Last year, I did a 12-Book Reading Challenge and I was darned if I was going to let the box that said “Read a book recommended by a spouse/friend/coworker” go unchecked. Even though I do not usually take recommendations for what I read. I know what I like and I read it.
However, to fulfill my challenge list, my hubby recommended Frankenstein. Ugh. I vaguely knew the story, but had never actually read the book. I was not at all excited about reading it, but to try to get into the mood to read it, I waited until October to crack the spine. But I quickly found out it wasn’t scary. Not at all. I read the whole thing waiting to get scared, or frightened, or nervous, or anything….but no. I was bored for 315 pages. To this day I cannot recall an interesting scene from this book.
I’m glad I finished the book and checked it off my Reading Challenge List, though. I can now say I’ve read that classic. I can now say I’ve read something my husband recommended. I can now speak intelligently about how the monster wasn’t named Frankenstein (did you know that??). I wasn’t excused from learning something or growing as a reader just because I didn’t enjoy the book.
After this incident, I realized that as readers we need to do to these two things more often:
- Slide to another genre in the library that you never visit and pick something that looks interesting – say you like chick-lit, how about reading a biography of Eleanor Roosevelt!
- Ask someone to recommend a book then read it – if your husband likes mysteries borrow his favorite story from his side of the book shelf!
Will it always work out fantastically, uhm… no! Will you potentially find a new author, genre, or friend – maybe!
If you’d like a Reading Challenge, it’s not too late in 2017 to start – here is a list: http://bookriot.com/2017/01/04/20-reading-challenges-for-2017/
