A year ago, I graduated with my master’s degree in Reading and Literacy. And I read a surprisingly small amount of books in those two years, considering it was a degree in Reading and Literacy. By the end of the program, excluding the books I had to read for required reading, I’d read twelve books in two years. It was embarrassing, considering books are such a big part of my life.
So I challenged myself to read 25 books this year. That seems like a small goal, I understand, but I work the equivalent of two full-time jobs, so I’m not just swimming in spare time. Also, after two years of really not reading, I wasn’t sure how hard it would be for me to get back into my reading groove.
I joined a reading club. I tracked on Goodreads. I kept track on my MMD Reading Log from her 2017 Reading Challenge. I committed to completing both reading lists. I really worked to make this goal happen.
And some amazing things happened over the course of that year. I read. And I kept reading. And I read and I read and I read. And it was glorious. I listened to audiobooks when I drove and cleaned house and painted. I read before bed and on my lunch break and anytime I had a spare minute.
And right now I’m at 43 books and 13,215 pages for the year. I read poetry and nonfiction and YA. I read memoir. I previewed unreleased books. I had the best reading year. (I will probably end the year with 45 books. I’m in the middle of The Giver on audiobook and All the Light We Cannot See.)
So here is my bookish year in review:
Be Frank With Me by Julia Caliborne Johnson
Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Nevin
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
The Whistler by John Grisham
Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy The Shocking Inside Story by Ann Rule
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies by Michael Ausiello
I Hate Everyone But You by Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin
The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
The Glass Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
The Master Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
Reading People: How Seeing the World Through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything by Anne Bogel
Nine Stories by J.D. Sallinger
Queen Sugar by Natalie Baszile
Solo by Kwame Alexander
Landscape with Invisible Hand by M.T. Anderson
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
Love Poems by Pablo Neruda
Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave
1984 by George Orwell
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
Starry Night: A Christmas Novel by Debbie Macombie
The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig
The Poetry of Jack Kerouac: Scattered Poems, The Scripture of Golden Eternity, and Old Angel Midnight by Jack Kaerouac
If you’re counting, yes, this is only 42 books. I reread When Dimple Met Rishi because it was just such a fun read. I am a big rereader.
So for next year, I’ve challenged myself to read 50 books. I’m doing the Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge this coming year. I’m also going to try to preview a book for every month of the year. It’s a tall order, but I’m going to challenge myself. That’s how we grow and evolve. That’s how we make ourselves into better versions of ourselves.
How was your reading year? Do you feel successful in your endeavors? Tell me all about it.
Yours,
The Plucky Reader
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