While I admire Largehearted Boy’s voracious appetite for the written word, I don’t think that I could keep up with his 52 Weeks, 52 Books schedule. Nevertheless, I am going to read a scheduled number of books next year. For me, that number will be a safe 26. That’s one book every two weeks. Totally doable by my standards. I think.
I started thinking about it the other day, and I realized that I only have one lifetime, and I began wondering how many books I could possibly read in that lifetime. In 2005, I probably read 10 to 12 books, not counting all of my college texts. If I only maintain that rate and live another — and this is is a generous estimate — 60 years, that means I’ll only be able to read 600 to 700 more books in my lifetime. That’s not a huge number. So I decided to add a little more discipline to my reading. At 26 books a year for 60 years, I’ll be able to cram in another 1,560 books before I die. That would be awesome.
So I’m setting up the 26 Books page on my blog to both allow me to externalize my thoughts on each book as I finish it, and to provide a little impetus to keep me moving. I’ll also keep an image of my 7 of spades bookmark up there, with each new title added just like it is in real life. After I finish each book, I’ll post my thoughts on it in 500 words or less. The 26 Books page will also feature a running list of the books I’ve chosen with links to corresponding posts.
The list itself is fluid. I’ve chosen 26 books from the get go, but if I decide to substitute or even add books to the list, that’s what will happen. Not all of the books are necessarily new. Actually, most of them are at least a year old or, in some cases, very old. I chose most of them because they are the one’s that have sat unread on my bookshelf for far too long. I acquired them once because I wanted to read them. Now I’m going to follow up on that desire.
Well, wish me luck, Constant Reader. I hope this is something that I can do, and that maybe you get something out of this as well.
My first book of the year:
“The Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare
It’s hard to remember we’re alive for the last time.
It’s hard to remember, it’s hard to remember
To live before you die.— “Lives” by Modest Mouse
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