Read one book per month

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. Another one that barely counts as a work of literature, but I’m including it.

I’m wondering at what point I can consider this goal accomplished. Do I need to go a whole year or is the point more that I’m in the habit now?

Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy. In the interest of full disclosure, this was an audio book, and although I’ve heard arguments to the contrary, personally I think that counts.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I forgot to post about this, although I finished it last week. I already started and gave up on Catch-22. I’ve been reading a bit less recently, I feel like I haven’t had any time other than right before bed, but I’m still at least picking up a book pretty much every day, which keeps me in the habit.

I’m really sailing now! Just finished “A Spy in the House of Love” by Anais Nin, although that barely counts since it’s only like 140 pages. Maybe this will help later on when I decide to read something huge like The Bleak House, which I just bought yesterday.

This goal has really gotten me addicted to reading, which makes me really happy.

Just finished The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Pretty interesting, very girly, a relatively quick read.

So far this goal has been really good for me. I’m totally excited about reading now, and these days I can’t wait to get into bed at night and get back into my book, but I’m also trying to get more into reading as a substitute for TV, at random times during the day.

Apathy and Other Small Victories by Paul Neilan. Not great, but at least I finished.

I finished “Mayflower” by Nathanial Philbrick.

January’s book, The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell, is completed already, and it’s only January 14th!

I’ve recently been bitten by the reading bug, which happens every few months, but all my good intentions go out the window very quickly and I wind up stalling. In 2008, I only read 4 books. How sad is that? My goal for 2009 is to read 12 books, one per month. That should definitely be doable. My plan is to be in bed every night by 10pm and read until 11pm, and maybe start reading in the cafeteria at lunch rather than the usual eating at my desk. If I can at least keep up a daily ritual, I should be able to reach this goal. The problem starts when I get out of the habit and wind up not picking up a book for several weeks at a time. Good habits are easy to break, I guess. I’ve even started making a book list to carry around so I don’t have the usual blackout when I go to the used book store. Now I just need to finish the two I’m reading at the moment and then I’ll have a fresh start.

I’m getting pretty close to finishing What is the What, but I had to take a short break over the past few days. I went to Florida for a few days and blew through several hundred pages, until I came to an event in the book that was so sad that I couldn’t get it out of my head and it wound up affecting my ability to enjoy myself on vacation. Normally my definition of “beach reading” is a little strange – I usually forgo Helen Fielding and opt for the more depressing themes and settings of Dostoevsky or Dickens. I figure where better to read about the dreary Russian winter than a hot sandy beach? I guess that theory doesn’t apply when you’re reading about actual real-life atrocities.

Anyway, What is the What is an amazing book so far, so much so that I feel like I carry Ackak with me everywhere I go. Somehow whatever I’m doing, he’s always in the back of my mind, casting a sad shadow over everything I do. I think I needed to separate myself for a few days, so I started reading Founding Brothers, which is considerably less emotionally draining (and a little bit boring). I’m back to What is the What now though, since I have to finish by April 30th to keep up with this goal.