I have a goal this year of reading 70 books. I read 65 last year so I want to do a little better than last year.
I know what you're thinking. How the fuck do you have time to read so many books?? What the hell is wrong with you reading that much??
I really love to read. And I'm a superfast reader.
Yesterday I signed up for Goodreads. If you aren't familiar with it, it's like a pinterest for bibliophiles. You get to indicate which books you've read, rate them, and Goodreads gives you recommendations based on what you've enjoyed. You can also see what your friends are reading and make recommendations to each other. So it's basically a reader's wet dream.
When I first started putting in the books I'd read, I forgot to add one that I read over New Year's weekend, so Goodreads kindly told me that I was behind in reaching my goal of reading 70 books this year.
Fuck. I hate being behind.
I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that it didn't bother me because IT TOTALLY DID. Yes, I was that annoying girl in school who sat in the front (not just because I'm a dork but also because I'm super short and hate not being able to see over peoples heads). I even had to email a fellow Goodreads friend to express my extreme displeasure at being "behind."
Almost like the Asian F for me.
Well, in looking at my bookshelves last night contemplating what I was going to read next (because clearly I had to get my ass in gear and read an extra book), I spotted the forgotten book that I had read over New Years weekend. I put the book into Goodreads this morning and look at what it says now:
Your 2012 Reading Challenge Goal
You have read 7 books toward your goal of 70 books.
7 of 70 (10%)
Great work, you're on track!
You see? Great work! I am validated.
Just for fun:
This may have been where it all began.
And now I'm going to have the Reading Rainbow song in my head-thanks.
ReplyDeleteI signed up for GoodReads but don't really use it that much and dont know why. Maybe I should give it a second chance? I used to read tons when I rode the bus or train into work but not really too much lately. I've tried reading three different books and just couldn't get into them.
I'm on Goodreads, but never use it. I didn't know about this goal feature. I like feeling bad about myself for not reaching my goals so maybe I'll start using it more often.
ReplyDeleteIt feels like it would be a lot of pressure! I don't read nearly enough, but now that I'm super fancy and own a Kindle I've stepped up my game. I just started reading some book about witches, so I'm pretty stoked about that...
ReplyDeleteI did this last year and found that it was actually not as hard as I thought to reach my goal - but that's also what happens when you set your goal at a paltry 25. Hah.
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I read your email I went and made sure that I'm not behind -- I lowballed my reading goal this year with 50, and I'm technically ahead of schedule. BUT, that's counting two books that I stopped reading last year and when I removed them from my "currently reading" list, it added them to "read", and I haven't figured out yet how to remove them from my goal. Basically, I cheated at Goodreads. AND I'm glad you're now my friend. I look forward to the Goodreads Spam telling me how far ahead of me you are :)
ReplyDeleteThat song cracks me up because I'm an avid watcher of the failing show Community. And my favorite episode, hands down, is when Levar Burton came to visit and Donald Glover's character Troy gets so excited he has a meltdown and the cameras find him singing "reading rainbow" in the fetal position in the bathroom. I seriously couldn't even describe that episode without crying for weeks.
ReplyDeleteI will have that song in my head the rest of the day.
ReplyDeleteI love to read and always dominated the book reading competitions in school, but I've gotten lazy about it in adult hood. I'm back on track now though and once I finish this damn piece of shitty Russian Literature I felt the need to start, I will hopefully get back to my old ways.