One of the resolutions I made for this year is to read again.
I love reading. It’s probably the biggest passion I’ve had ever since I was a child. I would spend my after-school hours in the school library, instead of going home and watching movies or playing games like most children my age did then. I would check out the maximum amount of books I could, and since I was a favorite of the librarian, got to check out five more than normally allowed for an elementary student (an advantage I abused way too much). I won two award certificates – one in elementary school, and again in middle school for being the student who read the most books on campus (something I pride myself in till this day). I would tell my parents goodnight at a decent hour and head to bed but sneak in a book under the covers of my blanket. With the bedside lamp turned on and the sound of the cool air whooshing into the room from the A/C, countless hours of sleep would be sacrificed devouring each and every word a book had to offer me.
Sometimes I wanted to know more about the characters. Sometimes I just wanted to tag along on the journey of when the protagonist explored a new land or planet. I wanted to get away from the mundane life I believed I had and immerse myself in a universe with limitless opportunities.
All I ever wanted to do was read.
Over the years though, as school-work started to pile up and suddenly life took first priority and wasn’t so ‘mundane’ anymore, I stopped reading. When I moved to Sierra Leone and went to a school that didn’t have a good library, I was truly heartbroken over the fact that I didn’t have any access to endless shelves stacked with books, books and more books. I stopped reading – and I hate that I did.
That’s why this year, I want to do what I love again. For 2015, the reading challenge I set myself is to read a minimum of 50 books. I have a feeling I’ll definitely pass the 50 mark but I didn’t want to be too ambitious especially as I never know how busy life might make me again. I definitely don’t want these 50 books to be ones I’ve read before, unless the challenge states otherwise. I’m planning on reading mainly classics, books released in 2014 and sci-fi/fantasy genre novels.
I came across a reading challenge list on Tumblr. It looked pretty interesting so I thought; hey! Why not give it a shot? I’ve got nothing to lose, right? I’ll be updating this list and ‘tick off’ the challenges I complete as I go along. If you guys have any recommendations for books that I could read, do comment! I would be even happier if they were classics/sci-fi/fantasy/published in 2014. And if you’re doing the reading challenge as well, why not join me in this adventure?
Bold: COMPLETE
(parantheses: book assigned to challenge)
*a book you can finish in a day (Maybe Someday)
*a book with more than 500 pages (East of Eden)
*a classic romance (Persuasion)
*a book that became a movie (Wild)
*a book published this year (The Girl on the Train)
*a book with a number in the title (1984)
*a book with nonhuman characters (Watership Down)
*a funny book (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)
*a book by a female author
*a mystery or thriller
*a book with a one word title
*a book of short stories
*a book set in a different country
*a nonfiction book (The Official Preppy Handbook)
*a popular author’s first book
*a book from an author you love that you haven’t read yet
*a book a friend recommended (The Scarlet Letter)
*a Pulitzer Prize winning book
*a book based on a true story
*a book at the bottom of your to-read list
*a book your mom loves (A Tale of Two Cities)
*a book that scares you
*a book more than 100 years old (Anna Karenina)
*a book based entirely on its cover
*a book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t
*a memoir (Our Last Summer)
*a book with antonyms in the title
*a book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit
*a book that came out the year you were born (Tuesdays with Morrie)
*a book with bad reviews
*a trilogy
*a book from your childhood (Charlotte’s Web)
*a book with a love triangle
*a book set in the future
*a book set in high school
*a book with a color in the title
*a book that made you cry
*a book with magic
*a graphic novel (Ouran High School Host Club)
*a book by an author you’ve never read before (I’ll Give You The Sun)
*a book you own but have never read (The Kite Runner)
*a book that takes place in your hometown (Gods, Kings & Slaves: The Siege of Madurai)
*a book that was originally written in a different language
*a book set during Christmas
*a book written by an author with your same initials
*a play
*a banned book
*a book based on or turned into a TV show
*a book you started but never finished
Love this idea! Reading is great and I’m glad you are going to go back to something you like to do 🙂 Keep updating on this, I’d like to see what you end up reading!
-Paulina http://www.paulinamartin.com
Thanks Paulina! I’ve already ticked off one challenge which was to read a book in a day. It’s linked in the post. But there are several more to come and I’m excited about getting into reading again! Thanks for the comment 😀