When I published my 19 for 2019 list, I knew one thing on there would be more challenging than anything else. If I’m honest, I knew it would be so challenging, in fact, that I considered taking the easy way out and leaving it off the list entirely. This is that thing.
I envy my friends who have a single title on their Goodreads currently reading shelf. Me? I’ve often got more than ten book there. And, YES, I am actually reading them all.
It’s rare that a book keeps my attention consistently for its duration. My favourites I’ve read in just one or two sittings, but others – and some that I have really enjoyed – took longer. I like variety. I read a little of this and take a break by reading a little of that. It’s my process.
So I decided to change it.
I’ve finished two books so far this year and it felt like a really prosperous start. The first book was an easy read and the second was a book that I adored. I like to read a variety of books and not all of them can be easy or adored. Reality set in when I started, without exaggeration, six or seven books and then, thirty or sixty pages in, felt the need to give them up. I tried novel after novel – light, classic, chick lit. Then I tried non-fiction – biography, self-improvement, health. I honestly thought I was never going to read a book again!
I really had to dig in and commit to finishing something (anything!) and I do feel like I’ve gotten over a hump with my current book.
Why change? Well, there were a couple of reasons and/or thoughts going through my head. One issue I’d run into is having too many books on the go. I liked the diversity, sure, but after they piled up, it would start to weigh on me. This usually started to take effect when one or two weren’t thrilling me, probably because my distracted approach allowed me to become more committed to them than a more focused one would. Basically, I wondered if not paying close enough attention made some books seem better than they actually were by hiding their flaws. And maybe some would be even more enjoyable if I gave them my undivided attention.
We’ll see! (And I still suspect this will be the toughest challenge in my 19 for 2019!)
What’s your reading style? Do you go cover to cover on one book at a time? Or do you like to have a few on the go at once?
