My brother gave me the idea of tracking my reading for the year, so this year I’ve been keeping a list (over there to the right) of all the books I’ve read this year, plus the ones I didn’t finish and the ones that are still on my list. I’m pleased to see I read nearly three dozen books this year. And that was while writing a book of my own–twice!
Dan Wells convinced me to be less devoted to finishing books I’m not enjoying, and I was able to do that in a few cases. There’s still perhaps some hope I’ll take up “Dervish House” again after I finish the Sanderson novel I got for Christmas, but several chapters in it hadn’t grabbed me yet. I might give it another chapter and see if it gets better. If not, well, it was only 25 cents at the library clearance sale. Supporting my library is worth that, easily.
I still haven’t found a reliable source of reading recommendations. I’ve got a few that have been more hit than miss, but I still haven’t found that one person whose taste I trust implicitly like Orson Scott Card has been with movies. Perhaps I’d trust his taste in books, too, but I actually haven’t tried very many he’s recommended yet. But with movies he hardly ever misses–for me at least.
I read nearly three books per month this year. Will I keep up the pace next year? I don’t know, though I certainly intend to keep reading. If nothing else I’ve still got my “plate” to clean. I’m enjoying Sanderson’s “Mistborn” at the moment, but the holidays got me distracted in several directions at once, so I’m not making quick progress there. Things will settle down soon, though, once the kids go back to school.
Where I did fail, though, was in reading short fiction. I even bought a membership to Card’s online speculative fiction magazine, and I’m still several issues behind on my reading. Several of the other free sites I bookmarked I haven’t even been back to. Which is weird, since it takes a lot less time to read a short story. Oh well. I’ll try again next year.
Anyway, it’s been a good year’s reading. I’m pleased with my list. I suspect I’ll continue the habit next year, and keep posting them up here. I’ll even figure out a way of keeping my past reading lists so I can compare back through the years as it grows. But for now, it’s forward to the New Year!