A Bibliophile's Book Journal: The Origin

January is a time for resolutions, change and commitments.  Working out, eating healthy, learning more, and being nicer.

I used to love reading.

Then I started college.

Then I hated reading.

Plus, I was embarrassed that I liked fiction and stories about murder and secrets.  Dumb.

I tried to read historical nonfiction.  Some of it is good, but it is exhausting for me to keep reading biographies on Abe Lincoln and Ernest Hemingway.  I learned some interesting facts but reading those books was still somewhat like a chore to me.  Nothing like when I pick up a story by Agatha Christie or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle only to come out of a daze hours later realizing its 2am and I should be sleeping not lost in a story.  I love that feeling; you don’t even notice the time pass because you weren't in your living room. You were in London, on a foggy evening, hurrying down a damp cobblestone street, listening to Sherlock ramble on to Watson as shadowy horse drawn carriages passed by.  It’s magical.  I’m addicted to it.

So I started reading again, I’m not sure why or how.  It happened over winter break. I broke out an old Poirot novel I had purchased at Half Price Books.  I got lost in it and I remembered what I loved.

Then I stumbled upon some webpage I must have signed up for ages ago.  The website is called Goodreads and they were holding a 2013 Reading Challenge.  You signed up, chose a book goal for the year and tracked the novels you read via their page. The brilliant part was, the more you read, the more they knew what you liked and suggested other books to read.  They have a Read, Currently Reading and To Read list where you can set up a queue and track your progress. It’s fantastic. And they have an iPhone app!

So I set a goal.  4 books a month.  48 books a year.  Which  comes out to roughly one book a week.

Now, I must say, I am in grad school.  I’m also training for a half marathon.  And I have a full time job, a live in boyfriend and a love of travel.  I’m not making excuses! I just needed to lay it out there, I am busy and I don’t have a lot of free time to read but it is important to me.  This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes … 

“If it’s important to you, you’ll find a way. 

                                          If not, you’ll find an excuse.” 

Strangely applicable.

I started reading in January… and I am already on book 6/48. Pretty good eh!?  I track them on Goodreads like I said earlier and there is a place to review each novel on the website but I wanted to review them differently.  On my own page.  Track my own progress. Have something to review at the end of the year. See my goal met and tracked ... so, I made this web.log!

I will be posting the books I read on here, writing about them and rating them.  And I will go back and add the ones I have read so far this year too.  The first 5 and the current one and then I will update as I read.

Without further ado, here we go!