Home   |   LCS Prints Store   |   About Me   |   FAQ   

Monday, September 9, 2013

Post 650 (Yikes!), The Reading Quest



My sister-in-law gave my husband and me lovely Christmas presents this past year— handmade bookmarks and custom designed book journals for each of us.  I’ve kept a running list of books I want to read for years, but this book journal also includes a classification for books read.  The blank pages in that section presented a challenge to me at the end of 2012 and I gave myself a goal to read fifty-two books in fifty-two weeks.  I’m sure many of you read more than that, but for me, a book a week is doable, without adding undue pressure. 

The journal has been acting as a conscience of sort.  Two weeks ago, when I counted up the books I’ve read and discovered I was behind in my pace, I hustled off to the library and upped the ante.  Fourteen days later, the four books I finished brought me up to thirty-seven books in by week thirty-seven. During that time, everything other than writing time took second place to my quest to get back on target.  TV, Facebook, online Scrabble all had a rest.  That was worth it right there.

Now, I have fifteen books to read by year end and that doesn’t sound like much.  I still have plenty of options on my TBR list, but I’m thinking I’d like to go out with a proverbial bang.  Do any of you have an Oh-my-gosh-I-couldn’t-put-it-down-had-to-stay-up-late-to-finish-it book you’d like to recommend to me?  What’s your favorite book? And if you have time in the comments, would you mind telling me why?

10 comments:

Old Kitty said...

What a great goal for the year and what a fab journal to help you along too!

A Streetcat Named Bob by James Bowen and the sequel The World According to Bob are fabulous reads! :-) Couldn't put either down and read them in half a day each!

Take care
x

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

You're ahead of me. I average one-two books a month.
I recommend anything by Preston and Child, especially the Agent Pendergast series.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I read so many different genre of books I couldn't begin to suggest one. My daughter did turn me onto Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. You really can't put it down if you like fantasy.

Robin said...

I love your journal. That was a great idea for a gift.

I have been reading a lot of YA recently. I find the younger characters refreshing and I like that they are less "racy" then so many books for adults. That isn't to say that I strictly read YA, because I don't. Right now I am re-reading a Stephanie Plum novel (by Janet Evanovich) simply because they are so much FUN. I always laugh a lot when I read them!

Unknown said...

So cool! 15 sounds like a lot to me. :)

Liz Blocker said...

I love this idea. People are always asking me what I'm reading, and I always blank out when they do. I want to keep a list! And I love the 52 books in a year goal :)

Yvonne Osborne said...

I love handmade gifts and what a neat idea. But I feel bad enough about not writing as much as I want to without worrying about not reading all the books on my "to-read list". I'm way behind on all counts. A book a week? No way!!

"A Sport and a Pasttime" by James Salter was pretty good. Currently reading 11/23/63 by Stephen King, you know, the what-if-Kennedy- hadn't-died novel, which I find an intriguing concept. He's very wordy though and it will probably take me til November.

mshatch said...

I think I'll have read more than last year and that was my goal. here's two I really enjoyed:

The Leftovers by Tom Perotta
Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel

Robin said...

Hey Liza, I dedicated something to you on the Thursday post. I hope you like it:)

Bish Denham said...

What a lovely gift!

A book that really made an impression on me is Dancing in the Shadows of Love by Judy Croome. It's not fast paced, but it's beautifully written and filled with symbolism.

A favorite book, is Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright. It was published after his death in 1942. If you take the time to read through the first couple of chapters you might well be carried into a world form which you won't want to leave.