When I started this year's reading challenge--Reading 52 Books in 52 Weeks--I had visions of grandeur. I started dreaming of all of the books that I would read--fluff, classics, non-fiction, Christian classics, autobiographies, etc. Oh, the list was full of thought-provoking literary works. Then reality set in and the vision went Poof!
I quickly realized that if I were to read all of the literary greats that were on my list, I wouldn't get to Book 52 by the end of December. The reason being that most classics take a bit more reading power than modern fiction. They also take up more time. Every time I would have a classic in my hand, frustration settled in because it took more time than the allotted week to finish one of these beauties. It didn't take me long to ascertain that fluff books can be easily read in a week. Hence, contemporary fiction appeared more often than the literary greats of the past.
Don't get me wrong. There are some real gems in amongst contemporary fiction. I have read some very well-written books this year. There are quite a few books that are on my "I have read' list, that will be my favourite books of all time. The thing is, though, that the purpose of this challenge was to read those books that I have wanted to read for eons but have never read. They weren't read this year, either, because they would take longer to read than a week.
Here comes my decision: I have decided that next year, starting in Jan. I will not do another Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks Book Challenge. Nor will I do a Seasonal Book Challenge. The same with Reading Books that Start with the Letter S Book Challenge (there isn't such a challenge, at least not to my knowledge, but give it time.)
Oh, yeah, my decision. Well, the decision is that I am going to do my own, personal challenge all by myself. This challenge will be to read the books on AO's Yr. 7 book list (MIa will be doing this list in two years so I need to be prepared) as well as the books in my basement that have never been read. Books like The Count of Monte Cristo, Moll Flanders, Blink, The Great Gatsby. Oh, I am getting dizzy just thinking about them. I need to get these books read. I have wasted too much time. I am sure that I will continue to read the fluff books (I have a list just full of them) but I just don't want to read only of that genre. I want more variety and I think the only way to attain that variety is to take away the element of pressure. That is what I will be doing at the beginning of January.