Skip to main content

#AtoZChallenge -- With a Twist!

It might seem a bit early to start planning for April's Blogging A to Z Challenge, but then again, people start planning for NaNoWriMo in August. Usually I have the same reaction to that as I do to stores putting up Christmas decorations before Halloween. Seriously? Can't they wait?

But if I'm going to do this challenge, I need to start planning now.

I did the #atozchallenge once before. While it was good for making me write, I didn't enjoy it very much. The novelty of seeing letter-themed blogposts in my stream also wore off pretty quickly. So I wasn't planning to do the challenge this year.

BUT THEN I had a shiny new idea!

What if...I did book reviews A to Z?

"But Laura," you shudder, "why would you do that to yourself? You have a senior project to do, college to attend, papers to write, and a recital to prepare for -- not to mention all those wips you keep having to put off. Why?"

Well...just because? 

Really, though, one of my resolutions for this year was to write more book reviews. I have an examiner.com book review channel, but I really slacked off on it last year. It's been a goal of mine to pick up the pace. I would probably publish all of the reviews on the examiner platform, and write weekly blogposts here about my progress.

Also, it's different. I like doing challenges when I can twist the parameters to fit my own goals and needs. I NaNoRebelled in 2013, for instance, which was way more helpful than starting a new novel would have been.

Then there's the fact that I need to read for fun more often. Last year was my most stressful year of college, and I barely read at all. This year, I've been taking time out to read a few pages of a not-for-class book every night. The effect it's had on my stress level is unbelievable. I've finished two books and am halfway through a third. As long as I budget my reading time, my schoolwork won't suffer. Sometimes it's necessary to put Official Stuff To Do on the sidelines in favor of your mental health. After all, I do worse on the Official Stuff To Do when I'm stressed, bored, and stuck in the same mental rut.

"Er," says the pragmatic voice in the back of my brain, raising a hand. "How is forcing yourself to read 26 books and review them all going to relieve stress?"

Well...maybe it won't. But it will be fun to try. After all, I can start reading now. The challenging part will be making up a reading list by letter. More on that in a later post. 

What do you think? Good idea? No? Will any of you be doing the #atozchallenge?

Comments

  1. AlyssaSat Jan 25, 05:27:00 PM CST

    YES such a good idea. It challenges you're reading and is probably more interesting than some blog posts that people come up with just to have a corresponding email. I think I might consider joining you on this different version of the A to Z challenge, if you don't mind!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LauraSun Jan 26, 01:03:00 AM CST

      Sure! We can read excessively together, haha. :) If you have any book recommendations, please let me know! Maybe we can review a couple of the same books, to get contrasting opinions.

      Delete
    2. AlyssaSun Jan 26, 08:30:00 PM CST

      Although I might cheat and read a bunch of books beforehand, then just do the reviews in the scheduled time. :P

      Delete
    3. LauraMon Jan 27, 01:01:00 AM CST

      Oh dear lord, I definitely do not intend to read a book a day. I am going to be reading from now until April. I will probably schedule a few of the reviews ahead of time, like some people do for their blogposts during April, but most of them will probably be written during April.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Comments make me happy, so leave lots! :) I will usually reply to each one, so click Notify Me to read my replies.

Popular posts from this blog

Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow by Faïza Guène, a YA Book By A Young Author

Review time! Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow is a young adult novel by a young adult, so I was very interested to read it. There's also a #MuslimShelfSpace tag going around, and this review is a nod to that. The idea is that there's been a lot of stereotypes and anti-Muslim sentiment spread around, so buying and boosting books about and by Muslims can help educate people and break down harmful stereotypes.  The author is French with an Algerian background, and  Guène  wrote Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow when she was in her late teens. Although the novel is not autobiographical, she shares many things with its main character. Doria, like her creator, is the child of immigrants and lives in poor suburban housing projects.   Guène   wrote that she realized girls like herself weren't really represented in books, and felt that Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow was a way to tell the stories of people in the suburbs who are ignored by the elites of French literature. Plot: Life Sucks, Until...
2 comments
CLICK TO READ ON >>

Review: Hemlock Grove, ep. 1 and 2

Hello! I'm back from my blogging hiatus. I've been on a horror kick lately, and most recently, I watched the first two episodes of Netflix's Hemlock Grove. I'm a bit late to this series, but for what it's worth, here's my review. I have some...issues.  Pacing It's based on a novel, and you can tell. Once the show introduces something that might be interesting or lead to tension and conflict, it snatches it away like a precious plot-gem that it doesn't want you to see. There is way too much exposition and filler. The plot hangs together pretty well, but not much really happens. Case in point, it should not have taken two whole episodes to find out Main Character is a werewolf. Especially since everyone seems clued into this fact and accepts it as truth -- except the viewers. Then suddenly Rich Boy is asking if he can watch the transformation like it's understood that Poor Kid Main Character is a werewolf. No warning, no lead-up, nothing. ...
Post a Comment
CLICK TO READ ON >>

King Arthur Sucks.

I wrote a review of The Greenstone Grail by Amanda Hemingway , in which I applauded the book for being the first Arthurian adaptation I had read that I didn't despise. I mean, how could I? Despite the book's other problems, it had aliens riding motherfucking dragons!!! Aliens! Dragons! Parallel universes!  After reading my review, one of my friends asked me why I hate Arthurian legend so much.  Well.  Perhaps one of the reasons I liked The Greenstone Grail 's take on the Holy Grail myth was because it was so different.  Most Arthurian adaptations fall along the same lines. It's the same damn story told almost the same damn way all the time. But  The Greenstone Grail took place in modern times, borrowing from the Holy Grail and Arthurian myths without making it so central to the plot that there was no room for other stuff like imagination.  Say whatever else you want about this book ( and believe me, I did ), it had imagination. Its main character c...
2 comments
CLICK TO READ ON >>