For as long as I can remember, I have loved to read.
I remember a picture where I fell asleep with a Samantha American Girl doll book draped over my face. Reading was a hobby. Year after year, one book came after another.
Then college began, and reading fell on the priority list.
Honestly, I don’t remember reading anything but textbooks and Facebook feeds during the school year (summers - replace textbooks with books and keep the Facebook feeds). Even after I was out in the “real world,” I never seemed to get my groove back. Then pretty quickly, situations changed, and suddenly I was riding a bus into the city each day – 45 minutes in, about an hour home. I had all the time in the world to read again.
Last year, I joined my local library’s 52 book challenge, aiming to read a book a week. The bus and my fancy book light gave me time to do that, although sometimes naps and stomachaches got in the way. I figured I’d sign up, and if I didn’t finish, oh well, no one would know. At times, I thought I’d never cross the finish line. Other times, I thought I’d read 75 because the bus rides were so long.
At the end of 2017, 62 books were consumed. Some within a day, some within 2 weeks, some books I suffered my way through only to wonder why I bothered, some I couldn’t wait for the bus ride home to keep reading. I figured why not try it again.
So here it is – my journey to 52 books in 2018, completely documented.
Writing down my thoughts about books might turn out to be a terrible idea - I might be bad at it, I may forget to write one down, no one could read this except my boyfriend, I may not read all 52.
I can’t promise the highest quality of books at times, and you may not find the classics, or even a lot of non-fiction. Occasionally, you may find a Nora Roberts romance novel, a book recommended by the Skimm, one found when wandering the library at lunch, another suggested by my sister, or a book I’ve read ten times.
I read for fun, so if I can recommend one book to one person, that’s good enough for me. Enjoy.
