I was going to say that it was just like me to start a blog about books and promptly lose any interest in reading. But I think it was the opposite. I decided to start this blog because I seemed to have lost the motivation to read.
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| "Are you feeling conflicted?" (Mafalda, by Quino) |
I knew when I made the first post here that this was a poor reading year for me. If we focus only in the numbers (and we shouldn't, but I'm trying to make a point), between 2009 and 2010 I read over 140 books. 2011 was sort of hazy, and I managed to read only fifty books, but it was OK, 'cause they were heavier. This year, though? I'm below 25, with at least ten of them being books I re-read because I couldn't deal with reading something new. Overall, it definitely wasn't my best year. Depression is a bitch, people.
However, I'm trying to stop thinking in chunks of 12 months, 'cause I want to change now and not wait until January to get better. That's why I'm starting a new year today (actually, it started on Monday, but I forgot to write about it). This new year already started better than the last, 'cause I'm in a reading mood and that's always a good sign. I'm reading slooooowly, though, but that's OK too, 'cause for some reason I feel like reading EVERY BOOK IN THE WORLD. At the same time. And to make space for five books in my daily schedule, I have to read them in small doses, or I'll start mixing them up. It helps that three of those books are compilations (is that the right word?) of essays or columns, so I can read twenty pages of each book without feeling guilty of my slow progress―actually, I don't want to finish Nick Hornby's More Baths, Less Talking, so I'll always have one or two of his articles to read in the morning.
(I was supposed to write about the books I'm reading. I sat here with that intention. But now I can't, 'cause I fear if I congratulate myself too much for being reading again it would only tempt fate. So, no talk about books until I finish this batch. Just wanted to say that they're great!)
Glad your reading. I know what you mean about losing the desire to read, I used to read about 90 to 100 books a year and then I just became too stressed/depressed to focus on a book and the number of books I finished dropped drastically. After a pretty lean period reading and blogging wise I seem to be getting back on top of everything. I guess we shouldn't really count or care that much about how many books we read, what matters is the journey and the pleasure we gain from the experience. I can be a slow reader at times, which exacerbates the situation, I want to wallow in a good book, savouring every word and nuance, the pleasure is what matters. I tried signing up to challenges to keep me motivated, didn't really work. Anyway happy new reading year back at you! What a good idea.
ReplyDeleteI read once, I think it was in Alan Jacobs' The Pleasure of Reading in an Age of Distraction that trying to read a certain number of books, or making it a challenge to read certain kind of books didn't work for him 'cause it meant he was enjoying more the prospect of having read those books than of actually reading them. And it made a lot of sense to me, at the time, 'cause I felt that every time I tried to join a book challenge my focus was exactly the same.
DeleteI still count the number of books I read, though. But that's because I feel it's healthy (for me, at least) to have external factors motivating you to read. If I were to read only when I feel like reading, I would never finish a thing. TV is so much tempting at the end of the day, and it's so much easier to read a news site or play on facebook in the mornings. But since I've decided reading is important to me, I have to keep myself in good literary shape! :P