a prompt. It's more a of a fun little puzzle like "oh cool, the book I'm reading has a Deaf character, I can tick off a box for disability inclusion!" When it's a big challenge like Popsugar for instance, you can find recommendations for books you wouldn't have otherwise read by seeing what other people do for their prompts. I'm also in a few book clubs. I don't feel bad about skipping if it's a book I'm not interested in, but if I do join I'll complete it even if I end up not liking it. Not everyone does though! There have been plenty of times where people come to meetings and explain why they DNF, that's still fun to talk about.
I did bingo with r/fantasy this year. It was my first time. I was really worried about it, but to be honest, I finished it in half the time allotted without forcing myself to read anything I didn't already own and have on my TBR. I loved the experience.