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Although I am approaching my goal of reading one more book than the year before, I must say that it has not been a very enjoyable journey this year. A large percentage of books that I read did not resonate with me. At all. Which is a major bummer and sucks all of the reading mojo right out of me.
Now thankfully, I just finished reading a wonderful book that got me excited about books again. It is amazing what a good read can do for motivation. I started thinking about how I came to read those books that I disliked so much this year. Most of them were not on my To Read list to begin with. I picked it up randomly, or because it was a prize or it was suggested for a group discussion. It is true that I have also come across some real gems through random reading too. But the fact of the matter is, I have a very long list of titles that I spent time considering before adding to my wish list. And I'd like to use my quality time reading them.
So for 2011, in addition to continuing to read one more book than the year before, I would also like to make half of them books that I have really been wanting to get to. I am going to spend the next month going through my list on Goodreads and moving the ones I am most excited about reading to the top of my rankings. And then I am going to read WHAT I WANT, WHEN I WANT. And I hope that my instincts are correct. I am looking forward to an incredible year of reading. How about you?
Now's your chance - join our monthly Bumble Town Chat NEXT Friday night, 12/10, at 8:30PM ET right HERE and chime in about the best books you've read this year. Maybe we can share some titles and create 2011 book lists to die for.
12 comments:
GOOD LUCK with your reading for 2011. I am not committing to ANYTHING until I finish my thesis and graduate, so I am REALLY looking forward to May!
I am compiling my "best list" as I speak. I have had a good year of reading overall. It makes me want to cry to hear that your mojo has been stolen by shitty books. When there are so many good ones out there! Next year my goal is to stay away from commitments (ARCs, challenges) and read through all these wonderful books I have sitting on my shelves. At least for a few months. Book clubs will be enough of a commitment for me. I will try to join you on Friday. We'll see how things go...
I am about to finish my 75th, which was my goal for the year!!
Pretty excited but I've slowed down with holidays and such. I miss my reading times. It's so relaxing.
I am looking forward to another year of amazing books :) :)
Congrats on reaching your goal!
By the end of the year I will have read around 76 or 77! I was hoping for 100...but with school and an 18 month old...Maybe I'll try for 80 this next year. Sorry your reads weren't that great this year. I had fun reading The Housekeeper and the Professor with you, though!
I have hit several reading slumps this year. I am not sure what that is all about. My reading has slowed down a lot, but I am okay with it. I think for 2011 I will cut back on the challenges. That is the extent I have thought about next year's reading.
Sorry abour your lackluster reading year. I'm sure next year will be better. Trusting your instincts is good but don't get too caught up in your list because you might miss out on a few gems that way and sometimes the unexpected ones that are best :)
Molly, did you mean to say this Friday for the chat - as in tomorrow? I had on my calendar Friday the 10th.
In any case I have looked back on the books I read this year and I'm ready with my list.
Correction Margot - yes - NEXT Friday 12/10. Not this one ;0) I have corrected the post. Thanks dearie!
Obviously, we all have our opinions about a book being a good one. But One of the best I ever read was purely at random last year. We were on vacation in Maine, with no radio or TV. The rental house had a small library of books in the living room. I picked one up, read the inside cover and decided to give it a try. I couldn't put it down.
The Wedding....by Nicholas Sparks.
sounds like a great plan--I might join you. Last year I participated in toooo many challenges. I did read a lot of good books that I probably wouldn't have picked up otherwise though. I'm going to look through the challenges before I make a plan for next year. Funny thing, before I started blogging I never had a plan for reading or had any idea what a TBR was.
My reading has definitely gone down from last year; it does not feel like a good thing. However, I have taken another blogger's dare to read only the books at hand (i.e., on the floor) for a while. We'll see how that goes. After all, they're in those piles because I wanted to read them...
I'm afraid my reading stats for 2010 will be dismal so I might just not even face them. I feel like work took precedence over my reading this year but I am hopeful that 2011 will bring me more reading time. I did enjoy the books I read this year though and that was a good thing. On to 2011!
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