2014 was the year I started slacking off with my reading for one reason or another. It’s not that I fell out of love with it but my heart wasn’t into it anymore.
Years passed by and I shelved the idea of reading as the back of my head. Every time I thought about it, I vowed to pick up a book but that became wishful thinking. I was both heartbroken yet unabashed. I thought to myself, people change.
I owned shelves of unread books that weathered and accumulated dust. I didn’t even pretend to set a challenge for 2015 – 2018. What’s the point in setting one when I knew I wouldn’t attempt to start. I tried to convince myself that this was not a big deal. Why did I stop reading?
I used to enjoy it. I even consume a substantial number of books that my wallet cannot fund. I was one of those bookworms who splurged as if there’s no tomorrow and still went home with a smile on my face. Reading was my outlet, it was my escape .. reading was both comforting and relaxing. What happened between then and now?
In reality, I realized that I grew lazy and apathetic. I needed to accept that everything was on me. I knew I wanted needed to change that but there was no motivation.
Flash forward to early 2019 when I, out of the blue, set my Goodreads challenge to 12.
I wanted the bar as low as possible because … baby steps. TBH, I should have set it lower. Haha! I failed this challenge and only finished 7 but I was happy with this. I’m satisfied that I read 7 when I could have finished none. This was still an achievement and I’m OK with that.
Stats
Quick recap
- It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini – read twice. Did I enjoy it so much that I re-read it? Nope! I forgot I read this early this year which made me believe it’s forgettable and should have rated it lower. I do remember that I warned a friend of its “meh-ness” when I gave my books away.
- The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith – Was a so-so book. Rated 3 stars but later changed it to 1. It was not bad per se, but it wasn’t special either.
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman – this was the book I had the hardest time which is why I DNF’d it. Started June then went back and forth. Decided in September it wasn’t worth the hassle.
- The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson – My biggest discovery this year. I read this after Eleanor Oliphant because I needed something challenging. I started reading this series in September after it was highly suggested. I hesitated because of my slump. Although I hesitated, I ended up reading the trilogy. It’s the best thing that happened to me last year reading-wise. Here’s a helpful link from Sanderson for those of you interested to start.
So that is my recap for 2019. It’s short and sweet.
I don’t want to burden myself with a high wall so I set my goal to 12 again for 2020. I do have my eyes set on specific books, mostly fantasy, but knowing me I love to go in blind so nothing is set in stone.
Do you have any particular reading goals this year?
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