Bookworm: what I read last year and my goals for this year
In the past year, I have found new joy and excitement from “old” hobbies. One of my favorite things to do growing up was to get lost in a book. This zest for knowledge, was inspired by my father. He traveled often for work and he would return with so, so many books. The very first set of books, was a reader that featured a brother and sister duo. He must have bought my brother and I every single In the past year, I have found new joy and excitement from “old” hobbies. One of my favorite things to do growing up was to get lost in a book. This zest for knowledge, was inspired by my father. He traveled often for work and he would return with so, so many books. The very first set of books, was a reader that featured a brother and sister duo named Tom and Kate. Now that there’s google, I was able to find it online. It’s the Ladybird Read With Me series (link, image). He must have bought my brothers and I every single book in the collection over the years. At that time, it was exciting to get a new present at his return.
Now, I realize that these interactions and lessons were invaluable and planted the seed that books open up worlds of imagination, provide new perspectives and so much more. As I grew up, there were periods in high school when I enjoyed going to the library to borrow books to read for fun. Some favorites include Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, and A Tale of Two Cities. Though, once I got to college and in the past 10 years since, I have read sporadically. In that time, I discovered and cherished books by Malcolm Gladwell, Chimamanda Adichie and Chinua Achebe.
In 2020, I lived in Pittsburgh during the start of the COVID-19 epidemic. I live alone and after about a week of staying home, I was desperate for a comforting routine that made me feel supported rather than isolated. I made sure to continue to take daily walks with social distancing measures usually while I listened to a podcast. I soon rediscovered my love for reading. In 2020, I read about 40 books. This included several paper books, ebooks and a handful of audiobooks. Also, I covered several genres fiction, non-fiction, romance, historical fiction, suspense, and psychology.
This year, my goal is to read 52 books/an average of 1 book per week. So far I have read 2/4 (Anxious People and Untamed). I am currently reading Daring Greatly and A Promised Land. I seem to have gotten stuck because President Obama’s book while eloquent and well written is quite long. I initially planned on reading 50 pages/ day but I have certainly gone many days without reading it. I then started Daring Greatly. Last year, most of my reading was on weekends and I have to say that has not been the case this year. I am still committed to the goal and I will keep reading, as it’s been so exhilarating and relaxing. Do you enjoy reading? How do you prefer your book (paper, audio, ebook)?
Anxious People by Fredrick Blackman
*Daring Greatly by Brené Brown (aim to finish this first week of February)
*A Promised Land by Barack Obama
P.S I reorganized my TV stand/book shelf this week. I had seen a few people arrange their books by color and thought it was an AMAZING idea. I found myself at Ikea on Saturday and got the blue square boxes to make it visually appealing. Then decided to rearrange ALL the books. Now, every time I sit in the living room, I am like WOW, I am SO organized!
Before: Not the best use of the space
After: Rainbow books, crafts hidden, pictures and books on display!