My 2020 Book Challenge

            The holidays have ended; another year is gone. During the holiday season, I saw many posts on social media talking about how many books that person had read in 2019 along with a picture of an impressive stack of books. That got me thinking. How many books did I read in the past year? I know I read a lot because my shelves witness to that fact, but I've never actually kept track. The more I thought about it, the more curious I became. Thus, it is with much excitement I embark on 2020 intending to find an answer that will satisfy my curiosity.

            Books have always been an essential part of my life. My mom instilled a love for the written word in me at an early age and my face has been in a book ever since. I know from experience that reading can not only open up the fictional world but also enlighten a reader about the real world. Countless times a book has sparked a series of questions for me that results in an alarming amount of knowledge about unusual topics. I want that because with each book I finish my views about the world shift. Each story reveals more to me about people and cultures. They teach me about the effects of different circumstances and events. Books help me understand the world I live in and beyond.

            Because of my love of books, I have an eternal book list. You know what I'm talking about. That book list that you're never going to finish in your lifetime because you add books to it at a faster rate than you can read them. I know that I'm most likely not going to make much of a dent in my list this year, but I am trying to be optimistic as I plan out my reading goals. I’m not going into this experiment with a mere list of what I’ve read. Planning is a must in my world, so I’ve created a goal to pursue and set parameters for achieving it. To start, I am going to count both new books and old ones. Books are like old friends to me. I have to visit them often. While I'm not certain, I think it is safe to say I reread books more often than I read new ones. All genres are going to be acceptable as well as all formats. Collections and novellas are common reads for me because of how much easier they are to fit into a schedule. I want to count them to get a more accurate idea of how much reading I do in a year.

            Having some rules to follow is good, but I need a goal to pursue. For the year 2020, my goal is to read 50 books. A lot of thought went into this number. First, I've considered how much reading I do each day. Every day I read for research and educational purposes as well as the reading that I do for enjoyment. However, I've slowed down considerably from the amount of reading I used to do. I no longer have time to read a book in one day. I'm also taking into consideration that over my holiday break, I've read two novellas and nearly finished a full novel. I believe that fifty books are a challenge without being impossible. Knowing my personality, it's going to become a challenge to see how many books over fifty I can read.

            As much as I love books, I love them even more when reading them with others. This experiment would be so much better if everyone participated. I invite all of you readers to keep track of your book count with me. You can follow the same set of rules that I’m using or come up with your own that better fits the way you read. Set yourself a goal for this year and start turning those pages! As the year progresses, I will occasionally give updates. At the end of the year, we can reveal our results and maybe plan loftier goals for the new year. I have a feeling that this is going to be an adventure-filled year – in my literary world at least.