Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Behind on Books?

So far, I've read 148 books this year, or at least books as Goodreads counts them. (Items on Goodreads can be anything from a short story to a box set.) That may sound like a lot, but my goal is 200 books in 2016. According to Goodreads, I'm actually 11 books behind schedule.

There are a couple of reasons for this deficit. I started the year strong, but when my plantar fasciitis returned in the spring, I gave up the treadmill (and reading while exercising on the treadmill) for a while. When Pokemon Go came out in July, I started playing it, even though walking to Pokestops and hatching eggs doesn't help my feet. While it's nice to get out in the fresh air and enjoy nature, the game is taking away from my reading time. When the weather really turns bad, I'll probably spend more time inside.

I have also read a couple of trilogies that were combined into a single volume. I would be a little closer to my goal if I tracked each book individually, but since the combined volumes are listed on Goodreads, I decided it would be more accurate to count them the way they were published. A few books I read this summer were long or a chore to get through, so that set me behind as well.

This is hardly a major problem. I still have a little more than two months to reach my goal, and this may be possible if I pick shorter books and increase my reading time. Even if I fall short this year, I've still read a lot more books than the average person. I would like to get to 200 just because it's a nice round number. I guess I should keep this post short if I want to read tonight. I got my proof copy of Fifth Season today, so as I read it and mark it up, I'll count it towards my reading goal as well.

Do you set reading goals for yourself? If so, do you focus more on the type of book or the number read?

5 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That is still an amazing number of books. I've just been trying to read one book of each of my blogger buddies in addition to my normal favorite authors. Still falling behind.

PT Dilloway said...

My goal was 175 but I was 19 behind so I lowered it to 150.

Crystal Collier said...

*jaw hits floor* I was reading 2 books a week last year, and that was amazing for me. I can't imagine squeezing in that many around writing, home schooling kids, church and community events, and EVERYTHING else. Yikes! You must be one amazingly fast reader--but I completely agree. Exercising is the only way to go while reading.

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

Thanks, Alex. You do have a lot of blogging buddies!

Nothing wrong with making your goals realistic, Pat!

Crystal, it's the best way to get a sound mind in a sound body!

Gina Gao said...

I've definitely fallen behind on reading books. You're number is extremely inspiring.

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