In Which I Lay Out the Game Plan
There's every possibility I'll come to regret writing this, but I hope that by doing so, I'll commit myself more than if it's just a notion in my head. In setting out a reading goal for 2010, I knew there were a couple bullet points I definitely wanted to reach: that I would begin reading more books by women* and I'd try more authors I've never read before rather than just the old standbys. And read more than the 50 books I read last year.
But how many more? I thought 75 was a good number, but I already did that in 2007. Why not raise the stakes? So in a possible kamikaze move, I have decided to read 100 books, and use this blog to document my efforts. Why? Who the hell knows. But it'll be fun.**
100 books: that's an average of 8 1/3 books a month, or just less than a book every four days. I read steadily, but not so steadily where I can polish off one literary heavyweight after the other every 3-4 days.*** Besides, I have to account for longer books and occasional funks where I can't get into anything. So I kind of have to cheat a little -- well, not cheat so much as recognize my own limitations and adjust accordingly -- and acknowledge that the only way to reach 100 is by reading a steady diet of YA books and airport fiction. I'm not as well versed in good YA fiction as I am in adult fiction, so any recommendations are welcome.****
Let's start the insanity.
*By which I mean authors like Marilynne Robinson or Jhumpa Lahiri rather than Sophie Kinsella. Nothing against Sophie Kinsella.
**Or some facsimile thereof.
*** Which kind of goes against the spirit of good reading, anyway. Unless you read nothing but junk (and why would you want to do that?), how would you find the time to actually think about what you read? Letting a good story roll around your head for a while feels like an essential component of the reading experience, yet it's what mercenary reading (like the woman who reads a book a day) can't allow.
****Harry Potter is still another couple years away. Twilight is another lifetime away. Find me something else.
But how many more? I thought 75 was a good number, but I already did that in 2007. Why not raise the stakes? So in a possible kamikaze move, I have decided to read 100 books, and use this blog to document my efforts. Why? Who the hell knows. But it'll be fun.**
100 books: that's an average of 8 1/3 books a month, or just less than a book every four days. I read steadily, but not so steadily where I can polish off one literary heavyweight after the other every 3-4 days.*** Besides, I have to account for longer books and occasional funks where I can't get into anything. So I kind of have to cheat a little -- well, not cheat so much as recognize my own limitations and adjust accordingly -- and acknowledge that the only way to reach 100 is by reading a steady diet of YA books and airport fiction. I'm not as well versed in good YA fiction as I am in adult fiction, so any recommendations are welcome.****
Let's start the insanity.
*By which I mean authors like Marilynne Robinson or Jhumpa Lahiri rather than Sophie Kinsella. Nothing against Sophie Kinsella.
**Or some facsimile thereof.
*** Which kind of goes against the spirit of good reading, anyway. Unless you read nothing but junk (and why would you want to do that?), how would you find the time to actually think about what you read? Letting a good story roll around your head for a while feels like an essential component of the reading experience, yet it's what mercenary reading (like the woman who reads a book a day) can't allow.
****Harry Potter is still another couple years away. Twilight is another lifetime away. Find me something else.
posted by Mike at 2:16 PM
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