Tanitha's Cosmic Musings

The other day, I was reading an article on the Penguin website called 13 reading challenges to set for yourself in 2022, and I thought I would write a paragraph or two about each. Then I decided to write my thoughts on the blog.

The first reading challenge is called Set a reading goal. I decided this year to set a reading goal of 25 books. It may be a small number for someone like me who likes to read quite a bit; however, due to work and other commitments, I do not have the time to read as much as I would like. To help me achieve my goal, I am using Goodreads. I have been using Goodreads for a few years now. Some years I achieved my goal, some years I did not, some years I forgot to record my read books.

Last year, I set a reading goal of 20 books, and managed to read 39, 40 if you count a book I found was totally and utterly unreadable and gave up after 78 pages. This was “The Soft Machine” by William S Burroughs. I wrote the following on Goodreads about this book:

This is one unreadable book. And I browsed through the other two of the trilogy, and they all are similar, albeit not as much as this one. I am not going to lose any more time with this absolute shite. I do not understand why this cut-up trilogy has been so much eulogized.
This is a jumble of words, a word salad at best; bad pornography at worst.
I expected more from this book and from a writer of Burroughs’ caliber. Needless to say, I gave up after the first 78 pages of the book. Time to read something which is understandable, and enjoyable. This is nothing of the sort. Neither understandable, nor enjoyable.
And it has put me off Burroughs for good.

This is the first time, I absolutely refused to continue reading a book. I have some unfinished books, which I would like to re-read and finish at some point; they have remained half-finished due to various reasons. Either I forgot them at a hotel or airport, or simply stopped reading for a time due to things happening in my life at the time. However, this is the first time I have stopped reading a book because it was so frustrating, so unreadable, and not enjoyable at all. Enjoying a book should be what it is all about.

For me, and it should be the same for everyone, it is not about how many books you read; it is about taking your time and enjoying each book. Immersing yourself in the world the author has created; laugh and cry with the protagonists of the book. Some books are easy to read, and I will read them in an evening or two; others may take a week, and others may take 2-3 weeks. I will not read for the sake of reading; I will read at my own pace. I like to take something from each book I read, even the bad ones.

So, my reading goal this year is 25 books. Will I be able to reach it? Probably. It depends on the kind of books I will read this year. But I am always open to suggestions about good books, and your 2022 reading goals.