Thursday 1 January 2015

The Book A Week Challenge.

As I near the end of this challenge I find myself thinking about what to focus on next.

A book a week may not be a stretch for some but it was for me.  It kept me focused on the act of reading, which was what I wanted to cultivate all along.  Now I seldom find myself without a book within easy reach.

Some weeks were more difficult than others; there were times where I started two or three books but not latching on until I found the fourth one.  I found myself looking first at the page count before considering it.  If it was too long I'd add it to the "after the challenge" pile.


For 2015 I plan to slow it down a bit, I think 25 to 30 is plenty for me.  I also want to take up the challenge of reading more short stories.  I've got loads of collections and fiction magazines that are just begging to be read.  I find shorts to be a challenge all by themselves; without the room of a novel to explore characters or multiple plot lines - they are a different kind of read.

I'm going to make the target of 100 shorts for 2015.  That's only two a week which I should be able to do easily enough, at least I hope so.

I will still dive in to the Star Trek universe on a regular basis but my love of science fiction has lead me back to my first love: the space program.  Over 2014 I've been collecting many books on the subject of the Apollo program and today's robotic space exploration so I'll be reading through all of that.

My unofficial goal is to read more history, it could be related to the space program, Canadian history or the Cold War. I also like reading "this is how our world works" offerings.

Like always; I will follow my nose but I will slow it down so that I might have the luxury of savouring something instead of having my next book in the back of my mind.

What the Book-A-Week Challenge has taught me is that I love reading and it has helped me develop the skill to be continually doing so.  For that I am exceedingly satisfied with the result.

All the best for 2015.

Keep turning pages.

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