
I feel like I mention this in all of my posts for one reason or another, but I was in a reading slump for most of 2021, and because of that I fell out of the habit of reading every day. I have been trying to get back to it but it’s been hard, so I decided to try to read 100 pages every day for a week to see if it helped. Spoiler alert: I actually failed the challenge, but it still had very positive results even if I didn’t manage to read 100 pages every day.
In this post, I tell you about my experience doing this reading challenge with updates of how much and what did I read every day of the week. I also decided to include a peek into what I did every day of the week besides reading. I’m someone who really enjoys reading updates about the life of people I follow, so I thought it would be fun to share a little a bit about my life.
Now that all that is out of the way, here’s how the reading challenge went:

February 7
Page count: 110 pages

The first day of this challenge, I read the last 40 pages of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw, which was on my tbr for Black History Month. I really liked all the stories except for one which is really difficult to accomplish for a short story collection. The way it addressed queerness, womanhood, complicated mother/daughter relationships, and the intersections of these things with religion and faith was really interesting.
I also read 70 pages of The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson, which I enjoyed but it wasn’t what I was in the mood for so I’ve put it down for now.
Now, here’s a little peek into the other things I did that day:

Low-stakes series set in small towns really work for me when I’m anxious, so I had a lot of fun watching season 2 of Sweet Magnolias. I also watched an episode of Blackpink House, as a new-ish Blackpink fan I’m having fun getting caught up with all the content. Lastly, the blog post I finished this day was Ranking all the kdramas I watched in January 2022 .

February 8
Page count: 51 pages
On day 2, I started Bending the Rules by Christina C. Jones and read 51 pages. I got hooked right away, but unfortunately, I didn’t hit the 100 pages mark because I started reading at like 11:00 pm. In this book, the main characters used to be best friends but got into a fight 7 years prior and haven’t talked since, but once they reunite and clear up the misunderstanding, sparks begin to fly. Christina C Jones really knows how to write great chemistry between her main characters.

A little peek into the other things I did that day:
I started a new kdrama and it wasn’t the best decision for my reading. I started watching kdramas last year and they are the main reason I have been reading so much less the last few months. Still, I’m having a lot of fun watching dramas, so I don’t think this is gonna change anytime soon.

February 9
Page count: 35 pages
Things went even worst on day 3, since I only read 35 pages of Bending the Rules this day. While I was enjoying the book, I was too invested in the kdrama I was watching and didn’t make that much time to read. Nonetheless, if it wasn’t for this challenge, I wouldn’t have read anything this day or the day before. I’ll take that as a small win.
A little peek into the other things I did that day:

I finished my kdrama, which was Just Between Lovers (aka Rain or Shine) and I really enjoyed it. It was really angsty and it had a really slow-burn romance, but it was also touching and sweet and it had some really complex and interesting side characters. I became so engrossed in this that I needed to finish it and that’s why I ended up reading so little this day.

February 10
Page count: 312 pages

On day 4, I made up for not reading that much during days 2 and 3. I read the final 133 pages of Bending the Rules and while I ended up liking the book, there was a lot of miscommunication which frustrated me a bit. I also read the last 159 pages of Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers and I enjoyed the final part of the book more than the rest because it was more focused on the main character healing and learning to take care of her mental health. The writing and the romance in this didn’t work for me (full review to come!). Lastly, I read 20 pages of The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djelí Clark and these first pages were ok, but I wasn’t too invested in the beginning.

A little peek into what other things I did that day:
I have been enjoying blog hopping a lot lately, I’m participating in the 2022 Support Book Bloggers challenge this year and I’m trying to visit other blogs and take the time to comment as a way to show people that I value their content.

February 11
Page count: 180 pages

<Another good day for reading. I read the last 93 pages of The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djelí Clark, which is steampunk fantasy with a mystery element. While it showed glimpses of a complex and unique world with so many different kinds of supernatural creatures, the short format didn’t completely work for me, still I’m looking forward to reading the full-length novel. I also read the last 87 pages of A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers, which was good, but I was expecting a little more. My main issue is that I didn’t love the main character, I found them boring, but I did like the casual queerness, the concept of a world, the hopeful tone of the story, the wholesome second main character and the interesting commentary on productivity.

A little peek into the other things I did that day:
My anxiety has been really bad lately which means I have a hard time doing the same activity for more than 20 minutes. This was a particularly bad day in terms of anxiety, so that’s why I did so many things throughout the day. I was constantly jumping from one activity to another.

February 12
Page Count: 0 pages

I completely forgot to read this day, I unexpectedly had to work on a Saturday and I was so anxious the whole day, so it was not fun. Nonetheless, I had a friend’s birthday party that night and seeing my friends helped me feel better and I ended up having a great time.

February 13
Page count: 223 pages

The last day was also a very good day in terms of reading, I finished two books and I gave both of them 5 stars! I read 120 pages of Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood and I LOVED this novella. This has forced proximity and “enemies” who are attracted to each other, slowly become friends and then become so much more. This book makes the evolution of their relationship so believable. Also, this is really steamy. Lastly, I read 103 pages of Comfort Me with Apples by Catherynne M. Valente and the story in this book was so unexpected but so good! It’s better to go into this knowing as little as possible. I thought it was gonna be a completely different story, but it’s so smart and quietly disturbing and I loved it.
A little peek into the other things I did that day:

Another day when I was really anxious which is why I did so many things. A new drama that I was highly anticipating started airing, I watched the first 2 episodes of Forecasting Love and Weather and I LOVED them. I’ve got a good feeling that this is going to be a new favorite kdrama. Also, the blog post I finished writing was 5 perfect book-song pairings.
I tried to be more active by taking a walk, going grocery shipping and decluttering my closet, to see if it would help with my anxiety and it actually did. So that was really good.

RESULTS
TOTAL OF PAGES READ: 911 pages
I feel like this challenge ended up having really positive outcomes, some that I expected and some that I didn’t:
This challenge helped me read even on days when I wasn’t particularly motivated to do it. Even if I didn’t read 100 pages every day, knowing that I was participating in this challenge made me try. Since I was in a reading slump for most of last year and I’m just coming out of it, this helped me get back to my habit of reading at least a little every day.
An unexpected outcome is that this challenge put me in a reading mood. While I was out of the reading slump for a while and I could read, I didn’t feel that passionate desire to read that I used to have, but thanks to this challenge, I got that feeling back. I want to read all the time and I feel so invested in all the books I have been reading, which is something that wasn’t feeling lately.
Overall, I’m really glad that I decided to do this challenge! now I know that if I’m ever feeling unmotivated when it comes to reading, this is something I can try.

This seems like such an interesting challenge. I’ve been trying online readalongs to get myself to sit down and just read for certain times of the day, but I’ve been slacking. You made great progress though! Even the days that didn’t end on a 100 pages were easily offset by days where you read more. I’m glad you feel invested in your books again!!
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I’m really bad with online readalongs, I always end up failing at those, so I definitely can understand slacking on them.
Thank you, I’m so happy to be invested in books again, and just for that reason I feel like the challenge was a success, but you’re right, I did end up compensating for the days I didn’t read 100 pages, so that’s good too. Honestly, all around, it was a really fun challenge to try!
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This is so interesting! And it was great to get a glimpse into your reading life! Great post ❤️
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thank you, Destiny! I’m so glad you found it interesting, I was a bit worried that no one would , so it’s good to hear 💛
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Loved reading this!
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Thank you, evelyn! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
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That must have been so much fun! This almost felt like reading a vlog haha. I can’t wait to read under one roof. ✨
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I’m glad it felt like a vlog, it was kind of what I was going for haha. I hope you love under one roof as much as I did!
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Ooooh, I LOVE this post and this challenge! I really enjoy kind of “slice of life” daily diary type posts like this and keep debating on doing something similar, so you might have helped give me that last little nudge I needed haha. Also, same on Psalm for the Wild-Built’s MC, I loved the casual queerness but couldn’t get into the MC at all sadly 😦
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I hope you end up doing a post like that, I’m a big fan of that type of content so I would love to read it. But I totally see why you are hesitating, I also thought about it for a while before doing it because I wasn’t sure if people would enjoy it. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one that felt that way about the MC of A Psalm for the Wild-Built. I haven’t heard anyone else mention it so I thought I was alone.
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This is inspirational! “Even if I didn’t read 100 pages every day, knowing that I was participating in this challenge made me try.” – I love that. I used to read a bit every day but I haven’t done that for ages. I think I should try this out to get me back in the habit. Cos like you said, even if I don’t read a particular goal, at least I will be reading a bit more than I was before.
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You should definitely give it a shot, I think it could help you to read a bit more and to get back in the habit of reading every day. Honestly, I’m so happy with the results of this challenge that I’m basically recommending it to everyone.
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I loved reading about your experience trying to read 100 pages per day! It was also interesting to see what else you did that day 😊 I read A Psalm for the Wild-Built this month and I’m relieved to have found someone else who found the book a bit underwhelming. I liked the novella, but was hoping for more, especially as it was so hyped!
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I’m so happy you found the post interesting! You are the second person that says they felt the same way about A Psalm for the Wild-Built and I’m feeling validated. I was under the impression that everyone loved it so I’m glad I’m not the only one who didn’t.
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I enjoyed reading this, it was so much fun to follow along! I actually try to read 100 pages every day, I’ve been doing it for years. Some days are better than others. I find it also depends on the book, when a book is fast paced I can fly through it so quickly… sometimes faster than I want to 😂 but I find it fun to try and read a certain amount every day!
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I’m so happy you enjoyed the post! I have never tried to read a certain number of pages before. But I used to read every day without having to think about it and now I don’t anymore, so this was definitely a fun way to push myself to do it. But i totally agree that it depends on the book, I struggled more at the beginning of the challenge when I wasn’t loving the books I was reading, but then I picked up some great books and I read so much on those days.
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You’re welcome! 😄
I think the busier life gets, reading gets pushed to the side, so having a goal is really helpful, for me. I’ve tried with different numbers over the years but 100 has definitely been the one that has stuck the most! Yes! The better the book, the more you want to read 😊
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i love this sofia! i always see these types of challenges on booktube and it’s so cool to have it translated to a blog format! kdramas are both such a blessing and a curse for my reading but i’m so excited for forecasting love and weather – waiting for my next big break (in april T_T) to binge watch 😂
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Thanks, riv! I’m so glad you enjoyed the post. I’m watching forecasting love and weather right now and really loving it!
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