It’s great to be safely on the other side of the new year. It’s been too long since I last posted, and that’s because 2016 turned out to be a personal lesson in resilience. Ideas that I had for the fall were waylaid due to some difficult personal issues; my mental health took a dive and my creativity went with it.
In looking at my 2016 reading goals, I came in just short of achieving them fully. As you might recall from my post on My Best Books of 2015, I didn’t set particularly difficult goals because I wanted to keep them achievable. I was trying to reduce some of the pressure I put on myself so that reading would continue to be an enjoyable pastime for me. The goals were to keep using Goodreads to track my reading; chase books that interested me instead of worrying about reading a certain number of books; and to read at least 10 of the books sitting on the shelf in my small apartment.
I did continue using Goodreads, often using the mobile app to update when I finished something en route to work. I really love their personalized infographic about your year in books (you can click here to see my 2016 Goodreads infographic). I only wish there was the option to save it as an image that could be shared elsewhere online.
But despite my intention otherwise, I started to concentrate on how much pleasure I took watching my list of finished books grow. And when pressures in my personal life increased and I realized that I might not be able to match the number of books I read in 2015, I started feeling upset about it and picked up the pace. In the end, I fell just short of 30 books, finishing the thirtieth in the second day of the new year.
To my credit, I read slightly longer books on average than the year before. The time I had for reading also decreased. I was commuting to work by public transit less often as the weather got colder, and that is usually prime time for me to submerge myself into whatever I’m reading. Instead, I was driving, and I didn’t switch over to audiobooks.
I read through 6 books that had been sitting on my shelf for a few years, acquired through publishing events and bookstores. All but Bryson were real food for thought, and 3 are creepy tales that I savoured during October. I’m happy that I made the time to chew on them all before I send them off to new homes.
So, this past year of reading hasn’t been quite as I’d envisioned. But I still found several ways to explore books and engage with other readers in ways that really enriched my reading life:
- I re-read a beloved high fantasy novel from my teenage years with a friend, and learned that it didn’t hold up to my critical, adult eye.
- I bought books at publishing events and bookstores in addition to relying on the library.
- I read important, entertaining and interesting books by First Nations/Indigenous/Métis authors (specifically Thomas King, Cherie Dimaline and a comics anthology edited by Hope Nicholson).
- I tried out a book subscription box (specifically Book Riot’s September box) with mixed results.
- I added bookish elements to a trip to Tokyo.
These are the kinds of experiences I plan to carry into 2017, and I hope to be able to share more of them on this blog. In particular, I want to explore my personal reading habits in relation to all the ways modern readers can connect with books. I might try an audiobook or an eReader, or join a different book community through a new app. I also hope to write about how I’ve incorporated literary tourism into my travels. Admittedly, it still takes me a long time to write posts, but I’m determined to post here once a month.
And despite the problematic nature of a numbered reading goal — the point of reading is not competition — I’m going to embrace a 30-book reading challenge this year. Avoiding a reading number last year did allow me to relax somewhat, but in reality my number was in the back of my mind all year. I figure it’s better to be honest with myself about my goals, whether consciously made or otherwise.
Of course, I already have a pile of unread books from my shelves that I’m excited to start. I set some personal goals for 2017, so this month I’m trying to channel inner strength and positivity to prepare myself going forward. To do this, I’m reading some self-help and personal growth books I’ve had on my TBR for a while. I’m halfway through Jen Sincero’s You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life, and I’m pairing it with Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In. I’m aware of the backlash Sandberg’s book has received, but I’m curious to see if I find any useful advice there (or if I end up putting it down early).
Let me know if you have any reading goals this year. What are you reading this month?
The Book Sister 