2016 reading challenge

“I want to read more.” If there is one new year’s resolution of any kind that I have been making to myself the past years it must have been this one. For 2016, I’ve decided to just go for it: I am setting myself the challenge to read 50 books before the end of the year.

50 books in one year. Do you think I can do it?

For the past 2 years I’ve been keeping track of the books I’ve read, which has given me insight into how many books I actually read: 30 on average. I reach that number fairly easily. I don’t really do anything special to read that many books. A precondition to reach this amount however, is that I travel enough. Because my favorite spot to read is on the train during my daily commute. I hardly ever read at home: never before bed time and usually only during breaks.

There are a few reasons why I don’t read more naturally. I always find myself in reading slumps that lead me to get out of the habit of reading. These slumps usually come on because I pick a book that I feel I need to read, but do not necessarily fully enjoy reading. Then there are the numerous distractions: Youtube, Netflix, this blog, make up, sleeping, cooking. I simply have too many interests to be doing them all at the same time. Reading is usually put on the backburner quite quickly.

The thing is that I honestly love to read. Whenever I pick up a book I find it a lot easier to slip into the world presented by an author than via a TV series or a movie. When reading I can feel as if I am part of that world, rather than a spectator. If you know what I mean. Plus I love how I can read a book any time, anywhere. It’s portable (for the most part), a great distraction from the daily grind, and a good way of absorbing language.

And that is exactly why I have been meaning to read 50 books for some time now, but just never got round to. This is the year I will be changing that. I’ve decided to stop being too neurotic about what I read. I usually try to switch up ‘easy’ reads with ‘tougher’ reads. It’s usually on the tougher reads that I hit my slumps. I won’t be avoiding them, I just want to make sure I have a healthy head’s start before I take that plunge so I can allow myself to not read for a few weeks if need be. Because most of all I want my reading to be fun.

The goal I have set for myself is to read 50 books. I would like to aim for more, but this way I would almost double the amount of books and I think that is a good start to make reading more of a habit. To reach that number I will have to step up my game and read more while I am home. That means less time on the computer, more time with a book. I know that if I do that, especially during the week, I will be able to easily double the amount and read a book per week before the end of the year.

Do you think I can complete the challenge?
Are there any books you can recommend to help me on my
way?