Reader's Crafts: Buddy Reads

Hi guys. I know we are battling with a lot of idle time on our hands as we are spending a major part of our days in our houses. And we need a lot of distractions as a ammunition. One of the best ways to utilize time for bookworms can be reading books! And if we get a partner to co-read a book our choice would be cherry on the cake, right?

In this wide world breeding with lovers of of sprinting technology, there are only a few eyes which search for the beautifully printed words, only a few noses which seek the bliss of smells wafting from pages, only a few hands which search for bookmarks and only a few souls who seek the heaven of reading books! And those few souls need to come together and expand their warm community!

One way of doing this, is organizing a buddy read. A “buddy read” is when one or more persons agree to read a book with you.

As many of you know, I had organized a buddy read recently. I had been getting queries about how to go about it since a long time. So today’s post will be a handy guide on how you can take your love for books to a next level!

Let’s the fun ride begin! *trumpets*

1. Don’t be shy to reach out – A buddy read is all about having fun while reading and reviewing a book with a person who shares your love for books! It surely is a two way street, no doubt, but it would work out only if you take the first step. Don’t be afraid to reach out to a person who you think would be the best “buddy”. If you feel shy to talk to him/her,social media, handwritten letters, notes or even a simple text message could do the trick. Take the plunge and who knows you might find your new best friend in the guise of your buddy!
2. Be patient– As you reach out to your “buddy”, be patient for them to respond.They might be in the middle of a read or other commitments, so they might take a little more to respond, than you expected. Or if you are approaching strangers,they might not respond at all. Don’t be disheartened by it. It is natural. Relax. Smile. And continue your search for your buddy. You’ll eventually find your buddy with a magnificent halo, who’ll be eager to share spine-thrilling adventures with you. You can take my word for it, buddy reads are great fun!
3. Be careful while choosing your book– The most important thing which can turn your buddy read in a glistening success or an embarrassing tragedy is the selection of your book. Choose a book which suits the interests of both readers. If you want to try a new genre, do read a little about the book beforehand, otherwise the book will become monotonous to read, ultimately defeating the purpose of the buddy read. I suggest you talk with you buddy beforehand and select the book together. It would be a good time to invest time in choosing a book before you actually begin the buddy read.
4. Be flexible while setting the time frame– All buddy reads are organized within a given time frame. You choose a specific date to begin, a specific date to end and a few days in the duration to discuss the book. Be flexible while deciding upon these factors. You might be a quick reader and the other might be a slow reader or vice versa. Analyse the length of the book and try reading chapters/ number of pages together instead of unrealistic goals, like completing the entire book in a week or so. You expect everything will go according to your plan, but, trust me, it doesn’t. Things tend to go a little haywire and that’s the beauty of buddy reads. Don’t worry, just keep in the mind the tips I have enlisted above and you’ll be good to go.
5. Try deciding the parameters of judging the book beforehand– It would be a great idea to discuss the aspects on which you both will be judging the book before you actually start discussing. It would save a great deal of time at both ends. Some of the aspects can be, main and contemporary themes discussed in the novel, symbolism, validity in the society and so and so forth. It depends entirely on the two readers.
6. Adjusting the different time zones– There might be chances that you and your buddy live in different time zones. To combat this, try finding a time which suits both of you. Otherwise it would become a Herculean task to organize this read. You would have to wait around six-twelve hours before you get a response from the other side. Discuss with your buddy which time is he/she comfortable with and schedule things accordingly.
7. Freely share your thoughts– Your buddy read would lose its essence if you do not share your thoughts with your partner. Don’t be shy or apprehensive to share whatever you feel about the book. It might be possible that you do not like the book and your buddy has added it into his/her Favorite Novels Pile. Don’t be scared to bring your thoughts to light and embrace them proudly.
8. Write a ‘joint’ review– A fun way to conclude your buddy read would be writing a joint review. You can both write different reviews and them fuse the together. Although it might take a lot of creativity and energy on both ends, but it’s worth the effort.You can also post it on social media and tag each other.
9. Try organizing it with a smaller group, for the first time– Buddy reads can be exhausting to organize with all the aspects you have to keep in mind. A better way to resolve this, is to organize them with a smaller group of people. You ca try with two or three people in the beginning and then expand your group if you want to. Do post your progress on social media to help other people who might want to organize buddy reads.
10. Do it again, it’s fun– It was last year when I organised my first buddy read and trust me from that moment, I haven’t been able to stop. It’s so fascinating. You get to meet new people, engage in conversations with fellow book lovers, make new friends, read books and have fun. It a bliss. I urge everyone to try at least one time to be a part of a buddy read!

Future buddy reads–

If any of you guys want to organize a buddy read with me, I would love to be a part of it! Let’s see which book lover I get to befriend this time.

Ping me in the comments section, if you have any queries regarding this. I would be more than happy to help you!

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Until the next time,

Cheers!

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