The Empty Shelf Challenge

I noticed a link shared by a friend on Facebook the other day. I clicked on it and read the short post and thought it was quite interesting. It was a reading challenge for 2014 called The Empty Shelf Challenge.

I have books that I want to read, and books that I have started reading, but I have very few books that I have actually read in their entirety. Why? Well, because I’m busy and sometimes lazy. When I find extra time at the end of my day, sometimes, I just want to watch tv or take a nap (just being honest here).

The challenge is to clear off a shelf on your bookshelf so that it starts out empty. Then you put the books you have finished reading on that shelf. The idea being that staring at an empty shelf will encourage you to read more this year than you did last year.

Ok, so why do I care if I read more this year than I did last year? A friend of mine loaned me four books last January. To be more specific, January 19^th 2013 is when these books were loaned to me. I really want to read them, however, I have read maybe a chapter from each and I still have them sitting here waiting to be read. I have several other books that I have done the exact same way. Books that I really want to read, but I read a few chapters, get busy, and then don’t finish them.

For me, this is a challenge of finishing what I start. Not necessarily of reading more, although, that will be a result from it. I am not going to put a number on how many I want to read, I just want to complete the books that I start and add them to my empty shelf.

Since I read a combination of eBooks and paper copy books, filling up an actual shelf is not realistic for me. So I created this Pinterest board to act as my empty shelf. As I finish a book, whether it is hard copy or eBook, I will post it here, possibly as book reviews on my blog.

This is not a new years resolution, because I don’t really end up keeping those. It is more of a challenge this year to not leave things unfinished.

If you decide to participate in this challenge yourself, please leave a comment and let me know. Maybe we can check in with each other and see how we are doing?

Happy New Year to you all!!