Challenge Accepted: Read More

Diana Beebe, Mermaids Don't Do Windows, MDDW, Diana Beebe's Blog, science fiction, fantasy
Just a few books in my TBR pile.

It’s all because of Julie Glover and Jess Witkins. Mostly.

They didn’t make me buy all these books over the years, but they make me think about them. Collecting dust. Not being read.

For 2016, I plan to read more. I read a few books last year. Sort of.

I read a ton last year, but most of the words were all for critique partners. Counting my local writing group (I adore these people!), my amazing cohorts in Les Edgerton’s Novel Writing Bootcamp, and various writer friends, I read 15 works-in-progress.

The number of published books that I read can be counted on one hand with fingers left over. I’m not happy about that. I used to read a lot.

When I was a kid, I would drive my parents crazy with my reading habits. (However, they couldn’t really complain since they taught me to be as voracious a reader as they have always been.) As an adult, my husband made sure I had reading time. Sigh.

So I split the difference between Julie’s and Jess’s reading goals and decided I’ll read 52 books this year. One for every week. Huh.

I looked at the books that I own (paper and on my Kindle app) and made a spreadsheet.

Here are the rough numbers, based on the fiction spreadsheet I made to track my progress:

  • Nine books that I started at some point in 2015. Nine. Nine unfinished books. *twitches*
  • Twenty-nine fiction books that I own.
  • Four writing books that aren’t on that spreadsheet.
  • A million (slight exaggeration) more books that friends have recommended (including the lists in Julie’s and Jess’s posts linked at the beginning).
  • Two middle grade books to read out loud to Armadillo.

And, honestly, I didn’t count a few ebooks that I downloaded, a few books that I picked up at conferences, or the non-fiction books for researching new story ideas. The numbers should be higher.

This is the third week of the year, which means I’m already behind schedule. Maybe I can make up some time by finishing those unfinished books first.

What about you? What kinds of books do you like to read? Do you set reading goals? Do you manage your “to be read” pile? Is there a book that you think I should have on my list?

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