Welcome to the month of February, and a new reading challenge which I hope you’ll all want to take part in 🙂 (if nobody does then this will be a terrible failure 😮 ) This challenge was dreamt up in my mind a while back but I sat on the idea and only decided to do something about it recently which is why it’s a little rushed – but that’s also perfect because there are barely any rules to this challenge and the rules are super simple. Anyone can take part no matter whether you’re an avid bookworm, occassional reader, or even someone who dislikes books! 😮

Where did the idea of this challenge come from?

A lot of people these days don’t read. For some they might have a genuine fear of reading, (through bad experiences in their past) while for others they just feel reading books is a boring activity. As a result lots of children and adults struggle to enjoy books or feel that books just aren’t for them. I used to struggle to read myself (you can read about my experience here). The idea of this challenge began as me wanting to show everyone who doesn’t read, that books are fun and if they dislike reading then they’ve simply not tried the right books, or the right format yet.

So I came up with a very simple challenge, for people to face their reading fears by trying to read just one book during the month of February. But then I realised that this challenge could also work for everyone, even avid bookworms, because most of us probably have some books that we’d never normally read, so we can all face our own reading ‘fears’ by challenging ourselves to read a book that’s not our usual type.

#Febookary challenge rules:

Everybody can take part in #Febookary, no matter your reading speed, how much you like to read or even your age (so get the kids involved too!). The rules are super simple but differ slightly on whether you like to read books or are really reluctant….

1. Pick a book to read during the month of February and do your best to read the whole book.

Reluctant readers- Pick any book you think you will like, of any genre, length, format and any age range (can be a kids book if you’re an adult – seriously, I read them 😀 ) and not one you think you should be reading(unless you really want to), and do your best to read it during the whole of February.

Bookworms & Occassional readers – Pick a book in a genre that you don’t usually read or one you don’t think that you like. (eg – if you usually stick to romance and contemporary, try a thriller, historical fiction or something else).

OR (if you already read a wide range of genres)

Pick a book in an age range that you don’t usually read or one you think you don’t like (eg – if you never read YA (young adult) or children’s books then try one)

OR (if you already read lots of different age ranges)

If you usually only read traditionally published books, try an indie/self-published book, or pick a tome/doorstopper (over 500 pages) if you usually only read short books, or if you never read audiobooks try one, and vice versa, etc, etc.

The whole point is to challenge any ideas you have about other genres, age-ranges, or types of books that you might have. Even if you’ve had a previous bad experience with a type of book, pick another by a different author.

Everyone – Pick up a book and read something that puts you out of your normal comfort zone. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you read (a page a day is fine), and it doesn’t matter how many books you read (just one is the challenge but if you want to read more then go for it 😀 ). What DOES matter is that you try, and show everyone, including yourself, that these books that you thought you didn’t like…might actually be really fun to read after all!

2. Get involved (if possible) on social media and tell everyone what you are reading, or how your challenge is going, by using the hashtag #Febookary. And don’t forget to support and encourage others who are taking part too 🙂

That’s it! Only two rules, both are really easy and simple and anyone can take part. In fact please use #Febookary alongside other reading challenges if you are someone who does them frequently.

Don’t forget…

#Febookary is something fun and short and hopefully during February (the month of love – it is Valentine’s month after all) you will discover a new love of reading that you didn’t know you had. Maybe you’ll discover that books can be fun, maybe you’ll discover a new genre you didn’t think you would enjoy, or maybe you’ll feel proud for finishing a big book after always sticking to short ones. Whatever your own #Febookary challenge is, please do enjoy it and be proud of whatever reading you do end up doing.

Please use the hashtag #Febookary online, spread the news about the challenge to anyone you think will participate (online and offline), blog about #Febookary and please do use the banner above (if you like 🙂 ) to tell everyone about this simple and fun challenge. Also, don’t forget to be supportive of everyone else online who’s taking part. Remember, this isn’t a challenge race, there’s no special score at the end and it isn’t about how many books you get through. Some people will manage one book while others will manage more. It doesn’t matter how fast you read, whether you’re a speed reader or take a long time to finish just one page. It doesn’t even matter if you try your best but don’t even finish a book during #Febookary (although please do try 🙂 ).

What matters is that you all challenge yourselves, and feel proud of what you accomplished at the end of the month 🙂

Visit the official #FEBOOKARY page for more hints and tips on how to make the best out of this challenge. And follow this blog here on WordPress or on social media (I’m on twitter mostly and Instagram) @TStrawberryPost for more tips on how to start and enjoy reading, and book recommendations – especially for reluctant readers.

So let’s all get involved and make #Febookary something big. Everyone can face their reading fears and beat them. Everyone can find a new love of reading, and let’s show the whole world that books are for everyone and there’s so many out there to enjoy 🙂 ❤

-If this reading challenge ressembles any others out there then please be assured I had no idea when creating this and did try searching for a ‘face your reading fears’ challenge before creating this. The #Febookary hashtag is barely in use and I am adopting it for this challenge as it sounds perfect! 😀

*NOTE- If this challenge does gain soume ground and is well received this year then there’s a good chance I’ll be doing more for it next year – let’s see how it goes 🙂 😀 ❤

What do you think of this challenge? Will you be reading at least one book that’s out of your normal reading comfort for #Febookary? Let me know what you think in the comments below 🙂

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