My Relationship with Reading

I used to be a voracious reader.  It was not unusual for me to finish a good page-turner in a 24-hour period. But over the years, a combination of stress, clinical depression (and all of its "joys" including struggling with concentration), multiple moves, the rise of the internet and all of its enticing activities, and other things, has caused me to feel constantly behind on life in general.  And in this whole struggle I have let reading mostly fall off my daily activities.  In fact, I have to acknowledge that in the past year I have only finished 2 books and started a third!  This saddens me, but I have just let it go.

Well, this week I took a couple of vacation days, which gave me 4 days off in a row!  Something I have not experienced in quite some time, and something I hadn't realized I desperately needed.  And, despite the 8 months of unemployment, and then the weeks where I only worked a day or two when I first started my current job, this is the first time I have spent 4 days straight alone, and without the weight of the world on my shoulders.  Yes, I still have stresses and things to handle, but a stable housing situation and job, among other things, allowed me to truly relax.  And while relaxing I discovered that not relaxing was what ate my drive to read!  Well, that, and I think that re-reading books I have already read made things less exciting.  The re-reading can't be helped, because the next book in the Outlander series comes out this year and I read the lost one in a bit of a fog and need to just start over.  One book almost down in that endeavor though!

Anyway...the point of this long story, that I seem to have been unable to make short, is that I have set myself a goal to read 50 books this year.  20 years ago that would have been nothing, but after a year of finishing only 2 I think it is a pretty good challenge!  I am going to start a list here with my intended reads, and cross them off as they are completed.  As of now, they are, in no particular order:

1. Outlander - Diana Gabaldon -- FINISHED!!  1 down, 49 to go!
2. The Wilder Life - Wendy McClure -- FINISHED!!  2 down, 48 to go!  Working on a blog post about this one, LOVED it!
3. The Girl in the Leaves - Robert Scott -- We will just have to call this one done at about 2/3 of the way through.  Interesting subject matter, but stretched out way longer than it needed to be, and stretched out with drivel!!
4. Delirium - Lauren Oliver - Finished, yay!  I talk about it here: Delirium
5. Pandemonium - Lauren Oliver -- started 8/25/13, finished 8/31. Read about it here: Pandemonium
6. Inferno - Dan Brown -- started 5/14/13, finished 9/26/13. Read about it here: Inferno
7. Dragonfly in Amber - Diana Gabaldon
8. Requiem - Lauren Oliver
9. Delirium Stories - Lauren Oliver
10. Voyager - Diana Gabaldon
11. Drums of Autumn - Diana Gabaldon
12. The Fiery Cross - Diana Gabaldon
13. A Breath of Snow and Ashes - Diana Gabaldon
14. An Echo in the Bone - Diana Gabaldon
15. Written in My Own Heart's Blood - Diana Gabaldon (due out some time this Fall, EDIT: Release date has been pushed back to March 25, 2014, BOO!)
16. Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver
17. If I Stay - Gayle Forman
18. Come Back - Claire & Mia Fontaine (I like some non-fiction mixed in)
19. Incarnate - Jodi Meadows
20. The Cats of Tanglewood Forest - Charles De Lint
21. Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones
22. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making - Catherynne Valente
23. Cinder - Marissa Meyer
24. Across the Universe - Beth Revis
25. Fortunately, the Milk - Neil Gaiman

FINISHED
CURRENTLY READING
IN MY "QUEUE"

Wish me luck!  The challenge is on!

UPDATE: 6 down as of 9/26/13!