I was thinking about my annual reading goals and how to remain flexible in keeping them. For example, I recently started my second book of the year and I am not enjoying it as much as I hoped. Do I discard it and save it for later when I am more receptive? Yes, but why do I feel guilty? My book tracker app has the option to add titles to the DNF list that I make use of.
On keeping flexibility, I have no problem with this. I was listening to a podcast while driving and heard a discussion about a book I was interested in that immediately bypassed everything else on my to-be-read list. It’ll count toward the end goal so what does it matter?
Also, what about blog feeds, News app, magazines, short stories and poems and essays? How does someone quantify all of those? Sometimes these snippets are more impactful than a full-length book or a dozen books.
Moving on, I am oscillating on paper and digital books based on nothing else other than convenience. My new bookcase is full of material to occupy me all year, and yet the Kindle is a go to for a quick read before bed. I am digging the Kindle Unlimited trial. Way too many books to consume! Of course every book I read there has highlights and notes I jot down for later. These get sent to my personal database for later reference and inspiration.
From now on I am going to take it easy on myself. Yes, I will keep a list of my reads, but I want to go for quality and not quantity. I’ll pick up five “wow” books a year and not care how long it takes to enjoy, and then get through the rest of my list.
“The problem with reading is that I get distracted by other books.” – someone
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