Bout of Books 18 Wrap Up

January 9, 2017

Bout of Books was my first real social-heavy readathon. I’ve participated in readathons with friends in small groups, in person, and over the internet. But I’ve never participated in a readathon so public, so popular and so… involved. This was definitely a learning process for me.bout-of-books-18

Lessons Learned

  • Posting daily is not for me. I am a very busy person who is bad at saying no. Blogging and social media are a hobby of mine. When I set a rigorous schedule for myself, this stops being a hobby and becomes a chore. Reading was still fun, but I avoided my blog a few days to try and not give up entirely on blogging and social media forever.
  • Barely anyone actually does separate daily blog posts. Seriously! I had no idea. On Day 2 I realized most people were updating the same blog post each day. That’s a HUGE lesson learned.
  • Due to added stress, I didn’t really network or make new friends. This was one major reason I was interested in this readathon. Instead, I avoided all blogs and social media in general. They were a source of added stress since I had something I HAD to do daily.
  • I forced myself to carve more time out for reading. The jury is still out as to whether this is a good or bad thing. I missed out on a few things with friends and I got less sleep. But I did fly through some books I didn’t expect to read, and I enjoyed every minute of my reading. Bonus?
  • I loved talking about Bout of Books with people. While I didn’t network or make new friends, I felt like I got a ton of support from my existing friends (hello friends!) in person and through the blogosphere. It was fun to introduce people to the idea of readathons and discuss potential book options, where to read, snacks, etc. That was a great new adventure.

All of these lessons were good ones to learn, and I’m glad I was able to experience them with such a supportive group behind me. Now, let’s see how I ended!

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Bout of Books 18 Wrap Up

Books Read: 7

Books Completed: 5

Days Participated on Twitter: 5

Days Where 60 minutes or more were read: 6

Days where 4 hours or more were read: 2

All in all, I’d say the readathon was successful for me. I almost read a book a day, which is an incredible pace for me. I learned a ton. Should I participate in Bout of Books again in the future, I’ll at least only update a single post. I’m certain watching these clog up your inbox got a bit… irritating? Possibly. Lesson learned.

That said, I honestly don’t know if this is for me. I felt a lot of pressure to get up, meet people, post regularly– and it became a huge mental drain. I want to write book reviews, not these posts! If I do this again I want to try the daily update of a single post a few times and see how that works out for me. But, I definitely need a break from this sort of thing for a while.

Plus, now I can make more time to write reviews!

Thanks for following me on this wacky adventure, friends. I look forward to all your feedback, comments, and advice below! 🙂


Other Bout of Books Posts:


What do you think?

  • Have you participated in online readathons before? If so, what tips do you have for success?
  • Do you enjoy participating in readathons? Why or why not?
  • What other amazing online reading games/activities/social events would you recommend I try? Other readathons or more are welcome!

9 Comments

  • Kourtni @ Kourtni Reads January 9, 2017 at 10:38 am

    The first time I participated I did separate daily posts too because I hadn’t even thought of just updating the same post. Updating one post definitely works better for me though since I can still post other things throughout the week that are more fun to read and write without posting multiple times a day (which I’m sure would annoy the crap out of my followers, haha). Looks like you did really well! Finishing 5 books in a week is awesome. I don’t think I could ever do that, haha.

    • Jackie B January 10, 2017 at 10:19 pm

      While no one *directly* told me this was annoying, I know that I would be annoyed by it for sure. Future Jackie will not be making separate posts, I don’t think.
      5 books was not easy, that’s for sure. But it helped that one was a picture book and one I had started before BoB began. I stuck to my goal of reading at least 60 minutes a day and was listening to audiobooks while driving around the city, so that also helped. I’m a bit shocked I did it myself. 🙂

      • Kourtni @ Kourtni Reads January 11, 2017 at 8:40 am

        Audiobooks seem to be super helpful in reaching reading goals! I’ve tried a couple of them, but have never really been able to get into them or actually finish them, haha.

  • YAandWine January 9, 2017 at 2:22 pm

    Posting everyday is stressful. I completely agree with that. I feel like it’s hard to find the balance between reading and blogging because you love it and wanting to be consistent in posting. That’s definitely my struggle right now. You’re doing great though!

    • Jackie B January 10, 2017 at 10:22 pm

      Thanks, Krysti! I look at people who post daily and I’m blown away (present company included!) I would have to give up a lot of other things in my life to pull that off– posts take so much time for me! They are fun and I love them, but they are always time-consuming. I think I’m still working on my skill set there. Particularly when it comes to images. I’m the WORST at the visual thing, and I have no idea how everyone makes such pretty banners, etc. Baby steps, I guess.

  • WordsAndPeace January 10, 2017 at 7:00 pm

    glad you had this new experience.
    I do a new post daily, but copy and paste the previous day and add a new section on top.
    For next time, you can put your goal lower if you want less pressure.
    When I read your comments here, I remembered seeing another blogger post this the other: Sleep Less, Read More!! lol.
    You forgot one good thing for this bout of books: I discovered you, and you won my giveaway!! I swear, Giveaway Tools chose you, i didn’t.

    • Jackie B January 10, 2017 at 10:27 pm

      You’re right about making less pressure-filled goals. I think that my social media interaction goal was what stuck me. I’ll have to keep that in mind.
      I really need to get Sleep Less, Read More embroidered on a throw pillow now. 😉
      Yeah! I did make some new blogger friends, which is great. And giveaway wins are the best. I probably rigged it. Mwahaha!

  • Diana January 11, 2017 at 7:04 am

    I have never participated in a readathon. This really sounds intense especially when it comes to posting daily. Its sad that you didn’t get to interact much though. How was Akata Witch? Would you recommend it? I have seen Dark Matter around. It seems like a wonderful read.

    • Jackie B January 11, 2017 at 12:20 pm

      Yeah. It was a bit intense for me, for sure.
      Akata Witch was lovely. I really enjoyed it, and my review will follow shortly. I also enjoyed Dark Matter, but not nearly as much. It was a challenging read for me because I didn’t like the MC! Oops. Also, a review to follow shortly. So many reviews, so little time! 🙂

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