I Completed The 75 Booked Challenge: Here Is What I Learned

Have you heard of the 75 Booked challenge? Maybe you’ve been thinking about trying it, or completely shot it down when you heard the phrase book-buying ban? Or maybe this is the first you’ve heard about this challenge? Whichever scenario describes you, I believe you’ll get a lot out of this post. 

I completed the 75 Booked challenge at the beginning of the year. I want to share my journey through this challenge (before, during, and after). By the end of this post you may come away with a new perspective on the challenge, and who knows, maybe you’ll try 75 Booked for yourself.

What Is The 75 Booked Challenge?

The main focus of the 75 booked challenge is reading books you own and reading every day for 75 days. The concept was molded off the 75 Hard and 75 Soft fitness challenges but instead focusing on reading! The point is to draw yourself back into the benefits of reading by more intentional and strategic approaches.

You can add more to it, like attending book club or tracking your reading, and customize this challenge to what you want. A quick online search will show you how varied each challenge entails based on each person that posts their challenge. You can use someone else’s template or customize one for yourself. Below, we outline more details on how to get a good start on your own.

My Experience With 75 Booked

I had been seeing the 75 booked challenge everywhere, TikTok, Pinterest, and Instagram mostly, and at first I wasn’t going to do it. However, I became more and more curious so when someone in my book club suggested we do it I figured I should just jump in and try.

I’m glad I decided to join because it was a great way to reset some of my bookish habits, read with intention, and of course connect more with the book club I’m in. Through this 75 day challenge I read 15 books. Nine of the books I already owned and the rest I either borrowed from my local library or kindle unlimited. 

I definitely wasn’t perfect through this challenge. Throughout the two and a half months I believe I only cracked my book buying ban once from an impulse buy. I also didn’t read everyday, but I feel like I more than made up for that on the days I did read. Overall I’m happy with how I did in my first 75 booked challenge. I learned a lot through this challenge, more on that next.

What I Learned Through Completing The 75 Booked Challenge

I thought this was just going to be a fun challenge. I didn’t expect to learn much from it, so thinking back on everything I was surprised at just how much I did learn/accomplish.

Stopped Impulse Buying Books On Sale

Once I bought that one book on impulse I learned my lesson. I thought about all the times I bought ebooks solely because they were three dollars or less. Then I thought about how many of those said books are still untouched on my kindle.

Now I actually stop and think when I see a book on sale. I ask myself if it’s something I truly want to read in the near future. If the answer is no I pass it by.

Started Prioritizing Book Club Picks and Hangouts

One of the unique rules in my book club’s 75 booked challenge was that we attend a bookish event each month. That could be our monthly meeting, another book club meeting, or a bookstore/author event.

Being that I’m in three book clubs (one in-person and two online ones) I had a lot of opportunities here. I also made my own rule/promise to myself to be more open about the books chosen each month. I made it a priority to at least read one monthly pick out of the three each month.

Finally Catalogued My Physical TBR (to-be-read) List

I hadn’t been utilizing my shelf feature in the apps I use to track my books. I decided to go through all the books on my bookshelf and organize ones I haven’t read into a virtual to-be-read (TBR) list. This was immensely helpful when figuring out what I wanted to read each month.

Can Keep Going During A Challenge

This last lesson was a bit of a personal one. You see, I have a big problem with follow through. I can plan all the plans and get excited about participating in something, but I have a hard time actually completing these things. Being able to complete the 75 Booked Challenge, even after messing up a few times throughout it, gave me a big confidence boost.

How To Prepare For 75 Booked

I’m sure after hearing my experience you are itching to start your own 75 Booked Challenge and wondering if you should do it. In my opinion, I think you totally should. You may want to spend a little time beforehand preparing for it though. 

Decide On A Time Period

The first step is to decide when to do this challenge. Remember that it’s about two and a half months so factor the time period into your decision. You may find that summer is a great time because you have more free-time.

Or you may want to wait until the holidays so that you can save money as well as give yourself some me-time reading each day during a busy season. Whatever time period that works best for you is what you should plan for.

Set Your Rules

What I love about this challenge is that you can really make it your own. As long as you read every day the books that you already own you are basically doing it. I already shared one of our rules from the challenge I did with my book club.

We also decided that any book that is a book club pick, is part of a monthly subscription box you subscribe to, or is a part of a series you are reading wouldn’t count against the book buying ban. Choose some guidelines that seem challenging but fun and you are good to go.

Grab Your Preorders

There are new books coming out all the time! If any of your auto-buy authors or anticipated new books are being released during your challenge, get those preorders in. That way you don’t miss the books you’ve been excited about, but also stay true to your book buying ban.

Final Thoughts on The 75 Booked Challenge

Overall I think the 75 Booked was a great challenge, and I’m glad I followed through until the end. I’m looking forward to trying it again soon. I know a big challenge like this can be overwhelming but the outcome is so worth it.

The thing about this challenge you need to keep in mind is that it should be fun. Start the 75 Booked without thinking too much into it or putting too much pressure on it. I’d also recommend having people join you. Challenges are more fun with friends there to keep you accountable.

I hope you enjoy the 75 Booked Challenge if you decide to try it. If you do, I’d love to know what you think. Feel free to comment below so I can cheer you on.

About the Author

---