7 tips for weary readers to succeed when participating in Buddy Reads or Group Challenges!

I just finished doing a video for my BookTube community. I will have down below for you to watch if you would like. In that video I chat briefly about buddy reading and why it was so important for a particular book I read called Vigilante by Robin Parrish.

The cover is amazing and I knew I would probably like it. But honestly, I was never really in the mood for it and because I never read anything from this author, I wasn’t sure if I would like it. For me, those were too many variables to pick up the book.

That was until I saw a fellow BookTuber had started to read it on her Goodreads post. Well, I knew she would be a perfect fit to read the book with. Her name is Celestria. Feel free to check her out here. Anyways, she agreed to wait for me to catch up to where she was and we would read it together afterwards. I knew she would be okay with my slow reading and that was a game changer and a major factor in why I knew she would be a great fit for me as a Buddy Read!

You see, this last year has been particularly challenging for me as a reader due to some mental challenges caused by an incident that happened which ultimately heightened a disability I’ve struggled with all my life, called dyslexia. I had built coping mechanisms all throughout my life, but especially as a teenager, that allowed for me to be very productive.

Despite my disability, I became a great writer and reader. However, because of that incident, it became a major issue I needed to work through again. This last year showed me I needed to re-learn techniques all over again in order to be at the same level of reading I used to be. It’s not easy to admit that I’m still not ‘there’ yet. And may never be. That is my current reality. It’s a very slow process. A fact I can’t pretend to ignore when buddy reading. You want to be at the same pace, at least, with the others reading the book. This makes my disability too obvious or close for comfort.

Dyslexia’s not just writing letters backwards as the typical ideal of it may suggest. I’m not going to dive deep on this subject, but for context, dyslexia makes reading in general more challenging than the average person and is exhausting, hard to follow conceptionally and visually, tiring the reader out terribly quickly.

An absolute horrible problem for those of us who desperately LOVE to read, like me!

And maybe like you too. I mean, really! It’s a pain. Couple that issue with a book that may not be completely interest-based and you’ve got a real problem. The challenge feels like defeat, rather than an adventure waiting to begin.

Perhaps you’re not struggling with a disability but with a reading slump, or what I like to call, a reading burn-out or simply…

The weary reader.

Insert: BUDDY READING & COMMUNITY CHALLENGES

When dealing with your issues, whether like mine or the ones suggested above, you may feel buddy reading would be the last thing you’d want to do! Having the added pressure of deadlines or accountability would only increase your distaste of reading a book, right?!

Hear me out, because I feel the tips below will really help motivate you and keep you inspired as you join others on your reading journey. Just think, if you choose a book that you’re already taking a risk with, why not do it with someone else? At least you will have some company if it all goes down hill, lol!

Besides, doesn’t misery loves company 😊

Also, God says that two are better than one...

Here are my tips to may help motivate you in a buddy read or navigate the waters of a reading slump-whatever the cause:

1. Try to seek a partner who you think feels the same way you do about the book or has the same apprehensions you may have. That way if you are leaning towards a DNF, you don’t feel as bad and can move on quickly…not stuck in a book you don’t like.
2. Try and seek like-minded groups that are understanding about your participation level. Be upfront and honest so you don’t let down the group or buddy that you’ve chosen. This is a partnership so-to-speak, so be consistent as best as you can. But most importantly, BE HONEST! It makes a difference to set the expectation boundary right off the bat so you don’t get overwhelmed by the accountability involved.
3. Agree and clearly communicate about the pacing of the book so you don’t get overwhelmed. Are you reading the book each month and meeting at the end, or the beginning of each month? Are you meeting every week, reading a book a week, or reading a chapter, to a certain page, etc.?
4. If you feel like the book will not be interesting enough, read it through audiobook format and keep busy. Go for a walk, do a chore, etc. Keep yourself as entertained and as engaging as you need to. To read the Bible when I was younger I would walk around and read it out loud in different voices, acting it out. Anything I could to have it engaging. Do what you can if this is really a book you want to read but have a hard time focusing on it.
5. Set up a routine, whether at night or in the morning. Perhaps at lunch time where you are designating or allocating a specific time to read. Bookmark yourself into your life ❤️📚 I love this tip because I find it the most beneficial in my personal life. Planning reading can allow for great reading time that you would have otherwise looked over or made less of a priority because others tasks would eat away at your reading.
6. Don’t beat yourself up over not making your goals or reading deadlines. This is never good and will only leave you feeling worse instead of inspired to read. We are our own worst critiques, so don’t feel bad. Remember tips #1-3, be honest with yourself and your group, communicate clearly with them and remember to seek like-minded people who understand your expectations and won’t fault you with not getting to yours because of situations, mood, or disabilities that get in the way of your reading goals.
7. Change the standard if it needs to be changed. This year, I only put 25 books on my reading goals. I only chose groups and buddy reads that I knew could fit within these goals. Nothing more, nothing less. Life is already full of busyness and stress. We don’t need to add anymore. And we especially don’t need to add guilt for not accomplishing our own goals or standards when they are not being met. So change them if needed and be at peace about it!

Don’t feel bad if you need more wiggle room with any of these tips. Because of my issues and disabilities, I find I’m a mood or interest-based reader and need to be in the right headspace to enjoy a book. Lets be honest with ourselves, if I, or you, are not in the right mood, we’re not going to enjoy it. Period. There’s nothing we can do about that.

But how we read will affect the result of our reading; the book rating will be affected and our enjoyment will be affected. Plus, who remembers books we tend to skim or skip through?

I hope the tips above will help you! If you want to watch my video, check it out below!

Happy Reading!