Catching Up On Your Goodreads Challenge (Tips and Book Suggestions)

So, it's the end of the year. Christmas is coming, and us procrastinators have tons of work ahead of us in these next couple weeks. We know the holidays come every year, but we put off present-buying and decorating.

We set our Goodreads challenges in January, or at least most of us do - you professional procrastinators might wait until later on in the year. Maybe you set it just last month.

Either way, I think most people can relate to that feeling where you look at your challenge and realize you're far behind. Or maybe you're not, but December is a busy month and you're feeling uncertain you can read at the pace you have been previously.

Here are some tips that will, hopefully, help us all catch up on our challenge:

Tip #1: Try a Book Series

Reading a series can be a great way of reading books quickly. For me, at least, it is easier to transition from book to book when they're a continuation of the story. If you can handle staying in a world for a long time, series with several books are best. Off the top of my head, one very long series that's made up of quick reads is The Princess Diaries.

Tip #2: Read A Children's Book (Or Ten)

At the beginning of this year, I read quite a few children's and middle grade books. They are short and fast-paced, typically, which of course makes them perfect for catching up - I've also found they're great for curing a reading slump. A couple of my favorite children's books are Winnie the Pooh and The Little Prince.

Tip #3: Read Poetry

If you enjoy poetry, this is a fantastic time for it. If it's not your typical read, maybe try a short book of it anyway? Alternately, you could try a novel in verse - the style means less words on a page, and makes the book fly by very quickly. A couple I enjoyed this year are The Realm of Possibility and Ghosting.

Tip #4: Novellas and Short Stories

Take a look at the series on your shelf. Are there any novellas you left untouched, that you could go back to now? Is there maybe a series you're unsure of that you could grab up a novella from to read through quickly? (Be careful not to spoil yourself for the series somehow!) Or maybe there are some short stories you've been putting off reading. Get to it now and finish up that challenge!

Tip #5: Set Deadlines

Maybe it's just me, but setting deadlines for myself helps a ton. Personally, I use my review system to my advantage here - lately, I've been back to posting two reviews a week. That gives me minimal time to read and review books, and forces me to actually put aside time for reading each day. It's much easier - especially if you're a procrastinator - to say, "I have to finish this by Thursday!" than it is to think, "I need to finish this book ... eventually."

Those are all the tips I have! I tried to include book suggestions in here, so hopefully you could find something you like, or at least a tip that helped!

Good luck reading, enjoy the holidays, and don't stress too much!