To me, books are like movies. You wouldn’t pause a movie halfway through it only to resume it the next day or even a week from now. I believe that books are best consumed all in one sitting, whether that’s in the car or at the beach, but preferably it’ll be in bed during a rainy day. So, with a pile of Christmas reading and academic journals looming over my head, I decided now was the perfect time to tackle the challenge. I tried reading for 24 hours straight and here’s what happened!
I read Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur and I have some thoughts. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been reading Virginia Woolf and Ann Duffy lately, but I didn’t love this one. It may have been the lowercase script or moody sketches, but this book just seemed very “millennial,” and it seemed like it was trying way too hard. I feel bad saying that because I love the author’s story, and I’m sure it resonates with some people. My moody, tragic-artist, fourteen-year-old self would have been all over this.
Next up was The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I really enjoyed this book, despite it being extremely sad and on the longer side. It’s about the relationship between two sisters in France during World War II. It explores a part of history that a lot of people don’t know about and narrates what the war was like for women. If you enjoyed Sarah’s Key or All the Light We Cannot See, then I would highly recommend picking up a copy of this book!
After that, I moved onto You Do You: How to Be Who You Are and Use What You’ve Got to Get What You Want by Sarah Knight. This was a very quick and enjoyable read for me, even though I don’t usually like self-help books. If you’ve read The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson, then this is the next book you should pick up on your self-love journey!
Last but not least, I started What Night Brings by Carla Trujillo, which is a novel I have to read for my Contemporary Women’s Writing course. From what I’ve read so far, I really enjoy the story: a 12-year-old girl wishes she could be a boy and that her abusive father would just disappear. This is a textbook that I’m definitely going finish reading and keep in the future.
Now onto the part, you’re all waiting for: did I finish the challenge?
The answer would be a resounding no. I didn’t make it the full 24 hours. To be honest, it was more like 17, and that’s with an hour nap in between. Even though I think that this challenge is possible, just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should!
As much as I love reading, it’s not something I want to exhaust myself over, speed through, or do for an entire day straight because I would miss out on a lot of things. Also, when you’re a student, you’re going to be hard-pressed to find a day where you have nothing going on so that you can accomplish such a feat.
To all the Golden Hawks who are thinking of attempting this challenge, I wish you luck and make sure to strategize. I, however, am going to sleep now! Night night, and good luck!