June 17, 2007

48 Hour Reading Challenge

I am glad that I gave this Reading Challenge a try and now know how much I can read in how much time. Here is what I accomplished:

Fairy Tale by Alice Thomas Ellis
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Lady Susan/The Watsons/Sanditon by Jane Austen

21 hours of reading
3 books
about 600 pages

While this may not seem to be anything to brag about, and judging by the numbers of some of the official participants' it's not, I am satisfied that I gave it my best. I have always known I was an extremely slow reader so this comes as no surprise, though I was initially a little frustrated with it. Instead, I now consider it an accomplishment and a learning experience. And perhaps it is proof that I have a lot more leisure time on my hands than I had previously thought considering how many books I have been getting read lately. This is surely a sign that I am leading a simple and uncluttered life and that's exactly what I want right now. When school starts back up next year, and we take on a busier schedule, I will have considerably less time to read as I do now and I will certainly miss it, but I will be trading in my personal quiet times for learning and exploring with my children and watching as their minds expand and take in knowledge and wisdom. I hope to be taking in equal amounts of both for myself, if not more. Cheerio!

5 comments:

Eva said...

I'm glad that you enjoyed the review. :) Too bad that Agnes Grey disappointed you.

The reading challenge sounds interesting, but a little stressful. I think it depends on the type of book how many pages I get done in an hour, but on average I read about 50 pages an hour (which includes getting up for snacks, etc.). I can 'speed read,' but I only do it when I'm reviewing for tests or don't like the class and need to get an assignment out of the way. I think that people who speed read through fun books are missing at least half the enoyment.

Petunia said...

It was a little stressful. For a mom of 3 I had to plan ahead and put off important chores, like grocery shopping, in order to accomplish it. Fortunately I have a patient husband. And I figured on 50 pages an hour but the type of book you read makes a big difference. The Austen book took much longer to get through than the Heaven book.

Ana S. said...

I couldn't join this challenge the weekend it was happening, but you've inspired me to try and do it on my own once my summer break begins. Considering your and dewey's experience, I think I'm going to try reading light and not very long books. Maybe I'll make it Children's Classics Weekend - there's a bunch I've been meaning to read.

Trading reading time for time with your children is definitely worthwhile. As much as I love reading, sometimes I worry that reading too much makes me miss out on my life. I just have to find a balance, I guess.

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

What a great experience to learn more about yourself! I am a slow reader also with a very short attention span, so kudos for 21 hours of reading!

The Five People You Meet in Heaven is my favorite Albom book--what a great story!

Best wishes.

Petunia said...

Nymeth-Easier books or books that don't require time to digest would be perfect for something like this. I bet you could get a ton of books read in 48 hours.

Trish-Thanks for stopping in. Something else I learned during this time was that I get fidgetty frequently while I read. I make lots of small trips to the restroom, the pantry, the fridge, to look in on the kids, just to stretch. I never realized how much I do this before.