2021 Reading Goal

The last several years I have set myself a reading goal. Some years I have been very brave. After all, over 700 pages of tiny-print War Between the States history is a bit intimidating to even the most avid reader. Some years I have just tried to have some fun. And, most recently, I have tried to be more honest about the fact that I don’t have as much time to read and need to be realistic. But I still like to set a goal…perhaps, because, it’s about the only year-long goal that is achievable for me.

 

This year I have been exceptionally realistic. I often think it is Ellyson that has proven to be a handful of a child and edged in on what little reading time I have. The truth is that while she does through us parenting curveballs, it’s really the fact that I now have three kids instead of two that eats of the time I use to read in (and sleep in, and shower in, and eat in, etc.). So, I have gone with a goal that should be readily achievable: read one book with a title that begins with each letter of the alphabet.

 

For instance, for “A” I could read A Study in Scarletby Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. For “B” it could be Bradyby Jean Fritz. And so on. Several years ago my goal was to read twobooks for each letter, which I accomplished. It was fun to find books for some of the letters and I read a few things on my list that had been there for years simply because of the letter their title started with. So, I thought it would be fun to repeat the goal, only with lesson titles. Twenty-six is a very easy number to reach…but fifty-two might not happen.

 

To be honest, I’m not off to a brilliant start. As the year closed, I pulled from my shelf a book Netflix had just made into a movie. As usual, the book is much better. In fact, I had forgotten how good it is, and since it is the first in a series, well… The unfortunate thing is that each title starts with a “C”. So while I have now crossed “C” off my list, I will be able to cross it off four more time, making my reading count for the year at least thirty.

And if some of my favorite authors come out with new titles that start with letters I’ve already checked off (and they will since I already know several of the new ones coming out), then my list will just get longer. But that’s okay. I’m an over achiever. At least when it comes to reading books.