3 of these are for Reading Challenges, 2 of those are from last year! |
...I don't feel any sense of urgency, I definitely don't feel the same way I did this time last year when a 50 book challenge loomed on the horizon. I wasn't sure (with everything that goes on with day to day living) I'd be able to do it, I was afraid that my zest for reading had died. I wasn't even sure that I really liked to read for pleasure anymore. Those were dark times.
And, why were they?
You get pizza just for reading...pizza people! |
In college I read a ton of books many of them were required for classes, but were still fun for me. I appreciate Early British lit, dislike explorer narratives, worship The Scarlet Letter as the first American novel and read The Sun Also Rises every year. I love Edith Wharton and Thornton Wilder, Toni Morrison, Harlem Renaissance poetry, Thomas Hardy and Jane Austen.
Then it all just died.
Don't kill me, I'm just trying to finish Vanity Fair |
I tried to get it back on my own. I assigned choice reading at the Honors level. This allowed me to have a list of books; a goal. I made it a point to read books from this list. I started assigning a Non-Fiction book project. It helped me read more non-fiction. It opened up a whole new world of books. But, I still wasn't reading like I used to...I wasn't make my own personal list. I felt like I was reading to survive.
And, then my friend Julie devised herself a plan--50 books in a year, and I soon followed with my own plan. I made it official on Goodreads, I made it official on my newly developed blog, I joined Goodreads reading groups, I joined challenges, I followed reading blogs. And, then I began to read. The reading started off kind of slow, but by summer I was ahead of my goal. I was ahead of my goal by 15 wonderfully, marvelous, glorious books!
I read everywhere and anytime. It felt like old times. I read my books to my kiddo at night. I read while she napped, I read while she was at daycare. I read on planes. I tried, unsuccessfully, to read in the car. And, people who are reading this, I read for pleasure!
It wasn't until school started that I realized I'd easily meet my reading goal, but not my challenges, and you know what I didn't care! Having those challenges just forced me to read outside of my comfort zone, having a goal of 50 just guaranteed that I'd read more than that. Having those challenges just meant that there was something on the horizon geared towards making me a better reader, thinker, writer, teacher...person.
And, then I read this lovely post by Gabe Habash and thought, "Oh, geez, what if I'm doing it wrong?" Seriously, I thought that literally for 5 minutes at least...you see Gabe (I feel like I can call him by his first name) counted his pages and I only counted my books. I read more books, but he friggin' read more pages (War and Peace in three weeks, really!? Gar, I'm soooo ashamed it took me 8 months to read Vanity Fair) and I stopped checking my challenge updates...I was *gulp* reading for pleasure. And, I realize, reading his post for the 15th time, that he was reading for pleasure to...he accidentally got caught up in the numbers.
And, I didn't feel any pressure...can you tell I did not play sports in high school? Can you tell I haven't a competitive bone in my body?
Will I continue my challenges? Yes, remember they've made me a better person. Will I do the new ones? Yes, to the best of my ability...there really are books I want to read! I've upped my reading challenge to 55 books (I could do more, but, then I'd lose all the fun of it!). But, I don't care if I don't meet my goal and I don't care if my challenges spill over into the next year or the next. If I'm reading just for the sake of reading who's winning? It sure ain't me!
I just finished a book last night and it felt so good to add it to my Goodreads list. It ain't pizza (there isn't a Book It program for adults or high school students, I know, sad right!?), but it's a start!
Oh, and I love looking at and reading my 50+ books list of 2011. I recall each moment, each feeling...it's fantabulous!
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