I think it’s safe to say we all have reading goals that include our To Be Read books and some of us have a TBR pile so long that we couldn’t even finish it in the afterlife. I fall to the side of TBR TLDR. In an attempt to remedy this, I decided to embark on a quest to see if I could help myself along and get control of the reigns on my reading. There are just so many amazing things I want to read and new genres I want to try out thus, the First 5 challenge is born. No, this challenge isn’t very innovative or new to the universe but I think myself a clever creature anyway. I decided that I would amass a stack of books and read through the first 5 chapters of each. If I want to continue after chapter 5, the book makes it to my bedside table to finish. If I don’t want to continue or I cannot make it to chapter 5, I know that the book isn’t meant for me.

Here's what I learned:

1. This is a “DUH BETHANN” moment but I have to put it in even if it shows my stupidity. Books aren’t written or formatted the same. Not all books have numbered chapters or chapters with consistent lengths. West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman has long chapters divided by weekdays. The first “chapter” is 65 pages long. If I were to read the proverbial 5 chapters here, I would have the book finished. My adaptation for this book was to read chapter one only; I continued to make adjustments to other books like this staying about 65 pages long for my assessments.
2. Reading 5 chapters is a lot if you’re slow like me. The change that I would make here is that I would pick 3 books at a time instead of 5. It takes the pressure off and calms my Currently Reading list on Goodreads down. (I tend to have a lot of books on that list anyways because I never read one book at a time).
3. I GET TOO DISTRACTED! Plain and simple! While trying to read these chapters, I got inundated by friend suggestions, new releases, ARCs, and a load of other things I can’t keep myself from starting! I also have a currently reading list that spans about 7 books at a time; my focus is never easily captured. Advice to myself: maybe only read 1-3 books at a time or no books when I’m doing a challenge like this!
4. One of the great things I learned is that when I am forced to buckle down and read, I get a lot more done! I also found myself enjoying new and different genres in the mix. Albeit I started a few and read right through to the end instead of stopping, BUT I found things that I really liked that I thought I wasn’t “into” right now. When I make the time it’s worth it.
5. I used my resources more. When juggling books like this, the reality is that I don’t want to buy all of this to simply DNF them later. I was able to use Libby and Hoopla more and also borrowed more physical books from here at the library. When I was done and didn’t want to continue all I had to do was press a button or give the book back; no money spent. I was also able to pull some dusty books off my ancient TBR; when I knew I wasn’t going to read a book I could offload it by giving it away or turning it in for spend credits at my local bookstore. This opened up my bookshelves for more things I love.

This trial had its wins and fails, for that I am very glad; when we read, try new things, and push ourselves outside of what is comfortable or habitual, we can gain new insights and interests. I was able to find a few new books and genres that I would like to try and was also able to weed out some things that I couldn’t realistically get to right now. Moral of this story is to jump out, do the thing, and if it doesn’t work just scrap it and try the OTHER THING. Don’t stop reading, don’t stop creating hobbies, and don’t stop being at the library!

For more book recommendations please tune in to Off the Books with B&S Podcast on any of your preferred podcasting platforms; new episodes air every other Thursday.

Bethann