Word to the wise, don't pick an 800+ page Russian novel to kick off a goal to read a book a week. It will take longer than a week to read. I heard a theory once that the reason Russian novels are so long is that the authors had all winter to write their books and the readers had all winter to read the books. As a result, they could write incredibly complex, long novels and still sell them. After reading this book I totally believe that theory.
It literally took me a month to finish this book. Sure, I read the entire Percy Jackson series for one of the weeks in there, but really... it took me a month. To be perfectly honest, it didn't really inspire me when I was reading it and it doesn't really inspire me now. Maybe it's just that the bar was set too high. Anna Karenina is one of those books that you always hear about in connection with Literature. The kind you know you're supposed to read and think about and then write a 20 page paper about. You imagine that you're going to learn the secret to life by reading this book because heck, if it's so thick it had better have the secret to life hidden in its pages.
Unfortunately, I felt like this book was the opposite of everything that it was supposed to be. The story dragged on and on. I felt like the author was so busy telling the story that he couldn't go into any depth about what was going on--it was a mile wide and an inch deep. As a result, I didn't feel like it raised any thought provoking questions. I was just glad when the book ended and I could check it off my list. I can now say I've read Anna Karenina.
Don't you hate it when books disappoint you like that?
Monday, January 31, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
2011 Reading Goals and an Update
Last year I had pretty ambitious reading goals for 2010. I was going to read all the books I own that I hadn't read yet and read all the books on my to-read list that had been on there since before 2010. I think I finished about 25% of my goals. I read all the books that I owned, but then Andy brought all his books from his parents' house and I never got around to reading the ones he owned that I hadn't read yet (the entire Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites series).
And as for getting mostly caught up on my to-read list? Well... let's just say it didn't happen... or come anywhere close to happening. I am firmly stuck in 2008 (with a few leftovers from 2007). Try as I might, reading over 100 books in one year is just too much for even me to handle.
So this year, I thought through my goals for reading before I made any. I didn't set any grand goals to get completely caught up with my to-read list. I didn't vow to read the entire College Board reading list (way too many books that don't look interesting). Instead, I set what I think is a fairly achievable goal.
While at a recruiting dinner for my husband fall semester, I talked with the campus recruiter about books. She mentioned that a few years ago a friend of hers challenged her to read a book a week and that she's kept that challenge ever since. I was shocked. Here I was complaining that I never had time to really read a book, when she was able to read a book a week with a super busy schedule. I decided then and there that if she could do it, so could I.
So there you have it folks. My goal for this year is to read a book a week. Theoretically it's going to be the next 52 books on my Goodreads to-read list, but we'll see how that goes. I'm already failing miserably, so if you want a bit of a challenge for yourself, I'd encourage you to join me. If you can't commit to a book a week, try a book every two weeks, or a book every month. You could pick a topic that you want to learn more about, read the classics, or just pick up books at random from the library shelves and read them. You could read them on your computer, your Kindle, in paperback, or in hardback. Whatever you do, just read.
What's your reading goal for 2011?
And as for getting mostly caught up on my to-read list? Well... let's just say it didn't happen... or come anywhere close to happening. I am firmly stuck in 2008 (with a few leftovers from 2007). Try as I might, reading over 100 books in one year is just too much for even me to handle.
So this year, I thought through my goals for reading before I made any. I didn't set any grand goals to get completely caught up with my to-read list. I didn't vow to read the entire College Board reading list (way too many books that don't look interesting). Instead, I set what I think is a fairly achievable goal.
While at a recruiting dinner for my husband fall semester, I talked with the campus recruiter about books. She mentioned that a few years ago a friend of hers challenged her to read a book a week and that she's kept that challenge ever since. I was shocked. Here I was complaining that I never had time to really read a book, when she was able to read a book a week with a super busy schedule. I decided then and there that if she could do it, so could I.
So there you have it folks. My goal for this year is to read a book a week. Theoretically it's going to be the next 52 books on my Goodreads to-read list, but we'll see how that goes. I'm already failing miserably, so if you want a bit of a challenge for yourself, I'd encourage you to join me. If you can't commit to a book a week, try a book every two weeks, or a book every month. You could pick a topic that you want to learn more about, read the classics, or just pick up books at random from the library shelves and read them. You could read them on your computer, your Kindle, in paperback, or in hardback. Whatever you do, just read.
What's your reading goal for 2011?
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