A Reading Year in Review

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I had some pretty auspicious reading plans for 2011.  I set out to read one of my own books (TBR) for each book borrowed from the public library (WPL), I wanted to read one book of Canadian fiction each month and six Classics (published prior to 1900).  Let’s see how well I did:

 

Goal #1: One TBR for every one WPL book read.  The final tally?  It’s not good, folks....

 

TBR = 26

WPL = 38 and counting

   

The TBRs are sadly trailing by 12 books at year end.  I’ll rethink this goal for 2012, let me tell you! :)

 

Goal #2:  Read one book of Canadian fiction each month.  Hmm, well unless there are only eight months in a year, I sadly missed the mark on this one too.

 

Goal #3:  Read six Classic novels (published prior to 1900).  Well, you’d think with my Victorian Literature course, I’d win this goal hands down, but as I don’t count re-reads, which two of the three novels I read this Fall semester were, I also missed the mark here too, reading only 5 of the 6 novels I’d set out for myself.  Sigh.

 

There is a lesson to be learned here, no?  Perhaps don’t set such lofty goals?  Or do I set the bar too high for myself?  Here is my reading year in review:

 

2011 started out with such promise as I spent the first days of January reading a bunch of TBRs, but then classes started and didn’t leave me much time for reading, either TBRs or library books.  Then I happily discovered the Windsor Book Club, only all of the books they chose were none that I owned.  More library books were thusly read.  But I didn’t despair, using my summer vacation to read my own books, evening out the score a little bit, but then Fall semester hit, and my personal reading time shrunk to a microcosm and did I happen to mention that book club?  And then there was Christmas break, which should have seen me turning to my own books to even out the numbers, but alas, library books beckoned, and so there you have it, WPL wins out.  It’s true what they say:  the grass truly is greener....and a library book just seems far more appealing than one of my own, which is silly because I could read them at any time, on my own schedule, and not bound by due dates.  Perhaps I’m just too goal oriented! 

 

So what does all this mean for 2012?  Have I put aside my New Year’s Reading Resolutions?  Hell no!  Resolutions are meant to be broken after all, and of course, I never could pass up a good challenge. ;)  Lying in store for this next year is something a little simpler but no less difficult to accomplish ....

 

Simpler in that there’s just one goal.

 

Difficult in that it requires that I read one entire TBR shelf.

 

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Gulp.

From A to C, in no particular order, are such hurdles as A.S. Byatt, James Fenmore Cooper and Margaret Atwood (who I swore I would never read again, but then, she is CanLit royalty, so really I should give her another go).  Thankfully I have the delightful Jane Austen and enjoyable Agatha Christie peppered in the mix.  Hopefully I’ll be around this time next year to recap how all this reading went, cause don’t think for one moment I’ll forgo WPLing it (did I mention the book club thing?  Oh and there’s that grass is always greener bit, and, oh hell, who needs sleep right?)

 

LOL

 

Till next time, what are your reading goals for 2012?

L :)