You read so many books!! Agree though that goals make things weird. You’re making me wanna look at good reads and see how many I actually read. I was considering trying to only read books I already own but haven’t read yet. I think it would take me all year!!
Love this post. I totally agree that sometimes the setting of goals is awesome, but sometimes it takes the focus off of the amazing thing itself and shifts it to a numerical goal and weirdly creates a feeling like you don't want to do the thing around which you set the goal (in this case, reading). I only read one of the books from your 2023 list (Demon Copperhead, which I thought was amazing and heart-wrenching), but love some of the authors you had on there (specifically Octavia Butler). If you haven't already, I'd definitely recommend adding Crying in H Mart to your 2024 list.
I love love Julie Otsuka - she does lyrical lists maybe inspired by Tim O'Brien the things they carried but she makes me breathless when I read. I love Ruth Ozeki.
Your feeling about good reads is the way I used to feel by being assigned books in a reading group. I love the category of abandoning a book, it feels so liberating!
Update I read 17 this yr that felt like plenty!
That is plenty!!
You read so many books!! Agree though that goals make things weird. You’re making me wanna look at good reads and see how many I actually read. I was considering trying to only read books I already own but haven’t read yet. I think it would take me all year!!
Love this post. I totally agree that sometimes the setting of goals is awesome, but sometimes it takes the focus off of the amazing thing itself and shifts it to a numerical goal and weirdly creates a feeling like you don't want to do the thing around which you set the goal (in this case, reading). I only read one of the books from your 2023 list (Demon Copperhead, which I thought was amazing and heart-wrenching), but love some of the authors you had on there (specifically Octavia Butler). If you haven't already, I'd definitely recommend adding Crying in H Mart to your 2024 list.
I love love Julie Otsuka - she does lyrical lists maybe inspired by Tim O'Brien the things they carried but she makes me breathless when I read. I love Ruth Ozeki.
Your feeling about good reads is the way I used to feel by being assigned books in a reading group. I love the category of abandoning a book, it feels so liberating!